Question about goal weights

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xoxdollyxox
xoxdollyxox Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I see so many people have a goal weight they are trying to achieve and I'm just wondering how everyone finds that magic number? How do we know what number on the scales going to make us happy?

I started my journey at 122.3kgs (269.1lbs).. I have always been overweight.. Iv'e spent the last 6-7 years around the 116-119kg (255.2- 261.8 lbs) mark and I've so far lost 21.5kgs (47.3lbs) and I still can't manage to find myself a goal weight! At least not a final weight. I'm hoping to at least get to 80kg (176 lbs) which for my 5ft5 frame is still overweight but I can't get my head around me being any smaller then that because I can't remember weighing below 85kg (obviously I did when I was younger but I'm guessing I never weighed myself much back then)

So I'm just curious as to how people found their magic number. I want to have one of those OMG I did it moments when I get down to my final goal.. but I need to find one first!!
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Replies

  • 89nunu
    89nunu Posts: 1,082 Member
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    You pick a number that sounds nice, when you are there you reevaluate :)

    Or you do it properly and work it out with bf% and what should be nice for you... But making one up works just as well
  • sissiluv
    sissiluv Posts: 2,205 Member
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    I'm using BMI to go for a goal weight...even if I think it's a sack of over generalized doodoo it's a good a place as any to start. c:
  • SaintChubbkins
    SaintChubbkins Posts: 5 Member
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    I don't think its about having a magic number as much as having a tangible goal to work towards. Especially those of us on a long road, its a good thing to have a general idea where we want to end up, though likely the exact number of that goal will change as we progress. For me personally, things have changed a lot. I started out around 260, and I knew I wasn't healthy, so I set a goal of 200, and then had myself checked out by my doc, then the goal became 150. I'm still working towards it, and the goal is slowly starting to change again, as I've decided weight isn't as important as having some sort of muscle and functional athletic performance.

    Those of us who've always been overweight will always go through loads of trial and error til we're pleased with how we are. That being said, I don't think a number on the scale will ever be the end all be all for happiness. If you're relying on the scale to be happy, it probably isn't the healthiest mindset to have. Just find some exercise you have fun with and enjoy the time it takes to get to your goal.
  • AprilRN10
    AprilRN10 Posts: 548 Member
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    i chose the high end of the healthy weight for my size according to bmi.
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
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    I use a method we use in my office. I took a SWAG at it.

    Scientific
    Wild
    Assed
    Guess.

    I got there, re-evaluated and have lowered it again. You set an initial target. If you are happy there, stay there. If you want to keep going, once you get there lower it again.

    Either that or a magic 8 ball or Ouija board. Maybe a dart board. Did you know that according to MFP's exercise database, you burn 3 calories a minute playing darts? Who knew?
  • AHack3
    AHack3 Posts: 173 Member
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    Google a Body Mass Index chart (BMI). Look up your height compared to weight, it will tell you the range you are in. You can look at the chart to determine a normal healthy range for you. I based mine to about the middle of the normal range. When you get close to the goal weight you can gage our you are feeling. And ideal body weight for you would be one that you look and feel your best.
  • ron2e
    ron2e Posts: 606
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    Personally, I started putting on weight when I gave up smoking 20+ years ago so my goal weight is the weight I was then plus up to 10 lbs given that I am 20+ years older now and it works out at about 15 lbs more than I was when I left school (I more or less maintained weight until I stopped smoking). But as has been said above, when I get closer to it I will reappraise and decide what is realistic to attain and maintain.
  • ash190489
    ash190489 Posts: 587 Member
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    I think it's good to have multiple goal weights... a short term goal and a long term goal. My short term goals used to be about 1kg per week (but any loss was good!) and originally I wanted to lose 10kg. When I reached that goal I still wasn't happy and had a bit of excess body fat I wanted to shift. I lost another 4 kg and felt good, but then reassessed my goals to gaining muscle weight/mass and continue losing body fat %. I am still on this journey and most of the time I am feeling good!
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    trial and error. especially if you have been fat so long that you really dont know what your weight should be as an adult! i was 246 in september when i started. my original goal was 200. got there, still too big, then dropped to 180, then to 175, then to 165... well, now im 167, and ive dropped it to 155... but i think im going to shoot for 145. its hard because im tall, im 5 foot 10, so... when you look at ideal weights for my height, there is a large area to aim for! its trial and error, just set your goal, and change it if you need to!
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    I went for the last weight I could remember being sweet with, rounded down to the nearest ten :)
  • irishblonde2011
    irishblonde2011 Posts: 618 Member
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    I went for the middle of a healthy bmi. I have been this weight before and felt great. You can always change it as you get closer.
  • kazsjourney
    kazsjourney Posts: 263 Member
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    I have a lot of excess skin.....so I had a dexa scan to get a "ideal weight"...so thats what I am aiming for (and it is actually above 9 pounds about the healthy weight range)
  • GADavies
    GADavies Posts: 62 Member
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    I decided I wanted to lose 198 pounds this year. That's the difference between what I was in January and what I weighed when I was 18. It's also my height in centimeters, and it's the point at which I'm not obese on the BMI scale any more. How many more reasons to lose 198 pounds can I come up with? :D
  • ellepribro
    ellepribro Posts: 226 Member
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    My goal weight is arbitrary. Right now it's just an idea of where I want to be. I've already changed it a couple times. I'll know my goal based on how I feel when I reach it.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
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    I honestly don't have a real goal weight number. I have a goal for how I want my body composition to be, how I want to look in and out of clothes, and I have goals for how strong I'd like to be. The goal number on my ticker is a weight that I was at when I was healthy and athletic. It's not my lowest weight, but a weight I felt was appropriate for me at that point in time. I don't know if that weight is right for me now, but it's really just there as a sort of placeholder.
  • WalkingMermaid_
    WalkingMermaid_ Posts: 205 Member
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    I'm 5'7 and I was 165 lbs before I gained weight. At that weight I felt happy, strong, fit and confident. So that's my magic number :happy:
  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 632 Member
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    My first goal is to reach a healthy BMI which I think holds true for a lot of people on my friend list. After that I want to approach the middle of the range evaluating along the way how I look and feel.
  • memubo99
    memubo99 Posts: 58 Member
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    Well I spent about 30 years at 112lb and it never budged no matter what I ate, UNTIL I hit 38-40 yrs old and then I let it slide a bit and in May his year I weighed 140lb and nothing fitted. 5ft 3 and range is 105-140lb according to info
    So my goal was to get to 124-130lb as my clothes fit at this weight.
    I have reached 124lb and stayed there for the last 3 days so today I know that I have reached this goal.

    But I am very flabby and still have big thighs but I think I can live with this, my clothes fit.

    So for you can you pick a weight that you know you will be comfortable with. You can change it as you go along.
  • carolinetayloruk
    carolinetayloruk Posts: 73 Member
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    My overall goal is at the top of the healthy weight for my height. I'm starting to think I might go a few llbs below this so I've some to play with but I'll re-evaluate when I get there
  • defyyourlimitations
    defyyourlimitations Posts: 12
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    I saw a few of these and agree completely. BMI range is a good place to start and then when you reach a healthy BMI, reevaluate your goal. That's what I am doing. BMI isn't everything, but I don't think it's a bad way to guide beginning goals.

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