i've only just begun... but i find myself wondering if my goal weight is too low for my frame... and then i wonder if i'm just afraid of never getting there. my goal is 130, and i'm 5ft 5 1/2 in. i have a huge frame - ridiculously and frustratingly large. 130 is within the 'healthy' range for 5'6", slightly below the middle of it. but i've also considered that perhaps what i think is 'attractive' as far as weight is not necessarily healthy - i like a lean look. i absolutely don't like overly muscular, on men or women.
so i've considered re-setting my goal to the upper part of the range, but i'd feel like a coward if i did that.

opinions?

Nah, dont feel like a coward. I have a long term goal of just getting back to my lowest adult weight (193). Then i have an ultimate goal of 145. I know 193 is attainable, i have done it before. Once i get to that, i can reassess.

Dont sweat the small stuff, its not written in blood or concrete. Set a small goal for now. LIke 10 pounds. Then set another goal once you meet that. Have your long term goal be something that you feel is attainable in a year. Then think it over, as to where you are in a year.

Remember, i cant lost 100 pounds, but i can lose 10 pounds 10 times. Makes it more bearable.

I know what you mean, I question my goal weight quite a lot.
At the moment, I'm setting a goal that I feel I can get to, but I am going to re-assess my goal once I get to that weight.
Maybe you can set 130 as your goal and see how you look and feel at that weight and whether you could lose a few more pounds, or even gain a few more pounds??

I agree with the others. I put my goal weight as 140 because in my early 20s, I remember being 139 (actually happened without effort because I lost about 12-15 pounds during the months my father was dying of cancer) so 140 now seems to me a reasonably attainable weight goal. This is the first time I've had to lose this amount of weight plus feel like it's going to work long-term. However, even at 139, I was curvy and could pinch fat and had a rump (which men liked but I hated, lol!).
Anyway...I don't think too much about my end goal at this point. Everything for me is in steps, mini-goals of about 2-3 pounds at a time. Like the others said, if and when I get close to my goal, then I'll reassess. I don't know if 140 will look the same on me now that it did then, so I'll just have to see.
I say keep your goal as it is for now if it helps you to have something definitive in your mind to strive towards but don't dwell on it. Focus on what you're doing right now. That's why my siggy looks like a tortoise doing a race, he's like my alter ego. He's got this goal off in the distance he can see, but he has to focus on the steps immediately in front of him. He may not move as fast as others, and he may have to work harder sometimes to make that next step, but he's determined. Maybe when he reaches that pot of gold, he'll push it a little further down because he liked doing the race. Or he might stop short and decide he's happy where he is, and the pot will magically move towards him, lol.

I question mine as well. Right now, I am just looking forward to getting into a healthy range of weight though (bmi wise for me that means 164, frame wise it means 167) and I am only a few lbs away from there. After that, I am going to see how I feel! I think you should just be semi-goalless for now. Just go for weight loss and be happy with your achievements! See how you feel as you get closer

I am going through the same thing right now. I am 5ft 3inchs and I am at 135 right now. I originally wanted to see the 120's, 128 or so but I am fitting into a size 5 right now and everyone keeps asking if I am done yet because I look great. So I don't know. I paid for a diet program I am doing and I have two weeks left so I think I will stop with whatever the scales says in two weeks.

Hey Mdae,

With that much to lose, you might want to break down your ultimate goal into a few short-term goals! That way the road won't seem so long, and you'll also have chances to re-assess at each step.

You get to set whatever number you want... It's not a contest, no one is a coward if they change what they want to do. The main thing is to be heading in the right direction.

Right now I'm maintaining at the weight you see below, but it's not my ultimate goal. I just need to rest a bit. It's hard work!

Jay

I'm 5'9", the least I've weighed is 145 (I was actually "too" thin) and was comfortable at 155 to 160 -- however my goal at this point is 190 because that's what I weighed at my wedding ten years ago, it's been at least 12 years since I was 160 -- granted I felt overweight at 190, but that's nothing compared to now!! I would love 160 but I think if I can lose 60 pounds -- I might be happy there -- who knows. I'll figure it out when I get there. I kind of felt the same way -- if I put 160 and stopped at 190 it would make me fell like I'd given up so I set it high and can always go down. It's been so long since I've been out of the 200's, who knows where my weight will land comfortably and I can't wait to get there, no matter what it is.

I'm about 5'6 and my original goal weight was 120 pounds...which I did get to at one point and it really didn't suit my frame.

I'm about 143 pounds at the moment and I like the way I look I probably have a medium frame - wide hips and tend to carry weight on the back end lol. At the moment I have quite toned/muscled legs and backside from running & cycling.

My problem is I don't carry very much weight on my top half so when I drop much below what I am now I get very bony and I personally don't like that look!

It's all a bit of experimentation and learning how your body will respond when you start getting closer to your goal. Good luck!

I don't like the bony look either, and I would like to keep a bit of a butt. I'm the opposite of Lyria with more on top than on bottom. So, I want to stay in the 140s.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one that is 5'9" and wanting to be about 160. Like you though, I'm looking forward to seeing ONEderland again...that's my main thing. I haven't been down there in years and it will be nice. Once I get there, I will then determine how low I'd like to go. I need to be at least down to 189 to be in the Armed Forces, so that's the first number I"m shooting for. We'll see after that.

I find that mini-goals help me....when I look at the big picture I"m like "Ugh!! I still have over 100 lbs to lose!!", but when I see my mini-goal I can say....."eh, I'll get there in a month!!". I would say set your main goal higher and create some mini-goals for yourself. good luck!

thanks for the responses! i have some mini-goals, and that helps... but i also had a reward in mind for my long term goal, and it'd feel like cheating if i changed it now, hehe...

X

Gosh I'm probably no help at all in this topic because I'm as uncertain about my goal weight as you! When I look at BMI charts 150 lbs. is still "overweight", but I got to my goal weight by doing a little math and thinking about what size I wanted to be. I started with my size when I was 250 (size 20), then averaged how many pounds I lost to lose 1 size (about 20 lbs.), then decided what size I wanted to be (size 10) to figure out how much weight I wanted to lose. I don't really know what my ideal weight is or what my goal weight should be because I haven't been a good healthy weight since I was in junior high and obviously that's not going to work for me now, so the size method will do for now. I suppose I'll just have to wait until I get there to see if it's really the weight I want.

I have a large frame, too, so I aimed for the highest acceptable BMI for my height and knocked five pounds off of that. If I need to go lower once I hit 145, then I'll go lower. I'd personally rather set the bar at an attainable level and keep going past it than set it at an unattainable level and end up "surrendering". I don't think it's "cowardly" to take this approach. Weight loss is partly about self esteem, and I want to approach it in the way that will be best for my self esteem, even if that means setting "easier" goals at first.

Either way, good luck to you!