How did you choose final weight?

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Replies

  • mburgess458
    mburgess458 Posts: 480 Member
    I was thinking 170 based on how much I weighed a few years ago... hit that and felt I had further to go and the weight was still coming off... wife started complaining I was getting too skinny at low 160's so I upped calories to my guess of maintenance... slowly lost another few lbs over 6+ months and settled in at 156-160.
  • Womona
    Womona Posts: 1,813 Member
    I put my goal weight at 115 because that's the weight where my clothes look and feel the best. I had gotten down to 112-113 and my pants were a little to big. I had weight creep up to 119 and my pants were too tight and uncomfortable!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I picked the middle of the healthy BMI range... I reached it once when I was 20... but I just don't think it's realistic for me anymore (not like I actually managed to maintain it even then)... I have more muscle now and probably 3 pounds of loose skin too...
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    I started with a provisional goal, 130 pounds. I had weighed that as a young adult (and it wasn't my lowest weight ever), and thought it was at least not crazy. But I planned to re-evaluate as it got close. Naturally, as I got closer to goal weight, I slowed down my loss rate; that was just to stay stronger/healthier, but it also makes it easier to fine-tune, since nothing happens very fast.

    After a couple of downward goal adjustments, I was kind of waffling until I literally woke up one morning, evaluated where I was, and said "this seems to be it; I should try to stabilize" at around 122. I'm now trying to dial in maintenance calories accurately with an "adjust and monitor" process, after which I'll plan to stay in a range, maybe 118-123 or thereabouts.

    One thing to consider: It's not an irrevocable decision. You can even go to maintenance calories at some weight, live there for a while, and decide to change it.
  • Erik8484
    Erik8484 Posts: 458 Member
    itsthehumidity wrote: »
    The weight I choose is a rough guess based on a goal of a particular body composition. Specifically, I am aiming to be less than 10% body fat. So, if I'm 158 lbs now, and maybe 14% fat, that means I might have 139 pounds of lean mass (139 x 1.14 = 158.46).

    So if I'm 14% now, and I want 10%, that means I want to end up at 139 x 1.10 = 152.9. So, I'll set my goal to 152 and see how I look and feel when I get there. My original goal was 165, but I wasn't satisfied so I'm still going.

    158lbs x (100% - 14% fat) = 135.88lbs of lean mass.

    /end math nitpick.
  • JuliaHaleFitness
    JuliaHaleFitness Posts: 56 Member
    How did you get that initial goal weight?

    At the end of the day, try not to think about the numbers. Get to 180# and if you like what you see, you are comfortable in your body and you can actively do all of the things you want to be able to do, than you are a success!
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    I'm about 5 lbs above what normal bmi would be considered. I'm starting to think that might be generous. Still a good beer belly. People say I'm thin but they don't have to look at me naked. I'm just gonna go until I am comfortable with the way I look not what some math formula says
  • Anabug81
    Anabug81 Posts: 161 Member
    130 was where I felt comfortable, not too thin, and not too heavy.
  • Panda_Poptarts
    Panda_Poptarts Posts: 971 Member
    I picked a weight at the upper end of healthy for my height. At 5'11'', I selected 175. I want to build muscle, so I realize I may not get a whole lot lower than 175- body comp is going to have a lot to do with it. I'd say the lower end of where I'd want to go would be around 150. That being said, the answer for me is to start at 175 and work my way down to where I look and feel good.
  • swim777
    swim777 Posts: 599 Member
    Anabug81 wrote: »
    130 was where I felt comfortable, not too thin, and not too heavy.

    How tall are you?
  • KeepingUpWithKari
    KeepingUpWithKari Posts: 287 Member
    i chose it like most people do, in regards to the BMI chart. The lowest weight I remember myself as is 170. I currently weigh 246.2. My goal weight is 140. I may or may not readjust once Im there and Im alright with that. There is no end goal for me per say because I want this to be a lifestyle for myself.
  • liftzilla16
    liftzilla16 Posts: 59 Member
    You're going to laugh but I chose 180 because that's how much this ripped dude weighed in a movie I watched when I just started working out :D
  • 6pkdreamer
    6pkdreamer Posts: 180 Member
    hotasfire36 wrote: »
    I'm excited about getting to my goal eventhough I have quite a ways to go. I have 19.8 pounds to go to get to 180. The closer I get the more excited. :)

    Wow -no wonder you have such a big smile. I think going to the top of your BMI to start with seems like a good ideal as a rough guide. I suggest that break it into 2 ie 10lbs targets to get to 25 BMI. Better not to rush as you don't want to lose muscle. Your shape (hip to waist ratio) is more important than final weight. It's your composition of fat & muscle composition that matters. I't better to be a fit and overweight!
  • CindyFooWho
    CindyFooWho Posts: 179 Member
    I had chosen 125 because it's a nice, neat number and right there in my BMI range. But I'm at 128 and I think that losing more will drop me another pant size. While that doesn't seem like a bad problem, it's not financially a good idea. I'm happy with where I am.
  • Zencookie
    Zencookie Posts: 1 Member
    I don't have a goal weight. I will never have a goal weight. Weight, especially for women, is fluid...literally...because we gain and lose water with hormonal fluctuations so there's zero point in beating ourselves up over 'a' number. Weight also does not measure the fitness or fatness of our bodies. The only thing to do that is Body Fat Percentage. My first goal is 30% (respectable for a woman my age). A woman my age can also go as low as 7% and still be healthy so there's a lot of wiggle room there. Healthy is my ultimate goal. Healthy body composition is part of health.
  • Syneea
    Syneea Posts: 451 Member
    Yeah, I too chose my initial goal weight based on the high end of a healthy BMI... Got there and was no where near happy so dropped 10 additional pounds...still not happy...my stubborn arm fat is holding me back from maintenance mode...I have obvious muscle all over including my arms but arms are still too big for my small body... Will lose until arms are gone.. Hopefully soon.
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
    I started off wanting a BMI of 22 at 1.63m tall, but I am now wondering if I can go lower. My BF % is 25. But I think a 22% BF would be great! I am 10kg away from a BMI of 22, but people are already telling me I should stop losing weight.
  • MegSchuy16
    MegSchuy16 Posts: 189 Member
    edited April 2016
    I chose 150lbs to be my goal weight because that is when I looked the best! I am about 5"6.5 and I've been told my weight should be between 115lbs-154lbs to be considered healthy. When I weighed 140lbs back in the day I thought I looked to thin and even sickly at that weight, which is why my goal weight is on the higher end of what my weight should be. 60lbs to go!
  • a_candler
    a_candler Posts: 209 Member
    When I started out I just wanted to get back to prepregnancy weight by losing 20 lbs. Once there I reevaluated. I said 10 more lbs. And I kept going reevaluating as I went. I think I just needed small attainable goals plus never being that small I want sure how I'd look.

    I got down to 143 and I looked too skinny on top. I gained back 5 lbs and now just need to really work on gaining more muscle to tone things up


    Goals can change so don't get too hung up by them. Getting healthy, that's the main goal.
  • amyk0202
    amyk0202 Posts: 666 Member
    When I first started out I don't think I really had a weight in mind. When I went in to talk with the therapist before my WLS, she asked me about my goals & I think I said I wanted to fit back into a size 8 (I had a pair of goal shorts). My first goal was to get back into the "normal" BMI range for my height (5' 2.5") which is 103-138.5 lbs. So, I was shooting for 138.5 lbs. The closer I got, the more I decided that I did not want weigh less than 147-150 lbs. This puts me about 12 lbs in the "overweight" bmi still at 150. I'm OK with that. My bloodwork is great, my blood pressure is great, I feel great, & I think I look great.

    For me, the extra weight the balance between health, looks, & sustainability. If I get thinner, I will lose more of the fat layer in my neck which covers some very prominent vertical cords that I hate (picture a Cardassian from Deep Space 9). I also do not want my ribcage measurement to go smaller than 28" because it makes it very difficult to find a bra in my size. At 150 lbs, I eat 1430 calories a day to maintain which works fine for me. If I weighed less, I'd get to eat less & I would be unhappy with that long term.
  • alyssagb1
    alyssagb1 Posts: 353 Member
    When I began my loss at 230, I set a goal of 180. That's the weight I was happy at before I had my son. However, once I got there, I wasn't happy with the results. (I'm 5'9-large frame) not sure if pregnancy changed where I carry my weight or what. Anyhow, decided to set a goal of 160. Reached it, and am pretty satisfied with the results. In short, reevaluate as you chug along as other have said.
  • msiamjan
    msiamjan Posts: 326 Member
    When I started I thought 130 would be a good goal, but the counselor I was working with thought 120 was better. But, when I got to 130, she and my doctor agreed that I didn't need to lose any more. I think 120 would be too hard to maintain and I feel healthy, which is what I want. I've been maintaining since December. I find it to be a daily challenge, so I'm glad I didn't get too stuck on a number.
  • SerenaFisher
    SerenaFisher Posts: 2,170 Member
    My range is 133 up to 138, I feel my fittest and best at these weights. Sometimes the scale will drop to 132, and sometimes it gets up to almost 140 depending on time of month and what not.
  • JanetMMcC
    JanetMMcC Posts: 410 Member
    I chose 145 because it was near the middle of the healthy BMI range for 5-foot-6 (I'm 63, 64 Saturday). I started at 213, and lost the first 40-50 lbs by cutting out white carbs and paying attention to portion size. After staying about 170-180 for a while, I knew I'd have to really work at losing the rest, and rejoined MFP, which I'd joined briefly far enough back that i don't recall when it was. When I got to 145, I decided I should make it a 5-lb range, and made it 140-145. To my surprise, I've been hovering around the bottom of that range lately, rather than the top. And to my even greater surprise, I've gone down a pant size or two while maintaining.
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