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

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.

76Crane76 · September 2019

I'm about 3 lbs from my goal weight and body doesn't want to budge...145 or 148 either one...I'm fine where I am...my body is strong and healthy no need to push it.

ElizabethKalmbach · October 2019

Yeah, I've gotten down to 130 a number of times over the years and I kind of blanch when I look at pictures of myself at that weight. I look like a stick. I've gotten so much more comfortable with a weight lifter's physique on myself after leaving the ballet that I don't think I'll ever purposefully go down to 130's again. I very much prefer the aesthetic of maintaining the muscle mass to be 20-23% body fat at 145.

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

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