So what do most of you choose as your goal weight?

forthemovies

According to all ideal weight calculations for my height (5'2") I ought to weigh anywhere from 102 to 138 lbs. I can't see liking my body below 135.

I am currently 155 with 29% body fat. My start weight was 161. I am now between a size 6 and 8 in pants (was a snug 8 at my start weight), wear a small in tops and a 6 in dresses. Aiming to get to 145ish with 25% body fat and will reevaluate from there.

I am more focused on how I feel rather than a number on the scale. We already cook 95% of meals in our house, but were eating way too much. I gained weight over 8 months at a desk job straight out of school. Used to not have an issue as I was a server through school and got plenty of daily activity.

My most recent personal victory was returning to a 5k trail with my dog that has a lot of small hills over a 3km loop. First time there I thought I'd never come back. Yesterday I ran up every hill. Loving my increased endurance!

lemurcat12

I picked my goal weight based on a weight I had in the past and liked. It's not that big a deal, I'm just going to keep getting more fit and focus on body fat percentage and look. Don't care what the weight ends up being.

Losewtforlife4him

JustMissTracy wrote: »

My goal weight was originally 120 lbs...I'm 46, 5'2...but I reached 120 a couple of weeks ago (without meaning to, thanx illness!), and I'm not happy with it. I'm happier a few pounds heavier, me thinks...so I've slowly added a few more, and I think my new "goal" is between 123 and 125.

Where is that on the bmi chart for your height?

MommyMeggo

Ive been at a weight that I wish I had stayed at-and achieved with weight loss as an adult (in between kids)
-- having seen myself there- I know its possible and I liked how i looked. That is why its my goal #.
I didnt pick an arbitrary # off a chart.
If I hadnt seen myself at that weight however I would try to determine a decent weight for my age/height and I would set small goals and see how I looked/felt along the way to determine how much more I wanted to lose.

JustMissTracy

joobey wrote: »

JustMissTracy wrote: »

My goal weight was originally 120 lbs...I'm 46, 5'2...but I reached 120 a couple of weeks ago (without meaning to, thanx illness!), and I'm not happy with it. I'm happier a few pounds heavier, me thinks...so I've slowly added a few more, and I think my new "goal" is between 123 and 125.

Where is that on the bmi chart for your height?

I'm not sure as I don't really know how to calculate that...I'm 46 (almost 47!!), 5'2, and I think 123 would put me around the middle to low range...but I'm using the comments above as a guide....Someone else may be able to tell us better!

Losewtforlife4him

Wow thanks everyone for your thoughts. I was just curious how others feel about a goal weight and what it means to you when many of you have talked about getting to goal.

geminiswede

At 5'11 BMI gives me a range of 136-178. Initially once upon a time I had picked 160, right in the middle, but that has always sounded low for me. So I upped it to 180 for now, just above the top of that range, and when I get there I'll re-evaluate. I'm not going to stick to just that BMI range, but as someone who has always been heavier than I "should" be, I figured I could use it to get me some ballpark numbers to aim for.

When ti comes down to it, I don't care about the actual number. I'm going to go off of the mirror, how clothes fit, and how I feel.

Losewtforlife4him

Yes I think what's most important is not a number but how we ultimately feel and how our clothes feel on us. Also how much energy we have. Because being smaller doesn't mean healthier. Small people can be extremely tired from eating the wrong nutrition too.

adremark

My weight goal changed over time. I weighed 195 lbs, and said to myself "maybe I can lose 10 pounds-- not more since I'm a big guy". I lost that, then said "maybe I can lose 10 more pounds". And so on. Each time I realize I have more fat to lose. I lost 45 pounds over time. Now my goal is more %body fat.

robininfl

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I never had some arbitrary number in mind, I look more at BF% and my overall composition. The actual number on the scale doesn't really matter.

Understand also that BMI is a range in order to accommodate different frames and body types, muscle, etc...it's not so that you can just pick and choose arbitrarily within that range. My wife for example is 5'2" and has an athletic build and good muscle mass...her range is 105 - 130. She weighs around 125 and looks awesome at that weight...because of her build and frame, she would look sickly at the lower end of that range which would be for a more petite frame. She would also have to lose some muscle which is pretty much a non starter right there.

This is true. I am built lean, and can look great at 125lb at 5'9", and try to stay between 130 & 135, toward the bottom of healthy BMI. Slim hips, small wrists, small bust, good shoulders but I'm just not built to hold much weight. I have seen women who look fit and healthy 50lb heavier than me at same height, but once I get to ten stone I feel bloated and fat, the weight goes to the middle. Doctor never fussed or said I was underweight even close to 120, it does not look "wrong" on me.

It's true that people may overestimate their frame size while they are overweight, some of what looks like muscle may be fat. But once you get lean, there is a weight range that is best for your size and it's not the same for everyone who is the same height.

brb_2013

I looked up my BMI range then chose a slightly higher number for flexibility, I do have a larger frame wide hips and shoulders so I don't want to expect too much. I also would like to switch to recomp as I get closer to the goal. My ultimate goal is 150 but I have never been a healthy weight as an adult so I really have no idea. I will listen to my body though If I could drop more fat at 150 I will.

DorkyUnicorn

I was around 135 a few years ago and would like to be slimmer than that, so I I just chose 120 and figured I'll evaluate as I get closer to that. I'm 5'6" so that puts me on the lower side of the normal BMI category.

Gamliela

Healthy is around 125 to 155 for my height and frame according to what I can find out. I was between 130 and 140 from teenage to when I quit smoking age 33. Then I gained up to 145 pounds for several years. That weight naturally went off during a year where I was more active and I slimmed down to 130 again without diets or calorie deficit. I never watched what I ate or dieted until I put on some weight after reaching the menopause in my 50's. I gained pounds so that after menopause I weighed175. That's what I weighed for pregnancy weights! I quit eating deserts, except occasionaly, I put a few limits on bread and other carbs like rice and potatoes and I lost weight sowly without any bother. I decided to begin counting calories and with a more exact management of my calorie intake I lost down to 130. I had no flab. I believe I had even lost quite a bit of muscle as I lost that weight. I maintained around that weight, sometimes a bit lower for 5 years. After about three years I became really hungry. I still wonder exactly why I decided to stop keeping my calories at a certain level. It could have been the hunger that set in, the lack of freedom I felt I wanted to have about eating. So I gave myself the permission to eat freely and gained the weight back. Last December, about three years later I have come back to calorie counting and restriction of calories to lose weight because I saw that my health was becoming compromised. As I have no health problems and no medications so far at 66 years old I want to see a future without metaformin and beta blockers. So, I don't much care about the numbers, haven't even got a scale. What matters to me is walking without getting out of breath on stairs and up hills, being active and feeling light and comfortable with my body.

I like this thread, there are so many ways of seeing weight and body size, and the interesting choices people are making for themselves.

kshama2001

My goal is to get back in to my skinny jeans from when I was a full time yoga teacher.

I have a large frame and the only time I've had a BMI as low as 24 was after 6 weeks of under eating and over exercising during boot camp.

http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp

RobD520

BMI-26.6; Body Fat-11%; Waist 29/30.

robininfl

kshama2001 wrote: »

My goal is to get back in to my skinny jeans from when I was a full time yoga teacher.

I have a large frame and the only time I've had a BMI as low as 24 was after 6 weeks of under eating and over exercising during boot camp.

http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp

Ha, by elbow breadth I am Medium frame, by wrist circumference Thin frame.
Makes sense, I guess, my bones are thin/narrow and wrists tiny but my skeleton frame-build is pretty average.
The calculator doesn't like that they don't match.

I agree that the size one "should" be, as a general goal, is the size you are when active and eating moderately, and feeling good and healthy.

walkjem

I am 5'5" and currently 142. Started at 159 in January. I would like to get down to 138 - bmi 23. However, I haven't been that weight since my late 40's (I'm 57) and wonder if I'll look too thin. I have an athletic build.

I went shopping yesterday at Kohl's and some size 6 jeans were too big! Vanity sizing!

Lounmoun

My first goal is just to not be overweight on the BMI chart. My ultimate goal is to be the weight I felt best at which happens to be around the middle of the healthy weight range for my height. I have weighed less than that in the past and did not feel or look my best at the lowest end of that range. So no I didn't choose a random number for my goal weight. I based it on my personal experience and the BMI chart.

mitchell197247

I'm 5'6.5" and was 182 when I decided that I had enough of the gaining weight and not liking what I saw in the mirror. I didn't really have a goal weight at the time. After I started losing a good amount of weight I decides on 126. Now that I've lost over forty lbs and am between 136-139. I've decided I'm happy with what I see. No I just want to tone and strengthen. I don't think I'd look good at 126.

brdnw

I started at 285. It's an ever changing number. At first i thought i'd look awesome at 220 then when i got to 220 i realized that certainly wouldn't be it and all this time i had also hoped to get to 185 as it would be 100lbs lost but I don't know if i'll ever be able to get that low now, bleh.