6'2" 196lb male trying to determine goal weight

NobodyKnows
NobodyKnows Posts: 764 Member
edited September 28 in Health and Weight Loss
I decided to make fitness a priority on February 16th of this year. My initial weigh in that day was 248lbs. My known high was 253. I weighed in at 196.5 on Tuesday, which is 51.5 lbs in 18 weeks. I have lowered my goal weight multiple times because I honestly had no idea I would have such success, or that my ideal weight should be. My jeans size is down from a comfortable fitting 40 waist to a snug fitting 36 waist. My weight problem was always primarily at the waist line. I otherwise have a slim to average build.

I have started to put more emphasis on strength training and have cut back some on my cardio workouts. During the first 16 weeks, my cardio workouts were typically in the 30 to 50 minute range. Now that I am trying to fit strength training into my workout, my cardio workouts are in the 20 to 30 minute range.

I feel like I am taking the right approach at the gym, but I am not sure what I should adjust my goal weight to.

I was thinking about lowering it to the 180 - 185 range, with a weight loss goal of 1lb per week. I would appreciate any feedback, ideally from guys with similar height.

Thanks

Replies

  • CriticalX
    CriticalX Posts: 212 Member
    need a pic
  • Kelly_Wilson1990
    Kelly_Wilson1990 Posts: 3,245 Member
    Way to go!!
  • RoundRockFitCoach
    RoundRockFitCoach Posts: 19
    What is your % body fat? If you don't know, have it measured by someone trained to do so with calipers and let us know. Should not be difficult once its known.
  • Mama_CAEI
    Mama_CAEI Posts: 235
    Just check what the healthy BMI range is for your height. I'm aiming for the high end of healthy to start and anything lower than that will be a bonus.
  • MarieNevada
    MarieNevada Posts: 395 Member
    the way i figured out my goal weight is this.i worked out my body fat percentage. which gave me my lean body mass. i then decided on what body fat percentage i wanted. i added that to my lean body mass and that is my goal weight. now as i lift weights, my lean body mass is going up, so my goal weight will be adjusted. i think body fat percentage is more important than an actual weight since now that you're lifting, your lean body mass will increase. so i decided to focus on body fat percentage. a good percentage for a fit male who lifts is about 10 to 14 percent. if you really want to be ripped, you'll have to look at about 8%.
  • omnisis
    omnisis Posts: 85 Member
    I am 6'2" and currently around 205 lbs in my latest profile pic. I am between and 32" and 34 inch waist currently. I was thinking of stopping at 190-195 lbs but we'll see. My goal is to lean out and I pack on muscle pretty quickly so I'll have to maintain my cardio and use less heavy weights to achieve that. I would like to get to below 10% BF ultimately and have abs as I think that's more realistic than some arbitrary weight goal. By the way, according to the standard BMI calculations I am still "Obese".
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    I'm 5'10" and 195 ish with about 15% body fat, you can look in my pics for one that looks like me now. I would say don't even attempt to lose weight any more and just focus on gaining muscle. Just by doing this you will lose the rest of the fat. Eat plenty of protein. What's your lifting program?
  • NobodyKnows
    NobodyKnows Posts: 764 Member
    Thanks for all the responses so far. I will have to ask if they can measure body fat at the health club I belong to.

    I haven't settled into a lifting program yet because my wife has been out of town on business, and I haven't been able to make it to the gym. Last week I focused on upper body (machines) M W F and did a couple leg workouts on a couple of the other days.

    I work full time and have close to an acre to maintain, so it is difficult for me to fit in more time consuming free weight workouts.

    When I did lift weights 20 years ago, I focused on heavy weight - low reps. At my fittest, I weighed 180lbs and had a 270lb bench press. Last year in a failed attempt to get fit, it took a month or more just to get my bench up to 225lbs. Not sure what it is at now.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    By the way, according to the standard BMI calculations I am still "Obese".

    THAT'S funny!

    And I agree with hroush. Time to shift the focus away from the scale a bit :)
  • The_Saint
    The_Saint Posts: 358 Member
    I'm 6'2" 205.
    I think I'm good here...
  • supertracylynn
    supertracylynn Posts: 1,338 Member
    Most of these guys have it rit on: focus on muscle instead of the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat.

    Here's a good example:
    When I was 14 y/o, I was 145 wearing a size 12.
    Now I'm 26, weigh 142, and wear a size 6.
  • sh0ck
    sh0ck Posts: 168 Member
    I am 6'0 and according to BMI I am supposed to weigh somewhere between 160 and 185 (or so). With my frame there is no way I could weigh that in a "healthy" manner. It totally depends on how you are built.
  • NobodyKnows
    NobodyKnows Posts: 764 Member
    Thanks again for the responses. Once I get my body fat calculated, I will post it.

    For the sake of calculating my daily calories, I will stick with my current goal weight of the 195. I previously had my desired weight loss set to 1 1/2 lbs per week. I am adjusting that to 1/2 lb.
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
    There must be different BMI scales out there because I’m 6’2 and weigh 223 and according to the one I used I’m only over weight. Not that it matters to your question.

    I agree with some else that said we need pics. It sounds like you are of a slim build(and carrying weight around your middle, like you said), because I wear a loose 38, getting close to 36 now at 223, I should be close to a 34 when I get to 200-205. But hey everybody if different.

    So here is my .02$ worth, strength training, build that muscle, it will burn the remaining fat around your middle and tone you at the same time.
  • omnisis
    omnisis Posts: 85 Member
    Just checked My BMI again here: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. Now it's 26.2 and I am merely "overweight" ;-) 195lbs is the high end for my height but I know from exp. that it's hard to get there and still lift weights.
  • linzfaulk
    linzfaulk Posts: 3
    Please don't read into the BMI B.S. (as I like to call it) BMI does not take into account muscle mass. You are looking healthy in your pic and from what I can see, do not "need" to lose. Instead of focusing on weight, go with how you feel. Set other goals now... muscle definition, fitness goals, etc.
  • NobodyKnows
    NobodyKnows Posts: 764 Member
    I went to the gym tonight and asked the trainer on duty to calculate my body fat for me. It came up 19%. Her reaction was very positive. I lifted weights for 45 minutes and then did 10 minutes of cardio, mostly because I did not eat well today. I am definitely going to focus on strength training going forward.
  • NobodyKnows
    NobodyKnows Posts: 764 Member
    Is an hour M-W-F adequate for upper body strength training?

    Also, how often do you work abs?
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    Is an hour M-W-F adequate for upper body strength training?

    Also, how often do you work abs?

    I misread your post. I do about 45 minutes 3x a week for everything. My workout is the second link in my signature. I don't do abs as they are worked doing squats and deadlifts. A couple weeks ago I did a sit up test after not doing abs for a month. I was able to do 15 more straight than I ever had training abs for 5 months.
  • bbbbb33333
    bbbbb33333 Posts: 1,107 Member
    Check out the article at http://www.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie . It has 5 recommended lifts for max improvement and recommended frequency for maximum improvement. For strength/power recommends every 48-72 hours for muscle endurance, every 40-60 hours
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