I whooshed right into maintenance this morning and for the first time in a long time I am at a normal BMI! But I am just barely there. My plan is to go down to 158 which would give me a total loss of 40lbs.

However I am struggling with whether or not I should stop there.....or if I should go to 155lbs. To be honest, I love how my body looks now and I think it is time to start focusing on toning now. But I am wondering about my maintenance range - should it be 158 - 163 or 155-160?

Help please!

I just passed three years at maintenance. I did lower my goal after I reached maintenace, not a lot , only 5 pounds lower. I didn't think I could actually maintain that lower goal, but I did. It all depends on how you feel , you could go lower and if that is hard to maintain you might raise it a few pounds. It all takes a bit of experimenting. Congratulatioms on reaching goal !!

Gosh, it just seems like everybody who reaches goal then thinks they ought to go lower. I don't know what that's about... Kind of like how Brett Favre can't stop playing football?

Do what you want to do, I guess. I don't think your ranges are that much different that you need to stress over it. A full moon on your period could put you out of your range, no matter what it is...

Jay

It's sad isn't it? We are never satisfied with our selves.

Start toning and see what your body does.

I agree, once you start toning, your body will look better at the same weight, as muscle weighs more than fat. Congratulations on losing! You are my same height and we have the same start and goal weights, so I am hopeful I'll be there one day soon.

TBH, I can't really say without seeing a pic! Some people at your height/weight are ideal, while others are not.

My suggestion (in lieu of posting pics), would be to do the "pinch" test. If you can pinch more than an "inch" than you have some fat to burn! Maybe a few lbs more wouldn't hurt.

However which way you decide CONGRATS of meeting your GOAL!!!

*EDIT* - Oh and definitely do strength training...it will sculpt out a nice body!

Congratulations on reaching goal!!

As for your questions, I think if you look and feel great, why go lower? Personally, I love eating, so I've always maintained at the highish end of my healthy range. Have in mind that if you weigh a lot less, you'll have to eat a lot less to maintain!

That said, I do understand the wish to know what it would be like to be a little skinnier. So like a previous poster said, experiment. If you feel it's not worth it, you can always regain a little. Or you might love being skinnier and realize it's worth the effort to maintain. This is all so personal.

If you'd like to weigh a certain amount, let's say 158, you might want to diet down a few pounds under that BEFORE you start to maintain because you will put on a few pounds of water and weight (in your gut, not fat) when you begin adding in some more food for maintenance.

So drop down to 155 , start maintaining, and see if your weight can then stay under 158.

Does that make sense?

I have made my decision....158 and no more. I am a sexy woman....and I want to keep it that way. I will not be pressured by society to go any lower. 40lbs is a lot of weight and once I get there I am going to keep it off.

Well done on reaching your goal!
I'm in the same boat as you. My original goal was 145, just taking me into a healthy BMI, but once I got there I realised that I wanted to go lower. I've re-adjusted my goal a couple of times so far but think eventually I'm going to aim for about 132lbs if I can get there.
After losing so much weight I have a lot of loose skin, so not the perfect body I was hoping for, but I'm doing strength training along with my cardio workouts and determined to make my body the best it can be after abusing it for so many years with food.
For me, deciding on a goal weight seems to have turned more into what I want my red line weight to be before I will go back into loss mode, and I think that's going to be 137lbs.

Congrats on reaching goal and for making a great decision about your final weight!

We're the same height and our goals are similar. I reached my original goal (160 lbs) and then I stressed and ate my way into a 10 pound gain this summer. I'm back down to my original goal but I've decided I need a bigger buffer; hence, I've made my new goal 155 lbs.

Like you, I love my 5'8" frame from 160 to about 163 lbs...but, I'm too prone to spikes right now. I need more of a buffer for myself.

155 here I come!