Ideal Weight?

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mdmurrell2007
mdmurrell2007 Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
How do you determine a realistic ideal weight?

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  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,613 Member
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    mdmurrell2007 wrote: »
    How do you determine a realistic ideal weight?

    There is no such thing. But, you can use a BMI calculator to see a healthy weight range for your age, sex, and height.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 2,930 Member
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    Get to a weight where you're healthy and happy. Be prepared to change your mind. My "perfect " weight also includes walking into any store, finding clothes in my size, trying them on, and they fit!
    An elusive dream, of course. It won't be that way in real life. That's what I think my perfect weight is-- nonexistent. Good, yes. Perfect, no.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,979 Member
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    Ideal for what? Running a marathon? Pursuing a career as an NFL linebacker? As a runway model?

    Depends on your height, age, gender, bone structure, your general health, your potential health concerns, and what you want your body to be able to do. And for some people, what they want to look like.

    You determine your ideal weight by taking all those things into consideration.

    Personally, I think in terms of a 15 to 20 pound range, not a single ideal number. Trying to stay at one number, or even a 5 pound range, is something that seems exhausting to me and wouldn't leave me mental bandwidth for other things that are important to me, but of course YMMV.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,172 Member
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    Why do you ask?

    MFP asks you for a goal weight, but what you put in there has zero effect on your calorie goal or any other aspect of the core weight loss process. MFP just uses that goal weight for some supposedly motivational messaging along the way.

    The only time you really need to know a goal weight is when you decide to stop losing (or gaining, if that's your goal). At that point, as long as you don't have a seriously distorted body image, you'll know it when you get there, or as you get close.

    Admittedly, many of us have trouble with our body image at goal, because it takes time for our self-perception to catch up with our actual new body shape. We still see something more like the "old me".

    If you're struggling with that when the time comes, discuss it with your doctor. (Don't ask family/friends: It's super common for people around us to freak out at the big change in us and think we're too thin when we're objectively not.)

    Personally, I revised my goal weight several times during loss. Eventually, as it got closer, I had some criteria in mind about what it would feel/look like. I literally woke up one morning and decided it was time to dial in maintenance calories. Later, I revised my goal (just a few pounds) in maintenance.

    Don't worry too much about it. Just pursue your intended course, and anticipate that you can figure it out. Even if it's a little confusing, you can choose to lose a little or gain a little later, if that seems like the right thing to do.

    Best wishes!

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