I am drifting towards maintenance, and am trying to figure out where I want to stop losing weight. My original goal was 145, but now, 4 pounds away, I am feeling ambitious. I just am not sure if 140 would be too skinny? I am young, tall with a medium frame. The weight is coming off slowly (which is alright with me) but it is FINALLY coming off my waist (I went from a 30 inch waist to a 29 in three days! ). I feel oddly compelled to fit into a size 6 (I am now mostly a 8, sometimes 10, sometimes the 6 fits). I am starting to think that I have developed an unhealthy addiction to the "acomplishment" of losing weight. My fight with these 30 so pounds has been hardly a fight at all, in fact I have barely stalled since I started this journey on January 1st. I love jumping on and seeing that pound go, that 4 pound whoosh. It's exciting. I also feel more comfortable in my own skin than I have in years, which is great.

I could stop at this weight, and feel cool with it. I look pretty good, things don't bulge much anymore. BUT....like I said, I am feeling ambitious. I am eating far above induction (sorry, I just don't know how many carbs I intake a day, I like the freedom of not counting) and am still losing. It seems even when I up the carbs to some degree, I still lose.

OK, sorry for rambling, but do you guys think that my weight loss will just stop at some point eating this way, at my natural point? My big question is: my lean body mass is 111 pounds.....is 140 too low for that?? Or perfect??

AH!!!! I am so confused!

hi Graciepoo

I see you have read protein power. Do you still have your copy?

in there is a formula for calculating a good weight range based on your body fat. For you age, if I remember rightly you should be in the 20 - 26% range. I'm only going off memory as I don't have my book with me at present.

Use that calculation as a rough guide to see if you are in range yet or not. But it is only a guide, and only you can really tell. What about asking some good (honest ) friends or family what their view is?

Lesley

Hi Gracie-poo,

Congratulations on your great success.

I am in a similar situation as I near my goal of 205 lbs. This morning I was 206 which I also hit two weeks ago. Then, I went on a few days vacation and increased my fat intake which gave me a 5 lb rebound to 211. That has taken a week to bring back down. My body fat this morning was 22.8% which is below my 23% goal. I feel pretty good at this weight being 6'-6" tall. At my age, 63, the metabolic resistance is sever, and I have cut carbs to less than 10 gm. after subtracting the fiber. I also had to cut fat and calories to force my continued weight loss.

When I started in June 1999 at 256 lb., I soon set a goal of 215 lb. which my wife thought was much to aggressive. I lowered my goal to 205 last year but was not seeking it aggressively until the last two months.

I have broken several plateaus as well as tested rebound situations. I know I will rebound, but I can increase my fat and calories intake considerably and hold after the 5 lb. rebound. Therefore, I am going to continue to lose more, if possible, in anticipation of a rebound.

You should be careful of stopping to soon since you have a good weight loss program going. Then, change your diet slowly to reach a stall that stabilizes a little below your goal. You should be able to increase a few pounds very easily later, if you decide.

Good luck,

Kent

Gracie poo - I can sympathize and empathize. The answers to similar questions I asked a few weeks ago might help you here.

Some questions

There are quite a few threads in the Maintenance Club section that you might find helpful - I know I did (this is where I moved your post to btw).

Congrats and of course, best of luck
Nat

I don't think you really know until you get there. My goal weight was 135, I'm now down to 129 unintentionally, but it feels better and looks a little better then the 135.
Good luck,
Jennie

Hi Gracie,

I would love to be in your position right now, however I do understand your concern.

Do you have a journal available? As a newbie to this, I'd love to have a sqiz at your journal and see what has worked and your rate of loss.

As far as your question goes, I would follow the advice of leslyc - ask the opinion of some objective and honest friends. It can sometimes be difficult for us to correctly perceive ourselves. I know that that is the case for me. In the past I have been too thin (albeit a long time ago), and have looked gaunt and washed out.

Also, do you do much exercise. Maybe it is time to concentrate on toning and reshaping, rather than loosing more.

Anyway, that is my uninformed two cents worth. Congratulations again!

SG

Thank you all for responding!

Stargirl: No, unfortunately I started a journal with my heart in the right place, but I think I only wrote in it about three times! I am terribly lazy LOL. I did check up on fitday every once in a while to make sure my carbs weren't off the wall. I can tell you pretty much what I have been eating though, I am rather predictable.
Breakfasts:
-bacon sometimes
-eggs always for breakfast (fried or made in an omelet with salsa/sour cream/cheese/grilled onions-full fat yogurt with SF raspberry syrup

lunchs:
-salads (with chicken usually)
-Low carb tortilla with sandwich stuff
-tuna with mayo and relish....sometimes I eat it with celery, but usually just with a spoon

dinners:
-plain protein...steak or chicken
-chili (with hamburger, spices and diced tomatoes from a can, onions and cheese)
-veggies (usually broccoli) covered in cheese or butter
-bunless hamburger with the fixin's
-small salads

Snacks:
-smoked nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts when I can afford it and pecans)
-cheese!!
-deviled eggs
-fiber rye wasa cracker with cream cheese
-berries and cream
-Breve Lattes (though I am working on cutting down on those, as they are 10 carbs a pop)

I also have red wine sometimes, beer sometimes and sometimes have a taste of things like breaded jalapeno poppers, but no sugar. I will have low carb bars when I have to (due to tight schedule with school...hey, it's better to eat one of those things than starve, I figure) but usually will eat nuts in a bind.....they travel well and are of high calorie content, so they CAN work as a meal replacement of sorts if needed. The way I eat works for me, but I am one of those lucky ones.
Honestly, I barely stress over what I eat.....the times I obsessed over my eating schedule past induction, I just felt like very pathetic, because I really enjoy "eating to live" and slipping back into "living to eat" even just by counting carbs and planning meals made me too Type-A for my casual life. I am so stubborn and self-willed (can you tell I'm a Taurus? ) that I think I can always mainain this WOE. If I "so-called" cheat, I don't worry about it. I am dedicated to this WOL; I feel like I am in the maintenance mindset. I have become very in tune with my body, I can sense if I am depriving it of calories and will eat more. I feel when certain foods are a bit higher than carbs than my body can handle, and I store that information away in my head for later.

God, I sure do ramble don't I? Sure you wanted all that info, StarGirl?
And you are soooo right about the toning thing. I do workout and do some weights, but I have slacked some lately.

Nat and Jennie: thank you, and congragulations to the both of you too!! When are you guys going to post some before and after pics? (BTW, Nat, I have always thought you look so adorable in your pictures!Are you sure you aren't 18? )

Kent: I think I will take your advice. I'm going to let it go lower, and just eat like I am. If it stops eating like this, the way I have for months, then I will know that the weight it arrives at is a good weight for me. I think I am just confused, having never been very thin my whole life. I was never overweight per se as a teenager, but I was certainly far from fit. My mother and I have a similar body type, but I am taller, and she has remained very trim her whole life without excess diet and exercise so I think, genetical anyway, I could be at 140 and not be going against the grain of my body. That's just a guess though. Thank you for your insight, Kent.

Lesley: Unfortunately, I borrowed Protein Power from the library! So I don't have it on hand. But I know that I am at about 24% body fat (ignore my BF stats, I think I put in my BMI for some reason :rolleyes so 20-26 % would seem to suggest that losing a few more would be OK! Thanks for the info

Thank you all SO MUCH. This website and everyone here has been a godsend to me. I am going to put up some pictures when I go home this summer (my dad has a digi cam) and I will try to find a "great" picture of me at 190 pounds which was my all time high. It's funny, my face is so different and thinner, it's like I'm a different person!!
PS: Sorry this was so long, guys!

Thanks Gracie,

Definitely not too much info... in fact, I need all the information I can get. I really like your balanced approach. It seems to me that unless I can have an occassional vino, or other 'cheat' items, then it won't become a WOL, but simply another diet. For me, the sense that things are absolutely forbidden forever is going to set me up for failure. Having said that I just turned down 'yum-cha' with some friends because I knew that I wouldn't be able to be sensible.

You're an absolute inspiration . Thanks again

SG