*Cue Whitney Houston song*

I feel like I'm getting close to goal and maintenance, but how will I know!?!?!?!?

I kind of feel like I will just try and keep losing and never be happy until I'm back to my birth weight.

I thought I'd be happy when I got into a size 6, but that happened at a higher weight than I anticipated, thanks to vanity sizing I'm guessing. So I've kept my 135 goal as my ultimate goal, but I look in the mirror naked and feel like 9 more pounds ain't guna do it. I was thinking about making my goal a size 2, because my 6s are already getting a little looser, and the sizes seem to fly by now. But a size 2? That seems totally impossible!

I'm frustrated because I don't have many clothes that fit, and even shopping at thrift stores I've spent a crap ton of money the last 9 months going from a size 20 to a size 6, and I just don't want to spend anymore until I get to goal. The underwear and bra situation is just ridiculous, pants fit at this point for a month at most until they are almost unwearable (I know, not a really terrible problem to have when I really think about it), but I hate feeling sloppy all the time.

How did/will you know when you got to goal?

Well I'm definitely not at goal, but I'm pretty sure I'll know when I get there. When I go running, I have this image of my future self, or "movie" self. That image doesn't change. I don't know what weight or size it equates to. But I've sort of mentally designed myself to be smooth and muscular. I want to be fit and strong. I want to be able to run an entire 5k without walking. I want to be able to do dumbbell push ups. I'm sure I'll have other goals along the way, but when I am proportional, fit, smooth and strong I will have reached my goal.

*Cue Michael Jackson Beat it*

How come you're always such a funny woman
Don't want be fat, don't want to look like a man
Well, don't you know that other folks can't stick to their plan
So zip it, just zip it

Don't want to argue, I don't want to debate
The "problem" that you have others would gladly trade
You won't get no sympathy but you're really looking great
So zip it.

Sorry that was the best I could come up with on short notice. I realize "zip it" sounds a little mean and obviously trade doesn't perfectly fit with debate or great. Just trying to be funny and fit the theme ...

The answer to your question is when you're obessing about your next meal and always hungry is when you'll know you've at goal or dang close.

And you know better than most than 9 lbs makes a HUGE difference when you're dealing with vanity lbs.

Bahahahaha, point taken. You're right.

Maybe you should concentrate on fitness. Forget the scale and work on tonning up your body. No diet will change your body like doing weights. Try that and see how it works for you!


Congrats on the loss

What's your BF%? I think that's what I'd go by. You don't want to go too low, or you mess up your hormones. Find a healthy BF% and when you hit it, maintain. I would also listen to my body- I mean, if 20% BF was my goal but I started feeling crappy when I went under 24% then I'd choose to be satisfied at 24%.

I was actually thinking the same thing the other day. 130 is a nice goal weight, but our life insurance chart recommends 105 for my height...hmmm...

Cieloarge - I do need to get back to the gym. It's been a while since I've been consitent and I KNOW that will help with the issues I'm facing at this point in my journey.

EagleRiverDee - I wish I knew!!! I've had my body fat taken a few different ways and they vary so much!!! But if I go by the LOWEST I have been measured at, it's 25.5% (that's the one I use to measure every month that showed I started around 44% body fat when I started, well, when I had the courage to take it at 212 pounds), the highest is around 32% (that one made me sad!!!), so let's say it's probably somewhere in between those. But who knows really.

Owlsteazombies - That is low. My sister is 5'2" and probably around 105 though perhaps lower, and she is just miniscule, not an ounce of fat on her, seriously! She has to shop in the kids section a lot because size 0 doesn't fit her. My mom is 5'2" and is 125 and looks very healthy, and is a size 4 to 6 depending on the brand.

At some point you need to ask yourself,
"am i addicted to weightloss?"

A lot of women on this board are. I was absolutely one of them. And it backfired bigtime. All the way back up to where i began.. even after over a year at maintenance, because i was always *secretly* trying to lose a few more.... or at least hoping, so i continued to live my life in a deficit, terrified of even a pound gain on the scale.

At some point you have to be happy. i dont know where that happy is for you.. you will always be able to pinch an inch somewhere, you will always have some body fat. It is not realistic, sustainable or even possible to actually maintain a lifestyle at some bf percentages i see some women at... (we're talking that 15-16% ballpark range) I know youre not there, body fat % wise, but the idea is the same

Think about this.
Once youre in a healthy weight/BF and talking about vanity pounds, the more fat you lose after that, the more miserable, food-centric/obsessive and lonely your life is going to be trying to lose and maintain that loss

ETA- also, youve had a HUGE loss, i bet a LOT of the dissatisfaction you see in the mirror is loose skin

I've decided to try something new that I've just come up with... I'm calling it... "Losing while Maintaining" .... Now I know that sounds like a complete contradiction in terms, but what I mean by that is I'm going to keep doing what has worked to get me to where I'm at now... and keep trying to do more things that I know will help me lose some more weight... even if it's just a few "vanity" lbs....

It was hard, but I recently decided to let go of my goal of getting back down to 127lbs. which is what I weighed in my early 20's after college... and wasn't particularly fit (ran x-country in college and 10k's for fun after...no real spectacular performances there... ) and change my goal to a low of 135lbs to a high of 148lbs. which is the weight range that I've experienced that greatest fitness in my adult life... running several marathons (which seemed to keep me towards the low end) and even completing an Ironman (at the high end...)

So these days... I'm looking forward to finally being able to run another marathon... which is something I've been wanting to do for awhile now... And that's making me a lot happier than trying to see some number on the scale...

Why don't you just stick with your goal of 135, maintain and see how it goes? I looked at your pics and you look great in clothes, so to me, you look like you have made it!! As a PP said "you will always be able to pinch an inch somewhere," true, so true. We ladies that aren't in our teens anymore and maybe have a couple of kids aren't always going to look like a perfect fitness model in the nude.

I think this is a good question to keep asking yourself. It might be wise to not have a predetermined goal set in mind (e.g. When I get to x amount of pounds lost, when I weigh x amount, when I fit into x jeans) but to have an "I'll know when I get there" attitude? I don't know. I suppose that kind of thinking could have it's setbacks too!

John P - I took the "zip it" to mean zipping up pants, LOL.

owlsteazombies - I'm the same height as you and I was looking up my "ideal" bmi on cdc.gov and it recommended 101-136 lbs. 101 seems like its unattainable, but that may change the closer I get to there.

I think that one's "ideal" weight or bodyfat is also depend on the type of build/fame you have.

I was thinking about this. LockitUp, you look fabulous!

Here's an idea, maybe invest in a nice Donna Karan wrap dress and a pair of leggings or opaque tights and some nice boots? Dress it up in the winter with some cheap accessories and down as well with a leather jacket? And in the summer some nice wedge sandals or heels and again with jewelry?

A wrap dress is flattering and because it's belted, can be adjusted to a variety of sizes. Just an idea

It's hard!

I think if we search for perfection then we get that addiction to weight loss. I did; I got too low and I started to look terrible. I gained five pounds back (107ish to 112) and it made a world of a difference.

It also helped that I started focusing on what I can do now and what I couldn't do before. Lifting really helps with that; because I'm now focused on becoming stronger and getting better results with my lifts rather than what I look like. If there's a day when I go to the gym and can't do everything I set out to, I think back to my diet during that week and see what went wrong.

That realization has helped me put looks on the backburner. I've got a bit of dissatisfaction with how I've turned out because of my loose skin, but I'm at peace because I feel freaking amazing because of my fitness.

Those charts are ridiculous for some of us, depending on our build. My BONES would not fit into the weight that the charts say I should be.