[jansan]

How did you all decide what your final weight goal would be?

Did you set one goal before you started and stick with it, or did that goal change as you went?

If your goal was weight based, on what was your final number based -- WW or generic height/weight chart, personal history, or?

Did anyone adjust upwards or downwards as you approached your number and why?

Or was your goal something such as better health or fitness, or clothes size?

Jan

[Meg]

Good question, Jan! My weight goals were both short-term and long-term since I had so far to go. My short-term goals were usually just the next five pounds or something like getting below 200# or sometimes a fitness goal, like doing a real push-up.

My first long-term goal was 160 pounds - losing 97 pounds. I picked that number simply because it was the least I had ever weighed as an adult. At that weight, I wore size 14 pants and a M or L top and I thought it would be heaven to get there again. As I got close to that number, I realized that I didn't want to settle for 160 and that it wouldn't be hard to go lower. I hadn't stalled out in the weight loss to that point and it was coming off fast, so I just kept going doing what I had done and kept losing.

Once I hit 135, my body pretty much told me that was as far as I was going. My body fat % was 16% at that time. Over the six months after that, my BF continued to drop even though my weight stayed the same (I was building muscle and losing fat). At one point, I was at 132.5 and 12.5%, but that just isn't sustainable for me for the long-term (90 minutes of cardio/day, very restricted diet).

My permanent goals now are staying between 135 and 140 and keeping my BF in the 16% range.

[Ilene]

My goal is to be just like Meg !! Seriously, it's sort of like her goals, I'm not at goal weight wise yet BTW, but I'm not far off...The number on the scale doesn't bother me anymore (that much) but if I see it go up I cut back and if I see it go down I'm very happy ... I'd like to wear a size 4-6 and be under 20% BF, at present, according to the charts, I've never had it done with calipers, I am 21.2%, I really don't know how accurate that is. But I use the same one every month...

[featherz]

I had a BUNCH of goals! I started with a goal of 145- that's the BMI threshold at my height to move into 'normal' weight. Next goal was 138 (30 pounds lost), final goal was supposed to be 135. Wasn't happy at 135, so next goal was 128 (40 pounds lost) and that's where I stuck. Body fat is around 17% or thereabouts.

[Only Me]

My goal was a moving target too. Initially, just it was just to finish losing the weight from my most recent pregnancy so that I had some clothes to fit into other than jogging pants. (I started when baby dd was 2 months, so I guess 160 isn't really my highest weight, but my 9 months prego weight included 9+lb baby, placenta and extra fluids, so I don't count that. The first 15-20lbs take no effort to lose anyway). But that was always a temporary goal, with 130 in my mind as a final goal. My goal ended up being revised downward as I got near 130, first to 125, then to low 120s. Which is where I am now weight wise. I'm pretty happy with my weight, and now I'm working on running further and faster, and trying to work in a few crunches daily to help tone up my stomach.

My current weight goal is based on a bmi of about 22. With my family history of diabetes and having had a 9+lb baby, I'm at a significantly increased risk as I get older, and what research I've looked at claims risks start going up with a bmi as low as 23. Diabetes is also a bit motivation for me to stay physically active.

[Mel]

When I started trying to lose weight, I never even had a goal weight in mind. When I joined this site, everyone on the board on which I initially posted listed their starting, current and goal weights, so I figured I'd better come up with a goal weight. I just picked a weight at which I remembered maintaining for many years in my 30's, even though I now remember I felt fat at that weight. Of course, I also felt fat 20 pounds lighter, which was less than my current lean body mass

I don't know whether it was because I'd picked that number, or it really was the "right" number, but much as I would like to get about 5 pounds below 135, that's where my body has stuck for the last 3 years. I've lost body fat and gained muscle, but like Meg, the only time I've gotten the scale down below 135 have been on really restricted diets and extreme gym time sessions. It wasn't maintainable for me. I still look at my scale number and think "geez, that's HEAVY."

Mel

[almostheaven]

I looked up weight charts and chose 135, which was close to the average low range for my height. As I got closer, I started thinking I might revise that down a bit to 130 or so. Will know when I reach it.

[catharus]

Since I was attending WeightWatchers and they have a chart of acceptable weights, my "WW goal weight" was determined by the chart. If you're curious the chart is available online at weightwatchers.com under the "Healthy & Fit" tab from the home page. Their chart is based on BMI. The highest allowable weights work out to a BMI of 25. The lowest allowable weights are a BMI of 20. I chose the maximum for the age group below me (up to 25 years old) rather than my own age group (25-45 years old) because the maximum for my age group seemed too high to me.

Like others, my personal goal (distinct from WW) changed over the journey. At the very first it was 130, then I revised upward to 140 as the journey grew harder before I joined WW. As I got close to 140 with WW, I revised downward to 135. 140 wasn't as small as I'd like to be. So I compromised at 135. 130 was my old old (16 years ago old) running weight and I didn't think I could maintain it without 25 mile weeks. As for anything lower, I knew I looked too thin at 125 and positively skeletal at 121, so 130 was the absolute minimum.

[MrsJim]

Except when I was on WW (years and years ago) where they MAKE you have a 'goal weight', I've NEVER had a set number as a 'goal weight'.

I just remember that when I was 265 pounds, I would think 'what wouldn't I give to be able to fit in a size 18!' At the time, size 18 was the largest size available in most 'regular' stores (i.e. not Lane Bryant, Sizes Unlimited or Women's World, which is what i was generally limited to). When I got down to a size 18 I started thinking about how wonderful it would be to be a size 16. And so on...when I got to be a size 10, I thought it would be way-cool to be in the single digits.

So basically it was based on clothing size. Now, it's more like "what weight I can maintain happily, without driving myself crazy?" At this point for me, that's 145-149 pounds. Perhaps in the future, that number will go down to 140-145 or whatever. But heck, I feel good, I LOOK good, I'm healthy, and bottom line that's what counts!

[srmb60]

I flip-flopped according to my mood. I think initially I thought that if any old body could lose ten poinds then I could lose twenty. However, on message boards everyone had a goal weight so I picked something incredibly youthful like 119 lbs.
If I was having a hard time, I would find a chart that said 145 was fine, if I was having a wonderful time I would switch back to 122.
I slipped under 130 for a couple of months last year, rethought everything (this is hard now, maybe God wants me to be 132), stalled out and gained back.
I obviously hadn't figured out how to maintain!
This last time, I decided that I wanted to hover under 130. Most ordinary fitting clothes worked for me there. I didn't have to wear anything that disguised anything.
I got to 125 or 126 easily and that was nice and slim looking. I actually began to realized that I was a small-ish person (not the sturdy Flemish woman I had always thought).
I have a phobia about fluctuations and tidy numbers. I didn't like hovering over 125 so I shot for 40 lbs lost. That'd be 122 lbs and a comfortable hover range under 125.
I've maintained that since the second week in September, which isn't very long but it hasn't been very hard either.
So here I am. Clothes fit, I feel good, I eat pretty well and enjoy food, I exercise a bit. It feels good here.
So I guess, in a nut shell, I'm recommending a flexible goal. You'll see as you drop. Maybe start with a chart that gives a very wide range for your height. I maintain that folks who have been overweight for a while really don't remember what kind of bones they have If I had been the sturdy European woman I thought I was, 122 would have been a ridiculous goal. And as you can see there can be a vast range for similar heights.
A good plan is flexible.

[ameliaamy]

Let's see... First I just wanted to be healthier. I was telecommuting, and I decided that walking maybe 60 feet a day (office to bathroom to kitchen to office) was going to leave me with a squishy soft bottom. And living 2 doors from Dairy Queen meant blizzards 2-3 nights a week. Uh oh!

After a couple of months of walking a half hour on lunch every day I'd lost 7 pounds and decided "this ain't so bad, let's see if I can keep it up!" A friend had done weight watchers on her own (the basic info, without signing up) so I got the same basic info from her and started counting points, which meant I had to set a goal. Like a lot of the other responders, I set it pretty high initially. I was 5'5" and 155 pounds, and decided to aim for the high side of the weight watchers chart for my age (25) which would be 138, or 144 when I turned 26 a few months later. And I made it. And I went to the doctor and he said "You're only 5'4"!" so I revised my goal, and aimed for 134 because anything worth doing is worth doing right, and I was so close anyways.

And then the weight watchers "Core" plan came out, and I was curious enough to enroll, because our insurance re-imburses for weight loss plans. I told myself I was at my goal, and dangit, I was staying there! But you have to lose at least 5 pounds to make lifetime, so here I am at 129 by my home scale (132 with clothes on at the meetings ) and on my 4th week of maintenance, going for lifetime status.

I think if I had set the goal so low initially I would have been frustrated, because it took a year and some to lose 35 pounds. Even now, I'm playing it by ear and going to see if I can live in my skin. I realized today that at 140 I was thin and pleasanty soft. Now I can see my ribs, and being so skinny makes me focus on any fat I find, like right above my hip bones. It's like I was a perfectly frosted cake, and now someone has run their finger over me, skimming frosting and leaving me to focus on imperfections.

Moving forward I'm planning to focus on muscle tone instead of weight, since being healthy was Goal One.

-Amy

5' 3.5"
172/164/129/134
HW/SW/CW/GW

[jansan]

Such wonderful responses. Thank you all. You are such a valuable resource. A living, breathing, typing 'Thin for Life'.

I had never considered how anyone else set their goals, or that they were so flexible about it. I do know I have only a general idea where I am going to end up. I have set an interim long-term weight goal of 170 for a couple reasons. First, I want a goal that is relatively close so I can work harder to get to it. I prefer the light at the end of the tunnel to be closer. Second, if I set it too far ahead of me, it would be too discouraging. So 170 is it. I am currently one cube of butter below 204. I once was told by a doctor, after being hooked up to one of those body fat % machines, that 170 is where I should aim first. I had totally forgotten that till now in fact. I remember being shocked by that high a number.

I suspect if all goes well that I will settle in at about 150 (plus or minus 10). This is the range my body has tended to settle in the past when I was paying no attention to food/eating/weight. But that will be for my body to decide. It really isnt up to me to come up with a final number, its going to be assess as I go.

Of course basic good health is the primary reason, and numbers seem to be a way to monitor that. Nice fitting clothes comes in second.

Thank you all again. Wonderful reading. Jan

[MrsJim]

Jan - you might want to check out this article which is posted on the Ladies who Lift forum about "getting thin slowly".

[jansan]

Thanks for the article MrsJim. My problem is not losing too fast, though I may have given that impression, but rather too slowly. My high weight was 250 about 8-10 years ago (I no longer even remember). I had been losing about 10 pounds/year on one of the non-dieting, intuitive eating approaches. Great training for maintaining I believe, but not ideal for losing weight, though there isnt much hardship with it. I got to about 190 year before last, then several harsh personal things hit the fan, I relapsed for almost 2 years, and regained about 25 pounds. Dang! But life goes on and broken pieces had to be picked up. Fortunately alot of the lost weight stayed off because my eating has dramatically changed for the better inspite of relapsing. But I am almost 60 years old, and have no intention of waiting to 65 to reach my goal losing at 10 pounds/year.

While I am looking to increase my rate of loss,-- up to a heart pounding one pound or so per week-- I dont think this will cause any back-lash problems. Of course I am following no real plan, dont count calories per se (though I am mindful of them), nor write anything down, yet. I listen to my body for when its physically hungry, then I eat what appeals to me and is healthy. I average about 6 or so mini-meal times/day. I am now freely choosing to eat lower calorie items, coupled with smaller servings of them. I probably consume in the 1800/day range. I am very mindful of what I eat, though it may not seem like it.

I made an agreement with myself years ago that if I am truly physically hungry (not emotional hunger) and uncomfortable, I can eat. This has worked very well for me when I am truly attuned to it. I also absolutely insist that my food tastes good, and it does for the most part even stripped of almost all fats and sugar and most refined carbs. Thank goodness I am a good cook. And I have been meeting my one pound per week goal doing this for just over 2 months, though its not always 1 for 1. If and when this pace slows, and it will, I will have to tinker with things.

While I want to get to 170 as fast as I can, to me this means probably sometime next summer. And, like any good child writing to Santa, maybe Christmas 2005 for my final goal, whatever that is. I am not naturally patient, so sometimes this is hard. But the way I have retrained myself to eat cannot be rushed too much.

Jan, maintainer in training
h250/s215/c204/g?170?

[almostheaven]

Jan, I don't recall seeing you say whether or not you exercise? When I first started trying to lose weight, I changed the way I ate. I didn't cut back on eating, but just started eating healthy foods. I lost VERY slowly. From August 2002 to June 2003, I had only lost about 30 pounds. In June 2003, I added in daily exercise. by January 2004, I had lost 40 pounds. Exercise really makes a huge difference in losing.