Do you still have a "dream weight?" or did you reach it?
Since begining my journey 140 was always THE goal. I weighed 140 in high school so that's the thinnest I know. I'm also 5'-6" and muscular so 140 looks pretty good on me. But somewhere along the line 128 lbs popped in my head as this arbitrary dream weight. It's probably 128 because that's an even 140 lbs lost (I'm a little OCD that way), so basically the dream weight is just somewhere in the 120s. I have to say though that this "dream weight" is probably completely meida and society induced. Even here when I look at many girl's goals at 5'6" the 120s is often the range.
Anyway, my point is that did you go for your "dream goal" or just a goal at which you knew you'd be comfortable and you knew it'd be sustainable. I know this kinda goes along the lines of we're never satisfied and when is enough enough, but I'm just kinda wondering to myself if I should just go for it to see what it feels like and so I can quit wondering what my "dream goal" would be like. I'm a little hesitant though because I think it'd be a lot of work to get there and I'd likely look too thin and it would probably take less cals then I'm willing to sustain at to maintain.
I exceeded my dream weight beyond my wildest dreams. Oh sometimes I toy with the idea of getting down to 133 because like you, an even 200 sounds cool, but seriously, I was just hoping to get under 200 when I started this job.
A couple of days ago my son was playing with my camera and snapped my latest avatar picture when I was making some tea...I weigh 140 in this picture and I think I look "skinny" so for today 133 is just a number. I like 140 just fine.
My lowest weight I EVER remember being is 167. I got there and just decided to keep going. I like 150 now, and 5'11" I feel pretty skinny. I want 135, but I know it's only because my mother weighs 140, and I've always wanted to weigh less than her. I think she'd have a fit though.
150 just seems to sit well with me. I wear a size 6 and that's AWESOME, and so for now 135 is just a silly number...
I'm not in maintaining yet, but I thought this was a cool topic.
When I started at 274, I set my (current) goal weight at 137. One, because I remember being in the 130's in high school (when I *thought* I was fat, lol) and two, because it's exactly half the weight I started at!
I haven't been a healthy weight since my early 20's, so I have no idea how 137 would look on me now that I'm in my late 30's. My *realistic* goal is somewhere under 155 (a healthy BMI) but I guess I will re-evaluate as I get closer. Still, I would be stoked to maintain between 135-140. Even though I'm over halfway to goal and actually weigh 1xx now (yay! still haven't quite gotten used to that idea), it still seems like a dream.
When I first started this journey I set my goal as 145lbs which would get me just into the healthy BMI range, but never really believed I could get there.
Late teens and early twenties I remember maintaining my weight at 140-150lbs so thought this would work well.
However once I knew I was going to actually get to this number the dream number of 137lbs appeared in my head, which would make me lower than I ever remember being in my adult life, AND meaning I'd lost half my original body weight.
I hit that number last week for the first time although I've been bouncing about half a pound above it since, and it does feel good. Thing is, now I'm dreaming of making 137lbs my red line so I never weigh more than half my original weight again, BUT, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get any lower. Ideally I'd love to get to 132lbs, and make 137lbs my red line, and I'd be ecstatic to maintain there, but we'll see how it goes I guess, right now I'm just fighting to see 137lbs on a steady basis...
At one time, my eating-disordered brain was absolutely mesmerized by the idea of being 100 pounds, because that was such a beautiful, rounded number.
For no rational reason: Nothing within my past experience, no sense of what different weights looked like on a body like mine, no sense of what kind of intake & exercise I'd have to do to maintain it. No, nothing like that. Magical thinking. Just a random fixation on double zeroes. Might even have been because it's a perfect test score. Or because flashing a $100 bill seemed like the epitome of big spending.
I got as low as 107 in my quest & went crazy, lost my period for over a year, started getting called into my supervisor's office for long heart-to-hearts, had friends take me aside with concerned voices.
Which is why, when I set out to lose weight again, for a second time, I did not pick a goal weight other than within the healthy BMI range. Because I don't trust my tendency toward magical thinking. Because one sign of my disorder was that I kept revising the weight downward till I hit that double goose-egg number.
No particular number is ever going to put to rest all the worries & fears & self-doubt that I'm occasionally prey to.
I'm still thinking stuff more like body composition & athletic goals. And there are a lot of things I **don't** want, as well. There are things I just won't do. If I lose my period again, I'd prefer it be from menopause. I don't want to exercise any hours more than I'd currently doing; I'm not willing to clock in more. I may change what I do, but I'm not doing it for any longer amount of time. Stuff like that. Putting ceilings on things. That's more my style with numbers lately.
Another 5'6" girl here. I set 135 as my goal because it was in the middle of the BMI scale for my height. 10 years ago I got down to 139 and I, like loribell, thought I looked skinny and that was a good weight for me. Unfortunately, I never worked at maintaining it at all, so I can't tell you how that would've gone.
I am sure that you are younger than I am. I am 47 now and even though I have flirted with the idea of 125 (my high school weight), I know it would make me look haggard and sickly. I eventually chose 135 b/c it was exactly 100 lbs. lost for me. A little OCD here too.
However, I don't doubt that when I reach 140/145, hopefully in a few months, that I will decide to stop and maintain. At 161 people tell me daily that I look too thin and that I need to stop. I don't really listen to them, but I know what they mean. I have lost my boobs and facial fat and on a nearing 50 woman, it isn't so great.
Only you can decide what number will be best for you. If getting to the lower number is really something you want to go for, I say do it. You may see that you love how you look and can maintain it easier than you previously thought. Or, you may get there and think you're too thin or it's impossible to maintain. Good luck whatever you choose. You've done an absolutely amazing job! Don't ever lose sight of that wonderful accomplishment.
I've thought several times about entering maintenance, but one of the reasons I haven't officially (by which I mean, in my own head ) entered maintenance yet is because I really want to get to 120.
My initial goal was 140, which was above normal BMI but when started, I actually never thought I'd get there. Then I lowered it to 135, which is normal BMI. But along the way I decided I wanted to get to the middle of the normal BMI for my height, which is 120.
I don't know if I'll make it. My weight loss has slowed down some, and I'm not willing to do anything nuts to get there. But, by the same token, I'm not willing to stop doing what's been working until I've given it my best shot.
130 lbs. That was the former weight and later it became the dream. But it's not my dream anymore. I feel really good at 140 and great at 135. So a more reasonable goal it is now! Guess I should change my driver's license from 130 and seal the deal
Dream weight (ie, not really gonna get there) would be 175, since I did weigh 176 in college during my last semester. However ... I was also very active. Biking to school, as well as taking swimming and track that season. (I could not float!! There was not enough fat to help me out, haha!)
I could get away with that as a gangly 22 year old, but I don't think it'd be appropriate in my 40s.
My dream weight is 100 lbs. It wouldn't look too skinny on me because I have such small bones, but I would have to give up my love of gourmet all you can eat buffets and huge meals - and nothing is worth that.
Realistically, I can't really set any "realistic dream weight" goals until I get things under control and hit 120.
You always start such interesting threads! My dream weight was 155. I never ever ever thought I would come close to that.. EVER. I started stabilizing at around 160 and didn't stop losing until about 149-150. I've tried to gain back up to the 155, but my body seems to be happy and stuck at 151. I'm in shock and thrilled. The only bad part is that my teenage daughter is always sneaking around in my closet. I would be irritated if I weren't so flattered.
At one time, my eating-disordered brain was absolutely mesmerized by the idea of being 100 pounds, because that was such a beautiful, rounded number.
For no rational reason: Nothing within my past experience, no sense of what different weights looked like on a body like mine, no sense of what kind of intake & exercise I'd have to do to maintain it. No, nothing like that. Magical thinking. Just a random fixation on double zeroes. Might even have been because it's a perfect test score. Or because flashing a $100 bill seemed like the epitome of big spending.
I got as low as 107 in my quest & went crazy, lost my period for over a year, started getting called into my supervisor's office for long heart-to-hearts, had friends take me aside with concerned voices.
Which is why, when I set out to lose weight again, for a second time, I did not pick a goal weight other than within the healthy BMI range. Because I don't trust my tendency toward magical thinking. Because one sign of my disorder was that I kept revising the weight downward till I hit that double goose-egg number.
No particular number is ever going to put to rest all the worries & fears & self-doubt that I'm occasionally prey to.
I'm still thinking stuff more like body composition & athletic goals. And there are a lot of things I **don't** want, as well. There are things I just won't do. If I lose my period again, I'd prefer it be from menopause. I don't want to exercise any hours more than I'd currently doing; I'm not willing to clock in more. I may change what I do, but I'm not doing it for any longer amount of time. Stuff like that. Putting ceilings on things. That's more my style with numbers lately.
I am thankful for your insight and for you sharing your experiences. You're a gem and a gift for us.
My dream weight is 145; my body is pretty comfortable at the lower range of 150 but now I am just focusing on toning but I might aim for 5 more pounds in the long run and not keep that as my focus but more on health and fitness.It's just so easy to get caught up in numbers..
Do you still have a "dream weight?" or did you reach it?
