I think a lot of it depends on your body shape, bone structure, etc. I chose my goal weight (130) because:
a) it's in the middle of the recommended weight range for women 5'4"
b) I'm not curvy
c) I'm small-boned
A lot of women my height on the board have goal weights higher than what I weigh currently, or even have goal weights that were my starting weight. That's okay. But at 145, I'm still visibly pudgy, because of my shape and size.
I think people should get to whatever weight they're comfortable being. I know for me, if I get to 140 or 135 and like it, I'm going to stay there. Numbers don't mean anything; they don't tell you how someone's built or where they carry their weight.
I've noticed that too. I'm 5'1" and my goal weight is what most girls 5'4" want which is 110 to 115. Most girls my height have a goal closer to 100. But, I've been 100 lbs before when I was 18 and not fit... and I've been 113 with 14% body fat and quite fit. Also I do have a medium to large bone frame.
I would go more by body fat then what the scale says. You look great in your photo, btw.
My goal weight is 30 pounds lighter than the smallest I've ever been... and when I was that size I thought I could stand to lose about 30 pounds. If I want to lose more when I get there there is no law against it - I don't see it as selling myself short, I see it as a guideline. If some random height weight chart says I should lose another 20 to be "normal" but I "feel fantastic" then I'm happy with that.
i once weighed 172 lbs and i feel like i looked good and was comfortable at that weight...i think i picked 185 because it sounded more attainable and less intimidating..at 185 i will be very satisfied and start focusing on maintenance, but i know exactly what you mean
You've got to find what works for you and your body! Your body could be totally different for someone else's such that THEIR numbers are meaningless to you and your goals!
Many doctors would say my goal weight is very high, according to the BMI charts for my height - it's barely out of the obese range! But even at the fittest and most active time of my life I was never below this - and I looked pretty good! I could probably lose more, but that is my first real target weight that would be healthy and acceptable to me, espeially after having two kids (and looking to have more!).
I am short, but I have a huge, broad frame. My shoulders are more broad than those of my hulking husband, and my wrists are bigger, too! I have a curvy, heavy-framed body and am a mesomorph, to boot, so even at 5'1.5 inches I will never be a sylph-like, delicate girl. It's just not my body. I could probably go below 160 with work, and even want to! But I refuse to be disappointed in being 160 and not 130. 130 is the high side of ideal for my height, but as long as I look and feel good, I dont care what some stupid chart says. I am aiming for optimal health as my ideal, and quality of life. If I can get health insurance (BMI under 27, for me) and am strong, energetic, and vibrant I win, no matter what the scale says
But yeah, I am actually looking forward to the luxury of reaching my
goal and then moving it lower. Right now I'm just focusing of realism and survival! I have to get healthier, my vanity will come later . Some gals my height can be 110 without issue, but that's not me and I am so okay with that!
When I first started weight training on March 10, 2009, they asked me what kind of weight loss goal I wanted. I almost started crying. I told them I wasn't sure I could lose any weight, I just wanted to get healthier and fitter. But they were doing some kind of metabolism calculation that needed a goal weight, so I told them 200 because I thought that might be possible.
I also, on that day, started a healthier eating plan (which has switched around a bit through the months as I try to "fine-tune" things), and the weight started to come off. I discovered I have a very low metabolism, so it has come off slowly, yes, but steadily. It has made me feel that I actually CAN lose the weight, so I set my ticker for 139 because it sounds nice.
But for me, the change from being extremely upset and not wanting to set any weight goal at all when I started to setting a 139 lb. goal is a huge mental leap. And one that I'm really really happy about.
I think goal weight is a personal choice and changable. I started out with a goal of losing 50 lbs. I lost 30 lbs and I feel so good and I've kept it off that the other 20 lbs just don't seem to be an issue.
I do look at others goal weights but it doesn't really effect how I feel about mine. Truth be told I don't really know what mine is right now. I won't know till I get there....or darn close. My personal trainer did my Body Fat measurements today. My lean mass is very high for most...I have 152 pounds of lean. I will likely lose a little of that with the rest of my weight loss, but even at 150 pounds lean and 20% body fat I would weigh 180 pounds. Right now I'm thinking 180-190 is where I will be comfortable, but I won't know until I'm much closer.
Those height/weight charts are pretty much a joke to me. I'd rather rely on my trainer's measurements, my health and how I feel.
Lori - you look FABULOUS and I'm sure you feel FANTASTIC. Only you can determine where you should be.
I kind of plucked my goal weight out of thin air. Originally it was something like 149 because that would put me in the middle of my healthy BMI range; later I suppose I shifted it down because it would put me in the 100lb club (and I love the atmosphere on that board). But if I get to 150-something and my body is happy there and isn't happy trying to get lower, that's fine by me.
I honestly picked 180 because it seemed attainable. It wasn't until I spent many months here that I started to think that maybe a lower weight would be better, but for now I've decided to keep my goal at 180. And yeah, I realize that's many people's start weight!
I honestly think that 165 would be a better weight so I will re-evaluate when I reach goal. I lose so slowly that I don't want to change it right now because I need to feel a little closer to my current goal! I like Kaplod's way of calling them "targets" instead of goals.
Goal (or target) weights are a strange thing to me as well. If I'm thinking about things as if they were an archery target, I'm sort of in the outer ring at this point. I've been at 125 and at 150 before - at 125 I just about disappeared when I turned sideways. It LOOKED good. But 150 ... well, that was the year I could bench almost 180#, was a size 14 on top and an 8 on the bottom, and I had what felt like limitless endurance. It's not so much what the scale reads for me any more - it's what this piece of meat I live in is going to be able to do when I get to the bullseye. I don't want to be weak and I don't want to be inflexible. I have more fat to remove, but even more muscle to build ... and I haven't a single clue what the scale will read when I get there.
Oh dude, it's totally your own body. I have three friends that are 5'6"... one looks flabby at 160, one look really GOOD at 155 (so just 5 pounds less), and one looks about as fat as the first one but weighs 190 (below 160 would be unhealthy with all the muscle she has). I think every single person has an ideal weight "range" of 10-15 pounds or so where they look good. If they start getting lower or higher than this, they don't look as good. It's just about finding where that range is that's tricky. Me, I'm going to do it by taking pictures of my body every 2 weeks (clothed, but with fitting clothes!) and showing someone who can tell me objectively when I don't look as good as I did before.. if so, I've gone too low and need to gain some back to look my best. It's all about finding where you look BEST at, not being the lowest.
I know what you mean, but I just used the BMI thing to figure out a healthy weight for my height and chose a higher end number. There are many reasons for this.
1. I have never been a low weight, ever so I don't know what a healthy weight for me is.
2. I was not sure if I would even make it to that goal weight. I didn't want an impossible goal.
3. I figure if I get to goal weight, it needs to be something I can maintain. If I am 150 and healthy but still can eat more than if I am 120 I will be more likely to maintain 150.
4. Before weight loss, my aunt once told me I would look awful if I were skinny...in fact everyone thinks I am skinny now! But I know I have fat underneath my clothes...
