Goal weight

How did you all set your goal weight? Was it through a conversation with your doctor, a weight you feel you should be, looking at BMI and picking a number somewhere in there, a weight you felt good at historically... I’d love to know. I think a “good” goal weight for me would be 140 pounds at 5’6” because I have a larger frame naturally and like being a little more muscular/curvy, but I was wondering the other day if I should do more weight loss and aim for 120ish or 130ish (or less weight loss but I doubt it). That number I came up with in my head was so arbitrary and I realize I wasn’t super scientific about it.
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Replies

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    One forty sounds like a good goal. You can always change your mind.
  • witchaywoman81
    witchaywoman81 Posts: 280 Member
    I have around 60 lb to lose, so my goal is tentative, but for now I chose a number in the middle of a 10lb range where I felt healthiest, about 10 years ago. Since quite a bit of time has passed, I’m planning to reevaluate when I get to the top of my healthy weight range.
  • hroderick
    hroderick Posts: 756 Member
    top weight of normal bmi. it seemed impossible at first, but I am getting there faster than thoughti]
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    My initial goal weight was the top of my BMI range and from there let the mirror and how I felt physically do the talking. I am now trying to gain a little though because I dropped a wee bit lower than I think is best. It is all trial and error really.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Favourite adult weight - then mirror (lost a bit more) - then cycling performance (lost a bit more) - then ease of maintenance (came back up a little).
    Spent a while at several different goal weights and it might change again in the future.

    Why not get to 140lbs, maintain there a while and reassess?
  • kdz526
    kdz526 Posts: 210 Member
    When I first started it was to be in the top of the healthy BMI. Still have not reached it but, over time it is also how my clothes fit and measurements. At 5'1.5 i am currently at 158 and am 36.5-30-43 wanting to be at 135 to 140 (large frame) which HOPEFULLY will put me at 36-28-40 or smaller. I always have a 12 to 14 inch difference in waist and hips so not sure where I will land. Many factors can be involved in picking the weight but in the end, weight does not necessarily indicate a finishing point.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I let the mirror do the talking

    Same.
  • sbrooks0387
    sbrooks0387 Posts: 167 Member
    I picked what I thought would the highest, realalistic, weight I would be happy with. I am in my 30’s now and have had 4 kids, so I wasn’t sure how things would go and didn’t want to make my goal to hard to get to and discouraging.

    I am now 10 pounds below my original goal and to lose 5 more pounds.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I wanted to weigh the same as when I was 18, so for me that was 118-120lbs - but got to 124 and saw that was light enough for me now in my late 40s.
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  • vggb
    vggb Posts: 132 Member
    I chose a goal weight that would be comfortable to maintain and still look good. I am 62, weight 151 this morning,5'3" and want to be 135-138. I started this month and so far so good, I like the personal accountability of the food log.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Never had a goal weight...just wanted to be lean enough to not have love handles or a gut.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I just picked a weight that I thought was a good guess. When I got there I still saw some belly fat and had to lower it. As said earlier the mirror will settle it.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    My goal weight was to be overweight. At the time I doubted I would get there (was 330+), so didn't want to stress myself out with mid-BMI range or anything.

    Now that I'm under that, I'm just working towards a smaller stomach. Don't really have a goal in mind, but I'm thinking it will be near the top of normal BMI. But only time will tell.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I didn't pick a goal weight so much as I picked a goal size and then tried to stay within 5 lbs of the weight that got me to that size.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,070 Member
    My goal weight is currently a range - the low end is based on my weight prior to putting on the excess poundage (as an adult), the upper end with some leeway for muscle mass I believe I have put on over the past year or so. The ultimate determination will be made when I get into that range based on how I look and feel.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    I picked a weight that was around the middle of my ideal BMI range, and I'm pretty comfortable there. I still have a little belly fat that I could lose if I wanted to recomp, but I just don't want to.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I would say get to 140 and then see how you feel. If you want to lose more, go for it. If you are comfortable there and are happy, great.

    While I use the mirror for the most part, sometimes it leads me astray so I have to be careful and not go too far below a certain weight within my range.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    Originally had a goal weight that was a weight that I felt good at a few years previously. I never got there though. About 10 lbs away I decided I was good.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    My next goal is five pounds less than today. Looking forward to the dance party!
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    I chose my goal weight based on what I have weighed in the past and been comfortable with.
  • GoodLardy
    GoodLardy Posts: 163 Member
    edited November 2018
    I decided on my goal weight when pals decided I shouldn’t weigh less than them, didn’t need to weigh less than them( since “people who are very overweight should be happy to lose enough to get a certain size, but not be as small as someone who was never overweight “) Eyeroll , can you believe someone would say such a thing? That my friends is the jealousy coming out, yes? So though I’m very far away from my goal weight, it’s a healthy doctor approved number, and a lot less than those “friends” would like me to be. I can’t wait.

    Adding that 140 at 5’6 “ sounds pretty good to me. Sorry I talked about myself so much. Good luck!
  • Ddsb11
    Ddsb11 Posts: 607 Member
    I've split my goal into 10 milestones. The last weight being my ultimate dream. Each milestone feels like a victory, but at the same time I'm never selling myself short. Almost to my 4th milestone. Might be something to consider.
  • margbarco
    margbarco Posts: 128 Member
    edited November 2018
    My ultimate goal weight is 127 which is what I weighed through college into adulthood until my first pregnancy. It may not be realistic now at age 43, but I’ll reevaluate along the way. I started tracking this summer at 157, which was two pounds more than delivery day 17 years ago.

    Right now I’m down to 144 which is what I weighed 2 years after my third pregnancy (which was twins and I weighed 173 on delivery day).
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,223 Member
    One thing I don't think anyone has said outright, that you might already know, but I'm going to say in case not:

    The goal weight you set in your MFP profile makes no difference at all to how it calculates your calorie goal or anything of that nature. None.

    It's just used for some motivational messages, the "ticker" thing you can put in your profile that says where you are in your weight loss effort, and that sort of thing. If you set it one way now, and change it later, the only pracical/process thing that changes is how much you weigh when you stop losing weight and change to maintenance calories.
  • wmweeza
    wmweeza Posts: 319 Member
    I want to be able to squeak into the normal range of the BMI chart. For me at 5' 2" that is 135 lbs. Currently I weigh 248 lbs so that seems like a VERY daunting task.

    You can do it! I'm 46, and started out at 263, I'm now around 186...slowly but surely I am getting there! You will be soon too, just believe in yourself, be KIND to yourself, and know that your happiness and health are worth the effort
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