Optical, I adjusted mine as I lost weight. My first goal was to leave the obese category, then the overweight category. I then evaluated how happy I was with my progress and went down from there. I also have done a ton of reading about what I should be eating. I am definitely eating those things while still losing--slowly but surely. I always told myself I was a "big-boned" gal and had a thicker look, etc, etc. In actuality, I am in the lowest range of medium as far as bone structure. As I look back on that now, I was totally lying to myself as a way of protection I think. It allowed me to excuse myself from fitness. I am not saying you are--just my own experience.

i chose 135 from experience. I would be sickly at the ideal weight for me of 120. I was that once and had no fat on my body, plus I was bulemic/anorexic.

i have a medium frame and a muscular build. However, alot of people at 120 and my height look great! not me though.

135 just always sounded like the ideal weight to me, but as long as I'm under 160 and healthy I'll be happy!

I think the number is less important than the feeling of your "happy" weight: healthy, strong, and confident.

Exactly the same with me. I'm 5'6 or 5'5.5 depending on the day (haha) and 149/150lbs is the point where I'm no longer considered overweight on the BMI chart. I got down to 155 in 2004 and it was a good place for me...I just let things slip after that. Time to get back to where I want to be.


Kat

I don't like looking at BMI charts because they only take into consideration weight and height. They don't look at body types or muscle composition or any other factors. I chose 65 because my family said I'd look ridiculous if I tried for 60 (I'd be too thin). I also remember being around 143 when I first joined WW ages and ages and many many moons ago (I was 12 or so).

Ideally, I'd like less than 20% body fat.

I think this is a great thread question, it really got me thinking - I've NEVER been thin as an adult, have no clue what I should weigh, and just picked my goal weight out of a hat, so to speak - maybe I should really look into it more!

Another 5'7" here - I'm a medium frame and put on muscle easily. I've reached 150, and I guess I'm now on a pound-by-pound basis. At 42, I feel pretty darn good about how things look ... but after YEARS of experimenting, I've found a way of eating that really works for me and I'm still slowly losing - I don't WANT to add more calories. I figure I'll hit a level soon where the loss will stop, and well, that's where I'll stop!

Hi,
It is hard to remember if I have ever had a time in my life I wasn't anxious about food and getting fat, but a couple years ago I felt good about how I was eating (mostly healthy) and exercising regularly. I wasn't really "dieting" and I was able to maintain 135. I think each person's body is different. What is your set point? If you are eating a healthy diet, a reasonable amount of calories and exercising regularly and your scale says 160 or 120 does it really matter?

I try to tell myself this stuff, but the truth is that the scale is a big clue whether I AM eating healthy and exercising, but I am open to the possibility that I could be eating 1500 calories and exercising and still not able to get to my "ideal weight." If this happened to me I think I would be OK with it.