Funny thing with doctors isn't it? Mine set a goal weight for me of 150 pounds. At my last check up I was telling him that my greatest fear is that I will get to 175 pounds (the lowest weight I have been my whole adult life) and feel so good that I'll quit, not finish the job. This would still definately be overweight for me by BMI standards.
Just for a different perspective, I started at 295 and am now 175 and am THRILLED to be here. I know I am overweight -- I can especially see it at the gym. But compared to where I WAS I am light years ahead!
I am actually in "maintenance mode" and am not actively trying to lose weight right now. I'm starting to think about fitness goals and what my body can do. Perhaps at some point I'll want to lose more, but I needed a mental break from focusing on the scale.
And on a separate note, I think that the last time I had my bf done at the gym it was in the upper 20s... can't recall if it was 27% or 29%... I hadn't realized that's a decent benchmark!!!!
Heather, you're another good example of the inadequacies of BMI. As a former morbidly obese woman, you may have a very large LBM due to carrying all the extra weight around for so many years. So a BMI chart may say that you'e still overweight but a BF test might tell a different story. You may not be as overweight as you think!
Congratulations Ophelia! I'm going to venture a guess as to why your doc. suggested a weight that was higher than your BMI range... you were obviously overweight to start with, and maybe he didn't want to set the goal too low, in case that made it sound unattainable. As we all know, the closer you are to a healthy weight, the harder it is to lose the pounds. You would obviously be much healthier at 150 than you were at your original weight, so for your doctor, 150 would be unqualified success. He was going for "improvement", not perfection. Now that you're there, if you feel like you want to tweak it and drop a few more, I think those would be "bonus" pounds.
Heather, you're another good example of the inadequacies of BMI. As a former morbidly obese woman, you may have a very large LBM due to carrying all the extra weight around for so many years. So a BMI chart may say that you'e still overweight but a BF test might tell a different story. You may not be as overweight as you think!
Yes, I'm coming to see the issues with the bmi more now. When I weighed 295 it was pretty obvious I was very fat and not a healthy weight by pretty much anyone's standards. Now it's a lot fuzzier!
You would obviously be much healthier at 150 than you were at your original weight, so for your doctor, 150 would be unqualified success. He was going for "improvement", not perfection
I agree. When I was discussing a good target goal with my doctor, I picked 150 out of my head because it was the lowest I could remember being. I told her I knew it was still considered overweight, but was that ok? She looked at me and said, "Lisa, if you get out of the obese range, I will be estatic. Right now, anything beyond that is gravy." Right now, she's right. 1st step is good bye obesity!
I had the same discussion with my doctor. Going for a realistic, attainable goal, that you can maintain is important. At barely 5' 2.5, 135 would still seem over weight to some people...but if I can get even close to it, I will be jumping for joy and so will my doc
I can LOOK at my body in the mirror & get a pretty doggone good idea of what my "body fat" is!!!! - it's that gross stuff that hangs over the sides of my bra, that makes me unbutton the top button of my pants, and that jiggles when I'm no longer walking! HEH!
KateRN, I don't think there is any reliable way to measure your body fat percentage at home. Places like Curves and gyms like the YMCA and others usually have equipment to measure it.
HEH! 
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