How did you chose your goal weight?
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SummerSkier wrote: »Engineer's take:
I took this chart (Jackson & Pollock, posted by BuiltLean in this post
https://builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/
Plotted the data in this chart as a function of age and generated a trendline. Solve the equation of the trendline for your age, determine your current lean body mass and back out your ideal weight. If you add any muscle you can easily adjust for it.
Per the formula I need to be at 11.5% body fat, currently at 14% at 179 lbs; to get to 11.5 I need to lose 5 lbs of fat maintaining current muscle mass. Personally, I'd prefer to add some muscle on top of that fat loss.
that's an interesting chart but I think it is WAY off for older folks. Body fat is of course difficult to calculate extremely accurately, but I use one of those machines you grab ahold of. And my measure is the improvement or change vs trusting exactly what it says as gospel. I have a 60 yo runner guy friend who's BF is about 5%. As myself a 58 yo 5 2 gal I think 26% BF is too high. My goal is under 20%. This is one of my goals along with fitness and weight loss. As far as how I chose my goal weight, well it was fairly easy since I am a chronic yo yo dieter. I am actually a REALLY good dieter. My problem is maintenance. So that is actually going to be my focus once I reach my goal (again). There are a lot of excellent comments on this thread. Weight is not and cannot be the only measure of how you feel or your goal. I weigh the exact same now as I did when I was 17 yo. Unfortunately, the fat is not distributed the same. sigh. And my clothes do not fit the same nor am I in the same physical condition.
I find it interesting that this chart goes from 22% to 25% for women between 45-50. For me, that's about a 30# swing.0 -
My goal weight was the top of the BMI chart which was 150. Once I got there I then wanted to go 10 pounds below that at 140. Currently 137 so going for 130 now. I started at 191.1
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Aim for 200.
When you get there ... aim for 175.
And so on.
Aim for goals that are closer to your current weight ... more attainable.
When I started, I approached it this way ... I was going to stick with it absolutely with no variation for 5 weeks. Whatever I lost in that time would be good, and I'd call it a day at the end of 5 weeks. When I got there, I had lost 5 kg and was motivated to lose more ... so I decided to stick with it until the 16 week point. We were going on holiday then, so that was a bit of extra motivation. By the 16 week point, I had lost 15 kg.
This is excellent advice. Perfect is so often the enemy of good when it comes to weight management, and for many of us overly ambitious goals can actually demotivate because they involve very long time frames. Smaller goals are more readily achieved, and then you aren't guessing when you set the next one.
I started at 270 (5'9", should be 6'1" but have severe scoliosis) with a goal of 180 because I knew I felt pretty good at that weight. It was really ambitious, 90 lbs, and took me 1.5 years to reach. I'm patient, but a lot of other people really get demoralized with a long slog like that. By the time I was 200 I was pretty certain I'd be able to go lower and be healthy/happy so I dropped the goal to 175. Then at 180 I dropped it to 165, because I knew I could get there.
Now I'm bouncing around between 154-158 from day to day. It took me a whole year to lose the last 20 lbs. I vaguely think I would like to be 150 but I'm not sure I want to deal with the hunger at this point because I'm VERY active and so much more hungry than I was most of the way through this. I have spine issues and the lighter I am the better it is for my spine, but honestly I think I look just amazing right now and probably don't really need to lose any more weight.
I couldn't have imagined my current weight as a goal when I started out. I'd have been overwhelmed, and likely have just given up. I certainly couldn't "see" myself where I am now.
270 lbs
200 lbs
180 lbs
155 lbs
Can you have spinal fusion surgery? I have scoliosis and never had the surgery, was just under the point where it was necessary, but my daughter''s scoliosis was worse and had the surgery. Rough few weeks after surgery, but her back is so straight and flat. She was a competitive cheerleader and was back tumblind in 6 months. She really didn't lose much flexibility, even though her spine was fused solid and she had two one-foot long titanium rods in her back. I was surprised to learn that.
You Look WONDERFUL0 -
Looking to see how other people have came up with their goal weight.
One of my SOs wants me to aim for 130-140 (currently 260).
Unless that SO is a woman with a reasonable head as far as the realities of this world, ignore him.![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
Most men have zero ability to accurately guess what a woman's body weight is at the physical shape he prefers the most for her height. Of the men who can the reason why is frequently because he happened to know/saw you when you were the lighter weight previously.
My data? The thousands of men's dating profiles I've read (or chatted/talked to) over the last 20 years who earnestly believe 105-120 lbs is the correct/ideal body weight for women 5'7"-5'9", per their own words. Yeah, no. Maybe for some super-small framed women. Or porn stars. When I sprung up to 5'7" at puberty, I was scrawny and gangling until I hit 130 lbs and was super-thin even then.
(I used to always win at those 'Guess Your Weight' booths at fairs/events/etc., too, until I finally eclipsed 150 lbs.)
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I just picked a weight just within my healthy BMI, after I realised my first goal was still 'overweight'. I know BMI isn't really a great metric but it'll do. I can always change my mind!1
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My mini goals are the next weight "decade," 190-180-170 etc. Then healthy BMI (realize it's imperfect, but will make doctor happy), then 5 pounds under that to make me a size 12, then re-comp.
Also, healthy BMI - 5 lbs. = weight in college.
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My goal weight right now is to go down to where I was before I gained weight and then see if I can lose some more so that I'm in the lower normal bmi.0
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Midpoint of BMI as a rough area to hit. Then, being a triathlete, I looked up the height and weight of some of the elite men in the sport, since too much weight, even if muscle, can hinder race performance.1
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I have a few goals, my first was to lose 10%, now working on the next 10%, which will take me down to the 100s. Then my goal after that is the last weight I remember being before I gained so much. And then 40lbs off that takes me to a healthy bmi. I'm aiming for the 100s before the new year and then see where I'm at.1
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Great responses every one!
I have two, we all share the same household.
5'4"0 -
grinning_chick wrote: »Looking to see how other people have came up with their goal weight.
One of my SOs wants me to aim for 130-140 (currently 260).
Unless that SO is a woman with a reasonable head as far as the realities of this world, ignore him. Most men have zero ability to accurately guess what a woman's body weight is at the physical shape he prefers the most for her height. Of the men who can the reason why is frequently because he happened to know/saw you when you were the lighter weight previously.
My data? The thousands of men's dating profiles I've read (or chatted/talked to) over the last 20 years who earnestly believe 105-120 lbs is the correct/ideal body weight for women 5'7"-5'9", per their own words. Yeah, no. Maybe for some super-small framed women. Or porn stars. When I sprung up to 5'7" at puberty, I was scrawny and gangling until I hit 130 lbs and was super-thin even then.
(I used to always win at those 'Guess Your Weight' booths at fairs/events/etc., too, until I finally eclipsed 150 lbs.)
Yeah no.... ignoring him is not an option.
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My doctor basically chose it for me. She measured my elbows, knees, and wrists to determine "frame size" (medium) then looked at the BMI chart and told me 120 would be right for me. Based on how I look and feel at that weight I agree with her.3
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I started here at almost obese according to BMI (1 point away). I gained a sh*tpot of weight after quitting smoking - probably way more than most, but that is irrelevant. I had not had a scale for many years so I didn't know where I started, but I knew my pant size. I figured that at my age I would be lucky to lose 50# so set my goal weight there. The weight came off rather easily so I adjusted my goal down a couple of times.
You will know when you get there. All will feel right - exercise, eating, weight, the feel of "you"
Best wishes on your journey.
Oh yeah, I am 58 years old, lost 70ish pounds and have kept them off for 2 years+3 -
I dont have a goal weight because i have no idea what i look like at that size. ill stop when im happy with what i see when i look down3
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For me it was a range.. my pre-pregnancy weight and the weight I always felt best. However it changes with time depending on my body composition. I aim for a certain physique and bodyfat %.. right now because I am so close to goal I set 2lb goals and re-evaluate each time.2
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I used a bio-electrical impedance scale to determine body fat % and lean mass, then did some research to determine an ideal body fat % and calculated my target weight from that.
After several years of dieting, I did a Dexa (which matched within 0.3% of the bio-electrical impedance scale on that same day) and adjusted the goal. The adjustments came because I lost some lean mass along with fat.
ETA: I plan to get another Dexa at the end of this year or when I reach my target, whichever comes first. At this point, I'm struggling with the last 10 lbs. to reach my goal of 10% body fat (9.8 lbs. according to Dexa in Apr.).2 -
My initial goal was to lose the weight I gained after breaking my ankle three years ago. Almost there, so now I want to reach what I was before moving to Los Angeles from Japan..54kg in 2008.1
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@J9LynnHelton thank you for your kind words. I could have rods put in, but the surgery is much riskier as an adult than for a teenager, and the outcomes are considerably poorer. As long as I can walk, I'm better off living with the deformity than having the surgery.0
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@J9LynnHelton thank you for your kind words. I could have rods put in, but the surgery is much riskier as an adult than for a teenager, and the outcomes are considerably poorer. As long as I can walk, I'm better off living with the deformity than having the surgery.
Just be sure to keep getting it checked. My aunt had such a severe case that kept progressing that eventually her organs were being squished in her body, and she had the surgery at 68. If your curvature is over 50 degrees it may continue to progress even though you have stopped growing.
The one thing that I realize is, even though I am so self conscious of my curvature, no one else even notices.
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grinning_chick wrote: »Looking to see how other people have came up with their goal weight.
One of my SOs wants me to aim for 130-140 (currently 260).
Unless that SO is a woman with a reasonable head as far as the realities of this world, ignore him. Most men have zero ability to accurately guess what a woman's body weight is at the physical shape he prefers the most for her height. Of the men who can the reason why is frequently because he happened to know/saw you when you were the lighter weight previously.
My data? The thousands of men's dating profiles I've read (or chatted/talked to) over the last 20 years who earnestly believe 105-120 lbs is the correct/ideal body weight for women 5'7"-5'9", per their own words. Yeah, no. Maybe for some super-small framed women. Or porn stars. When I sprung up to 5'7" at puberty, I was scrawny and gangling until I hit 130 lbs and was super-thin even then.
(I used to always win at those 'Guess Your Weight' booths at fairs/events/etc., too, until I finally eclipsed 150 lbs.)
Yeah no.... ignoring him is not an option.
Hold on, wait a moment... how does your SO know what's the right weight for you? And why does your SO get to decide?
It's one thing if your SO is a medical person with specific training in this field, but even then there's not entire agreement on what's a healthy weight for a given person.
But otherwise, that strikes me as violating some healthy boundaries in a relationship.
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but will limit my comment to...the difference between 130 and 140 makes no difference if you're currently at 260. Just pick a number somewhere around there and go.
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