How did you choose a goal weight?

Options
sabineliebling
sabineliebling Posts: 32
in Health and Weight Loss
I am nearing my goal weight and kind of reevaluating. I have been overweight/obese since my teens and now I weigh the same that I did in high school. I just slipped into the "normal" BMI category (woohoo!) and my goal is 11 pounds less than what I weigh now. However, I still have plenty of abdominal fat I want to lose, back fat rolls, arm fat, and upper thigh fat. I look at all of this and think, that can't be just 11 pounds of fat, and even if it is, it's not like it's solely going to come off of those areas just because I'm close to my goal weight! I originally set my goal weight at 150, and now I'm thinking I should go lower. Looking at the BMI charts, the range of normal for my height (5'8") is 125-164. So maybe 140? 130?

How do you set a goal weight when you haven't been anywhere near that weight for 15+ years and don't know what you'll look like when you get there?? Do I just constantly adjust it? Or do I hit a weight I'm happy with and then continue with strength training and other exercise to just get more muscle mass but lose fat - does that make sense?
«1

Replies

  • Rose_bee
    Rose_bee Posts: 226 Member
    Options
    I talked to my dr, thought about what my 'real' frame size is, and we settled on right in the middle of the BMI range for my height. I'm also aiming for my body fat % to drop from 32% (as measured on my known-to-be-inaccurate home scale), to 25% or less.

    I have my mother's family's tendancy to put on weight quickly & in large quantities.

    But I have my paternal grandmother's tiny frame (I'm small-boned and barely 5'2").


    For you, I'd still suggest you drop the 11 pounds, but build up muscle instead. Look at your body fat % rather than just your weight.
  • MrsSamiP
    MrsSamiP Posts: 11
    Options
    150 is not a bad goal but I would suggest now not only concentrating on that but on how you look. You're right you probably don't have 11lbs of fat to lose but if you do some weight training and toning you would lose those "rolls" and gain muscle. Once you do that you can re-evaluate what you want your goal weight to be. Maybe by then 150lbs will look better to you, if set your goal another 5-10lbs lower and go from there. Start measuring your inches in the places you don't like that way you'll see the fat coming off while you gain the muscle. Also you can do a body fat % calculator to give you some better healthy weight ideas.

    Go here for more help with the body fat % calculator (and other helpful ideas)
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
  • Riemersma4
    Riemersma4 Posts: 400 Member
    Options
    Personally, i think goal weights are misleading.

    I picked a goal 'look'.

    I am striving for a look and level of fitness more than a number on a scale.
    I don't care if i weigh 190 or 210.
    I care that my resting heart rate is 41 bpm.
    I care that my body fat is around 12%.
    I care that i can wear 32" waist jeans.

    You get the picture.

    Good luck!
  • thecakelocker
    thecakelocker Posts: 407 Member
    Options
    My goal weight was pretty arbitrary, I'm just going to keep chugging along until I get close and then reevaluate based on how I look.
  • weinbagel
    weinbagel Posts: 337 Member
    Options
    I am nearing my goal weight and kind of reevaluating. I have been overweight/obese since my teens and now I weigh the same that I did in high school. I just slipped into the "normal" BMI category (woohoo!) and my goal is 11 pounds less than what I weigh now. However, I still have plenty of abdominal fat I want to lose, back fat rolls, arm fat, and upper thigh fat. I look at all of this and think, that can't be just 11 pounds of fat, and even if it is, it's not like it's solely going to come off of those areas just because I'm close to my goal weight! I originally set my goal weight at 150, and now I'm thinking I should go lower. Looking at the BMI charts, the range of normal for my height (5'8") is 125-164. So maybe 140? 130?

    How do you set a goal weight when you haven't been anywhere near that weight for 15+ years and don't know what you'll look like when you get there?? Do I just constantly adjust it? Or do I hit a weight I'm happy with and then continue with strength training and other exercise to just get more muscle mass but lose fat - does that make sense?

    i set mine based on how i feel at a certain weight, not how i look. people tell me i look fine right now, but i dont feel fine. it makes a difference :)
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Options
    I set mine sort of randomly (I weighed 232 when I started so 122 seemed like a good even number). I also set it thinking I was taller than I really am. So I'll probably end up going lower before I'm done.


    You could always set it at the higher end of what you estimate is good and change it later on. I figure when I hit 122 if I'm still not happy I'll just change my ticker and keep going until I am happy. Within reason, of course. I won't go under a healthy BMI.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Options
    For some reason, I think once upon a time I remember weighing 160lbs right before high school. It's a healthy BMI and hopefully its achievable. We will see...
  • Kelley528
    Kelley528 Posts: 319 Member
    Options
    I think that when you have a lot of weight to lose it is hard to zero in on the perfect number because you have no idea what or how your body will look like as you keep losing. Plus, body shapes and sizes are so different one person's skinny 150lbs may be another persons fat 150lbs.

    I am 5/4 and started at 180lbs. I thought someone my height should weigh 125lbs but looking at myself i knew there was no way I had 55 extra lbs on me. I have a medium build and very curvy ( not fat curvy. Truly curvy). I set my goal to lose 35lbs to start off which would bring me to 145. Thinking of weight as a cookie-cutter number I was worried 145 may still look big. I was wrong.

    I am now 144 lbs and a size 4-6. I decided to set my final goal to weigh 138. At this point I know what 3 lbs, 5 lbs, or 10lbs less looks like on my body so from that experience I know 138 will make me happy.

    I suggest setting up a first goal. See what you look like when you get there. Depending on how much you need to lose over all, set up a second goal, or even a third. As you keep losing you will know what looks best on you and where your body should be weight wise.
  • gracielynn1011
    gracielynn1011 Posts: 726 Member
    Options
    I chose 140 for MFP because I thought that it was a good starting point. Once I get to 140, I will see how I feel and what my Body Fat Percentage is. I may decide to go further, depending on my stats at that point. I looked at an online calculator a few days ago and it said that to reach my goal Body Fat Percentage, I need to weigh 130, so once I hit 140, that may be my next goal.
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    Options
    I chose my goal of 125lb because I was 130lb forever but with some flabby bits.

    So when I hit 145lb I knew I wanted to get back to where I was plus some more so that I could be where I was before - but better!
  • mummyzena
    mummyzena Posts: 259 Member
    Options
    I set mine to 160 because i know that's the weight i was when i was happy with my figure been a good 11yrs since then but i'll see when i get there.xx
  • Microfiber
    Microfiber Posts: 956 Member
    Options
    Before I had my son, he's now 4, I was 9½ stones and I loved that weight. I'm now 10 stones and think if I lose 7 more pounds I'll be OK :laugh:
  • michelle7673
    michelle7673 Posts: 370 Member
    Options
    I would suggest getting to your goal weight, and maybe a pound or two under it (just so that when you fluctuate, as we all do, you are still happy with the number). Then I would take a good three/four months at maintenance, lifting, with a good plan, and see what you think after that. That's pretty much what I plan to do.
  • alexapatel
    alexapatel Posts: 87 Member
    Options
    I don't have an ultimate goal weight yet. My first goal is 160 (from 182) and I'm almost there. My body does not look like I thought it would at 164 today. My next goal will probably be 145. Then go from there.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    Options
    Guesswork. I think a good goal weight for me is about 160. If my skin gets baggy I'll stop before then. If I hit 160 and like the way it looks I'll re-evaluate then, maybe stop there, maybe continue. I'm 64, I'm married, I'm retired, I don't have to please anybody but myself.
  • haymancm
    haymancm Posts: 280 Member
    Options
    I chose my goal weight of 130, since that's what I weighed when I first got married 19 years ago.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    Options
    First I figured out my body fat percentage, and from that my lean body mass - 135lbs (I'm a little guy underneath all the fat, apparently).
    Then I decided how I wanted my body to look, and found the body fat percentage required to look that way - 15%
    Then I divided my lean body mass by 0.85 (i.e. 1 - 15%) to find my ideal weight of 158lbs. Factor in a little LBM loss along the way, and I set my goal as 155lbs.

    Once I reach that, I'm hoping to continue my current workout ethic and start a very slow and steady bulk, hopefully with minimal fat gain.

    So far, I've gone from 220lb to 175lb. Twenty pounds to go!
  • briggsy13
    briggsy13 Posts: 161 Member
    Options
    I picked it based on how I felt when I was the weight previously. I was in the best shape of my life although I still wasn't working out like I am now so who knows what that weight will look on me this time. I might be happy before I get there, but feel like its a good place to work towards. I also might get there and decide I'm still not happy.
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
    Options
    My first goal weight was 139 (I'm somewhere between 5'1 and 5'2), because I didn't feel I could get any lower. I have been overweight since my pre-teen years so I was sure I could never maintain anything less.

    But once I got to that weight, I realized that I wanted to try for a healthy BMI for someone 5'1, so my goal is 132. I have been down to the weight twice, but have as yet, figured out how to maintain that. But I keep trying!
  • sunflowerhippi
    sunflowerhippi Posts: 1,100 Member
    Options
    Current Weight - (Current Body Fat % * weight) = Lean Body Mass
    Curernt Weight * Goal Body Fat = lbs fat at goal (33)
    Lean Body Mass + Lbs of Fat = Goal Weight (166)

    181- (181*.267) = 133
    181 * .18 = 33
    133+ 33 = 166 Goal Weight

    I am 5'7" and very curvy in the hips. "Healthy" BMI is 155 which my doctor and I agree with my muscle build and body type is too small for my frame.

Categories