Determining Goal Weight

britnik29

Hi everyone! My name is Britani and I am coming close to the end of my journey in regards to weight loss as I know this journey is a lifetime one overall. To begin with I started this journey a little over a year ago at 261.4 pounds. I have never discussed actual numbers with strangers before but I think it is time. The day I stepped on my dusty scale was the day that changed my life. I knew i had to do something. I did not have any health issues related to the weight but I did not want to develop any either. So from that point on, I have weighed and counted every little morsel that has gone into my body and worked out a minimum of 6 days a week, whether it be walking, Zumba, circuit training or various workout DVDs I have. In the process I am married to a truck driver who is only home a couple times a month (plus he is not supportive of this weight loss anyways) and have 2 children (2 & almost 4). Some of this time I was even working full time. So with everything going on I was determined I could do this regardless of the obstacles. Today I weighed in at 151.2 which means i have lost 110.2 pounds, which I am proud of but leads me to this:

Originally my goal was 160 in the beginning but I changed that to 150 quickly because I knew I could do it. My doctor in fact said he would be happy with anything under 180 (mostly because I have a medium to large frame) but he agreed to my goals as well. A few months ago I wanted to challenge myself to maintain between 140-145 when I reached that point as I know my weight fluctuates a few pounds throughout a month. Also my doctor does not think 140s is too low for me either, I have talked to him about this recently. However, when I am really only 6-11 pounds from there as of today, part of me still sees the tons of excess I have from the weight loss (all that saggy skin that still exists even though I have been working on toning) and I wonder if maybe I should aim lower than my ultimate goal? I mean I am proud of myself - I have so far gone from a 22 jeans to an 8 and a 3x shirt down to a medium but this bothers me a bit...

Is there anyone out there who is 5"4" with a medium to larger frame that has reached their goals that could tell me what your opinion is?

P.S. I hope that within the next two months to be posting a success story here , just saying. Also feel free to add me as a friend if you think we could hit it off!

scg17

I don't know if this is helpful, but I'm 5'4.5" with a small frame and my goal weight is 135lbs. I know for a fact I don't look very good at 130, and my current weight of 145lb is still healthy (I'm a size 6) but I'd feel a more confident under 140lbs (or I'd be happy staying the same weight, but gaining more muscle).

cwolfman13

Personally, I pay far more attention to BF% that an arbitrary scale value. One of the problems people run into when they keep dropping weight and trying to get to some number is that ultimately, they're having to burn muscle to get there.

For example...for me to drop to around 150 Lbs which would be about smack dab in the middle of BMI for my stats, I'd have to cut some fat, but I'd also have to burn around 10 Lb of muscle..doing so would not be healthy and wouldn't make me look any better...in fact, I would look worse for having dropped that much muscle mass.

There comes a point where you need to realize you're at a healthy BF% and you just need to work on body composition. It is difficult because changing body composition is a very slow process...much slower than losing weight and being able to watch that number on the scale shrink. I often say that losing the weight was the easy part...and just the beginning. Maintaining and improving body composition is where the hard work starts.

parkscs

Agreed. Focus on body fat percentage, rather than a specific number on the scale. For that matter, it can be difficult to predict your "goal weight" at the outset because your lean body mass is almost certain to change as you lose weight. The hope would be that you can retain most of your LBM, but it's inevitable that you will lose at least some while cutting fat. I think it's fine to set a general goal though, and once you hit that weight, you can reevaluate and see where you stand.

MakePeasNotWar

I agree that body fat % is probably a more relevant number for you than weight, especially if you have loose skin that could make you think you have more fat than you really do. There are several sources on the Internet for healthy ranges.

britnik29

Okay for those of you who focus on BF%, maybe you could explain this to me then. Twice last year I had my body fat composition done with the following results:

9/11 at 177 lbs:
Lean muscle: 113
Body Fat: 36.3%
Essential Fat: 11
Reserve Fat: 19
Excess Fat: 34

Two months later on 11/8 at 162 lbs:
Lean muscle: 110
Body Fat: 32.3%
Essential Fat: 11
Reserve Fat: 19
Excess Fat: 22

Based on this I lost a little of my lean muscle; are you saying this is inevitable with weight loss? I was just wondering because they have another health fair next month and I was going to have it checked again and wanted to know if I should expect a little muscle loss since I have lost over 10 more pounds? That way I am not confused all over again... Thanks guys for all the input!

cwolfman13

Okay for those of you who focus on BF%, maybe you could explain this to me then. Twice last year I had my body fat composition done with the following results:

9/11 at 177 lbs:
Lean muscle: 113
Body Fat: 36.3%
Essential Fat: 11
Reserve Fat: 19
Excess Fat: 34

Two months later on 11/8 at 162 lbs:
Lean muscle: 110
Body Fat: 32.3%
Essential Fat: 11
Reserve Fat: 19
Excess Fat: 22

Based on this I lost a little of my lean muscle; are you saying this is inevitable with weight loss? I was just wondering because they have another health fair next month and I was going to have it checked again and wanted to know if I should expect a little muscle loss since I have lost over 10 more pounds? That way I am not confused all over again... Thanks guys for all the input!

some muscle loss is inevitable when you are dieting. Muscle is an expensive commodity and requires a lot of energy (calories) to maintain itself. In an effort to become more efficient in an energy deficiency, your body will burn muscle. This can be mitigated somewhat with resistance training and adequate protein intake...the more you are using your muscles, the more important it is and thus your body will try to preserve it...but some muscle loss is inevitable.

Morgaath

Okay for those of you who focus on BF%, maybe you could explain this to me then. Twice last year I had my body fat composition done with the following results:

9/11 at 177 lbs:
Lean muscle: 113
Body Fat: 36.3%
Essential Fat: 11
Reserve Fat: 19
Excess Fat: 34

Two months later on 11/8 at 162 lbs:
Lean muscle: 110
Body Fat: 32.3%
Essential Fat: 11
Reserve Fat: 19
Excess Fat: 22

Based on this I lost a little of my lean muscle; are you saying this is inevitable with weight loss? I was just wondering because they have another health fair next month and I was going to have it checked again and wanted to know if I should expect a little muscle loss since I have lost over 10 more pounds? That way I am not confused all over again... Thanks guys for all the input!

Yes, it is pretty much going to happen when you are eating at a large deficit. Lifting heavy for you weights (as in can barely finish lifting the weight 5-12 times) will help off set this, and you might even gain some lean muscle from it.

britnik29

Thanks for the advice! Really appreciate it