Goal weight?

I think you're on the right track by aiming for a goal weight that is in the healthy/slightly above range listed for your height on the BMI charts. As you get closer to your goal, you can always re-evaluate and decide if you want to go higher or lower. Don't stress out about it though.

There are so many people here who have had amazing results with MFP and have been able to lose a lot of weight. It takes time and dedication, but you can do it. Read through the Success stories pages for some motivation and inspiration!

Congrats on your success to date!

You can do it. Just take it slow and steady and one day at a time. If you haven't seen it already, check out CyberEd312's story. He's lost over 300 pounds on MFP and looks amazing. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1103164-3-yrs-312lbs-lost-1yr-from-bodylift-and-maintenance

I think it's a good idea to choose a goal weight that's on the higher side for your frame. Once you reach your goal, you can always adjust.

Thank you!

I've set my goal weight at 165 for now. I think that's a reasonable weight, while still giving me room to either lose some more weight or tone up. Plus, considering my current weight, having less than 200lbs to lose to reach that goal is a motivation in itself. Having over 200lbs to lose is depressing. Ah, the power in just a couple of lbs, lol.

Only you know yourself.

With a really large number, you'll probably want to set many "mini-goals" to keep it from being overwhelming. I am currently just under 90 pounds away from goal...still a LOOOOONG way off. So I've joined a couple groups focused on "getting out of the 200+ range" and another one that had us setting a goal to lose within 90 days. That gives me smaller things to focus on so I can "win" at those rather than "losing" compared to the end goal.

It might also be helpful occasionally to look at your reports. Some people are "visual"...seeing those gradually dropping lines on the graph helps keep 'em motivated. You can also focus on "non-scale" victories: Taking your measurements regularly (once a week) so you can see the trend in smaller neck, hips, waist even if the scale occasionally holds steady.

Another helpful thing is taking pictures....you can see the progress over time.

Good luck.

I thought back to when I think I looked the best ( not what I thought of myself at the time). And set that as my goal, which is 130. I have weighed less in highschool, but I didn't reach that healthfully, so I dodn't wan't to set that as my goal.

And I am giving myself a long time to reach that goal, I'll be 29 in 2 months, so I decided what better goal than to reach 130 pounds by the time I'm 30?

This. I think about where I was when I got out of bootcamp, and I was 125-130. Best shape of my life. So I made that my goal.

I agree with all of the above. Small goals are the way to go. When I was at my heaviest, I weighed 365 and I started out thinking...it would be really nice to be 350, then 325 and so on and so forth which took me all the way down to 245. At 245, I could wear a size 18 and believe it or not, I was ecstatic...over the moon with that. The lowest I have ever been was 165 which I could wear a size 12-14. (I have a large frame, 5'3 1/2" inches tall).

Now, I am back up again...at 315 ( sad face!!!!). With PCOS as my opponent, it is really hard to stay even close to normal, but not impossible. I just have to fight and I will continue to. I will be cheering you on because I know you can do it! Never give up..even a pound less...is a pound less!

I am 5' 6 1/2" and set my goal weight at 175. I started out quite heavy and know that I will be having skin surgery when I am at goal. I expect that will take off at least 10 pounds and honestly probably a bit more. I took that in to account as to where I am hoping to wind up when all is said and done.

You can do this. Take it one day at a time. All you have to do well is today. You do enough of those and the next thing you know....BAM! I am down 77 pounds since July 5th of last year.

I don't have a goal weight as of yet. The brains say that I should weigh about 125lbs, I haven't been that weight since grade 9!!! So I remember back in my early 20' s when I was 170 and looked slim (size 12 I think), and will shoot for that. When I reach that, I will see if I need to lose more or not. I'm not obsessed with a number because I know I have l larger bone/muscle frame and I won't be skinny. Until then, I'm losing in smaller increments. My first goal is following the rule of "lose 10% of your weight to reduce risk factors for diabetes and heart disease". At 227, I'm only 1lb from that goal (starting at 251). Then it will be another 25 and 30 lb goals until I reach 170.

Think of what size pants/dress you would like to be, and roughly what weight you would have to be to fit into it. Or just think of any thing you would like as a result of weight loss, and roughly how much you would have to weigh to get there.

Or make your goals smaller... let's pretend you weigh 350 and you want to weigh 150. If losing 200 lbs is too intimidating, break it up into smaller goals: 1st goal is 300 lbs, 2nd goal is 250, and so on. When you reach a smaller goal, you'll feel so good you know you can reach the next goal.

I am (ugh) 364lbs right now, down 27lbs since January 1st when I started at (bigger ugh) 391lbs. I want to get down to a normal weight, but I'm not sure if I'm setting myself up for failure by aiming too low?

I'm about 5'5 and I would love to weigh around 125-130lbs, but that means I need to lose almost 250lbs and that's incredibly intimidating! I have toyed with the idea of setting my goal weight anywhere between 150lbs which would give me a BMI of 25 which is just on the overweight side, up to 180lbs because I suspect I may have a lot of loose skin which will account for some extra weight.

Oddly enough, deciding on a goal weight is more stressful to me than sticking to a calorie deficit. So, does anyone have any ideas? I know it's a personal decision, but maybe someone has some insight they could share.

There's an expression in my native language, that, loosely translated, means 'more time is wasted on measuring and fitting than on any other thing', which means that all the calculating, measuring, projecting, graphing and planning is going to absorb so much energy and effort, you won't have any left for your goals.

And I am a complete hypocrite, I don't practice what I preach. I have, on my computer At least two dozen spreadsheets, all projecting my weight loss, all with different formulas based on calories burnt in different scenarios and based on different types of diet. I have line graphs, bar charts, pie charts even, and they date back to 2007 – the most recent one being from last week. Have I lost weight since 2007? Nope, all those plans for weight-loss were a big waste of time.

I've asked a therapist what he thought, and he told me that long-term goals set you up for failure. He didn't tell me not to have goals, he just suggested that I set more realistic ones in the short term.

So why not try this: and you don't have to it's just a suggestion and I am not a professional of course. But why not try just one goal for now, an easy one, let's say the next 5 pounds. Do that first, see if it's easy or difficult, then based on your victory set yourself the next goal, for instance 5 pounds lighter again. You could add up those little victories –promise yourself a small reward (preferably not food) after each victory, and perhaps a larger reward after, say 10 consecutive reached goals

again I am a hypocrite, I try to practice what I preach, but the part of my brain that believes in instant gratification is telling me that I need to weigh under 200 pounds tomorrow, which is impossible.

anyway, that's just my thoughts. Congratulations on your weight loss since the beginning of this year! That is not amount to be sneezed at. Just do what you have done so far three or four more times, and you won't even recognise yourself any more.

best of luck,

Pascal