For me I picked 135 because that was the highest weight in the normal ranges for my height intil I went to the doctors and he told me those ranges dont take into account frame size, and age he said I should weight around 150-160 so I changed my goal weight to 150 and will reevaluate when I get there.
I wanted to lose 100 lbs and then see what I could really get to without making myself crazy. I figured my body would pick my goal weight when it stopped losing at calorie and activity level I was able to maintain without fighting myself all the time.
Interestingly, the 100 lbs. lost mark seems to coincide with as low as my body is interested in going on its own. I've been maintaining this weight for 6 months now. I'm adding weight training to my exercise and with warmer weather here (90s here this week), I'm automatically eating lighter so may be able to move a bit lower. However I'm not willing to "diet" down my weight. Throughout this process I've eaten in a way I can always eat.
thanks everyone for the input. The weight to put me at the max for BMI is 159, which I guess sounds possible but really, I have never even been close to that as an adult.
I am leaning towards just doing a series of smaller goal weights and keep moving the target as needed. I totally get what Trazey says about losing a lot of weight but not being happy if it doesn't meet some target that is so far away right now, I don't know whether it would be realistic or not!
I'm going to continue to think about it - until I qualify to have a ticker! lol!
Our stats are so similar...
I initially set my goal weight for 160, because I weighed about 165 when I met my husband 15 years ago and felt pretty good at that weight, but felt I could have used a few more pounds gone.
After a little while I realized that 159 would put me in the healthy BMI category, and I really would like to be there, so I lowered my goal by 1 pound. I felt kinda silly doing it, but that 1 pound actually meant something to me.
I think setting smaller goals to begin with is a great way to go. You can take all the time you want deciding on a goal, and just because you pick a number, doesn't mean it's set in stone. There are a lot of us that have readjusted our numbers as time goes by...
So many of us 5'7" to 5'8" on this thread. I also used to weigh 150-160 in high school, but now driving down past the high 180s seemed impossible. Not sure why. I'm still hoping.
I chose my goal by figuring out what I weighed last when my weight didn't really matter to me. I was fairly active and healthy, could shop without obsessing about the fit and my weight didn't shadow every other decision I made in my life.
That said, I am looking to be healthy and happy and still be able to enjoy life (and by that I mean occasionally have a giant slice of chocolate cake or a second beer in the backyard), so if that means I can only get down to 150 I think I'll be okay with that.
When I feel good about the way I look and the way I feel, whatever that weight is will be fine with me.
I've been overweight since I was young so I don't have a reference point of "this number was when I looked/felt great" to go by, which I think is why an end point feels so mysterious to me.
I've been thinking it over some more, and playing around with numbers, and I think I am going to set an initial goal of 26 lbs - a 10% loss, and then continue to adjust my goal each time I hit another 10%. Those numbers would end up being
I chose my goal weight based on what several other women my height look like at their weights. I've always wanted to look lean/athletic so my goal is a lower side of healthy body fat %
thanks again to everyone for the input on this thread.
I've decided to go ahead with using the 10% goals and I'll figure out just how low is realistic once I am closer to that point.
I'm following the Dukan diet, and interestingly, that calculator puts my goal at 180 - not because it's necessarily the healthiest weight I could possibly be, but the way they calcuate it, it's the most realistically sustainable. But I am pretty sure I will got for at least the 172 (losing 10% four times) even if I end up not deciding to go much lower. Then again, even 180 seems unfathomable right now, so I'm going to just focus on getting to 235 for no!
You can always have a "bigger picture" goal while focusing on your mini goals until it gets closer to that time. My big goal is 118. I will hit that at some point, but that could (and arguably will) be a long way away. So, I'm focused more on mini goals.
I have a total of 11 mini goals that have no more than a 15 lb difference. They are based on a combination of BMI and total pounds down. I think the average is roughly 11-12 lbs to the next goal, with some only being as low as 6 lbs. These mini goals will feel much more attainable to me and keep me motivated and moving.
I agree with the idea of having mini-goals along the way. I'm doing a challenge right now that goes through the end of July and I'll try to do other shorter term things to keep getting positive reinforcement as I work on the bigger goals.
It will ask you to register and provide an email address but I have not received a single email from them since I did that a few weeks ago. FWIW, based on your height and highest weight, if you pretended your highest weight was your current weight, I can pretty much guarantee that your current goal weight is going to be below where it puts your True Weight.
It takes things like your highest weight ever, how many diets you've been on and more into consideration. And in the book, he explains a little more and that it's not always realistic for someone with a history of being overweight to get down to weights that are healthy (per BMI, etc) but are going to be too hard to maintain.
the other thing that I find REALLY appealing about this diet is that there is a lengthy plan to get transitioned from active weight loss through getting your body used to the new weight and then finally into maintenance. And the time frame for your body to get used to it (while following what is still a fairly strict plan) is almost twice as long as the weight loss period. That sounds scary but since I've realized that maintenance is the hardest part for me, I am willing to put in that time if the end result is a stable, healthy weight.
Last edited by April Snow; 05-29-2011 at 09:17 PM.
I went for a "free consult" at a Physicians Weight Loss center. I knew I didn't want to go on one of their plans, but they have a machine that can calculate how much certain things weigh in your body. Like pounds that are water weight, bone weight, muscle weight, etc. It said an ideal weight for my height and frame would be 190. I was thrilled and motivated, I found it discouraging to see an online calculator tell me if I was any more than 160 I was still overweight.
190 just seems very attainable - I will see how I feel when I get there which should be in early fall.
