Will I ever be satisfied?

I lost 20 lbs and reached my goal weight a few months ago, and now I found myself setting a new goal. I don't need to lose any more weight...I feel great, look fine, and exercise a lot...overall I'm healthy, but now I want to lose 4% body fat. It's a goal my old personal trainer set for me, and I just want to prove to myself that I can do it. Once I reach this goal...what's next? Will I ever be satisfied or will I always be shooting for something more? When will it become "unhealthy"?
It's like I started out doing a 5K, then 10K, then half-marathon, then marathon, then triathlon, and now the ironman.

Fri. Dec 9, 1:32pm

It's hard to truly answer since I don't know you and I don't want to encourage unhealthy/unsafe behavior but I don't think it's a matter of being unsatisfied. I think it's more of a matter of liking the challenge and proving your determination. I don't think there is anything wrong with 5K to 10K to marathon, etc... I think that's healthy. So, keep setting (and achieving!!) goals...go for it! Make yourself proud.

Friday, December 09, 2005, 4:01 PM

I agree with the post above - goals are a great way to motivate yourself and to stay focused on being healthy. I'd say it will become "unhealthy" when you are harming your body.

Go talk to your doctor to make sure that losing 4% body fat won't be harmful to you. I've read that anything below 13-17% is too low for women (it's lower for men). So if you're already below 20%, losing 4 more percentage points might be unhealthy, but otherwise, it's a great goal.

Also talk to your doctor (or a nutritionist) about your eating and exercise patterns (print out and bring your PEERtrainer logs so he/she can really see what you're doing).

Then, with the ok of health professionals, go for it! Challenge yourself to be the best you can, and allow your definition of "best" change as you improve.

Friday, December 09, 2005, 4:46 PM

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