How do I know when to stop?

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bargmannr
bargmannr Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all! I started my weight loss journey with a general goal of losing 50 lbs. I had no idea what my body would look like once I got there. Well I have exceeded my goal by 3 lbs (whoo hoo!) but I'm not sure if I'm done. How do I know when I am at my ideal weight? I am in the healthy BMI and body fat range but I still have extra fat/pudginess around my tummy and inner and outer thighs. Is this more a toning issue than a weight loss issue? Or maybe that tummy will never go away from having two kids....wouldn't that be a bummer?! The only reason I ask is that the other day my mom first complimented me on how I'm looking and then commented that I should probably stop losing weight soon, but she was very supportive and encouraging of my weight loss the rest of the time. I guess this is a good dilemma to have. I'm also worried about adding on those extra calories to maintain my weight. I'm not used to eating that much anymore. Right now I still have my goal set at losing 1/2 lb per week. Thanks for your help!

Replies

  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    As long as you can be a good judge, keep going until you are happy with what you see in the mirror. HOWEVER, the way to become happier might not be weight loss. The next step might be some weight training and muscle building. It's up to you. But when you are close to your goal, you should keep your deficit small (like you have it now) and eat enough protien in order to prevent muscle loss.
  • bargmannr
    bargmannr Posts: 15
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    So when I am at my goal should I not change my intake to the maintenance level?
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    So when I am at my goal should I not change my intake to the maintenance level?

    It depends on if you are happy at your goal. If you are, sure yeah, go to maintenance. If you have a little extra fat that you want gone, keep it at a half pound a week.
  • susanswan
    susanswan Posts: 1,194 Member
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    This is my question, too. I am 54 so I am battling sagging, skin after a total loss of 66 pounds so far. I originally figured to aim for the middle of the BMI chart and I am currently at 22.7 there. I also realized I am 1/2" shorter (5'5 1/2" tall) than I thought so there is another 2 pounds after I reach my original goal of 135. I've been doing some weight training over the past 4 years (during weight loss) with dumbbells, so I need to up the strength training routine to help build muscle over all. I am bottom heavy so although I wear a 6 and am no longer pear shaped I feel very, very flabby all over. Not sure how much muscle I can build at my age, but I'll give it a shot! My main goal was to look better fully dressed and I got that for sure! Good luck and keep going pound by pound. I've lost inches even though my pound losses were small sometimes due to weight training. I know it works - just takes time and effort!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    If you don't feel comfortable eating all the way to maintenance yet, custom set your goals for somewhere in between. If you're at .5# a week, that's 250 calories below maintenance. You can manually adjust it to 100 or 150 calories more than what you're eating now for a few weeks and see how that goes.

    What I did when I reached my initial goal was keep my .5# a week calorie range, but ate whatever I wanted on weekends. But then I lost 4.5# in a month, but I was quite happy with the results of that 4.5#. After that, added another 100 calories and lost about 2# the next month. Then went back to the .5# range and lost another 4-ish for Halloween, then went on maintenance for real. Since then, I've been fluctuating a bit on the scale, but staying the same size and measurements.
  • OutiR
    OutiR Posts: 93 Member
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    Losing so many pounds will take a little while to your skin to "come after", it is normal. Without exercise it might never come complitely "tight" depending on your skin type and age.

    You had a reason to set that weight as your goal; was it a "feel good" weight before or just a civilized guess of what would be reasonable? Especially if the 1st is the case, I would start maintaining phase already.

    If you haven't used (too) much time to exercising, it might be a good option to add more of that while maintaining. Exercising transfers remaining body fat as muscles! Since same volume of fat takes bigger space under your skin, more muscles makes you look slimmer even if the scale would show the same. Having more muscles makes you also burn more calories even in rest so it would be very beneficiar to future weight management. And it's not a brainer to figure out is it overall healthier to have more muscles or more fat.
  • BeSkinnyBeStrong
    BeSkinnyBeStrong Posts: 33
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    I've been asking myself this question for about a month now. I started at 169.5lbs with a goal weight of 119. I'm at 142.5lbs now and I don't see myself losing another 20lbs without losing muscle mass. My trainer says I look 15-20lbs lighter since he last saw me a month ago (I don't always go to the same gym...) but I actually haven't lost a single lbs in the last month. I've tried eating less, eating more and it just won't budge. I'm somewhat satisfied with how my body looks now but I hate the number on the scale.

    I have no idea what to do.
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
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    You never stop.

    Sure, you may cease actually losing weight, but the instant you stop striving toward a goal, here comes all that weight right back on. Never stop!

    Maybe you can train for a half marathon or something. Or maybe transition from weight loss to body fat decreasing.

    Some people reach potential, maintain it by reaching out to others - only you can decide.

    Good Luck!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    That is a tough one and something I've been thinking about more lately since I'm within that 25 pounds of goal range. I'm trying to slowly decrease the deficit/increase calories and it does seem to be working for me so far. With that in mind, I'm hoping I can switch to maintenance once I get to my goal and then start working on toning up instead of losing.

    Another thing I plan on doing is getting my body fat % tested. I've been having it monitored by my best friend, who is an ACE certified personal trainer. She's got one of those handheld jobbies that pretty much works the same as the scales do that measure body fat %. Not 100% accurate but not way off either. Just found out there's one of those Bod Pods not too far away so I might check that out too.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    By the time I get close to hitting any goal, I've already started planning out how I'm going to transition to my new goal.

    You need to first think hard about what you really want. If you just want to maintain what you have, then just lose weight until you're happy with what you see in the mirror, then raise calories and continue to exercise. If you love running and want to improve endurance, work toward that goal, if you want to be stronger, work toward that goal.

    My point here is simply that I wasted some time early on trying to do a bit of everything because I wasn't really sure what I wanted. Make sure you know where you want to go so you can take the best path.

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