How did you choose your goal weight?

Bub3les0
Bub3les0 Posts: 47
edited September 28 in Health and Weight Loss
In two pounds time I will have reached my "goal" weight. I will still be over weight according to my BMI but I will have lost 70lbs. Think I may try for 5 more though. It got me thinking, besides BMI, what are some of the other ways people choose their "goal weight" ?

Replies

  • alecta337
    alecta337 Posts: 622 Member
    I picked a weight that I remember being happy with the way I looked when I was that weight.
  • SGomez84
    SGomez84 Posts: 4
    Well for me of course the BMI but I chose for what I was before I started having kids since that is when I started to gain all the weight and not take it off.
  • Cherrycandy
    Cherrycandy Posts: 200
    I chose mine because it was the weight where I felt the most healthy and happy, as well as the weight where I liked the look of my body the best.
  • MsKeelah919
    MsKeelah919 Posts: 332 Member
    I chose one that was right in the middle of my healthy weight zone. The low end is for people who desire to be skinny, and the high end left little wiggle room before being overweight again. I figured the middle is a good place to be! :) congrats on 70lbs!! YOU ROCK!
  • ItsLessOfMe
    ItsLessOfMe Posts: 374 Member
    I chose mine because that was the weight I was when I got married. Now I'm thinking of reaching towards BMI though
  • maemiller
    maemiller Posts: 439 Member
    dont go by your BMI. BMI is based on height and wgt. So if a body builder thats 5'7 230 lbs would more or less be considered overwight even though he would have 5% body fat. best way is to get a body fat index take by either measuring with calipers or this hand held gadget that most gyms use.

    I dont think theres a perfect wgt for a particular person. I would go by the way you feel.
  • farmers_daughter
    farmers_daughter Posts: 1,632 Member
    Because I once took phentermine and got down to that weight (aka goal weight), I feel it a better challenge to do it myself than have a FREE ride (pill) to get me there.

    Boy was I stupid........ LOL!!!! :laugh:
  • jennmoore3
    jennmoore3 Posts: 1,013 Member
    Well, I really can't remember... LOL I personally want to be at my pre preg weight. but I know that is unreal, because I was 18 when I got preg. I just want to have clothes that fit me, and not have to suck in to zip them. lol I started at 220 and I want to be 150ish. Then I will re evaluate things. I was 127 when I got preg. LOL
  • jamielise2
    jamielise2 Posts: 432 Member
    BMI is actually useless and inaccurate, especially if you have any muscle. What I did was go up to my local university and have a Bod Pod test to find out my fat to lean ratio, then decided what I want my body fat percentage goal to be and multiplied my lean mass times that percent (i.e. lean mass x 1.25 percent). Bod Pod only cost like $25 and was TOTALLY worth the cost because it's the most accurate way to calculate body fat.
  • FieryNikkie
    FieryNikkie Posts: 61 Member
    I chose mine because that is the lowest weight I can remember being in my "adult" life (that was my sophomore year of high school.) And I knew it was an attainable goal. Once I hit that first HUGE goal, I may reach to lose the extra 20 pounds needed to put me in the "healthy" BMI range.
  • coolsmartygirl
    coolsmartygirl Posts: 299 Member
    Last year I was at 120 and that it where I'd ideally like to be. I wouldn't mind be lower because I was not very happy at that weight. I'm still in this fantasy of high school weight =/
  • helloiloveukitty
    helloiloveukitty Posts: 448 Member
    I picked a weight I see hot girls my height looking hot at. I'm not obsessed with the actual number, just getting around it and seeing how look as I get closer and closer...because obviously chicks lie about weight and every ones bodies hold weight differently.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    Initially I picked 140 lbs as a goal weight. That was the lowest I'd ever been post-puberty and so I thought it would be a great goal, attainable with some work, all that jazz.

    A little while ago I experimented with various types of %body fat measurements.

    If I actually reach 140 lbs while maintaining my current level of muscle, I'd have to reach 7-10% body fat, which is completely unhealthy for a woman who wants to have kids (or at all, as far as I know--I could be wrong). Anyway, I changed my goal to 160 lbs with a target %body fat of ~25%. I'd have to lose a little bit of muscle to reach that but I expect I probably will along the way.

    No idea what size I'll be. At ~208 lbs (weigh in is tomorrow) I'm solidly in a size L on top and a 14-16 (depending on the brand and cut) on the bottom.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    http://www.thedietitian.com said 17% body fat for me would be 139 lbs so that's how I picked it. It's 6 lbs within the healthy BMI for me...supposedly. We'll see.
  • SabrinaJL
    SabrinaJL Posts: 1,579 Member
    I chose it because it puts me right smack in the middle of a healthy BMI and 100 lbs sounded like a good number. My husband thinks I should be going for 150, which is still in the healthy range, but at the high end of it.

    It's not set in stone. It may change as I get closer.
  • LaughingStraightToDaBank
    LaughingStraightToDaBank Posts: 126
    You should pick it on various things. BMI has some say in it but body fat percentage is much more important. Waist to hip ratio and waist to height ratio is also important to be healthy because that's important to prevent some health issues.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I think I just chose mine at random based on what most charts would say was a healthy weight for someone my height. My real goal was health (got all A's on my latest blood test) and to hopefully get back in my size 8 non-stretch jeans (did that too). I'm still slowly losing so I guess my real goal weight is wherever this healthy new lifestyle leaves me.
  • Starkle09
    Starkle09 Posts: 238 Member
    I picked the weight that I was my happiest at. i dont pay much attention to the generic bmi calculator that are strictly based on height and weight...gonna do what makes me feel good
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
    Its within my BMI and I know that its the weight at which I can fit into a dress my mom made and wore in a wedding. I have always loved the dress and wanted to be able to wear.
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
    I picked mine because it's the weight I remember my mom being at when she told me that she'd love me more if I were skinny.

    I just want to look better than her.
  • wiffe
    wiffe Posts: 224 Member
    I've said before a certain weight but it will depend on clothing size also. Right now I'm shooting for 150 so I'm about 30 more to go. But it depends on how my clothes fit.
  • Chubby_bunnyy
    Chubby_bunnyy Posts: 50 Member
    Ahhh I'm awful I looked at someone's body type I liked and took her bmi then I rationalized in a few lbs to be realistic. I'm alot closer to it now and realize I'll probably be happier at that number.
    Sw- 135
    Cw- 113/114
    gw- 100-97
  • missxchelly
    missxchelly Posts: 180
    I picked a weight that I remember being happy with the way I looked when I was that weight.


    Exactly. I didn't chose a weight that would be considered the "standard" for my age and height, etc. I chose a weight that left meat on my skin. I love being chubby, just not fat.
  • Chubby_bunnyy
    Chubby_bunnyy Posts: 50 Member
    Hush7hush, yeah I understand where you're coming from. Your mom sounds as Critical as my family. I'd never hear the end of it
  • coolsmartygirl
    coolsmartygirl Posts: 299 Member
    I picked mine because it's the weight I remember my mom being at when she told me that she'd love me more if I were skinny.

    I just want to look better than her.

    I wish mom's realized how much their words can sting. One day I came to my mom's house for her weekend and the first thing she said to me was "you need to take a shower"
  • nanc94
    nanc94 Posts: 141 Member
    I picked a weight that I remember being happy with the way I looked when I was that weight.


    Exactly. I didn't chose a weight that would be considered the "standard" for my age and height, etc. I chose a weight that left meat on my skin. I love being chubby, just not fat.

    Same here....ive never been the skinny one...on top of that i am big boned..
  • truchamp06
    truchamp06 Posts: 78 Member
    I found out what my body fat percentage was. Then looked at what my body percent fat SHOULD be and set that as an ideal goal weight for me. If i loose 75 pounds and it looks like i lost 100 then..I may be fine with that. I havent been under 200 pounds in a VERY long time, so I shall see and play it by ear as time goes by.
  • angp7711
    angp7711 Posts: 324 Member
    My goal weight is slightly based on BMI. I don't want to be considered unhealthy. While I don't totally believe in the BMI I am not a bodybuilder with crazy low body fat so it somewhat pertains to me. I have never been the weight that I am shooting for. I have gotten down to 151 and I was in a size 8 comfortably. I want to be in a 6 comfortably so I am hoping 145 is that for me. The closer I get the more it will just depend on body composition more than weight.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    I chose mine off what someone with a large frame and 5'10 should weigh. I dont know if i will be happy there at 170 (i will be just under being overweight for my height; but i figured it was ok since i have a large frame; i might look great). But its a goal; and i'll state to anyone, my goal will probably drop down to 160 once im there, but just to get to that point is all i want for now. at one point it was 180, but then after looking at BMI numbers i wanted to be 170.... then once it was my goal for all this time, ive kinda thought about my weight in the past; and when i was last 170; in 5th to 4th grade, i was fat and made fun of, and i was my full grown height by 5th grade.
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
    A few years ago, I contracted a thyroid condition that caused me to lose a lot of weight. During that time, I was taken off all my medications for high blood pressure. When my thyroid was treated, I gained the weight back and went back on the blood pressure meds. My goal was to lose enough weight to get back off the meds. It took me about a year to do it (complicated by this disease), but I managed it last spring and was able to scale back my meds.

    Now I have let myself gain some of the weight back, so I am losing it again. I may try to lose a few extra pounds this time around...
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