Goal weight decisions

(Kay) #1

Hello, I was wondering how you decided on your goal weight? I’m near mine and I’m starting to wonder if I should go lower, stay where I am (and my body has happily platued for many weeks) or go by various tables I’ve found online which mean I have a way to go still. So please tell me how you chose yours? I’m feeling confused! Thank you :+1:

(Jennibc) #2

I chose mine based on my past - where I felt best and was realistic at my age. It’s also right in the middle of the ‘healthy’ BMI range for a woman of my height.

(Robert C) #3

I think looking in the mirror is key.

If you are holding fat pretty evenly and look fine at some plateau weight that doesn’t involve regular extended fasts (maybe just IF which you feel you can tolerate) then - there’s a good goal weight.

If you are holding fat unevenly and generally look not-so-good because it is a pot belly or protruding hips - maybe, even if plateaued, you might want to drop some more to iron those out (you can’t spot reduce but might - with a dip in weight - get rid of a stubborn area that might not restore itself as completely after being removed). Drop a day or two of eating per week for a couple of months to see what happens.

But, weight loss might not be the right answer. If you look in the mirror and see someone that is at a low weight but flabby - maybe some weight gain by adding muscle is the way to go.

Let the acceptability of what you see in the mirror guide you (and, of course, get a second opinion if you think that you may have even a little bit of body dysmorphic disorder).

(mole person) #4

I started by picking the weight I remember looking best at, which was from about 20 years ago at around 114 lbs. However I found that when I got there I still couldn’t fit into the pants I was wearing five years ago. So I kept going until those pants were comfortably loose which took another 6 lbs or so.

I agree with @RobC. Ignore the scale. Changes in muscle and bone mass make it an unreliable way to determine your idea body size. I’d also ignore BMI charts, they don’t work for everyone, there is far too much variance. I’ve always been way under the “normal” values and even now I have a very healthy amount of fat on my body.

(Carl Keller) #5

My goal was simply to get into the ideal weight bracket. I’m not greedy except when it comes to ribeyes and bacon.

(John) #6

I picked my target (180) because:

  • It is what I weighed when I was 30 and was in good shape at the time
  • Is within the range of “normal” weight for my height, with room to spare (189 is the upper end)
  • Should correspond to a 34" waist or so

I am one of those people for whom the charts seem to apply. When I was at a good, healthy weight, it was within the normal weight range both on charts and BMI. When I got above that range, I was clearly carrying a bit too much fat.

Now I don’t know if I will make it all the way there. There may only be so much I can lose, given that I got up to 320 at my peak. I have several lesser goals that I’ll accept if I they are the best that I can do, but I’m still going to try for that.

#7

Based on my past self…Now, I wasn’t expecting to get down to the weight I was when i was 19, but here I am!!

(Cindy) #8

Considering how variable the scale is, I haven’t chosen a number at all. My goal is to fit into some clothes more comfortable. What’s really weird is that I’m already fitting into clothes that I wore at my lowest weight, but the scales show that I’m at least 20lbs heavier.

So yeah. Scales lie. Not worth setting a goal by them.

#9

If you are close to your weight goal, just go by the mirror. Do you have nice looking muscles? If you don’t think so, do some lifting, which can up your weight a bit. Do you have some stubborn fat left? Again, lifting is often a better solution than trying to convince your body to go way under what it thinks is necessary for survival. Switching out fat with muscle when not too far off your goal may be the better plan.

I have not set a specific weight goal, but rather a range, which gives room for more or less muscle. I’ll use measure tape and mirrors to decide when I’m happy. And then I’ll continue using the mirror to ensure I stay happy.

(Jennibc) #10

We are having the opposite experience. I am at a weight where I was years ago but still cannot fit into some skirts I could wear at the time. I don’t know whether it’s skin or childbirth, but my waist is about an inch bigger than it was at this weight twenty some years ago.

(Doug) #11

I just took a metaphorical sword and chopped myself in half. Get down to half of what I used to weigh. It’s actually going to work pretty well.

(mole person) #12

That’s what happened to me. I had to get to a weight I’ve not seen since I was 14 to fit into pants that I wore only 5-8 years ago (I’m not entirely sure when they stopped fitting, but it’s since I moved to this town and so in that range for sure).

If you’d told me at the start that this would be my final weight I’d have said that would leave me grossly thin, but in fact, based on my looks, I doubt very much that I’m under 20% body fat.

In my case it’s definitely not childbirth or skin related. As much as I wish it weren’t so I suspect it’s just age related lean mass loss.

(Cindy) #13

I’ve always lost weight first in my torso and waist. So my “limiter” has always been butt, hips, and thighs. Weirdly enough, with keto, I’m losing in my bottom half first…so that’s why those pants are fitting much more quickly.

Also, my lowest weight was well after children ;), so those major body changes had already happened. :wink:

We just have to KCKO. :smiley:

(Windmill Tilter) #14

My solution: don’t pick an ideal weight, pick an ideal waist. Even better, pick a pant size. Men’s pant sizes typically run by two’s. I started at size 40. Right now I am size 36. I was size size 34 in college and size 32 in high school. That gives me exactly 2 choices:

Size 34
Size 32

KCKO!

(mole person) #15

My husband was a size 30 when I met him in university. He got back to that on keto with no effort at all. It’s so amazingly effective.

(charlie3) #16

I decided to go for highschool weight, 145-150, and waist line, 31 inches. I got there by losing about 30 pounds over 18 months, 10 pounds by eliminating snacks then another 20 with keto and exercise. Going forward I’d like to have 11% body fat and add 1/4 pound of muscle per week for the next 18 months then hold there. That would translate to keeping a 31 inch waist and adding 15-18 pounds of lean mass for an eventual scale weight around 170 pounds. Time will tell if that is realistic for a 70 year old. One hopeful sign, based on workout record and bio impediance readings, I seem to make the best progress limiting resistance training to 1 set of 10 exercises 3 times a week. It will be very good news if it holds up over time.

(Kay) #17

Thank you so much for all of your input. I think I’m going to put much less emphasis on the scale, and go by clothes fitting. I have dug out a dress I want to be able to fit into (maybe not wear out anywhere after two children!) as when I last wore it I felt good (have no clue what I weighed at the time) but it’s a good size. Might use some measuring as well as I think that might show more subtle changes that aren’t necessarily reflected on the scale :blush:

#18

Ultimately my goal is not a specific weight, but to be at 25% BF, maybe a little lower (and I’m not worried enough about the exactness of it to get a DEXA scan). My target weight tends to roam around a little depending on where my BF% estimate is. I’ve got a scale that tells me BF% (big grain of salt) and I estimate with the Navy measurement method (also grain of salt). With that info I can calculate my lean body mass. My weight goal is my lean body mass plus 25%.

At the moment the two methods are within about 5 lbs. of each other, so I figure that’s accurate enough for a goal, and that number would put me at a weight where I was reasonably thin. (I thought I wasn’t thin, but then again I was about 20. It might be perfect for someone who is 50ish.)

(Wendy) #19

Same here! I actually had picked a weight I was a little older but still looked pretty fit of 132. I’d have been happy but my body kept dropping and I’m now down to the weight I was when I got married over 30 years ago. I’m at 123 LBs today.

#20

That’s cool, Wendy @Happyheart ! Did you do anything different on purpose once you hit your goal, or it just happened? (For me it just happened; I made some minor changes but didn’t expect to go below goal!)