Why there's no such thing as a "Goal Weight"

Now that my weight loss is noticeable, I often get asked the question "When are you going to stop?" or "How many more pounds do you have to go?"

I don't know the answer to that anymore.  I used to know the answer--I used to think that the whole point of weight loss was to get down to a number and then:  voila! you'd be done.  Magically, the number would stay regardless of what I did (or ate).

I know better now.  If you aim to get to a certain number, you can, and probably will.  But, you'll get yourself on that dreaded dieting yo-yo roller coaster.  See,  if you focus on getting to the number, you will stretch and try to get there in some way that is unsustainable.  Since it's unsustainable, even if you get to a number, you will not be able to stay at that number.

So, I've learned to not aim for a "goal weight" but a "goal lifestyle" that basically involves what any doctor or medical organization will recite from rote memorization:  cardio exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, and all your recommended daily food intake from all the food groups.   This in itself is hard to do, what with being a lawyer, a writer, and a mom.  Even if I can get the time to exercise, it's hard to either prepare and eat your my own food everyday or judge calorie and nutrient content from something commercially prepared.  Nevertheless, I'll aim for it.   If weight comes off, fine.  If weight doesn't come off, fine.  At this point, I'm no longer hovering near the "Overweight" BMI that comes with all sorts of threats of health issues.  I'm no longer chained to the idea of getting to a number--all I want is to get to a healthy lifestyle--one that I can sustain, more or less, for the rest of my life.