Need help- How did you choose your goal weight?

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  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I did two things as a start:
    I did the only mathematical formula I knew for weight which was 5'=100 pounds, then add 5 pounds for every inch. That put me (5'6") at 130.
    and then I looked at college photos, and liked me best at 127.
    I went with 130.

    then I decided to see what happened.
    I lost weight, without really planning an end. I got to 129, and then stopped losing. I didn't try to stop. I just stopped. I figured that meant it was right. So I stayed at about 130.
    That was 12 years ago.
    Now, with mid-life, peri-menopause etc. I'm at 135.
  • PumpkinRunning
    PumpkinRunning Posts: 35 Member
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    We both had the same starting weight (287), but I am only 5'2" :smile:

    Like you, I have a really hard time deciding what my ultimate goal weight should be, so I decided to break it down into smaller chunks - about two years ago, I was able to get down to 210, and even that felt really, really good, so that is my first "mini" goal. Once I get there, I will set the next one.

    According to the BMI chart (which we all know isn't the be-all, end-all when it comes to determining a healthy weight), a healthy weight range for my height is 101-136 - which seems impossible/unrealistic to me right now. My current "ultimate" goal weight - if I had to put a number on it - would be 150. Like a lot of other posters have said, I think I'll know when I get there.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    I had my body fat tested to determine my lean mass. I then looked at pics and chose a BF goal. My immediate goal is 25% but my ultimate goal is 20%. Right now I am about 27%. I learned I had high lean mass for my height. I am 5'5" with 126 pounds of lean mass. So even though I weigh 168-172 on any given day, my BF percentage is in the healthy range. When I am at 20% BF, I will be between 155 and 160, which would be obese according to BMI charts. However, I can't be in the middle of my BMI range without losing lean mass, too, for the most part.

    Body composition is hugely important. You can lose a lot of weight but still have an undesirable ratio of fat. I would suggest body fat testing for anyone, just as another gauge.

    I am wearing the same clothes now that I was previously wearing in the 150s when I had less muscle mass.
  • ianthy
    ianthy Posts: 404 Member
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    Hi

    I choose a weight that felt comfortable for me - I want to maintain at my goal and not feel that I am under/overweight. I am 5ft 8 ins and at 85 kgs - I can wear size 14 UK and appear actually slimmer. So I am happy with 85kgs - it is high on many of the medical charts that I read but it's what I feel comfortable at.
  • newfie026
    newfie026 Posts: 34 Member
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    I just checked for my age and height and aimed to not be obese anymore. Then when I got there I decided I didn't want to be overweight anymore. I'm almost there. I don't think I'll ever be smack dab in the middle of my healthy weight range. I want to look and feel fit and healthy before I turn 50, in March 2015.
  • LessHeavyVeggie
    LessHeavyVeggie Posts: 208 Member
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    I started at 20stone/280lbs and I chose my goal as 10stone/140lbs (Yes, I'm in it for the long haul haha!)

    There are three (increasingly more logical) reasons for this:
    1. because it is half my starting weight, so it sounds satisfying, and for some reason 10stone is always a weight which has sounded good to me (illogical, but true!)
    2. it's easy mathematically to know when I hit halfway etc. (17.5st, 15st and 12.5st are mini goals in my head)
    3. because at my height (5ft4in) my 'healthy' bmi range is 7st 10/108lbs - 10st 6/146lbs so 10stone is near the top of the range without teetering on the edge. This is the most important reason!

    However, as my goal is near the top of healthy it may be that I still want to lose a few pounds or even a stone or two when I get there, but for now, getting to 'healthy' is the main goal and I can deal with aesthetic concerns when I get there!

    So I don't think your goal necessarily needs to be the actual end goal - your current goal could be to get to your previous lower weight and then you could reassess when you get there if you want to.
    I preferred to set a big goal that I can slowly work towards but I don't see why you can't set smaller, more manageable goals and reset when you achieve each one if that works better for you.
  • KaelaLee88
    KaelaLee88 Posts: 229 Member
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    This is a hard question to answer because there is no right or wrong answer, it is all about how you feel comfortable!

    There's nothing to stop you from setting your weight to your goal and when you get there, readjusting it.

    My dietician advised me to aim for a BMI target of 30. This was a big surprise for me as I expected her to ask me to aim for a BMI of 25!

    I hope that this helps :-)

    Kaela x
  • deliacm
    deliacm Posts: 66 Member
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    I chose mine based on when I think I looked best. I'm 5'5" and my goal is 170. Before I was pregnant with my daughter I was 165 (size 8-10) and with my frame and muscle mass, I had started to look gaunt in my face which just didn't look good. So, I don't care what any chart says, I know were my body needs to be.
  • GeordieGirl80s
    GeordieGirl80s Posts: 120 Member
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    I picked mine because I think it is achievable without being dangerous and because I can remember being that weight & feeling pretty good. Having looked at it again I have realised that it would put me only 6lb under the top end of the healthy range for my height so I am probably going to aim to lose another 14lb which would put me smack in the middle of the range. which at 5ft 2" is 7 stone 3lb to 9 stone 11lb
  • KarmaLaine
    KarmaLaine Posts: 37 Member
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    I picked 145lbs because that's where I look and feel the best.

    It doesn't actually matter if you're right about your goal weight at first. Mine was originally 130lb (I have lost weight before) but when I got to 140lb I realized I was already quite thin. So, you can always adjust your expectations later.
  • enoliaa
    enoliaa Posts: 28 Member
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    I started with the highest healthy weight - BMI (24.9), when I get there I will reevaluate...
    Be careful, some people look tinier than others even though they have the same BMI, also some people lose muscle while dieting, so for the same BMI 2 people with same weight and height do not have the same body fat in their body and are not necessarily healthy. Exercise, keep your required protein levels high, fruit and veggies and whole grains...Some people lose weight but eat bad food...The objective is not to hit a number only, but to learn to live healthier...I am personally also watching my body fat.
    Some people have a massive structure, bigger bones, etc, so BMI is a very relative measure.

    Feel and look healthy, that is what should be the true goal!

    Have fun!
  • Nedra19455
    Nedra19455 Posts: 241 Member
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    Great question! I am eager to see other responses. I based my goal weight off of the high end of the healthy BMI range. In actuality, I think it is likely that I would be satisfied with my appearance at a few pounds heavier (just based off of my bone structure and how other people who are a similar body type to me look at 20 lbs heavier than my goal weight. And it is likely that my weight loss journey will get interrupted by a pregnancy somewhere along the way and that might change my goals as I go. I think the hard thing about goal weight is that we're often shooting for something we've never experienced. I can't remember ever being my goal weight -- I have no idea what size I would be at that weight, how I would look, how I would feel, how hungry I would be in order to maintain that weight, etc.

    Pick a goal that you would like to realize and then see how things go.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    I have no goal weight. A number on a scale isn't my Goal yes I use that number to track progress as losing weight is part of what i'm doing. My aim though is to be healthier so I am going to get into a healthy BMI range. Then my weight will settle at whatever it does to fit in with my fitness goals. As your weight can vary up to 5 pounds a day when do you consider that you've hit your 'goal weight' 9am or 3 pm because those two weights will be different. I personally feel having a specific weight set in stone can be a very negative thing. I see so many posts with people desperate to lose the last 2 pounds when in reality that 2 pounds is just a number that you may only hit for an hour in a day.
  • Eleonora91
    Eleonora91 Posts: 688 Member
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    I just wanted to add to my previous post, that your goal weight doesn't have to be the ideal weight for your height, age etc. if you don't want to. My goal weight falls within the healthy BMI range, because that was my purpose in losing weight, considering that I wasn't extremely far from it. But it's still a weight at which I look chubby and I like it. No need to get thin if I don't want to. Not all people on this Earth are thin, and even health is something that can be so easily influenced day by day that I'd rather focus on working on it instead of deciding where to settle.
  • cropaway
    cropaway Posts: 18 Member
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    Im almost 5'8 and for the first 5 feet = to 100 pounds plus 5 pounds for every inch after that- so I chose 140. I would actually like to be a few pounds less and 140 to be my heavy day :-)
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
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    I am also 5'7.
    At first, my goal was 140-143.
    But now considering 135.
    I looked my best at that weight, in photos anyway, 20 years ago.
    It will sure be nice to get there one of these days.
  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
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    Aim for the top range of a healthy BMI as a starting point. Once you start approaching that it'll start to become clear what your actual end goal should be. BMI is just an average that works well for large populations but not always as well for individuals.

    It could take a while to get there though, so you definitely also want to set some shorter (6 month, 1 year) goals along the way that you can celebrate when you hit in addition to the usual happy dance for every 10 pounds lost.
  • BunnyNestHideaway
    BunnyNestHideaway Posts: 4 Member
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    I started out with the highest healthy BMI. I had a long way to go to that goal (80 pounds), so that was a good start. Now That I have reached that goal, I've thought back to when I felt healthiest and strongest, but added about 10 pounds because I'm a lot older now!
  • lilredhead314
    lilredhead314 Posts: 52 Member
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    my first goal weight was 175, what i weighed in college. Than I chose 169, which is where my BMI is no longer obese. Now, Im aiming for 145 because that is where my BMI is no longer overweight. I've been stuck at about 167 for a while and I am perfectly fine with this.
  • ingraha
    ingraha Posts: 99 Member
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    I gave myself realistic goals for loss and didnt worry if it was my final goal. I started at 158 and my first goal was 140! then I set it to 135, then 128, then 123, then 121. Now I have just reset to 115. I want to add it is over a YEAR later. I expect it might take me a year to lose the last five pounds. I am fine with that. It has worked because I have not tried to do it too fast or too much or too soon.
    I did not accept that I was obese(literally) for my height until a few weeks ago. In my case, I did not want to look at it and mfp and the community hae all helped me so much.
    Slow and steady wins the race.
    Good luck.

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