Deciding on a goal weight

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bizgirl26
bizgirl26 Posts: 1,808 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
How did everyone decide on a goal weight ? I know a lot just go by the BMI charts but wondered the reasons if anyone else chose differently. I already weigh less than I did when I graduated high school and about 17 pounds away from the goal I set for myself. I don't think its too drastic but people that have known me my entire life and know I was never the "tiny girl" and I am fine to stop now. I have no intention of stopping - I am a size 9/10 and want to land around a size 5/ 6 . I am 5 foot 7 and built hour glass

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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Never had one...arbitrary number is arbitrary.
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    edited August 2017
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    I don't have one- I think I have decided that I want to get close to the healthy BMI as a general guideline and evaluate my body composition to find a body "look" that I like rather than a number.

    ETA: Congratulations on your success so far! I forgot to add that :smiley:
  • robm1brown
    robm1brown Posts: 71 Member
    edited August 2017
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    I agreed with my tennis captain that I had to weigh less than 16 stone if I am to play in the 1st team next year. He wanted the goal to be higher because he thinks I will never make it but knows he wants me in the team :)
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    The BMI chart, what I thought I could maintain, and input from my trainer.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    I go by aesthetic features. I want 6 pack abs that show through and the number that gets me there isn't that important.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    I estimated body fat % and lean mass. Then chose an arbitrary body fat % goal and calculated based on losing fat only.

    What actually happened is that I lost some lean mass along with the fat. As of my best estimate today, I am 7.4 lbs. away from my original goal weight, but need to lose somewhere between 10.0 and 10.8 lbs. of fat in order to reach my goal body fat %.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,980 Member
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    I originally picked a goal that was roughly in the middle of the "healthy range" for my height. It took me a while to figure out my maintenance and now I am maintaining ~13 pounds lower than my original goal. I am pretty happy here so this is my goal now. I would just pick a number to start and when you get there reevaluate based on how you feel and how you look.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    edited August 2017
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    I originally picked smaller goals along the way (~130 lb loss so starting out I had no clue I was even capable of getting under 200 lb).

    But when I started getting closer to a range that I want to remain in permanently, it was based first on what I remembered from the past...at age 15, I felt fairly "normal", like I was a big, busty girl and bigger than my friends but could still wear regular sizes and so on...

    Honestly as an adult (36 and now 40) hitting that size/weight range, in the 160s/170s, where I have been maintaining for years, I look quite a lot thinner/smaller than I did as a teenager which is in part due to aging and I wear smaller sizes which I'm sure is partly today's more ample vanity sizing & "curvy cuts" versus 1991's relatively unforgiving size 10 (for example). But I actually think it was kind of a good way for me to pick my goal.
  • bizgirl26
    bizgirl26 Posts: 1,808 Member
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    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    For now, it's 10 lbs below the top of my BMI range. When I'm within 20 lbs of that (I.E. less than 10 lbs away from a healthy BMI), I mean to consult my doctor for advice about where I probably want to end up. My reasons for my 'working' goal:
    • I am aware that I have some low-level stress and anxiety issues. I know that if I'm 0.2lbs under the top of my BMI range, I'll be fine and if I'm 0.2lbs over, I'll panic and worry that the weight is creeping back. Even though intellectually, I know that weight fluctuates depending on time of day, time of month, how long ago one ate, exercised, eliminated, etc. I know it, but I think I'll still stress. By setting the bar 10lbs into the range, I believe I'll still be within the range, no matter what the fluctuations.
    • Everyone says that the last 10 lbs are the hardest. If I get frustrated and want to just quit, I'll still be at a healthy weight. I will now stick my fingers in my ears, in case anyone wants to tell me that it's the last 10 lbs before healthy BMI, not last 10 lbs before goal that are going to be troublesome. This is one time where I don't want to know the actual facts. I want to delude myself... and maybe I'll be that outlier who doesn't struggle at the end. (Mental game: If I assume the last 10 lbs will be the hardest, on some level I will loosen up my logging, exercise a drop less, etc. and then blame it on my being in the last 10 lbs. If I act like it's actually going to be the 10 lbs after... maybe I'll still struggle, but I think I'll be able to keep from self-sabotaging.)

    Time will tell!

    @estherdragonbat - this is exactly where I am at and my thoughts as well.

    Thanks everyone.

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  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    My favourite adult weight got me in the ballpark.

    Periodic reassessments based on looks, exercise goals and performance (even hunger levels and ease of maintenance) has taken me to quite a few different "ideal weights" in the time since I hit the first goal.
    I also seem to have a natural inclination to be heavier in winter and lighter in summer.

    Life involves change so I don't believe in one ideal weight for the rest of my life.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Whatever my weight is when I am happy with my reflection & performing my best during my workouts.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited August 2017
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    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    For now, it's 10 lbs below the top of my BMI range. When I'm within 20 lbs of that (I.E. less than 10 lbs away from a healthy BMI), I mean to consult my doctor for advice about where I probably want to end up. My reasons for my 'working' goal:
    • I am aware that I have some low-level stress and anxiety issues. I know that if I'm 0.2lbs under the top of my BMI range, I'll be fine and if I'm 0.2lbs over, I'll panic and worry that the weight is creeping back. Even though intellectually, I know that weight fluctuates depending on time of day, time of month, how long ago one ate, exercised, eliminated, etc. I know it, but I think I'll still stress. By setting the bar 10lbs into the range, I believe I'll still be within the range, no matter what the fluctuations.
    • Everyone says that the last 10 lbs are the hardest. If I get frustrated and want to just quit, I'll still be at a healthy weight. I will now stick my fingers in my ears, in case anyone wants to tell me that it's the last 10 lbs before healthy BMI, not last 10 lbs before goal that are going to be troublesome. This is one time where I don't want to know the actual facts. I want to delude myself... and maybe I'll be that outlier who doesn't struggle at the end. (Mental game: If I assume the last 10 lbs will be the hardest, on some level I will loosen up my logging, exercise a drop less, etc. and then blame it on my being in the last 10 lbs. If I act like it's actually going to be the 10 lbs after... maybe I'll still struggle, but I think I'll be able to keep from self-sabotaging.)

    Time will tell!

    Rather than "deluding" yourself you could consider educating yourself more about the weight loss process. When you get to the last 10 lbs, you are working with a very small deficit, only about 250 per day. A misestimating calories in or calories out can wipe out your deficit that day. Use this as motivation to tighten up your logging now so you will be better prepared for the next challenge!
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
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    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    For now, it's 10 lbs below the top of my BMI range. When I'm within 20 lbs of that (I.E. less than 10 lbs away from a healthy BMI), I mean to consult my doctor for advice about where I probably want to end up. My reasons for my 'working' goal:
    • I am aware that I have some low-level stress and anxiety issues. I know that if I'm 0.2lbs under the top of my BMI range, I'll be fine and if I'm 0.2lbs over, I'll panic and worry that the weight is creeping back. Even though intellectually, I know that weight fluctuates depending on time of day, time of month, how long ago one ate, exercised, eliminated, etc. I know it, but I think I'll still stress. By setting the bar 10lbs into the range, I believe I'll still be within the range, no matter what the fluctuations.
    • Everyone says that the last 10 lbs are the hardest. If I get frustrated and want to just quit, I'll still be at a healthy weight. I will now stick my fingers in my ears, in case anyone wants to tell me that it's the last 10 lbs before healthy BMI, not last 10 lbs before goal that are going to be troublesome. This is one time where I don't want to know the actual facts. I want to delude myself... and maybe I'll be that outlier who doesn't struggle at the end. (Mental game: If I assume the last 10 lbs will be the hardest, on some level I will loosen up my logging, exercise a drop less, etc. and then blame it on my being in the last 10 lbs. If I act like it's actually going to be the 10 lbs after... maybe I'll still struggle, but I think I'll be able to keep from self-sabotaging.)

    Time will tell!

    If it makes you feel better, I'm 7 lbs away now from a healthy BMI and it isn't any harder than it has been before. I'm not sure if even the last 10 lbs will be hard. I think it just depends on how lean a person is trying to go. Like if I wanted to go to the bottom of the healthy BMI range for my height I'm sure that would be a lot harder than me stopping mid range.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,676 Member
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    I kind of stumbled into my current weight. I have been a yo-yo dieter most of my life, mostly within 20-30 pounds. About 12 years ago I went from 170 to 135 and liked the lower weight and the way I looked there. At 5'6" it was in the middle of my BMI and I could wear all my clothes again. A few years later, I gained back all of the weight I lost, and then some, so when I got serious again, I aimed for 135. When I reached that weight, I started running and lost more weight. I liked the lower weight as well, but figured that 131 was a more sustainable average to hold on to. We hit the road for a couple of months a couple of years ago (we're retired) and I gained back a few pounds - back up to 138. Last fall I decided to go back to 131 in preparation for my spring marathon. I hit that by New Years, began maintenance but kept on losing. By the time I got stabilized, I was down to 123, where I've been hovering for the past six months or so. This is basically my high school/college weight, though then I felt fat and now I feel mostly skinny. (Gravity means that all fat has moved from my bust to my thighs so I have a bony upper body and a stocky lower body.) I tell myself it doesn't matter if I gain again, back to 130, but I've gotten used to the lower weight and I think I would be upset if I gained back the weight.

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