Deciding on your goal weight

Evening (I'm in the UK) I was looking for some guidance on goal weight please. Initially I set my goal to just under the top limit of a healthy bmi, but as I get closer (healthy bmi is 19lbs away and I've lost 26lbs since mid January) I've been thinking my goal should be more in the centre of the healthy bmi range, however I've no idea that will look or feel. Last time I can remember even being at the top of a healthy bmi I was 21 and I'm now 44. BMI weight ranges are so wide I'm unsure wear to aim for and would like to decide so that I can adjust my deficit appropriately as I get closer. Any advice gratefully received.

Replies

  • crazyycatlady1
    crazyycatlady1 Posts: 292 Member
    Start with the 19lbs.... when you get there you can reassess.

    This. No need to make a hard fast goal right now. When you get to 19lbs then reevaluate where you're at. I changed my final goal several times before I found my perfect maintenance range.
  • pennygm72
    pennygm72 Posts: 179 Member
    Thank you both, that is what I had decided when I started but success is going to my head!
  • crazyycatlady1
    crazyycatlady1 Posts: 292 Member
    pennygm72 wrote: »
    Thank you both, that is what I had decided when I started but success is going to my head!

    Also realize you'll have a maintenance range, instead of a set number. That's because your weight will fluctuate daily due to all sorts of things, not fat related :) In the winter months my range is 130lbs-133lbs and then during the summer I bring it down to the 122lb-125lb range.
  • floridamike99
    floridamike99 Posts: 35 Member
    I have struggled with this same issue. I was overweight/obese pretty much my whole adult life. I have no idea what the "right weight" for me is. I have just entered the "normal" range (5'11, 179), but I do not feel that I am at the health and fitness level I want to achieve. I still feel like I have a spare tire (a bike tire, not a truck tire anymore! LOL) On the other hand, the middle of the range for me is around 160. I think that may be too low for me. I think I would look really noticeably skinny. So, for me it is a wait and see game. I guess when I feel my best and strongest without feeling like I have gone too far, then I'll be at the right place.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    I started with the middle of normal, got there, realized that I looked terrible, so started lifting again. My new "goal" is literally unobtainable, for a reason.
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
    I'm aiming for about 10 pounds under the upper limit for my BMI. That way I have some wiggle room with weight. However, I will see what I look/feel like when I get there. I'm also planning to lift weights once I'm done losing which means I'll continue to change shape.

    Basically, pick a number and see what you think when you get there.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,443 Member
    I don't really care what the number is on the scale. My goal is more what I look like in the mirror. (And how much weight I can lift).
  • kermax39
    kermax39 Posts: 149 Member
    Im 41, In my 20s my bmi was about 23, im aiming for 25 now which is the upper limit....I.dont think I could carry off the skinny look in my 40s. Everyone is different but this is just how I feel. Your body shape changes as u age I think bein the weight I was at 21 just wouldnt look right for me 20 yrs later. Just try to aim for a size u feel comfortable in.
  • Nevada
    Nevada Posts: 140 Member
    Last December I was 183 pounds. At 5'11, that put my BMI just into Overweight. I picked a goal of losing 20 pounds, just to have a number. My real goal is to take my waist from "unhealthy" 36 inches to "healthy" 34 inches, then reassess. I have a supply of 32 and 33 inch waist pants I would like to get back into. Those are from the time I felt most fit.
  • Golbat
    Golbat Posts: 276 Member
    I was 140 in my 20s. Now, at 47, I'll be happy if I'm simply a healthy weight, which would be 170. I don't think I even could get to 140, nor do I care to. It's funny because I remember in my early to mid 30s when my thyroid went bad and my weight crept up to 160 feeling like that was the most horrible thing that could happen. Now my goal is to be 10 pounds heavier than that. LOL.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    And if you get to a lower goal and decide it's too low, all you have to do is eat a little extra and get back to the number you liked best :)
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    edited April 2017
    I'm a 62 yo female 5'6" currently 196. I put 150 lb as my goal weight. I then looked this up on www.smartbmicalculator.com and 150 is right in the sweet spot for me at my age.

    But here's the thing...I'm unwilling to eat less than I am now and unwilling to exercise much more than now. So, if my weight loss (now at about 1.25 lb per week) slows and then stops, I will just declare victory at whatever that weight is.

    Edit: Unless of course I'm still losing when I get to 150. Then I'll look for maintenance.
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 798 Member
    I picked the middle of my weight range, because I've been at the very top once as an adult and still had belly and saddlebags to lose and was in a size 8 (which is good but my goal is 4-6. I'm 5'0). From my experience and reading others it seems to me that the less muscle one has the lower on the bmi scale they are happy with their body;)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    I slowed down my weight loss rate intentionally, the closer I got to my initial goal. down to 0.5 pounds/week or less.

    Finally, I knew I was getting close, but I wasn't sure how much further to go. I started thinking about some benchmarks I could use to know when I got there - these can be appearance, how one feels, whatever works. Finally, I just woke up one morning and decided I was "there" and started gradually adding back calories until my weight stabilized.

    The "adding back calories gradually" thing meant that I lost a tiny bit more, but this was good for this reason: Many people, me included, set a maintenance range of some weight maybe plus or minus 3 or 5 pounds - something that will accommodate routine fluctuations. Overshooting goal by a tiny bit left me at the lower end of my maintenance range, which seemed like a good thing.

    Some people see a bit of a water weight jump when they hit actual maintenance calories (not a lot; couple of pounds, maybe), so starting at the lower edge of the maintenance range lives some wiggle room for this.
  • mlsh1969
    mlsh1969 Posts: 138 Member
    I started with the middle of normal, got there, realized that I looked terrible, so started lifting again. My new "goal" is literally unobtainable, for a reason.[/quot

    Same here
  • mlsh1969
    mlsh1969 Posts: 138 Member
    I started with the middle of normal, got there, realized that I looked terrible, so started lifting again. My new "goal" is literally unobtainable, for a reason.

    Same here