Deciding on a goal weight

I don't have one- I think I have decided that I want to get close to the healthy BMI as a general guideline and evaluate my body composition to find a body "look" that I like rather than a number.

ETA: Congratulations on your success so far! I forgot to add that

The BMI chart, what I thought I could maintain, and input from my trainer.

I go by aesthetic features. I want 6 pack abs that show through and the number that gets me there isn't that important.

I estimated body fat % and lean mass. Then chose an arbitrary body fat % goal and calculated based on losing fat only.

What actually happened is that I lost some lean mass along with the fat. As of my best estimate today, I am 7.4 lbs. away from my original goal weight, but need to lose somewhere between 10.0 and 10.8 lbs. of fat in order to reach my goal body fat %.

I originally picked smaller goals along the way (~130 lb loss so starting out I had no clue I was even capable of getting under 200 lb).

But when I started getting closer to a range that I want to remain in permanently, it was based first on what I remembered from the past...at age 15, I felt fairly "normal", like I was a big, busty girl and bigger than my friends but could still wear regular sizes and so on...

Honestly as an adult (36 and now 40) hitting that size/weight range, in the 160s/170s, where I have been maintaining for years, I look quite a lot thinner/smaller than I did as a teenager which is in part due to aging and I wear smaller sizes which I'm sure is partly today's more ample vanity sizing & "curvy cuts" versus 1991's relatively unforgiving size 10 (for example). But I actually think it was kind of a good way for me to pick my goal.

My favourite adult weight got me in the ballpark.

Periodic reassessments based on looks, exercise goals and performance (even hunger levels and ease of maintenance) has taken me to quite a few different "ideal weights" in the time since I hit the first goal.
I also seem to have a natural inclination to be heavier in winter and lighter in summer.

Life involves change so I don't believe in one ideal weight for the rest of my life.

estherdragonbat wrote: »

For now, it's 10 lbs below the top of my BMI range. When I'm within 20 lbs of that (I.E. less than 10 lbs away from a healthy BMI), I mean to consult my doctor for advice about where I probably want to end up. My reasons for my 'working' goal:

• I am aware that I have some low-level stress and anxiety issues. I know that if I'm 0.2lbs under the top of my BMI range, I'll be fine and if I'm 0.2lbs over, I'll panic and worry that the weight is creeping back. Even though intellectually, I know that weight fluctuates depending on time of day, time of month, how long ago one ate, exercised, eliminated, etc. I know it, but I think I'll still stress. By setting the bar 10lbs into the range, I believe I'll still be within the range, no matter what the fluctuations.
• Everyone says that the last 10 lbs are the hardest. If I get frustrated and want to just quit, I'll still be at a healthy weight. I will now stick my fingers in my ears, in case anyone wants to tell me that it's the last 10 lbs before healthy BMI, not last 10 lbs before goal that are going to be troublesome. This is one time where I don't want to know the actual facts. I want to delude myself... and maybe I'll be that outlier who doesn't struggle at the end. (Mental game: If I assume the last 10 lbs will be the hardest, on some level I will loosen up my logging, exercise a drop less, etc. and then blame it on my being in the last 10 lbs. If I act like it's actually going to be the 10 lbs after... maybe I'll still struggle, but I think I'll be able to keep from self-sabotaging.)

Time will tell!

Rather than "deluding" yourself you could consider educating yourself more about the weight loss process. When you get to the last 10 lbs, you are working with a very small deficit, only about 250 per day. A misestimating calories in or calories out can wipe out your deficit that day. Use this as motivation to tighten up your logging now so you will be better prepared for the next challenge!

I kind of stumbled into my current weight. I have been a yo-yo dieter most of my life, mostly within 20-30 pounds. About 12 years ago I went from 170 to 135 and liked the lower weight and the way I looked there. At 5'6" it was in the middle of my BMI and I could wear all my clothes again. A few years later, I gained back all of the weight I lost, and then some, so when I got serious again, I aimed for 135. When I reached that weight, I started running and lost more weight. I liked the lower weight as well, but figured that 131 was a more sustainable average to hold on to. We hit the road for a couple of months a couple of years ago (we're retired) and I gained back a few pounds - back up to 138. Last fall I decided to go back to 131 in preparation for my spring marathon. I hit that by New Years, began maintenance but kept on losing. By the time I got stabilized, I was down to 123, where I've been hovering for the past six months or so. This is basically my high school/college weight, though then I felt fat and now I feel mostly skinny. (Gravity means that all fat has moved from my bust to my thighs so I have a bony upper body and a stocky lower body.) I tell myself it doesn't matter if I gain again, back to 130, but I've gotten used to the lower weight and I think I would be upset if I gained back the weight.

My goal weight is a general number.that I have maintained most of my life. Through kids, age, etc. it's not my high school number, i feel that would be unrealistic at 45. Now that I'm here, at my goal weight, I know why I picked that number. It's where I feel comfortable in my own skin. Pick a number that makes you feel good but is realistic.

CaliMomTeach wrote: »

I currently have a goal of 135. I'm a 5'6 47 year old female. When I started this at 193 pounds, my goal was 150. Once I got there, I decided to keep going. I got down to 137 in April, but went back up to 145. I'm now at 140. I could stop here easily. I look thin, and am in a size 4/6. I want to get a little below to allow room for a 5 pound range. I think weight sits differently on us all, even when we are the same height. I think I would look ill if I got down to 120. I have a large frame. Another woman might look fantastic at 120. Some people told me that I looked better at 145, than I did at 137. I did not agree. I think the number is probably not as important as how you feel.

You and I are MFP twins! Except I'm on the east coast! I'm currently at 142, aiming for 135.

My lightest was 144 pounds at 5' 9" and my SW was 284 so I thought I would drop 100 pounds as that was a nice round number and then I could look at a goal weight. I still have 70 pounds to go before I need to decide

As previous posters have stated weight is just a number. I also don't like using BMI cuz I never believed in it. If you go by the BMI index every guy who plays in the NBA is either overweight or worse. I think when you look at yourself in the mirror you'll know. Don't get fixated on a number because the number will drive you crazy. What you have to do is to look in the mirror and like what you see

I started at 288 made it a goal to drop down to 250. I hit that had a crazy idea let me go down to 230. I hit that number and I said let me try to 220 that was my old weight in high school.
When I hit 220 I decided I'm happy where I was. Went into maintenance totally screwed that up and I drop down to his lowest 204. I actually had a crazy idea to drop down into the 100s just for the hell of it. But when I looked at myself in the mirror I didn't like what I saw I was skinny fat. Gained a couple pounds with a lot of lifting and I've been maintaining in that 208 to 210 range for approximately the past 11 months.

I didn't really have a goal. I just kept gradually losing and was feeling great. I donate blood every eight weeks and I read somewhere that you can't give if you weight less than 110 so I said to myself, "There is my goal weight!" I have maintained that within a couple of pounds since January.