Hi all! I have at most 35 pounds left to lose. I want to be within normal BMI limits first (knowing full well that's an arbitrary thing, as BMI doesn't apply to everyone), hence my first goal of 153. I would be thrilled with anything below 140, but would (at this point) like to try to maintain 133-138. My question is, when should I begin maintenance calories? Should I start at the high end of my desired weight range, at 138? Or should I even start a little sooner (in the low 140s, for example)? I've seen a lot of people say that they continued to drop without trying when they began maintenance. What worked for you?

I think it will be individual.

Maintenance chose me, in a way. I plateaued at 140, no amount of increased activity/carefully monitored calories would budge the scale. After 3 months, I realized that I wasn't losing but I wasn't gaining either - the first time in my life I had ever maintained a weight loss for longer than a week.

I figured I was at maintenance and started increasing my calories. I did it slowly because it was nerve wracking. I ended up, very gradually, moving up to 1800 calories a day + a weekly treat meal.

And...I lost 10 more pounds eating that way. My weight loss stabilized around 130 which I maintained pretty easily for several years (it's been a 5lb struggle ever since then, though).

I didn't weigh myself throughout my weight-loss phase (June - Oct), but in Oct. I decided I looked the way I wanted to look, so I just increased my calories to the arbitrary goal weight I had chosen (145); I used www.freedieting.org for suggested calories count. When I did that, though, I started dropping weight. Within a few weeks, I could definitely tell I had lost weight because my clothes were loser. I finally weighed myself after Thanksgiving and had surpassed my goal weight. I've been playing around w/ maintenance calories since then. I continued to lose for a few weeks. (I'll weigh myself again in a couple of weeks to see how it's going).

I think it is common, though, for people to lose a few lbs. when they transition to maintenance, so if you transition to maintenance at your high goal weight, you may still continue losing anyway.

Why not just figure out what you think are the calories for your goal weight and start eating at that level?

I disagree about BMI. BMI does apply to everyone , it is a fact of life, it is a general indication of body fatness. The higher the BMI the higher the health risks.
I lowered my goal weight as I lost, my first goal weight was at the top of a healthy weight ,I stayed there for a while as I didn't have the confidence to think I could ever be at a lower weight. I lowered it a couple of times until I got where I am now. BUT I do have to be aware that I could gain it all back plus more if I don't stay aware of what mindless overeating will do. I still plan my meals, still count calories, still keep a food diary. This is not as much of a chore as it would be if I regain and have to start all over.

I started transitioning when I hit a healthy BMI and continued losing for the next month or so. I think it's more common to continue to lose if you stop earlier. I'm maintaining now between 4 and 8 lbs below the healthy BMI mark.

I had 3 goals. First one of 160#, WW lifetime goal weight, healthy BMI. Second, super secret, not really possible because I am too old of 145#. Lastly, I have settled around a lower weight than in college of 125#. I low cal/low carbed, with moderate low impact exercising, and a wide variety of outdoor activities. I never, ever counted burn calories. It was bonus when, or if it occurred. I knew one common point of gaining the weight back is when one cannot continue exercise (such as surgery/medical problems). I wanted to know my minimum levels. There have been many times during the past 21 months when I have not been able to exercise but have maintained fine.

The past 2 months, I have been experimenting with JUDDD and IF as a part of my maintanence routine. I have enjoyed this woe so far.

I will give you Winnie the Pooh advice (one I try and remember to do too), "Think, think, think" in regards to what to do after weight loss phase.

Thanks for the advice everyone. lin43, I'm losing at a very nice rate now, so I don't want to change anything yet. I have only 15 pounds to go to get to my first goal, which is one pound into normal BMI territory. I just wanted to see what everyone's individual experiences were with continued loss after beginning maintenance.
bargoo, what I meant was that BMI works on a bell curve. It doesn't work when considering lean muscle mass per se. I know several professional athletes are considered obese when using BMI as the only measure of health. Body fat percentage and other factors should be combined with BMI to determine health, IMO. However, obviously I'm not a professional athlete, and I don't want to stop at the top of my healthy BMI range. My goal is to be exactly in the middle, but we'll see what my body is happy with--it may be a few pounds more or less than the middle of the BMI scale. As long as I'm near that range, I'll be happy with the number on the scale and just continue to improve my physical fitness.
I admire all of your success so much! I'll probably start eating at maintenance around 138-142 pounds, so I'll be joining you then. Thanks again, everyone!