How do you decide final weight goal
merekins
Posts: 228 Member
At 5’7”, I set my final goal to 145. That felt so impossible all those months ago that I didn’t over think it but am now wondering if I should set it lower. I don’t want to disappoint myself and find out at 145 that I still have all lot to lose. I know that will upset me. Was thinking of resetting to 135 but that is just me thinking 135 sounds nice. How did you decide your final?
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I'm in the same boat. I set my first goal as losing 50lbs, I'm at 56 down. So then I was thinking another 20lbs more because that puts me at a healthy BMI, but I see women on here with my height that are another 40lbs down from where I am now.1
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Personally, I remember being satisfied with what I weighed at 120, so that’s what I set mine to. I was as low as 110 in college and early 20’s but after two kids, I think 120 is more realistic. So for me, I’m going off of previous weights. I am only 5’4 and 30 years old.2
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@Stellamom2018 right? 145 puts me in a healthy bmi but that brings up something that probably should have been more obvious. Do people pick weight based on final bmi? 145 would be 22.7 bmi for me.1
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I am 5'9". I picked 160 as my goal, puts me about 8lbs under the top of the BMI for my height. In reality I'd probably like a range about 155-162. I don't care about being "thin" and I know from my past when I was high end of normal weight that I have broad hips completely apart from the fat. I'd say I am medium to large framed.1
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I base mine on my body composition. It changes over time (since I run bulk cycles) so I pay attention to progress photos and the mirror. I am 5'7 and right now look best at 132-135lbs.2
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I picked a provisional goal (a weight I had been at as a young adult, plus a few pounds, because "everyone says you should be a little heavier when you're older"), with a plan to re-evaluate as I got closer. (Early on, I decided that only I and my doctor got to have an important opinion on the subject.)
When I got within about 10 pounds of that initial goal, I could see it wasn't going to be right, and set a new goal a little lower. As I approached that revised goal, that wasn't seeming right either. At that point, I thought about how I wanted to feel, and how I wanted to look, at goal weight, with some pretty specific criteria I could use. Then I just kept losing (more and more slowly) until one morning I literally woke up and decided it was time to seriously dial in maintenance calories.
Since the goal weight has zero effect on anything practical about weight loss (other than when to stop), I pretty much think there's no big reason to spend much energy on it ahead of time. As you get close, or when you get there, I'll bet you'll know. There are a few people with serious body-image issues who wouldn't be able to think of it that way, but many can be this open-ended about it.
Body configuration matters (wide pelvis? narrow pelvis? broad shoulders? narrow waist? delicate-looking limbs? larger breasts? smaller breasts?). Preference matters, too. There's no magic weight for X height, or magic BMI.
You can even get to a weight, maintain there for a while and see how it goes, and decide to lose a little more, or gain a bit back, after test-driving it for 6 months or a year or whatever. (I admit, this could have wardrobe consequences if the weights are far apart.
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I was pretty much the same weight for all the years between age 18 and menopause, (excluding pregnancy of course) so that seemed like an obvious goal for me. I'm 5'8" and was 135 lbs for all those years.
Body changes in my late 50's caught up with me and I put on 25 extra pounds -- so now I'm losing those. Only 7 more pounds to go!4 -
I look to the BMI chart....I didn't want to be overweight.. so as long as you're in your healthy BMI range..it is just a matter of preference. I'm right in the middle... I think I'd look too skinny at the bottom of my BMI since I'm tall.3
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It's OK to get to your original goal, maintain there for a while and then reassess.
There's no need to guess it right first time, it probably won't be your best weight forever. Don't stress when you don't have to.
It's a false idea that maintenance is one weight forever and it's even more false that you have to get there from one continuous phase of weight loss.
My original guess wasn't right (too high), I adjusted in a series of small steps until I got it wrong the other way (too low) and adjusted back up a little until I found what worked for me. After a while as my exercise goals and body changed what was right became wrong again!7 -
I just chose the weight I was happiest with in the past and like others, will re-evaluate when I'm there. I'm primarily going off how happy I am (or not) with look and feel.
That scale...that's a harsh task master, so I just use it now to see trends.4 -
I'd been fat for my entire life, and morbidly obese for at least half of it, so I had literally no idea how I might look at different weights; I chose my 'stretch goal' as a weight juuuust within the normal BMI range for my height.
As I got close, I reevaluated
I'm currently 11 lb below my initial goal, and trying to drop another couple of pounds. However I currently look skinnier than I'd really like on top, so if the weight comes off my breasts AGAIN rather than my FLIPPIN' GIANT THIGHS THAT HAVE IT TO SPARE I might reevaluate once more and gain it again.
Once you have control of gaining and losing weight, you can just experiment a bit once you're in the right general area.7 -
I had the same question when I first joined the boards! Like a lot of weightloss topics, it's something you have to reframe in your mind for your sanity's sake. I picked 150 lbs because it puts me into the normal BMI, but with the knowledge that I will be reassessing and considering either a lower goal or a recomp when I get there. I don't think I will be too disappointed if I decide I need to lose more as long as I don't need to make working out my part time job in order to eat a decent number of calories!1
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Like many above, i set my goal to being in the healthy section of the BMI which is also where i was when i had previously lost weight (I am 5'1 so original goal around 135). This was back in April.
i got to around 137, things were going well, i wasn't hungry or sad about my eating habits. so I set a new goal of..i think 125.
When i hit 126 or so I decided to set a new goal of 120.
I am at 124 now and it's been slow going. I put on a few pounds over the holidays which are gone now but i've been pretty sticky otherwise. But at this stage it needs to be .5lbs/week so it's slow regarless. I may readjust soon as I've been hungry some days (though also playing with new meals trying to eat less animal meat so could be I need to work on that balance).
Not sure if i will try to find maintenance before or after i hit 120. at .5lb/week that would bring me out another 8weeks.
I also have other goals. once i clear up some injuries i hope to get more purposeful exercise going again which will hopefully allow me to increase my calories. I need to look at recomp i think VS weight loss. And I have a lot to master when it comes to eating properly when around family and friends (i can do very well when it's just me but if I am with family for a week i don't stick to my good habits very well).2 -
@Stellamom2018 right? 145 puts me in a healthy bmi but that brings up something that probably should have been more obvious. Do people pick weight based on final bmi? 145 would be 22.7 bmi for me.
I used BMI. I am male, not an elite athlete and have roughly average proportions (nothing unusual about frame size). BMI is legit for me. In the past, I have had vague goals and/or allowed myself to justify changing them because I felt good enough about how I looked and felt before I got to goal. BMI is a set amount that I can't change. Once I got below 25, I decided I wanted a 10 pound range for maintenance. Since my goal was to get below 25, my maintenance range need to be entirely below. Once again, this gave me a more rigid guideline - to get the larger range, I needed to lose to get to the middle of it; I wasn't giving myself permission to gain some back. I set the top to 5 pounds below 24.9 BMI so I am unlikely to see a weight over 25 even with a spike.3 -
I set my goal as 150, knowing that once I get there I will set a new goal, probably 130 as I liked that weight before. I started at 170 and felt that setting my ultimate goal of 40 lb to lose would be too intimidating to tackle all at once so decided to do it in stages.1
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I'm 52, and although I'd like to set my goal at 146, I'm worried about my face looking gaunt and old. I'm shooting for 148 and keeping my fingers crossed.1
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I am also 5'7. I started at 182 and set a 155 pound goal (135 is mid-point BMI for 5'7) as it put me at a normal BMI and I thought that would be achievable. I got to 155 so easily, that I decided to aim for 145 (which was about what I weighed in high school ... decades ago ). Again, I made it to 145 without any serious challenges, so revised to 140. Once I got to 140, I decided to go ahead at go for the 135 BMI mid-point. Just achieved that goal last week, and have set my maintenance range at 135-139.
I guess my point is, don't sweat the final number. Set what you feel is a realistic goal to begin with and then go from there. It is not set in stone and you can decide when you get there if that is where you want to be or not.4 -
I've adjusted my goal range a few times, to match where I felt like I wanted to be at the time. There's no hard rule that says you can't adjust your numbers around and see how you feel at different spots I think there's a few of us who also adjust based on the season-I like to be at a lower range during the summer, but then allow myself to creep up a few pounds during the fall. It's all controlled and planned out though. 2
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well I know where I want to be because I spent most of my life there....it wasn't until this last year that my body changed into something that needs work...1
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I'm 5'9" in my mind 20s I was 145 and was happy and comfortable at that weight. Years before that I was 115 and hated it tried everything to gain weight.
The number on the scale doesn't really matter to me. When I get down to 160 and I feel good then great if I still feel like I would like to loose a bit more then I will. Currently my goal is set for 140.1 -
I just chose the weight I was happiest with in the past and like others, will re-evaluate when I'm there. I'm primarily going off how happy I am (or not) with look and feel.
That scale...that's a harsh task master, so I just use it now to see trends.
Ya, I was happy with my body when I was a full time yoga teacher, so that's my goal weight. It's actually still in Overweight, but as I have a large frame and the accompanying large feet, hands, wrists, and head, I'm fine with that.3 -
Lots of good advice. Really appreciate all the feedback. I don’t have a good idea what my body would be best out. Too many body issues and thinking I was overweight when I was perfect. It has distorted what is realistic and am just trying to manage my expectations to not retrigger that thinking. But you are all correct, things will need to be re-evaluated as goals are met. Deciding I may need to lose more won’t negate the work I already put in. Will keep reminding myself of that because I know this will be a struggle for me. Thank you all!1
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I am shooting for the upper limit of a normal BMI and going from there.
I think it is a good idea to get some type of body scan or measurement done so you can see what your body fat percentage is. If I can get to 25% or lower I’d imagine I would get the look and feel I’m after, regardless of the exact scale weight.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »I just chose the weight I was happiest with in the past and like others, will re-evaluate when I'm there. I'm primarily going off how happy I am (or not) with look and feel.
That scale...that's a harsh task master, so I just use it now to see trends.
Ya, I was happy with my body when I was a full time yoga teacher, so that's my goal weight. It's actually still in Overweight, but as I have a large frame and the accompanying large feet, hands, wrists, and head, I'm fine with that.
Mine was from when I had a coach back in the 80s lol. Even back then she used to harp on my lifting buddy and I to not get hung up on the scale unless we had to hit a certain weight for competition.
I don't want anyone to think I'm advocating ignoring the scale, not at all. I've just driven myself towards a number in the past when I should have been more concerned with measurements.
Then again, I'm average build at best, so my measurements never wow anyone anyway.
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First I picked a number smack dab in the middle of healthy BMI. Then I looked at maintenance calories and figured I could go lower. I don't trust myself to go by how I feel because I have been OK being overweight and obese after all.
But I'll see when I get there. I have only lost 25 and an still very much obese so what do I know.2 -
First I picked a number smack dab in the middle of healthy BMI. Then I looked at maintenance calories and figured I could go lower. I don't trust myself to go by how I feel because I have been OK being overweight and obese after all.
But I'll see when I get there. I have only lost 25 and an still very much obese so what do I know.
What do you mean "What do I know?"
You know you lost 25lbs (which is awesome )
You know you'll know more when you get there.
And you know enough to not go with an emotionally based number (how you 'feel')
I'd say you're doing great. 4 -
At 5’7”, I set my final goal to 145. That felt so impossible all those months ago that I didn’t over think it but am now wondering if I should set it lower. I don’t want to disappoint myself and find out at 145 that I still have all lot to lose. I know that will upset me. Was thinking of resetting to 135 but that is just me thinking 135 sounds nice. How did you decide your final?
Never had a "goal weight"...I don't really care about numbers on the scale. I just wanted to be lean enough to not have love handles or a gut and had no idea what that number would be; I just dieted down until I got there.2 -
I don't have a goal weight. I do my best not to think about it. My focus is on today and doing what is right for myself. I am in this for proper weight management not just weight loss so there is no actual end to this process.3
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I'm 5'7" too. I picked my first goal as the BMI that is smack in the middle of the healthy range. Got there and thought I could stand to lose some more, so I set my goal a little lower. Still working towards that goal and I'll be happy if I get there (it's ~6 lbs away) but I'm kind of ok if I don't--I'm not really good at maintaining so if I stay in the "actively losing" (albeit very small amounts weekly) then I do fine. I look pretty good in clothes right now, but would like to look a little better nekkid (realizing, too, that I probably have a wee bit of body dysmorphia).
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My goal weight is the weight when I looked my best when I was a bit younger and fit all of my old clothes. I might alter this goal a bit now because I want to gain some muscle.2
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