Quote:
Originally Posted by Rzrbackcandi
This is my first peak at this thread and can't wait to be a maintainer. Which according to the center would be in 26lbs but I think I want to lose about 50 more. Did you guys go by what the center said you should be your stopping weight or did you set your own goal and keep going?
Losing 50 more lbs would make me 5'9" and between 180-185. I just don't know what I'm going to look like. And if I get that close to 200 (center goal 205), I know I want to be out of the 200's and in ONEderland
Candi,
My center had my goal set at 190, but they also said that I could revisit that goal as I got closer (my "ideal" range, as they calculated it for me, was about 170-180). I think they set my goal at 190 for the simple reason that it seemed so much more attainable and do-able to me when I first signed up than if they had told me that my goal was 170. That, I think, was another of those little mind-sets that helped me stick with the program.
When I hit 197, I wanted to start stabilization because we were planning on 1)leaving town for 10 days for our belated honeymoon, and 2)starting to try to get pregnant. I couldn't be dieting while trying to get pregnant, so I started maintenance. I ended up losing 7 lbs during stabilization, and I started maintenance at 190. I will say, when I started stabilization, they asked me if I didn't want to stay on the plan and re-set my goal to 175 or so...but again, I wanted to try to get pregnant, so that wasn't what I wanted at the time.
They gave me the option of doing a 1500-calorie maintenance plan to maintain (my body calc actually came out at 1600 to maintain), or a 1300-calorie plan to continue to slowly lose. I said I wanted the 1500 plan... but I've honestly had a hard time eating that much purely because I"m paranoid about gaining. So, I've pretty much been sticking with about 1300 calories a day. Since I started maintenance (in July sometime), I have lost an additional 10lbs--without consciously trying to do it most of the time. Some weeks I stay the same, some weeks I gained 1/2 lb, some weeks I lost 1-2lbs. I'm learning what affects my body and causes me to gain, as well as what helps me lose the fastest in the least disruptive way (extra exercise, unfortunately, lol).
At this point, I'm happy either maintaining at 180 or losing 2-5 more pounds--it really doesn't matter to me either way (and I never thought I would say that!). I feel great, I'm physically fit, and I can still indulge and have treats occasionally. I feel NORMAL for once.
I'll probably plan on upping my daily calories to 1500 pretty soon, as I'm planning on adding another yoga class to my repertoire (my next goal is to eventually become a yoga instructor), and that will burn calories. Or, I might wait until after the holidays, so I can leave myself some "wiggle room" during that time.
I'm sorry this got so long, but I hope it helped answer your questions! You are looking fabulous, by the way!