Should you aim for a few pounds below your goal weight?

noobletmcnugget
noobletmcnugget Posts: 518 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering if you guys think it's a good idea to aim for a pound or two below your official goal weight so that when you maintain you stay in a range around your goal? Instead of your goal ending up being the bottom of your maintenance range?

Maybe I'll just see how I feel when I get there and decide accordingly.

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Goals may change the closer you get. The number on the scale doesn't accurately reflect the percentage of lean muscle you have. Those with lots of lean muscle look slimmer, than those with higher body fat percentages. Two people can be same height, same weight....but one looks a bit pudgy.
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    yeah, I dont know at all about that first paragraph...

    But that last sentence sums up my attitude towards all of this perfectly.
  • wreckzrainer131
    wreckzrainer131 Posts: 33 Member
    I aim for healthy and feeling good. Just so happens that for me it means losing weight.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I lowered my goal. I will be aiming for a 5 lb range. I will start out at the bottom of that range and only modify my habits if I end up at the top of the range.
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
    I started "maintaining" at 152. I'm now 149.2, so the best laid plans aren't always gonna work out. More than likely transitioning to maintenance level calories will be harder than you think. My stomach seems to have shrunk and it doesn't allow more food to go into it. And unless I started eating highly caloric foods, I had a hard time going from 1450 to 1850/day. It's what you get used to.

    So basically what I'm saying is, that over time you'll more than likely lose more without even trying.
  • sfkn123
    sfkn123 Posts: 17 Member
    I started at 205 lbs, and my goal was just to get to the high end of the normal range - 155 lbs. When I got to 155, I realized that I still had a lot of body fat and wanted to see what I have to do to get abs. I continued pushing myself, currently 147 lbs.. still no abs. I just switched my goal to 135 to see if that'll do it. You'll see in time!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Goals change, so do whatever works for you.
  • karmaroo143
    karmaroo143 Posts: 4
    I did the same thing and it helps me stay on track.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Goals change, so do whatever works for you.

    This.

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,556 Member
    noobletmcnugget wrote: »
    Maybe I'll just see how I feel when I get there and decide accordingly.

    This ^^

    I'm not even really sure what my goal weight is.

    For a start, it will be whatever I end up hitting by mid-June.

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    aim for a 3-5lb range rather than an individual goal weight

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