Deciding on a final goal weight
 

I looked for a sticky, as I imagine this question has been asked a lot, but didn't find one. Hope you don't mind.

I am trying to wrap my mind around the possibility that I may actually get to goal and stay there. Up until now, I set a random goal and thought that I would decide on a final goal when I actually got closer to it. As it's sort of approaching, I think I need to actually start thinking about how I will determine when I am "there."

I switched to 160 for now because I currently have 120 pounds of lean mass, so a 25% fat percentage gives me that number. I may, of course, lose more muscle as I continue to lose (I've worked really hard at maintaining a heavy lifting program to preserve as much muscle as possible, but understand that calorie restriction that allows me to lose a lot of fat makes maintaining muscle challenging), but it got me to wondering.

Does anyone here use fat percentage as an alternative to weight? Or just a supplement to it? I have seen that for some users, having a goal that they seem to be always striving to hit, but never quite hit, is the key to focusing. I fear it will do the opposite for me. How "attainable" do you think a goal should be? It also seems really common for a lot of people to maintain at a weight above their target weight for some time, unintentionally, before they break through to the target weight. I have considered trying out different weights as "maintenance weights" on the way down. Any thoughts on this?

I have lost significant weight twice in my life, and never felt worthy of posting in this forum because I was not a "maintainer" because I never actually felt satisfied with the lowest weight I would hit. But I want to be much more cautious this time that as I get within 50 pounds or so of where I eventually want to be, I don't hit the "give up" point that has resulted in massive regains.

It's a long, kind of rambling, post. I guess I'm just looking for general guidance on how to approach this last leg of my journey more successfully than I have in the past.

To be honest, your final goal weight picks you and not the other way around.

If you are serious about your weight training, as I am, and are careful to balance your diet with that you may even gain weight when you are nearer goal and get better results depending on what your non-weight goals are.

For example, I look better with a little muscle in the mid 170s than I did skinny-fat guy in the 160s when I hit my lowest.

I have a lot less control over the number now.

So I pick an unattainable goal (155) knowing I will never hit it and just stick to my exercise and diet regime that gives me the results I want (less fat, more muscle, better fitness).

Good point Ian. I picked a goal weight that I just couldn't reach. Then I upped it a bit and was able to maintain with a lot of hunger and cravings etc. Now I am maintaining a reasonable goal weight that my body picked. I am still telling myself to gently strive for the second goal weight to keep on track, even though I know I can't maintain it. Have to fool the brain into accepting what the body is telling it without letting the body completely take over and regain everything.

Dagmar :dizzy:

I've been maintaining 10 pounds above the weight I really want for more than a year now. Because it is pretty easy to stay here at this weight, my body apparently likes it here and I don't have too fight to hard to maintain, and I can eat fairly liberally and still be normal looking and fit into all but my smallest clothes.

For various health reasons, another 10 pounds off would be ideal, though. And 10 pounds is actually a modest desire. My mother was taller than me at the age I am now, and at least 15 pounds lighter than I am, if not more. We have similar frames, so I probably could stand to go ever lighter. I just can't hardly imagine it.

And when I say 10 pounds, it really isn't the number on the scale, if I gained muscle mass and lost body fat, that would be ok too. But lighter in the body fat department would be better for my back and I definitely have the fat to lose around my middle. The fact that this is a life long thing, however, has made me a bit cavalier about making this final push. And it is always possible I won't get there, too.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I find it interesting that all three of you are fairly consistent with still being in the hunt for lower weights, but still considering yourself maintaining. I actually really love that.