How do you pick your goal weight?
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Middle-high BMI. I was 160lbs in my late teens. At 6'3", I was a rail. Didn't want to go back to that, so have maintained at 185 for the time-being. Undecided if I care to adjust.1
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If I listened to my Dr.'s recommendation I'd look sickly. Unrealistic.1
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If I listened to my Dr.'s recommendation I'd look sickly. Unrealistic.
I have heard so many people say this, and assuming your doctors recommendation is based on BMI, the vast majority of the time, it simply isn't true. There are very few outliers when it comes to BMI. It seems that quite a few people today tend to think that they are at a healthy weight when they really are not.12 -
My goal is to reach 170 lbs. That technically is still considered overweight but I have a difficult time picturing myself at 145 which is the high end of normal. I am 16 lbs away from 170 and have lost 30 lbs since the middle of June so I'm happy with my progress so far. At my highest weight in June 2017 I was 250 lbs. Either way 170 is a loose goal, we shall see when I get there!5
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I picked my weight at my previous physical peak which is at the upper level of healthy BMI.0
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If I listened to my Dr.'s recommendation I'd look sickly. Unrealistic.
I have heard so many people say this, and assuming your doctors recommendation is based on BMI, the vast majority of the time, it simply isn't true. There are very few outliers when it comes to BMI. It seems that quite a few people today tend to think that they are at a healthy weight when they really are not.
My doctor had the opposite issue. At my heaviest weight of 145 lbs at 5’0” tall my doctor couldn’t understand why I wanted to lose weight since she said I looked fine. SMH.
Sometimes BMI doesn’t really suit everyone though. I know some people who are my height and weigh 100 lbs and somehow it works for their body, but not me. My lowest adult weight of 115lbs I have been twice and stopped menstruating both times and was a size 2. I was indeed too skinny as I lost all my curves.
At 120lb, I wear a size 4 which is certainly not chubby or big in any way. Even at 130, I wear a size 6 and have a 27” waist, even though technically this is overweight for me.
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If it's not medically suggested, then pick a weight you think feels good, then adjust accordingly as you approach it, or if you've already achieved it. I personally choose to aim for a visual body fat percentage where I think I look good naked.1
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Expanding on a partial answer earlier: At age 59-60, my first provisional "ultimate goal weight" was 130, a weight I'd been at in my 20s, but then felt was a bit above optimal, because "everyone says we should carry a few more pounds when we're older".
When I got near 130, I could see that that wasn't where I really preferred to be, and revised downward a couple of times, with a final goal (which I overshot) of 120, even though I'm not completely devoid of muscle. That's BMI 20, at my 5'5" height.
Like Haitch, I wouldn't say that's right for everyone my height/age (I'd firmly say it isn't!), but I'm built more like a 14-year-old boy than a (now) 63-year-old woman: Broad shoulders and big hands/wrists but narrow hips, and no breasts (post bilateral mastecomies). In other threads with photos, some folks have fussed about ribs showing on my upper chest, but that starts happening when I still have a bunch of excess stomach/hip/thigh weight, and an overweight BMI: Just how my body works. (I need to do more bench press.
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Right now, in year 4 of maintenance, sitting at (sigh) BMI 22-point-something, without the heart or inclination for a big cut, slightly undereating maintenance calories most days. (Libra says I'll reach goal weight in 2032 . . . I'll be happy if I even live that long at any kind of reasonable weight, and I might change my mind along the way about the definition of "reasonable" .) 3 -
Like Haitch, I wouldn't say that's right for everyone my height/age (I'd firmly say it isn't!), but I'm built more like a 14-year-old boy than a (now) 63-year-old woman: Broad shoulders and big hands/wrists but narrow hips, and no breasts (post bilateral mastecomies). In other threads with photos, some folks have fussed about ribs showing on my upper chest, but that starts happening when I still have a bunch of excess stomach/hip/thigh weight, and an overweight BMI: Just how my body works. (I need to do more bench press. .)
Ugh. The ribs thing is so freaky. I'm *at least* 20 lbs over weight (40 if I go by the recommendation of my fitness hardware.) and I can see all the muscle striations and ribs around my sternum. *shudder* And 12" under that I can see a muffin top over my jeans. WHY BODY? WHY?
LOL.1 -
ElizabethKalmbach wrote: »Like Haitch, I wouldn't say that's right for everyone my height/age (I'd firmly say it isn't!), but I'm built more like a 14-year-old boy than a (now) 63-year-old woman: Broad shoulders and big hands/wrists but narrow hips, and no breasts (post bilateral mastecomies). In other threads with photos, some folks have fussed about ribs showing on my upper chest, but that starts happening when I still have a bunch of excess stomach/hip/thigh weight, and an overweight BMI: Just how my body works. (I need to do more bench press. .)
Ugh. The ribs thing is so freaky. I'm *at least* 20 lbs over weight (40 if I go by the recommendation of my fitness hardware.) and I can see all the muscle striations and ribs around my sternum. *shudder* And 12" under that I can see a muffin top over my jeans. WHY BODY? WHY?
LOL.
FWIW, I don't lose noticeably more from my upper body once the ribs start to show; the lower bits keep depleting as I might hope. Yup, bodies are weird. Hang in there!
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If I listened to my Dr.'s recommendation I'd look sickly. Unrealistic.
I have heard so many people say this, and assuming your doctors recommendation is based on BMI, the vast majority of the time, it simply isn't true. There are very few outliers when it comes to BMI. It seems that quite a few people today tend to think that they are at a healthy weight when they really are not.
My doctor had the opposite issue. At my heaviest weight of 145 lbs at 5’0” tall my doctor couldn’t understand why I wanted to lose weight since she said I looked fine. SMH.
Sometimes BMI doesn’t really suit everyone though. I know some people who are my height and weigh 100 lbs and somehow it works for their body, but not me. My lowest adult weight of 115lbs I have been twice and stopped menstruating both times and was a size 2. I was indeed too skinny as I lost all my curves.
At 120lb, I wear a size 4 which is certainly not chubby or big in any way. Even at 130, I wear a size 6 and have a 27” waist, even though technically this is overweight for me.
I definitely agree that BMI may not be completely accurate for everyone. I am slightly into the overweight range right now, but its the weight that best suits me and I am in far better shape now than when I was in the middle of my BMI range. I guess my point was though that I definitely didn't look sickly at a lower weight like the previous poster suggested they would if they got to what the doctor recommended. Funny thing is, when I was at a higher weight, I would have never wanted my weight to drop that low, but I couldn't believe how much better I looked and felt once I actually did.2 -
The last time I went to the doctor before being put on meds, I was weighed at about 180. Then I ballooned after being put on a certain med. I noted that my parents (we’re all tall, but they’re an inch or two shorter than me) both weighed about 170-180. So I figure that’s my goal weight. I always thought I was “fat” as a teen (or at least chubby) and now I realize I was so wrong. I think I would actually be thrilled to hit 200, but 180 is the bonus.0
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Melolson14 wrote: »How do you pick your goal weight
I have a general range I'd like to be, simply because I've been there before. That said, I'll be happy at a weight that affords me better health and well-being. I think having a precise goal weight can work against you.2 -
I was 110-115 in high school. So I picked 120 which is just a bit higher but I feel more realistic.0
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If I listened to my Dr.'s recommendation I'd look sickly. Unrealistic.
I have heard so many people say this, and assuming your doctors recommendation is based on BMI, the vast majority of the time, it simply isn't true. There are very few outliers when it comes to BMI. It seems that quite a few people today tend to think that they are at a healthy weight when they really are not.
My doctor had the opposite issue. At my heaviest weight of 145 lbs at 5’0” tall my doctor couldn’t understand why I wanted to lose weight since she said I looked fine. SMH.
Sometimes BMI doesn’t really suit everyone though. I know some people who are my height and weigh 100 lbs and somehow it works for their body, but not me. My lowest adult weight of 115lbs I have been twice and stopped menstruating both times and was a size 2. I was indeed too skinny as I lost all my curves.
At 120lb, I wear a size 4 which is certainly not chubby or big in any way. Even at 130, I wear a size 6 and have a 27” waist, even though technically this is overweight for me.
I definitely agree that BMI may not be completely accurate for everyone. I am slightly into the overweight range right now, but its the weight that best suits me and I am in far better shape now than when I was in the middle of my BMI range. I guess my point was though that I definitely didn't look sickly at a lower weight like the previous poster suggested they would if they got to what the doctor recommended. Funny thing is, when I was at a higher weight, I would have never wanted my weight to drop that low, but I couldn't believe how much better I looked and felt once I actually did.
I get this.
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I'm male and 5'8" tall.
Started at 196 about 4 yrs ago. Goal wt was 160, which was a good wt for me b4 and a wt I had reached b4.
Made it to 160 in 6 months and maintained that wt for 2 yrs. Then started rowing daily and dropped to 150, which I liked better but, for some reason, couldn't sustain it and gained 10# back to 160 in just 6 months and then took steps to lose those 10# to get back to 150 in 3 months, where I am now.
BMI went from 29.8 to 24.3 to 22.8 to 24.3 to 22.8 but my BMI level had nothing to do w/choosing my goal wt at any point in time.
Only how I liked the way I felt and looked at each level were the main factors in deciding on my goal wt.2 -
I just stopped losing when I hit 150 pounds. I’m 5 foot 8.5. I was happy there for several years and found it easy to maintain. Started strength training around 3 years ago and lost another 15 pounds. I’m still within a healthy bmi but on the low side. I’m intending to lose another 5 then bulk from 130 to 145 slowly for about a year. My upper body is too lean at my current weight imo but legs and bum have plenty of fat. I’m hoping to end up with a bit more muscle mass at a higher weight overall.
As others have said it’s ok to pick a goal and reassess as you progress.2 -
I chose 145 as my goal to start. It was a weight I vaguely remember being ok within my mid to late 20s. I started exercising when I was north of 180 (at 5’4” female mid 40s). I didn’t weigh myself at the beginning because I was more interested in moving than losing.
At 167 I started calorie tracking and am down about 7 1/2 lbs since the end of July. 145 will get me in the normal range then I will reevaluate where I want to go from there. My HS weight was about 120 ...weird thing is that I felt big at that weight...I’m not sure how but there you go.0 -
I started with recalling what was a sustainable healthy weight from before I had kids. Then I added in a few kilos because pregnancies = more skin, uterine, and breast tissue that won’t go away with exercise. Then I rounded up to the nearest 5 kg mark because I also changed to a physically demanding job and have more muscles now.0
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I haven't picked one, I focus on feeling good instead of the scale
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If you have a fair bit to lose, it'll be much easier to tell what's reasonable, when you get closer to it.
This close to what I am trying to do. I want to take subjectivity out of it in part one, and part two will include that.
Part one is a weight, about in the middle of my normal BMI
Part two (I think this is crucial for me) MAINTAIN that number for six months.
After six months of homeostasis then I re-ask, what feels right, how do I want to look, how do I want to feel, and what very small change will get me there.
I don't want to trust 'my opinion" until I pass the six months of maintenance test. I hope to complete part one in the next couple of months.
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For me goal is not meant to be a perfect stopping number. I set my first goal at 185, which was 50 pounds down from 235 where I started. It's still about 7 pounds above normal BMI. When I was 235, I thought that I would be a stick at 185, and normal BMI sounded crazy. Now that I am actually doing it, and closer to my goal (I've gotten as low as 195), I know that 185 is not where I want to stop. So when I hit 185, I will push my goal down to 175, which will be within normal BMI. Then from there, I will reevaluate, and keep going down in 5 pound increments until I feel like I've reached my ideal weight. Right now I am guessing that is between 165-170, but we will see.
My point is that you don't need an exact 100% right goal. I would pick something that is attainable and reasonable. When you hit it, you can always change it further if you are not satisfied.2
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