[Eliana]

Right, I don't think there really are goal weights that are unattainable (within a healthy range of course). I know we can all attain them. But my goal is not to reach some magic number, it's to get down to a weight that is healthy for me and that I feel comfortable with visually. Reaching 135 just to say I reached it is totally meaningless to me. I'm starting to wonder if my 135 is unrealistic given that I'm already feeling pretty good about myself now. Of course, that's such a personal goal.

[nicolewoods1]

"I found that I can most comfortably maintain at 140. My body seems to like that number and I have accepted it. I don't think 130 is necessarily unattainable for me, but my goal weight just sort of "revealed itself" to me over time and it happened to be a different number than what I pulled out of my head at the start of the process."

I love love love love this!!! this is SOOO true and im sure as liberating as it gets! especially in our society where the media and everywhere you look says you have to be pencil thin or be this or that number to be sexy and beautiful! i have 2 daughters as well as 2 sons but i tell my daughters daily how beautiful they are. they are shaped completely differently and it is a struggle for them to want to "fit" in and i tell them a women that's a size 6 can be unhealthy unhappy sick and even die of a heart attack , then you can have a woman that's a size 12 that is healthy happy and with no ailments. its all about being healthy, and if you are eating foods that are good for your body and not eating when you are not hungry and moving your body,,playing exercising whatever, then you might be a size 10, and so an so might be a size 6!! you are different. we are all not the same! God made your body a certain way and that might be a different size and weight as your sister, mother, best friend, or so and so down the street! as long as you are healthy your weight will reflect that . its sad that i have to talk to my daughters about this while there kids, but i have a niece that i swear is underweight and weight is all she cares about and she is 13!!!!!! yeah no im not letting my girls down!! they are beautiful how God made them and i don't want them caught up in sizes. i just what them to be healthy and happy!! sorry bout the rant, but this is something very important to me and i just kinda got carried away there for a sec

[rockinrobin]

Originally Posted by Eliana

So, in your experience both with your own weight and through chatting with other maintainers, would say many of us choose unsustainable goals in the first place? Just curious...I sometimes wonder if it's unrealistic to maintain our long term goals.

I can only speak for myself.

If you are a daily weigh-er than you know there is no way to remain the same number day after day after day EVEN if you are on plan day after day after day. There ARE very normal fluctuations.

So I don't feel as if my *goal* weight (notice how I always place asterisks around it) is unsustainable necessarily, but I don't think that it is NECESSARY to sustain it. Hard to explain what I'm trying to get at. As long as I'm in a goal RANGE, that is good for me. Because again, staying that one singular number is impossible to do and I feel no need to try doing the impossible.

Which is why I finally took down the singular number on my stats to the left and put it at the 120's, because it changed so often. If it weren't for that little stat at the side, the *goal* number means not all that much to me. Again - it's the range I'm looking for.

Just curious...I sometimes wonder if it's unrealistic to maintain our long term goals.

I don't feel that if I'm 3 lbs over my *goal* weight, that I haven't maintained. So therefore, you betcha - I do think our long term goals ARE maintainable.

Not sure if I made much sense here... sorry, kinda hard to put it into words.

[junebug41]

Originally Posted by nicolewoods1

"I found that I can most comfortably maintain at 140. My body seems to like that number and I have accepted it. I don't think 130 is necessarily unattainable for me, but my goal weight just sort of "revealed itself" to me over time and it happened to be a different number than what I pulled out of my head at the start of the process."

I love love love love this!!! this is SOOO true and im sure as liberating as it gets! especially in our society where the media and everywhere you look says you have to be pencil thin or be this or that number to be sexy and beautiful! i have 2 daughters as well as 2 sons but i tell my daughters daily how beautiful they are. they are shaped completely differently and it is a struggle for them to want to "fit" in and i tell them a women that's a size 6 can be unhealthy unhappy sick and even die of a heart attack , then you can have a woman that's a size 12 that is healthy happy and with no ailments. its all about being healthy, and if you are eating foods that are good for your body and not eating when you are not hungry and moving your body,,playing exercising whatever, then you might be a size 10, and so an so might be a size 6!! you are different. we are all not the same! God made your body a certain way and that might be a different size and weight as your sister, mother, best friend, or so and so down the street! as long as you are healthy your weight will reflect that . its sad that i have to talk to my daughters about this while there kids, but i have a niece that i swear is underweight and weight is all she cares about and she is 13!!!!!! yeah no im not letting my girls down!! they are beautiful how God made them and i don't want them caught up in sizes. i just what them to be healthy and happy!! sorry bout the rant, but this is something very important to me and i just kinda got carried away there for a sec

That's great that you are being such a great example to them!

It was such a mind trip to get over. First, I had to realize that it wasn't a fail on my part to not maintain at that arbitrary number. The truth is, I look at pictures of myself over the years and where I'm smiling the brightest and felt the best was at 140. In this instance, it really was mind over matter.

[Cali Doll]

Thanks, you all! You're the best.

Robin, you really put it in perspective. Thank you for your thoughts!

[Glory87]

I hear you about the CheezIts, Wheat Thins are my version. I just can't eat them, ever. Because I never want 5 Wheat Thins, I want a box of Wheat Thins.

I absolutely love the apricot chicken at Olive Garden. I always order it with an extra side of veggies, then I eat one chicken breast and one serving of veggies and have a lovely healthy meal to take home. As long as I stay away from the wine and the bread, Olive Garden is on plan for me!