This question must have been asked somewhere before but I'll ask again. How does one decide on a goal weight? I've always read that it is 100 lb for 5' and 5lb for each additional inch. Does age matter?

You would do well to take your age, body composition, activity level and general goals into consideration when choosing a "target" weight.

If I followed the guidelines you've mentioned, I would have 150 pounds as my "goal". At 150 pounds I looked like I was starving. My friends thought I was anorexic.

Everyone is different!

Check with a health professional to get the answer that is best for you.

Whew....that would put me at 110. NO thank you!! lol. I don't really want to get below 120. I'm not sure how you pick a goal weight. I picked mine because I have been 100 pounds and 130 and 140 and 150...and so on. I kind of know what each weight looks like on me and i think 125 would be perfect on my frame. So...that is kind of my goal. Once you start losing, you'll figure out what looks good and what feels good and what is maintainable.

Actually lumifan that would put you at 130 cause I am 5'2.5 so I would be 12-113 pounds but right now I am aiming for 125. I think 112 would be too small. I would check with your doctor or just take it by every 10 pounds and reevalute. If you are muscular you are going to weight more than if you are just thin.

ooops...thanks Canadian mom. I read the 5's wrong. I don't know why i thought it said 100 pounds for 5'5". I just totally read that wrong. lol.

But i would still like to get just a little lower than 130. At least 125 would be awesome!!

Let me see if I can find something from yesterday ....

http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

Caution tho' ... there is some good stuff here and a little bunk.
It's another tool to help you decide (along with the things that have been mentioned already) on a healthy goal.

in my case i just took into account the lowest weight i remember being, something like 160 lbs and also remember that i wasnt happy there either so i just go lower from that, in my case something like 130 lbs sounds about right.

i also look at other people with my similar body type and heighed and see how much they weigh and if i like it then i aim for that..

I chose it based on my history; I know I look pretty good at 150 lb (which sounds like a lot for my height, but I was born with hefty Russian genes), so I thought I'd choose somewhere around there. It may get adjusted as I get closer.

I just looked at my BMI... I know that for my height 140 is healthy... so thats my goal - for now.

I decided on my goal weight by looking at past photos of ME. And picking the 3 best... my avatar shows me at 138. I looked good at that weight - and more importantly, I felt GREAT. Coincidentally, I was aiming for 135 when I got to 138, and then I hurt my shoulder & couldn't exercise for 12 weeks, then I started eating crap again, yaddayaddayadda... so yeah, anyway, my goal weight is MY goal weight. Not taken from a "general" goal of height, BMI, etc. I know what I want me to look like. And it ain't Britney Spears & it ain't Jane down the road & it ain't Susie in my office... it's JUST ME.

I picked mine because I know what each weight looks like on me, too, and I also know what I'll be able to stick with and maintain. I have a medium-large bone structure and am naturally athletic, and since muscle weighs more than fat, I actually look very trim and fit at 135 and only wear around a size 4 (6 in some designers, but we all know sizes can vary so much). I am almost tempted to set the goal weight to 125, but in my mind, I'm thinking, "If I want to set it to 125, why not set it to 115?" I'd LOVE to weigh 115, but I know it's just not practical. I picked my goal weight because I know it's doable AND I will still look fabulous.

Oh... though if I don't have nice abs by the time I reach my goal weight, I'm going to see how much more weight I need to lose to get them. The last time I weighed 135, I had great abs, so we'll see.

I would suggest that your starting goal weight be whatever the threshold is for "healthy BMI" for your height, then as you get closer, you'll be able to get a sense of whether that is enough or you would like to go lower. Health is the primary goal, looks are secondary!

I have heard of this equation before, but in the context of that it was the least amount you should weigh. By this equation I should be 125lbs. I've been down to 130lbs and I looked way too thin. My DH refers to those pictures as my "bobble-head" pictures.

Maalisse~ I don't think that 150lbs is too high a goal to strive for. I come from large framed German stock and that's the same weight I'm aiming for (we are the same height.) You have to take frame and muscle structure into account. Everyone is always shocked when they find out how much I weigh (they always guess less.)

I dont think setting a goal to start is reasonable unless you have been "that weight" in the last 5 years and you are over 30. Or if you only have a tiny bit to lose

1) every body is different, how much muscle, how big your bones are, how determined your body is to carry weight all play a factor

2) your body keeps changing well into your mid twenties even if you never have children..to compare your weight at 30 and say "I want to get back to the weight I was in college" may not be healthy or realistic.

The 5' +5 rule is not very realistic for most women. It certainly would be at the underweight side for me.

My advice is to set a preliminary goal that is on what you would consider the upper to middle end of your healthy range and re-evaluate as you get closer.

I personally STILL dont know what my final goal is even though I strongly suspect I am within 10 lbs of it.