Goal weight

BMI is more accurate than you think. The high end or just above is a good goal to set. I set my goal weight at 185 pounds, which is still 7 pounds outside of normal BMI. But I was 235 when I started, and the prospect of getting to a normal BMI seemed too overwhelming, so 185 sounded like a good goal, especially since it would put my weight loss at a nice pretty 50 pounds. But now that I am closer to my goal (I have lost 37 pounds and weight in today at under 198), I realize I was being too conservative. I think I can definitely get down to lower than a normal BMI (178). But I am keeping my goal for now. Once I get to 185, I will celebrate, and then change my goal to 175. When I get to 175, I'll reevaluate what I want to do, but it's quite possible I'd keep pushing lower (I was under 170 about 8 years ago).

Your goal weight doesn't affect anything in terms of calculating your calorie goal, so it really is just for you and your motivation. Set yourself a good first goal that would represent significant progress, even if it's not where you ultimately want to end up. Once you get close to there, you can reevaluate.

Echo all the BMI comments here. Once you're in the range, it's a matter of aesthetics, physical comfort and physical performance. I'm 139lbs at the moment, just inside the healthy BMI for 5'3". I once briefly got down to a size 10 (UK) and I felt much happier at that size just in terms of how I looked clothed and unclothed. So I'm aiming for that again. Each dress size is (very) roughly 14lbs different- I'm a 'big' UK 12 right now, down from 14. So I'm aiming for 20lbs to lose. Then I'll reassess.

My primary (long term) goal has nothing to do with being a particular weight. My long term goal is 'weight management' so as long as I'm consciously managing and controlling my weight then I'm achieving that goal.

As of right now I'm overweight so the short term goal most of the time is to 'weigh less'. As long as over time I'm consistently weighing less then I'm achieving this goal. 1kg less, 1g less, doesn't matter. Less is less and a successful meeting of the goal. I'll keep doing this until I decide not to anymore. Maybe that will be a healthy BMI range, maybe that will be when I have a healthy waist measurement, maybe that will be when I get to a point that to eat less than maintenance would diminish my enjoyment of life too much to be worth it. I won't know until I get there.

This long term goal of 'weight management' also means when I decide to enjoy a holiday, a celebration or whatnot and consciously and deliberately decide to let myself put on a few kg's, I'm still achieving my primary goal as I'll still be fully in control and conscious of what I'm doing.

CaityGracie67 wrote: »

How did you decide on a goal weight?
For me, I've been overweight pretty much my entire life (health and environmental reasons) & now I'm uncertain what a normal weight would be for my body (in terms of overlap between comfort/aesthetic reasons, health, and a natural set point). I understand there are tools like BMI etc. but I don't know if I particularly trust them😅 I've set goal weights in the past but I just don't want to be overly extreme or anything. I don't know, I was just curious how other people decided

I set my initial goal weight at 160 because that was the weight that would allow me to donate my kidney to my cousin. Since she ended up being a better match with my other cousin, I lost my motivation and went from 163 back up to 198 at present over about 4 years. Because another cousin will also need a kidney soonish, I need to get back down to 160 so I can give her my kidney if I can. We are a blood type match, so if I’m healthy in all other areas, even though that puts me in the overweight BMI category, they will still test me to donate my kidney at that weight. At 163 I felt great, and my skin wasn’t too loose, so once I get there, that’s probably where I’ll stay and just keep working out, which has definitely changed my body for the better.
I initially set mini goals knowing ultimately I needed to get down to 160. Maybe setting mini goals as you go is the best way to start.

I agree with all the BMI talk.

But personally, my goal weight is the weight I was before I gained. It's 140-150, which is average for my height.. not hard to maintain, and a weight I have comfortably been before.