How do you figure out your goal weight?

FL_Hiker

Hi,
I've lost 10 lbs already and I'm at 134 lbs today! I'm 5'5 (or 5'4, don't remember!) female. I've also been running and swimming again, with the overall goal of just becoming more healthy! I'm within "normal" range of my BMI, but still heavier than I've been most my life. I usually was around 100-120 lbs. What should my ideal weight be?? How do you figure!
Thanks

TavistockToad

You're a perfectly healthy rate now.

kshama2001

What’s your frame size? http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp

FL_Hiker

kshama2001 wrote: »

What’s your frame size? http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp

No idea, I don't own a tape measurer

vingogly

FL_Hiker wrote: »

No idea, I don't own a tape measurer

For a quick estimate, you can wrap your thumb and forefinger around your wrist where you normally wear a watch.

Fingers overlap = small frame
Fingers touch = medium frame
Fingers don't touch = large frame

If you don't have a tape measure, you can use a piece of string and a ruler to get the measurements for the above calculator. When I do the frame size calculator I get medium frame for the wrist technique and broad frame for the elbow technique. Wrapping my fingers around my wrist gives me a medium frame.

For me, medium seems about right. These are all just rough estimates anyway - even if you do happen to have a tape measure.

I chose a goal weight range based on where I've been at in the past when I've been healthiest and happiest, and what seems reasonable now given my age. I think it's important to be realistic about goals.

FL_Hiker

vingogly wrote: »

FL_Hiker wrote: »

No idea, I don't own a tape measurer

For a quick estimate, you can wrap your thumb and forefinger around your wrist where you normally wear a watch.

Fingers overlap = small frame
Fingers touch = medium frame
Fingers don't touch = large frame

Nice! Medium then I think

Tisha247

vingogly wrote: »

FL_Hiker wrote: »

No idea, I don't own a tape measurer

For a quick estimate, you can wrap your thumb and forefinger around your wrist where you normally wear a watch.

Fingers overlap = small frame
Fingers touch = medium frame
Fingers don't touch = large frame

If you don't have a tape measure, you can use a piece of string and a ruler to get the measurements for the above calculator. When I do the frame size calculator I get medium frame for the wrist technique and broad frame for the elbow technique. Wrapping my fingers around my wrist gives me a medium frame.

For me, medium seems about right. These are all just rough estimates anyway - even if you do happen to have a tape measure.

I chose a goal weight range based on where I've been at in the past when I've been healthiest and happiest, and what seems reasonable now given my age. I think it's important to be realistic about goals.

That is so cool, thanks for sharing!

kimny72

FL_Hiker wrote: »

Hi,
I've lost 10 lbs already and I'm at 134 lbs today! I'm 5'5 (or 5'4, don't remember!) female. I've also been running and swimming again, with the overall goal of just becoming more healthy! I'm within "normal" range of my BMI, but still heavier than I've been most my life. I usually was around 100-120 lbs. What should my ideal weight be?? How do you figure!
Thanks

I'm 5'4 and I started at 145. I looked at the healthy weight range for my height which is derived from BMI (110-144). The middle is 127 so I picked that. I figured once I got there I'd decide what the next step was. Right now I'm happy between 125-130, but I may try to lose another 5 at some point. Some people aim for the top of the range if they've been obese. Others (like you) used to be in the lower part of the range and might prefer to be lower.

This is just how my brain works, but now that you're right there, I'd just keep trying for the next 5 lbs. So once you get to 130, redecide. If you go to 125, redecide again. Your "ideal" weight will be a healthy weight that you can easily maintain and be satisfied with what you see in the mirror.

(And if you don't think you want to get skinnier but aren't quite satisfied with the mirror, the answer is probably recomp, aka maintenance calories plus strength training) :drinker:

FL_Hiker

kimny72 wrote: »

FL_Hiker wrote: »

Hi,
I've lost 10 lbs already and I'm at 134 lbs today! I'm 5'5 (or 5'4, don't remember!) female. I've also been running and swimming again, with the overall goal of just becoming more healthy! I'm within "normal" range of my BMI, but still heavier than I've been most my life. I usually was around 100-120 lbs. What should my ideal weight be?? How do you figure!
Thanks

I'm 5'4 and I started at 145. I looked at the healthy weight range for my height which is derived from BMI (110-144). The middle is 127 so I picked that. I figured once I got there I'd decide what the next step was. Right now I'm happy between 125-130, but I may try to lose another 5 at some point. Some people aim for the top of the range if they've been obese. Others (like you) used to be in the lower part of the range and might prefer to be lower.

This is just how my brain works, but now that you're right there, I'd just keep trying for the next 5 lbs. So once you get to 130, redecide. If you go to 125, redecide again. Your "ideal" weight will be a healthy weight that you can easily maintain and be satisfied with what you see in the mirror.

(And if you don't think you want to get skinnier but aren't quite satisfied with the mirror, the answer is probably recomp, aka maintenance calories plus strength training) :drinker:

Awesome!!! Great to hear from someone in the same situation! Thank you :-)

Dani9585

Thanks to pp for posting the frame calculator. I'm not sure what my goal weight will be. I just picked a weight on the lower end of my BMI - and I'm already in the healthy range. Maybe the calculator will be helpful for me.

VUA21

I make a guess, half way between ideal and current. When I get there, I evaluate myself. I ask what I truly want as my next big goal (more muscular, thinner, run a 10k, ect), then set a new goal based on what I want that is about halfway between that goal and where I am.

AnnPT77

Gotta say: I think the frame size calculator can be misleading. If you're totally evenly proportioned, maybe it works. But if you've always been overweight, how would you know how you're proportioned?

IMO, what matters most in body weight appropriateness is not little stuff like wrists or elbows, it's big stuff like hips, ribcage, shoulders, and (for women) breast size. None of these are easy to gauge when over-fat. The issue is not the weight of the bones themselves, but of the meat it takes to enclose the larger/smaller geometric volume.

My wrists gauge as medium to large, because I have huge hands and wrists for a woman. But I have very narrow hips and literally no breasts (post mastectomy). My wrists say "large frame", but the important parts mean my happy weight is around 120lbs at 5'5" - somewhere around BMI 20.

OP, you're already on the mid-lower side of the healthy range. Maybe consider recomposition - increase lean tissue, lose fat, hold weight steady - to improve appearance. Info here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

I'm your height/weight weight (5'5", 135 this morning) . . . which is slightly higher than ideal for me, but I'm built like a freakin' 14-year-old boy, no hips, booty, breasts . . . odds are good that you're built more like a woman and can hold a bit more weight at best appearance/health.

ETA, for those just starting on weight loss, please note that setting your goal weight higher or lower in MFP has literally no effect on how it calculates your goal calories. All that profile setting affects is some progress messages about how close you are to goal. You can make a wild guess at first - such as middle of normal BMI range - and adjust up or down as you get closer to goal and see how you feel and look.

nowine4me

Rule of thumb, someone 5-5” should 125. Subtract 5# for each inch under or add 5# for each in over. So when you figure out if you’re 5-4” or 5-5”, you’ll have a rough idea.