How did you decide what your goal weight was/is?

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ladybug4233
ladybug4233 Posts: 217 Member
edited May 2018 in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5.3 and started at 155.5. My goal was 135 pounds. I got there and thought this wasn't too hard so I started aiming for 125. I am almost there. I am at 128. I am down from a large and a 12 to a medium/small and size 6. I still have some hips and butt however I am in the best shape at 47 then I have ever been. I could use some toning. I did think about trying for 115 but my doctor did recommend I not go below 120. I am scared about maintenance since I don't want to gain it back. I am having a hard time deciding whether I should stop at 125 or try to 120. The reason is I have to stop some time but it kind of worries me. Thanks for allowing me to ramble.
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  • amberellen12
    amberellen12 Posts: 248 Member
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    My mirror. When I’m happy with what I see in it then that’s enough.
  • emmies_123
    emmies_123 Posts: 513 Member
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    Other than age, you and I are exactly alike. I also got myself down to 135 easy enough, although I'm having a harder time going down from there.

    I would stop at 125, and allow yourself a comfort zone range. Throughout college I maintained at 110-115 (not by choice), and I will tell you it is not healthy looking. My hips jutted out enough to be uncomfortable to my partners, and the rest of me was bony and pokey. I didn't look healthy, but at the time I couldn't gain additional weight due to some GI tract issues. Once I hit 125 for the first time I was so happy, I actually looked like a healthy weight while still being skinny enough to feel good.

    I would suggest keeping up good habits, setting yourself to maintenance once you hit 125, and enjoy having a little extra freedom to enjoy how far you have come =)
  • jorichards2
    jorichards2 Posts: 100 Member
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    You could get to 120 and stop there and gradually increase calories to find your maintenance level. You then know you have a buffer so if you gain a couple of pounds it’s no big issue.

    Maybe you now need to focus on exercise and not restricting calories. Add some weight training to increase your muscle mass. This will raise the calories you body naturally burn and help stabilize your weight.

    Good luck and congratulations on your amazing results so far
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
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    Have you told your physician that stopping weight loss scares you?
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    Also BMI. I am medium frame, male and not trying to bulk up so BMI is pretty accurate for me. I am 5'8", so 164 pounds is 24.9, the highest value in the normal range. That is my absolute upper limit (aka scream weight) and I am maintaining at 155-160 after losing about 65 pounds since last summer.
  • BattyKnitter
    BattyKnitter Posts: 503 Member
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    When I started I picked a weight at the upper end of a healthy BMI. When I get there I will focus less on weight and I may reevaluate depending on how I feel about what I see in the mirror.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I went with the old adage: 5' is 100Lbs. Then 5Lbs per inch. So for me 5'6"=130Lbs. That became my goal. After menopause, I added 5Lbs to my number at the doctor's suggestion.
    Puts me at a great BMI as well.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    I went with the old adage: 5' is 100Lbs. Then 5Lbs per inch. So for me 5'6"=130Lbs. That became my goal. After menopause, I added 5Lbs to my number at the doctor's suggestion.
    Puts me at a great BMI as well.

    Interesting. That would be 140 for me (5'8") and a BMI of 21.3, technically in the normal range but getting a little gaunt. 155 pounds, which is a BMI of 23.6, is about as low as I want to go. I am very close to that now, just a couple of pounds higher. I like this size. But that varies from person to person.
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 982 Member
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    5'7" male here this morning I was 151lbs. I feel my BMI is in the upper normal range but have some belly fat to loose so I will probably keep reducing to 145lbs & try to maintain.

    Only you can determine what your goal is but you have done amazing & should be proud of your-self. :)
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    CarvedTones wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    I went with the old adage: 5' is 100Lbs. Then 5Lbs per inch. So for me 5'6"=130Lbs. That became my goal. After menopause, I added 5Lbs to my number at the doctor's suggestion.
    Puts me at a great BMI as well.

    Interesting. That would be 140 for me (5'8") and a BMI of 21.3, technically in the normal range but getting a little gaunt. 155 pounds, which is a BMI of 23.6, is about as low as I want to go. I am very close to that now, just a couple of pounds higher. I like this size. But that varies from person to person.

    Yup. It definitely varies from person to person. But that's what I had to go on in 2002. :smile:
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    edited May 2018
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    StratocasterMan1 wrote: »
    1. David Beckham is my height and 165 lbs. That was my goal. But I determined that was impossible.

    2. BMI says 170 should be good. That is also impossible.

    3. Shooting for 180.

    Beckham is 6'0" and would have a BMI of 24.4 at 180. That sounds like a very reasonable goal.
  • kristingjertsen
    kristingjertsen Posts: 239 Member
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    For me, the goal weight is one that I can manage long term (at 53, I doubt I will ever see my post-bootcamp weight again) and one that keeps my face and body from looking gaunt and drawn (as my great-grandmother would say, "You have to make a choice between your face and your figure. My face is so beautiful, that I went with it.") From my past experience with weight loss, that sweet spot is around 150 lbs. for this 5'4" mature adult. About 5 lbs. higher than a BMI of 25 (healthy weight), but fine with me. So be realistic--if you set a goal and then decide you want to lose even more weight, you have that option.
  • hroderick
    hroderick Posts: 756 Member
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    max normal bmi
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
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    I started with the high end of a healthy bmi range, but when I got there my bf% (per dexa) was still pretty high (23.6%). Right now i'm aiming around 15% which would be somewhere around 170lbs assuming muscle mass doesn't change.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    edited May 2018
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    fuzzylop72 wrote: »
    I started with the high end of a healthy bmi range, but when I got there my bf% (per dexa) was still pretty high (23.6%). Right now i'm aiming around 15% which would be somewhere around 170lbs assuming muscle mass doesn't change.

    Depends on your age:

    xbody-fat-percentage-chart-men.gif.pagespeed.ic.lvnRgXI3tx.png

    I am right around 20%, which at my age is right on the border between lean/low and slim/healthy. I am good with being called slim and healthy. :)

    BTW, muscle mass will change. You can work hard and limit it to very little, but if you lose body mass, some of it will be muscle.

    EDIT - what's really sad about that chart is that "average" is high.
  • kds10
    kds10 Posts: 452 Member
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    I am 5 4" and am currently 167 lbs. My goal is 150 lbs (which according to BMI I should be at 145 which is what I want but mentally as 150 lbs seems so much closer I am gunning for that. When I hit it I will either maintain for a few months and then proceed to lose another 5 or 10 lbs.
  • kds10
    kds10 Posts: 452 Member
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    LOL...I should add that I am pushing 50 and they say that as you age you should have a little bit of weight on you, not too gaunt, because then your wrinkles are more obvivous the thinner you are.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    kds10 wrote: »
    LOL...I should add that I am pushing 50 and they say that as you age you should have a little bit of weight on you, not too gaunt, because then your wrinkles are more obvivous the thinner you are.

    Smiles. My doc says have a few more pounds so when I fall I won't break a hip. :D (I'm 53)
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,394 Member
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    I have read the 100# plus 5# for each inch...this is for women. Men are different, but can't remember exactly how it goes. Unfortunately for me that is 115, and I am sure there is no way I could achieve it and/or maintain it!

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