Goal weight

Most go based on a healthy BMI or how they look in a certain size of clothes. I chose a range, because I know I won't be xxx every single day once I hit 'goal'. The goal weight range I've chosen in the higher end of a healthy BMI for my short stature (I'm just under 5') so while I'll still be considered "overweight", I like the way I look and feel at that particular range/size.

I vote for "lose until you feel good" physically, and psychologically, as long as one can be somewhat objective about it. (A distorted body image can be a problem for some.)

I set an initial goal weight around 10-15 pounds above the lowest adult goal weight that I'd felt good/healthy about at that time, but I had the intention to re-evaluate as I got closer. That weight had been around 35-40 years ago, and a lot changes in that much time. Also 'people say' we should be a little heavier when we're older.

I did re-evaluate, on kind of a continuous basis starting about 10 pounds or so above the provisional goal, and ended up going pretty close to my young-adult weight. Since I reduced my loss rate to a crawl by the end of the process, it was easy to evaluate how I was feeling, and coast into a reasonable, healthy goal.

I'm aiming for the high end of a healthy BMI, which is also the low weight for my adult life. It's a place where I'm content with my health and my body. I don't want to go any farther than I need to for my health.

I'm struggling with this as well. My current goal weight is 220, just into the overweight category according to BMI, and I want to hit that by summer (~25 lbs). But in looking at the healthy BMI range for a guy 6' tall, is anywhere from 140 (ludicrous) to 183 lbs. Even 183 sounds too low for my body type.

My plan is to sit at 220 for a while and work on adding muscle, then seeing how things look. I expect I'll be happy in the 190 range, but will see. I don't recall ever being under 200. I know I was, but it was decades ago.

I never really had one. I had a BF% in mind and only a very uneducated guess as to what my weight would be at that particular BF%. I thought I was going to have to lose quite a bit more than I did...apparently while I was getting fat, I was also putting on a decent amount of muscle mass.

I'm 6'5" so BMI is a little off for me. The upper side of normal is 210 pounds. I had been at 208 before, so I set there, but anything under 215 is probably healthy for me. I'm currently at 205. I'm not trying to lose weight, but considering that I typically lose weight during the summer, it wouldn't surprise me if my weight goes down some. I will not go below 200 again.

Tacklewasher wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I never really had one. I had a BF% in mind and only a very uneducated guess as to what my weight would be at that particular BF%. I thought I was going to have to lose quite a bit more than I did...apparently while I was getting fat, I was also putting on a decent amount of muscle mass.

What do you pick as a BF% and how do you know if you've hit it? I'm trying to figure this out now and, if I average the number I gets from online tools and my scale, using all sorts of measurements, I get that my LBM is ~168 lbs right now. So, if I can maintain that, then I will be at 18% BF once I hit 200.

This is the chart that I've always seen thrown out when it comes to body fat % targets:



As for measuring it, I've heard the only reliable way is a DEXA scan. I know I can get one for about $100 at a couple places near me, but I'm also in a metropolitan area, so ymmv.

And that's why I'm confused. It doesn't jive with my current info and the BMI rating.
So I'm ~245 and about 33.5% BF, judging by my scale and the tools at fat2fit (I average them out). That gives me ~ 163 lbs LBM. so I'd have to get to 11% BF% to hit the 183 the BMI says I should be.

Or am I missing something?

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I never really had one. I had a BF% in mind and only a very uneducated guess as to what my weight would be at that particular BF%. I thought I was going to have to lose quite a bit more than I did...apparently while I was getting fat, I was also putting on a decent amount of muscle mass.

I remember seeing somewhere that a lot of obese people have a surprising amount of muscle mass, especially the ones who are still fairly active with normal daily activities. I believe the quote was something like, "it takes A LOT of strength to move around that much weight on a day to day basis!". Wish I could remember the source. . . .

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

And that's why I'm confused. It doesn't jive with my current info and the BMI rating.
So I'm ~245 and about 33.5% BF, judging by my scale and the tools at fat2fit (I average them out). That gives me ~ 163 lbs LBM. so I'd have to get to 11% BF% to hit the 183 the BMI says I should be.

Or am I missing something?

At 12% I'm around 180ish...174 is the highest end of the BMI scale for me...so according to BMI I'm about 6 Lbs overweight.

I'm cutting winter weight right now and I'm shooting for 175 just 'cuz...I figure that'll put me around 10ish%...just curious more than anything and hoping to knock off a little time on my time trial series this summer.

Thanks. That helps.

I used to always say 120 lbs. I don't know why. Maybe because that's about where all my skinny coworkers were at. Lol. It's about in the middle of my healthy BMI (5'4). The problem with it was that it seemed so foreign to me. I really don't remember being that small. I'm sure I was because I was a skinny child and preteen....but since I had been weighing myself normally, the lowest I remember is about 150 lbs. So with 150 being the lowest I remember and my weight range being 160-170 through most of my adulthood and then gaining and being 180 currently...that old 120 goal just seemed unrealistic. So I let that go and have settled on 140 being my new goal. It's the high end of a healthy BMI but I felt good at 150 so I feel like I'll be happy at 140. Plus losing 40 lbs doesn't seem impossible!

Tacklewasher wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I never really had one. I had a BF% in mind and only a very uneducated guess as to what my weight would be at that particular BF%. I thought I was going to have to lose quite a bit more than I did...apparently while I was getting fat, I was also putting on a decent amount of muscle mass.

What do you pick as a BF% and how do you know if you've hit it? I'm trying to figure this out now and, if I average the number I gets from online tools and my scale, using all sorts of measurements, I get that my LBM is ~168 lbs right now. So, if I can maintain that, then I will be at 18% BF once I hit 200.

I use a combination of measuring tape and a caliper to test my body fat then average them. It's the closest estimate I will get without another dexa scan.