[carter]

Two thoughts:

(1) I never chose a goal weight and even though I am now quite "close" in some sense, I still haven't chosen one. I just wouldn't know how. I had no idea what I'd look like at this weight, and I don't know if I can realistically get to 160 or 155 or 150 within the limits of what I can and am willing to do. I see other women have just as little an idea of this as I do, yet they put a lot of thought into choosing a goal weight, and repeatedly put thought into whether they should change it.

I have decided to just bypass all that thought and not bother choosing a goal weight. I strongly recommend this approach. You will know when you get there, whether you choose an arbitrary number now or not. Save yourself the agonizing over the number, and just use your results to decide when to declare yourself at goal. I am surprised that more people haven't adopted this approach - everyone always wants to pick a number.

(2) I love my new body and think I look hella awesome even though, like you, I still have some fat and a little bit of flabby skin. Having said that, I would not be jazzed to look at myself in a workout bra and shorts. In fact that would be the worst, least flattering way to look at myself, I think, showing off all those problem areas that come from being a 40-year-old, formerly obese woman. I don't think that you should judge whether you are "done" based upon how you look in those conditions - realistically, you may never get the body you are dreaming of if you judge it that way. Gauge how you look in street clothes that fit you properly, and use that to decide - and in the meantime, accept that some sagging, some wrinkling, some droopy skin is part of life as a mature person. You just can't expect to look like a swimsuit model. Heck, even swimsuit models don't look like swimsuit models without much retouching ...