I am struggling with when I want to stop losing and start maintaining. Honestly when I started this way of life I did not plan for more than a day at a time. I never thought I would lose this much or last this long. I am really happy with my new way of life and the benefits it brings. I never want to stop running and I don't often have the urge to eat off plan.
My first goal that I never thought I would make, let alone make this fast was to get to 200. I thought I would be happy at 200. Well I am now 185! I got to 200 and said hey if I can make it this low why not try for a little lower. That is when I made my next goal of 135. I am not sure if this is a realistic goal for me.
I have gotten a lot of compliments on how great I look, which I admit I do love. One comment that I got from a person very close and important to me was that I was too skinny. Now I am 36 pounds from being a normal BMI for my height so there is no way I am too skinny. I am not sure if he said this to be nice and supportive or he was just being silly. His comment and the way I feel about myself makes me want to re-evaluate my goal. I am seeing myself now at 185 and I like what I see. I am not uber ecstatic about it but I am not down about it. This is the smallest I have been since freshman year of high school (6 years ago). I know I want to be a healthy BMI for at least once in my life but I do not want to lose all of my shape.
I am just lost at what to do. Has anyone else had this problem. All I can think is if I like the way I look now( most days anyways) why not stop and start to maintain? Or maybe just stop spending so much focus on it and let it come as it does? I don't know I am so lost. I have never gotten this far so I have never had this trouble. I think I may change my goal to be as healthy and fit a person I can be and not depend on the scale from her on out? Does any one else have different goals than a certain weight?
Go ahead and maintain for awhile. Don't stress over a decision right now.
Just be healthy, and enjoy life. You can choose to lose more later if you want to.
Hi and congratulations on your terrific success!! You must be so proud of yourself. I will tell you a little bit about my experiences and maybe it will help you too. In the past, I have lost and gained the same 60-70 lbs. at least 10 times in my life. Every time that I would get within 30 lbs. of my goal weight, undoubtedly someone would tell me that I was looking too thin and that I needed to stop losing.
I'm not sure why but each time that would happen, I would think "well, if that person thinks I look good enough, that's good enough for me". That would always set off a chain reaction for me to slip back into my old ways of eating and quickly put back on all of the weight I had lost.
What I am doing differently this time is to set my goal and stick with it for the long haul. I know what I should look like and I know that I need to persevere regardless of what someone else says.
I know how intoxicating remarks from friends and acquaintances can be. I just hope that you don't allow the remarks to veer you from your ultimate goal. The final decision is no one's but your own. Only you know what weight is right for you. 185 may be just right for you. If it is....great! But, like the other poster said, if you just aren't sure at this point, take a little break and just maintain for a while and revisit the question in a few weeks or months after you've had more time to really think about.
Whatever you decide, I wish you continued success. You have done great so far.
I recently re-evaluated my goal (it was originally 150) for the same reasons you mention. I really feel great. I look wonderful in my new clothes. How much more do I really want to lose? And, more importantly, how low do I want to go knowing that the next job is maintaining that weight?
So, I increased my goal to 170, which is not quite down to what the height/weight charts call a healthy BMI. And I've already started to shift my focus from losing pounds to gaining muscle. The common wisdom is that the charts are just wrong for muscular people, so I'm making it my goal to be healthy by way of being muscular.
So, your idea of focusing on good health and let the weight take care of itself seems like a good one to me.
Just my opinion, but I wouldn't stop while my bmi is still in the obese category. Maybe 135 isn't really something you're interested in, but you aren't going to lose your curves at 155-160. Not sure how old you are, but an extra 40 pounds in your 20's or 30's doesn't present the same problems that it does when you are older. It's a lot easier to deal with the pounds now than when a doctor is telling the 50 year old you that he's worried about diabetes.
If I had listened to every person who told me I was getting too skinny, I'd still weigh 210 pounds. That's about the time that people freaked out. People have a perception of you and when you move to change it, they aren't comfortable. Compliments are nice, but not when they're given in a way that keeps you from reaching a perfectly reasonable goal.
There is no "end date" or "due date" with weight loss. You can decide what your goals are and when and how you want to acheive them. That being said, you can take breaks along the way, adjust your goals based on your progress, play with the numbers. It's all you! If you feel good now, then maintaining might be a good idea. I always take health into consideration, as well, so if you feel that your body is at a healthy weight too, then that's important.
Someone told me the other day that I was looking "too thin" but I honestly don't think that's the case or even close to it. I still have a lot of fat and I'm still in a size 10 jeans. I try to keep in mind that whether they know it or not, people are generally comparing to me to before and that has an impact on how they view me now.
When to say when?
