How did you chose your goal weight?
Replies
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Engineer's take:
I took this chart (Jackson & Pollock, posted by BuiltLean in this post
https://builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/
Plotted the data in this chart as a function of age and generated a trendline. Solve the equation of the trendline for your age, determine your current lean body mass and back out your ideal weight. If you add any muscle you can easily adjust for it.
Per the formula I need to be at 11.5% body fat, currently at 14% at 179 lbs; to get to 11.5 I need to lose 5 lbs of fat maintaining current muscle mass. Personally, I'd prefer to add some muscle on top of that fat loss.4 -
I miss when I didn't have to look at the size of clothes and I also miss wearing size 7 jeans! Also, over all I was just more satified with how I looked. Currently 183 lbs. First goal weight is 160, then down to 140.0
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My goal weight is 5 - 10 lbs below the top of my healthy BMI range. That way, I'm there and have a little wiggle room.0
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Height weight body frame chart....0
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i started at 265 and set myself for 140-160 (140 on here) personally i just thought about what weight i could see on the scale and not be sad about. i'm not really focused on the end result though, i more or less set up milestones and aim for those one at a time~0
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I see a lot of people who chose theirs similarly to the way I chose mine. And in stages.
When I was around 300 lb, I just wanted to aim for 260-ish which was my "usual weight range" from age 22-28 that had gotten out of hand.
Once I started MFP, at 272 lb, I quickly decided on the goal of 220 which was 7 lb beneath my weight of 227 at age 16 when I was comfortably wearing size 18 (small for me).
When I hit 220, things were still going very smoothly/quickly with my weight loss and I got a bit cocky and went for 180 lb. I didn't think I would ever make it there because I hadn't been under 200 lb since my earlier teen years and I was 36 or 37 at the time. But I made it
When I got close to 180 lb, I decided on 150s-160s as my goal range. That remains my goal. I was in the 160s for about a year (2015), and I liked that size so I think that's where I'd like to be permanently once I can get back down to it. For the past year I have bounced around the 170s nonstop, ugh....still really happy with my progress though.
For reference I am 40 years old and 5'8"3 -
I am aiming for 150-160 at 5'6". I was too skinny when I was younger that I did not want to go back to that. 160 is just above "normal" range for my height and build.0
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I'm 5'8" and female. I started at 220, and first goal was to get below 200, which I've just done.
At 170, I'm a size 12, and I feel pretty comfortable there. But part of me also would like to get to the middle of the healthy BMI range. I'll reassess at 170.1 -
Mid range BMI, for me -- any lower is just painful to maintain.0
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My goal weight is 160 lbs. I was always told I should be about 80 - 75 kg (175 - 165 lbs) but that would put me in the overweight category (I'm 5'8") so I'm aiming a little over. I am legitimately large boned so at the top of normal/healthy BMI sounds about right to me. That said, I'll be happy if I'm 175 lbs.1
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I wanted to meet a few different goals.
1. Top of low-risk BMI: 171 lbs
2. Top of low-risk waist/height ratio: 35"
3. Ideal racing weight calculation, which takes body fat and muscle mass into account: 168 lbs
4. To never have to step into a plus-sized clothing store again: Size 14. Achieved at 190.
To meet all of these, a range of 165-170 seems right. 15-20 more lbs to go.2 -
Within the mid-high range of a normal BMI. That means between roughly 130-140 for me. For me the number on the scale is just one factor in my goals. It's far less about my weight and more about how I feel and how I look and achieving something that I never thought I could do. I'm currently at my lowest adult weight ever and it's smooth sailing for continued improvements.0
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I've changed my goal repeatedly. Put your first goal. Get it and move it. Good luck!! If you're currently 260, maybe 235? 10% sounds like a realistic first goal. Celebrate when you get there, and move it to 210. Keep it attainable :-)0
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Aim for 200.
When you get there ... aim for 175.
And so on.
Aim for goals that are closer to your current weight ... more attainable.
When I started, I approached it this way ... I was going to stick with it absolutely with no variation for 5 weeks. Whatever I lost in that time would be good, and I'd call it a day at the end of 5 weeks. When I got there, I had lost 5 kg and was motivated to lose more ... so I decided to stick with it until the 16 week point. We were going on holiday then, so that was a bit of extra motivation. By the 16 week point, I had lost 15 kg.
This is excellent advice. Perfect is so often the enemy of good when it comes to weight management, and for many of us overly ambitious goals can actually demotivate because they involve very long time frames. Smaller goals are more readily achieved, and then you aren't guessing when you set the next one.
I started at 270 (5'9", should be 6'1" but have severe scoliosis) with a goal of 180 because I knew I felt pretty good at that weight. It was really ambitious, 90 lbs, and took me 1.5 years to reach. I'm patient, but a lot of other people really get demoralized with a long slog like that. By the time I was 200 I was pretty certain I'd be able to go lower and be healthy/happy so I dropped the goal to 175. Then at 180 I dropped it to 165, because I knew I could get there.
Now I'm bouncing around between 154-158 from day to day. It took me a whole year to lose the last 20 lbs. I vaguely think I would like to be 150 but I'm not sure I want to deal with the hunger at this point because I'm VERY active and so much more hungry than I was most of the way through this. I have spine issues and the lighter I am the better it is for my spine, but honestly I think I look just amazing right now and probably don't really need to lose any more weight.
I couldn't have imagined my current weight as a goal when I started out. I'd have been overwhelmed, and likely have just given up. I certainly couldn't "see" myself where I am now.
270 lbs
200 lbs
180 lbs
155 lbs
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I set my goal for the weight i am happy at which is 66kg. Currently 74. So my first goal is to lose just 4 kg to get to 70kg then another 4kg to get to 66.2
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I chose my goal weight based on when I felt the best and looked the best. at 137 my chest bones stuck out, my tail bone etc and I was constantly bruising protruding bones. At 147, I was a size 4 and I felt great, I'm 5'3". I would like to go 5 lbs under that while I find my best maintenance path. I do mini-goals so the journey is not so overwhelming. I started at 252, by far my heaviest ever due to health issues and an 8-5 sedentary job. I'm now 209, so ONEderland is my next goal which will also be a 10 lb loss mini goal as well as I will reach my half way point with the loss of this next 10 lbs. This next 10 lb loss will be a big milestone for me.3
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Honestly, I just want to be truly slim. I don't like my face that much, so I want to at least really like my body. I've been at the higher end of the healthy weight range and felt like I still looked odd, so I'm going to try to get about 15 lbs below that weight.0
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First goal was 84kg from 107.6kg which was a weight goal set by my doctor and got me to a bmi of 29 to qualify for a procedure I needed. From there I set my goal to 73 kg which is a bmi of exactly 25, I'm 75.4kg, a little over my lowest a few weeks ago of 74.3kg, at the moment(I've been on holiday and went a little wild lol!) so not too far off. But I have just recently changed it to 70kg, that would give me a bmi of 23.9 and I haven't been that weight since my early teens so watch this space....
It would mean that I will have dropped nearly 13 points on the bmi scale in the end.0 -
I never had a goal weight, but new that even just 5lbs would be an improvement, my goal was simply to lose and become healthier every single week...
I used to almost 340lbs, I'm about 180lbs today and don't plan to ever stop trying to better myself!5 -
My doctor chose a range for me of what is healthy for my body. My goal is to be in that weight range and get my body fat below 25%0
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Initially just my favourite adult weight from about 20 years ago.
Turned out to be a bit too high so nibbled more weight off in a series of steps over an extended period of time.
Hit a point where it was difficult to maintain, gained a bit of muscle, moved back up in another series of steps. Now mid-point between my initial goal and my lowest point. Turns out to be the very top of the BMI healthy range.3 -
Engineer's take:
I took this chart (Jackson & Pollock, posted by BuiltLean in this post
https://builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/
Plotted the data in this chart as a function of age and generated a trendline. Solve the equation of the trendline for your age, determine your current lean body mass and back out your ideal weight. If you add any muscle you can easily adjust for it.
Per the formula I need to be at 11.5% body fat, currently at 14% at 179 lbs; to get to 11.5 I need to lose 5 lbs of fat maintaining current muscle mass. Personally, I'd prefer to add some muscle on top of that fat loss.
that's an interesting chart but I think it is WAY off for older folks. Body fat is of course difficult to calculate extremely accurately, but I use one of those machines you grab ahold of. And my measure is the improvement or change vs trusting exactly what it says as gospel. I have a 60 yo runner guy friend who's BF is about 5%. As myself a 58 yo 5 2 gal I think 26% BF is too high. My goal is under 20%. This is one of my goals along with fitness and weight loss. As far as how I chose my goal weight, well it was fairly easy since I am a chronic yo yo dieter. I am actually a REALLY good dieter. My problem is maintenance. So that is actually going to be my focus once I reach my goal (again). There are a lot of excellent comments on this thread. Weight is not and cannot be the only measure of how you feel or your goal. I weigh the exact same now as I did when I was 17 yo. Unfortunately, the fat is not distributed the same. sigh. And my clothes do not fit the same nor am I in the same physical condition.1 -
Didn't have time to read through all the replies, but wanted to offer you encouragement! I picked the same number but know as I near that goal, I might need to adjust it. I set the goal of 130 and broke it down into 10 sections... now I have mini goals to reach and 9 more reasons to celebrate!...congrats on choosing to change your lifestyle. So much more than weight loss will come from this!2
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When I first started, I had no idea what to use as my goal weight, so I did some Googling and found six or seven "recommended" or "ideal" body weights for someone of my height and gender, which varied wildly.
So I averaged them together! It gave me 161 pounds, so I set that as my goal. Then after losing about 50 pounds (putting me at around 230), I took stock and reassessed my goal. I decided that 161 was probably going to be lower than I really wanted, so I adjusted my goal to 180, which is my current goal.
The plan is to hit that goal, maintain it for a couple months, and decide if I want to keep losing, stay put, or gain a little.2 -
Carefully !
Previously I had a goal weight (which I reached) but couldn't maintain so just gave up.
I plateaued about 10 lbs heavier - and that was my body telling me something.
So I have a desire to get to something in healthy bmi range. Have just read about frame size - and that would indicate I'm a large frame. The combination of healthy bmi and frame size is right around where I plateaued previously so would seem to support what my body was telling me.
Only time will tell ...…1 -
I set my goal weight at about ten pounds below the high number on the BMI chart. That left me with 100 pounds to lose. I am 40 down and I figure when I get closer to my goal I can adjust it based on what I see and feel. The main focus I have is on behavior goals instead of weight goals. Things I can control. Like I will walk for an hour every day. I will weigh and log all of my food. ETc Etc4
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SummerSkier wrote: »Engineer's take:
I took this chart (Jackson & Pollock, posted by BuiltLean in this post
https://builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/
Plotted the data in this chart as a function of age and generated a trendline. Solve the equation of the trendline for your age, determine your current lean body mass and back out your ideal weight. If you add any muscle you can easily adjust for it.
Per the formula I need to be at 11.5% body fat, currently at 14% at 179 lbs; to get to 11.5 I need to lose 5 lbs of fat maintaining current muscle mass. Personally, I'd prefer to add some muscle on top of that fat loss.
that's an interesting chart but I think it is WAY off for older folks. Body fat is of course difficult to calculate extremely accurately, but I use one of those machines you grab ahold of. And my measure is the improvement or change vs trusting exactly what it says as gospel. I have a 60 yo runner guy friend who's BF is about 5%. As myself a 58 yo 5 2 gal I think 26% BF is too high. My goal is under 20%. This is one of my goals along with fitness and weight loss. As far as how I chose my goal weight, well it was fairly easy since I am a chronic yo yo dieter. I am actually a REALLY good dieter. My problem is maintenance. So that is actually going to be my focus once I reach my goal (again). There are a lot of excellent comments on this thread. Weight is not and cannot be the only measure of how you feel or your goal. I weigh the exact same now as I did when I was 17 yo. Unfortunately, the fat is not distributed the same. sigh. And my clothes do not fit the same nor am I in the same physical condition.
Chart doesn't go up to my age !!!!!
Feeling old !!!2 -
Never really had one...I had a certain BF% and body composition in mind...arbitrary goal weight is arbitrary...weight is comprised of many things.
Maybe just start with the high end of BMI and go from there...IMO, this is something that should be re-evaluated as you go rather than having some fixed scale weight goal.2
but will limit my comment to...the difference between 130 and 140 makes no difference if you're currently at 260. Just pick a number somewhere around there and go.
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