How did you choose your goal weight?

I chose a goal bodyfat% and daily cal intake to maintain it.

I want to be 20% and maintain on 23-2500 cals a day with only 4gym days a week. This means I need to do a few bulk and cut cycles and will settle around 150-155#

Middle of healthy BMI range, although I haven't been able to get lower than 3 pounds over that.

It was a round number. It was less than 100 lbs to lose. I'd been that weight before and was happy with my appearance and abilities. And it was higher than the weight is gotten myself intointo trouble with when I had disordered eating.

I went with the weight that was the most comfortable for me in the past. It also happens to be right in the middle of the healthy BMI range for my height.

AnvilHead wrote: »

nowetdio wrote: »

Recently changed my goal weight according to thishttp://www.builtlean.com/2010/05/04/ideal-body-weight-formula-how-to-calculate-your-ideal-weight/

That formula makes a lot more sense (for me, anyway) than BMI. It puts my target weight (at 13-15% BF) in a range I know I'm comfortable at and look pretty good. When I calculate my weight in the middle of the "healthy" BMI range, it suggests a weight that I haven't been at since high school, and I look emaciated and sickly at that weight. Even at the very top of the "healthy" BMI (24.9), it's too low - been there, and I know how it looked.

Also, BMI doesn't take bodyfat % into consideration (although people often confuse the two). A person who's 5'8", 150 lbs. and 30% BF will look radically different than a person who's 5'8", 150 lbs. at 15% BF, although their BMI will be identical.

BMI calculations also don't distinguish between male and female - and males carry more muscle mass than females do (speaking in general terms). Try it - go to a BMI calculator and enter your stats, try the calculation as both male and female (if the calculator even makes the distinction) - the results will be identical.

He's right. If you aren't comfortable generalizing with the BMI, which is often not gender-specific, try this one. It's an "Ideal Weight calculator", which does use BMI as PART of the calculation, but also adjusts for your frame size. I'm afraid it'll do nothing for muscle mass, but at least it's a good place to start. And it DOES change for male/female, so muscle mass difference between the genders is at least a little built in.

http://www.superskinnyme.com/ideal_weight_calculator.html

Right now I'm going by a clothing size. I have been very overweight the majority of my life so I don't even know yet what weight will be my goal weight

I'm still not near my healthy bmi range, but for now basically I looked at the highest healthiest BMI for my height, and then subtracted 10 pounds to give me a buffer, since no one stays static in their weight, that would let me be able to slide without leaving it...

That being said I'm very large framed and have a long torso and shorter legs (and since we hold most of our weight in our torso...) which makes me think my ideal weight might actually be a little above the highest BMI. BMI is not really considered that good of a measure to even many professionals, since it doesn't take into account these differences in the way we're shaped. For example, some professionals prefer the hip/waist ratio measure and according to that, I'm already healthy... even though I'm still currently like 70 or 80 pounds above my ideal maximum bmi! Craziness, right? So if I get closer to my BMI (at least 50 pounds down) and I'm happy, I may rest. But I figure shoot for the harder goal, then make smaller ones to celebrate along the way, because if I shot for the higher weight goal then I might not have the motivation to get smaller, even if it's possible.

SergeantSausage wrote: »

I don't so much have a goal weight as a goal look.

Numbers on a scale really don't matter.

Me too. Goal look more than goal weight. I told my husband that my goal is 140 at 5 9" because at the best shape of my adult life that was my weight. BUT, I work out now more than I ever have so once hitting 140 I will be exercising to further tighten, tone, tighten, tone by using photos every 30 days.

It's a combination, I think. At 130 pounds my BMI is 23, and my clothes are US size 4 and 6. Those are solid guideposts, but the more important point is how comfortable I feel in my skin. I'm not really thinking anymore about how I look, I'm not plucking at my clothes all day or worrying that my a** looks big or whatever. I feel like I've figured out what my body needs in terms of nourishment and exercise, and in return my mind is free to focus on other things. So this is probably the right place for me.

N200lz wrote: »

Lean Body Mass in Lbs / (1.0 - Desired Body Fat %)

Example: Male weighing 180 lbs. with a body fat of 25% and a target body fat of 20%
Lean Body Mass of 135 lbs (180 * .75)
Desired Body Fat is .2 (20%)
Target weight is (135 / (1.0 - .2)) or 168.75

Unfortunately you will lose muscle along the way and need to adjust for the first ~5lbs of water/glycogen weight you lose so that #should de at least 8 lbs lower if not more depending on your body's individual muscle/fat loss ratio and how much water weight you lose at first.

I still haven't chosen an "end goal". I have broken it down into increment's that are a little more attainable and when I get close to it I reevaluate where I am and where I want to go next.
I figure I'll just keep playing it by ear until I'm in a normal bmi range

I've always been told that I'm muscular and hence I weigh more, so I began investigating bodybuilding.com and checking the heights and weights of muscular women with the intention of finding a body type and range which suited me. I decided that based on the kind of training I like to do: some heavy weights but mostly bodyweight exercises of a gymnastic variety and yoga and power movements, that I'd be more efficient at a lighter weight, even if I lose some muscle. So at 5'3" I chose 120 lbs (I'm currently 142). I was surprised to see that with a low body fat percentage many women and men (on bodybuilding.com) maintain very high muscle mass and strength at only 115-135 lbs. I think UFC fighters are also indicative of this, that it's possible to be very strong at a pretty light weight. I actually think that what people believe is solely muscle mass on my frame is actually covered by a pretty solid layer of fat So that's how I chose my goal weight; based on fit but strong people in my age range and height range (and gender).

I picked the weight i felt best at which was 125lbs. As i'm tall, that weight would put me at a slightly underweight bmi but i have a very slight frame so i look and feel fine.

I was 18stone. My goal is 10 stone. I figured that splat bang in the middle of my healthy weight range, so it's a good even number I'll be happy anywhere in my healthy weight range.