Does anyone else not have a goal weight?

I just started not too long ago, but I am noticing almost everyone has a goal weight they are trying to reach. I do not. I have an idea of where I would like to be (somewhere between 130-150), but I do not know exactly what weight I want to be. The last time I weighed in that weight range was high school, I look back at pictures of me at my skinniest, and see no curves, which I definitely have now and when I weighed 150 I was in extremely good shape, playing sports year round and muscular, not much fat on me. I just don't know if I should pick a number to shoot for? Or if it's okay not to have a goal weight?
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Replies

  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    i did in the beginning but after losing 100 pounds the end result is less important that how i feel. i am still chasing my goal weight but honestly, i feel at this point its mainly just to keep my head in the game rather than reaching that actual number. i like the chase.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    I am the same. I know what I want to look like in the mirror, use the scales and photographs to make sure that I am moving in the right direction but do not have a number set in stone. It does make sense to set weekly/monthly "loss" goals to keep you motivated.
  • EricaH7
    EricaH7 Posts: 74 Member
    I started at 185 and am at 175 now, I don't have too far before I will be getting close to my goal zone. I just don't know if I need to pick a number? I am afraid if I don't I might hit 150 and think I made it when in reality I would look better thinner? Because I was younger when I weighed in this zone I don't really know what my optimal weight is.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    I have a goal but it's not set in stone. Once I reach that goal weight range I plan on figuring out where to go from there. I might lose more weight or I might go into maintenance and stay there. I stressed out enough about setting a goal while doing WW and it's nice to know that I don't have to do that again.
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
    I didn't when I started. I just knew my starting weight wasn't exactly good...BMI of 27, totally out of shape. I now usually sit between a 22-23 BMI and that's good, I'm happy.
  • LEAS86
    LEAS86 Posts: 144 Member
    I've already changed my goal. I set a new one after reaching my initial target weight but it's more of an ideal, I'll see how I feel along the way and change it if necessary depending on how I'm feeling and what I see in the mirror. I personally find it helpful to have a number to aim for but it's not set in stone.
  • Skyblueyellow
    Skyblueyellow Posts: 225 Member
    I picked a mini-goal for MFP but right now I'm just concentrating on achieving and maintaining better habits. I feel like I will know when I get there.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    edited September 2016
    I never did have a goal weight.

    I started with the intent of sticking with it for 3 weeks and then quitting ... if I didn't lose anything. I lost 3 kg by the end of 3 weeks, so I figured I'd stick with it for 13 more weeks (total of 16 weeks) at which time we were going to Canada. And then I was going to quit.

    I lost 15 kg in that time. :)

    I took a month's diet break while I was in Canada and then decided to resume the diet for another 16 weeks. I figured if I could lose 15 kg in that time, I might be able to lose more. I dropped another 11 kg. :)

    I've been more or less maintaining since about early November 2015 (slight fluctuations up and down ... 2 kg up, 2 kg down, etc.) ... but really only because ... Christmas ... and then I started training for long distance cycling events and it was hard to remain in a deficit and train for those events.

    I might want to lose a little bit more ... not sure yet. No goal number in mind. We'll see.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    If I get out of the "obese" category I'll be very pleased, and then if I can get down to the lower end of "overweight" I'll be ecstatic. Basically any weight that allows me to move the way I want to without joint pain will be great. No specific number in mind.
  • babypunkprincess
    babypunkprincess Posts: 109 Member
    I was thinking 145. But honestly I want to be out of the 150's. That's it. I have increased my calories and am working out more and being more active. I want to look in the mirror and just like what I see.

    My new goals are

    Be out of 150's
    Tone lower body
    Be more active.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I don't know exactly where I will settle, but I do have a general idea of where I would like to be (somewhere in the high end of normal BMI to slightly overweight). My strategy, however, has a pinpoint goal weight. It's the weight I will stop dieting and start maintaining. From there, I will eat comfortably but with a watchful eye not to overeat, and let my weight settle where it may. As long as it does not go higher than a certain weight where I think it would start getting unhealthy I will be happy. Giving myself the best chance at maintenance is much more important to me than the number.
  • sohifirefly
    sohifirefly Posts: 55 Member
    I have an idea of the weight I want to be but really I am looking more for how I feel/look. I'm also trying to get to a healthier body fat % - that is where I have my goal number (to be in the healthy range for my age/gender).
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    jkal1979 wrote: »
    I have a goal but it's not set in stone. Once I reach that goal weight range I plan on figuring out where to go from there. I might lose more weight or I might go into maintenance and stay there. I stressed out enough about setting a goal while doing WW and it's nice to know that I don't have to do that again.

    This is more or less where I'm at. I would like to lose maybe 20-30 more lbs. In addition to my calorie deficit, I also lift heavy, so if I'm at a slightly higher weight than I may have originally envisioned, it's not really a big deal. As long as I look good and am in a healthy weight range for my height when I'm done losing, I'll be satisfied.

    After that I'm going to focus more on body composition.
  • Mumu190672
    Mumu190672 Posts: 76 Member
    I chose a weight goal because mfp ask this in the settings.
    I am obese at the moment by the way.
    First I put a weight that I thought was achievable then after losing some weight I decided to put an average healthy weight.
    My goal is to look reasonably good on the pictures, keep some curves and be on a healthy weight but on the high end.
    Most of my life I was at a healthy range but never skinny. When I go on the low side of healthy range I am happy to look at myself in the miror but I don't feel well overall.
    I think you know better than anybody when you feel your best.
  • fireytiger
    fireytiger Posts: 236 Member
    I don't really have a goal weight either, I say 165 just to have *some* kind of concrete number to put in MFP, but I'm also aware that the number won't really matter in the end. What I really want to do is get to about 170 and start focusing on recomposition, and wherever the number on the scale goes based on that, I can live with.
  • ARGriffy
    ARGriffy Posts: 1,002 Member
    I understand having a goal for the sake of having something solid to aim for.I chose mine initially because it was a nice round number that I thought I was around when last thin. However the closer I got it became an obsession to see that magic number and I spent a good year chasing the number around and made myself crazy! So now I weigh what I like the look of. In the end it's actually under the original goal but I focus on my muscle definition now not only the weight! Who knows at the start what weight is right for them in the end?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I was 120 in my 30s and was happy there, so that was my tentative goal, but I was good when I got to 125 or so and could wear the same clothes, and now I just want to keep getting in better shape and reduce body fat (recomping or maybe working on building muscle at some point). Going for a look and don't care about the number or know where I will end up.
  • smiles4jo
    smiles4jo Posts: 202 Member
    I have a vague idea of a goal, but I’m still not certain if that’s where I want to be.

    I started at 215 with a goal of around 135-140. Right now, I’m 160 and wearing a size 6/8 and I’m feeling pretty good. A healthy BMI is 155, so only five pounds from where I am now.

    I had picked my goal based on my lowest known adult weight of 145, but I was in my early 20s then. My body has changed since then and, now that I’m close, I think I could be happy around 150.

    At this point, I’m just trying to get to that healthy BMI of 155 and I’ll probably push it along to 150. After that, I may settle into maintenance for a bit and see how I feel.

    Hubby started at over 300 and has lost almost 100 lbs now. He still doesn’t have a goal in mind and figures he’ll know when he gets there.
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    No goal weight per se - a target range is more like it. But, you gotta know where you are going if you are going to get there and not just drift around in circles.
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    I set a goal weight because I have so much to lose. But honestly I have no idea. As I gues closer I will make adjustments to it.
  • elkhunter7x6
    elkhunter7x6 Posts: 88 Member
    My goal from the start has been to get rid of the belly and love handles.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    I had a goal weight that I knew was provisional - that I knew I'd have to re-evaluate as it got closer. I'm in maintenance now, and at a different weight (120) than that first provisional goal (130).

    I think it's best to go primarily by how you feel (and related things like health/fitness markers), and secondarily appearance (if that's important to you).

    Neither of those are things one can really know for sure before you get there (or get close enough to redefine). Even if one previously weighed a given weight, it can distribute itself differently later in your life.
  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
    I have a range too but no hard end goal. I haven't been below 150 in close to a decade so I have no idea what my body would even look like below that. I know I need to lose around 60 pounds and then I can reasses once I hit the 160s
  • amylhubbard23
    amylhubbard23 Posts: 5 Member
    I don't have a goal weight either. For me this is lifestyle change, eat healthier, move more. As long as I start feeling better and more comfortable within myself, that to me is a success. The weight should come off naturally along the way.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I picked a weight when I joined this site because I think it made me, or at least it seemed like I had to enter a weight. It's a been a while so I'm not completely sure. But my goal was just to get back in my clothes. There has just been one pair of jeans I've never gotten back into comfortably. So now I've decided to lose a bit more and those jeans are my goal. I don't care what I weigh when I wear those jeans.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
    I am more interested in appearance and body fat than I am with the actual weight. I have however over time figured out where I think my weight will probably end up.
  • rachelr1116
    rachelr1116 Posts: 334 Member
    I have an idea of where I want to end up but not an exact weight. I sew my own clothes sometimes and I like to buy vintage clothes so my goal is actually to get to a certain waist measurement (a completely realistic measurement, not something crazy) regardless of what I weigh.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    I picked a size target, even though I know that they are not standardized. Once I met that, I realized that I still wasnt in the shape I wanted to be, so I have reset to a lower weight, one that will get me into the "normal" BMI range.
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    I chose 150 because I liked how I looked at that weight. I'm 18 pounds away now, down from 184, but I may try for a bit lower once I get there. I'm using IF along with calorie counting and it is going well:)
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