How did you come up with you're GOAL weight?

DawnEH612

I wonder how people come up with their goal weight. I came up with my most recent one because I think I weighed around 143 after I graduated high school.... The reason I am asking because I am wondering if I need to re-evaluate my GOAL WEIGHT???


So, I am nearing my intended goal weight of 143 lbs. (currently at 146.8 and 28.5% body fat) and wondering if I should adjust my goal? I am now wearing a size 10 jeans but they are getting loose and I will be needing to shop for size 8's soon.

Let me first say that this time around loosing weight, oddly enough, was not about loosing weight, for me. I knew I needed to, and knew I was overweight, BUT I have lost weight MANY MANY times before - and ended up gaining alot of it back because I simply had poor eating habits and coping skills. So this time, I had a different goal, to learn how to have a healthy relationship with food. One that didn't use food to feed my emotions, to curb my bordem, to keep me company while I watched tv or to put me in a comatosed state while I numbly consumed large amounts of calories to black out the stressors of my day!

The benefit of my "tuning into" my body and improving my relationship with food is that I lost just shy of 33 pounds since mid November 2011. (At that time I weight 178.6 and 38.5% body fat and was quickly outgrowing my size 14 pants and nearing the point of having to buy 16's.)

Of course, with that said, I had to come up with measurable outcomes of my efforts, thus the number on the scale (as well as smaller sized clothes, loss of body fat, getting into the normal zone of my BMI and improving my physical abilities and stamina) not to mention how I feel and look.

All of those things aside, I have to question if I need to lower my goal weight. I am 5'6" with a medium to large-ish frame and tend to build muscle with relative ease despite being a female, which I am happy about!

Anyway, I just got into the normal BMI range but still at the high end of the recommended weight and BMI. I took the average of the low and high end (according to MyFitnessPal program) and that average was 138.7 pounds. I am not trying to be a skinny thing, just get to a weight which feels comfortable to me (which I do now) and that I will be able to maintain, for my lifetime, not just for this summer...

I wonder more, if I should just have a DANGER ZONE weight that I do not ever want to go above, such as150? If I continue to lose great, if not, just don't freak out about a few pounds here and there unless it hits the DANGER ZONE.

I am beginning to wonder, if the old "fat" me is telling me I don't need to loose anymore weight. Oddly enough, its strange to think of myseslf as NOT the fat girl, anymore.... Maybe my mind needs to catch up with my thinner body? I haven't worn under a size 10 that I can recall, ever, even in high school... Maybe my brain just can't process that?

Any thoughts?

LiddyBit

You've talked a lot about your relationship to your weight but I didn't see any real reason you shouldn't shoot for your goal weight. There is nothing wrong or unhealthy about a 5'6 woman wearing a size 8 in jeans. If you're tired of trying to lose weight, maintain where you're happy. If you feel like you're up for seeing what it's like to be even thinner, keep going. You have a long way to go before you get out of a healthy BMI range (which is under 115 for 5'6 women). I think having a comfort zone rather than a specific number is a really good approach.

Edited to add - Sorry, I didn't really answer how I came up with my goal weight. Basically, it's the lowest weight at which I have been without unhealthy measures to achieve and maintain. I like being skinny but any skinnier than my goal weight is a full time job and I am busy enough as it is.

anabell31

My doctor said "This is an average and healthy weight of girls your age and height", so I've been shooting for that

madeinforks

It really depends on you and how you feel! I know I am the same height and I have set my goal for 150 because I know that i just look too thin under that amount..so your bone structure and how your body shape and form is has a lot to do with how you look also..I have been exercising and toning so even though I still have some pounds to go to my goal.. I feel that I look good now due to that regardless of the size of my clothing due to the fact that as I have lost weight i have worked hard at maintaining a level of fitness as I go..Good luck on getting to your goal! Looks like you are very close!

fajitatx

i choose my goal weight of 210, sort of randomly, I didn't do any research or anything really. I think it is because my dad once told me he weighed about like 205 or 210 and he is about my same height. So thinking that is what he weighed back then, sort of made me think it would be a good weight.

After seeing a nutritionist, they did my BMI (via Dual-Xray body composition scan) and they said that my 'proper' weight would be like 185-190, I told them that was not going to happen, which maybe it will, but I haven't been that weight since I was a kid, not once in my adult life. I told them that I had thought I would like to be around 210, and she said that if I put on about 6lbs of muscle then 205-210 would be a good weight.

I can't wait to see how much muscle I have put on, I am going to be going back for another scan in a few weeks.

itsrierie

I took how much I weighed when I finished high school, minus two more kilos. I took the lowest "healthy" weight as well -- actually, the lowest healthy weight recommended for me was 49 kilos, and if I hit that I'd be amazed. Basically, I want to be 50 - 55kgs.

kabbit42

I'm not really into weighing myself just for sanity issues, but my goal weight is 140 because that is what I weighed right before prom. Once I get there I'll adjust to see if I have an ultimate goal weight. Ideally I am shooting for a size 6/8 in pants, so matter how much I weigh.

mrsnathanandrew

I honestly don't know how I chose my goal weight. I'm 5'9, and my goal is 145, it's just a number I've kinda been obsessed with for some reason. I've ALWAYS been the fat girl, so it just appealed to me. I also know that I want to wear a size 6-8 in jeans, but to be honest, I'll probably just stop when I feel good about me. Whether thats 145, or 160 it doesn't matter.

EchoOfYourPast

I chose my goal weight at the weight i was back down to after having my 3 children (last born when i was 23). Sometime after i turned 30...my weight slowly increased until i am where i am now. I think this will be a good weight for me as long as i stay healthy with it. Pre-pregnancy i was 15 lbs smaller...but i was also 16.
San

Fathima0712

Mine is the weight of my Best Friend who is the same height and build as me..she is the prettiest and nicest girl ever!! and she looks super fit and healthy and that what i want to look like!!

monty619

30lbs a good round number from 215 down to 185... and if i get there i should be around 10% body fat.

<<<<<<<<< my pic im at 200lbs and im currently at 197

greaseswabber

It is exactly 50 lbs lost and will be my lowest weight since high school. But it is still in the overweight range of the BMI, so I'll re-evaluate when I get there and probably set a new goal.

kikirina

I chose a weight that I feel happy in, that zone you hit where you feel you can wear anything, but can maintain in a healthy way. Took in consideration my frame and lifestyle at this point, and decided on a goal weight that seemed realistic and achievable.

mrsnathanandrew

30lbs a good round number from 215 down to 185... and if i get there i should be around 10% body fat.

<<<<<<<<< my pic im at 200lbs and im currently at 197

Your abs still get me everytime I see your pic *swoon* lol

SarahKJ0704

my weight goal is 137 , its what i weighed a year and a half ago and i LOVED the way i looked ! i even worked dancing at a gentlemens club !! it's hard for me to even imagine that now !

TheFunBun

I chose mine because my family is about to be civilian side and I'd like to have low insurance premiums and not have to pay extra for certain things due to being overweight. So I picked it firmly within my healthy BMI.

Honestly, I feel it will be a little too slender for me with the amount of muscle I'd like to keep. It's about 20 lbs under my comfort zone. I've talked myself into it by thinking about how delightfully muscular looking I'll be (since I love those kinds of bodies) but the reality is I'm afraid of it. The last time I weighed it was in highschool wrestling and I have the worst memories of trying to lose those last few pounds of water weight so I could fit into my weight class.

Anyways, enough on my crazy! Hahah.

trinitrate

Aiming for the weight I remember fitting in a 32-34" pair of jeans.

robot_potato

I looked up the healthy weight range for my height, and my goal is right in the middle of that.

carld256

I looked up the healthy weight range for my height, and my goal is right in the middle of that.

I did exactly the same.

dolldreams

I chose 140 as my goal weight because that is what I weighed when I got married 13 years ago. 132 is my dream weight because I really loved how clothing looked on me at that weight. I could wear anything at all and not worry about my body. 132 is about 3 lbs low for my height but I have a small frame and 3 lbs isn't a whole lot.

maricash

I chose a number five pounds under the cutoff for a healthy BMI. If (when) I get there, I'll reassess. I think it's important to remember that any weight in the healthy range is, well, healthy! I think some people have the idea that it would be healthiest to be at the bottom of the range, but I think that has less to do with what is actually healthy and more to do with our cultural idea that skinnier is always better.

I think you have the right idea in focusing on building a healthy relationship with food. It seems to me that a healthy weight is a weight at which you are maintaining your healthy habits, while staying around the same weight. Maybe just focus on keeping up your good habits and see where the scale goes. If you start to edge back into the overweight zone (your danger zone, as you put it) then reevaluate your diet and exercise and go from there.

Weighinginwithmy02

I chose the weight that was the highest in my weight range for a healthy BMI for my height and build. I have been close to 285 pounds almost my entire adult life (weighing 230 when I was 15 and never getting on a scale again until my mid 20's, I'm now 35 years old).

Getting down to 200 seems like a huge accomplishment but reaching that magic 180, that's the real "goal" in my mind. I clearly have no idea what I will look or feel like then or if I will be satisfied. It's such an abstract thought for me right now, I don't truly know how I will feel. For me, it's less about the numbers and more about how I will look.

Xiaolongbao

I also chose the highest number that would give me a healthy bmi. I was obese when I started and have now moved into overweight. If I got down to healthy I'd be ecstatic. At that weight I wouldn't be 'thin' so if I do get there I might re-evaluate but right now it still seems a long way away so it will certainly do for a goal.

To be honest I don't really think about it that much, I more focus on smaller goals. Getting out of obese was the first one. Hopefully getting under 70kg will be next (still some time off).

k1ngfl1pper

I had originally picked 200 as it was a nice round number. I updated it to 196 (yeah, odd number) as that was the weight the Navy said was my max for my height.

Diary_Queen

I chose my Goal Weight based on a healthy BMI and also based on my starting weight. I recently got a dr. report with my highest recorded weight of 327 (also how much I weighed when I started on this getting healthy thing - see my profile pics for comparison). My GW is 147 lbs. Midrange in a healthy BMI.... also 180 lbs. from where I started. I will be less than 1/2 my size. Not sure what will happen after that for me. There are lingering questions of "will I want to stop there or be 140 lbs." "will I need surgery to remove skin" "will I want to add muscle and end up at 153 lbs." things like that... but I won't know until I get there.

BrayneZ

When I hit 12% body fat. There's no weight goal involved. When I hit it, I start putting on muscle. And never exceed 15%.

LorinaLynn

I originally chose 135 as my goal weight because I liked how I looked at that weight a few years ago. When I got to 135, I pretty effortlessly lost another 5. I've been fluctuating between 126-133 since July. I'm not terribly concerned about the number on the scale now, and go by how my clothes fit and how I look in progress photos.

On the other hand, I weighed 110 pounds in high school, and got as low as 103 in college and my early 20s. If I made that my "goal," I'd never be able to achieve it. My lean body mass is about 105 pounds now, so there's no way I'll be 110 pounds again I'd either have about 4% body fat, or I'd have to lose a lot of muscle.

lin7604

i choose mine as i originally wanted to just get back to my pre pregnancy weight of 128-130. Then when i had a dr appt i asked my dr what her thoughts were on my build, height, etc. so she worked it all out and said 125 would be perfect no less then 122 as i am 5 ft 2 and 35 plus have a med build..

NomiS6

slap bang in the middle of the green on the BMI.
Started in the orange obeese club then moved into the yellow and now officaly over weight. Getting there

kluvit

I'm 5'7" with a very small frame, so I would think the lower end of BMI (118) would be ideal, but the last time I was 123 I had trouble finding clothes that fit and everyone said I was too thin, so I just came up 5 pounds to 128, but my true goal is to stay under 130 look good and feel good.

zyxst

140 is the line between 'healthy' and 'overweight' for a 5'2" woman. When I get there, I sure won't look it with a big belly. :P