Did anyone else decide the last few pounds just weren’t worth it?

Copper_Boom · September 2019

I’m a 5’10 female and used to be 128#-130# in college. I’d classify myself as sedentary overall, though I do physical activities like hiking and surfing on weekends. My weight stays between 150-155 pounds when I don’t track calories. However, I always seem to be in this vicious yo yo cycle of getting back down to about 130#, which I’ve always had in my mind as my maintenance goal weight. I typically can lose the 20 pounds in about four months, and then stay at the 130 mark for maybe three months or so before I fall off the wagon and stop tracking calories. Rinse and repeat.

I have recently come to the realization that being 130 pounds is not worth it to me anymore. The calorie requirement is just too low for me to enjoy my meals and I don’t have a strong interest in regularly burning calories through exercise. Now I am going to use 145-150 as my target since it’s still a healthy enough weight for my height and the calorie target is something that will work better in my life. No one besides me cares or probably even really notices if I am a size 4 or an 8, so I am not sure why I have been returning to my college weight for so long (or why I even used that as my goal in the first place).
Did anyone else adjust their original maintenance weights? How does reality match your previous expectations?

MikePTY · September 2019

130 is at the very low end of normal for you height, almost at the line of underweight. I am not surprised you found it very difficult to maintain. With that as your goal, you were always going to be in a constant fight with your body to maintain that low. 145-150 is still well within the normal weight range and a much better maintenance target, so I think you made a wise decision.

dashagrr · September 2019

Agreed with above - goal of borderline underweight BMI is totally not worth the trouble required to maintain it.

StargazerB · September 2019

I'm 5'2" and weighed around 135lbs after having all of my children. This is a healthy BMI for my height but I was not healthy at this weight. In 2017 I lost around 20lbs and maintained a weight of 114-116lbs for a little over a year. But to maintain this weight I had to log every single calorie I ate. I worked out about 5-6 days a week and my life revolved around maintaining my weight. I became burnt out and stopped logging food. I did gain around 4-5 pounds in the first few months of not tracking. But I have been able to maintain my current weight of around 120-122 pounds without tracking food and working out an average of 3-4 days a week. So I'm currently trying to decide to if getting back down to 115lbs is worth it. And most days I say it's not.

Copper_Boom · September 2019

Thank you for your kind words and @StargazerB for your story.
In retrospect, I have wasted so much money and foregone so many delicious desserts to try to be at the lowest “healthy” weight for my height. Most times I went back to my lowest weight, I would donate my larger size clothes to theoretically keep me from gaining again (for me, twenty pounds is a difference of two sizes). But I’d buy more of the same clothes I’d just donated when my weight went back up and start all over again. Ugh. Moving forward though!

pjwrt · September 2019

Copper_Boom wrote: »

... No one besides me cares or probably even really notices if I am a size 4 or an 8, so I am not sure why I have been returning to my college weight for so long (or why I even used that as my goal in the first place).
Did anyone else adjust their original maintenance weights? How does reality match your previous expectations?

People notice fat or skinny. Probably more than any other physical characteristic.

My target is 170, but I'm happier weigh my weigh-in is <165.

Hey, for 25 years I had a blood disease that screwed with my body in all sorts of ways including my metabolism. I got cured 4 months ago (3 month treatment) and now maintaining my goal is easily doable. If you're in good health, stop with the excuses and stay fit because one day, you may have a real struggle.

JeBeBu · September 2019

My goal weight still has me in the overweight category, even at a size 6/8! I finally decided that I just don't care! I managed to get lower for awhile, but life revolved around food and exercise and I felt weak! I am happy & healthy and strong at this weight and it is sustainable! Those 10 pounds are not worth what little sanity I was blessed with!

seltzermint555 · September 2019

JeBeBu wrote: »

My goal weight still has me in the overweight category, even at a size 6/8! I finally decided that I just don't care! I managed to get lower for awhile, but life revolved around food and exercise and I felt weak! I am happy & healthy and strong at this weight and it is sustainable! Those 10 pounds are not worth what little sanity I was blessed with!

Same here, although I'm tallish (5'8") and size 10. When I was 10 lb lighter, I had very low sex drive and felt lightheaded a lot. Weird cravings would hit now & then and my bloodwork showed a few minor issues that disappeared when I gained 10-12 lb back.
Not worth it to me.

I've gained back 15 from my all-time lowest, and will stay maintaining at the very top of a healthy weight range for my height. If it's good enough for my doctor and I feel great, I'll take it. Although for me, I was morbidly obese for 20 years so of course I want to be careful and not regain 30+ at all, ever.

MikePTY · September 2019

pjwrt wrote: »

Copper_Boom wrote: »

... No one besides me cares or probably even really notices if I am a size 4 or an 8, so I am not sure why I have been returning to my college weight for so long (or why I even used that as my goal in the first place).
Did anyone else adjust their original maintenance weights? How does reality match your previous expectations?

People notice fat or skinny. Probably more than any other physical characteristic.

My target is 170, but I'm happier weigh my weigh-in is <165.

Hey, for 25 years I had a blood disease that screwed with my body in all sorts of ways including my metabolism. I got cured 4 months ago (3 month treatment) and now maintaining my goal is easily doable. If you're in good health, stop with the excuses and stay fit because one day, you may have a real struggle.

The OP's target weight is very healthy, as it puts her at about a 21.5 BMI, which is smack in the middle of normal range. It is quite likely that trying to maintain at her original target rate, on the very low end of normal BMI, would have been less healthy for her. Not everyone's goal is the same, and it does not sound based on your target weight, that you are trying to get to an almost underweight BMI, so it is not exactly an easy comparison about how "easily doable" maintaining one's goal is.

staticsplit · September 2019

I'm an inch taller and 155 is my happy weight too. I had crept up to like 168. Initially tried for 140 but as soon as it hit 151 my body rebelled and I'd binge. I focused on recomp instead and I'm happy with the way I look now. I was 130 in college but consider in your late teens and early 20s you're stillness at the tail end of puberty and your body is still settling into adulthood.

macchiatto · September 2019

Great question. I've adjusted my goal before. I'm 5'7" and I used to tend to yoyo between 139 and 159. At one point a few years ago I decided to try to aim for 130 (a weight I hadn't seen since college; though not quite as ambitious for my height as for yours!). I got there and liked it and set a new maintenance weight range of 128-133.

I maintained for several years and then gradually regained weight (up to 150) when I went from SAHM to very sedentary job. I'm currently working on losing again but re-evaluating if I just want to go back to high 130s rather than all the way back to my lower goal range. For me it's generally a difference of size 8 vs 10 (or still 8 with vanity sizing

). I'm 43 now and it does feel like losing weight has gotten harder, so we'll see. I may just go for somewhere in the 130s and then focus more on fitness and strength training.

whmscll · September 2019

When I set out to lose weight, I was already at a healthy BMI for my height (5” 4.5”) but right on the border of overweight. I was indeed healthy but felt very pudgy. I’m now at a weight I hadn’t seen since my 20s (I’m 59), and am right in the middle of the BMI “healthy” range. I wish I’d done this earlier, I always thought weight creep after 45 was somewhat inevitable and never in a million years dreamed that I’d weigh 122 again, after weighing in the 130s and 140s for literally decades.

adotbaby · September 2019

I'm about ten pounds from my goal weight now, at 149; I'm 5'4". The last few months, it's been up and down because of occasional binge days, but I'm determined to get to goal. I could happily stay at this weight, but want to see how things are at my goal weight. If it's too hard to maintain, then I'll readjust.

weatherwoman94 · September 2019

There's no point if you're going to be miserable and it's too hard to maintain and your mental health takes a downturn because of the upkeep e.g. you start thinking people are out to get you and become more paranoid, self-conscious, fearful and hypersensitive, it matters too much (to the point where it compromises your day-to-day functioning), you experience reactive eating etc. Listen to your body and don't worry about what other people say/think. Quality of life is important too, we're not just mannequins on display

DancingMoosie · September 2019

Yeah...I used to be more comfortable seeing the scale around 113, but it lead to disordered thinking around food and exercise and also a lot of concern from family and even my nurse practitioner. I find that gaining up to 120 is more sustainable and a healthier bf% for me.

pierinifitness · September 2019

What I've learned as a business person is it's easy and fun to start a job but finishing the last 5 percent of the job requires effort. It's much more fun to start a new job. It's no different with fitness, health and wellness goals. Assuming your goals were realistic, you may be experiencing normal behavior of throwing in the towel before mission accomplished.

My experience was different. When I had 5 lbs. to go to reach my goal, I could see the finish line and smell the victory of success. Now, having been in maintenance for over 6-months, I recently dropped my ideal 5-lb. weight range by 2 lbs.

A goal weight achieved or not achieved won't make or break your day or life but I can tell you from personal experience that there's a sense of satisfaction of having set a goal and achieved it and, now, sustaining it.

For best results in your fitness, health and wellness journey, always set reasonable goals capable of being measured and then pursue them with discipline, patience and perseverance. Not only will you likely achieve them but you'll find a great spillover benefit to other areas of your life. At least this has been my experience.

sijomial · September 2019

Losing the last few pounds were and are very important to me and make a huge difference especially visually but also to exercise performance.

But your goal (unlike mine) was very low for your height so not surprised it is so hard to stay there.

I've also adjusted upwards when I found it was becoming too hard to sustain as I recomped. Although I never got very lean I was getting hungrier and it was making maintenance a chore not a pleasure.

You do need to resolve the repeated yo yo cycles of 20 to 25lbs, that isn't doing you any favours at all.

colettehugh · September 2019

Wow, 5'10" and 120-30 lbs? I'm 5'8" and my college/20s weight was always around 128-132 lbs and that was thin.

CharlieAnn31 · September 2019

I find this post very interesting as I have been doing weight watchers for the past 17 months. I lost 90 pounds, 75 of those pounds in the first 10 months. The weight loss has slowed so much that in the next 7 months I lost 15 pounds. I was kidding myself thinking I was eating enough and ended up in the hospital with a hemoglobin of 4.3 with signs of cardiac arrest including shortness of breath, heart palpitations, weakness, fatigue, dizziness and feeling faint. The doctors said that if I didn't go into the hospital when I did I most likely would have died from a heart attack. they kept me in the hospital for 3 days running every test known to man to try to find where I was bleeding or to look for cancer and they could not find anything, so what else would it be but my diet. I quit weight watchers and have decided to take it really slow as I eat healthier to increase my hemoglobin and hematocrit and get back in shape the way I was when it started to get hard to lose. They kept cutting back the calories as I lost the weight which makes sense, but it obviously wasn't enough for me. Anyway, I like the idea of joining MFP because I don't have to pay and can really take my time but still get the support. I still want to lose the last 10 pounds to reach my goal, but I don't care if it takes me a year to lose it as long as I lose it in a very healthy way. And, if I stay where I am right now for the rest of my life I will be happy with that too.

EliseTK1 · September 2019

I agree that your original weight goal probably isn't worth it. You're right- nobody else cares if you're slightly lighter or heavier. What matters is your health and happiness.

My original weight goal was 150 lbs. I have been maintaining around 161 lbs for about 7 months. I am very active, lift weights and do various cardio most days of the week. My clothes fit, my labs are great, and I'm able to do all the fun activities that I live for such as hiking and playing in theme parks. My husband thinks I'm sexy.

The only reason I would have for losing more weight is vanity, and it's definitely not worth it.

cindyloving358 · September 2019

I decided not to strive to lose the last 10 pounds. I want a calorie range I can live with. There is no magic number on the scales for me. I'm just gonna concentrate on nutrition . I'm at a lower weight now than the majority of my adult life and I'm 53 years old. I'll never be 120 lbs because I enjoy food way too much.

quagmirequeen · September 2019

I think my initial goal was a bit unrealistic- like you, it's based on a weight I was a few years back, and although I 'don't recall having any issues maintaining that, I am finding it harder now and I think it would require too much focus on calorie counting on a daily basis. My aim at the moment is to find a maintenance weight that is easier but which I'm still happy with.
Really, I'd rather focus on regular excercise for wellbeing and good nutritious food and find a weight that more or less balances itself naturally

elisa123gal · September 2019

I'm 5 10 too..and I'm at the 150ish mark too... Being in the middle of our healthy range is fine with me. I agree..getting down to the low end would take too much work..and I think I'd look way too skinny. so..yeah..not worth it.

ponycyndi · September 2019

I'm 5'7", and my lowest weight since hitting puberty was 165.
In 2013 after having my 3rd child, I was able to get down to 150, and maintained that easily for 3 years. I was between a US size 6 and 8, and thought I'd like to be a size 6 but was never able to lose below 150.

But now after going to 150 after being above 165 my whole life, I'm trying to get to 142 again, even though I understand now that it may take a long time.

sgriska · September 2019

Yup. I'm 5'4" and had initially planned on going to 125, but when I reached 140ish I had a Dexascan and found that my body fat percentage was ~22%, and that seemed a perfectly good place to stop for me. So now my maintenance range is 135-145, and I feel best towards the bottom of that range.

CSARdiver · September 2019

It wasn't that the last few pounds weren't worth it, but I reevaluated and decided to change my goals as I wasn't really concerned with the arbitrary number, but performance. Happy that I did as my strength has improved.

barefootbridgey · September 2019

Having lost and gained and lost and gained my way into a pretty unhealthy relationship with food...I would say it's not worth it.

Find a weight that feels comfortable - does your body work like you (realistically) want it to? Can you sleep/breathe/etc? Are you active enough to be healthy? Are you able to dress in a way that you enjoy and can you complete the tasks and goals you have? to me, that's a comfortable weight.

Years back (before this last baby) I had lost 50 lbs in a few months. I was STILL 180 lbs and a solid 12/14 (I'm 5'5). Its not the smallest Ive ever been and not the smallest I wanted to be, but I'll tell ya...it's the happiest I ever was with myself. I liked how I looked (and apparently so did other people...men like, came out of the damn woodwork!). My butt looked good in my jeans and I still had curves. I ran every step of a half marathon and a few tough mudders. I was strong, I felt good when I walked around, my blood pressure etc was good...and I STILL was 180 lbs. And it seemed like no matter what I did, I couldn't get below that without compromising the things that I enjoyed in life. And to me, that's not worth it. I'd go hang out with my friends and have 1 or 2 drinks and feel horrible about the calories. If I took my kids for ice cream, I'd just sit and watch them. At night, I would work out instead of like, reading. Or hanging with my kids. Or even sitting with my spouse and watching a movie. And those are things that I value - because those things are where the actual life happens.

Granted. I'm back on the struggle bus now...but also, I gave up on a lot of the healthy things that I WAS able to do and maintain my life. So I'm not some like, sage voice of wisdom. But I am getting older now....and life is too short to spend the entire thing worry about my BMI, or the last 10 or 20 lbs. It's too short to live fat and miserably too...and it's too short to have a body that I didn't take care of and is in pain and falling apart, too. I'm not advocating for just balls to the wall, no cares lifestyle. I AM advocating for some self awareness....if hitting those last few pounds comes at the expense of all of the things that give your life richness and value and joy, they are 100% not worth it.

cwolfman13 · September 2019

Striving for and maintaining at the very bottom of what is considered a healthy BMI weight for your height isn't any healthier than being in the middle of the range...it could actually be less healthy. Your goal is very close to being underweight...that would be hard for most people to maintain and probably not very healthy.

girlwithcurls2 · September 2019

cindyloving358 wrote: »

I decided not to strive to lose the last 10 pounds. I want a calorie range I can live with. There is no magic number on the scales for me. I'm just gonna concentrate on nutrition . I'm at a lower weight now than the majority of my adult life and I'm 53 years old. I'll never be 120 lbs because I enjoy food way too much.

^This. Exactly. At 51, I weigh 10 pounds more than my pre-pregnant weight, but I am so much more fit than I ever have been. I often wonder if I could get back down to 155 again (I'm sure I could), but the work it would take to get there isn't worth it to me. I got down to 162 four years ago and felt fantastic. I'm at 166 now, so meh...

I will admit that every now and then, I see the posts asking for women of my height (5'7") to post their weights and when I see 120s and 130s, I wonder what the heck, but I also know that there is now way I could carry that safely. My skeletal structure is just too big.

RealWorldStrengthLLC · September 2019

I used to be 205, extremly fit/sort of aesthetic. Life happened and I ballooned up to just over 300. Cut down to 230 and decided I was fine floating between 230-240 as long as i could compete sub 231...now i found out the comp I want to do, middleweights are sub 220 (100kg) not sub 105kg (231)...so here I am cutting the last 10-15 anyway. Had a nice 6 month break tho and now I'm not nearly as strict because the comp is in December.

koalathebear · September 2019

I've decided to stop 4kg short of my original goal. When I first started in January, I was 86.6kg. The heart foundation website BMI calculator(https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/know-your-risks/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator) told me that based on my height (5 feet), my healthy weight range was 41.6 - 56kg. As I had zero clue about anything, I just picked 50kg as a starting point for my initial goal weight.

As I approached goal though, I realised that 50kg was far too low for me and I have decided to stop at 54kg. I don't consider it being a quitter or giving up ... I just decided that 54kg was a healthier weight for me than dropping below that, which I think would have put me on the overly thin side of things given my body weight and shape. It's still within healthy range though albeit in the upper end of healthy.

It does reinforce to me though that there is nothing wrong with revising your goals. For instance, my current weight has put me into a size 8/10 for tops and 10/12 for trousers -which I'm more than happy with. I never had any aspirations of dropping to a size 6 etc but didn't realise how I'd look/feel until I got into the upper 50kg range.

Did anyone else decide the last few pounds just weren’t worth it?

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