Hi all,

For the most part I am really pleased with how much weight I have lost over the past year. When I started out I just kind of wanted to lose the weight and didn't worry too much about being "skinny fat" or still having a higher body fat percentage because I just wanted the weight off. Now that I'm very close to my goal, I'm a little disappointed in how my body turned out. Sure I am a size 6/8 and that is awesome (I always said I wanted to be a size 6) but I feel like I have so much fat on me, despite exercising - I realize this is because I mostly did cardio during my weight loss journey to help shed the pounds. I'm currently incorporating vigorous strength training twice a week, plus 3 days of running to help shed the excess body fat.

Anyway, has anyone else gotten close or to goal and felt disappointed in how you look? I think a part of it is perception... like the "when do I stop feeling fat?" thread, I still view myself as FAT sometimes... ok, maybe half the time. But also, now that I am to goal I realize I had/have a very different idea of what I want my ideal body shape to look like. I still have the same body shape, just 70 lbs lighter. I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but gosh would I like something more toned, ya know??

Anyway, my goal now is to of course lose the final 10 lbs but also work on shaping my body and getting rid of some of this excess body fat. But in the meantime, I feel like my excitement of reaching goal has been put on hold because yay, I'm here but I don't like the way I look. Does that make any sense? Can anyone relate??

The last ten pounds make a big difference. That, combined with strengthening, I think will make a big difference.

i absolutely understand!!! i went from 320 to the 180ish i am at now... plus ups and downs and two pregnancies in between (over 500 lbs up and down if you add it all up). I am now 180ish lbs and have a personal trainer so i am quite toned. (not just cardio, tons of weight stuff too)... having said that: i have lots of excess skin, i am droopy in places 80 yr olds arent this droopy... and i am single now so i am trying to date and not have guys notice the excess skin...

one thing i have noticed is that, in the last 8 months of maintenance, my skin is reacting a bit and i am getting used to being a size 10 instead of a size 26, it is just taking a while to really accept it and not see myself as that fat girl anymore!

give it time, work on the strength/toning for sure and give it more time... it took me nearly 20 yrs to get this fat and then thin, so i doubt it will take me less than a year to really realise what has happened!

I was pretty stressed when I reached goal, because I still had what I saw as a hugely poking out tummy. I didn't take my 'after' pics for six months after reaching goal. During that six months I ramped up my strength training and HIIT and actually lost about 9 more pounds, three inches on my waist and 10 inches on my lower abdomen measurement. I've increased in weight in the last few months but the measurements have stayed the same. I chalk all of that up to the weight training.

So, like Julie said - the last ten pounds and strength training make a huge difference.

And I totally felt like my excitement was kind of put on hold, too. I know exactly what you mean. I am pretty excited now though, even when I panic at the extra weight. I think I'm where I'm going to stay, measurements have been constant for about three months for the most part.