How did you decide your goal weight?

michelleepotter

I picked 130 because it's right in the middle of the healthy range for me (at 5'6"), and because that's about what I weighed right after I gave birth to my first baby -- which was the first time in my life that I wasn't underweight. (Before I got pregnant I was only 110. Too skinny.) I felt good, and looked good, and I wish I had made an effort to stay there.

I might stop at 135, though. I'm going to re-evaluate when I get there and see. I'm a lot more active now than I was then, so I might have enough muscle to be happy at that weight.

jadedone

I'm 27 and had gained about 30 pounds in the past 7-8ish years. I went with about a 20 pound weight goal, because I knew it wasn't reasonable or healthy to expect to get back down to a weight I was when I was 18 or 19. It just wouldn't be realistic to expect my now adult body to go to a teenage level. Nor would I ever be able to maintain it for any length of time.

Also, re: the Marilyn Monroe statistics- the "size" thing is grossly exaggerated time after time. The best thing is to just look at her measurements in inches:
Height: 5 feet, 5½ inches
Weight: 118-140 pounds
Bust: 35-37 inches
Waist: 22-23 inches
Hips: 35-36 inches
Bra size: 36D

Was she "curvy" in the sense that she had an hourglass figure? Yes.
But in no world would she ever be considered plump or voluptuous. A 22" waist? My thighs are inches more than that. She needs to stop being toted as such a "real woman" sized icon. A real woman doesn't have a 22" waist and would never be a size 8,10, 12, 14, or whatever else size people claim she represents.

There was a point where she was a little bit heavier (think Kim Kardashian measurements 38-25-39ish) But she does have a distinct body type that isn't too popular these days. And she was a lot "softer" than the popular women today look.

Seeing her measurements. And realizing my mom and her siblings had 18-22 inch waists while in their 20s, leads me to believe there are some horrible chemicals in out foods. It was a lot more common to have a waist that was 25 inches and under back then. And it doesn't have anything to do with the "obesity epidemic." What is really slim today is still bigger than my mom was when she was younger. I blame the hormones in our food.

AABru

I'm 27 and had gained about 30 pounds in the past 7-8ish years. I went with about a 20 pound weight goal, because I knew it wasn't reasonable or healthy to expect to get back down to a weight I was when I was 18 or 19. It just wouldn't be realistic to expect my now adult body to go to a teenage level. Nor would I ever be able to maintain it for any length of time.

Also, re: the Marilyn Monroe statistics- the "size" thing is grossly exaggerated time after time. The best thing is to just look at her measurements in inches:
Height: 5 feet, 5½ inches
Weight: 118-140 pounds
Bust: 35-37 inches
Waist: 22-23 inches
Hips: 35-36 inches
Bra size: 36D

Was she "curvy" in the sense that she had an hourglass figure? Yes.
But in no world would she ever be considered plump or voluptuous. A 22" waist? My thighs are inches more than that. She needs to stop being toted as such a "real woman" sized icon. A real woman doesn't have a 22" waist and would never be a size 8,10, 12, 14, or whatever else size people claim she represents.

instead of saying "real woman", why don't you say average woman? i have a 22 inch waist, 33 hips and 33 bust, and i'm pretty damn real.

the "average" american woman is 5'4" and a size 14...in this case, I'd like to be below average!

jallen1955

I determined my lean body mass and then chose to be 20% fat

btw: I think everyone is sick to death of the term "real woman" so how about we just retire it, ok?

jadedone

I picked my weight based on my goal measurements. I haven't actually been at my target since maybe age 12, but I am looking for measurements a couple inches smaller than my high school ones. I am targeting size 8-10. I was wearing 12-14 at about 185,so I figure at around 165 I should be the size I am targeting. I am actually more concerned with clothing size (and belly size) than goal weight.

In order to hit my goal measurements (38-28-39), I need to lose about 4-5 inches in the bust, 5-6 in the waist and 5-6 in the hips. To date I am near the halfway point in my weight loss, and I have basically lost 5 inches in each of the dimensions, so I think my guess is very close to being accurate, if the weight to inches ratio stays consistent.

If it turns out that I am not quite looking the way I want, then I'll shoot for a few more pounds.

I am not bothering to target "healthy" according to BMI. I have always been a bit more muscular and solid, so my lean muscle mass should be pretty high. I have done all of the online calculators and they all give me a lean body mass of 130-145 pounds. The top of healthy for my height is 145, so provided those calculators are pretty close to accurate, my body fat would be too low at the top of the healthy range. So it renders that metric useless for me.

JB5349

My doctor told me that I should be 150 lbs but I have big hands and a large frame. My shoulders and hands are bigger than my fathers so I have decided that my first goal is 190 lbs and I will see where I go from there.

I honestly just want to get to 190 and be able to stay there and not balloon up again! I want this to be the last time I am a yo yo dieter!

tom1834

When i was in training i was 205, and pretty muscular, didn't quite have a full 6 pack but i was also enjoying myself on the weekends. However, I have a clydesdale build, not a throughbred build, so no matter how much weight i lose, or how great of shape i'm in i'll never see below 190.

chantalb20

I'm 27 and had gained about 30 pounds in the past 7-8ish years. I went with about a 20 pound weight goal, because I knew it wasn't reasonable or healthy to expect to get back down to a weight I was when I was 18 or 19. It just wouldn't be realistic to expect my now adult body to go to a teenage level. Nor would I ever be able to maintain it for any length of time.

Also, re: the Marilyn Monroe statistics- the "size" thing is grossly exaggerated time after time. The best thing is to just look at her measurements in inches:
Height: 5 feet, 5½ inches
Weight: 118-140 pounds
Bust: 35-37 inches
Waist: 22-23 inches
Hips: 35-36 inches
Bra size: 36D

Was she "curvy" in the sense that she had an hourglass figure? Yes.
But in no world would she ever be considered plump or voluptuous. A 22" waist? My thighs are inches more than that. She needs to stop being toted as such a "real woman" sized icon. A real woman doesn't have a 22" waist and would never be a size 8,10, 12, 14, or whatever else size people claim she represents.

instead of saying "real woman", why don't you say average woman? i have a 22 inch waist, 33 hips and 33 bust, and i'm pretty damn real.

the "average" american woman is 5'4" and a size 14...in this case, I'd like to be below average!

Haha, fair enough! i just hope i'm real and not imaginary o_O. even when i was in recovery for my ED, my waist never went above 23"... i'm just one of those ones!

DeeVanderbles

I decided on mine the same way many did on here. In HighSchool I was somewhere in the middle of my "normal body weight" according to BMI, Over all I was comfortable with myself. So I picked 135-140 as my ultimate goal weight. Realistically, though, I don't care so much about the number on the scale as how I feel and how I look. I'm 5'1". I'm looking to lose about 38lbs.

emilylacey1010

Question? Do you ever consider someone to lose too much? This has been the topic in my house my goal is 120. I am 5' 10. That is not too thin is it? What are your thoughts be honest

bradphil87

Mine is the closest nice, round number to mid-range healthy BMI.

I was thin into my late teens, but I have no clue what weight I was - that just didn't matter to me. For that reason, I have no clue what my goal of 120 would look like.

^^^ this for me too! I picked one smack dab in the middle of healthy, I have no idea what 180 will look like on me too (I'm 6'1) but I can't wait to find out!

missjewl

I used an online site to check my healthy range for my height and picked a number in the middle. i figure as long as im outta the overweight category im good!

veerichie

Right now my goal weight is at 147 because according to BMI it's the top of my healthy weight range. Right now I'm around 160 and considered over weight - and I look and feel over weight but am much healthier than I was 28 pounds ago. I think once I get to 147 I might set my goal weight a little lower, because I know I can do it. I used to be at a healthy weight around 120 and I felt comfortable there. Someday I'd like to be there again.

I'm 5'4" and 26 years old.

AmyRhubarb

Question? Do you ever consider someone to lose too much? This has been the topic in my house my goal is 120. I am 5' 10. That is not too thin is it? What are your thoughts be honest

That seems really low for a person of your height. I'm 5' 8" and based on info from fat2fitradio.com, my current goal is 133lbs. The site has tools for calculating your BMR, BMI, TDEE, lean body bass, body fat percentage, goal body fat percentage, and daily calories to consume based on activity level. The results vary from what MFP calculated for me, so I use both to help me set my goals and adjust my settings accordingly.

When I first started my weight loss journey, I just chose a number, like many of you - 150lbs. I was 162 at the time, so it seemed like a realistic and achievable goal. When I made it to 150, I reset my goal to 145, etc, etc. I only discovered fat2fit recently and like it for the body fat % info and am currently working to lower my fat (belly fat sticks to me like glue!) & continue building more lean muscle.

yoovie

via dice

Duck_Puddle

My goal weight is 145 because that JUST puts me into the normal weight range as dictated by BMI. I do not think I have ever been there in my adult life, so while it would be prudent to get a little deeper into that "normal" and set my goal at 135, that just doesn't seem realistic for me. I am totally open to revisiting that when I get to 145 though.

That's exactly me-same "goal" too. Realistically, I figure if I maintain my current eating and exercise habits, eventually I'll even out and land somewhere. Hopefully, that's at least near 145. While I don't wish to debate the merits of BMI as a measurement, having a BMI in the "healthy" range will earn me lower health insurance premiums (for real-my employer offers a "rebate" of sorts based on BMI). Once I hit 145-I will likely revisit the whole thing-since I look at my still-prominent gut and just don't see 23lbs making any kind of a dent in that.

justal313

I want to get somewhere into "normal" weight according to BMI. That range for me is 118 - 159. I started at 241 and the mid point of that range is 138.something so I figured 141, being 100lbs would be a good target. As I get thinner I may find I like how thin & healthy I am at someting like 150 and I'm definately reserving the right to change my goal but right now, I'm just barely under the obese line so I'm still endeavoring to reach 141.

But yeah, reasonable end goal at a nice round number. My real goal is thin. I'm teetering between a 38 and 36 waist right now, I'm down to XL and for some shirts L and I had to tighten **** shyte out of my sandle straps to keep them on my feet. Smaller clothes, more endurance, healthy blood, no diabedes, those are my real clothes. I have a medium shirt I would like to wear again, it's one of my big goals.