How did you decide your goal weight?

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marapalumbo
marapalumbo Posts: 85 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My goal weight has been 155 because that's what I weighed before I got pregnant and when I was in my mid-20's and felt my healthiest. I did my BMI today and if I weigh 155, then I am just barely in the "normal" range. It got me thinking about whether I should make my goal a little lower so I have some wiggle room for staying in the normal range. How did you all decide on your goal weight?
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  • mommajolynn
    mommajolynn Posts: 353 Member
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    I like nice even number. I figured going from 200 to 150 is even enough. And that was my weight was in highschool I think. Never really weighed myself back then.. didn't think it mattered so much.. now tho I regret not doing more to take care of myself
  • marapalumbo
    marapalumbo Posts: 85 Member
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    Yeah, 150 is pretty even :).
  • runnercheryl
    runnercheryl Posts: 1,314 Member
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    Mine is the closest nice, round number to mid-range healthy BMI.

    I was thin into my late teens, but I have no clue what weight I was - that just didn't matter to me. For that reason, I have no clue what my goal of 120 would look like.
  • Jori7071
    Jori7071 Posts: 19 Member
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    For me it was easy. I am 5'9" and when I weigh 165 everyone says I am too thin-so that's my goal. Right now I am 179 and God is good to me. At 179 I am a true size 12-graced with a good build. I think the expected BMI and weight for people is unrealistic. After all, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 and she was and still is considered the "blonde bombshell"
  • EPICSRT
    EPICSRT Posts: 222 Member
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    One approach:

    Take what you know, the 155 you mentioned, and use that as a starting point. Once you get closer to that goal, re-evaluate where you want to be. Also, at some point you may want to factor in a level of fitness goal. You would look physically different at 155 and 34% body fat versus 155 and 25% body fat.






    At 5'10" I started at 220 pounds, about 31% body fat, and thought that I would be happy with 180............that is, until I hit 185. Then I lowered it my goal to 175, then 170. I stopped trying to lose when I hit 170 and balanced out at 162, about 14% body fat.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Started with where I was most comfortable as an adult (~185), with some fat.

    Then I wanted to be thin again, like I was in college (~165), finally deciding that being thin was better than being a little overweight.

    Then I did the math, figured out my BF% and LBW and figured out that I had gained a lot of muscle over the years and that my end college target was comically low, so I targeted 10% BF (~190), based off my rough estimate for BF%.

    Then my measurement of BF% became a little more refined and my target for 10% drifed up (~198).

    Then I got in the area where photos worked for BF% estimation, and figured out which of the formulas was best, and readjusted my target down, still at 10% (~190).

    Then I figured out that going to a lower BF% would significantly aid with loose skin issues, so changed my target to 8%, and refined my BF% estimate as my abs became visible. (final target of 187).

    I've come pretty much full circle with goals and am pretty much there, just slowly raising my calories so I don't shock my system now.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I haven't yet. I met my 2 goals for weight loss, which were not scale related, but even though I'm the size I wanted to be and got a A+ on my health checkup, I think I might still want to lose more weight. Just not sure how much, or how hard I really want to work for it. Maybe always having a few more to lose a good thing.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    Got a rough estimate of bodyfat % based on several different sites, and picked a weight that ought to give me 20%. Once I get within 10 lbs of it, I'll get bf% professionally measured to see how far off my estimates were and decide where to go from there.
  • RLDeShazo
    RLDeShazo Posts: 356 Member
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    My goal weight has been 155 because that's what I weighed before I got pregnant and when I was in my mid-20's and felt my healthiest. I did my BMI today and if I weigh 155, then I am just barely in the "normal" range. It got me thinking about whether I should make my goal a little lower so I have some wiggle room for staying in the normal range. How did you all decide on your goal weight?

    My goal was set by being the last weight I remember feeling comfortable. I won't be crazy thin, but it is a weight I think would work for me. When I get there, I may change it. But for now, it is a goal to shoot for that is pretty far off.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    For me it was easy. I am 5'9" and when I weigh 165 everyone says I am too thin-so that's my goal. Right now I am 179 and God is good to me. At 179 I am a true size 12-graced with a good build. I think the expected BMI and weight for people is unrealistic. After all, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 and she was and still is considered the "blonde bombshell"

    The size 14 that Marilyn Monroe wore would be more like a size 8 or 10 today. Clothing manufacturers have been steadily making sizes bigger for the past few decades.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    For me it was easy. I am 5'9" and when I weigh 165 everyone says I am too thin-so that's my goal. Right now I am 179 and God is good to me. At 179 I am a true size 12-graced with a good build. I think the expected BMI and weight for people is unrealistic. After all, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 and she was and still is considered the "blonde bombshell"

    The size 14 that Marilyn Monroe wore would be more like a size 8 or 10 today. Clothing manufacturers have been steadily making sizes bigger for the past few decades.

    Yes. Different figures are reported for her waist size, but they vary from 22-24 inches. The highest reported weight for her was 5' 5.5" and 140 lbs, at which point she was reportedly unhappy with her weight ... but her BMI would still be within the normal range. Iirc she usually weighed a bit under 120.
  • sweetendeavor
    sweetendeavor Posts: 72 Member
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    I based my goal on the weight I was before I gained all this weight/what I was in HS.
  • mystinamarie
    mystinamarie Posts: 51 Member
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    I'm 27 and had gained about 30 pounds in the past 7-8ish years. I went with about a 20 pound weight goal, because I knew it wasn't reasonable or healthy to expect to get back down to a weight I was when I was 18 or 19. It just wouldn't be realistic to expect my now adult body to go to a teenage level. Nor would I ever be able to maintain it for any length of time.

    Also, re: the Marilyn Monroe statistics- the "size" thing is grossly exaggerated time after time. The best thing is to just look at her measurements in inches:
    Height: 5 feet, 5½ inches
    Weight: 118-140 pounds
    Bust: 35-37 inches
    Waist: 22-23 inches
    Hips: 35-36 inches
    Bra size: 36D

    Was she "curvy" in the sense that she had an hourglass figure? Yes.
    But in no world would she ever be considered plump or voluptuous. A 22" waist? My thighs are inches more than that. She needs to stop being toted as such a "real woman" sized icon. A real woman doesn't have a 22" waist and would never be a size 8,10, 12, 14, or whatever else size people claim she represents.
  • BosLady1
    BosLady1 Posts: 83
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    I chose mine by thinking back to a time that I actually KNEW my weight and was happy with how I looked. I chose 165, but since I am now a mom, I know my body composition is different, so I will be readjusting my goal weight as I get closer...
  • CynGoddess
    CynGoddess Posts: 188 Member
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    honestly I haven't really chosen one. I have a in range now but I will decide more when I get there. will depend on my BMI, waist/hip ratiio and general health over all.
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
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    I didn't. I haven't. I'm not choosing a NUMBER on the scale. I'm choosing what I look like, feel like ..... right now .. I'm THINKIN' it's gonna be whatever weight it is when I'm wearing size 6s comfortably. AND .. that # on the scale is prob gonna be in the 170ish range

    Strength Training - oh yea !

    Oh .. and the whole BMI chart ... NAH. It's pretty useless overall in choosing a goal weight. It and the scale - mere measuring tools - not very meaningful in every single case - every person is different
  • stacygayle
    stacygayle Posts: 349 Member
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    I chose mine because it was half way in between the high and low weight for my height. I will never again weigh the 95 pounds at the low end. At 150 I would still be considered obese. I'm only 4'11" though.
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
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    My goal weight is 145 because that JUST puts me into the normal weight range as dictated by BMI. I do not think I have ever been there in my adult life, so while it would be prudent to get a little deeper into that "normal" and set my goal at 135, that just doesn't seem realistic for me. I am totally open to revisiting that when I get to 145 though. :smile:
  • spngebobmyhero
    spngebobmyhero Posts: 823 Member
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    I picked the weight that I was when I got married, 160. I am now very close to that weight, but my body looks a lot different than it did 3 years ago at that weight. Weight lifting has done wonders for my shape!

    Also, at 5'11", 160 is a perfectly normal BMI number, though that doesn't matter quite as much sometimes.
  • msbengineer
    msbengineer Posts: 9 Member
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    Whats a good source for determining what your body weight would be at a certain percentage body fat? I actually kind of picked my goal weight at random. But come to think of it, even when I was an athlete, I weighed more than my current goal weight. So I need to figure out what a healthy body fat % is and adjust my goal weight. Any suggestions. Thanks

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