how did everyone here get a goal weight? Did you take a weight you knew you looked good at and aimed for that? Did you use a certain number below your current or highest weight? Did you use BMI or some other calculation to see what a "healthy" weight is?

here is my problem...i never really weighed myself that much. I dont know what a good weight (as far as me looking good) is for me. Also, if i use the BMI scale, it wants me under 200 and i know i would look anorexic if i was that small (keep in mind, im a guy).

i guess i can just keep losing weight until i am somewhere that i feel good about myself. any ideas? do i really need to set an ultimate goal?

I've heard a lot of people around here say how helpful minigoals are, and I personally love them. My ultimate goal is based on BMI, but to be honest, I have no idea if that will be my goal when I get down below 200. I like to have something off in the distance as a goal, but really, its just a vague approximation.

Mini goals give you something to celebrate, they keep you motivated, and prevent you from getting impatient. I say, if you aren't sure of an ultimate goal, forget it... pick an amount you say you know you want to lose, then when you reach it, another one.


Good luck with your weight loss.

i do have mini goals. i have a certain weight i want to be each time i go to my nutritionist (every three weeks) and so far i have always met that goal. it does help me quite a bit. like today, i know i am going to see my nutritionist tuesday and that is keeping me from having fast food like i really want. i want to be at 280 when i see her next.

according to BMI the weight i need to achieve to finally not be overweight or obese is 180 and trust me, not only is that impossible for me physically but i would look horrible!! thats why i dont go with BMI. the only thing it uses is height and weight, it does not take into account body type.

anyways, thanks for the advice!!

BMI goal weights are really just guidelines. Depending on your body type, you could either look skinny at 180, or fine, or still heavy.

I have chosen my goal weight that is within the BMI range, but I also am going to adjust as I get there. I might decide I like how I look at 135 and stop, or I might keep going. It's just sort of an evaluation point for me to get to.

I would just keep doing what you are doing and evaluate as you get closer.

I agree that BMI is a bit of a crock when it comes to people who aren't the perfect average. Have you ever seen that site where they show you pictures of people and their bmi category, and it just seems ridiculous?

Here it is, anyway:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7736776...7602199008819/


Btw, it seems like you already have a pretty good goal plan, and I'm glad you recognize your own body enough to say that 180 is way too small for you. A lot of people would get frustrated instead.

wow...thanks for posting those pics. thats hilarious!!

I came up with my goal weight of 115 because that is what i weighed in high school. My eating during my college years has not been good for me.

same here!! the only problem is that my college years have stretched to be 6 years now lol...and still a little bit to go.

go to this website, it shows you different people's heights and weights. it's simply fabulous!
http://www.cockeyed.com/photos/bodie...htweight.shtml

I picked my weight by BMI, but if I get to a point where my weight is fine and losing more would make me unhealthy, I'll stop then. I figure it's a goal, not a mandate.

Actually, my goal weight, has pretty much been my goal weight all my life! I dunno I always thought I would look good at that weight.

Here you go - a couple of recent threads on the topic:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99612

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70586

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=147840

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137821

Hope that helps some.

.

I went off the BMI chart because I hadn't been under 200 in a few years. I picked 150 until I get there and see if I wanted to go any lower. I think 156 or 158 is the top of the "normal" weight range for my height.

Honestly, at 5'11" tall, I would doubt highly that you would look "anorexic" at 200 pounds.

My husband is your exact same height, and when we were young and first started dating (11 years ago) he weighed 140. He was underweight some, and wore about a 30 waist jeans. A few years later, when he got a little older, he was about 170 pounds, and wore about a 32-34 waist jeans. He was about average in size for his height at that time.

He started running, and bodybuilding a few years ago...and now he weighs about 200-210 depending on how strict he is being. He is wearing a 34-36 waist in jeans in most brands. His arms and shoulders and back look very, very good and broad-he looks football playerish now. He does have a *bit* of the problem belly/lovehandle thing but not much at all. But, he has a lot of bulk-he is DEFINITELY not skinny at ALL. He wears a size XL in shirts, because of the broadness in his back and shoulders from the weightlifting.

Honestly, when you have a lot of weight to lose-it is hard to choose a goal weight when you are that far from it, because it is hard to guage what you are actually going to look like at that weight. It's hard to visualize.

I would recommend mini goal weights at this point. Aim to lose maybe 20 or 25 pounds, and then at that point, guage how much more you want to lose-say, another 10 or 20, and so on. When you get closer down the road, you may decide that you would look best at 220, or 210, or even 200 or a few pounds less. Goal weights are often something that you have to mess with along the way.