I still don't know what my actual goal is.
 

Did anyone else have this issue?
I set my original goal at 150 a really long time ago, kind of as a milestone.
But as I'm 6 pounds away, I'm realizing that it's not good enough.
I guess I'm adjusting it to 130, maybe. But I wonder if I'll end up setting my goal higher whenever I reach it? Who knows. I'm rambling. Bluehgh.

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Anyway. What are your goals? I wanna know, maybe it'll give me an idea of what I should reset mine to.

I'm the same. I set a goal to get to 55kg and now that I'm here I decided to go for a slightly lower goal. Congratulations on your weight loss.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. My goal has lowered and lowered until 150 became goal. When I got there, I just thought, I can keep going. SO now, I'm really not sure how to determine goal. I say 135 is my new goal, but that may change when (IF) I get there. hah, sorry, I'm no help at all.

I feel the same. My goal has been 168 for a long time (an overweight BMI instead of an obese BMI) but recently I have been thinking about changing to 138. I just don't know.

I definitely can see this. I started at 225 and my goal was 125. Why? Because it was a nice even 100 pounds and it was within my healthy range for my height. But how can I know that 125 will be a good weight when I am 100 pounds away? Who knows what my body will look at. I assume when I get closer I will have to take a closer look and determine what a good weight for me will be, but for now this at least something to work towards. I'm not tied to it though.

It's been almost 5 years since I originally started losing weight. My starting weight was 316 lbs and at the time I wanted to get down to 120 lbs. When I dropped down to 206 lbs, I was having trouble losing more. I decided to finally talk to my doctor about what would be best and she broke my unrealistic bubble. She said I will most likely NEVER reach 120 lbs and that a realistic goal for me should be 175 lbs. So I reluctantly told myself I would aim for 170, but even with the issues my body and blood have, I am still going to do my best to reach at least 150.

I can't wait for the day I can walk in to my doctor's office and show her she was wrong!

Yes, we need to be realistic for sure and many factors play a part. How old are you? What is your body type? Height? Shape? Health issues? Medications? Most of us know for sure that we need to get at a minimum close to the appropriate weight on the charts.

I started at a high of 248. I'm 5'7" tall and have a long body/short legs which means I will carry more weight because the bulk of your weight is in your body. Someone with long legs and shorter torso should weigh less.

I set my goal for 165. I weigh 193 today and wear a size 14. People tell me I look great and when I tell them I need to lose another 30 lbs. they look incredulous. But to not be overweight according to the charts I would need to weigh 158, so at 165 I will still be 7 lbs. "over weight". I think I'll be happy at 165 but I think 160 would give me a "cushion" so I think as I get closer to goal I may change it downwards 5-10 lbs. but I will wait until I get to 170 to make that decision.

I think some of it (continually changing goal downward) has to do with the fact that most of us are either losing weight or gaining it---we've never found a way to maintain a healthy weight---so we are worried about maintenance.

That's a good point. My original goal was to get to 160 because I'd never been that light in my adult life. But when I got there I felt listless and lost. Shortly before reaching 160 I changed my goal weight to 150. Today I woke up at 159.3. And I'm thinking that when I get too close to 150 I'll change it to 145. It's like I have to have something to work toward, otherwise I may backslide. Maintenance is an alien word to me...

Here's a little food for thought when it comes to setting goal weights...Many years ago when I lost 85 pounds, I had originally set my goal for 140 pounds. After reaching that goal and seeing how loose and crepey my skin on my stomach looked, I thought losing 10 more pounds would solve the problem. Nope! It just made it worse. AND by boobs shrank down to a B cup and I butt got as flat as a pancake, even though I was working out. Plus, I felt like it was a constant struggle to keep my weight that low. So I decided to up my weight back to 140, which took all of 2 weeks to do since I just went back to my old eating habits to get there (big mistake!). Well, by the time I reached 140 and having gotten my sweet tooth back for the last 2 weeks, I couldn't control my hunger again and before I knew it I was back to 150 and feeling depressed. So depressed that it sent me into a downward spiral of binges and took my weight all the way up to 235 pounds!

Here's the point I'd like to make. I've learned that it can take your skin and measurements a whole year, maybe longer, to shrink back and tighten up a bit more. With continued exercise and healthy eating, you could lose a size or so even staying at your same weight.

So my plan this time around it setting my goal weight at 150 pounds and staying there a year while continuing to tone my muscles and eating healthy foods. If after that time I think I could stand to lose a few more, I might go down to 140, but no more. I didn't like how gaunt I ended up looking at that weight (for me at least) and it was a struggle to stay there.

I'll be 51 at the end of this month, and I've gained and lost weight for the last 36 years. That and having a couple of kids does some awful things to a woman's body. Losing too much weight at this age can leave a woman's face looking gaunt and the wrinkles will be more pronounced. Those are things to consider also. If I was in my 30s or early 40s, I probably would be shooting for 140 today, but I'm fine with a goal weight of 150. I figure I'll be in a size 6 by then since I fit comfortably in a size 10 now. And that's good enough for me.

As long as I look good and feel healthy, that's all that matter to me. My bikini days are long gone, but I know I'll be able to rock a bathing suit come summer time...stretchmarks and all! :D

I adjusted my goals all the way through my 4 yr journey. First it was 160, then 150, 145, 125..... I have no idea what's my true final goal. Normal by BMI is 108-145 so for now 108 and if I'm truly happy before I will adjust it again lol

I'm going for losing my belly fat rather than a number. I dunno which would be harder, tho, at this point.

I'm so glad you said this. I'm 51 and lost over 100 lbs and for the longest time had that "lost a lot of weight" look to me and it really really dismayed me, i felt UGLY. I've been kind of in maintenance for a year now, this time last year i was 160 and i've slowly gone down through the year to around 153 so i have been pretty much in maintenance and i think it's taken this long to recently find that i am looking a bit better in my skin, maybe i'll start looking even better as more time goes by?

My current goal is 150. My doctor has told me that was not enough. I remember though after my husband and I split I went down to 145. Granted it was because I wasnt eating, I looked awful. I actually had people asking me if I was doing drugs.
I am worried that because I only have just over 30lbs to lose that it will be a challenge. I am also conflicted about my doctor and him saying that I need to go further than 150. Not very sure how to take that information.

Any suggestions :dance:

For 5'6" "normal" weight according to BMI charts is 115 to 154 lbs. Your 150 goal is in that range. So that is a GREAT PLACE to start and a great goal to shoot for. Your dr., though, is concerned about your health not your looks. That BMI range is 39lbs. It is possible that going less than 150 may be a more healthy weight for YOU. For me goal one is to get to the right weight for me and goal two is to work on the loose skin.

Tilly 5 (who has just reached the loose skin phase)

Right!?!? Maybe I need to make that my goal.... belly fat is what motivated me to lose in the first place.