How did you select your goal weight?

ilovesweeties

Hi,

I am about 6 weeks into trying to maintain a 68lb loss, but have lost a few extra lbs as I work out my true maintenance and come to terms with how much food that actually means!

Having been overweight since my late teens, I had no idea what my ideal weight would feel like, so I set my goal using BMI. I took 7lbs off the top of the healthy range, to give me some wiggle room. I also wanted to get back being to a UK size 14, but I got there by 30 lbs down.

I'm now about 4-5 lbs under my goal and torn about whether to stop. I agree that a weight range is completely necessary. For me, the ends of that range keeping moving! First, my goal of 161 lbs was the bottom of my range, then the middle. Now that I've lost more, I don't want to see the 160s again, when even two months ago, the 160s was a really happy place to be!

MFP would consider me 'skinny fat' as I run 3 times a week and do small amount little in the way of bodyweight resistance training. I'm not interested in long term recomp at the moment- I have other things which are occupying my mind and I am happy with my shape, fitness and strength, for now. I still identify as a curvy girl and I don't want to lose that.

Seems like I have talked in a circle here, but essentially, I'd love to know:

How you chose your first goal weight?
Did you stop when you got there?
What made you finally want to stop losing?
When did you stop focussing on the number and stop trying to beat your previous goal?

Thanks!

GluteralGoddess

How you chose your first goal weight? I picked a weight that just "sounded good" to me.
Did you stop when you got there? I actually lost more than I'd intended and ended up way too skinny--have since done a few bulk/cut cycles.
What made you finally want to stop losing? I'm more concerned with gaining muscle than with losing weight. I'd rather be 130 lbs and 16% body fat than 120 lbs and 25% body fat.
When did you stop focusing on the number and stop trying to beat your previous goal? I'm just working toward being fit and strong. It's more important to me than a number that doesn't mean much.

dredremeg

I picked my weight from what I weighed a couple a years ago. In those two years I gained 45 lbs. due to illness, alcohol, and depression. I just wanted to fit into my old clothes. I have loss 48 lbs, and now I can't fit into my old clothes because they are to big. I have been doing heavy lifting and loss a lot of inches.

I am 5'7", SW 210, CW 162, I have been maintaining since April 2015.

I am still a work in progress, I am eating at maintenance and doing recomp.

RacerX_14

I wanted to drop 25% of my total weight. Hit that and still had a bit more to go to get most of the rest gone. I'm at 26.3 % of total body weight lost from the start right now. Still have a few more lbs to go to hit the body fat % I am after but getting close. Good luck to you!!

Francl27

I picked the middle of healthy BMI, which is also the weight I was at for a couple months when I lost weight when I was 22. I have a medium/large frame though, so I guess it makes a difference (can't lose much more fat at my waist, for example, and it's 29.5 inches or something).

I've come to realize that it's pretty unrealistic to expect to reach that weight again now that I'm 15 years older (besides I have more muscle than I had at the time anyway). I've pretty much stopped 3 pounds from my goal weight at this point, because I can't seem to go lower without getting really hungry. I DO want to keep losing, but I've been maintaining for a year instead. I've lost a couple inches of my waist since though, so I can't really complain.

ilovesweeties

Thanks!

hebdenbiker

I chose my goal weight from the BMI chart. It is the weight that will take me below "overweight" and into "normal".

If I manage to get down to this weight, I expect to want to go on and lose more, but for now I'm starting with the basic goal "to not be overweight".

GaleHawkins

@ilovesweeties you have done very well to have lost 68 pounds and maintained it for 6 weeks. As you know weight loss is doable but most of us will regain it.

If you will maintain your loss for one year then you will have a handle on how to do maintenance for life. 46 weeks from now you can decide where to lose more or not. The body needs time to adjust to your new 'normal' weight.

Best of luck as you move into this critical maintenance stage.

@Franc127 you have down well to have maintained for a year. Congradulations.

pondee629

How you chose your first goal weight? When I got out of Unlce Sam's Misguided Children (in 1977) I was the healthiest and strongest I've ever been I weighed 185. Looking for 190 and in shape now.
Did you stop when you got there? Not yet
What made you finally want to stop losing? Still going 211 and counting down
When did you stop focussing on the number and stop trying to beat your previous goal? Still going

cwolfman13

I calculated an estimated weight as per the BF% I wanted to be at. I'm still slightly overweight as per BMI, but I'm only 12% BF right now...being at the high end of BMI for me would put me at about 10% BF...so pretty lean.

12%ish is basically my happy place...it's easy to maintain...I'm lean, but not ripped.

the number on the scale doesn't mean a whole lot to me.

CasperNaegle

I don't care about the scale numbers I'm really working to get my body fat to about 12-15%. I am at 19% right now. I will continue to work out and as muscle grows weight will to. I suspect I will be in the 190-200 range and I'm around 202 now. I have another 14 or so pounds of fat to lose.

barbecuesauce

How you chose your first goal weight? I don't really know. I just felt like 130 was a good weight to be, I guess. My first goal was 120 and I'm glad I've stopped here for now.

Did you stop when you got there? I plan to maintain/recomp for a while before getting back on the horse.

What made you finally want to stop losing? I realized that a) the level of dissatisfaction I feel with my body is too out-of-sync with how I actually appear, and b) after about 65 pounds lost, I started noticing that I have loose skin on my thighs and should rest here before even considering further fat loss.

When did you stop focussing on the number and stop trying to beat your previous goal? I'll let you know. I no longer weigh every day because the fluctuations have started to weigh on me and I know my logging is tight.

jamieben1824

I chose a goal Size not weight. i am 5'6"tall and the size jeans I feel good at is a 6. Not a snug 6 but a loose size 6 ( I don't like tight jeans). I have no idea what I Weight but I would like to lose about 10-12 pounds and I know this because I am into size 8 and I dont feel comfortable. I understand having a goal but for me, as someone who weight trains and works out 6 days a week- I can't be obsessed with a scale as I once was. From exerience, the hardest part of losing weight is keeping it off. Best of luck, it is quite a jouney but you can do it

PinkyPan1

My doctor wanted me to lose 10-15 lbs. He wanted my weight at 120 lbs. I lost 22 lbs and went on maintenance at 120 and dropped an additional 8 lbs. I have maintained 112 lbs for over a year now. I guess you can say my body chose the weight. I was comfortable at 120 but I really like being 112. I never thought I would be this small again. I am 54 yrs old. I have zero desire to be any smaller. I feared maintenance but it has been easier than I expected. I made a life style change and did not diet this time. I log daily and eat pretty much the same thing weekly.

DonM46

I picked my high school football-playing weight.
My wife threw a fit, saying I'd look too frail, and gave me another number, considerably higher.
I averaged the two and that became my goal.
My ONLY goal; I had no intermediate goal(s).
When I got there in November of 2011, I intentionally went one pound lower to give myself some wiggle room while adjusting to a larger calorie consumption.
It took about a month to find the correct calorie level for maintenance.

erincarampot

How you chose your first goal weight? At first, I didn't have a goal weight, but I was unhappy with my dress size and getting heavier every year. I wanted a long-term plan, so I became a calorie-counter by way of Weight Watchers. I lost weight slowly over a number of years, which is good for someone in their 30s. I use 135 as a peg now because I'm either losing or gaining (but really I am happy at 140.)
Did you stop when you got there? I can't stop because I am either losing or gaining. I adjust my calorie deficit accordingly, creating a greater deficit when I start gaining past 140.
What made you finally want to stop losing? I'm at about 140 and close to my goal of 26%. I can maintain this weight while eating enough to train, work, and lead an active lifestyle.
When did you stop focusing on the number and stop trying to beat your previous goal? Only recently did I realize I don't need to weigh everyday. The fluctuations were upsetting. I weigh towards the end of the week after the weekend bloat is gone!

dakotababy

I am 5'7, started at 250lbs. I chose my first goal based on BMI charts, as well as I thought it would sound nice to say "I have lost 100lbs"...so I went with 150lbs. I reached this goal about 6 months ago.

I decided to keep losing because I still had a lot of fat on me, I am now down to 145lbs.

I just recently decided to start moving my calories up towards maintenance to begin a body recomposition. Basically, I decided this because I love the look of my arms and legs - I HATE how my belly has not gone down in size and it is very fat and very squishy. Thus - Recomp and heavy lifting was now in order!

I keep focus on the number because I do not want to gain all my weight back. I will always be checking the scales until I die. However, my goal has now changed and I want to care more for my measurements (mainly in the belly area). Everything else - I am very happy with.

tomatoey

Two answers for 2 different periods

How you chose your first goal weight? My SW at the time was 178 (I'm 5'7); I initially picked 150 because it seemed achievable, and I liked myself at 150.

Did you stop when you got there? Nope, kept losing. I kept a moderate intake but was pretty active (I used exercise as stress relief and to help manage mood), and my body just settled in that balance at 124. I maintained that for years until I started getting hurt and regained almost 20 lbs (have lost about half of that now).

What made you finally want to stop losing? My body just settled there. I was happy with my food/exercise/life balance.

When did you stop focussing on the number and stop trying to beat your previous goal? I wasn't focused on the number, it was more about how I felt and looked.

So after I regained:

How you chose your first goal weight? I wanted to get back to 124. All of a sudden the number mattered, lol.

Did you stop when you got there? Nope, didn't get there - am hovering at 135. I'm still deciding whether I want to stay here or reduce further... maybe a few more pounds.

What made you finally want to stop losing? The kind of workouts I can do don't help that much with building muscle, though I could probably maintain a lot of what I have. Like barbecuesauce said, losing 10 lbs of fat (which would be the ideal, except of course it definitely won't just be fat) would probably mean some loose skin, and I'm not thrilled with that idea either, since the kind of muscle mass I would like isn't in the cards at the moment.

Also, I think it's again down to the balance I can do right now - I can shave maybe a hundred or so calories off my diet without feeling too deprived, but basically I'm eating what I think I need to eat to feel ok, take care of my health, and still enjoy my life.

When did you stop focussing on the number and stop trying to beat your previous goal? I'm trying to focus less on that 124 and more on how I feel. I'm trying to accept the limitations I'm having to work around (a constant struggle) and be ok with what that means for what I look like.

bunnypy

How you chose your first goal weight?
I wanted to go back to the size I've always worn, which was 8 (51-53kg).

Did you stop when you got there?
No I went down to a size 6 which was around 46-48kg.

What made you finally want to stop losing?
I was very unhealthy, had flu all the time, I carry most of my weight in my hips so my shoulder blades and bones were too visible and my face was very bony.

When did you stop focusing on the number and stop trying to beat your previous goal?
I had to go back to my 51-53kg, I felt so much better, forgot about my size 6 dream and focused on maintaining and staying healthy.

ericGold15

I am a 56 year old male 5 feet 6 inches tall. I peaked at ~ 150 lbs this year, but was at ~ 143 when I began calorie counting and exercising in July.
My first goal was a mixture of low normal BMI, and 60 Kg as an even number (132 Lbs). I weigh 134 now. I expect to continue losing weight until most/all of my belly fat is gone. Somewhere in the low to mid 120s ?

My secondary goals will be fitness and appearance. I am one of those unlucky males with skinny legs, no butt, a protuberant belly that is the first to collect fat, and small bones. I carry fat really poorly. So skinny/lean is just about mandatory and a goal will be lean and wiry. I have a bias against lifting, but expect (hope) that a mixture of cycling, swimming, and body exercises will bring tone. And while rarely discussed here because of the focus on weight and muscle, posture, balance and flexibility are *really* important to a long healthy life. I have neglected these my entire life and will have to start at ground zero. Perhaps my wife's Yoga class is calling.

ilovesweeties

tomatoey wrote: »

What made you finally want to stop losing? My body just settled there. I was happy with my food/exercise/life balance.

What made you finally want to stop losing? The kind of workouts I can do don't help that much with building muscle, though I could probably maintain a lot of what I have. Like barbecuesauce said, losing 10 lbs of fat (which would be the ideal, except of course it definitely won't just be fat) would probably mean some loose skin, and I'm not thrilled with that idea either, since the kind of muscle mass I would like isn't in the cards at the moment.

Both of your 'what made you stop?' answers really resonate with me. I feel like I am not quite in balance with CICO yet- I could do less activity, then I wouldn't have to eat so much. I love all the walking and running I do, so I won't stop! But the loose skin part bothers me, I had noticed it in some places as I lost the last 10 lbs before goal but now I have slipped down a few more lbs I am noticing it elsewhere too! @GaleHawkins is right- I think I need to settle here for a while and see how my body recovers.

It's good to know others have the same struggle with current/ultimate goal, I'm hoping that I'll just know when I get there. Mind you, I didn't know immediately when I got too big either! Took me a number of dress size increases to understand I needed to take action, so maybe it's reasonable to expect a similar effect at the opposite end.