My goal weight is 160. And at 5''4 my doctor said my healthy weight is about 137. Well I just don't want to be that thin. I weigh 280 now (6 lbs down, woot!) and I just can't fathom being any less than 160. It's certainly possible that I can get to 160, decide I'm still not happy and go down a bit more. But is it 'healthy' to maintain a weight outside the healthy range with no intention of losing?

I think it's best to set a practical goal, and when you reach it, see what you decide then. Losing over 100 pounds will do an enormous amount of good for you to begin with!

you are going to be way healthier at 160 then you are now. If you can easily maintain that for the rest of your life I think it's better than pushing yourself to an unmaintainable weight and risk getting too comfortable to continue.

but really, when you are losing 100 pounds I think it's pretty tough to even set a hard goal weight. It's hard to fathom what that smaller weight is going to look and feel like.

I think your doctor is going by BMI which at 160 would still be high.
I don't think anybody would think of 137 as thin. Why not make a compromise with your doctor at 145 ?

Yeah, that!

As someone who has been this weight previously in my life (even though it was 8+ years ago!), I really couldn't wrap my head around what I'd look like at this point. Now I'm here and still want to go further. BUT if I were to stop today and maintain I'd be WAY healthier than I was at my highest weight.

I think it's pretty normal for 3FCers to pick a goal weight and change it once they get closer to their goal (either up or down). I've always had a weight range in mind (140-155)lbs, we'll see what happens once I get there.

Good luck on your journey!!! I also highly suggest having some mini-goals a long the way to look forward to!

It's scary when you first see where you 'should be' especially when you know of others around the same height at a weight you'd consider to be healthy.
Starting off on this I was 235 at 5'6". I have friends around my height at 160 who carry it really well so I figured that's be a good goal.
I look online, look at statistics, and find that a good weight to be at is 143. Random number, right? Who ends in a 3? Anyway I agree with ELBS717. Set your goal and go from there. You may find the way you carry your weight would work better if you were down a little bit more.
I think it's just a step at a time and see how your frame carries the rest of your weight.

Seriously, this is a question to ask yourself at 160, not now. Of course you cant fathom it now. At 160 you may decide great, at 160 you might change your mind, you CANT decide now.

And for 5'4" the top of the healthy range is 145 so your doc is recommending something closer to the middle of the healthy range.

That being said. 200 is healthier than 260. 180 is healthier than 200. Whereever you decide is best for you is better than where you are now.

I would. And I've weighed under that

I'm only 5'0" and when I got down to 150 and got stuck, I felt like a failure because I didn't reach the magic '120' number that was my goal. I was still 'overweight' at 150 for sure, but I was a lot healthier and happier than I am at 218. It's easy to fall into an 'all or nothing' mindset when you're losing, and that's what happened to me. I regret viewing 150 as a failure more than I can tell you. Currently it's my new goal, and once I get back there I'll reevaluate.

Get down to whatever you get down to, then see how you feel. No sense setting yourself up for failure, regardless of what your doctor says.

Well, I love your attitude. I don't think that one size fits all (pardon the pun!) in terms of our weight goals. If you are happy when you get to 160, then focus on maintaining that. BMI aside, people are shaped differently, have different bone densities, and differently lifestyles. Why must everyone who is 5 ft 4 have to weigh 135-145? I simply do not believe that someone who is 5 ft 4 and 160 would automatically be considered "unhealthy," especially if he or she is fit. (In fact, I read an article a few months back about how people who are in the "overweight" range can still be healthy if they lead a healthy lifestyle---eating whole foods, exercising, etc.).

We all must do a sort of cost-benefit analysis with our weight goals and our life goals. A lower weight is harder to maintain, and some people are not willing to do all that it takes to maintain that lower weight. It isn't worth it to them. And there's nothing wrong with that. I also chose a higher goal weight but I kept losing while I was experimenting w/ maintenance, so I'm 8-10 lbs. below my original goal weight. The temptation is there to really go **lls out to maintain that lower goal weight, but I'm trying to look at the big picture, so I've decided to just pick a calorie allotment I can live with and see where that takes me. So far, I'm still within a couple of pounds of my lowest weight.

Do what works for YOU, not for others.

I know how hard it is to fathom yourself at a lower weight. I never thought I could get down to 120 and didn't realize I was here until I found out my scale was weighing me in wrong!

I remember originally setting my goal at 160...well I wasn't happy when I was there. I moved it to 140. Wasn't happy there either. I'm quite happy now though.

My point is, you can always go lower if you feel like you need to Keep 160 as your goal and see what happens when you get there. If you're satisfied, maintain there. If you're not then go lower.

I am having this exact same issue. When I set my goal at 160 (overweight by BMI starndards) I thought there was no way I could go lower and be happy maintaining it. When I met my initial goal, I thought why not go 10 lbs lower (still 3lbs overweight by BMI standards), however, I am really struggling to get the last 10lbs off and lately my attitude has showed it so I decided to switch my focus from losing the last 10lbs to continuing with healthy eating, exercise and appreciating how far I have come. You will be amazed at how good you feel when you meet your initial goal and speaking from my own experience, pushing yourself further may affect you in a negative way.
Best of luck to you.

Well I have learned we can always change our goal So set your goal at 160 and then re-evaluate once you hit it.

I did this, cause at first I was going by BMI to a goal weight of 130lbs. For me my body composition at 188lbs (even at 192lbs) I'm in a size 10...so I picked a goal weight of 150lbs, seeing where I am and then making a decision. Do what you feel comfortable with, nothing is set in stone!

Hi! I'm 5'4", 164. Personally, I'm quite happy here from a health standpoint, but am dieting further for vanity purposes. But it completely depends on what YOUR body does. All along this journey I seem to carry my weight well. At this weight, I fit in an 8/10. I got down to 145 and was a 4/6. I had trouble maintaining that. I felt like 4/6 was not just healthy, but THIN, and it was at the very top of my "healthy weight range".

Others still think 145 is too much, and honestly, are probably right. It depends on the individual and what your body does with the weight. I swear I pack on muscle really well.

My biggest regret in this journey has been that I randomly chose 135 from the start. When I didn't make it, I felt like I had failed. Yes, I got down to a size 4/6, and had failed???? What??? So now my goal is 145, and if I get there, I'm going to celebrate this time! Therefore, I suggest getting to 160, celebrating, and taking it from there.

I agree with most of the others - set your goal weight to 160, and reevaluate when you're closer to it.

I have done something similar - at almost 6'1", my healthy high end is 188, I believe. I've set my goal to 195, because I know that I'll be healthy at that weight, and I've only been within 20 pounds of that in my adult life once. And at that weight, my doctor thought I should stop losing there, that I looked great (at 215).

So when I get to 195, I'll see. Heck if I get to 205 and am healthy in every way, active, and see no upside to continuing, I might even stop there!

GL and keep going!

I agree with the others. Set your goal to something reasonable and not overwhelming. Then when you get to it decide whether or not you should go lower. I personally would also base that decision off of a physical and blood work, but I'm going through health issues so I need to do that. I've set mine at 180 for now even though I really need to be down around 130. But 130 just seems so far away. So it's 180 for now.