How did you select your goal weight?

Roni_M
Roni_M Posts: 717 Member
in Motivation and Support
Purely out of curiosity!

As I get closer to my goal, I am questioning what is the right goal weight for me.

I went by a healthy BMI. I am 5'10" so there is a very broad range to the BMI chart for me (124-174lbs roughly). When I was a teen/ young adult I weighed 145lbs which my doctor said was under weight for my frame and shape. He wanted me to gain 15-20lbs. So I have a good idea of what a doctor thinks I should weigh. My goal is currently set to 8lbs heavier than that (just on the healthy side of the BMI chart). I figure age and changes to my shape would allow for a slight increase from what my doctor felt was good for me as a young adult. I think my ultimate goal is a range between 165-170.

So how did you decide? BMI, a weight you were happy at previously, doctor recommendation or just a random number you want to see on the scale?
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Replies

  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    I had an idea in my head of how I wanted to look, and guessed how much I would need to lose to get there.

    I was wrong, by about 20 lbs.
  • martintanz
    martintanz Posts: 280
    I chose mine because of the number itself (199), at my height it would finally get me out of the "obese" BMI range, and because it would put me just below a weight I have previously sustained for about 3 years.
  • rodeogal1985
    rodeogal1985 Posts: 38
    Well, because I have yo-yo'ed my whole life, I pretty much know what I would look like at every weight, LOL. I liked the way I looked the most between 145-150. That is my goal :)
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,923 Member
    My original goal was 157 (I'm 5'11 and 34 years old). I remember being around 155 in college and feeling good, but didn't think I could really ever get back there since it was 10 years ago. I hit 157 and knew I could do better so I kept going. The lowest I got to was 143 and I was too thin, this week I weighed in at 148 and honestly I think around 150 is perfect for me. I'm trim, not too thin, no uncomfortable rolls, feel good naked, that sort of thing. Honestly I'd set your goal around 150 and see what you feel like when you get there - or if you get to 160 and you think you feel and look good, stop there. I think setting mini-goals of 10 pounds helps visualize what you look like at different weights.

    Age does have an impact, but if you were 145 before it doesn't mean you can't get there again and more than likely it will look different than when you were a teen/young adult. Our bodies change, it really depends on how much you work out and how much muscle you have. In college I worked out a lot, now, not as much, so 148 looks like 155 did.
  • 31993703
    31993703 Posts: 1,144
    I selected a weight I thought I would be happy at. Once I get to my goal I will evaluate from there. :D
  • RobynLB
    RobynLB Posts: 617 Member
    The weight at which I started picking up really hot guys ;) That's my goal weight. Well... that plus training 10+ hrs a week.
  • anzi888
    anzi888 Posts: 102 Member
    3-4 years ago I was running a lot and without really trying got down to 125 (I'm only 5''2). By looking at the pictures, I wouldn't want to be much less than that. I've started lifting since then so I imagine it would be hard to get to 125 again so I try not to look at the scale and look at how my clothes fit and how I feel.
  • trophywife24
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member
    I just took a guess, honestly. I loosely based in on a weight I was when I remember "looking good".. granted I was like 13 at the time, ha. I was wrong, though. I got there and said "nope".. my 'goal' now is about 10 pounds lighter than the original one.
  • Roni_M
    Roni_M Posts: 717 Member
    My original goal was 157 (I'm 5'11 and 34 years old). I remember being around 155 in college and feeling good, but didn't think I could really ever get back there since it was 10 years ago. I hit 157 and knew I could do better so I kept going. The lowest I got to was 143 and I was too thin, this week I weighed in at 148 and honestly I think around 150 is perfect for me. I'm trim, not too thin, no uncomfortable rolls, feel good naked, that sort of thing. Honestly I'd set your goal around 150 and see what you feel like when you get there - or if you get to 160 and you think you feel and look good, stop there. I think setting mini-goals of 10 pounds helps visualize what you look like at different weights.

    Age does have an impact, but if you were 145 before it doesn't mean you can't get there again and more than likely it will look different than when you were a teen/young adult. Our bodies change, it really depends on how much you work out and how much muscle you have. In college I worked out a lot, now, not as much, so 148 looks like 155 did.

    At 145lbs I was considered underweight. You could count my ribs and see my backbone. How you carry your weight really matters (which is why there is such a huge range of healthy weights). I was a pear at that time, now I'm more of an hourglass (or a pear with boobs! LOL). So 145 isn't a weight I want to be. It's way too thin for my body type (my thighs and waist used to have the same measurement... So I was very much a pear!). You can just see my rib cage now but not count my ribs or anything. I hope I don't lose any more from the top (except maybe my arms). I am currently 195lbs. I know other ladies that look perfect at my height weighing around 145-150lbs though. They are smaller on the bottom though.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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  • mabelbabel1
    mabelbabel1 Posts: 391 Member
    I'm 5'10 too. My goal is back to 168lbs but anything up to 182lbs is fine.....anything under 168lbs is too skinny for me, I like to be an hourglass shape which is what i was at this weight in the past.
  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
    I'm 5'11 and 22 years old. When I was in high school I was 180 and thin, but kinda squishy, no muscle. I set my goal to get back to 180 figuring as long as I"m near that but with better muscle I don't care if I'm a bit heavier. I'm aiming for 20-22%BF. Now for my height they say 180 is "overweight" which is silly, BMI doesn't accurately measure everyone. Based on the LBM I have now and the fact that I'm strength training, so I should at the very least maintain, to get to 20% BF I'd be 183. Which is technically overweight but whatever. I looked good with clothes on in that weight range, a size 14ish. I just want more mucle than I had back then. It was only 4.5 years ago.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I chose mine to be 150 because when I was 175, I was happy with my body, but still overweight. When I was 130, I was still a kid. So I figure a happy medium. At 150, my body fat will still be in a healthy range, and technically, I would still (barely) be at healthy weight by the BMI chart. I don't want to set a goal that would be too hard to achieve. But I will be lifting weights long before I get to that point, and I'm sure that I will care much less about my goal weight once I've been lifting for a year than I will about reshaping my body and looking good in the mirror.
  • NickDHussin
    NickDHussin Posts: 348
    .jpg
    You beat me to it.
  • Bunnehface
    Bunnehface Posts: 129 Member
    I'm 5'10 too, my goal weight (for now) is 174. Just squeaking under the healthy BMI max!
    If I feel I should lose another few pounds after that then I will, but a BMI of under 25 is my goal for now.
  • wolfehound22
    wolfehound22 Posts: 859 Member
    No real reason for my number, I just set it as a goal, I'll probably continue trying to lose weight even when I hit it. To me though, now that I am close to that weight, I am more focused on getting my body to look the way I want, so really the weight is not as important anymore.
  • 1lexisva
    1lexisva Posts: 978 Member
    I just want to lose 50 lbs and go from there lol
  • e001w
    e001w Posts: 46 Member
    I use to be in the 175-185 lbs range. I look back at photos from back then and I was to skinny. So I really want to be in the 190s with muscle this time. I was more skinny fat back then.
  • AndyStanford
    AndyStanford Posts: 154 Member
    I chose somewhere in the middle of the "healthy" BMI range, because without weight training I'd probably have about an average fat/muscle ratio, so the BMI calcs probaby aren't too far off.

    Thing is, I've never been muscular, at best I had a little definition to my abs in my late teens, so I've got no idea what weight I'll finish up at when I look the way I do. If I put all my weight loss back on through muscle gain, I'll be ok with that, because I'll be pretty muscular by then, not the flabby SOB I am now.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    I picked what the weight is right in the middle of the healthy BMI range, which for me at 5'8" is 145 lbs. I am 6 lbs away from it. I have a dr appt next month and I'll ask her what she thinks, but I'm thinking 145 lbs is a good place for me to hang out.
  • MsDover
    MsDover Posts: 395 Member
    I set my original goal at 118 (I'm 5'1") but now that I'm within a pound of that, I reset it to 115. I've been that weight before and I know what it feels like and looks like. Three pounds doesn't sound like much but at my height I'm doing the tweaking I need to do AND giving myself a couple of pounds of wiggle room. I also know I can maintain that weight (I did for 5 years before regaining 17 pounds) as long as I'm careful, within 2 or 3 pounds. On some people my height 115 is too much and on others it's not enough. So many variables no matter what you set your goals to be.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Highest, healthy number on the BMI chart (140#), since that's what most doctors go by when telling you if you're healthy of not.
  • FitGoal165
    FitGoal165 Posts: 82
    I looked back at the age that I was when I looked the best and said, "That's the weight I'm going for."
  • avasano
    avasano Posts: 487 Member
    Go to Dukan Diet aka www.dukandiet.com and take the questionnaire.
  • iampanda
    iampanda Posts: 176 Member
    I went with the weight I was before kids, which is in the middle of the recommended range for my height, but also aimed to be a certain body-fat percentage. I think you'll find a lot of different reasons. :smile:
  • kphillery
    kphillery Posts: 19 Member
    I wanted to see if it's actually possible for me to be that size. To actually challenge myself to be in better health instead of using excuses.
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
    I looked at pics of my dad when he was younger, during his Navy days (mid 1960's in Vietnam). Dude was a skinny beast!! He said he'd hang upside down from a pullup bar and do full situps, 100 at a time. No fat, 160lbs, 5'9". Son of a lumberjack, forced to work in the mill of course.

    I'm only an inch taller, so I picked 170 since I want a little more muscle than that.
  • FitandFab33
    FitandFab33 Posts: 718 Member
    I measured my bodyfat %, calculated my current lean body mass, and figured out how much I should weigh if I dropped by bodyfat % by a particular % but maintained my lean body mass. Then I accounted for a possible (probably) slight reduction in LBM and came up with a range. Voila.
  • RobynLB
    RobynLB Posts: 617 Member
    I measured my bodyfat %, calculated my current lean body mass, and figured out how much I should weigh if I dropped by bodyfat % by a particular % but maintained my lean body mass. Then I accounted for a possible (probably) slight reduction in LBM and came up with a range. Voila.

    Do you have an equation for that? I am lazy with numbers. I'm 128 at 18% bodyfat (that's sort of an estimate based on calipers and the average of my BF scale). How much would I weigh at 15% bodyfat?
  • SorchaEilis
    SorchaEilis Posts: 99 Member
    Several years ago,in basic training, I lost a ton of weight and I got down to 130 pounds. At 5'7" with a medium + frame, I look gross and way too thin at 130, and I lost all my curves. I gained some weight back over the next few years and sat at a nice healthy 145 for a long time after that. 145 is my goal because I look my best there and it's fairly easy to maintain if I maintain healthy eating habits.

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