I came on here with a pretty solid idea of where I wanted to end up, body-wise, including weight. But as I've read and participated in more threads, I've also been paying attention to people's stats as far as height and goal weight.

I noticed that, compared to others on here, my GW was actually much lower relative to my height. (In fact, I even raised it from 130 to 135 because I felt weird about it.)

I chose my GW on the basis of where I've been when I was happiest with how I looked in the past (and of course I won't be crying if I weigh in at 140 but wind up much fitter than I was before). It's in my healthy weight range and I know how I look and feel at that weight (good!).

But since there's a discrepancy, I was wondering: how did you choose your GW?

Well for me it's my original weight-before I rapidly put on weight, and lots of it. I weighed 110-still have the photos. I was HOT. So I want to get back to it.

Great question, Underanalysis. I think I fall somewhere in line with your thinking. First, I wanted my body to feel a certain way. I wanted the aches and pains associated with being overweight to end. I wanted to be able to do every day things without breaking a sweat such as fold laundry, walk up a flight of stairs, buckle an airplane seat belt without struggling, etc. You know, those activities that most people just take for granted and never give a second thought to. When I thought about actual numbers, I thought (still do think) 140 is a good number and place to be FOR ME. And I almost made it!!!! Arrgggggh! I'm only 5' so on the BMI scale I believe this is still overweight. But for me, the question I asked was "What weight could I maintain with reasonable success without driving myself crazy all day every day with thoughts about my diet and exercise habits?" Currently, I've gained some weight back and I'm struggling with knee issues, but when I was almost at goal, the diet and exercise part had become such a good and "normal" habit, it was almost second nature. I was also running and completed several 5K and 10Ks with no problem, kick boxed, did the elliptical, etc. And for the first time in years I was buying clothes I really liked off the rack. Most importantly my numbers--blood pressure, sugar levels, were all at the low end of normal. I was healthy.

So for me the number on the scale plays a role but other factors for me did as well.

Good luck to you on your journey and finding that happy weight for yourself

Well, I know several girls who look healthy but don't exercise, around my height, who are about 105 lbs or so. Since I'm older, I just added 10 lbs and hope that means I'll have a slightly bigger butt, which I want to have.

I looked up height/weight charts online from several recognized and respected sources. I took into account my height , age and gender. I found quite a lot of variance on the different sites so I averaged them and I then selected the high end of the healthy weight range. This is only a starting point for me. I intend to refine it as I get closer to my goal. I may raise, lower or leave it as is in the future. It all depends upon how I feel about myself.

Honestly, it was an absolute stab in the dark. I haven't broken the 180's in 15 years, so I am guessing that is where I need to be. I have noticed that many successful folks on here have a CW even lower than GW, and vice-versa. I will probably adjust my GW as I get closer, so I can see how I look and feel. Charts are challenging, because everyone has a different body structure and our bodies change over time. Weight may or may not reflect size, depending on muscle composition.

BTW- eating perfectly on plan today and I feel great. I feel very safe and secure with my WOE. Makes me wonder why I am on board the second time around....

I have a general idea and I know I have a lot of muscle on me so I don't really expect to get to a low weight for my height…that being said, if you set it a little higher and don't like where you are then you can always reevaluate and take your weight a bit lower. My goal weight is more about body fat and body comp than the scale number.

I think that those of us who have been morbidly obese for a long time look at goal weights differently from those who have not been morbidly obese. I could not imagine being under 200 pounds so at first I thought that I would be happy if I could just get under 200. When 200 seemed possible, I changed my goal to 180. When 180 seemed possible, I changed it to 160. That may or may not be my final goal. I am going on the theory that I will know goal when I get to it.

When I joined WW many years ago, my goal weight was 139. I went back to WW 16 years ago and my goal was set at 150. I met both of those goals. I'm back with 34 pounds to lose. I pray this time I will keep the weight off. I love reading the posts, very encouraging.

i just knew what pant size i wanted to be in and had a pair of pants that i had kept from 20 years ago and would try them on periodically (i lost most of my 100lbs w/out a scale) The only problem is those jeans were from the late 80's and the waist is waaayyy up there, LOL. Way higher than where jeans are today but i did fit into them and now they're even a bit baggy.

I didn't want to impose a weight # on myself

I know that I look good at 130 and I have a lot of clothes that I love currently collecting dust in my closet in a size 4-6, which is what I wore at that weight. I would love to get down to 125, but I'm not sure if I could maintain it.

I just picked a weight that I thought would be a reasonable one to obtain. I will still be considered overweight at 160 at my height... But if I can (like others wrote before) get to this weight and feel that I can lose some more.. I probably will... I will be so ecstatic to even catch a wiff of this weight!

You just need to pick a weight that is not impossible to shoot for (that gets very frustrating and hurts too in my opinion - to pick a weight that is not a real possibility) and when you reach that weight and you are not satisfied and still over your ideal weight.. you can shoot for a lower number. Great thing about this site... nothing is written in Stone!

I started out with the weight I could go to WW for free, now that I'm getting closer I feel I could make my goal of the top of normal bmi for my height. I know what you mean about feeling weird sometimes about my goal weight but for the opposite reason you do. However, I know from personal experience where I cannot maintain and that is what's important to me now that I'm older.

There's nothing wrong with aiming for a lower healthy weight. There's also nothing wrong with adjusting your goal weight throughout your journey as you learn more about your body and your individual wants and needs.

Best of luck yo you in your journey

I looked at various weights at my height on MyBodyGallery, and found the weight I think looks the best, which looks like anything 140 and under for my height. However, I've never been thin so I have no idea what weight will look best for me. I really can't imagine being in the hundreds though, so I focus on 10 pounds at a time.

I don't think I have been my goal weight since middle/elementary school so I wouldn't really know what I looked like. I picked it by researching what a healthy weight would be for a woman of my height. I don't trust myself with the way my body looks because the last time I lost weight, I honestly had the worst perception. I wish I could've realized how fantastic I looked. This really is a great question though.