What made you pick your goal weight?

Need2Exerc1se

Mine was BMI based. I didn't really have a specific weight in mind but MFP wanted me to put something so I chose a weight near, but not at, the highest healthy BMI for my height.

harpsdesire

Less 'what' and more 'who': My doctor.

I know there's a rage of bmi numbers that can be healthy, and bmi isn't really all that amazing an indicator of health according to some, but the doctor measured my height and plopped down a goal number a touch over the middle of the healthy bmi range for my height and said 'go there'.

It didn't seem unreasonable for me since I have a medium frame. I'm going to get close to that and see how I look/feel/bodyfat % and then fine tune if needed. I have a WHILE before I get to that point though....

Need2Exerc1se

DeguelloTex wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

I picked my goal weight because it seemed like a good weight the last time I was that weight. It is near the top end of Normal BMI but it also happens to be in the middle of Normal when using Nick Trefethen's "New BMI" calculation.

I'm a big fan.

"Normal" BMI = 24.80
"New" BMI = 22.47

I'd never heard of this "new BMI" so I googled it. My new BMI was higher.

jemhh

My ultimate goal is visually based rather than numeric. I'm another one who started with a bmi based goal to get into a good range. Now I'm just focused on continuing to lose fat in the slow-to-go area. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get there this year. I'm 5'6" and 147 right now. I've seen a big improvement in my stomach this year after a tiny bulk and going back to cutting (just put a picture of the 3 lb difference in my profile) so I think I can get there around 140.

DeguelloTex

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

I picked my goal weight because it seemed like a good weight the last time I was that weight. It is near the top end of Normal BMI but it also happens to be in the middle of Normal when using Nick Trefethen's "New BMI" calculation.

I'm a big fan.

"Normal" BMI = 24.80
"New" BMI = 22.47

I'd never heard of this "new BMI" so I googled it. My new BMI was higher.

It bumps down for taller people, and up for shorter people, while those in the middle are relatively unchanged.

Unknown

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TheVirgoddess

I'm 5'5", I was around 140 before I got pregnant and felt pretty good there.

But my goal weight for now is 149 - that's the highest weight in the normal BMI range. I started at 232 pounds, so my main goal has always been to be "normal" . I'm 5.8 pounds away, and I'm pretty sure I'll keep going a bit longer and base my new goal on how I look/feel, rather than the scale.

AgentOrangeJuice

UFC Fighters, that guy looks like that at that weight, I'm in!

yourradimradletshug

Apparently it's the "healthy" weight for someone my size. Honestly if I could get to within 5 pounds of my goal weight I think I could be happy/healthy.

kristen6350

I was there before as an adult and it was where I was happy. 150, 5'11, 36 years old. Little less than a 21 BMI. And after an 18 lbs loss I'm a bit south of that at 148.4. Maintenance range of 147-153.

BigLifter10

Visual, for the most part (and how clothes actually fit). There was a time when I wasn't into physique and I could be 180 and look soft and had much higher body fat, now, I am 165 and have a lot of muscle, about 19 percent body fat versus 30 percent. Big difference. I currently wear size 10, but if I drop to 155, I'll be in 6 or 8 and look too thin and the muscle will look more stringy. I need to stay between 160 and 170 for optimal health and healthy look as well. I am a shade under 5'10". My highest weight ever was 207.

craziedazie

My goal weight is 169. I'm 5'9. This may seem a little high to some people but I was able to easily maintain that weight before I began overeating on a regular basis. When I reach that goal then I may consider going lower.

Debbjones

For me it was the lowest normal BMI combined with the nice round number of approximately 90 pounds lost.

If I had any advice to someone just starting out on their weight loss adventure... that would be to weigh yourself at the start (I waited until 2 weeks in to weigh for the first time because I was afraid to get on the scale... I just did not want to see the number and then fail to stick to my plan) and take body measurements. I never took body measurements... in retrospect it would be nice after a 90 pound loss, to realize the actual number of inches I lost.

TiffanyR71

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

I picked my goal weight because it seemed like a good weight the last time I was that weight. It is near the top end of Normal BMI but it also happens to be in the middle of Normal when using Nick Trefethen's "New BMI" calculation.

I'm a big fan.

"Normal" BMI = 24.80
"New" BMI = 22.47

I'd never heard of this "new BMI" so I googled it. My new BMI was higher.

Me, too, by ~4lbs... I'll wait and see if I want to keep going when I get to healthy weight based on old BMI... I'm quite certain that those 4 lbs won't make or break my health.

svetlay

see I was curious about that too. I chose mine to be 3-4 kg lower then my lowest point as an adult. I've always been on the heavy side and even my lowest didn't feel comfortable). That said I'm about 15 pounds above my goal and 8 above my "lowest" and I look and feel better than ever, almost out of sizes to drop and I might just up my goal by 10 lbs. before I just did crash dieting and cardio and was probably "skinny fat" back then, mind you not even that skinny. Now the difference feels huge. At 142 some years ago I was a size 6, at 150 I am a size 2.

Here is what I'm curious about: Now that (presumably) most of us are educated on healthy fat loss while working to maintain muscle... aren't most indicators of ideal weight flawed(bmi, past weight etc). If you are say 150 lbs and carrying the muscles of a 180lbs person doesn't that carry a big difference in GW? Not that I'm complaining, reaching your "goal" sooner than expected is awesome, but I think personally I just learned to enjoy the process, because goals can be innacurate and plus goal implies an end to the process.

Sabine_Stroehm

I went at it pretty simply and somewhat naively. I used the formula I learned in school: 5'0=100Lbs, add 5Lbs for every inch. So I mentally aimed for 130. I was at 129 when my weight loss stopped, naturally. So I stopped there. Later I saw a BMI chart and my weight was pretty good according to that. I ended up gaining a couple back, and settled at 132. My happy range these last many years has been 130-135.

juleszephyr

9:13 as it is 139 lbs so under the 140 lb - ten stone barrier... It just sounded good. I am at 142 today and now thinking I might re-assess and push to 130 - 135 lbs slowly over the next six months with some lifting and body recomp and toning work!!

katherine_startrek_fan

I have been overweight/obese since late elementary school. At the time I started losing weight, I was at the low end of morbidly obese.

My doctor recommended that I set my goal weight for a ten pound range (5 pounds either side) of the top of the 'overweight' range for my height. I am currently 12 pounds away from the top of that range.

From there, I am planning to keep going until I get to the top of a 'normal' bmi for my height.

HollandOats

I'm 5' 8" female and aiming for 145lbs. My original goal was 140, as that was the median of my healthy BMI range, and I figured that'd be just right. But I'm finding it hard to stay under 150 (I weighed in at 150 again this morning after being 147 last week) and when I look in the mirror at this current weight, my rib cage is defined (not individual ribs) and my hip bones show, but I'm still soft and feminine... I think 140 would rob me of that soft quality... but I have this strong desire to be under 150, probably just because it's eluding me so. I think 145 will reflect the healthy lifestyle changes I've been making, and I'll appear "lean" rather than average.

I have an inkling that once I eventually hit and stay around 145, I may decide to drop it lower prior to recomp work, as then I can gain back in muscle, but possibly keep around 145. The number itself shouldn't matter that much, but I can't deny, it has a mental hold on me.

Either way, even now at 150, I feel good, I like how my clothes fit, I eat delicious foods and I don't kill myself in the gym (just fun, mixed intensity/interval cardio 2-3 times a week). I'm acceptably active for a 30 year old living life... if my weight stays right where it is, while still having a cheeseburger every now and then, and enjoying cold beers with friends and family, then I won't be mad.

My highest weight was ~186, 2.5 years ago. Simple lifestyle change helped me down to 150 over that period (eat out much less, no snacking, get outside more).

ar9179

I picked the highest "healthy" weight on the old BMI chart, but I guess I need to re-evalutate that since I'm short and the new BMI numbers are a tad lower.

I want to weigh as much as possible and fit into a single digit size, so I'm trying to keep as much muscle as I can while losing. I'm 5'3" and the notion of weighing 100 lbs, like the previous poster wants, doesn't even compute for me as it's close to my estimated current LBM that I'm trying to preserve. My goal was 140, but with the new equation it should be 137. Honestly, I can't imagine being there so I'm exited to see what I'll look like!

slimmingbutterfly

the weight i have picked is a weight i felt best at before my eating disorder started, i felt my strongest.

Allelito

It's the weight I was at around 2 years ago or so, ~120lbs. If I'm happy with my body before that though, I'll stop losing. I'm currently ~128lbs, 5'6". As of now, I think I'll be happy before 120lbs, maybe at around 123lbs or so (I just have a little bit of belly fat I still want to get rid of.) After that, I'll either do a recomp or bulk for a while!

cwolfman13

RoseWhiteBrooke wrote: »

Was it by choosing a particular BMI, or a weight you've been in the past which you felt good at?

Or did you choose a weight to see how you felt when you reached it, and then decide if you wanted to lose anymore?

I was shooting for a certain BF% or at least being in the general vicinity of that BF% and figured out what my weight should roughly be at that BF% provided I didn't lose a lot of muscle. I estimated fairly well.

DianaLovesCoffee

kristen6350 wrote: »

I was there before as an adult and it was where I was happy. 150, 5'11, 36 years old. Little less than a 21 BMI. And after an 18 lbs loss I'm a bit south of that at 148.4. Maintenance range of 147-153.

Kristen, Is this about a size 8/10 pants? I'm same height but older. I was 150 in college and was a small size 10.

gothchiq

Basically it's what the nutritionist recommended. She said it was the weight I would be at the healthiest BMI for my body type.

TakeMyTai

I picked a weight that I felt good and didn't look annorexic. I'm 5'7" and I look amazing at 180lbs. I once dropped down to 159lbs during a messy divorce and I looked so sickly people kept asking if I was okay. 180lb gives me a 39in hip, 29in waist, and 36in bust. Even though it's not a 'healthy' weight for my height, I look healthy

jmbajb921

I wanted my driver's license to stop lying.

HollandOats

DianaLovesCoffee wrote: »

kristen6350 wrote: »

I was there before as an adult and it was where I was happy. 150, 5'11, 36 years old. Little less than a 21 BMI. And after an 18 lbs loss I'm a bit south of that at 148.4. Maintenance range of 147-153.

Kristen, Is this about a size 8/10 pants? I'm same height but older. I was 150 in college and was a small size 10.

@DianaLovesCoffee - Hello, not to butt in, but I wanted to say, I'm around 150lbs and 5' 8" and I'm in US size 8 pant and Medium tops. I still buy Large sometimes, just because I like the room, but definitely fit a Medium. And size 10 pants are just too sloppy looking (had to retire a bunch).

Edited: Wups, just realized you're a right bit taller than I am... disregard, haha.

BettyM1017

I picked a weight that I felt healthy at and was able to maintain for years until I hit 40 and a sedentary lifestyle and my weight jumped 40 pounds.

DianaLovesCoffee

HollandOats wrote: »

DianaLovesCoffee wrote: »

kristen6350 wrote: »

I was there before as an adult and it was where I was happy. 150, 5'11, 36 years old. Little less than a 21 BMI. And after an 18 lbs loss I'm a bit south of that at 148.4. Maintenance range of 147-153.

Kristen, Is this about a size 8/10 pants? I'm same height but older. I was 150 in college and was a small size 10.

@DianaLovesCoffee - Hello, not to butt in, but I wanted to say, I'm around 150lbs and 5' 8" and I'm in US size 8 pant and Medium tops. I still buy Large sometimes, just because I like the room, but definitely fit a Medium. And size 10 pants are just too sloppy looking (had to retire a bunch).

That's great news!