Anyone set a goal and now thinking that maybe it is too low.

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lildebbie
lildebbie Posts: 2,068 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been overweight my whole life from chubby kid to a fat teenager to a fat adult. When I was about 20 I was wearing a size 20 or so and a dr put me on diet pills and lost down to about 175 wearing a 14 and close to a 12, then I gained and gained and gained and ended up at 318 in May. I lost 8 lbs then , then got off track. Started again in october and lost 19 more lbs. I am comitted to sticking to it and loosing the weight (even if I have some setbacks to just get back on track).

Since I have been large my whole life I am not sure what my true "goal " weight is. Looking at bmi it says for my height 5'7 that my "idea' weight is between 118 - 159. I know bmi isn't always exact. I am a large frame girl ( i wear size 11 shoes). I have put my goal of 150 but I start thinking that maybe is that really too low. I was watching biggest looser and some of those girls are 165 - 180 and they look good that are about my height, and thinking to my self i would love to be that size.

So when you have always been overweight how do you know what your "goal" weight is.

I try to set little goals but still would like to picture myself really where I need to go.

I have had 2 kids since that one time i was down to 175, so I am sure my body wouldn't be the same anyway.

sorry for the rambling..just in one of those moods :)

Replies

  • pawprint061
    pawprint061 Posts: 640
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    Maybe you should try smaller goals. Meet one at a time. I think you'll know when to stop, when you feel comfortable. Maybe when your happy with where you are, and how you look?
  • Magenta15
    Magenta15 Posts: 850 Member
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    :smile: Hi there and welcome !

    I know for myself i pretty much ignore the whole BMI thing. I am 5'6" and 206 pounds right now at size 14 almost 12... my highest was 252 and size 18.

    for now my goal is 180 ( i don't really remember anything less as an adult, i was about that when i graduated HS) and to get to a size 12 maybe even 10 --- i'd be elated with that! ( i am also thicker boned and carry my weigh evenly so most ppl think i weigh less). at 180 ill re-evaluate, maybe just want to tighten and tone a bit, if i do decide to go lower i think the lowest i'd go is 160....

    i think anything less I would look ill! I dont care what BMI says lol. it doesn't take A LOT of factors into consideration.

    oh yes and rather then overwhelm myself, i look at 10 pound goal increments :)

    so I would say you are right in aiming for 180 or so, and focus on being healthy not "skinny" I sorta like my curves :laugh: i just want a few less rolls in between lol!

    good luck with your journey! slow and steady wins the race!
  • xStargazerx
    xStargazerx Posts: 100
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    I knew what you mean. I have been "chubby" my whole life with this being the biggest I have EVER been. I hate it. For my height I should be 110-140. I can see myself at 140 but not 110! Before I got married I weighed about 170lb. But after moving to AK ( my hubby in in the Army), having both my girls and a back injury I have gained so much weight. I weigh 273lb! I hate it but I don;t see myself this heavy which is a problem. I think that maybe you should aim for 175 and when you get there decide if you wanna go farther. Good luck!
  • ChristineL
    ChristineL Posts: 14
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    I am 5'7 with a medium frame. 2 years ago I was at 157 pounds and could wear anything I wanted--short and tight and carry it off with no problems. I was a snug size 8, loose size 10. I would say with a larger frame, you could easily be 165-167 and still "look skinny".
  • Lisa0711
    Lisa0711 Posts: 1,405 Member
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    I also reevaluated my goals when I saw the Biggest Loser finale. I wanted to be about 155, but I've got a really muscular build and I think that might be a tad small for me. Like, right now I weigh about 200, but I'm on the verge of comfortably wearing a size 10. A 6 is the smallest I'd want to go I think. I know once I was down to 176 myself and I was pretty close to getting to my goal size. But when I weighed that I didn't have very much muscle. Now I've been doing strength pretty religiously for about a year, and I can tell a huge difference.. so when I reach 176 again I'm sure I'll be considerably smaller (hopefully) lol.

    Anyway, for now I'm just wanting to get below 170, and if I'm happy with my weight before I reach 170, then that would be great!

    But I do know what you mean about thinking your goal is too low. I guess you can just keep going until you're happy with it. That's my plan anyway.:happy:
  • lildebbie
    lildebbie Posts: 2,068 Member
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    So odd how people at different weights wear different sizes, all different body types i guess....Afgter I had my last child I was 250 and I was wearing almost a 22.


    I know that I want to be able to wear normal size clothes, not plus size....

    My bottom is much bigger, my upper is fairly small but my waist and hips are bigger....sometime i just idealize how it would be good at 150 even though i have never been there..

    I may try to re-adjust my goals , let me get there and re-evaluate. I am guessing anything less than I am is a good thing.
  • kgasser
    kgasser Posts: 333 Member
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    I had gastric bypass surgery 2 years ago. I started at 386. Went down to 215 then slowly started gaining. I am at 252 at this point and back onto a true diet. During my "losing" phase everyone kept asking..."what is your goal?" The answer to that was to be healthy and pain free. Many people didn't like that goal, they wanted a number...well I didn't have a number. It had been 15 years since I had been under 200 and that was a "skinny" time in my life! I don't know what will be good for me...but I bet I will know it when I see it, so I am back to my original goal, getting down to where I am healthy and pain free.
  • ali258
    ali258 Posts: 403
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    I have also been overweight my whole life (except for when I lost weight a few years ago and got down to 174 - about size 12), so I also have no idea what my real goal weight should be to make me feel comfortable in my body. What I did last time, and what I'm doing this time, is to just make 175 my goal. When I'm there, I'll see if I want to be smaller. I'm 5'5" and the highest weight I "should" be according to the charts is in the mid-150s, but since I've spent most of my adult life over 200 lbs, I'd be perfectly happy in the 170s. For me personally, I don't want to see that I've got to lose 120 lbs - that would not be motivating to me. But 70 lbs to lose seems pretty doable.

    I'd say you should just set a "re-evaluation goal" for yourself and go from there. Good luck with whatever you choose as your goal!

    -Alison
  • Mommabee
    Mommabee Posts: 103
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    Have you talked to your doctor about what you should weigh? Mine is not really all that concerned with numbers, she's more into how fit I am (not very right now, but I'm improving!). Next time you go in, ask and see what he or she suggests. It's all really about getting healthy, smaller clothes sizes are really just an added benefit to living longer!
    No matter what you decide, you have made that important first step and that is awesome!
    Hugs!
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    You won't really know for sure until you get close to your goal. I'm 5'5 and I have my goal set for 135, but really I have no clue the weight I will eventually settle on. I figure as I get closer to my goal, it will come down to (at least partially) how many calories I feel I can live with to maintain a certain weight.
  • lildebbie
    lildebbie Posts: 2,068 Member
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    I haven't been to a doctor for over a year, we moved from here (tx) to MS and lived there for 2 years, while we wer there i saw a doctor, she said I needed to loose weight but not a certain amount. I have my yearly appt withg my gyn in january i may talk to her about it and see what she thinks. I haven't gone to her since i had my youngest (3 yrs ago) and I am about 40 lbs heavier now.

    Right now at my weight i am to loose another 140 lbs to meet my goal. I may re-evulate and put it at 200 that is less than 100lbs and then see from there how I feel and how much more i need to loose.
  • faithstephenson
    faithstephenson Posts: 280 Member
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    I agree that BMI is not really the way to set your goal. I have a friend who is the same height as I am (5'3") and I know it would not be good to get as low as she is. We just have different builds. I'm currently ar 290 have set my goal as 150, then I'll reevaluate. I say set a reasonable goal and then see how you feel. If you have a good friend that you trust to be honest with you, that helps. As long as they have a good idea of healthy.
  • BamaRose0107
    BamaRose0107 Posts: 635
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    I was around 300 when I started losing weight and my bmi says that at the most I should weigh 159. I actually talked to my doctor about this because I am 175 now and only want to lose about 5 or 10 more pounds. I just like being curvy. So I had all kinds of tests done and I am in excellent health now. He told me bmi was just a standard number to go by but for my body type I could weigh a little more and still be healthy. Thats what is about anyway. Most bmi charts only calculate for small frame but you can google bmi charts for large or medium frames and get a more accurate number for your body type if you need a little more help setting your goals.
  • lildebbie
    lildebbie Posts: 2,068 Member
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    I have re-set my goal to 200lbs and I feel really really good about it. It is less than 100lbs to loose I changed my ticker too!! doesn't look soo daunting now :)

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