Determining goal weight

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  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited March 2016
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    I used to think I wanted to weigh 140lbs but in my avatar I'm 165 (and I'm 5'6" so I'm still "overweight"). I think 5lbs of fat should do it for me, but I think once you're closer to your range go by bf%
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    trjjoy wrote: »
    No-one has a "large frame". People who are taller will have longer limbs, for example. But that's it.

    Nonsense. There is a a huge variation in all body parts including build / skeleton / body proportions.
    Have a look at rugby legend Jason Leonard for someone with a real barrel chest. (Not talking about the muscle on top of his frame BTW - his rib cage is enormous).

    I agree with these guys, there are larger and smaller frames. I don't know how much they contribute to weight, but my shoulders and hips are a certain size even when I am way underweight, that's my frame. I don't have the tiny sloping shoulders of Diana Ross or Nancy Reagan, I am built elongated athletic in the skeleton. Bone size also varies, my oldest daughter is built very similarly to me but her wrists and ankles are 2" bigger than mine. There is no way her bones don't weigh more. I don't know how much more, but more.

    On the original question, I just try to stay near the low end of a healthy BMI, and my goal is based more on measurements than pounds, but if I can be heavier at the size I want, would consider that healthier.
  • jennyonthespot
    jennyonthespot Posts: 98 Member
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    OP, I based my original goal weight on a weight I easily maintained a few years ago. I got there, then maintained for a bit, then lost a bit more. I'm trying to focus on fitness-oriented goals more now. Aesthetics seem to be a fringe benefit of an active lifestyle. As long as I'm at a healthy BMI, and have struck the balance between happy with what I look like and what I have to do to maintain it, I consider myself good to go.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,837 Member
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    I set an initial goal based on a weight that I'd been sometime in young adulthood (not my lowest adult weight ever), realizing that I'd need to re-evaluate when I got closer, since young adulthood was 30+ years ago. I like that general strategy of setting a provisional goal, then re-evaluating.

    About 5-10 pounds above that initial goal, I did two things: I started slowing my weight loss rate way down (0.5lb/week and eventually less), and paying attention to how I felt, and how my body looked.

    I ended up saying, "OK, this is good" about 8-10 pounds below that initial goal. I just woke up one morning (literally) and thought "I'm there".

    And I absolutely agree that people do better at different goal weights for the same height. Obviously, there are cultural and personal aesthetic factors. Muscularity makes a difference. And, yes, frame size is a thing - not so much the "big boned" idea in the sense of bone weight per se, but that if you have wide hips (say), it takes more meat of all types to go around them, and that meat has a weight.

    Sometimes people think that those defending frame size want to excuse themselves for being heavier because they "have big bones". Sometimes that happens, maybe, but I'm defending the frame size concept as someone who has boy-hips instead of lady hips, no booty whatsoever, and who - despite wide shoulders, big hands/feet, and more-than-average muscle for my age - should be on the lighter side of normal for my height. (I'm 5'5", 60 y/o, and 118lbs, which is 2-5 pounds less than I ultimately intend).
  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
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    I decided on pure aesthetics for what I prefer to look like it.
  • Lisa_Ookoo
    Lisa_Ookoo Posts: 134 Member
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    I stopped when it was easier to buy clothes that fit. I've always been pear-shaped, so pants that fit me around the hips were too big at that waist. Now I weigh 123 lbs, my hips and butt have slimmed down, and clothes look good on me.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    edited March 2016
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    trjjoy wrote: »
    No-one has a "large frame". People who are taller will have longer limbs, for example. But that's it.

    LOL....people do have different sized frames. The reason BMI is a range is to address this fact as well as differences in muscle mass, etc.

    My best friend and I are the same height...he has a very small frame whereas I have a medium frame...there is a noticeable difference in our frames when you look at us.

    As to the OP...I never picked a goal weight...I knew I wanted to be around 12% BF so that was my target, not some number.
  • mmmpork
    mmmpork Posts: 133 Member
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    Agree with @cwolfman13 people can have different builds. My mom for instance is a half inch taller than me, 175 pounds on her looks fat but I'm at 30% fat at that weight and look fine. I've got wide hips and broad thighs and just tend to be more muscular. I'm 5'6.5" and she's 5.7" and more of a slender build.

    BMI is notoriously inaccurate and racially biased, working with Lean Body Mass estimates is going to serve you better since it accounts for variations. I did pick a target weight, but it's higher than BMI would put me at (125??!!). I picked mine based on what I've weighed in the past and 140 is way more realistic for me. I plan to do recomp once I get down to 170 anyways so lbm will be more my focus.

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    I look like a large frame at an obese BMI.

    I look like a small frame at a healthy BMI.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    I set my goal weight based on what I weighed at 19. However I'm currently 10 lbs heavier but have the same measurements I did back then. I wear the same size clothing (adjusted for ASTM changes) as well (that is I'm in a 10/12 now and was a 12/14 then).

    I honestly have no clue any more what my goal is. If I go on the height that scoliosis robbed me of I'd be in the "healthy" range; but as it is I'm "overweight" by 15 lbs. I can easily feel my backbone, ribs, hips and sternum.

    I'm actually considering calling it quits now because my goal was functional rather than numerical anyway; I wanted to relieve stress on my heart and make it easier to do the things I love to do. I feel at this point my weight is not contributing to my disability significantly; mostly its just living with lupus.

    This is me at 5'9" 185 lbs.

    3wcly4vo9pck.jpg


    190.jpg 76.4K
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Orphia wrote: »
    I look like a large frame at an obese BMI.

    I look like a small frame at a healthy BMI.

    I look like a fat bloke at an obese BMI.
    I look like a large frame at a healthy BMI.

    As for goal weight - I just picked my favourite adult weight, when I felt my strongest/fittest/healthiest/looked best.

    When I got there I realised after a while my best weight in my 50's wasn't the same as best weight in my 20's. Nibbled off a further 10lbs ('ish) in a series of small stages of dieting and maintenance until I thought it was both ideal for me now and also sustainable long term.
  • shrinkingbrian
    shrinkingbrian Posts: 171 Member
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    I had a hard time determining my goal weight. I lost over 200 pounds and was never really at a healthy weight as an adult until a few years ago. I'm 6-0 in height (male). I got down to 188 pounds but feel weak and had some loose skin. I worked the last few years to build lean muscle and now I feel comfortable at 200 - 210 pounds. A lot of athletes are around BMI of 26-28. I care more about my waist size and try to stay around 36 inches. If I go up one notch in my belt, I work hard the next week to watch my diet to get back on track.
  • 4leighbee
    4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
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    I don't think there a one-size-fits-all formula. I weigh 160 pounds at age 44. Most people will guess I weigh around 135-140. I have come to separate myself from the target weight ranges and obsession with the scale. I am a runner and a weightlifter who could stand to tighten up a bit. That's enough identity for me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I picked the middle of the healthy BMI. Will probably not get there though!
  • llbrixon
    llbrixon Posts: 964 Member
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    Your goal weight is a personal choice. My goal weight is based on my past experience with weight loss and able to maintain a livable weight and still enjoy the foods I love. Female, 61 years old, 5'6," I am now going to go for range of 155-160, I really believe I can live at this weight and walk 2-3 times a week without getting frustrated with not having the foods I love. I have learned to make better choices of foods on a daily basis, I watch my weight on the scale, and I make sure I get in a walk during the week. My calories at 170 pounds now is 1400 calories, and I could live at this restriction, so the closer I come to my goal weight, more decisions to be made It is your choice! What weight can you live at. Once you meet your goal, your weight watching days DO NOT quit, it is just another journey and goals to maintain your weight.
  • llbrixon
    llbrixon Posts: 964 Member
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    pbryd wrote: »
    stickkop wrote: »
    I am wondering how you all determined what your correct goal weight or correct range is. When I search on line I see that my goal weight can range by 20 pounds (anywhere between 130-150 for a 5-5 male)

    You could try

    http://visualbmi.com/

    and adjust the sliders to suit.

    Awesome site!
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    mitch16 wrote: »
    vingogly wrote: »
    My weight in my early 20s was around 170-175 lbs, so that's what I'm shooting for. It's heavier than I've seen recommended in various tables and calculators, but at that weight I'm healthy, happy, and not emaciated. Using the wrist circumference criterion, I classify as large frame. See:

    http://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html

    I like your calculator--it says that I am perfect where I am right now! :smile:

    That calculator is sort of interesting and my ideal weight is about what I figure it would be.

    But I assumed it would change with age. I plugged in my current age, then plugged in age 22, then plugged in age 55, and got all the same number. I assumed that with increasing age the weight would increase slightly, but I guess not?
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    I picked the middle of the healthy BMI. Will probably not get there though!

    @Francl27 I've always thought you've been maintaining your goal weight for years! You look really slim in your profile pics.
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,262 Member
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    I chose clothes size. I wanted to move from 18/20 down to size 14.uk sizes didn't realise it was actually possible until joined this site. I have got down to size 12 with some 10's.
  • jrwms714
    jrwms714 Posts: 421 Member
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    There are tons of articles about the BMI and many say that it often does not take into account your body type. I am 5'0" with very muscular thighs and legs. Even at my smallest, in high school and for years afterwards, I never weighed less than 110 because of this and I always wore a size 4 Petite ... even now, decades later, after a loss and maintenance of 40 lbs., and a waist of 30", the BMI tells me I am just into the overweight category. And I am wearing a 6 Petite in slacks. Try not to take it too literally. Use clothing size, use body fat percentage, use waist size, but BMI doesn't work for everyone. Even my internist told me that.

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