[lola06]

Hello Ladies, I haven't posted in ages but I've been reading and checking in here and there. Here's my situation: I was overweight since middle school and this is the first time I've lost a large amount of weight and managed to keep it off for any amount of time. I weighed over 200lbs probably since I was a sophomore in high school. Right now my weight has leveled out a 171lbs ( I need to change my ticker) and it's been there for the past 4 months. Part of me is so ecstatic that I weigh less now then I did in middle school, but as a result of that thinking I'm not pushing myself to reach the original goal I originally set for myself. I've allowed myself to get comfortable at a size 12 and I've figured out just how much healthy eating and exercise I need to do to maintain at this size while still eating a lot of the old foods I used to eat.

But this week I've noticed my pants are starting to get a little tigther in the thigh area (the first place I always gain weight). Part of it is PMS and part of it is just not making the healthiest choices. I'm just not sure what to do, I know in order not to go back I need to stick to daily exercise, cooking, and eating healthy. My biggest food challenge was eating out and I'm starting to eat out more and I know that's just not good for me. I feel stuck in the middle because although according to many standards I have a lot more weight to lose, I'm feeling fine, but at the same time I know I could lose more if I really pushed myself.

Has anyone been in this place? If so, what did you do? Did you stay where you were or push yourself to lose more weight? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Lola

[nelie]

I've been in your situation many many times. I think you may just need to find a new motivation for weight loss and reassess your goals. One thing you may want to do is try maintaining for a while to give yourself some practice then start pushing to lower the weight at a later date.

[fiberlover]

Yes, I have been there. You might need to just shake things up a bit. After a large loss, and when you are feeling like a normal person - you tend to get lax.

This is the most critical time right now for you. You are on the cusp of a relapse, and you can either nip it in the bud, or keep going down the same path.
Start making some plans, and write them down. Start with a few changes, such as a new exercise routine, or possibly planning meals for the week so that you won't be tempted to go out. Cut down on the dining out. Reading blogs of people who have lost and kept off a lot of weight also helps keep me going.

[kissingginger]

Hi,

While I don't really feel qualified to help (since I've not actually been there) but here's my take on it.

Maybe your body is happy to be at 170 and life is good. If you feel good about that, why go further?

I'm about 260's now, where you started. And 170 is looking REAL good - I think I would proud and quite content to stay at 170 - now god knows, i might feel this way now, but maybe not when I'm 170. I was 210 when I was married. I felt okay at that weight. I remember feeling really good (and I was quite active) at 190. So to be 170 would be like a dream for me. To try to get smaller --for me--might be counter-productive.

I think only you can know if this is a relapse, or if you are quite happy to stay at 170. If you don't look in the mirror and LOVE what you see, maybe you need to reassess your goals and decide you want to work harder, eat better to feel even better.

Do you feel disappointed that you haven't reached the goal you set for yourself? Maybe in the big picture it's just not realistic for your life and your goals. Maybe it's exactly where you want to be headed. Only you know for sure.

Not everyone is destined for a perfect size 6 or whatever "perfect" is. There is nothing wrong with being happy at 170 if that's what you choose.

Does that make sense?
Cheers, Ginger