well my original goal was 160 lbs, because that's near the high end of the "normal" weight range for my BMI. Recently I've decided that I'd like to try and get lower, to around 150...so that I have a bigger buffer between myself and the "overweight" category for the BMI...so that I can afford to snack and cheat occasionally instead of having to CONSTANTLY watch what I'm eating. Of course, if I get down to 170 and I'm in a situation like mandalinn where my BMI says I'm overweight but I feel healthy and look healthy and am comfortable with my size and have a waist measurement in the healthy range, I'd also be happy stopping at 170...
for me it's not so much about the number...I mean anything 150-170 lbs is WAY better then the 250 that I was...for me, my goal is just more of something to shoot for and then once I get closer to it, I'll be able to figure out what I REALLY want to do.
I've been enjoying reading what everyone's written here, very interesting!
I picked my goal weight because it's a weight that I've been as an adult and I feel comfortable in, also it suits my fairly small frame. I've been under that weight, but it's extremely difficult to maintain and also it makes me look quite bad in the face, my cheekbones start sticking out too much and even my jawline begins to look like it's only covered by skin, all this and the body still isn't extremely thin at all.
I picked my goal weight because when I weighed 175 most of my life I did always think it'd be nice to lose 30 pounds... and I measured my frame and it seemed on the bigger side of small, and for my height, the healthy weight range for a small frame is 132-145, and the range for a medium frame is 142-156 pounds, so I figured maybe the point where the two overlapped might be my healthiest weight! So... 145 it was! I'm 154 now and happy here but feel my tummy is still kind of big (I wear a size 10) but know it will ALWAYS be big because I store all my fat there, so I think 9 more pounds will be perfect to shrink it just a hair (154 to 145).
I am 5'2" and have a small frame, so I think 115 is a good weight for me, a middle-aged female. After the birth of my second child at age 30 I weighed 95 lbs, and believe it or not I didn't look emaciated. Thin, but not unhealthy. Also, I have seen guidelines of what people my age with my height and frame should weigh, and 115 is right in the middle of that range. So that's the number I decided to go with.
When I get there I might decide to go lower, or even higher. I had gotten down to 125 in 2005 and felt good, but I still felt like I wanted to lose a bit more. Unfortunately Katrina came along and changed my entire life in one afternoon so the weight came back on pretty quickly and I've been struggling with it since. This is the first time I've lost any significant weight since then so I will just have to wait and see how I feel when I get down in the 115 range.
I think for many people their goal weight is just an estimate of where they want to be. I hate to get tied up to a number on the scale but rather want to be healthy and fit. Whatever number happens to be on the scale when I reach that goal will ultimately be my "goal weight."
Last edited by SouthernMaven; 12-23-2009 at 05:30 AM.
I went for within a 'healthy' BMI, not in the middle of healthy but just a breath under 'overweight'; 24.9. I'm within a couple of pounds of it now and most of me is alright but my *** is still the size of a small country, so I'm weighing-up what to do next. I'm not sure if I should set another goal, coast a bit and see where I naturally end up or try to maintain at this level.
I almost wish I could be motivated by setting weight number. The only time I've been successful is aiming for a physical challenge.
So it's running an X distance race, or climbing a particular tough trail or being able to pack in so much weight on a multiday canoe/hiking trek or kayaking out to X point.
Fortunately, my friends and family are super outdoorsy and preparing to do any of these things via training and diet results in a smaller me.
So I guess have a goal fitness, not a weight. The lost weight is just a pleasant side effect of getting me ready to climb a mountain.
I have changed mine several times......first I started out aiming for 145 as it would give me 75lbs to lose. But then realized once I hit maintaince I would need to have wiggle room, and I wasn't willing to go above 150. So I dropped it down to 136 (that one I just pulled out of the air, liked the way the number sounded). Now I've decided to get down to 140. It is about midrange for healthy BMI. For now I plan on 140 being my low redline (doubt I'll need that much, lol) and 145 being my high redline. Of course things may change once I actually reach maintenance.........
The first time I was losing weight, I chose 120 fairly randomly... I remembered being 125 when I was 14 years old and thinking I was fat, but I figured 1) it was my self-conscious teenage mind talking back then and 2) my body might not have been done developing so the same weight may look different as an adult. I got to 120, and still felt flabby, but I was close to where I wanted to be.
This time around (after gaining it all back once) I chose 115. I'm doing a lot more strength training (I did NONE the first time) so I've got more muscle, and I think just 5 lbs lower than before will put me right where I want to be.
Sometimes I think about setting it lower, because I'm not sure my big belly and jiggly thighs will be gone at 115, and sometimes I think about setting it higher, because I've got some killer muscles going on right now and I don't want to lose them. But, for now, I'm going to get to my goal, maintain it for a little while, and then decide whether I'd like to lose more, put on more muscle, or stay the same.
Back in 2004 the sites I visited on the net gave me a target weight of 150. The trainer I had said that was too low because I have a large frame. Based on her evaluation, my goal weight is 170.
According to this, I have a medium frame size, and being 5'8 and 167, I'm an ideal weight! My ideal weight is 154-169lbs. Interesting...according to the BMI, my healthy weight is between 122 and 164, lol.
My goal weight chose me. I wanted to be 135. I still lost weight after picking up my eating a bit. Next came 125 then 115. Now I range between 115 and 122 and I'm ok with this. I still watch what I eat but am not afraid of an occasional sweet or cheat.
I wanna be you! LOL! Oh my. Who knows? Maybe I too can be so lucky. I know you worked really hard to get where you are.
I chose 135 for two reasons. One, it's about 10 lbs into a normal BMI for me. Two, it's what I weighed when I got married. But I thought I was fat then, so who knows what games my mind will play on me when I get there. At this point in my life, I now think I was awfully hard on myself then.
I go for a slim but curvy look, basically I don't want to have more than a small pooch when I'm sitting.
That's pretty much what I am after... smaller pooch! Let the numbers be what they will.
I have plateaued at 148 a couple times since high school, so 145 seemed like an attainable goal. I'm also more muscular than most women, and I fear losing some of that muscle mass if I go too low. I'm not really sure what my final weight will be. I'm on the Intuitive Eating plan, so it will ultimately be whatever my body decides is natural.
My short term goal is 180ish mainly because most of my jeans are a size 14 and when I was at that weight I could wear them. Right now I can't fit any jeans and Ive been wearing sweat pants and exercise tights for a while.
But my ultimate goal will be between 135-160 but right now Im just worried about getting back into my size 14s.
When I was in high school I was about 140-150 and I was comfortable at that weight. As long as I can get down to a size 8 I will be happy but I don't think my hips will get any smaller then that
I picked 165 because 166 was the lowest I've been as an adult. At the time, I thought I could still stand to lose about 15-20 pounds. 165 would be a BMI of 22.4. 150 would be a BMI of 20.3. 145 would be a BMI of 19.7. I guess I'll decide once I get down there.
I have just found this site and have been reading some of the GREAT WEIGHT LOSS stries on here and I think yours is AWSOME - KEPP UP THE GREAT JOB.
I have to lost weight 82 lbs so I do know alittle about what an AWSOME job you've done. Thanks for sharing with us all.
I decided on 190 as a primary goal because that's what I was the last time I lost weight and was able to maintain it fairly easily for about 4 months. Now if I got to 185 or 180 (the lowest weight recommended by my doctor as sustainable) I'd be even more happy.
Oh my. Who knows? Maybe I too can be so lucky. I know you worked really hard to get where you are. 
WOW What Inspiration....
