where does you ideal weight come from?

6Janelle13
6Janelle13 Posts: 353 Member
edited September 26 in Motivation and Support
Last week I decided that 115 as a goal weight was a little low for my tastes especially with hoping to start a family soon. My husband disagreed and thought i was just being lazy, so now I am unsure at what weight I will be happy. I want to say my husband isn't a jerk, he just wants to push me. I was 5'4" and at my healthiest i was between 108 and 115 in high school but I still had jiggles.That was also 8 years ago. For me, my focus has changed to NSV such as working out daily and being able to stretch. I will be making my goal weight about the same time we agreed to start trying for our family, so to me the pounds are less important than working out. So my question is: What influences your ideal weight and how do other people react to your goals?

Replies

  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    5'4 115 sounds too thin to me, but thats just my opinion. I'm 5'2 and my goal is 125. That is what I weighed in high school but I was skinny fat. If I can weigh 125 with muscle I'll look awesome. go to mybodygallery.com and look at other people at your height and goal weight. I really think 115 is not enough...
  • mrsparker31
    mrsparker31 Posts: 13 Member
    I don't have a goal weight, I have a goal size. I plan on getting down to a size that I was happy at before and I feel it is a healthy size for me. I have had 3 kids, with 3 c-sections so I am more concerned with toning everything back up than I am with what the scale says. However I do love the fact that the scale keeps going lower!!! :)
  • young1726
    young1726 Posts: 347 Member
    I would say that once you get to your goal weight, whether it be your initial goal or your adjusted goal, have your BMI actually tested. If you are happy with how you look and you are at a healthy BMI then your husband can't argue with you, can he? :)
  • b00b0084
    b00b0084 Posts: 729 Member
    my goal weight of 150 comes from the scale the doctors go by. it is the heaviest of the healthy scale weight for my height. i do not want to ever look rail thin. i want to be thick and healthy lol
  • chellekoren
    chellekoren Posts: 273 Member
    Yeah so my ideal weight comes from the top end of the healthy bmi range, but have since left that more open because I don't know how possible that is. I'm getting older and even if I do get lower in weight, I won't be wearing any bikinis. Too many stretch marks from big babies in my belly.
  • Angela4Health
    Angela4Health Posts: 1,319 Member
    I am 5'2 (barely) and my goal weight is 115 so I think that's a little low for you being 2 inches taller. It's really up to you though and what you want either way. Your husband needs to be supportive of you. I weighed about 100 in high school so I don't want to be that thin again but I want to lose all the baby weight which is why I settled for 115.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    You can use body fat % as a guide. Figure out what body fat % you would like to be, and then figure out how much you would weigh to have that body fat %. For example, I'm targeting 9% body fat, which I should have somewhere around 145lbs, given my current lean mass.
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
    Mine comes from the middle of the BMI scale, it's also the last time my weight was stable at a weight that I was happy with. I don't remember when it was. I know I stayed at 10.5 stone for ages, then 11, then 11.5, so I'm hoping I wasn't too young when I was sitting on 11 for that to be a good goal. If it seems to much I'll stop at 11.5 instead.
  • crystal10584
    crystal10584 Posts: 334
    from what I was in HS. If I think I need to lose more, then I will, If I'm happy with 140, then so be it. It's more about where you feel comfortable than what the scale says. The BMI indexing doesn't take into account your body type... and I happen to be large framed so a size 0-4 is unrealistic. At 125 when I was swimming, I was still a 6
  • angp7711
    angp7711 Posts: 324 Member
    My goal weight is in the middle of the BMI range of what is considered healthy. The fact that I was morbidly obese before being able to be in healthy range was inportant to me. Beyond that it is simple things like losing 100 lbs even. I will probably go more. By what my clothes fit like though. I know I can fit into a comfortable size8 at 151 so I am thinking a comfortable 6 is what I will stick with. Wherever the scale is at that point I will be happy with and change my health goals to reducing body fat, getting stronger and faster. I know my personality, I always have to have some kind of goal.

    I think your goal od consistent workouts and increasing your fitness level is awesome to workout before starting a family. They are things that you can continue while pregnant. Good luck!
  • Bridgetc140
    Bridgetc140 Posts: 405 Member
    Well, while losing my baby weight, my first goal was 120...then 115, and now it is 108, but that's only 2.5lbs away, so I think my new goal is 105lbs. I want a 6 pack and while my abs are definitely becoming more visible, there's still more fat there clearly. I will go until I get my abs. What's funny is I weighed 118lbs when I graduated high school and I now weigh what I weighed in 5th grade......I'm only 4'11" though.
  • young1726
    young1726 Posts: 347 Member
    By the way... My goal weight comes from a weight that I was happiest with myself at. I didn't really watched what I ate then...but was very active. I bet I could go even lower than my current goal weight, but once I get there I plan to reevaluate/get my BMI tested.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I've spent most of the last 25 years happily between 135 and 145(which puts me in a 4-6 at 5'7"), depending on how much I worked out. So I aimed for the middle of 140. I do not realistically see myself killing myself with workouts the way I used to, either.

    I don't get any feedback from others on my goal weight because I haven't told anyone what it is! It's none of their damned business unless they are a medical professional who is treating me.;)
  • menchi
    menchi Posts: 297 Member
    My goal weight comes from having been there 2 years ago and feeling healthy. The way I got there last time (completely unintentionally) was with a lot of ballroom dancing and semi-controlled eating since I found out I danced better if I don't eat 4 hours before (less food sitting in the middle throwing off my balance), but I ate whatever crap I wanted. This time around I started by looking at the healthy BMI range for being 5'6.5 and though ok how about smack in the middle? That ended up being 135 which was where I was 2 years ago so I knew my body would look fine that way. I was also able to wear size 8 pants at that weight so I set my goal as 135 lbs or size 8, whichever comes first. I've arrived at both since then but I still have fluff to tone so now I have make some decisions. For the moment at least, I'm going to maintenance with a 100 Cal deficit (for wiggle room) and continuing to workout at the previous level to see if I can shave off more fat. If I gain weight from having toned muscles, well meh and yay me.

    Side ideaI've been thinking about this week-- boobs add a small but significant amount of weight, so for flat chested girls like me it's probably more reasonable to be able to sit lower in the healthy BMI range compared to someone who is busty and/or curvy. So I should take body shape into account also when deciding about my goal weight/size. I'm not sure that means I should set a lower goal weight, but I think if I continue to lose slowly down to say 130lbs, I might not need to worry as much as I thought. I'm still mulling this over. Any thoughts?
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    My goal weight comes from having been there 2 years ago and feeling healthy. The way I got there last time (completely unintentionally) was with a lot of ballroom dancing and semi-controlled eating since I found out I danced better if I don't eat 4 hours before (less food sitting in the middle throwing off my balance), but I ate whatever crap I wanted. This time around I started by looking at the healthy BMI range for being 5'6.5 and though ok how about smack in the middle? That ended up being 135 which was where I was 2 years ago so I knew my body would look fine that way. I was also able to wear size 8 pants at that weight so I set my goal as 135 lbs or size 8, whichever comes first. I've arrived at both since then but I still have fluff to tone so now I have make some decisions. For the moment at least, I'm going to maintenance with a 100 Cal deficit (for wiggle room) and continuing to workout at the previous level to see if I can shave off more fat. If I gain weight from having toned muscles, well meh and yay me.

    Side ideaI've been thinking about this week-- boobs add a small but significant amount of weight, so for flat chested girls like me it's probably more reasonable to be able to sit lower in the healthy BMI range compared to someone who is busty and/or curvy. So I should take body shape into account also when deciding about my goal weight/size. I'm not sure that means I should set a lower goal weight, but I think if I continue to lose slowly down to say 130lbs, I might not need to worry as much as I thought. I'm still mulling this over. Any thoughts?

    I like how you selected a pants size and a goal weight and allowing which ever to come first...this is a great way to set up an ideal "weight" if you ask me I might consider doing the same thing. I'd rather say I want to lose 1 pant size than 20lbs lol

    I do agree on the curves though. Someone at 5'2 (my height) without a large chest could easily weigh 110 and look totally fine. Considering I have a large chest and large hips 110 just isn't going to look healthy on me.
  • ArchyJill
    ArchyJill Posts: 548 Member
    For a while I used BMI, but then I got muscled up and the BMI isn't so good for that...went by weight for a while but the muscles again messed with that...now I am just aiming for no jiggle!
  • elvb
    elvb Posts: 423 Member
    I used to have a weight goal of the higher healthy BMI for me - around 128 lbs. I'm 5' even. I've decided, with only about 15 or so lbs to go, I'm going for a "look"/size goal. I want to fit into a 6-8 jeans, small/medium shirts, and have a toned body. I want the flab to go away. If I can accomplish this and NOT hit my weight goal, I'm perfectly happy with that.
  • Jennwith2ns
    Jennwith2ns Posts: 296 Member
    My goal weight is within a healthy BMI for my age and about the size I feel comfortable with. (150) If I lose more than that, awesome but it wouldn't bother me if I didn't.
  • IndigoVA
    IndigoVA Posts: 164 Member
    I think it totally depends on your frame. I'm also 5'4, and my initial goal is 145. I may then lower to 135. I tend to carry a lot of muscle, and 135 would put me around a size 8. I've also been as light as 118, but I know that's not a sustainable weight for me, especially now at almost 40 and after having 2 kids.
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
    You can use body fat % as a guide. Figure out what body fat % you would like to be, and then figure out how much you would weigh to have that body fat %. For example, I'm targeting 9% body fat, which I should have somewhere around 145lbs, given my current lean mass.

    I agree that the goal should be based on body fat percentage!
  • Bubs05
    Bubs05 Posts: 179 Member
    I don't have a 'goal' weight or size. For me it's a feeling I have. I have had various knee surgeries and know when my weight is right by how my knees feel. I have never owned a scale until recently so I have no idea what my high school weight was or even my 30's weight. So I'll know it when I get to it.
  • menchi
    menchi Posts: 297 Member
    I occasionally have joint pains and I can empathize with your knee problems. On a plus side though, you have a built in scale right there in your knees that tell you exactly when your weight is healthy or :noway:
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