When did you start thinking about maintenance?

[Missalissa]

I am getting close to my current goal weight. I've got a couple of questions for ya..

When did you guys really start thinking about maintenance?

I have already lowered my goal weight once, and am considering it again. Did any of you maintainers do this?

How did y'all handle the whole "thrill of the chase" being gone after you hit goal.

Sorry if I'm rambling, but now that I'm this close, I'm not sure what comes next!

[BellaHMB]

Wow...congrats!!

I would be thinking about it now were I you May I ask how tall you are?
I had an original goal of 150 but when I reached it I kept going mostly out
of fear of gaining! But my body then over a few months reached the 130's
and has stayed there. I have continue to use fitday, post menus.

I would suggest only adding in one food at a time so you can track it and see
if it makes you gain.

Maintenance for me hasnt been much different than my losing menu- only a little
more legal foods and now I have oatmeal, almond butter a couple times a week and
one serving of fruit daily.

Bella

[Meekness29]

Missalisa, girl, I can't believe you are almost at goal. You have done such a great job. Keep it up. I know you will be at goal by next week. I'm right behind ya

[Missalissa]

Originally Posted by BellaHMB

Wow...congrats!!

I would be thinking about it now were I you May I ask how tall you are?
I had an original goal of 150 but when I reached it I kept going mostly out
of fear of gaining! But my body then over a few months reached the 130's
and has stayed there. I have continue to use fitday, post menus.

I would suggest only adding in one food at a time so you can track it and see
if it makes you gain.

Maintenance for me hasnt been much different than my losing menu- only a little
more legal foods and now I have oatmeal, almond butter a couple times a week and
one serving of fruit daily.

Bella

Bella, I am 5'4" tall. My original goal was 170 (was trying to be realistic in the beginning). Changed it to 160, then to 150. Right now I am considering 140, and trying to maintain between 140-150.

I like my losing menu, so I'm not in any real big hurry to add anything in. I guess I thought since I was getting close, I was supposed to think about adding stuff to my menu!

Originally Posted by Meekness29

Missalisa, girl, I can't believe you are almost at goal. You have done such a great job. Keep it up. I know you will be at goal by next week. I'm right behind ya

!

[JuliaL]

Missalissa - when to call goal is a very personal decision, and only you will know when you are ready. You already know that giving up the "thrill of the chase" as you put is one of the hardest parts. It's very important, though. You can't keep losing weight forever, so you have to figure out other ways to motivate yourself to stay on plan, other than seeing the number on the scale go down.

What I did was focus on fitness goals rather than the scale. I set a goal of 20% body fat, for example. Body fat is harder to measure than weight, but it matters a lot more. You can be skinny and have no muscle, which is just about as unhealthy as being fat. I also set other goals for myself, like jogging on the treadmill instead of walking and seeing how much weight I could bench press.

Congratulations on your loss, and good luck with maintenance. Remember, it's about being healthy first and foremost. The scale is only one way of measuring your success!

[Missalissa]

Julia and Bella,

Thank you so much for your input. I really value your opinions.

I think I am going to try to stop worrying so much about the number on the scale and start concentrating on how I feel in my clothes. I will put all my energy into eating clean and continuing my workouts and that should be where I get my gratification from, not a number on the scale!

Thanks again ladies for the inspiration!

[evern83]

Wow I am so at the same point as you. I actually thought I would change my meal plan the first of the year but I got real scared. What if I started adding carbs and fell right of plan???
I am about 10? pounds away from goal (which keeps changing depending on where I'm at). I'm not really sure when to say goal. My family keeps telling me to stop losing because I can be a bit obsessive and they think I look "just right where I am"
I am down 125lbs and I think that people are focused on that number and they think I should stop. I say 10 more pounds but I really really think the last 10 lbs is all skin, which I have a lot of. I have been at the same weight for about 2 months and can't lose the last 10.
Anywho I am rambling. I guess we all need to just find that time when we are comfortable in our own skin.
Good Luck

[Missalissa]

Originally Posted by evern83

Wow I am so at the same point as you. I actually thought I would change my meal plan the first of the year but I got real scared. What if I started adding carbs and fell right of plan???
I am about 10? pounds away from goal (which keeps changing depending on where I'm at). I'm not really sure when to say goal. My family keeps telling me to stop losing because I can be a bit obsessive and they think I look "just right where I am"
I am down 125lbs and I think that people are focused on that number and they think I should stop. I say 10 more pounds but I really really think the last 10 lbs is all skin, which I have a lot of. I have been at the same weight for about 2 months and can't lose the last 10.
Anywho I am rambling. I guess we all need to just find that time when we are comfortable in our own skin.
Good Luck

I can totally relate. When is enough? I think we just gotta quit chasing a number on a scale and worry more about clothes and inches.

Congrats on all your hard work! You should be so proud!

[BellaHMB]

I wonder what it would be like for you to reach 150 and then stay there for a while?
Then you can decide after trying it on! I found that my body naturally lost down to 140 and then 135, but beyond that I would have to really really work hard to lose more so I don't. Its not perfect! I have a tummy, mostly skin (Im 53) and I don't worry about it too much. In fact my massage therapist told me that I was "lumpy" when I first lost weight and now Im not! So something must have changed...my body is adapting!
And so will yours.

Good work ladies!

Bella