Deciding on final weight goal?

BarbieHier · July 2011

I am 43 years old and 5'4". I have just lost 48.5 pounds (following the "Just 10" book) and have at least 35 more to go.

I have literally been up and down the scale my whole life. The problem I am now facing is trying to figure out what my actual realistic final weight should be. I am not small boned, I am a curvy woman naturally so will never be rail thin and that is fine with me. However, I see other people's tickers, the same height I am and their final weight goal is 120-125 pounds. I did weigh 120 when I got married, but was on diet pills at that time...that was the only way I would have ever reached that weight...and I was too thin, IMO.

I have done some 'quizzes' online to try to determine my ideal weight and one came back at 150. I actually did maintain that weight for several years on low carb and felt good, I was healthy and was in a size 8. But yikes, according to some weight charts, I am still overweight by 25 pounds at that weight!

I just don't want to toil and torture myself the rest of my life to try to stay at 125 pounds... I don't 'cheat' - I am following a strict eating plan (I can't have gluten, I eat organic veges and fruits and eat proteins)... My weight loss has slowed a lot this last month...and I am concerned I may hit the 150's and be stuck there again, it seems to be where my body is comfortable.

So how much stock do you put in the weight charts? I have come too far in my 'recovery' with food addiction to now fixate on a 'number' of where my head thinks my body should be... I was fine with 150, but now am wondering if that is too 'easy' of a goal? Am I selling myself short with that goal, or setting myself up for failure if I 'want' to be even at 135 and can't reach it?

Sorry if this is rambling...but I need to work this through... I am kind of stuck this week, feeling a bit discouraged and want to set attainable and realistic goals so I can keep moving forward.

Thank you!

LivLovLrn · July 2011

IMO I think you should stick with a weight that you are comfortable with. A size 8 seems like a good size to me (it is the size I am happiest at too). I think the weight charts are a "sign of the times" and that being too thin is as bad as being too heavy. Why struggle to get to a weight/size that pleases "the population" when you are comfortable and healthy at something else. Do this for you and be happy when you are at a size YOU are comfortable with

lisapickering · July 2011

If you are 5'4" you are not 25 lbs overweight at 150... according to BMI the top end of the healthy weight is 145. Your goal weight is entirely up to you. If you are comfortable at 150 then stay at 150. It's really hard to know until you get there. I am also 5'4" and my current goal weight is 145 and my plan is once I get there I will see how I feel. I will probably lower to around 140.

vsyates · July 2011

My personal opinion is that you should weigh what you feel comfortable weighing whether it's 150 or 135. If you are healthy (BP okay, cholesterol ok, sugar ok. etc.) that's the main goal not just the number on the scale.

emadigan · July 2011

You don't have to pick an ultimate weight goal and be stuck with it. My goal has changed several times. I say go for 150 now and when you reach 150, re-evaluate. Remember that the ultimate goal is to be healthy and confident.

potluck965 · July 2011

The way I see it is that your goal is to find a weight that is healthy for you and maintainable. It won't matter a bit if you get rail thin only to gain everything back in a year or so.

You can't spend your entire life weighing and measuring every bit of food that goes in your mouth, unless you want to, that is.

I am having a hard time deciding what my goal weight should be, too. So, I am trying to analyze my motivations and factors that I think should guide my decision. I want to be comfortable with the way I look and feel. I want to eliminate health risk factors that are caused by too much weight. I want to look decent and feel well.

No weight chart is going to be able to tell you exactly where you should be. This is a lifestyle choice and it can only be based on each person's individual body. That's why most charts have such a wide margin and variation.

I guess what I am trying to say is that you should find what is comfortable for you. If you like yourself at one goal weight and choose to maintain for a while and then later decide you want to lose more, then do it!!!!

Nothing says that you have to pick a number and stick with that. I have actually revised my goal weight three different times.

The object of this game is to be healthy, above all. Sure, there is some vanity involved, but face it, a lot of us might not care that much if it weren't really unhealthy to be overweight.

melaniecheeks · July 2011

bmi charts are a very rough guideline only, and don't allow for the different builds that we have. Find what feels good to you - fitting comfortably into a size 8 seems a better goal than a number on the scale. Good luck!

Olivia1977 · July 2011

If you feel healthy at 150 then that should be your goal. I am 5 ft. 8 inches tall and my body likes to be around 140 lbs... I think everyone is different and your body will get to a place where itis comfortable.

pelleld · July 2011

Don't pay too much attention to the charts that say you'd be overweight at 150. They are guidelines and don't always take body type into account. I am 5'3" and my goal was 125. I'm at 119.5 right now (I continued to lose despite going on maintenance). I don't want to go any lower, despite the fact that there are charts that say I could weigh as little as 104. Some people may be OK there but for me it would be WAY too thin. I am good now and hope to stay there. Goal for me is now a range, between 120 and 125.

You know your body better than anyone and better than any chart. Your goal should be where your body feels good and where you can comfortably stay, without making yourself miserable and feeling like your "dieting". This is a lifestyle change and it needs to be something you can do forever, not something you stop when you hit goal (other than adding back the calories you need to eat on maintenance).

Do you exercise? I've been doing Jillians DVDs and they've really changed my body. I plan to continue them with maintenance because they're really helping tone me up. Maybe add in some exercise to keep you fit?

sweettthings · July 2011

I think you also have to account for your frame size. Some people are naturally finer boned and some are built more sturdy. I used one of those calculators that goes by wrist measurement and according to that my goal weight should be more towards the top half of the healthy weight range for my height. Here's a link that shows a chart, I couldn't find the calculator I used again:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/17182.htm

BarbieHier · July 2011

Thanks for all of the replies.

)

I am definitely medium boned, hour glass shaped.

so yeah, the low end of the weight charts isn't going to work for me.

But I do remember when I was at 155 a lady paid me a compliment I will never forget. I had lost about 50 pounds and had kept it off for several years... She offered me a fresh baked cookie and I told her I have to watch what I eat, I don't eat sugar and restrict my carbs, etc. ...she said, "oh, I thought you were just one of those naturally thin people!" no one had ever said anything like that to me before!

So I guess that 150-155 range is decent for me... It just seems so far off still... And I am not a good judge of how I really look...my body image and real body never match up... I still felt fat at 120 pounds, but at 184 right now, I feel thin... so weird.

So yeah, this is a 'thing' for me and I will have to keep working on it as I lose.

Thanks again all!

mycatas · July 2011

I have trouble with this too. By the wrist measurement trick I am fine boned, but I'm 5'10 and have shoulders as broad as a man's. I also have very long fingers, which may have something to do with the wrist thing).

I've read the charts and I'm middle-high in the range for all frame sizes, but I used to live in France and travel back there frequently, and when I read a french chart, I'm at the very top of my range. Are American weight charts affected by vanity sizing like our clothing is?

Here's a link to the French chart:
http://www.cyclesud.fr/chroniques/poids_ideal.html
(the table entitled "Table de correspondances - Femmes")

And a link to a kilo and centimeter converter:
http://www.albireo.ch/bodyconverter/

Deciding on final weight goal?

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