Has anyone here hit your body goal before reaching your weight loss goal?

[claudiav]

In light of @coy post yesterday, has anyone had the opposite experience of achieving their body goal before reaching their weight goal? I am 5'0" at 125-126lb/57kg, and my goal weight for years has been 115lb/52kg, but the body I have now is pretty close to he one I've been striving for--muscular, lean tummy, some quad and delt separation. I'm still cutting, but I'm proud of this physique I've built and I don't see myself needing to reach 115 to be "happy."

So what about the rest of you lovely humans? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

 

[jimntrisha]

@claudiav Thank you for sharing this. I started lifting a little over a month ago, and have seen weight gain when earlier I was very happy with my weight loss.

However, I feel the healthiest, most pain-free, and strongest than I have since I did sports in high school. Hearing from another woman (and not just my other lifting friends, who are all men) about body goals not always aligning with weight goals helps me feel so much better.

 

[claudiav]

@jimntrisha This makes me so happy!! Good for you. Keep being awesome and strong

 

[dawn16]

@claudiav I don't really have a "goal weight" anymore so much as I have body goals. I find it freeing.

 

[charlie84]

@claudiav Kind of. I really wanted to get back to 105lbs at 4'10, years ago in college this was my weight and I felt and looked great so it was what I was shooting for again. However, I did very little weight training back then and beer was my main food group lol. So I've been steadily working out and eating pretty well since January and I'm sitting around 115. If my body looked like it does now for the rest of my life I would be very content. I definitely have more muscle mass and feel amazing overall. So, I don't care if I lose more weight at this point. Ideally a few more lbs MAYBE, but I'm pretty content at 10lbs more than my goal.

 

[marenm2]

@claudiav I have! This past year I let my fitness slide a little bit and in turn I felt soft, lacked muscle tone, and added a little fat. After cleaning up my diet and hitting the gym, my weight didn't budge at all. Not even a pound! However, I physically looked different (in a good way). When I actually reached what I wanted to look like, I was still the same weight as when I started. I think fat loss + muscle gain kept my weight constant. If you look the way you want to, don't give mind to what the scale says!

 

[mcdale]

@claudiav Yep! I'm 5'8" and started at 198. My goal is 160 but I love how I look right now at 170. I'm still going to reach my goal though, because my main objective is less about appearance and more about being a healthy weight. I think I'm also just dazzled because my weight hasn't been this low in over 15 years so any loss looks really impressive haha

 

[mcdale]

@claudiav Yep! I'm 5'8" and started at 198. My goal is 160 but I love how I look right now at 170. I'm still going to reach my goal though, because my main objective is less about appearance and more about being a healthy weight. I think I'm also just dazzled because my weight hasn't been this low in over 15 years so any loss looks really impressive haha

 

[lightnthedark]

@claudiav Sort of. I want to be in the 132lb weight class for powerlifting and I'm not there yet.

But when I first started losing weight I wanted to be 110lbs, and that is never going to happen, it's only 11lbs more than my lean mass!

 

[saharali1991]

@lightnthedark Ugh, I know the weight class feels. I love the way I look and feel (and eat) at 144, but I need to lift at 138 (USAPL). However, I'm pretty sure I'll love the way I look at 138, too, so...it'll work out.

 

[lightnthedark]

@saharali1991 That is almost exactly how I feel about 138 and 132. I'd love to lift at 138!

 

[boxjamming]

@claudiav Yes. It is really really really important to consider the impact increased muscle mass has on target weights! My girlfriend struggles with this every day, and she is fully aware of it.

I am a 5'8" male. I have two "ideal" weights. If I do not lift heavy and focus on running and swimming, my target weight is 165. If I focus on weightlifting and sprinting, my target weight is 185. BOTH of those weights have body fat around 10%-12%. One is built around cardio and endurance, one is built around strength and mass.

My GF weighs 130. In college she weighed 110. That number is stuck in her head - "if only I can get back to 110". SPOILER - SHE WON'T unless she quits lifting weights entirely. She was not really fit in college, just skinny thanks to age/diet/metabolism. Now she is active as a runner and lifter. She could realistically lose 10 pounds right now and get to 120, but if she continues progressing in her lifts she will be up to 125 in 6-12 months. All while looking more toned and better proportioned than she ever did at 110. She knows this from looking at it on paper, but is still stuck on that useless 110 mark.

Make sure your target weight realistically includes increases in muscle! This doesn't even mean bulky muscle...if you increase your squat from 65 to 105, you WILL gain muscle, even if it just results in better tone and firmer musculature without big growth in your thighs.

 

[claudiav]

@boxjamming Thank you for your reply. I can relate to this section so much:

My GF weighs 130. In college she weighed 110. That number is stuck in her head - "if only I can get back to 110".

I used to be the EXACT same. But, like you said, with running and lifting, you tend to look better proportioned at a higher weight.

I appreciate your last part. My squat, for instance, went from 65 to 150 in the last ~7 months, and I hadn't even really considered that as I've been trying to diet down. I think my goal weight should be closer to 118/120.

Thanks again!

 

[kathyd]

@claudiav Yeah, i hear you!

I'm 5'2", and initially my goal weight was around 115lb/52kg as well, then i moved to 120lb/54kg, but honestly? I feel so damn good at 125 right now.

Since I started lifting i feel that i recomped A LOT. My weight haven't changed, but all the clothes fits different and I'm happy with what i see in the mirror!

I'm on a slooooow cut now, focusing more on getting my non weight-related goals while keeping the weight trend down (even if by a few dozen calories).

I think that lifting is where it's at to feel good at a 'higher' weight. If you go on the cardio/diet-only route, you get narrower, but lifting really makes a new shape 'pop', regardless of weight.

 

[jessd4147]

@claudiav Yeah i started working out maybe 5 months ago at 47kg (103lbs) with a goal weight of 42kgs (92lbs). I started gaining weight immediately and it just slowly climbed to where it sits now around 50kg (110lbs) which initially concerned me but after realising it was just my body composition changing ive become more comfortable with the fact that the scale is not always the best measure of progress.

I am pretty happy with my body at the moment but would like to tone up just a bit more. However i am less worried about the number on the scale and more concerned with measurements and working on tightening up my problem areas.

 

[dawn16]

@claudiav Yep! I'm 5'5" and I had once weighed 120 and and been fairly happy, though a bit soft. So, when I got up to 160, I figured that 120 would be a good gola.

I'm 140lbs now and I look and feel WAY better than I did at 120, and it's easier to maintain (as I love eating, hahah).

 

[claudiav]

@dawn16 Haha I love eating too! Glad to hear about your experience

 

[coconutprincess]

@claudiav Yay for this post! It's awesome that you are proud of where you are . It can be hard to let go of the number. I feel almost the same as you but just not quite over the number mentally. I feel like my body is very functional and fit for my life where it is. Also I had a Dexa a few months ago and I'm pretty lean already and lost my period a few times as a teenager so I don't want to lower my bf%. But at the same time I have this number in my head, just because "that's a nice number.." (I'm like 5-6 pounds from it) and it's tough because low body fat/body weight for women is sort of glorified in media. Rationally I'm like, I look fit! I feel great! I am not hungry! I should be 100% happy! But then emotionally I still sometimes am like, I need to lose 5 lbs because number and skinny! It's stupid. I think I have like 75% let go of the number at this point. Anyway I relate! Thanks for starting this thread!

 

[newme2017]

@claudiav Glad this was posted! I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's comments. I'm 5'0 and working on losing weight (and being strong) but watching the scale can be so frustrating! I've had a weight goal that I hit a few years ago in mind but I hope that with lifting and workouts I do now that I will look/have a different shape than I did then (less soft).

 

[guitargator93]

@newme2017 Same here! I'm also 5'0 and working on losing weight & being strong. Its so frustrating to have the scale staying the same, but loosing an in or so around the waist, because I (personally) am not use to progress looking that way.