How do you pick your goal weight?

Reama5
Reama5 Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have never been a thin person, so I have NO idea what I'll look like at 120lbs, 130lbs, 140lbs, etc.

How do you pick a goal weight?

My scale can weigh just the fat on my body, which is a cool feature. Today I realized that just my lean body mass weighs 130lbs and I'm only 5'3". This would mean that having a goal of 130lbs is crazy right? I'd have NO fat on my body to achieve that goal. Or am I mistaken?
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Replies

  • nebulinda
    nebulinda Posts: 120 Member
    Don't use your scale to measure your body fat percentage. It is mostly likely pretty inaccurate. I picked my goal weight because it's on the lower end of the normal BMI range, and I've been that weight before and think I look good at that weight, and I don't have much to lose. 130 is a perfectly reasonable goal for a 5'3" person, and no, you won't have 0% body fat, because that's impossible. If you are very overweight, I would probably pick a weight goal that will just put you into the normal BMI range. When you get close to that goal you can reevaluate your goal if you'd like to weigh less.
  • jcriscuolo
    jcriscuolo Posts: 319 Member
    At 5'3", a weight of 130 lbs puts you in the high range of normal. That sound like a good target. You may want to chose 140 as in intermediate target. For me to be in the high end of normal for my height, I need to be 194. But my intermediate target is 210. This still puts me in the overweight category but heading in the right direction.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    You can always change your goal weight if you get close and decide you don't like it.

    I did some different body fat calculations (using fat2fit), picked a number somewhere in the middle and assumed that was close, and picked a goal weight based on that. When I get close, if I think I still look fat I'll move the goal down.
  • TheNewDodge
    TheNewDodge Posts: 607 Member
    Great question. I played college football - offensive line 13 years ago. I have no idea how much lean muscle I've got underneath the rest of my fat. I'm thinking 235-240 is going to be an ideal weight for me.
  • runnercheryl
    runnercheryl Posts: 1,314 Member
    My goal weight is 120lbs. The closest round number to a central healthy BMI. I'm not in this for looks, so the fact that I don't know what 120lbs looks like has no bearing on the fact that it's my goal, but if I'm in the healthy range but start feeling like I'm looking too thin (I doubt this will happen), I will stop earlier.
  • Reama5
    Reama5 Posts: 22 Member
    The thing is, BMI is totally fake and made up. It really means nothing, so I'm not using that to calculate my weight. (A Google search gives tons of info on the topic.)

    My scale is pretty accurate, actually. I had my fat percentage checked by a professional last weekend and it was right in line with what my own scale said. It's a pretty fancy scale. :)



    I know it's impossible to have 0% fat and I think I would be happy with around 25-30% body fat. Can't get too thin or the husband may revolt. That means that my lean body mass (130lbs) plus 25% body fat would make my ideal weight 162lbs.

    It's just scrambling my brain to think of that. My goal is SO much closer than I thought! I think I'm going to run this question by my weight loss coach on Saturday.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Play with the ideal body weight calculator -- you can punch in different body fat % and it'll tell you. Also, nothing wrong with having an intermediate goal of 30% body fat and then seeing how you like your look there.

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/ibw/
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    That's a tough one... I used a BMI chart that took into account the fact that I am pretty muscular, where, I don't remember, and picked right in the middle of "normal" range. I have no idea if it is attainable or not. I look at it as an ideal, not necessarily my final weight. If I weigh 160 and look spectacular, then that's what happens! I'll know it when I get there. I know I look pretty darn good at 150, so I'll not be upset if that's where I have to stop!
  • sarahbetherck
    sarahbetherck Posts: 270 Member
    I had my body fat tested and have about 134lbs of lean mass so I'm in the same boat as you (I'm a tiny bit taller at 5'6") but they set a goal of about 170 for me which is what I'm shooting for now. I think that's still technically overweight but I'm not interested in cutting any lean mass. In fact I'm strength training to keep it! I'm shooting for a body fat of ~20-23%. I'm about 15lbs away from that and have a date in June to go back and re-test.
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    As you lose weight your lean body mass will also decrease. You will lose some muscle, fat in the muscle and fluid as you lose weight, which will all contribute to a loss of LBM.
  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 775 Member
    i want to get down to 175 then i can go from there..
    my dr. from a few years ago said 160
    ww chart says 150 is the high end of where i should be ..

    the lowest i was as an adult was 190s ..lol

    but i figure 175 is a great place to start, then when i get to where im comfy, i can start to maintain
    * everyone looks different at different weights*
  • student94
    student94 Posts: 120 Member
    I like to use this website: www.mybodygallery.com
    It helps give you a feel for what different weights look like on different body types.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    If you've always been overweight, maintaining a low weight will likely be difficult for you (not impossible of course, but more difficult). I personally am currently aiming for something in the overweight category. Once I get there, I'll pick something at the very top of the healthy range, though I'm not sure I can achieve or maintain that..but hey, why stop trying?
  • mgmlap
    mgmlap Posts: 1,377 Member
    my doctor told me she wanted me between 130-140 pounds...
  • NancyNiles
    NancyNiles Posts: 145 Member
    As you lose weight your lean body mass will also decrease. You will lose some muscle, fat in the muscle and fluid as you lose weight, which will all contribute to a loss of LBM.

    Not if she does some strength training. She could do a little and just maintain her lean muscle, or really work out and actually build muscle. In fact, dieting without any kind of exercise to protect lean muscle is how you get to be skinny fat.
  • Panda_Path
    Panda_Path Posts: 86 Member
    I have never been a thin person,

    Me neither. My goal weight reflects this.

    This morning I weighed in at 199 lbs.

    Right now, my goal weight is 174. This is the average weight I have been, without doing anything, for the past 5 years or so. This is a NATURAL weight for me. People will probably read this and seem amazed that a "goal weight" would be so high. But hey, I'm not in denial about my body's NATURAL shape and size. I have also never been "thin", because I am a total kapha body type (ayurveda). I'm not supposed to be thin! I have a broad figure, with proportionate curves in all the right places. But if you notice, I am not at the "natural" do-nothing weight of 174 because I have been doing a lot of the wrong things lately, mostly eating too much and eating processed/prepared/bought fast foods. So, as a start, I would like to get down to the weight where my body has recently been, on average.

    My absolute lowest weight would be 150. Anything less than that, and I feel my body would be underweight and in my mind's eye, I would be too "skinny".

    So, simply, I listen and look to my body for my goal weight.

    Good luck, everyone :).
  • litatura
    litatura Posts: 569 Member
    I'm 5'3" and almost 34 years old and the healthy weight range for my age and height according to BMI is between 104-141.1lbs. Therefore, as long as I'm below 141.1 lbs and no longer considered overweight, I'll be happy.
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    As you lose weight your lean body mass will also decrease. You will lose some muscle, fat in the muscle and fluid as you lose weight, which will all contribute to a loss of LBM.

    Not if she does some strength training. She could do a little and just maintain her lean muscle, or really work out and actually build muscle. In fact, dieting without any kind of exercise to protect lean muscle is how you get to be skinny fat.

    She could build a little muscle, maybe. She still will inevitably lose LBM as she gets smaller.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    Because its my "happy weight". I like how I look and it's in the middle of the normal weight range.
  • TeddyBear47
    TeddyBear47 Posts: 200 Member
    By throwing a dart at the dart-board, doesn't everyone. Thats how i got to be 340lbs. Well I can't blame it on me, can I?

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