My original goal was to get to 135lbs - the weight I was when I was about 19 and when I was very happy with my body. I'm now about a pound away, but have lowered my goal weight to 130lbs. The reason is that I am going on holiday in a month where I will be wearing a bikini for the first time ever (!!) and feel I could go down a few more pounds, so I thought I would go for 133lbs (exactly 9 and a half stone), but then thought, 133 is soooooo close to 130, why not just go for 130lbs? My worry is when/if I get to 130lbs, will I then think, why not 125lbs - that's a nice round number, and then why not 120lbs and so on. I just don't want to be one of those people constantly dissatisfied with their weight. It's like I'm playing mind games with myself - ugh
Anyone else feel this way?
Yes. I feel exactly that way. 130 is still a safe weight at your height, but when you get there (and I'm sure you will), I'd really check in with yourself about how you feel, mentally and physically. You might not be able to see or feel the difference, but that doesn't mean 125 will look or feel any different either. You might feel physically exhausted, even though you might feel mentally elated (at least for a little while). You know what I mean?
I've weighed less than I do now - around 120, but still wasn't satisfied with my body. I think that's why I'm having such a tough time staying on plan. I know deep down that mentally I'm not going to feel any better at a lower weight, so why push myself? But then, I also know physically, I do feel better at a lower weight. It's such a difficult mental battle. I've been seeing a therapist for about six months just to help me fight the negative self-talk and the body dysmorphia. Just be careful that you stay healthy and don't take it too far. Your self worth should never be based on a dress size.
I struggled with the same thing...set my original goal at 164 - got there and decided to go for 158 (to make it an even 40lbs). Then I started with the bargaining - why not go down to 155 and give myself a bigger buffer.
One day last week I looked in the mirror and realized that at 160lbs, I looked good. I also noticed that my boobs were disapperaing fast. So I made the decision right then and there to stop losing weight. I never ever wanted to be skinny, I just wanted to be fit and healthy and to look good in my clothes. I think I have achieved that and as such I made my decision.
If more weight comes off without me losing my boobs, good....but that is not my focus right now. I just want to maintain what I have lost and continue toning.
All in all...only you can make this decision. But be reminded...we do not wear our weight as a stamp on our foreheads.
Sometimes the thing to think about instead of getting slimmer is to start toning more to tighten things up if you still are feeling like you can "slim down."
I think being aware of this is a good thing because it'll help you avoid getting too low in weight.
I can understand. For me, photographs really do help me assess what I want for my body. I also remind myself there IS such a thing as being too thin. That being said, it certainly is a whole lot easier to gain weight if you are too thin, than it is to lose when you are too big.
As long as your goal stays above an underweight BMI, you're okay. But as someone else pointed out, once you get to your goal weight, try working on toning up what you have, and you might find that you don't need to lose more to feel more body confidence.
well my first actual goal was 135 bc i hadnt seen that in so long. i said at 135 ill be happy. Now i am 131.4 and wanna get to 125. MAYBE 120. it depends on where im happy with my body. when i am HAPPY i will stop. this is for me, no one else.
I'm totally there with you in the same boat. I have no honest idea where to stop, and it's driving me crazy. Toning is nice, but I don't think it provides the same rush as losing more. Guess I just need to get over myself. Hopefully you can sort out your goal, too, but it's nice to hear that I'm not alone.
Thought I would share some advice I was given on here about this subject not very long ago...wish I could remember the author to give them credit!
Rather than making my goal a specific weight...they suggested I get into the general range and then work with a maintenance calorie range that worked for my life and let that dictate the weight range.
I found it to be such sound advice.
Ended up with my height/frame/muscle tone that my goal weight is about 125, with a red line of ~128/9.
I gained some over xmas and felt totally icky (plus all my clothes stopped fitting), and am now working my way back to 125/8 (at 131 this am!)
Nice to meet someone so close to my height/weight btw
Thanks so much for all the advice guys! So nice to know other people feel the same as me. I will continue to work on toning and eat sensibly and try not to let the numbers on the scale rule me (but it's hard!).
I'm totally with you on that one! In the beginning I thought I'd be happy to just get down to 150. 150 came and I definitely wasnt happy so I lowered to 140, again not happy. I've finally reached goal (and dropped a little bit under) and I'm happy at this weight, but not with my body composition. Now I'm really focusing on working out. Before I was working out but mostly focusing on my eating. I'm hoping to drop a little more fat and tone up.
I completely have the same problem. My original goal weight was 140 and now that I've hit that I'm trying to get to 129. I just made a post about this in the Weight Loss Support section.
I love the way my body looks right now, but I feel like a couple more pounds will do the trick. I'm just nervous that I won't be able to stop this way of thinking.
I'm just nervous that I won't be able to stop this way of thinking.
Do you have someone in your life whom you trust a lot to be able to tell you when you might start to look too thin? Someone who isn't out to sabotage you, of course, but someone who actually has your health in mind?
When to stop??
