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Bmi and how you choose your goal weight!

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Replies

  • GrandadMike2014
    GrandadMike2014 Posts: 13 Member
    I chose my new goal weigh based upon BMI and when I get there I am going to do what all the trainers down our gym do.....Ignore it and pile on the muscle so that I end up Obese !!!
  • Smallc10
    Smallc10 Posts: 649 Member
    I chose mine based on where I have been before, but as I've been weight lifting and seeing my body changing with that... I'm not as concerned with getting to my 'goal' weight as I am with getting to my goal size! (6)
  • queenjaquita
    queenjaquita Posts: 7 Member
    I have a goal and then a dream. :) I'm 5'4 and I decided on 135 lbs because that was what I weighed when I got married and I think I looked good at that weight and was able to maintain that weight for several years. I then have my dream of 122 which I was when I was in my early 20's when "I didn't have to worry about my weight" and is in the middle of my BMI healthy range. I have set up mini-goals with non-food rewards (new make-up case, jewelry, new shoes) in order to keep myself motivated and on track.
  • Chellellelle
    Chellellelle Posts: 595 Member
    edited January 2016
    I chose mine based off the higher range of BMI for my height, my frame/build size and what I have weighed before. I'm 5'8" with a large build.

    BMI says a healthy weight range for me is 122 to 164 pounds. If I weighed 122 pounds I would look like a skeleton because of my build. I'm very tall and broad.

    When I weighed 185 pounds I was very lean, muscular and looked great.

    I could have lost a little more body fat, but probably not a lot so I would put myself at probably 170 for an Ultimate goal weight.
  • DoNotSpamMe73
    DoNotSpamMe73 Posts: 286 Member
    Well I'm 5ft 7 (170cm) so my goal weight is 60kilos(132lb). Officially my BMI is 53-72kg(116-158lb) but I think of it as 57kg or above. BMI isn't definite with no scientific basis from the 30's but is a good start. I'd aim for anywhere in the lower middle especially if you are muscular, exercise often &/or busty.
    The middle or lower end is great because it is flexible eating/exercise habits reduce stress. For a lot of heights I'd go for about 65 kilograms and work from there.
  • Danimri84
    Danimri84 Posts: 262 Member
    I chose mine pretty much as a shot in the dark. I started at 249 three years ago and got down to 178. Then gained pretty much all of it back. I'm still shooting for 165. I'm 5'7", have a large build, and I'm incredibly busty. When I got down to my lowest before, I was wearing a size 13 junior in pants and jeans and L/XL shirts and was pretty close to happy.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I picked a number, found out it was 6 pounds above healthy BMI, so I dropped it 15. Then I dropped it another 10, so now it's almost right in the middle.
  • kportwood85
    kportwood85 Posts: 151 Member
    My goal right now is 150. Which is still 5 pounds in to overweight. In high school I weighed about 125-130 and you could see all my bones. I think I'll stick with 150 until I get there, and then re-evaluate. I'm not stuck on that number. Just a first big goal.
  • brigitukas00
    brigitukas00 Posts: 12 Member
    As I been all shapes and sizes , size UK 4,6,10,12 ...I chose ideal body calculator less 9 kg from Bmi highest range ( healthy highest range )
  • motterotter
    motterotter Posts: 701 Member
    I chose 10 percent off my current bw because 20 percent does not sound doable right now
  • bbeaukay
    bbeaukay Posts: 15 Member
    I was 130 when I was in the military, I wasn't super skinny, but had curve where it counted. :) I am 164 ish now and know that's what I want to get back to. I have tried half hearted for years.. I'm tired of looking at my body knowing what I had and can have again.
  • Kristin2626
    Kristin2626 Posts: 24 Member
    BMI doesn't work for me, at least I do not think so. The top for a 5'8" woman is 165-ish and I have tried to weigh 155, but was told I was way too thin and was always wiped, no energy, etc. 165, it's hard to say, because I was so used to being inactive when I weighed that last -- I felt ill in the 140s and 150s so I gained until I felt a little better. I have felt the healthiest at the 180-190 range, which is obese. I am really not sure what is "right" but focusing on BMI just makes me feel terrible, both physically and self-image-wise.

    So I bought calipers for $8 on Amazon and I am going off my body fat %! Striving for 20% and for a weigh goal, I am only trying to reach 175 (overweight, not obese, according to BMI).
  • ObsidianMist
    ObsidianMist Posts: 519 Member
    my goal weight is the weight I was at for years before suddenly gaining 30 pounds.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    BMI doesn't work for me, at least I do not think so. The top for a 5'8" woman is 165-ish and I have tried to weigh 155, but was told I was way too thin and was always wiped, no energy, etc. 165, it's hard to say, because I was so used to being inactive when I weighed that last -- I felt ill in the 140s and 150s so I gained until I felt a little better. I have felt the healthiest at the 180-190 range, which is obese. I am really not sure what is "right" but focusing on BMI just makes me feel terrible, both physically and self-image-wise.

    So I bought calipers for $8 on Amazon and I am going off my body fat %! Striving for 20% and for a weigh goal, I am only trying to reach 175 (overweight, not obese, according to BMI).

    At 5'8" the cutoffs are:

    OBESE: 197+
    OVERWEIGHT: 165 - 198
    NORMAL: 122-164

    So you are not obese between 180-190. More importantly, the BMI has a linear error on height. The taller you are, the more inaccurate it is. @Shammah71 linked a great tool, a BMI calculator that takes into account the fact that volume and mass do not have a 1:1 relationship. On that tool, at 180 you'd have a BMI of 27.4. Interestingly, that was under the cutoff for overweight before 1998. Moreover, people with the highest longevity are those in the "overweight" category.

    20% body fat is a pretty small amount for a woman. It falls under the % recommended for a trained athlete incompetition, as opposed to just a fit person (American Council on Exercise and Fitness "Fit Life") I am not trying to talk you out of your goal, if that's very important to you, go for it. However, its not necessary to be at 20% body fat as a woman to be physically fit.

    Weight is a lot more complex than the BMI metric.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    I chose high end of BMI rounded to nearest 5kg.

    There was no weight I wanted to get back to, been over weight since time immemorial.

    In my opinion start with BMI and as you near goal weight readjust it up or down.
  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
    My original goal was 159.8, which puts me just inside a healthy BMI. It's a goal of mine to have that damn healthy BMI.
    I'm less than 10lbs away from that now and I think I'm going to keep going past that, to somewhere around 145-150.
This discussion has been closed.