I see so many different goal weights for the same height. Heck, at 5'2, my healthy BMI range is 98-136 pounds, but 98 seems awfully tiny, and not in a good way.
i picked 105....dont know why not 110....or 98, even. 105 sounds good. i was 120 in high school and was thin, but had a little teeny pudge from being not toned. still looked good in a bikini. heck, i might get to 120 and not want to be 105....
At first I wanted to lose 100 lbs... then when I got closer goal I changed it to 157... then I was having trouble getting motivated when my goal was so close (mental blockage, I don't know) so I moved it again to 147. Healthy BMI for me is 169... but I want to have enough wiggle room to not be panicky about it.
It's different for everyone! I might get to 157 and decide that's enough. I might get to 147 and realize I want to go lower... Not sure yet. It's an evolution .
When I was in middle school I was in the 160 range and about 3in shorter. I was pudgy then, so when I looked up the healthy weight range for my current height I just picked out 150. I might go lower, or I might stop at 160. It all depends on how my body holds the weight when I get down there, because I know this time around Ill have muscle tone to factor in also.
I remember being 180 in fifth grade. I was tall so even though it sounds like a lott, looking back on pictures I looked fine! Chubby sure but not to the extreme.
At the end of 2005, I lost about 25-30 lbs. and weighed 210. I think I was fine at that weight too! So it really just depends. I just want to be under 200 in the first time since forever.
I picked mine by using my former self to judge. The lowest I've weighed at my current height is around 170, and I definitely still had quite a way to go, so I chose 125. I may re-evaluate as I lose and decide that I don't wish to go that far, but I'm generally headed in the 125 direction.. when I can finally get myself back on track.
Location: Smack dab in the middle, Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 668
S/C/G: 203.4/170.4/140.0
Height: 5'0"
I'm doing this for health reasons, and so I discussed my ideal weight (in terms of reducing health risks) with my family doctor. With her help, I decided on an ultimate goal weight of 125, which at my height (5') puts me at a BMI of 23.
I'm glad I worked with my doctor to decide on a good goal weight for me; this way, I don't feel any need whatsoever to justify my goal weight to anyone.
I am undecided about my goal weight. I am thinking more about a workable calorie budget than an actual weight. Maybe that is the wrong way to go about things, we shall see. I am thinking somewhere between 130 and 150.
My initial goal weight was 155 lbs, which is right in the middle of my healthy weight range (I'm 5'11"). After reaching this goal, I continued to slowly lose weight while trying to figure out my maintenance requirements. When I hit 145 lbs I was really pleased with my body (flat belly, hips finally trim) and decided it was worth it to try and stay at that weight. Four months into maintenance I still haven't made my final decision yet, but for the time being I don't feel it's too big a sacrifice to stay at this weight. Time will tell.
Several factors and a change got me here. I figured out what the healthy range is for my height (about 120 - 159) and put myself near the top because I am not a small framed person. I was 252, so 100 pounds put me at 152 - that seemed good because I was about 145 - 150 in my 20's and 30's and was pretty good with that weight then. Losing 100 pounds seemed like a nice goal.
When I got to about 80 pounds lost, however, my 60 year old baggy skin started to bother me a bit. After being overweight for 25 years, my skin didn't seem to want to snap back any further. I lost 10 more, and at 90 decided to stop for a while. That's where I am now - on hold at about 162 since October. We'll see if I decide to go lower.
Set a goal, but give yourself the freedom to move it up or down to get the final results you are happy with. good luck!
I've never been thin so I didn't have a former self to go by.
I picked 140 because it was the top of the healthy range for my height. However, I wasn't happy there and I didn't even know i was there because my scale was weighing me in 10lb heavier than I really was! I wound up getting down to 120 and feeling very happy and focusing on fitness goals (lifting heavy weights, running, etc.). I'm down to 118 but not focusing on losing weight any more. If I do lose that is fine, but fitness is my focus right now.
Back when I started, there was no way I could have chosen a number - I hadn't been at a healthy weight since high school, if not before, and my body is different now. I had no idea whether I would be where I wanted to be at 170, or 160, or 150.
More importantly, through most of my process, having a "goal weight" in mind would not have made an iota of difference to my plan, to my daily execution of that plan, to any aspect of my process.
Losing weight, I found, takes a lot of mental energy and focus. I decided to spend all of that mental energy on daily planning and good food choices, rather than spending one iota of it on choosing an arbitrary number that would probably change as I got closer anyhow.
Now that I am nearly done with active weight loss and beginning the slow transition to maintenance, I still haven't chosen a goal weight. I know I'd like to lose a little more, but I can't really tell what 5 more pounds of loss, or 10 more pounds or 15, will look like on me. I also don't know how hard they will be to achieve.
So, even though I am very close to goal - whatever that might be - I am still taking the same approach as I have all along to choosing a goal weight: I'll stop losing when either (1) I am happy with where I am, or (2) losing more proves to take more effort than I am willing or able to put in.
I picked my 175 goal because its 10 pounds into the healthy range for me, and I can say I lost 1/2 of me =D.... Anything else I lose after will be vanity pounds and I'll be reassessing my goal every 5 pounds. I will not choose to stay at a weight thats difficult to maintain.
During my weight loss breaks, i've been lucky enough not to have to count calories and somehow I tend to stay at my current weight. If I have to work to hard to maintain, then it isn't worth it and i'll prob gain a few pounds. I do not want to spend the rest of my life calorie counting...I'd rather be on the chunkier side then deal with it xD... I'm on a mini break right now, no calorie counting, and haven't gained a pound.
My body will settle at the weight its ment to be at(and I know its not a stick figure)...
I didn't base my goal on BMI levels. I just thought that I've never seen myself at 160 lbs (I think I slept through it) and since I have a larger frame and a muscular structure I felt that 160 might be good for me. And I didn't really want to be "thin" per se. I just figured that I'd be fine at a thick, but toned size 10. But who knows how I'll look when I get there? I really just want my body to settle at its natural state. I simply have to get rid of all this excess fat.
I have a goal weight range. I knew I wanted to hit a healthy BMI so that was my number one priority. I've also been 140lbs when I was in high school and was really happy with my body then so I can't imagine myself going lower than that. Hence, the range of 140-155lbs. Once I hit 155lbs I'll start reevaluating and see how much farther I want to go. For the most part right now I'm pretty happy except for my waist. I'd really like to get to a 28" waist or under but if I decide it's too hard then I might change my mind about that too. For me the biggest thing is a healthy weight that I know I can maintain. If I'm unhappy at my goal I can always gain/lose more weight afterwards.
The first time I lost a significant amount of weight (two years ago-ish) I planned to get down to 120 and then go from there. I'm shorter than you, and that put me in the high end of my 'normal' BMI. So I got down to 150, then I got stuck. And I felt like such a failure for not being able to break that barrier, even though I'd lost 95 pounds, that I gave up and let things snowball into a 68-pound gain.
So now I'm just trying to get back to where I was, then I'll reassess my goals. My point is, it's just a number, in the end. It shouldn't be a marker of some great success unless you want it to be. Health is what we're all after, so when you get to a weight where you're comfortable and healthy, there's nothing wrong with calling that your goal weight, even if it's not the number you picked at the beginning.
how did you decide on your goal weight
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If I do lose that is fine, but fitness is my focus right now.
