What should my goal weight be?
 

Hi!

I'm wondering what I should set my goal weight at.

Currently I'm over 200 lbs (which is new to me, I just gained 30 in the past month because I quit smoking!) and I am 5' 6". I'll also be 45 in just a few weeks--though I'm not sure that makes a difference as to what my goal weight should be.

The last time I lost weight, in my 20's, I got down to 135lbs. I worked out 4x a week with low impact areobics and did 2 stretching classes a week (which I taught). I didn't do any weight training at the time. I am fairly fine boned. People usually didn't believe me when I told them I weighed "as much" as I did. I maintained that weight, about 135-140 for about ten years until I became pregnant.

Would 135 --a lean, mean 135 be reasonable this time around--or not? I just can't see how the activity I maintained as a single 20 something "translates" into the lifestyle of a married with kids forties-something housewife. It doesn't of course--so I'm wondering if the goals need be different if indeed the methods must be. (I hope that made sense. It's late. I've a touch of mid-life insomnia tonight!)

I'm all for reading up on the issue and figuring it out--so any suggestions or links would be welcome.
Thanks.

Hi Alana!

The nice thing about a goal weight is that it does not have to be engraved in stone. You may find that at 145 you fit nicely into clothing and feel good -or- you may find that 135 is more to your liking.

I see that you are aware of the difference body composition can make.

The goal threads might be a good place to start. Have a look at the losers here at 3fc and see who resembles you in height and stature.

Go ahead and pick a number. At least it's something to shoot for. But in the general scheme of things, you'll come up with something that works whether or not it's the goal you picked exactly or not.

Yeah, you just won't know for sure until you get there. But it seems like a reasonable goal to start with. It's similar to how I came up with my goal (I picked a weight I previously maintained without undue effort). I'm 39. Honestly, when I started this (in April), I was thinking I would just be happy with around 140, size 10. But now that I'm there, the original goal doesn't seem so unattainable ;)

Thanks, ladies!

I'm inclined to set my sights on 140. That gives me 99 lbs to lose (yikes!)--and as you both wisely suggest, reassess when I get there.

That reminds me: when I set my goal in my 20's--I remember setting it too low--at 125. I remember getting down to 127lb for a week and thinking it was a horrible struggle, and I was ravenous! Not a state I wanted to be in the rest of my life, so 135 is about where things "settled"--so it may be possible the "final" number will choose me, anyway!

A goal is just that: something to shoot for. The ball can go through the goal posts any ol' which way. And from this far down the field, just seeing them somewhere around 140 is enough to get started, I quess.

Alana, my first goal was to leave the obese category, then to leave the overweight category. You can adjust as you lose but considering 99 pounds at once may be overwhelming.

I still am not to a place I am comfortable. I bought a blouse I love--very "boutique-cutique." When I look good in that blouse, I will be to goal.


ETA: Actually, you have just a measly 89 pounds to lose if 140 is your goal. :)

Ack-- Math is obviously not one of my strengths! :)

Measly? Measly?

You're right--it IS overwhelming all at once like that.

Lets see, accoding to the calculator at the CDC website, my BMI is currently 38.6 (ouch!).

25-29.9 would be merely "overweight."
18.5- 24.9 = normal.

185 (at 29.9) is right where the scale tips to "overweight." and no longer "obese." Interesting.

That's 54 lbs--If I've done the math right!

Alana,

WE ARE SO ALIKE I am about your height -- I am somewhere between 5'5" and 5'6" depending on who is measuring, I just turned 50 this year, and I work at a seditary job I am also as you put it 'fine boned'. Back in the day (20's) I maintained my weight around 125-130 without effort. I set my 'goal' at 135 just because it seemed like a reasonable number.

I am now at 155 and wearing a size 10 most of the time. And as time goes on I may rethink my goal weight--it may not be realistic to maintain for life.

I think your goal of 135 is fine, but I am finding with my very slow weight loss that the number on the scale is not so much the issue, it is how I feel about the way I look and feel in my skin. I have started to workout 3-4 times a week with low impact aerobics and light weights and it is changing my figure. Do you think youi might find this too?

Thank you Nancy--we do have a similiar history.

I'm doing my research at the moment: just reading up on things and figuring out what to do. I want to focus on eating healthily --something for the whole family-- and figure out what to do for excercise before I *start*. But, really, I have started. I'm already making healthier choices.

Oh, I don't know. I just feel scared. I don't know why. I think I'll start another thread.