Question about goal weights

xoxdollyxox

I see so many people have a goal weight they are trying to achieve and I'm just wondering how everyone finds that magic number? How do we know what number on the scales going to make us happy?

I started my journey at 122.3kgs (269.1lbs).. I have always been overweight.. Iv'e spent the last 6-7 years around the 116-119kg (255.2- 261.8 lbs) mark and I've so far lost 21.5kgs (47.3lbs) and I still can't manage to find myself a goal weight! At least not a final weight. I'm hoping to at least get to 80kg (176 lbs) which for my 5ft5 frame is still overweight but I can't get my head around me being any smaller then that because I can't remember weighing below 85kg (obviously I did when I was younger but I'm guessing I never weighed myself much back then)

So I'm just curious as to how people found their magic number. I want to have one of those OMG I did it moments when I get down to my final goal.. but I need to find one first!!

89nunu

You pick a number that sounds nice, when you are there you reevaluate

Or you do it properly and work it out with bf% and what should be nice for you... But making one up works just as well

sissiluv

I'm using BMI to go for a goal weight...even if I think it's a sack of over generalized doodoo it's a good a place as any to start. c:

SaintChubbkins

I don't think its about having a magic number as much as having a tangible goal to work towards. Especially those of us on a long road, its a good thing to have a general idea where we want to end up, though likely the exact number of that goal will change as we progress. For me personally, things have changed a lot. I started out around 260, and I knew I wasn't healthy, so I set a goal of 200, and then had myself checked out by my doc, then the goal became 150. I'm still working towards it, and the goal is slowly starting to change again, as I've decided weight isn't as important as having some sort of muscle and functional athletic performance.

Those of us who've always been overweight will always go through loads of trial and error til we're pleased with how we are. That being said, I don't think a number on the scale will ever be the end all be all for happiness. If you're relying on the scale to be happy, it probably isn't the healthiest mindset to have. Just find some exercise you have fun with and enjoy the time it takes to get to your goal.

AprilRN10

i chose the high end of the healthy weight for my size according to bmi.

leebesstoad

I use a method we use in my office. I took a SWAG at it.

Scientific
Wild
Assed
Guess.

I got there, re-evaluated and have lowered it again. You set an initial target. If you are happy there, stay there. If you want to keep going, once you get there lower it again.

Either that or a magic 8 ball or Ouija board. Maybe a dart board. Did you know that according to MFP's exercise database, you burn 3 calories a minute playing darts? Who knew?

AHack3

Google a Body Mass Index chart (BMI). Look up your height compared to weight, it will tell you the range you are in. You can look at the chart to determine a normal healthy range for you. I based mine to about the middle of the normal range. When you get close to the goal weight you can gage our you are feeling. And ideal body weight for you would be one that you look and feel your best.

ron2e

Personally, I started putting on weight when I gave up smoking 20+ years ago so my goal weight is the weight I was then plus up to 10 lbs given that I am 20+ years older now and it works out at about 15 lbs more than I was when I left school (I more or less maintained weight until I stopped smoking). But as has been said above, when I get closer to it I will reappraise and decide what is realistic to attain and maintain.

ash190489

I think it's good to have multiple goal weights... a short term goal and a long term goal. My short term goals used to be about 1kg per week (but any loss was good!) and originally I wanted to lose 10kg. When I reached that goal I still wasn't happy and had a bit of excess body fat I wanted to shift. I lost another 4 kg and felt good, but then reassessed my goals to gaining muscle weight/mass and continue losing body fat %. I am still on this journey and most of the time I am feeling good!

Mcgrawhaha

trial and error. especially if you have been fat so long that you really dont know what your weight should be as an adult! i was 246 in september when i started. my original goal was 200. got there, still too big, then dropped to 180, then to 175, then to 165... well, now im 167, and ive dropped it to 155... but i think im going to shoot for 145. its hard because im tall, im 5 foot 10, so... when you look at ideal weights for my height, there is a large area to aim for! its trial and error, just set your goal, and change it if you need to!

trudijoy

I went for the last weight I could remember being sweet with, rounded down to the nearest ten

irishblonde2011

I went for the middle of a healthy bmi. I have been this weight before and felt great. You can always change it as you get closer.

kazsjourney

I have a lot of excess skin.....so I had a dexa scan to get a "ideal weight"...so thats what I am aiming for (and it is actually above 9 pounds about the healthy weight range)

GADavies

I decided I wanted to lose 198 pounds this year. That's the difference between what I was in January and what I weighed when I was 18. It's also my height in centimeters, and it's the point at which I'm not obese on the BMI scale any more. How many more reasons to lose 198 pounds can I come up with?

ellepribro

My goal weight is arbitrary. Right now it's just an idea of where I want to be. I've already changed it a couple times. I'll know my goal based on how I feel when I reach it.

Lupercalia

I honestly don't have a real goal weight number. I have a goal for how I want my body composition to be, how I want to look in and out of clothes, and I have goals for how strong I'd like to be. The goal number on my ticker is a weight that I was at when I was healthy and athletic. It's not my lowest weight, but a weight I felt was appropriate for me at that point in time. I don't know if that weight is right for me now, but it's really just there as a sort of placeholder.

WalkingMermaid_

I'm 5'7 and I was 165 lbs before I gained weight. At that weight I felt happy, strong, fit and confident. So that's my magic number :happy:

AwesomeSquirrel

My first goal is to reach a healthy BMI which I think holds true for a lot of people on my friend list. After that I want to approach the middle of the range evaluating along the way how I look and feel.

memubo99

Well I spent about 30 years at 112lb and it never budged no matter what I ate, UNTIL I hit 38-40 yrs old and then I let it slide a bit and in May his year I weighed 140lb and nothing fitted. 5ft 3 and range is 105-140lb according to info
So my goal was to get to 124-130lb as my clothes fit at this weight.
I have reached 124lb and stayed there for the last 3 days so today I know that I have reached this goal.

But I am very flabby and still have big thighs but I think I can live with this, my clothes fit.

So for you can you pick a weight that you know you will be comfortable with. You can change it as you go along.

carolinetayloruk

My overall goal is at the top of the healthy weight for my height. I'm starting to think I might go a few llbs below this so I've some to play with but I'll re-evaluate when I get there

defyyourlimitations

I saw a few of these and agree completely. BMI range is a good place to start and then when you reach a healthy BMI, reevaluate your goal. That's what I am doing. BMI isn't everything, but I don't think it's a bad way to guide beginning goals.

grimendale

My goal weight is purely arbitrary because MFP asked for a number. I'm looking at body fat % as my indicator. I've finally gotten into a healthy range for the first time ever, and am looking to get into the atheltic range (around 18% would be ideal for me).

DPernet

210lb is right on the border for me being at a healthy 25.0 BMI, so I deducted 5lb from this and set my goal weight at 205lb :bigsmile:

122ish

I changed my mind several times and just stopped where I felt comfortable. I had an idea of where I wanted to end based on how much I weighed in high school and early 20's but those numbers didn't look the same on me anymore because my body is different. So even though I had a number in mind I figured if I didn't reach it or exceed it I would not much care if I felt good there. I don't want to obsess about where I am now because I want to gain muscle and if that means I gain a few lbs then that's alright. U will just know when u reach your goal and don't sell yourself short thinking u don't remember being a certain weight doesn't mean u can't be if u want

Puffingmuffin

Don't pick a weight. Just pick a size you want to fit into. I bought some abercrombie and fitch shorts in size 2, and that's my aim. BMI isn't everything, so don't pay too much attention to it.

tweetiejovi

i remember weighting now what i did 12yrs ago before i got cuddly and remember wanting to be between 8 and 10st got to 9st 4 once and everybody though i looked to thin, so thinking 10st should be ok am currently 12st and as was 18st nearly when i started think i should be 'ower though lots of people are commenting on me beening to thin now, my bmi healthy range is 8st to 11st depending on which one you follow so think ill try for 10st, if i become to obessed maybe im ok as i am, maybe when i get yo 10st, i think 8st is possible might try for it but think that is highly unlikely, so see how it and you go

xoxdollyxox

Thanks everyone for the reply's! I love this place so much everyone is so helpful.. I swear I can spend hours on here looking at the message boards..

But yeah I know this is going to be a long journey I guess I'm just worried I won't know when Ive reached where I need to be.

Even the thought of getting to a maintenance weight is kinda scarey. At least while your loosing, all the counting cals and exercise leads to the scale going down at the end of the week. Doing all that for no results just not to gain is a whole different ball game. But I guess I'll figure that out when I come to it. Mind you its a long way off but I'll get there lol

chooriyah

I want to be the size and weight that I was when I got married - 65kg and size 10/12 UK...

55in13

I'm using BMI to go for a goal weight...even if I think it's a sack of over generalized doodoo it's a good a place as any to start. c:

I am doing this also and going a little under so that the top of maintenance range (goal + 5) is still barely under. No, it isn't then end all measure of health but there is nothing about my frame that invalidates it. I Googled for other ideal weight calculators and they came up with numbers within a few pounds of that also. Also, I was not an obese lifer; I was at a reasonably healthy weight most of my life by nature and I was in roughly the same range. I was overweight for somewhere between 7 and 10 years and substantially overweight maybe 5.

MyJourney1960

My goal is a weight that i was happy at when i was younger. Now, i'm not naiive and I know that at age 52, after a hysterectomy at age 37 (so was plunged into menopause way too early) that my body is not the same. so - I am using that number as a general guide, want to get down to a healthy BMI and SIZE, and then I will reevaluate. It may be a few more pounds one way or the other.

zyxst

i chose the high end of the healthy weight for my size according to bmi.

Same here. It's not a number that will make me happy either. I'd have to rewire my brain for that.