How did you decide what your goal weight was/is?

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  • fish9283
    fish9283 Posts: 25 Member
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    I read that the average elite female cyclist is 5'5 and weighs 120 lbs. If taller or shorter, add or subtract 5 lbs for every inch, and add another 5 lbs if over age 40. I'm 5'6, age 59, and a wannabe cyclist so I keep my weight around 130 lbs.
  • Pipsqueak1965
    Pipsqueak1965 Posts: 397 Member
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    Have you got that body fat % chart for women? That old adage means I should only weigh 100 pounds, which is pretty light for me (I'm currently around 104 I think) ...
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    Pipsqueak1965 wrote: »
    Have you got that body fat % chart for women? That old adage means I should only weigh 100 pounds, which is pretty light for me (I'm currently around 104 I think) ...

    xbody-fat-percentage-chart-women.gif.pagespeed.ic.vFfohffNSN.png
  • jrochest
    jrochest Posts: 119 Member
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    I'm not sure, but I think the old adage of 5 pounds for every inch over 5 feet was like the old height-weight charts -- invented in the early 20th century by insurance companies that wanted something to base discriminatory life-insurance policies on. If you use a measure of 'ideal weight' that's only achievable by 10% of the population you're able to charge everyone else higher premiums.
  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 511 Member
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    my starting goal is 180, which is just under overweight, that is where my old dr wanted to see me, I'll go from there when I get there and see where I end up.
  • lingreg2198
    lingreg2198 Posts: 13 Member
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    I’m 5’5, 32 yr old, started at 120 and want to go down to 115 but be able to sustain that weight on more calories
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
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    I’m 40 and 5’ tall. My goal is 113. I got down to 113 after each of my pregnancies and felt good.

    I haven’t weighed 100 pounds since before puberty. I couldn’t imagine being that thin.
  • mkculs
    mkculs Posts: 316 Member
    edited June 2018
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    For men, the formula is 7 lbs per inch over ??, but it starts at a different base weight and height, perhaps, as I recall. I know that for women, the formula suggests a weight that put me in the exact middle of the "healthy" BMI range. At 5'7", I "should" weigh 135 lbs, which would give me a BMI of 21.1, putting me slightly under the exact middle of the healthy BMI range (21.7). So while the old formula may have been created for nefarious purposes, it is still fairly accurate for a quick down-and-dirty estimate on a weight that will be in the healthy range.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    ladybug4233 wrote: »
    I am 5.3 and started at 155.5. My goal was 135 pounds. I got there and thought this wasn't too hard so I started aiming for 125. I am almost there. I am at 128. I am down from a large and a 12 to a medium/small and size 6. I still have some hips and butt however I am in the best shape at 47 then I have ever been. I could use some toning. I did think about trying for 115 but my doctor did recommend I not go below 120. I am scared about maintenance since I don't want to gain it back. I am having a hard time deciding whether I should stop at 125 or try to 120. The reason is I have to stop some time but it kind of worries me. Thanks for allowing me to ramble.

    You could also look into recomp if you wanted another goal to work on once you reach your happy weight. I'm suggesting this based off your comment about toning. Could be worth exploring.
  • rj0150684
    rj0150684 Posts: 227 Member
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    I’m shooting for 175, which would pretty much be the center of healthy BMI for me, then slow bulk to 185-190 and hopefully end/stay there, but there might be a few more cuts/bulks after that until I’m really where I want to be, but still ending up around 185-190
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    edited June 2018
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    jrochest wrote: »
    I'm not sure, but I think the old adage of 5 pounds for every inch over 5 feet was like the old height-weight charts -- invented in the early 20th century by insurance companies that wanted something to base discriminatory life-insurance policies on. If you use a measure of 'ideal weight' that's only achievable by 10% of the population you're able to charge everyone else higher premiums.

    Those old charts assumed the female was wearing 2-inch heels & clothing ...szvwnwzh39w7.jpeg
  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
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    OP, I had those same fears about going into maintenance because I felt I had not succeeded at keeping my weight in maintenance before. I have been in maintenance for 2-3 months now and succeeding, and you will too. I still log daily and do a lot of the other things that made my loss successful. I have come to realize that maintenance does NOT mean, stick my fingers in my ears and yell LA LA LA while eating everything in sight and hoping for the best << That was my old strategy :lol:
  • mackkierae
    mackkierae Posts: 18 Member
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    Hi pretty❤️
    I just wanted to start by saying congratulations on your AMAZING progress. You’re incredible and are a great inspiration to MFP friends but also those around you IRL! So seriously, keep up the great work. With that being said, don’t fret! Your MFP app can be easily adjusted to get you to where you want to be in weight loss, but also in weight management. I think that you should stop focusing so much on the number but more so on the definition and way that clothing fits. I hope for the best for you❤️
    -Mac
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    I've had (and still have) a series of goal weights.
    My first goal weight was to get on the scale and have it give me my weight as a number instead of 'Err' (160kg/350lb)
    Next was to get back to the weight I was when I started my last weight loss attempt (150kg/330lb)
    Next was to get to a weight where I could buy a hybrid/commuter bicycle and start cycling (140kg/308lb)
    Next was to get under 300lb (136kg/297lb)

    This is the goal I just passed (currently 134kg/295lb)

    Now my my goal is to get to a weight where I can buy a nice road bike (120kg/265lb)
    Then to get to the weight I was when I lost weight about 15 years ago (110kg/242lb)
    Then to get under 100kg (99kg/218lb)
    Then to get under 200lb (90kg/198lb)

    After that we'll see how I feel/look and re-evaluate.

    Each of these goals has been achieved by applying one consistent goal

    Try and weigh a little less this week than I did last week. Rinse. Repeat
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    I went with the old adage: 5' is 100Lbs. Then 5Lbs per inch. So for me 5'6"=130Lbs. That became my goal. After menopause, I added 5Lbs to my number at the doctor's suggestion.
    Puts me at a great BMI as well.

    Interesting. The old adage for us who work with metric measurements was "height in cm - 100 to 110". That's a reasonable range.

    I chose my goal weight to be right at the cutoff point between normal and overweight of the old BMI ranges (27.3 BMI). I want to maintain as high a weight as possible that still falls within acceptable statistical health risk.

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