Unrealistic Goals

the scale (weight) is a guideline... your focus should be on body composition as you travel this road. find someplace (a university/college) that can provide you an over all fitness assessment including body fat % strength , etc. (Most universities with a Kinesiology or Human performance program offer these services for a small fee.) SO that you can develop a better idea of where you are currently at. and read.. read... read... these forum posts can be very helpful and offer snippets of information that CAN be helpful and inspirational BUT also depend on your own research.

relying on a scale will lead to disappointment you will fluctuate for the first 2-3 months.. sometimes dramatically... SO stick with it.. and find NSV's (non-scale victories) to help you overcome those scale disappointments... remember it is a lifestyle change.. NOT a diet... Best of Luck!!!

Healthy weight for women is 20-22% fat. You should probably aim for this fat % range, whatever weight that gives you.

125 lbs may or may not be appropriate for you. You may have gained muscle or bone mass over the past 28 years, so your weight at ideal body fat might be 135 or 140.

There are scales that can measure body fat (with questionable accuracy). Gyms often offer various body fat measurement methods for a fee (eg: $30).

I suggest you pick a reasonable first target weight to start out--say, 150--then get your body fat measured at that point to estimate how much more you may need to lose. add: this will give you a nice, attainable signpost on your way to ideal body composition, sort of like stopping in Rivendell on your way to kill a dragon.

I don't think it's unrealistic. Just eat at a reasonable deficit and do some strength/resistance training to help you retain lean mass. It's important and very beneficial to your health to retain LBM as you get older.

I'm 40 and 5'1.5", was ~ 115-120 in high school... My heaviest I was at ~186 (201 pregnant). I dropped down to the 140-150 range after pregnancy and that is where I stayed until MFP. When I began here I set the goal of 125, thinking in the back of my head that it was unattainable. About a year in I hit that goal. I stayed there for about a year before deciding to take my cycling to another level and start racing, yep at 40. I am at 111 right now, but I am in a training phase for competitive cycling so I am being quite specific with my diet and exercise...

125 was attainable with deficit eating and exercise, and maintainable as well... Good luck!

I'm 26-28 in the first 2 photos and 40 in the last 2...



Then I got pregnant on top of already being heavy. I stopped smoking, drinking and taking anti-depressants. I only gained about 10 pounds because I started paying attention to what I ate. Top weight 196 pounds.



Now I'm working to lower BF and sit around 111...

Go for 167 and then move forward from that.

I'm just trying to get to 230 (for crying out loud!) I need to stay out of the house until bedtime. Then I won't shovel *kitten* in my mouth.

I'm 40 and 5'1.5", was ~ 115-120 in high school... My heaviest I was at ~186 (201 pregnant). I dropped down to the 140-150 range after pregnancy and that is where I stayed until MFP. When I began here I set the goal of 125, thinking in the back of my head that it was unattainable. About a year in I hit that goal. I stayed there for about a year before deciding to take my cycling to another level and start racing, yep at 40. I am at 111 right now, but I am in a training phase for competitive cycling so I am being quite specific with my diet and exercise...

125 was attainable with deficit eating and exercise, and maintainable as well... Good luck!

I'm 26-28 in the first 2 photos and 40 in the last 2...

YOU are amazing!!! You make me want to try harder. Thanks for sharing this!



Then I got pregnant on top of already being heavy. I stopped smoking, drinking and taking anti-depressants. I only gained about 10 pounds because I started paying attention to what I ate. Top weight 196 pounds.



Now I'm working to lower BF and sit around 111...

YOU ARE AMAZING! You make me want to work harder. Thank you for sharing these!

Hi everyone,

I am 48 years and have not weighed 125 since I was about 20 years old. I currently weigh 177; is it unrealistic for me to set a goal weight to 125 pounds? I would love to get to that weight but am afraid I will set myself up to fail.....

Thoughts please.

Thank you.:noway:

Well, your situation is not too different from mine. I finally started on this journey at 52 and 177 pounds. I am now 53 1/2 and 123 pounds. So, yes, it can be done!