Am I giving up too soon?

Ideally, I want to maintain my weight at 118-122. For the last 3 months, I've maintained my weight at 124-128. When I restrict intensively, I can get my weight to 121-122 but it bounces back pretty quickly. I love my body anywhere in the 120s, I just worry that giving up on my ideal number means that I do not have control over my eating. I would certainly feel more emotionally comfortable at 118, knowing that I had plenty of room for the occasional small weight gain. Should I stop making excuses and just get to my ultimate goal weight or work on learning how to maintain at the perfectly reasonable weight that I am? I don't want to forever be chasing ideal numbers, but I also don't want to squander the chance the my sleeve has given me to get as small as I can. I've been highly imperfect in my eating and am terrified that eventual regain is inevitable.

After about a year to a year and a half, the weight loss slows or stops completely and the body fluctuates for about a year trying to figure out a settling point, and it's most likely at a higher weight. Don't fret, though ,for as long as you're eating as you should, you should maintain a healthy weight - even though if it's not at your goal of 118.

Given your height, the regain is probably looking good on you. I am the same height and at 140, people were voicing concern, threatening to force feed me a sandwich and saying I look like a scarecrow, so at 120 they probably would have admitted me into the hospital. Over the next several years I settled down around 160 and a size 10. I have no problem with that and maintain a 5lb wiggle without effort. This is just where my body wants to be. I feel great and adequately average, not too big not too little, yanno?

So, at any rate, you can fight your body for this magic number or continue to take care of yourself and watch with wonder and awe what your body's idea of an ideal weight is going to be.

Honestly I still feel a little chubby in the high 120s and my clothes fit best in the low 120s so I think I might be small framed. I have made a vow to myself to never see the 130s again!

Honestly, I've had to give in to the fact that my 'chubby' is more like just areas that I can't correct due to skin or areas that I need to tone with exercise. I'm 2 1/2" taller than you and right now I'm maintaining in the 125-128 range and I can still point out things that jiggle and areas I carry fat and that's after plastics. I wear a size 2/4. I always assumed that met you couldn't possibly have trouble areas. But, I'm now also sure that you could be underweight and still have those areas.

So yeah, I think you need to be careful what you define as chubby. I also have come to realize that it's likely I will look nicer and deal with fewer skin issues if I was 10lbs heavier. But, I figure my body will get me there at some point anyway and we'll figure that out.

I always love your reasonable replies.

"Ive been highly imperfect in my eating." I'd be far more worried about that statement than the number on the scale. The devil is in that detail.

I let go of chasing a magical, arbitrary goal weight of 175. I decided that I was totally and completely comfortable @195. Ever since that decision my weight has been hanging at 205. I didn't give up- I made a conscious decision to maintain, and then my body took me on a slightly different ride. And I'm ok- I still like how I look, feel, etc. I do not feel defeated.

But my constant though is that my eating has been on point 95% of the time. Only you know how true you are to a diet that maintains, vs walking that very thin line of a diet that won't ensure your long term health/weight loss.

I could not agree more with this post. Perfect, Peach.

She always is. I'd hate her if she wasn't so darn nice. ;)

Yes, this is what I'm worried about. Is my imperfect eating maintaining me now at 124-128 because of some temporary sleeve magic that will vanish in 6 months or is my imperfect eating good enough to maintain long term. I've got no idea right now

the prpblem with impetfectvesting is that it often keeps on getting more imperfect and more imperfect, until suddenly , you start gaining.

One you have started gaining, it is harder than ever to stop the gain and get back on track cause you are so used to imperfect eating.