Goal weight???

start small and then work your way down. Start maybe losing about 5 lbs. even though you dont know what you want to end with at least this is a start for you. Good luck at whichever goal weight you decide. Just stay positive.

I dont think you have to have a goal "weight"....but sometimes setting yourself little goals keeps you focused and on track...and gives you something to keep working towards! For some people, that is a number on the scale, for you its a pants size....Good luck!

I agree with ejmcam. The smaller goals are important- they have kept me going. But I don't have a final weight chosen- I'm just going to see how it goes, and see how I feel.

It can be a bad thing because then when you get out of the Plus size section..you may just settle with barely below the bar of plus size. I would just say go until you feel good and healthy, size doesn't mean a thing if you aren't healthy.

I lost a bunch of weight 10 years ago (at Weight Watchers), and then started putting it back on over time. Every so often I would go on a "diet", and I set my goal weight for my original WW goal weight. I never lost more than a few pounds and I would get discouraged and quit. So, when I joined MFP, I decided I was just going to pick a weight that would at least make me feel more comfortable in my clothes. I achieved that, and then lowered in by 5 pounds. Then another 5...etc etc. Now I am almost back to my original WW goal - and I am 10 years older, so I guess that's a GOOD thing! Anyway, not sure if that is the right approach for you, but you might want to pick a goal that seem do-able, and will make you feel better when you get there. Then see where you want to go from there.

Mandy,

Goal weights are tricky as body types, heights, shapes vary so much. I think if you look up what an ideal BMI for your body as well as a size you'd like to be, and that should be your goal. I'm 5'10" and I know that staying between 150-155 puts me at a size 8 (from 2 different brands of jeans), but that's how I'm shaped. My neice, who is also 5'10" can wear a 4 at 145lbs (skin tight, I'll add)...I have to weigh 125-130 to get close to a 4, but my BMI says my lowest should be 139, so that's not healthy for me.

Don't be defined by a number on the scale, find a size (realistic) where you think you'll look great and aim for that. Good luck!

Alicia

I reached my goal weight of 195, it was just a number below 200. I had guessed that if I got to that weight I would look like the mental image I had of myself. It turns out I was off a little, so I have reset my goal weight down another 10 pounds. Your goal weight is just a number you have picked, but it does give you a measuring stick to see what your progress has been.
Like another said, if you don't want to use weight, use a size. If you have never been smaller, or can't remember being smaller pick a size that you think looks good and go for it.
Just remember that "All that matters is progress"

Thanks guys. I have already lost 33 lbs but like I said, I just keep getting asked. I never know what to say...=)

i would just tell them that you are in this to be healthy and happy, and the final weight isn't that important. maybe pick a clothing size if you don't want to pick a specific weight. i know with me, i will be thrilled just to be under 200. but my goal according to my tracker is the high end of the healthy weight for my height. heck..i will be thrilled to be under 250 :P

some people like goals cause it gives them something to work towards. but if you can keep motivated just by doing, and not by working towards a specific thing, then go for it. whatever works for you.

I am going to play Devil's Advocate and say that... having no goals means you reduce potential disappointments and eliminate deadlines.

Usually people set a goal and its a temporal thing.... "I want to lose xx lbs by Xmas" or restricted by a quantity (lose 20 lbs)..They get dejected by failure, or get impatient from a lack of results and they fall off the wagon. And really what do people do when they hit a goal? (They usually stop)

What you should set yourself up for is LIFE STYLE CHANGE.

You are changing your life and getting healthy for the long run. How can that be disappointing?

Its good to be healthy and comfortable in your own skin and if you do this right... you will be. At your own pace and your own time.

Anyways... my Devil's Advocate 2 cents worth.

Here is a site to calculate your proper body weight, http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm , then you will need to determine your frame size, one method is take your right thumb and index finger and see if you can reach around your wrist. If you cant your a large frame, just barely your medium and if easily your small frame. People that are even below thier proper weight are considered more healthy. My highest proper weight with a large frame is something like 167. I have not been 167 since the 5th grade.

Think you are missing an L on the end of the URL... Should be http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.html

Otherwise... nice find... very interesting!

I am going to play Devil's Advocate and say that... having no goals means you reduce potential disappointments and eliminate deadlines.

Usually people set a goal and its a temporal thing.... "I want to lose xx lbs by Xmas" or restricted by a quantity (lose 20 lbs)..They get dejected by failure, or get impatient from a lack of results and they fall off the wagon. And really what do people do when they hit a goal? (They usually stop)

What you should set yourself up for is LIFE STYLE CHANGE.

You are changing your life and getting healthy for the long run. How can that be disappointing?

Its good to be healthy and comfortable in your own skin and if you do this right... you will be. At your own pace and your own time.

Anyways... my Devil's Advocate 2 cents worth.

Can I just say that I loved this response? When I first started, it was all about the goal number. Now, having survived a 4 month very frustrating plateau, its come to be about much more than a number. Its about chosing how I want to live, regardless of what the number on the scale is....which is exactly what you said...a life style of health.

Nice post..thank you!

Ironically I was looking at this site from another poster...

http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.html

And it really hit home as to what the experts "know"...

BMI has me as obese, several more have my ideal body weight as between 155-170 lbs.

Only one of them is close to what I think is right (200 lbs.). Almost all of them don't take into account your frame size. (And when your built like a linebacker like me... frame size is an important consideration!)

The moral of the story is don't live to someone else's "ideal specification"... Live to be healthy!