How do you set your target weight.

andympanda

I am finally below 200 Lbs. Which was my last mini goal before My final goal where i would switch to maintenance. How do people know when to stop losing? I am not a believer of going by BMI, and I do not know where to get an accurate BF% test done. Any ideas?

DeguelloTex

Very scientifically: I decided to lose as much as my younger daughter weighed at the time.

Now that I'm almost there, I don't really care about weight except as an indicator of whether I am eating too much or too little. At this point, it's about how I look and feel more than how much I weigh.

TsamIam

Even if you don't want to do a keto diet, I liked this calculator which has a body fat section, to just give you an idea. Better than nothing? http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/. Plus, I'll personally stop losing when I feel good in my clothes and feel strong and healthy.

rybo

I look in the mirror

DaveAkeman

Andy, sorry to say, but you probably do need to get a BF% measurement done. The easiest way is by impedance measurement. A lot of grocery stores around me have blood pressure test stations, and a lot of those stations also have impedance BF% measurement. That's a cheap, easy way to do it. A little more expensive - a lot of home scales also do impedance measurement. I have a Fitbit Aria, and I find that, for me, at least, it is fairly repeatable and accurate (compared to hydrostatic weighing). Skin caliper testing is probably not that hard to find, if you ask at your doctor's office or a local health clinic.

Most accurate, and hardest to find, is hydrostatic weighing, which I have had done. There is a clinic in Portland, Oregon at Adventist Health that does it, and I have heard that's the only one in the state. It costs $60 for the initial weighing, and $40 for each weighing thereafter. If you're using this to find your ideal weight, I think it's $60 well spent. (They suggest coming back every few months while you're losing). I found Adventist Health by doing a Google search. You might try this and see if you can find somewhere in your area. Or call Adventist and see if they know of somewhere in your area. I've found that they're very friendly and helpful.

Their website is:

https://www.adventisthealth.org/nw/pages/health-and-wellness/body-composition-testing.aspx

And if you call, leave a message. The woman in the video is also the woman who does ALL the testing, AND the woman who answers the phones, AND the woman who does all the scheduling, AND the woman who does the billing. She does return calls fairly quickly, however.

SuggaD

I've done it based on clothing fit and athletic performance. At the lowest weight I've been, I've been at my strongest on the bike, so that's where I like to be.

galgenstrick

I make micro goals that are only a month or two out. For example, 8 lbs by August 1st is my current goal. At that point, I'll set a new goal whether it be lose a few more pounds or start putting on some muscle.

TimothyFish

andympanda wrote: »

I am finally below 200 Lbs. Which was my last mini goal before My final goal where i would switch to maintenance. How do people know when to stop losing? I am not a believer of going by BMI, and I do not know where to get an accurate BF% test done. Any ideas?

Some people use the following:

Men: 106 + 6(height in inches - 60) lbs
Women: 100 + 5(height in inches - 60) lbs

nosebag1212

whatever I weight at 10% bf

strong_curves

I don't have a goal weight, I have a goal look in mind. The number on the scale doesn't matter as much as how I would like to look physically.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

cdcllcga01

I'll preface this response by saying I'm a relative newbie, but I've gleaned from reading a great deal of the community that there are generally 2 phases that folks go through on goal setting. The first phase is "what do I want to weigh". I set my goal at 180 because that is the weight where I finished college and I thought I looked pretty good (at least my GF thought so; now my wife of 30 yrs!). But when I get there, I'll find out I won't look the same because I'm 52, not 22! Which means I'll be skinny fat. So I'll move into phase 2 - which is "what do I want my body composition to be" or how much muscle and how much fat vs. scale weight. And that is basically me deciding what I want to see in the mirror. I haven't set a goal yet, but I'm keeping this in mind to help when I get there:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/malebodyfat11.jpg
http://www.nerdfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/menbodyfat2.jpg

It's a good spectrum to make an initial goal - then the rest is trial and error! And the fun is the journey. I'm also thinking this approach will help me address something I've failed at miserably before - maintenance. I think if I don't move toward some goal, I'll move backward. Good luck on your choice for your goal(s)!

Sarasmaintaining

andympanda wrote: »

I am finally below 200 Lbs. Which was my last mini goal before My final goal where i would switch to maintenance. How do people know when to stop losing? I am not a believer of going by BMI, and I do not know where to get an accurate BF% test done. Any ideas?

Well I am a fan of BMI so that's what I go by. My original goal weight was somewhere in the middle of the healthy range, but after I hit that I realized I wanted to keep losing a few more pounds. I re-ran my info in a BMI calculator and I ended up finding my happy maintenance range towards the bottom of the healthy range (19-20). It's what my doctor goes by, it's easy to use and it's worked well for me

Sarasmaintaining

DaveAkeman wrote: »

Andy, sorry to say, but you probably do need to get a BF% measurement done. The easiest way is by impedance measurement. A lot of grocery stores around me have blood pressure test stations, and a lot of those stations also have impedance BF% measurement. That's a cheap, easy way to do it. A little more expensive - a lot of home scales also do impedance measurement. I have a Fitbit Aria, and I find that, for me, at least, it is fairly repeatable and accurate (compared to hydrostatic weighing). Skin caliper testing is probably not that hard to find, if you ask at your doctor's office or a local health clinic.

Most accurate, and hardest to find, is hydrostatic weighing, which I have had done. There is a clinic in Portland, Oregon at Adventist Health that does it, and I have heard that's the only one in the state. It costs $60 for the initial weighing, and $40 for each weighing thereafter. If you're using this to find your ideal weight, I think it's $60 well spent. (They suggest coming back every few months while you're losing). I found Adventist Health by doing a Google search. You might try this and see if you can find somewhere in your area. Or call Adventist and see if they know of somewhere in your area. I've found that they're very friendly and helpful.

Their website is:

https://www.adventisthealth.org/nw/pages/health-and-wellness/body-composition-testing.aspx

And if you call, leave a message. The woman in the video is also the woman who does ALL the testing, AND the woman who answers the phones, AND the woman who does all the scheduling, AND the woman who does the billing. She does return calls fairly quickly, however.

I've used the one at my local grocery store and it seems to be pretty accurate-I compared my results to that online bf% picture chart and it was spot on (I found the picture that was similar to me, and the bf% was exactly what the machine had calculated me at).

Orphia

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

andympanda wrote: »

I am finally below 200 Lbs. Which was my last mini goal before My final goal where i would switch to maintenance. How do people know when to stop losing? I am not a believer of going by BMI, and I do not know where to get an accurate BF% test done. Any ideas?

Well I am a fan of BMI so that's what I go by. My original goal weight was somewhere in the middle of the healthy range, but after I hit that I realized I wanted to keep losing a few more pounds. I re-ran my info in a BMI calculator and I ended up finding my happy maintenance range towards the bottom of the healthy range (19-20). It's what my doctor goes by, it's easy to use and it's worked well for me

Yep, I don't see a problem with setting my goal at the middle of my healthy BMI range.

Christine_72

I stopped trying to lose weight when i was happy with how my body looked

DeniseB0711

I will stop when I hit 135lbs. I based that on the absolute minimum for "normal weight" using the BMI calculator. I know BMI isn't the end all be all, but it is certainly a start. If I went by the LG health app on my phone I should weigh 111lbs 0_o
At that point I am going to switch over to reducing my body fat percentage to about 15%...and just maintain from that point

andympanda

Thanks for everyone's help. I do not want to rely on BMI. Still trying to find a place to get an acurate BF% reading in Sacramento CA, I guess I will go by the mirror technique.

nyponbell

I have a goal weight in mind that's set by the doctors - they unfortunately do go by BMI, so I have to focus on that (before a surgery). Once I've had that surgery, I will probably gain until I'm at a level that's more comfortable for me to maintain (it could be 3-5 kg only, depending) - but I'm kind of short, and since BMI is calculated based on height, I have no other choice.