Do you know when you're going to stop?

Options
LeCitron
LeCitron Posts: 71
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have lost just about 20 pounds so far. Compared to where i was when I started MFP I think I look pretty darn good. Yet lately I have been experiencing a thought process that goes something like this:

Down Ten Pounds: You look great! Awesome! Smoking!
A few days later: Now I just need to lose the baggage around my hips...

Down Fifteen Pounds: Holy-freaking-cannoli! Sweeeeeeeet!
A few days later: Now if only the bingo arms would go away...

Down Twenty Pounds: (Strike a Miss America pose) I feel just as good as I look, which is pretty darn good!
A few days later: Now the butt fat is next...

I'm guessing it will keep going like this. I *hope* not but I have the feeling it will. So my question for you, my MFPeeps, is do you know at what point you want to stop losing weight and start maintaining? Do you want to be one of those completely ripped people with absolute drool-worthy musculature or do you want to maintain curves? Are you going for Olympic athlete fit or just really healthy? And what are your reasons for aiming for that particular goal?

For me, I wanted to be a size six for-evah! Now, at a size eight (I started at a tight twelve), I keep pondering about a size four and even if it's healthy for my height! (5'6.5'-5'7"ish). I've also have a history with eating disorders (but that was about six years ago) so I don't want to go too bonkers with worrying about size, numbers, etc. I mean, I *know* it's not the number that counts (haha, numbers and counting) but how you feel. Yet I think everyone here knows that that is a hard reality to get used to when we've been conditioned to think only about the number (either on the scale or in the dressing room) for most of our lives.

Thoughts?

(Hm, I used a lot of parentheses here... :smile: )

Replies

  • aqua_zumba_fan
    aqua_zumba_fan Posts: 418
    Options
    Is that a UK or US size 4? Either way it's very small and if you've had an eating disorder before you need to be so careful. It sounds to me like you really don't need to lose any more and you feel pretty good about yourself. Don't end up making yourself ill!
  • Tattoos_and_Tea
    Tattoos_and_Tea Posts: 529 Member
    Options
    Ive had about 3 target weights so far. Im fast closing in on my 4th target (3lb to go) and I know I will still continue to lose. Like you say, you know its only a number, unfortunatley losing weight (or toning up depends on what you are currently trying to do) can be addictive.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    Options
    I am going for the cyborg look. I dont know how long it will take.
  • auctoritas
    auctoritas Posts: 204
    Options
    It's all good, I love using parentheses! :D

    As for weight, I've never been skinny, not since I hit puberty, and the lowest I've ever been after the age of 18 was 135. So that's my current goal. It's still a size 10 for me, about, since most of my fat is in my hips and butt. Once I reach that stage I'm going to reevaluate my goals, and probably end up shooting for a size 6 or 8. Really I don't care about being super skinny - my sister looks like a twig and it's not a look I want on myself (but they do say you can get addicted to weight loss, so we'll see). I just want the cellulite-y look my thighs have to go away, and I want to look passable in a bikini XD
  • Kaimana94
    Kaimana94 Posts: 165 Member
    Options
    A healthy BMI would be a good stopping point.
  • PrincessEliNa
    PrincessEliNa Posts: 524 Member
    Options
    I feel the same, I just want to be an ultra hot female, is that so wrong? LOL,

    Icurrently fit into size 4 jeans (US) but don't look hot in them, so I'm working on that- I don't want to get smaller than that though. I'm 5.5'
  • RonneyKay
    RonneyKay Posts: 464 Member
    Options
    I dont know how long it will take, I know I want to be a size 10/12ish.. When I am there, I will re-assess my situation and find out where I want to go. I'm hoping to be there by summer! honestly. I think I can do it, its just gonna take alot of work.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    Options
    we have like, EXACTLY the same stats - I'm 5'6" and started as a tight 12 (Well no, I was a 14-16 but I was somehow squeezing my way into a 12) and now I'm in a lose 10 heading for that 8. And I've always wanted to be a 6. So ok I'm a little bigger, but still.

    I know where you are at where you think "well heck I look pretty good now" and then one day you see something and think "Oh my GOD what is that" -- or the other day my boyfriend ran his hands down my back and we were near a mirror and I saw like, fat and skin MOVE udner his hand (like a roll of it) and I was like "OH MY GOD I'M GIGANTIC I HAVE TO STOP EATING FOREVER"

    Haha.

    But I do totally plan to stop around a 6. Lately I've been wondering if I might be able to get into a 4 - so when I'm a 6 I will reevaluate. I don't need to have total muscle definition but I'd like to not have obvious gooshy fat on my body. I'm shooting for 20% BF and that's my metric really, not pounds so much as body composition. At 20% I'll see how I feel - I think I'll be pretty happy honestly.
  • asyouseefit
    asyouseefit Posts: 1,265 Member
    Options
    That's why I started focusing on something else than numbers. I also have a history of eating disorders and I know how it's easy to set another goal, then another, then another. Reaching 125 lbs would be nice but what I want now is shaping up, even if it means staying at 130 lbs forever!
  • littlesis412
    littlesis412 Posts: 314 Member
    Options
    I agree. I've barely started with this and I've already moved my goal down once. As for being a size 4, since you're about my height I'd say it's unhealthy. That's the lowest I've ever been and I know it wasn't good. (I have big hips though so it might make a difference idk.) I'm currently a 10ish and working on 8 now. My goal is a 6 by the end so that I should be able to fit into most of my old clothes. But I know if I make it that far I'll probably want to go lower as well. I know my boyfriend will sabotage it at some point though because he loves my curves lol.
  • mugglesdontscareme
    mugglesdontscareme Posts: 3
    Options
    At 5'7", I graduated high school at 135lbs. (140ish is somewhere in the ideal weight neighborhood for that height), and I wore a size 10. I don't think pant size tells you much about your weight (as you mentioned, you're in an 8...that was my size as a freshman in high school). Now I'm in a 12/14 depending on style and fit. Personally, my goal is to reach that ideal weight, maintain a healthy diet and not worry about what size pants I'm wearing.

    The more appropriate question is: what was your goal when you started? That's the goal you decided you'd look and feel your best -- before you were ever there and as an "outsider". If you've reached your goal, then congratulations! You made it :) Start maintaining. It's easy to spot the places on your body you'd like to tone or whatever, but take a look at someone else with the same proportions as you and I'm sure you'll be surprised you look anything like that because of the previous mental image you had of yourself.
  • Ephena
    Ephena Posts: 615 Member
    Options
    As I lost weight I've adjusted my goal weight twice. Some of this is because I never thought I could make my initial goal weight, and while I haven't yet, I'm hoping to by years end. But once I got closer to my initial goal I knew it wasn't quite enough, and now that I'm 9lbs from my initial goal and 20 away from my adjusted goal I can't help but wonder if I need to go down another 10. But I made myself a promise to reach my adjusted goal before I re-adjust.

    The goal here on MFP is to be happy and healthy, check with a doctor is you're worried about becoming obsessed and returning to unhealthy past habits. I think a lot of people here have adjusted either up or down from their goals once they got into the healthy lifestyle.
  • crdav13
    crdav13 Posts: 53 Member
    Options
    I agree. I've barely started with this and I've already moved my goal down once. As for being a size 4, since you're about my height I'd say it's unhealthy. That's the lowest I've ever been and I know it wasn't good. (I have big hips though so it might make a difference idk.) I'm currently a 10ish and working on 8 now. My goal is a 6 by the end so that I should be able to fit into most of my old clothes. But I know if I make it that far I'll probably want to go lower as well. I know my boyfriend will sabotage it at some point though because he loves my curves lol.

    *I don't think being 5'7 and a size 4 is unhealthy (especially since I am 5'7 and can fit in sizes 0-4). I currently weigh about 138 and at my heaviest I was maybe 150. My doctor suggested that 130 is a good weight for my height and frame so that is what I am working towards again. Before anyone says that's to small I was probably around 115 and 130 majority of my life. Using size/weight is a difficult measure though because different body shapes and different stores allow people to fit in certain sizes. Just go with what you feel comfortable with. I know for me personally the 140's are not a weight I am comfortable at.

Categories