MFP's most common user pitfall to avoid

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Great post...I hope you find the chart adjusted for age. I have set my goal based on what weight I was comfortable at 10 years ago. Happens to be mid range on the chart.

Pre MFP 188
Start MFP 186 /01-28-11
First Goal 175 /02/28/11
Second Goal 165 03/31/11
goal weight range is 140-145 05/31/11

Current weight 175 loss of 13 pounds in 3 1/2 weeks

I'm looking, I'm bummed it's not up any more. I should have copied the image. Anyway, rough estimate. After 25 years old, about every 10 years, you can add about 3 to 5 lbs for women and 5 to 8 lbs for men per decade on to the range (both high and low) until you reach 55, where it actually begins to go down a little again (bone mass losses and lean tissue losses) . Again this is a generic add on, I've seen the numbers all over the place, but if you wanted to be a little closer to true, that's what you do.
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I forgot to add my age- I am 43 with a few health problem but I am under Dr supervision and he has OK my weight loss goals

... Too bad that the end of your ticker can't just say "Not squishy".

LOL. I love it! That's my goal. You create the ticker and I'll be your first user.

As always, great post Banks. I actually don't really have a weight goal at all, I have a clothing size goal, a rough measurement goal and a "how I feel about myself" goal. I've always been on the "high" end of the chart and learned a long time ago to not pay much attention to those things. Lol.

I love to exercise, I love to eat well and I love how I feel when I do. That is really the reward for me, the rest will come with time and diligence. :flowerforyou:

Thank you for the great post! I've always struggled to stay within the normal range for my height, even when I was in the Army and wore a size 8. If you were over the weight range for your height, you had to do be tape-measured to roughly determine body fat%, and I always had to do that. Some good did come out of it, though, as I became my unit's designated "taper" and was able to encourage and motivate those who needed a little extra push.

As for the per-week goal, when I started 2 pounds/week worked great. After losing 40 pounds and finally entering just the overweight category, I've had to go to 1 pound/week. I have so much more energy now, and getting to eat a little more is a nice bonus. Of course now the challenge is making it heatlhy food and not junk.

Thanks again!

Outstanding post, as always.

It was nice to see that my goal weight is right on "target".

A comment on women as they age and have children - I've always had hips that were a bit wide, but are in proportion to my frame, as I have linebacker shoulders. After having my son, and getting back to prepregnancy size AND weight - my hip bones were 2 INCHES wider. At the actual bones (I'm using common terms here, for simplicity). Not fat, not muscle, bone. Pants that I had worn previously still fit, everywhere (and were actually looser in some places), except at the hip bones.

Women's hips are not a "static" size. The pelvis is not one big piece of bone, but rather 2 bones held together in a very dynamic shape. During pregnancy, these bones shift and grow further apart to allow for passage of the baby through the birth canal. And after pregnancy, the hormones associated with pregnancy and breastfeeding continue to allow for further change (associated with the female body's drive to store fat to provide for further children and nourishment for babies). Ligaments and cartilege that hold the pelvis together loosen and create wider gaps. For some women the difference is minimal, for others it can be a LOT. And losing weight won't change it.

So if you've had children, or plan on having children, please keep this in mind and don't base your goals or body image on what you used to be, or what other women look like. As Banks said, the body changes as we get older and have children. It is natural, and frankly, I'm glad. I'd hate to think what it would have felt like if my hips hadn't spread. :laugh:

I don't know what weight I was in high school, but I am aiming for between 8 and 8 1/2 stone (1 stone = 14lbs - your turn to do the maths).

This is a slightly arbitrary target, but mid range for my height (5'). Whatever happens I want to be above 8 stone because this is the minimum weight to be able to donate blood. As a universal donor, that is important to me.

These past several weeks of eating less and exercising more, even if I am not meeting my targets has seen me shift not an ounce. So I have given up on the scales entirely, and the measurements, and am just going to carry on on this healthy (eat less rubbish and exercise more) path for now and wait for the changes to happen and my trousers (look it up) to fall down.

When that happens, i will know that I have won.

Thank you for this!!!!! You said everything I've always thought about weight loss, but figured I was wrong because almost everone has "that number" on the scale they want to get to. "That number" may never be hit, BUT the body you have at a higher number is the one God gave you and it's healthy. Your post is a mindset we all need to have. Thanks again!

As usual...Spot on, and something many people should read over & over until it sinks in.

Thank-you so much for this post. My goal weight is because my diabetes dietician & I were discussing my weight & I had a BMI scale & when I looked at it I thought I should be about 15 - 20 lbs lighter but she said no I only need to lose about 10 so I guess I really don't know what my mini goals are/should be. I just want to look better than I do.