I'm wondering how you all decided what your goal weight should be?
I'm starting to think I might have put my goal weight too low.
I know I want to be the same clothing size I was when I was about 18-20, but I have no idea what my weight was then. I know I weighed 59kg/130lbs when I was like 15-16, but I just remembered that I looked almost sick because I was so thin then, my face was very thin and I actually liked my face better a couple of years later. I'm guessing, going by that, that maybe my goal weight should be more along the lines of 65kg/143lbs instead. But it's very hard to know since I didn't have as much muscle back then as I plan on having this time around :/
My first goal was a healthy BMI for my height, which was 150lbs. I decided to then change it to 140lbs, as it's 10 stone (I'm in the UK) and it sounded good to me. I've since lowered it to 135lbs because as I get closer, I feel I still have more to lose.
The number is arbitrary to me, I am going to continue losing weight/toning up until I am happy with where I am at - and where it's maintainable of course.
I looked at BMI height/weight charts and orginally choose a goal of 160 since everyone put that as my "Ideal" weight
I got down to 180 this past april, and was happy with what I saw...I ended up going a few pounds lower and my face started looking hallow and sunken in, I had no energy, my running was suffering, and I was starting to look "To thin" by people who saw me everyday...so 180 because I feel amazing at that weight...
Some bodies arn't ment to go by bmi standards...If you were 130 and looked sick when you were 15/16...maybe set a goal 15-20 pounds higher then that and go from there
I picked 135 lbs. because that's what I was before I gained weight and where my body hovers when I eat relatively healthy or in a healthy caloric range for me. I see we're close to the same height, 136 is in the healthy BMI range for your height but yeah it might not work for *you*. You could shoot for 143 lbs and see how you feel when you get there.
Last edited by DecemberSun; 01-02-2013 at 06:10 PM.
But it's very hard to know since I didn't have as much muscle back then as I plan on having this time around :/
Oh, I missed this part. That's me, too. See let me explain my goal better. I explained how I picked it and why I picked it, but I didn't explain that I'm not exactly fixed on that number indefinitely. I, like you, plan to have more muscle this time around when I get smaller. So my end weight might end up being 145 lbs, who knows. But I'm sticking it to 135 lbs until I get there. It can always be changed!
I've picked 112lbs based on BMI charts too. It's pretty much in the middle of the healthy weight range for me. But, I don't know how I will look or feel about myself when I get to 112lbs. I might want to lose more, I might want to stop when I reach 115lbs. I don't know, but this is just a start point and I will go from there which I think is the best to do.
I picked 127 because that's the high end of the healthy weight for my height. I know I still won't like how I look at that weight though, so I'll set another goal when I get there.
I weighed 112 in high school and still wasn't what I considered thin. Things have moved since then though, so we'll see. I'd be thrilled to drop below 120.
Why not start with a goal at the upper end of healthy, then adjust it lower if you're not satisfied with your body? That's what I did. My starting goal weight was 135, but I lowered it to 130, then 125 once I got closer and realized I still had extra weight that I wanted gone.
Like most others here, I chose a weight in the middle of the weight range that is considered healthy for my height. But, again like other posters, it's hard to say where I'll end up being happy, since I'm focusing on strength, physical fitness and building muscle more so than in my previous skinny days. I may end up being heavier than goal.
Wherever I end up, I just want to be well within a healthy, normal BMI range, so even with fluctuations in weight, I don't fluctuate in to and out of the obese BMI range. (149lb is my max weight in the normal BMI. Gaining even one pound puts me back in the obese range.)
I haven't looked that much at BMI, I kind of knew whereabouts a healthy weight would be but I didn't take that much into consideration when deciding on a goal weight. It seems most of you have done that though, so I'm gonna look more on the BMI scale. Anything below 59kg/130lbs is most likely going to make me look waifish, even if it's still within the healthy BMI, as I am naturally a bit curvy, even when I was a size US4 I still had hips and a bum and I don't want to lose that.
I think I might start going more by measurements as well actually, and clothing sizes, that seems better than simply going by the scale and the way I look in the mirror, cause that could be deceiving.
Thanks for all the input ladies, it definitely helped!
I picked the number that was smack dab in the middle of healthy for my height and age.
That given, I could still shed 5 more. Will I? Undecided. I'd like to, but wonder if it would be to hard to maintain. I'm maintaining well where I'm at right now.
I think as you get closer to goal, it becomes easier to decide, maybe the weight is fine, you may just need to spend a bit more time with some strength training to tighten up things. Or not.
It becomes a pretty arbitrary choice of what you're comfortable with. And of course it's changeable depending on how you feel.
I picked 140 as a rough weigh to shoot for. In reality, it will depends on how I feel in clothes, and how I look. I'd like to wear a size 6 or 8.
I lift weights as well, so I know my weight may be on the higher end but my size will be on the smaller end and I'm okay with that. That's why I don't focus too much on weight, but instead on eating right and exercise. Because this is for life.
I picked 150 because thats how much I weighed when I felt my healthiest. Your goal does not have to be your ultimate goal. Why don't you start by losing 10-20% and see where that takes you. Then you could adjust your goal if you want/need to lose more.
I picked 200 because the smallest I could remember being is 215 and I was still a little heavy at that weight. When I get there I'll probably try for 180 and see how I look/feel. It would be nice to be in onederland, but it may not be in the cards for me as I'm 6 feet tall and big boned.
Don't feel bad if you pick the high end of the bmi or even end up in the "overweight" section. My bmi says I should be at 160 and that's ridiculous.
How to decide Goal weight
