Switching to Maintainance

Jubee13 wrote: »

For years, I have weighed 115 pounds (I’m 5’3”, small frame). Over the past few years, I had gained up to 129. So now I weigh about 120, and I truly feel fine. Most of my clothes fit, with the exception of a few things I wore when my weight had dropped lower than 115. Still, I feel so unsure if I should go ahead and switch over to maintainance or stay in weight loss mode to lose those last few pounds. I’m 52 years old, so maybe I’m meant to weigh a little more. I know it sounds like a simple decision, but for some reason I can’t let go of the number. So I’m here thinking out loud, but also interested in others’ thoughts. TIA

You can always switch to maintenance, see how you like it for a few months and go from there. Like @AnnPT77 said, it's not an irrevocable decision. I'm constantly changing my mind set. Bulking or maintenance in the winter, then cut for summer or competition season. It's able to be adjusted and by doing so you're able to figure out the macros your body requires in depth.

Humans love to quantify things. It isn't surprising it is hard to let a number go. A lot of people say they have a maintenance range of 5lbs so technically you could set it to be between 115-120 and aim for the middle. Or tell yourself that you are giving yourself a break and staying at 120 for a couple months and then decide whether to keep going.

A big part of weight loss is a mental struggle and I feel like maintenance is even a larger one, just because you have to cope of numbers that you want to be, or body image you hoped to be at a particular weight.

You're in a healthy weight range for your height. If you're happy at 120, then that sounds like a good place to stay. Remember that maintenance is a range of about 5 pounds for most people, not an exact number. 120 might be the upper, middle, or lower end of your range.

Either way, though, you're not "meant" to be a specific weight--you have control over it. People often think that they "should" be a particular weight when they're close to their goal and their deficit is very small. At that point, weight loss happens slowly and a few logging errors can erase that deficit. If you do choose to lose a little more, just keep in mind that it will be slow going and you'll probably need to track very accurately.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Either way, it's not an irrevocable decision. You could test-drive maintaining 120 for a while, and see how it goes. If you decide to stay there, fine; if you decide to lose more later, also fine.

I hear (read?) a lot of people saying we should weigh a little more as we age (a few of my still-overweight friends have urged this idea on me ), but I'm not really feeling it myself. (I'm 62.) I think it maybe depends on body composition . . . and certainly on personal preference.

According to the Heart Foundation of Australia it's better to weigh a bit more when you're older but they're talking about over seventy. I think (but I could be completely off base) it's because sometimes older people drop weight because of illness or because of difficulty eating for one reason or another and it's not a bad idea to have a bit of a reserve. I know we had difficulty getting my grandmother to eat and it was worrying given that she really wasn't that big to start with.