How did you decide what your goal weight was?

It was a combination of my bmi results and the weight I thought I'd look and feel good at.

I set my goal weight at the lowest possible weight I would ever want to weigh. That way while I'm working toward that number, I can stop along the way if I feel like I'm comfortable at a different weight. I haven't been that weight since my freshman year of high school, so honestly I can't even imagine what I will look like at that weight. I'm hoping to get there, but I can imagine myself stopping between 110-115 and being happy!

I set my goal weight to 20 pounds less than what I weigh now...when I reach that goal, I will set it 20 lbs lower...I have a lot of weight to lose, and this will give me many small victories along the weigh (lol)....

Here is a great article on finding your 'happy weight':

http://thehealthyapron.com/2010/12/29/how-much-should-you-weigh/

BTW: Being smaller will not raise your self esteem. Weight and self worth are not related. You do not need to lose weight to earn your own love, and as you have seen through the weight you've already lost, you will not earn your own love through weight loss. You are worthy of your own love TODAY. EXACTLY as you are.

Charmagne

My final goal weight of 129 is mostly based on my height/frame, and a number that is beyond what I've gotten to in previous attempts to lose weight when I've given up. I'd love to see a 2 again as the second digit in my weight and it would give me an incredible sense of accomplishment. However, if I get to the low 130s and see a healthy, toned, and fit body that I feel good in, I'd be happy with that.

I am 5'8 and I have a friend who is the same. She weighs 160 and I thought to myself, she looks pretty good. It's at the high end of the normal range for my height, but still normal, so that's how I picked it. I started at 291 so, it was so far away that it was hard for me to know what would be good for me.

I set my goal weight at the lowest possible weight I would ever want to weigh. That way while I'm working toward that number, I can stop along the way if I feel like I'm comfortable at a different weight. I haven't been that weight since my freshman year of high school, so honestly I can't even imagine what I will look like at that weight.

I did the exact same thing. At my height, that weight still puts me in the "overweight" BMI category, but I have some idea of what I'll look like at that weight, based on what I looked like in HS and what my mom looks like at at the same weight, and for me, anything smaller isn't desirable. I'm trying to focus more on getting my % body fat in a healthy range -- so if that gets to where I want it before I reach my original goal, I may switch to maintenance mode.

Hi there! I think it's totally up to YOU to decide what weight you should be. There are so many variables to consider when deciding what is "ideal". For example, I am 5'9" and I have a heavy bone structure. I also tend to have a low body fat percentage. When I am around 160, I feel good, healthy, energetic, and look slim. When I go above 165, I start feeling a little too heavy. Remember that we all fluctuate from day to day at least 1-2 pounds because of sodium, hormones, etc. Even when you are strength training, you might "gain" weight - which is not fat, your muscles will retain water after pumping them.

I would say that setting an EXACT number is difficult. I have set many many goals over the past couple of years to get BEYOND, but to say that I will be 160 pounds and maintain that weight indefinitely is not realistic for me. Maybe you could set your goal to be 120 is your low and 125 is your high. That way, you have a number in mind and when you start seeing yourself going up, you know that there are a few things that need to be changed. I recently went back up to 168 and realized that I was not logging little bites of chips, cookies, etc. I got back on track, started logging every bite and I am already losing the weight. I think that is what maintenance is all about. Just having that HIGH number and not wanting to go beyond it.

If you think that 120 is just unreasonable, I would say set it a little higher so that you don't get discouraged!

Hope that helps!!! You can DO IT!!!!!

I am going to address the physical part--others have made some good comments on the issue of self-esteem.

I consider "Goal weight" to be both an artificial construct as well as a moving target. Since the scale weighs everything--both "good" and "bad", the actual "goal" number is not that important--it is body composition that is the significant factor that will drive the "goal weight" and body composition can change as you progress through a program. So "goal weight" is actually "goal body composition".

So choosing "goal weight" is really a matter of choosing what % body fat goal you would like to achieve. From a health standpoint, the range of "healthy" body fat percentage is pretty wide--for your age, up to 32%-33% can be considered "healthy" (i.e. carries no significantly increased health risk). I don't know that I necessarily agree with that, but those are the consensus guidelines. Now, 30% body fat is not going to give you an ideal appearance, nor optimum physical fitness, so many people will prefer something lower.

For many women, getting below, say 20% fat requires some effort. That is more of an athletic physique and it requires that level of training--and dieting.

In addition, your ability to achieve a level of body fat is also influenced by your inherited body type.

Once you have determined a body fat % goal, you need to have your body composition assessed and determine your fat-free mass (FFM). FFM is really going to determine what the "scale" number will be at your desired level of body fat.

For example, someone with a FFM of 105 lbs who wants to get to 25% body fat would have a "goal weight" of 140lbs (105 divided by .75); a 20% body fat level would be 131 (105 divided by .8). A woman of the same height, but a smaller frame and a FFM of 96 lbs would have goal weights of 128 and 120 respectively.

Bone size doesn't change, but since FFM includes muscle, it is possible that FFM can change over time through the results of an exercise program. Therefore any "goal weight" calculation is really only valid the day it was made--as you progress to the "goal", the actual number will have to be recalculated based on changes in FFM.

"Goal weight" should really be seen as just a rough guideline rather than a fixed point. It should be a number of secondary importance at best.

That's why height/weight charts, BMI goals, etc are not very good guidelines for setting "goal weights". Neither is comparing scale weights with others, even at the same age and height.

i tried to pick something that was healthy for my height and frame. ideally, my doctor told me i should weigh 135-145. i totally disagree as i'm 5'9" and have a large frame. so i picked 160-170, because i still want curves!!

I also picked a weight I was at before, in college I weighed around 130-135 so I made that my current GW because I know that is attainable for me.