What should my target goal be?

Pugwash4x4
Pugwash4x4 Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hi All,

have been using MFP and there is SO much useful information.

My start weight was 355.6lb, and i'm currently 310lb which is good.

Not sure what my goal weight should/could be.

3 Years ago I had a professional body composition test- it showed I was 215lb of lean body mass.

So what would be a sensible and safe target to aim for?

At some point soon I will come off my low calorie diet, and start sticking more exercise and weight lifiting in the diet, so i'm expecting to put muscle bulk back on (I used to be 254lb of lean mass), but i'd still like a goal.

Any thoughts or help?

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Without knowing how tall you are that would be hard to say but your end goal should be wherever you feel good and is within a healthy weight range for your height.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Is way too soon to be thinking about a goal weight. Concentrate on smaller goals until you are closer no a normal BMI and then think about a goal weight.
  • lisiloulah
    lisiloulah Posts: 125 Member
    Some people pick by a weight they used to be, but having been overweight all my adult life I've based mine on my BMI. I know there's some criticism of BMI and how accurate they are, but for me a healthy BMI is a good starting point and once I can see myself at a healthy weight I can make decisions about how I want to look.
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  • Pugwash4x4
    Pugwash4x4 Posts: 24 Member
    I'm 6ft 1

    At the moment I don't really know how big the mountain i'm climbing is, and its a bit dispirting.

    I will keep going no matter what, but I like to set myself goals (current goal is to get under 300lb, and i'm creepin ever closer)- but I would like to know what a "normal" weight could be.

    BMI unfortunately doesn't work for- even if I lost every gram of fat, i'd still be overweight......
  • Kabiti
    Kabiti Posts: 191 Member
    I agree w/ BMI. BMI is not good for most people when you're getting close to a target. For sedentary people or those who do very light workouts, BMI is perfect for telling you just how unhealthy you are. If you're a body builder, or otherwise very muscular, BMI fails.

    I was "obese II" at my worst (BMI 36)... "obese" at my start weight (BMI 32.8)... and "overweight" now (BMI 28.5). I'm rapdily approaching "normal," (180 lbs)... but that's at the very top of the "normal" range (BMI 20-25). I think 180 may be a healthy weight for me, though if I can continue past it (healthily) I will... I don't know if that's my goal, though... and I don't know if I can know until I get there!

    Do I want to look like a 150 lb super model? Sure... but that's never going to happen (literally... never ;)
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member


    BMI unfortunately doesn't work for- even if I lost every gram of fat, i'd still be overweight......

    You're assuming you'll maintain all of your LBM as you lose weight and that won't be the case. At your starting weight your body needed a lot more LBM just to be able to carry you around and you'll lose some of that as you lose especially if you're doing VLCD and not doing strength training. Your body will even itself out with time to have the right proportions of LBM to support your system.

    I'm not sure what your goal should be but my hubby looked best at about 200 at 6'2" and my son is Hot (the girls tell me) at about 180 and he's 6'3" and 30 yrs old.
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  • bowbeforethoraxis
    bowbeforethoraxis Posts: 138 Member
    Okay, I'm going to do some fuzzy math for you.

    Using your most recent LBM weight and your current total weight, (215/310) you have 69% LBM, so 31% body fat.

    A healthy ideal for men is between 14 and 17%, so for you to get there you'd have to weigh about 250 lbs (that would put you at 16%, and it's a nice even number). All this is assuming that your LBM doesn't change at all (unrealistic), but at least it is a number to work towards.

    Are there other goals besides weight that will motivate you? Like, a size of jeans, or how many push-ups you can do, or how far you can run or anything?
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member

    BMI is flawed. Don't even bother with it

    BMI is flawed for a small percentage of the population who are extremely muscular. For the average person it gives a range to shoot for but the special snowflake rule doesn't apply that often.
  • Pugwash4x4
    Pugwash4x4 Posts: 24 Member
    To be clear, at 218lb when I would be zero % fat, I would have a BMI of 29.6, which is just a shade away from Clinically obese.

    Its probably that I've lost more muscle since my last test (say another 10lb), but I have no idea what a "normal" range would be for me.

    Most of the muscle mass is in my legs and torso. for example at the weights gym I pressed 660kg on an incline press recently. I'm a little unbalanced physically!
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  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    To be clear, at 218lb when I would be zero % fat, I would have a BMI of 29.6, which is just a shade away from Clinically obese.

    Its probably that I've lost more muscle since my last test (say another 10lb), but I have no idea what a "normal" range would be for me.

    Most of the muscle mass is in my legs and torso. for example at the weights gym I pressed 660kg on an incline press recently. I'm a little unbalanced physically!

    When you had that test done what did you weigh at the time? And how was it done?
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
    You can't use that 218 lbs as a constant. It'll change depending on how much muscle & body fat you have/don't have. It sounds like you need a scale that measures body fat percentage. You'll know when you're close to your goal weight, when you stop losing weight, perhaps even gain a bit, but your body fat percentage keeps dropping. For example, once I get into the 14-15.5% body fat range, my weight actually starts going up a bit w/muscle. But my goal weight will change w/how much muscle/fat I have at that moment.
  • Pugwash4x4
    Pugwash4x4 Posts: 24 Member
    Okay, I'm going to do some fuzzy math for you.

    Using your most recent LBM weight and your current total weight, (215/310) you have 69% LBM, so 31% body fat.

    A healthy ideal for men is between 14 and 17%, so for you to get there you'd have to weigh about 250 lbs (that would put you at 16%, and it's a nice even number). All this is assuming that your LBM doesn't change at all (unrealistic), but at least it is a number to work towards.

    Are there other goals besides weight that will motivate you? Like, a size of jeans, or how many push-ups you can do, or how far you can run or anything?
    Thanks for this- very helpful.

    Not using it as a motivator (that's coming from body size, and cardio ability, as well as strength training.

    This was becoming more of a Demotivator that I wanted to remove, as I know I can't get into a healthy BMI range, and I wouldn't want to try as that would mean I lost all the muscle bulk gained through 20 years of semi pro sport.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    I think you should just pick an intermediate goal weight for now, and make your real goal to reach your calorie and macro targets as much as possible each day. That's the way I've been thinking about this process, and it works well for me. I know that if I stick to my calorie and macro targets pretty regularly, my weight will eventually go down, so my focus is on the process more than the end result.
  • Pugwash4x4
    Pugwash4x4 Posts: 24 Member
    To be clear, at 218lb when I would be zero % fat, I would have a BMI of 29.6, which is just a shade away from Clinically obese.

    Its probably that I've lost more muscle since my last test (say another 10lb), but I have no idea what a "normal" range would be for me.

    Most of the muscle mass is in my legs and torso. for example at the weights gym I pressed 660kg on an incline press recently. I'm a little unbalanced physically!

    When you had that test done what did you weigh at the time? And how was it done?
    320lb, it was in a displacement tank, so should be pretty accurate. There was a back up impedence test too, just to make sure.

    Also had full tests for everything else too (ie VoMax, full body test etc etc).
  • Pugwash4x4
    Pugwash4x4 Posts: 24 Member
    You can't use that 218 lbs as a constant. It'll change depending on how much muscle & body fat you have/don't have. It sounds like you need a scale that measures body fat percentage. You'll know when you're close to your goal weight, when you stop losing weight, perhaps even gain a bit, but your body fat percentage keeps dropping. For example, once I get into the 14-15.5% body fat range, my weight actually starts going up a bit w/muscle. But my goal weight will change w/how much muscle/fat I have at that moment.

    thanks for this- agree its not a constant, and certainly will keep that in mind.

    Know that when I really start training with weights (when I get back to 290lb- when my diet will change too) and cardio that my weight loss will probably stall, although the fat loss will continue. Its what usually happens for me!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    If you're eating VLCD you won't build muscle, you might maintain it but you can't take that 215 as a number that will stay. It just doesn't work like that. Your best bet is to just keep losing sensibly, keep lifting to maintain muscle and see where you end up. Find someone who can do BF% testing reliably and when you get your BF down to the 15% range then re evaluate where you want to be.
  • Pugwash4x4
    Pugwash4x4 Posts: 24 Member
    If you're eating VLCD you won't build muscle, you might maintain it but you can't take that 215 as a number that will stay. It just doesn't work like that. Your best bet is to just keep losing sensibly, keep lifting to maintain muscle and see where you end up. Find someone who can do BF% testing reliably and when you get your BF down to the 15% range then re evaluate where you want to be.
    Understood- expecting to be dropping some LMB, but hopefully not too much (although to be honest I wouldn't be unhappy to lose some as long as I lose a LOT of fat).

    One I get to 290ish i'll come off the VLCD and go onto a more normal eating regime, but increase the exercise level- I just wanted to lose a big chunk of weight and fat to take some pressure off my joints and make exercising that bit easier.
  • mohojojo
    mohojojo Posts: 26
    I agree with going with small goals at a time. I suggest using clothing size as your motivator. Forget the scale..the bmi..the percentages and just focus on one pants size at a time. Aim to get into the next smaller size. When that happens go for the smaller size after that. Worrying about all these other numbers will just make things more complicated than it needs to be. Once you get to where you want to be, then you can start looking at all the different numbers.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You will lose some lean body mass. Just give yourself a mini goal, like 240 lbs, and see from there.

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