I'm just wondering how everyone determines their ultimate goal weight. Is it a number you've been at before that you know you feel good at? Is it something dictated by a BMI chart, or perhaps dictated by a doctor?

For me, it's what my WiiFit is telling me I should be at. A number I've never been at before. The normal range for my height can be anywhere from like 115-155. So my goal weight puts me smack dab in the middle of that.

Mine is the very top end of a healthy BMI range. And that is only because I'm going to need to have a lot of excess skin removed and most surgeons want you in that range before they'll operate. Otherwise I think I'd be happy at 160.

My original goal was to be at the mid-range of BMI for my height, which would be around 150, then I decided to keep going to 146- half my highest weight. I felt great at that weight, but kept on journaling my food intake, calorie counting, and exercising and went down to 138. Life threw some wrenches in my maintenance, and I've gone up a bit since January, and I'm working on getting back down to that weight.

I think the weight I want is 145. I've always kind of thought that the best weight was 100 lbs at 5' +5 lbs for each additional inch. (This has no scientific basis. I completely made it up.) That would put me at 150. I thought 145 would be ideal so I can maintain in the 145-150 range. Those numbers might be wrong for me when I actually get close. Who knows.

Quantum - your formula isn't that far different from what you get with the mid range of a healthy BMI for any given height. It might be a bit on the low side of the middle of the range, but close enough to get you in the ballpark.

Lin

I choose 160 because that is the top end of healthy body weight by BMI. When I get there I might change my mind and go lower. For now that is my goal. I was 132 when I was 20 and met my DH. I know I will never get back to that weight and really don't want to.

I chose 180 (at this point). I played sports throughout highschool and was somewhat toned/muscular. I was between a size 8-10. I know that 180 is above what any chart tells me but that is where I felt healthy and it felt doable. I could stop at a size 12 and be happy too. I may reevaluate once I get closer to those goals.

breadbox-I am the same height as you and did exactly the same thing. I went right in the middle of my BMI so that I could have some wiggle room. I have gotten down as low as 130 in my journey, but settled for 140 with 145 being my redline weight that I won't go over. It's all very personal, but I remember asking this exact same question and wondering how everyone chooses.

I've learned from experience that it's not always useful to have an ultimate goal weight 100 pounds away from it, because you're going to have to make changes based on how you feel at lower weights. So I've got a few numbers that sound good to me- 160 is my lowest adult weight, 145 is half of my highest body weight and is within normal bmi range, and 135 is my "ideal" weight, according to doctors. But in reality, none of them are my "ultimate goal weight."

In reality, right now I'm working on not being obese anymore, and after that I'll be working on not being overweight anymore. Once those things happen, I'll choose my goal weight based on how I feel, not on a specific number.

I've been reading these posts out of true curiosity. It is interesting to me that we all have different ways to make things work for ourselves.

Kelly315's method is great, but would never have worked for me, for example. I HAD to have an end goal in my plan. Anything else would have allowed me to stop at that point, mentally. And, for me, if the mental game stopped, the physical game would be impossible. It was actually difficult for me to hold at 90 pounds when 100 was what I had been saying for the whole time.

I really like the idea of having shorter term goals, but they wouldn't have worked for me. Even my mini goals were time/weight based. I wanted to lose a certain number of pounds by certain dates that were important to me last summer - 2 family weddings, a HS class reunion, and things like that.

I do think most of us have an idea when we start out, though, as to what we want to be at the end, and it's usually based on a healthy BMI or a weight where we know we were good in the past. I just hope we all just keep working toward the end goal and that we realize it doesn't matter how long it takes or how many times we re-adjust. There isn't a right or wrong way to do this.

Lin

interesting how everyone has such different goals. i think it helps keep things in perspective for me.

i have my goal number but i'd like to ultimately get even lower if i could. but that goal number would also be the smallest i've ever been in my adult life. so maybe that number is just fine.

My first goal weight was to be lighter than my boyfriend!

"Ultimate goal" is something absurd like 105 pounds, but I will not engage that and risk redeveloping a binge eating problem.

Goal now is size US 2/UK 6 pants. Which I may not have to lose much scale weight to achieve, as long as I keep it up in the gym.

I have been on the IP program for 4 weeks. I definitely need the structure.
It helps that my husband is supportive. I love this site. Good luck everyone!

My lowest adult weight was 119, and that was as a 20 year old. Well, at 47 I just don't realistically think that is happening again, and I didn't really look that good there anyway - my face was terribly thin and I was sick easily.

As a young woman/mother, I always hovered right at 140. Even after pregnancies, I always returned to 140 with no real effort. Of course at the time, I thought I was so fat, but in pictures I look really good.

This time, my first goal is just to get under 200. I chose my ultimate goal as something I thought of as achievable and that I could live with if it never went lower, and I chose 160. 140 would be awesome, but I will not beat myself up if I never get there. After 20 years in the 240+ range, 160 seems like it would be a dream come true.