Setting my goal weight question?

bizgirl26

So I originally set my goal weight to be 160 pounds. I am 5 7 and that was a 42 pound loss and it put me within range but the high end of what I can weigh. I figured that since I struggled with weight all my adult life this made sense so that I wasnt setting an unrealistic goal. My question is : Should I stick to this and reset it lower to what i would really like to weight ( 140-145) when I get closer or just set it now? I am so afraid of failing and beating myself up over it.

Zumbagurl64

Personally, and from personal experience, I don't think 20 lbs is an unrealistic goal, if thats where you think you would feel best at. Who knows, you may get down to 145 and feel great and that may just be perfect for you! go for it girl! good luck!

kurenaikumo

Why not stick with what you're comfortable with now, then, when you get there, if there's more you'd still like to lose, confront it then. A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step

bizgirl26

Personally, and from personal experience, I don't think 20 lbs is an unrealistic goal, if thats where you think you would feel best at. Who knows, you may get down to 145 and feel great and that may just be perfect for you! go for it girl! good luck!

Well I am 192 now as I have lost 10 and started at 202 so it is more like 60 pounds vs a 40 pound loss

chachadiva150

How about set your goal at 160. Then when you get there, you can reassess. No need to get stressed about it now. Just work towards 160 for now.

Shayztar

I chose the high end of the "normal weight" according to my BMI too. But I am also wondering if I should reset it. I have seen lots of people here in the forums reset once they get to their goal weight. I might do it that way. That way the number to acheive right now still feels attainable. If I bumped it 10 more lbs then I'm that much farther. LOL I guess it's psychology?

Laura8603

I'm 5'7", too. My original goal was to get to 159 and be in the "healthy" BMI range (<25). Then I changed it to 140. That made me feel better. Now I'm usually maintaining around 137-138. You can do it!!

msudaisy28

I'm also 5'7'' and I started at 218. My ultimate goal is to maintain 140-150, but a 70 lb loss was too daunting of a goal for me. So I've been setting my goals for a 10% weight loss and resetting them when I reach those goals. I've had to reset once (when I lost the first 10% - at 196.2) so my current goal is 176.6. When I reach that I get to go "shopping" in my old clothes that are stored away to see what fits! And I'll reset my MFP goal to 158.8

Since 20 lbs is also a large number I've set mini goals in between with very small rewards. My current reward is that when I reach 180 (only 7.2 more to go!) I will take my measurements again.

LisaD1025

Personally, and from personal experience, I don't think 20 lbs is an unrealistic goal, if thats where you think you would feel best at. Who knows, you may get down to 145 and feel great and that may just be perfect for you! go for it girl! good luck!

Well I am 192 now as I have lost 10 and started at 202 so it is more like 60 pounds vs a 40 pound loss

I started at 202 as well, and I'm 5'6. My first goal is 170, and when I get there I will re-evaluate how much further to go. I've never weighed less than 175 in my adult life, so I don't know what I look like beyond that. Anyhow, I'm also very nervous that if I set my goal weight too low, I'll fail and give up and end up gaining everything back. Anyhow -- I say that since this journey is challenging enough as it is, give yourself a little leeway and start with 160. Once you're there, you'll have a better idea of what it'll take to get lower than that.

Good luck. I hope that helps!! And remember -- however you choose to chase this goal: you CAN reach it!!!

m60kaf

Do it in stages

What you now perceive as an unrealistic goal would be easier to give up on

If I was told 110lb ago when I wanted to loose 50lb I would need to weigh what I need now to see abs I wouldn't have bothered in the frame of mind I was in then.

Now I'm 7 or 8 lb away eating strictly for a couple of months seems far more achievable

kdeaux1959

OK, in my situation, I started at 344. Today's weight was 293.6. My BMI puts me at midrange at about 170 lbs (which I have weighed once in my adult life)... My goal weight right now is 190, not because I don't think I can get to 170... I know I can. But it is more whether it would be wise for me to go that low and be very thin. Incidentally the YMCA did a fat analysis on me and recommends a weight between 248 and 288... My Dr. disagrees and pulled a number of 230 out of his pocket ... though he tended more toward the BMI index.

I say all that to say this... Your goal weight is only a number... and it can be changed as you approach it. I don' think any of us who are more than 50 lbs out really knows where we will wind up. What I want is to be healthy... according to BMI,that would start at about 200 lbs for me.. however, if as I am losing I am also lifting weights and toning and building muscle mass (for those who don't think that is possible, I am loading a bit heavy on the protein and seeing some decent results) I may get near 200 and find that I need additional weight to support a more athletic fitness level. IN other words, if you are comfortable with the larger number.. stay with it for now. As you approach it, you can tweak it.

carriem73

I originally set mine at 150 (strated at 178.5), thinking I would never even get close- but 8 months later, I am 4.5 lbs away and still feel like i have some more to go, so I lowered it another 5 lbs to 150-

Baby steps- allow yourself to feel the success at 20, then go for the rest!

Jlfisch

Personally, and from personal experience, I don't think 20 lbs is an unrealistic goal, if thats where you think you would feel best at. Who knows, you may get down to 145 and feel great and that may just be perfect for you! go for it girl! good luck!

Well I am 192 now as I have lost 10 and started at 202 so it is more like 60 pounds vs a 40 pound loss

I have the same goal, I set mine for 150 and then if I feel as though I need to tone up more and I lose more I'll go from there. It sounds as though you and I are at in the exact same spot. I started mfp after I lost some weight to keep up the momentum I'm now at 190 and I'm 5'7, feel free to add me if you need more motivators!

chicpeach

I set my goal not at a number on the scale, but at a percentage of body fat. I really don't care what the numbers on the scale say because the scale doesn't distinguish between lean body mass and fat. I'm after losing fat without sacrificing muscle, organ or bone mass, so I set my goal at 21% body fat. I watch my lean body mass to make sure it stays right about 116. Right now, I'm just above 27% body fat, but I'm only 3 pounds from the top end of my acceptable weight range for my height of 5'6".

The danger in setting a specific number on the scale is that it may or may not be a healthy weight for you depending on how much lean body mass vs. body fat you are at that weight. If you don't want to monitor your body fat, set your goal at the top of the range, maintain for a while and then re-evaluate if that is where you ultimately want to be or not.

LorinaLynn

What will motivate YOU more? Some people are more motivated by breaking it down into chunks, some would be more motivated seeing the end goal. Either way, the number isn't carved in stone and can be changed at any time.

saragato

Do it in stages

What you now perceive as an unrealistic goal would be easier to give up on

If I was told 110lb ago when I wanted to loose 50lb I would need to weigh what I need now to see abs I wouldn't have bothered in the frame of mind I was in then.

Now I'm 7 or 8 lb away eating strictly for a couple of months seems far more achievable

I agree with this. I have my goal set to 180 which is still big for my height because to me it's a more reasonable number to shoot for, for the time being. Plus considering I haven't been that small since maybe I was 10 I would like to reach it and see if that's where I'm comfortable at or if I should go for more, in which case it's easier to start back up again.

In the end do what makes you comfortable and what doesn't overwhelm you. If you really feel like you need to change your goal if for nothing else than for yourself or to feel better about that goal, then do it. No rule saying you have to automatically quit at your goal weight or that you can't change it after you've already started. And hey, 10lbs is a good loss so feel proud you got over that initial hurdle.

adswillis27

Where did the idea of 140-145 come from? Have you weighed that before? I would answer those 2 questions and go from there. If 160 is something you have maintained and can meet then that would be my starting point. From there you will be able to look at things again and see where you want to be.

I originally had a goal of 20-25 lbs to lose. Once I hit 20 my new goal was 30. I passed 30 and hit 35 and from there my goals keep changing. I picked my first goal because it was a weight I had maintained previously and I knew I could get there. I haven't been where I am now in my adult life, but with proper nutrition, exercise and a lot of knowledge gained over the past year I know this is something I can maintain and even improve upon.

earlyxer

You need to realistic about what you are trying to achieve. A six pack? General fitness?

Once you decide on what you want, you need to focus on the only number that matters (and it is NOT your weight!) . You need to focus on body fat percentage. If you want nice abs, you're going to need to be in the high teens - 17% or so. Men need to be around 9%-11%. Look online for "Katch-Mcardle calculator" and enter your vitals and it will show you A) what your target weight should be and how much fat you need to lose to get there.

BMI is useless and everyone has a "war story" of how many pounds they lost, or what they think you should weigh. It is your body composition that determines how you look.