How to determine my goal weight

Cjmi427

I'm 5'4" and now weigh 120lbs. I started at 124 lbs. I currently have my goal weight set at 117. I eat around 1500 calories a day and workout 3 days a week for an hour with cardio and strength training.
While doing this, I have seen my body getting smaller and tighter, but my weight hasn't changed much lately. At this point I'm not sure if my goal is still to lose weight. I know I'd like to lose a bit more fat so I can see more of the muscles I've been working, but does that necessarily translate into a weight loss if I'm building muscle?
My uncertainty stems from this: I'm pretty small already and I'm not really looking to see just how skinny I can get. I really don't know how to set my goal weight! Like I said, I want to lose a bit more fat and keep strength training. Should I just keep my goal weight below where I am currently and keep my calories at a deficit?
*I plan to buy a food scale. I'm pretty sure my calorie counting has been pretty inaccurate thus far, even though I know it's lower than it was before using MFP.
Thanks for any suggestions!

OhReally42

If you're wanting to lose those last 3 pounds then you'd want to stay at a deficit. When you strength train usually you eat a little bit over. For example you're eating 1500 right now, to gain muscle, you could increase to 1700 or so. It's really just a game of give and take. I've been told to never adjust the amount you by more than 200 every few weeks. So like trying 1700 calories and then your strength training for 2-3 weeks and then checking your progress and adjusting your calories and workouts according to what's working for you. Sorry that's sort of vague but it really depends on how you work out and how you eat.

heybales

I'm 5'4" and now weigh 120lbs. I started at 124 lbs. I currently have my goal weight set at 117. I eat around 1500 calories a day and workout 3 days a week for an hour with cardio and strength training.
While doing this, I have seen my body getting smaller and tighter, but my weight hasn't changed much lately. At this point I'm not sure if my goal is still to lose weight. I know I'd like to lose a bit more fat so I can see more of the muscles I've been working, but does that necessarily translate into a weight loss if I'm building muscle?
My uncertainty stems from this: I'm pretty small already and I'm not really looking to see just how skinny I can get. I really don't know how to set my goal weight! Like I said, I want to lose a bit more fat and keep strength training. Should I just keep my goal weight below where I am currently and keep my calories at a deficit?
*I plan to buy a food scale. I'm pretty sure my calorie counting has been pretty inaccurate thus far, even though I know it's lower than it was before using MFP.
Thanks for any suggestions!

Forget goal weight, set MFP to maintenance, and keep logging your exercise and eating back those calories so you really maintain and highest calorie level you can.

Why?

That will give the best response to lifting weights. The more improvement that can make, the more fat that will be burned to accomplish it.

It may take 6-8 weeks to swap a pound of fat for a pound of non-fat - but a 1 lb of fat is big volume and noticeable.

And agreed - that is rather small goal weight for 5'4", actually, already under a healthy goal weight.

You just don't like where some of the fat is. Good heavy strength training will take care of that.

Just confirm strength training is focus, before and longer than the cardio.
Using biggest muscles, not bicep curls and tricep kickback waste of time in the big picture. Just in case your description of strength training is really the pink dumbbells, which some are.
And frankly you could probably eat more than that and not gain either.

Did you know that if you ate 250 more than true maintenance each day, you would only gain 1 lb slowly over 2 weeks.
And if good strength training, not even fat.