Having trouble transitioning into maintenance

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I was 5'2" in H.S. and 110 lbs. I have no desire to get down to 110 now. If I was younger, that would be a different story.

The more I lose, the worse my face looks. My boobs look like tube socks. If I could control where the weight comes off, that would be a different story. My neck already looks like a turkey. My legs thighs and butt look fine from weight training. My tummy doesn't look bad from stretched out skin, but I don't want to press my luck with that one either.

I just want to get into the normal bmi and I will be good with that. I don't think I'll have any trouble losing too much weight, the way candy is always calling

my name.

[*susan* 1,709]

Daisy, I am like you, I don't expect to truly ever be skinny. I have actually set my goal for 140, anything lower than that I will consider to be a bonus. Surprisingly, I have not lost anything in the boobs. Of course, even when I weighed 120 I was a DD, so I don't really expect to be any less than that. I have lost a lot in my behind, I no longer have that extra shelf to set things on!

Mac, I hope that by the end of this year, I am faced with the same challenges as you. Then, I can come back to this thread and learn from you.

[Ruthi 60]

I was 5'1 and 125 lbs in JR High, You are an inspriation MAC

[MacMadame 81]

I never thought I wanted to be 110 either. Or that I could. But my body appears to have other ideas. I'm not *that* shocked as I've seen this happen to other people before me.

I keep looking in the mirror and thinking "I have a 1-2 more pounds that can come off here and there (usually tummy & thighs) and then I'll be done. There's no more left". I've been saying that for about 10 pounds now. :001_tongue:

I was a D/DD to start and at one point I lost more off my chest than my boobage and went up to a DDD. But now I'm down to a large C. I'd like to be a comfortable C and then stop losing there.

In some ways I feel like my face looks older, but I also think it's more interesting. Before I looked like a weird, age-less baby. I like having definition in my face. Luckily my loose skin there is minimal and it appears to be firming up over time.

My tummy and boobs are another story. I have a lot of skin damage there so I'm not sure what will happen. But I'd rather have flapping skin on my tummy than flapping fat pads. If I could keep all subsequent weight loss to that area, I'd be a lot happier about continuing to lose.

It's my thighs and arms that dismay me the most and yet those are the things I'm completely unwilling to get PS on. But I have WRINKLES in my hanging skin. It's the wrinkles that get to me. A flap of skin that's not supposed to be there like my panus? No big deal. Wrinkled skin that makes me feel like I'm 100? A completely different story.

Since I don't have a lot of skin damage there, I'm hoping that part tightens up to an acceptable level over the next six to 12 months.

Anyway, as long as my weight loss is not coming out of my muscles (and it's not right now) and I'm not super-restricted on my eating, I think I'll just ride it out and see what happens.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I've been trying for about a year to build muscle in my triceps with no luck. That's the area that bothers me the most.

[MacMadame 81]

Do you ever workout with a trainer or with a group strength class? They might be able to help you. I have nice arms now when I flex them. They are only gross when they are relaxed.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I do a group strength class twice a week. I can't afford my trainer anymore. He did teach me a lot of exercises for that area though. Yeah, the hanging skin is mostly there when relaxed. I've never thought of it that way before.

[Jachut 487]

Group strength classes like PUMP are fantastic general exercise, but if you really want to build triceps, low weight high rep isnt the way to do it. YOu need to lift a weight so heavy that you can literally only do a few reps.

A great triceps exercise is dips. Pull up a dining chair or find a waist high fence to lean on, anything will do (I use the side of our trampoline). Put your feet straight out in front of you and lean back, hands on the bar or chair, and taking ALL your weight through your arms (no cheating and using your legs) bend your elbows and drop your body, then raise again by straightening your arms. You will progressively take more and more weight through your arms and less and less through your legs but you should exhaust the muscle completely, so that 8 or 10 reps is it. Then do some full body pushups to attack from a different angle.

Even then, as a woman, you'll struggle to truly build a bigger muscle, but that will be a lot more effective than body pump, which really is only a toning, aerobic activity - definitely NOT a waste of time but it generally wont build big muscles either.

[MacMadame 81]

The hanging skin in general is so frustrating because it hides what's going on. It hides your muscle definition and your fat loss. Argh!

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I've been doing dips for awhile now. It's one of the exercises my trainer showed me. I can definitely feel it in my triceps the next day.

[MacMadame 81]

Well I gained 2 lb. in the past 4 days. I know it has to be Water weight because because I am still eating at a calorie deficit according to My Fitness Pal, but it still freaks me out.

It seems whenever I try to stop losing weight by upping my calories, I gain weight. Then I drop back down and I lose.

But I want to maintain, not lose and not gain.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Staying at the exact same weight ever day is difficult. Did you eat anything salty?

I am having trouble being only 5 lbs from my goal. It's so easy to snatch a bite of this or that and then be disappointed on the scale. There is junk food at work, at my daughters when I babysit, etc. I need to stick to the no snacking rule, even if it's only a couple of bites if I ever want this last 5 off.

[MacMadame 81]

I don't think I ate anything salty. Last week I figured it was the strength training as I was very muscle sore on Thurs. and that's when I had the weight jump. But I wasn't that sore yesterday and I ate under what I normally eat and still had a big jump today.

I think I just need to stop weighing daily or to accept that I'm going to fluctuate at this point.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I could never stop weighing daily but I have definitely accepted fluctuating.

[Malaika 50]

I don't think I ate anything salty. Last week I figured it was the strength training as I was very muscle sore on Thurs. and that's when I had the weight jump. But I wasn't that sore yesterday and I ate under what I normally eat and still had a big jump today.

I think I just need to stop weighing daily or to accept that I'm going to fluctuate at this point.

I could never stop weighing daily but I have definitely accepted fluctuating.

I think you should quit weighing everyday -- or follow the rule of the CarbAddicts book ... weigh everyday and then take the average of the 7 days for an average weight loss/gain ... if I can't stay off the scale on a daily basis, then I am going to start charing my loss/gain daily and see what the average is ... maybe that will work for you since you are trying to maintain and will give you a better perspective of your weekly loss. Just a thought!