How do you calculate your goal weight?

singallagher
singallagher Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm new to the forums and wonder how everyone calculates their goal weights - is it just plucking a number from thin air or is there theory to it?
I am 38, weigh 144lbs, am 5'6" and have no idea of what I 'should' weigh. Truth be told I don't actually care once I lose my jelly belly and tone up. Even if the scale remained the same but I looked slimmer I'd be happy.
But perhaps I'd have something to aim for if I had a magic number in mind :laugh:
Thoughts?

Replies

  • ALNoog
    ALNoog Posts: 413 Member
    As long as my health improves I'll be happy. My lowest weight during my adult life was 189.... I'd like to get back there and improve upon that but I don't have a magic number.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    Guess, then repeat as necessary.
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
    For me its having a healthy fat ratio (BMI). That gives me a range of about 25 pounds so I chose a number a little bit lower than the highest point for a healthy BMI at my height. When I get there, or close, I will decide what is a proper goal weight.
  • corgarian
    corgarian Posts: 366 Member
    I dont have a goal weight, I have a goal pant size.
  • mrslstage
    mrslstage Posts: 51 Member
    For me its having a healthy fat ratio (BMI). That gives me a range of about 25 pounds so I chose a number a little bit lower than the highest point for a healthy BMI at my height. When I get there, or close, I will decide what is a proper goal weight.

    Exactly what I'm doing. :wink:
  • Snow__White
    Snow__White Posts: 1,650 Member
    im not sure,was wondering the same thing!
  • VanillaSmile427
    VanillaSmile427 Posts: 45
    I used a reverse BMI calc.

    http://www.countcalculate.com/diet/reverse-bmi

    I want my BMI to be around 20.. so I'm aiming at 100 lbs. :)
  • angel7472
    angel7472 Posts: 317 Member
    Im also 5'6" and my goal was 140. I got there and went ya know I like how I look but I dont LOVE how I look. So what I did was look at the BMI chart and decided I was gonna aim for smack dab in the middle of that sucker. I got there and my body kept losing. Ive at 126 pounds. I was 129 in October went on maintenance and somewhere along the way lost 2 more. Personally its how you feel you look. I wanted to be at 20% bodyfat but that would take me to 116 and thats even too low for me. I will live with where Im at. Good Luck to you
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    i looked up my healthy weight range based on my height and gender, and picked a weight smack in the middle of that range. when i get to within 10 pounds of that, i'll evaluate what i want to do. lose the last few, keep going to the lower end of the range, or a body recomp (leaning towards that)

    my goal is 140, for now. but if i recomp and gain a few but look like a hot tamale, then thats ok too LOL
  • BetterThanExpected
    BetterThanExpected Posts: 104 Member
    Check out mybodygallery.com, it gives you a good idea of what people your height look at different weights. If you're really not sure how much you want to lose, then you could just focus on changing your body fat % instead, or focus on fitness goals.
    I personally figured out what I wanted to weigh based on BMI and bone structure.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    If you know that you need to lose some weight then aim for 10% for starters then work with your doctor, nutritionist, and/or dietitian to determine your healthy weight goal. Another option would be to check out some of the online tools to determine your healthy weight.
  • pandagirl813
    pandagirl813 Posts: 84 Member
    I put your height and weight in a BMI calculator and your BMI was 23.2.

    BMI Categories:
    Underweight = <18.5
    Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
    Overweight = 25–29.9
    Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    I picked mine based on what I used to be. I looked healthy, felt healthy, and it was an appropriate weight for my body. When in doubt, consult a height/weight chart to get an idea!
  • Nikoruo
    Nikoruo Posts: 771 Member
    I looked online for a site that calculates my healthy weight range for my height and age. Which for a 23 year old female at 5"7.5' is between 120lbs and 160lbs :o
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I picked the high end of the BMI chart. It's changed now that I realize I've shrunk an inch. :grumble:
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Personally I determined my frame from a wrist measurement (small, medium or large frame) then just looked online for what was a lean or fit bodyfat composition for a male (around 12-15% was what I found. I then looked up what a small framed 6' tall man with 12-15% bodyfat weighed and there you go. First time I did this I calculated that I should way 155 pounds which seemed shockingly low at the time given that I am 6' tall and at that point I weighed about 195. My profile picture is me when I attained that bodyfat goal and sure enough, I was 155 pounds.

    Alternatively if you have the means you can measure your percent bodyfat which is much more telling about your fitness than your weight is and set a %bodyfat goal which you could then use to calculate a weight loss.
  • MonicaA2013
    MonicaA2013 Posts: 753 Member
    go into apps click on the BMI link and enter your info and click calculate . It will give you a range for your weight and height that is within the normal "zone".


    edited to add -- i chose my goal from what i was 12 yrs ago and added a bit for muscle gain.
  • krennie8
    krennie8 Posts: 301 Member
    I chose one in the middle of the normal BMI range and one that's slightly lighter than I was when I graduated college 6 years ago.
  • ALNoog
    ALNoog Posts: 413 Member
    As long as my health improves I'll be happy. My lowest weight during my adult life was 189.... I'd like to get back there and improve upon that but I don't have a magic number.


    ALTHOUGH I WOULD Like to step on my Wii balance board on wii fit and not have it tell me in that mocking voice "that's obese"
  • krawhitham
    krawhitham Posts: 831 Member
    I go by what I weighed 4 years ago. I was around 128-133. My goal is to be between 125 - 130 and allow that 5 lb fluctuation but maintain being able to fit into my old clothes :)
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Picked my lowest adult weight, where I was a "normal" weight, but still had excess fat on me, and shaved from there.

    I have a goal range now. But ultimately how I look in the mirror is going to determine the end goal.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Personally I determined my frame from a wrist measurement (small, medium or large frame) then just looked online for what was a lean or fit bodyfat composition for a male (around 12-15% was what I found. I then looked up what a small framed 6' tall man with 12-15% bodyfat weighed and there you go. First time I did this I calculated that I should way 155 pounds which seemed shockingly low at the time given that I am 6' tall and at that point I weighed about 195. My profile picture is me when I attained that bodyfat goal and sure enough, I was 155 pounds.

    So glad you brought this up; there is such truth here. The first time I lost a lot of weight, I was surprised that at 5'11" and in my 180s how much fat I still had left on my body. It is very easy for people to set goal weights that seem "normal", but still leave them with lots of excess fat on their frames. I think it's extremely common for many weight losers to radically overestimate their goal weights because they can't really fathom how low they might need to go in order to have truly low bodyfat levels.

    Also I assumed during my many years of being a big boy that I was just a large framed guy. Wrong. I'm a medium framed guy, verging on small framed. A lot of people are wrong about their frame size.
  • deliacm
    deliacm Posts: 66 Member
    Personally, I think BMI calculations are a bunch of bunk unless done in a tank. Calculating what you BMI is by using height and weight only doesn't give you any where near an accurate BMI. There is no accounting in that calculation for body composition. Women that are 5'6" and 155 with a muscular build and low body fat % are going to calculate the same BMI as women that are the some height and weight with low muscle mass and a high body fat%. Pure BS unless it's been done in a float tank.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    My goal weight is a weight that I felt good and healthy at. No science just how I felt in the past before the weight gain.
  • easjer
    easjer Posts: 219 Member
    I haven't set a final goal weight. My first goal weight is 'under 300' followed by 285. Then 250. Then 225. Then I'll re-evaluate. It's based on how I look and feel and what else is going on. I honestly think I'd probably be fine/healthy at 200. I don't know if I can get much lower than that - I know I'll never be in a healthy BMI because of my bone density and muscle mass. It's not a strict number for me, it's solely about feeling and appearance.
  • JESharp2
    JESharp2 Posts: 9
    I use BMI (Body mass index) to determine my goal. I'm 6 foot 3 inches and 235 pounds. That makes my bmi 29.4. Overweight is considered within a range of 25-29.9. To get to a normal weight bmi, I need to weigh 199 (BMI: 24.9). My first priority is getting to 199 pounds. After that, I want to get to 185. That would put me comfortably in the range for a normal weight BMI.
    Here is a good BMI calculator and chart of BMI categories: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm
  • ramyad1
    ramyad1 Posts: 16
    My goal weight is an adjustment that I keep doing until my belly fat and moobs have all gone. Then I know I have reached my ideal weight.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    I set a weight a few pounds below the top cutoff for "normal" BMI. That weight is hard for me to maintain, though - I tend to bounce around 5-10 pounds above that. I think I should be going by %BF, but I don't trust most of the methods used to measure it.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Personally, I think BMI calculations are a bunch of bunk unless done in a tank. Calculating what you BMI is by using height and weight only doesn't give you any where near an accurate BMI. There is no accounting in that calculation for body composition. Women that are 5'6" and 155 with a muscular build and low body fat % are going to calculate the same BMI as women that are the some height and weight with low muscle mass and a high body fat%. Pure BS unless it's been done in a float tank.

    You're confusing BMI with body composition.

    BMI is designed to be checked on a chart, not a "tank". That's the point.

    BMI doesn't tell you body composition, but BMI isn't intended to give you that info. The 5'6", 155 lbs muscular woman with a low BF% does have the same BMI as a woman at the same height and weight with a higher body fat level, and less LBM. She just has a radically different composition.

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