What should my goal weight be?

sweetheart03622

Alright, I've been going in circles all day trying to figure out if I'm not losing because my 1.5lb/week goal is too small and if my "goal weight" was even attainable. After doing some digging on-line, I found photos of women (and men are on the sight as well) at different body fat percentages.

http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages

I picked the one that was closest to me (somewhere between 25 and 30 I'd say, I calculated it with 30 because I'd rather over compensate)and here's how I figured this out... My current weight (168) multipled by the body fat percentage (as a decimal... i.e 30% = .30). This gives you the estimated amount of body fat on you (50.4... eek.). Subtract this number from your current weight (168-50.4 = 117.6). This is your estimated weight WITHOUT any fat on you. From here, you take 1 - your goal body fat percentage, for me 20% (1-.20=.80 or 80%). That 117.6 number should equal this percentage (80%) of your goal weight (at your desired body fat percentage). For me, 117.6 = 80% of my goal body weight at 20% body fat. From here, it's a simple algebra equation... 117.6=.8x where x equals my goal body weight at 20%. For me then, my goal body weight at 20% is 147. This means that I have to lose 21 pounds of fat to put me at 20% body fat.

Now here's the kicker.... my goal was to lose 45 pounds! Hello.... obviously that is not possible for me!!!

To those that will mention this... I understand that this 21 pounds would have to be straight up fat loss and would include no further muscle gain. My goal of this was 1. to see if I was completely nuts and if this was wayy off base and 2. to give people a way to figure out what their goals should be.

xXAlana21Xx

thats a lot of math.... and im usually good at math

Becky1971

That just gave me a headache!

sweetheart03622

That just gave me a headache!

:laugh: I've always loved math... my inner nerd coming out

Sara1978

I stumbled across a site where people just post photos of themselves and identify their weight, height, and body type. It's a good resource to give folks an idea of what they might look like at a given weight. http://www.mybodygallery.com/index.html

ndhr3d

Good way to look at it... how did you get your BF% though?? Was it one of those online calculators?? Or did you get it actually measured... I'm skeptical of the online ones. It doesn't know my build or fat displacement throughout my body (could be all in the belly or spread out between arms, legs, belly, face, etc...).

And those that say it's hard to calculate... easy step by step... replace the numbers to fit your body.

Current Weight = 168 lb
Current BF% = 30% (0.30)
Current Fat Weight = Current Weight x Current BF% = 168*0.30 = 50.40 lb

Weight with NO fat = Current Weight - Current Fat Weight = 168-50.40 = 117.60lb

Goal BF% = 20% (0.20 - healthy amount)
Goal Weight = Weight with NO Fat / (100% - Goal BF%) = 117.6/(1-0.20) = 147lb

As she said... this doesn't take into account any muscle mass that you will gain or lose throughout your weight loss program... it's a benchmark to give you starting point at which to build from for your goals!

sweetheart03622

Good way to look at it... how did you get your BF% though?? Was it one of those online calculators?? Or did you get it actually measured... I'm skeptical of the online ones. It doesn't know my build or fat displacement throughout my body (could be all in the belly or spread out between arms, legs, belly, face, etc...).

And those that say it's hard to calculate... easy step by step... replace the numbers to fit your body.

Current Weight = 168 lb
Current BF% = 30% (0.30)
Current Fat Weight = Current Weight x Current BF% = 168*0.30 = 50.40 lb

Weight with NO fat = Current Weight - Current Fat Weight = 168-50.40 = 117.60lb

Goal BF% = 20% (0.20 - healthy amount)
Goal Weight = Weight with NO Fat / (100% - Goal BF%) = 117.6/(1-0.20) = 147lb

As she said... this doesn't take into account any muscle mass that you will gain or lose throughout your weight loss program... it's a benchmark to give you starting point at which to build from for your goals!

Thanks so much! I'm not the best at explaining! Honestly, I got my body fat as an estimate. I've viewed some photos of different people at various body fat percentages and based it on that. Looking at photos of different women (never said height, age, weight, just % body fat), I'm fairly certain that I'm in this 25-30 range

TranceGirl

I just followed in your footsteps and completed the same calculations for myself and got similar results as you. If I want to be my goal weight I would have to have a negative body fat percentage. In order for you to reach you goal weight of 123, you'd also have to lose some muscle mass. This is true for me too. I have always been heavier than other people with my pants size and that's because I have a lot muscle and it seems like you are like me in that sense. I have a feeling that once you reach 20% body fat, you won't want to lose more weight because 20% body fat is perfect! Keep up the great work and proud yourself for being heavier than you look and not being able to look sickly skinny because of your awesome muscle definition!

gp79

I'm a data and numbers geek as well but setting the numbers aside for a moment, you should also assume that some of your loss is going to be muscle. So your 45lb weight loss may not be out of your reach. Walking or exercising at 60% of your HRM is going to burn more calories from fat than if you're working out at much higher levels. There's always a trade off so just stick to whatever your goal is whether that be fat loss, overall fitness improvement, peak performance improvement etc. Basically, zone training. My Polar FT60 has a fitness test built in that does the zone calculations for me which match up when I do the calculations manually

I remember reading an article in an Army times where a soldier went from chunky to very defined by doing nothing but walking at an incline for 2.5 miles / 45 minutes per day while keeping his heart rate at the above level. For me, that would be Zone 1 which is between 113 - 131 beats per minute (31 years old) I try to stay in the lower to middle portion of the zone if I want to burn more calories from fat.

Most of my physical training knowledge comes from the military and while they are far from perfect, the mentality is go harder, stronger, faster and don't quit. So just the thought of walking goes against everything I have learned. Being a little older now and seeking my own sources of information has me thinking differently now...that's another story.

In my own weight loss, I've been at 1.5lb loss/week but i know that the more I lose, the fewer calories I'll be allowed to eat. Finding the balance of where you feel good and happy is something you'll have to do some soul searching to find out what you really want out of this.

I think your goal is attainable, just keep on the track your currently on. Keep logging religiously. Expect a plateau every now and then and continually analyze your nutrient intake, finding small ways to improve upon it while still enjoying what you're eating.

You got this!

kmeekhof

here is a calculation for "ideal weight"

for women 100 lbs for the first 5 foot and 5 lbs for every inch after

for men 106 lbs for first 5 foot and 5 lbs for every inch after

You can also +/- 10 % for body frame

ndhr3d

I don't know about that 'ideal weight' scenario.... I'm sure it works for a lot of people, but there are the few of us that are outside the normal.

I'm 6'1" with a bigger build and have been told by a personal fitness trainer that my goal of 220 is a fantastic maintainable weight for me and will allow me to be lean and in shape. According to the 'ideal weight' calculation you gave, I should be sitting at 188 and that is including a 10% increase. No thanks!!

Then again... when I get to my 220 goal (currently 245)... I may see that I could use to lose that last 20 lb and get to an even 200 which would be a lot closer to that calc than I thought I would be.

Time will tell!

Gpoitras:
Great words of wisdom! You are burning more fat calories than energy calories your body needs if you stay in that 60% range... true, you are burning more calories overall if you work harder, but the calories being burned are calories your body may need to maintain for the day and you are doing yourself no good by burning them unless you plan on eating them back!

I have a really hard time staying in that range... it's really easy for me to get going, lose track and end up at max heart rate without knowing it. I've started making an effort to constantly check my heart rate and stay in that perfect range! I looked up your HRM you mentioned... may get one myself just so I have the ability to monitor not only while on a machine, but when lifting as well... thanks for the advise!

kmeekhof

I don't know about that 'ideal weight' scenario.... I'm sure it works for a lot of people, but there are the few of us that are outside the normal.

I'm 6'1" with a bigger build and have been told by a personal fitness trainer that my goal of 220 is a fantastic maintainable weight for me and will allow me to be lean and in shape. According to the 'ideal weight' calculation you gave, I should be sitting at 188 and that is including a 10% increase. No thanks!!

Then again... when I get to my 220 goal (currently 245)... I may see that I could use to lose that last 20 lb and get to an even 200 which would be a lot closer to that calc than I thought I would be.

Time will tell!

That is why it is "ideal" not everyone will fit exactly into that calculation. It is a basic calculation, but just like BMI it has its flaws.
It is the calculation we used (and was in all of my books) for my bachelors degree in health fitness.

And just so you know your weight based on that calculation would actually be 202.4

106 lbs for first 5 foot
6 lbs for every inch after.... 6 x13=78
106+78=184
184+18.4 (10%)=202.4

So maybe its not as far off as you thought.

sweetheart03622

I don't know about that 'ideal weight' scenario.... I'm sure it works for a lot of people, but there are the few of us that are outside the normal.

I'm 6'1" with a bigger build and have been told by a personal fitness trainer that my goal of 220 is a fantastic maintainable weight for me and will allow me to be lean and in shape. According to the 'ideal weight' calculation you gave, I should be sitting at 188 and that is including a 10% increase. No thanks!!

Then again... when I get to my 220 goal (currently 245)... I may see that I could use to lose that last 20 lb and get to an even 200 which would be a lot closer to that calc than I thought I would be.

Time will tell!

That is why it is "ideal" not everyone will fit exactly into that calculation. It is a basic calculation, but just like BMI it has its flaws.
It is the calculation we used (and was in all of my books) for my bachelors degree in health fitness.

And just so you know your weight based on that calculation would actually be 202.4

106 lbs for first 5 foot
6 lbs for every inch after.... 6 x13=78
106+78=184
184+18.4 (10%)=202.4

So maybe its not as far off as you thought.

In his defense, you did say 5 pounds of every inch after that in your original posting. I agree though, it's a jumping off point. My purpose of writing this post, though, was to try to get something more exact. My original goal weight was based on BMI, so I just wanted to explore it a little deeper.

ndhr3d

If it's 6lb per inch... that isn't far off at all! I would like to be an even 200... but that may be a little too much of a loss for me now, especially since I'm trying to be fit rather than skinny.

I've set up an appointment with my Dr. office personal trainer for Monday morning to get his input and possible get my RMR checked... hopefully give me more of a starting point for my calorie intake than the assumptions made on here!

kmeekhof

If it's 6lb per inch... that isn't far off at all! I would like to be an even 200... but that may be a little too much of a loss for me now, especially since I'm trying to be fit rather than skinny.

I've set up an appointment with my Dr. office personal trainer for Monday morning to get his input and possible get my RMR checked... hopefully give me more of a starting point for my calorie intake than the assumptions made on here!

My bad!! I didn't see that I had put 5 lbs in the first posting!!! Good luck to you!