When you set your goal weight and allowed a 5 lb. limit to fluctuate a little was the 5 lbs. above or below your goal weight. I know this sounds dumb, but I am a little confused. I set my goal at 145 and feel like I'm over-weight if I see 146. I am trying to maintain at 140-145 instead of 145-150. So should my goal have been 140? Sorry for asking a dumb question. I know it shouldn't make much difference, but I just don't want to feel like I am above my goal. I haven't seen 140, but have been fluctuating at 141-143.
There's no such thing as a dumb question, right? Don't ever apologize for asking about something that's on your mind - that's what we're here for - and probably someone else has wondered about it too.
The way *I* use the five pound rule is five pounds above my goal weight ... so if goal is 135, my comfortable range is 135 - 140 (unfortunately, I never have a problem with fluctuating below my goal weight! )
But you know, this is all entirely personal - what your goal is and how you choose to live with it. I know it's really scary at first because we're all so afraid of gaining the weight back and we want to nip any regain in the bud (and that's a GOOD thing!) The purpose of a five pound range is to give you a little room for the normal fluctuations in your weight due to water, hormones, sodium, etc.
So my suggestion is to figure out what your new 'normal' weight is, and then give yourself five pounds above that as your maintenance range. If it's, say 142 - then your range could be 142 - 147. But in the end, it's whatever you want it to be and works for you.
I feel "overweight" if I see the scale hit 131. During the month, my weight varies anywhere from 125 to 130 (only seen the dreaded 131 one time). Really, I have no "low" goal, I only have a maximum "warning zone." If I weigh 130 and it's not the week of my period, I watch calories very closely for a week and I usually weigh in at 127-128 the next weigh-in. Anything under 130 is a-okay with me. My goal is to stay under 130. It sounds like your goal is to stay 145 and under.
Thanks for the responses. I don't really have a low maximum, except maybe 135, which I seriously don't think will ever happen. I think I'll just stick with anything 145 or below is great with me. I just wasn't sure how you others looked at it . I freak if I see above the 145, I am just new to this and so scared of gaining.
Lilybelle, I think you and I reached our goal at around the same time, and I am playing around with those numbers as well. My goal was 130, so I just work at keeping my weigh ins under that, so I am now hovering around 127-128, which feels great. I agree with all the feedback you got, I am taking that advice as well. You're doing great, maintenance is hard, and worth the effort.
I had an original goal, but it turned out to be a bit too heavy so I adjusted it downwards, but every time I did that I changed it to a 5lb range rather than a number, so the issue never really arose. At the moment it's 150 - 155, but if I find myself going lower I might change it again.
Yup, I adjusted downward too. The other thing Lily ... is that you're fairly new at your lowest weight. Your skin and things will still readjust. You'll probably assume a smaller shape without loosing very many pounds.
susanb, if you don't mind, how did your skin/body adjust over time? what did you really notice? how long did that take and when did you feel you were done adjusting to your new weight? Still relating to maintaining.....
To be honest amyn ... I'm not sure I'm there yet. I seem to struggle (like most) with staying where I felt best.
On a smaller body, one pound takes up quite a bit of space. ONe pound lost makes a real difference to my midrift.
Um ... it's almost like when I lose weight my birthday suit gets a bit baggy and then it kinda catches up.
Weight lifting makes a big difference too. Firmer, slimmer sort of thing.
And as for readjusting my goal??? When I got to 130 I just didn't like it. I still had soft areas that didn't fit into clothing like I wanted to look.
Have you done any reading in the stickies at the top of maintainers? There's lots of good info there about skin and what shrinks and what doesn't.
I had a really hard time with figuring out where I needed to be as I had never been a normal weight before. I found that I could be at 130 (my original goal) or lower only under extreme circumstances (being really busy or doing a lot of extra physical work), so it really wasn't maintainable. I went through about 5 or 6 months where I was 140 or higher and I was miserable. I'm now between 132 and 135 and am quite comfortable. I also don't flip out over smaller fluctuations (1-3 pounds) like I used to, as more often than not I naturally find my way back down. I consider 138 to be my "danger zone". It took me over a year and a half to figure this stuff out. I'm a grown woman now, so super skinny expectations aren't realistic (size 2- are you nuts?), my body fat is just under 16% and everything else is normal, so I can't complain.
I am FAAAAAAR from maintenance, but I was thinking about this just the other day. This is the first time I ever 'dieted' with any thought toward the maintenance at goal weight. Not that I wanted to gain the weight back before, I just thought of it as 'hurry and lose this weight so I can get back to life' kind of thing. Anyway...thanks for asking this question on the boards! I really admire all you maintainers and look forward to being in this area maybe sometime next year!
Thanks everyone for the input. I feel like my weight is shifting a little. I am staying around 141-143, with occasionally seeing the 145. I am not able to do my daily hour on the treadmill right now due to my injured ankle. It seems like my stick-like legs are a little bigger, but my waist is smaller. My jeans are now loose in the waist. I haven't done measurements in at least 4 or 5 months, but maybe I should.
bep, this is the first time that I ever lost weight with maintenance as a major concern. I didn't know any better before. I'd lose it all and gain it all back. Had I not found this board, I'd have probably done the same thing again. I try not to be too obsessive, but I still am. That scale showing the right weight and my clothes fitting well concern me greatly. I never want to let it get out of hand again. If I see a few lbs. come back on, I nip it in the bud. I cut back that week and take it immediately back off. I certainly don't starve myself, (lol) no problem with that ever happening. For me, it's a daily focus to eat the correct food and the correct amount of food. Many people just don't understand. They say, "you don't need to lose weight, why are you still eating like that". I say, if I ate the way I used to, I would be needing to lose weight again.
I have a silly question for the maintainers
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