Losing Weight: When is it Time to Stop?

I plan on staying in the 6-10% range once I lean down to it. You lean down till you hit 6% body fat and then, if you're not satisfied with your musculature, you bulk up until you hit 10%. Then, you lean back down to 6%. You keep repeating this process until you get the body you want.

Ah, I'm here, I've been here for a few months now. My time to start maintaining was when I was able to fit in my friends clothes who I always considered very, very thin. I threw on one of his shirts, and it fit perfectly. I dropped from 250 to 160 in the last year, and when that shirt fit, it was reason enough to say, I'm done losing. Plus, people started saying I was looking too thin, and sometimes they see what you dont. Dropping from 33.9 BMI to 21.7 BMI didn't hurt either.

Wish I had this problem....I can't tell myself I've gained enough and need to stop kwim? This sucks

Losing weight is pretty hard. But I managed to lost 90 pounds. I thought of vegetarian (Because like Bob Barker (who is retiring), I am against animal cruelty), but was told that it isn't exactly healthy (since Bob Barker had 3 strokes and had prostate surgery and is retiring due to deteriation of physical health). So meat is back in the diet, in the form of mostly fish with a few servings of chicken and red meat.

But the key is: moderation (except for trans fats, avoid anything that has any hydrogenated oils in it). A little bit of brockley, a little bit of steak, a little bit of tomatos, apples, celery, rice, pudding, ice cream, carrots, and even pizza (given it doesn't contain partially hydrogenated oils). The ones to avoid are: fried foods, pasteries, sodas, and trans-fatty foods.

Today, I exercise and eat cereal in the morning, a vegtable sandwich with either vegtable soup, vegtable salad with hard-boiled eggs (Need protein), or just steamed vegtables, a fruit salad (though once a week, I eat a yogurt profley or fat-free frozen yogurt with walnuts, coconuts, and chocolate chips). I eat nuts and dark chocolate for snacks, and I eat fish four to five times a week, chicken twice a week, and red meat once a week for dinner, with vegtables and rice. It's all about moderation.

--On a side news, a tested Wendy's fries did reveal that although they claimed that they switch to trans-free oils, these fries still tested positive for trans fats. I call that "disgusting" and need some investigation. I hope that KFC does not do the same thing: Claim they switched to trans-free oil and still these fried chicken contains trans fats.

For me, it was a combination of my doctor's recommendation and listening to my body.

When I started losing, I lost about 85 pounds in a little over a year, then I hit a plateau and didn't lose anything for 18 months. I went to a new doctor, had more tests done, and we finally discovered a problem with the meds for my hypothyroidism. My doc adjusted the meds, and I renewed my commitment to Weight Watchers, and I finally started losing again.

I asked my doctor for a goal weight recommendation. He gave me a number I thought was high (I wanted to lose about 10 more than he said I should).

I ended up losing 23 pounds slowly and steadily until a few months ago when I reached the goal my doctor set. I still wanted to keep losing though, so I remained commited and dedicated. But, I've been losing and gaining the same 2 - 3 pounds, no matter what I do.

So, I decided that my body likes this weight, and it is healthy, so I'm not going to stress myself about losing more.

I've changed my focus to maintenance. But, that doesn't mean much, because I'm pretty much doing the same things I was when I was losing. I figure if I keep it up, then my body will lose weight if it should. If not, then I'm where I'm supposed to be. I'm in the best shape of my life, so I can't complain.

If you decide ahead of time what weight you want to be (YOU decide what is a normal weight) and use the right method to get you there, you'll stop losing automatically when you get there. If you want to stop before you get to goal or you want to continue losing, there is a way to do either of these. You won't be focused on food after 21 days and you won't need a maintenance program.

For me, it was a combination goal weight (helped set by Body Fat %) and athletic performance. After losing over 200 pounds in 15 months, I just recently said that was not enough and turned on the losing again by restricting the carbs to a lower level to take off another 10 pounds. The diet was never really that stressful so moving from maintenance to a losing phase was not a huge deal. I could however definitely see how one stuck with fat goggles though would never recognize the achievements they've made and determine they've worked hard enough. Is the pathway to anorexia from healthy dieting that tenuous?

When I was about 13 I hit my high of 162 at 5'1. It made me sad... so i started to loose weight, and not in a good way, a cycle that I still do to this day. Now I'm 17 and 124 and 5'6. But it's weird I still hate myself and the only thing I see when I look in the mirror is a grossly fat person. I hate it. If you're supposed to stop dieting when you like how you look: what if you'll never like how you look? The worst part is all of my friends have a higher, in some cases much higher, BMI than I so I can't even talk to them about this depressing rut I've fallen into. Dose ANYONE know how to learn to love yourself? I would be most appreciative for any advice. :(

I decided on what would be right after going UNDER it. I got to 117lb, which for 5'1" shouldn't be extremely thin, and I notice that the differences between being 125lb and 117lb were: I still fit in the same size clothes (4) but everything I bought was extremely loose on my butt, since I had lost all of it, so no longer a proper fit, and my face looked much harsher. I couldn't fit into a 2 cause my legs were still the same size, and so were my hips, cause at that point they were bone, not fat. So I ate more and went back to 125lb, which is also an easier weight to maintain (yeah, if I had only listened to my body, I wouldn't have worked so hard to drop those 7lb...). Right now I'm trying to lose a few, cause decreased activity made me go 8lb over that, which is still in my HWR but not really my ideal weight in my own definition.

I plan on staying in the 10-15% range once I lean down to it.

To Mia... PLEASE, please, go see your doctor, or talk to someone you trust - your mom or dad, an aunt, uncle, cousin... SOMEONE who can help you get help. From what you said, you are exhibiting the first stages of an eating disorder. When you look in the mirror and see fat where there is none, it's a problem. Without seeing you, 124 lbs and 5'6" is healthy to underweight. Please don't lose any more until you've spoken to a professional who can help guide you through the murky waters of the depression you feel.

Mia, I'm sorry I had missed your post. There are lots of good books and sites on loving yourself. Not that you shouldn't talk to someone about it. I agree with Laura's advice.

Here is a short list:

Sites:
www.adiosbarbie.com
www.something-fishy.org

Books:
"When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies" by Jane Hirschmann
"The Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf
"Adios, Barbie" by Ophira Edut
"Am I Thin Enough Yet?" by Sharlene Hesse-Biber
"Do I Look Fat in This?" by Jessica Weiner

Well, I hate the way my thighs look. So for me, enough is enough when my thighs don't spread all over the place when I sit down. I am back in a size 8, and I have even purchased some size 6 clothing, but I am not fond of my muscular thighs. I was a sprinter in high school so I will always have muscular thighs so I think I might just give up on the stick look. I should be grateful that they aren't flabby and shaking all over the place.

I am 5'7" and I will stop when I get to 135-137lbs. I actually want to be 140, but I want 3-5 lbs to play with.

Nice Girl, you are right in accepting your build. I have the same issue with the thighs. Instead of skinny legs, why don't you focus on getting inner thigh definition (that little "cut" right on top of them)? That is a sign your body fat is pretty low on your legs already, and all that is left is muscle.

The problem is that when it is time to stop losing weight you will inevitably start putting weight back on.