I'll try to make this short and sweet.

Originally, my doctor gave me an ultimate goal weight of 125 (this was back when I still weighed 203.) So I plugged away and slowly got down to the mid-140s, and then I found that, holy cow, no matter what I did, the weight would no longer come off. Like, I could nearly kill myself at the gym, watch every bite I ate, and still nothing.

So last week I went back to my doctor and we discussed an adjusted goal weight for me. We settled on 140 because even though I'm not in a "normal" BMI range right now, or at an "ideal" weight, my body fat percentage is in the normal range, my hip-to-waist ratio is in the healthy range, my blood pressure is great, all that. More importantly, I feel awesome. So, she wrote me a note stating that she feels 140 is a good goal weight for me. And I'm fine with that; I have 2 pounds to go now.

But I do wonder something. Let's say, for instance, that I lose this last 2 pounds and do the maintenance thing and become a lifetime member. If, let's say, six months or a year down the road I start thinking to myself, "Hmm. Maybe I should give it another try and see if I can hit 125", would WW let me do that? I'm thinking they probably would, simply because 125 is actually within *their* healthy weight range for my height, but I'm not sure.

I'll be asking my leader at my next meeting, but you all were the first ones I thought of when I got this question in my head, so...hopefully someone will be able to enlighten me!

I am unsure about this, but very curious to what you find out. I have heard different things. I think it may depend on your location. I am in a range that I can easily maintain but isn't quite goal... I've also thought about calling it "goal" for the time being with the option of losing a bit more.

I believe as long as you are within the "healthy" range for BMI, it shouldn't be a problem. I know that I had set my goal at 160 because it was the high end of healthy for my height, but I was allowed to go lower as long as I stayed in the healthy range. But your goal being made by a doctor COULD make a difference. So I guess I'm really no help here. lol.

I've been as many as 12 lbs. below my stated goal, which is within the WW range. The lifetime Pocket Guide states that if you fall 5 lbs. below the bottom of your weight range, you will be asked to get a doctor's note. If you go 10 lbs. below, you'll be required to have a doctor's note. If you don't furnish a note or fall below the doctor's stated weight, then your membership will be suspended. From that, I would think that since you're staying within your weight range, you'd be okay. Usually people gets notes from their doctors that say they can go higher rather than lower than the weight range.

Sheila: Thank you for the info! This is pretty much what I was thinking; that because the goal I set for myself (with my doctor) was actually higher than what is stated in the WW healthy weight range, I'd be okay if I wanted to drop a few more pounds.

Thanks again!

It shouldn't be a problem at all. My official WW goal is 132 lbs. I got as low as 115lbs while still weighing in every month. As long as you fall within the healthy weight range for them, it's not an issue.

Hi Sheila - thanks for posting that - do you, or does anyone else know, if you fall more than 5 lbs of your goal weight without a note from your doctor, will WW actually suspend your membership (i.e., you can no longer come to meetings or use the eTools) or can you just adjust your goal weight? I've always thought it was kind of silly to ask someone who hasn't been a healthy weight in 25+ years to "pick a goal weight" and then penalize them if they fall under it yet are still within a healthy range. So if I "officially" choose 145 and 6 months later I've dropped 6 lbs, I either have to go to my doctor (which I won't do) or they won't let me be a member anymore or I just have to start paying again?

Sorry - I have been doing WW Online this time around and just started going back to meetings a couple weeks ago to help with my last 20. This is my 4th time doing WW and I've never hit lifetime, or even been this close. I don't have the greatest leader in the world and I've hung around after meetings a couple times to ask a few questions like this, but I can't wait around for 30+ minutes until the horde dies down, lol.

It is not falling 5 lbs below your goal weight, it falling 5 lbs or more below the lowest healthy weight on the BMI chart in your weight record. That means for you at 5'6" that you need to stay between 124 and 155 unless you have a note from your doctor explaining why a lower weight is medically acceptable. Hope that helps!