How did you come up with a "goal weight" or have you?

I am asked all the time how much weight I want to lose or what my "goal" is. I have to be honest...I don't have a "goal" number. When I tell people this they look at me like I'm crazy. I put a goal in the ticker box to be able to post but <shrug> I am goal free, at least when it comes to numbers. Did you know right away what you wanted to claim as "goal" or did you kinda figure it out as you went along?

I kinda feel like I want to see the scale it 199 <laughing> once I am under 200 maybe a "goal" will seem more feasible. It's not that I don't care, I care very much, I just for one don't wanna be caught up in the head trip numbers game and two I haven't been under 200 in so long I'm not sure my brain cells can compute.

I am very happy with the way things are going and want to continue the downward slope. I was just wondering if any one else feels the way I do or am I crazy?

I chose 140 pounds. It was right in the middle of my "healthy range". I don't think I would look healthy weighing any lower. I was 140 pounds when I graduated high school (and I thought I was fat - most of the other girls were 120 pounds or less). I'm targeting my BMI though. I have a lot of muscle (always have).

The printout I get from my doctor's office (weekly weigh in) has my predicted weight as 162 lbs target BF% as 25%, so I'm shooting high.

Since I have been overweight/obese throughout my entire child and adult life I don't really have anything to go by to set a goal.

Right now I know I want to be under 200 pounds. Once I reach that I just want my healthy eating habits and my body to direct it to where it would like to be. I don't want to force my body to a weight that I would have trouble maintaining.

According to the BMI scale 145 is on the high end of normal for me, but from where I'm standing now that feels like a long-shot. So for now, my mini goal is 195; anything less than that would just be icing on the cake.

My ultimate goal (NSV) is to have a healthy heart, body and mind, and I want to instill those good habits in my young daughter.

I weighed 105 when I married my high school sweetheart at 18. By 21 I had my first daughter and gained 60 pounds. I yo-yoed up and down over the years, with my ups and downs both getting higher with every diet. By the time I was banded I was 225, I'm 5' 4 1/2". I'm just a couple pounds above my sister right now. She's happy with her current size, but I want to go lower. I think I look my best at 125, but I set my goal at 135, trying to be more realistic and factor in my age. However, if I can get to 125, I surely will!

Mindy, how are you doing with a complete unfill? Did you have a complication?

Take the weight 10 pds at a time. its more manageable that way at first.

If you want/ need to set too goals that's do able too .

this is how i looked at things all along - i just worked to get out of the 190's, 180's & so on. my original goal is where i'm at now 125lbs, even though my Dr suggested 140 - i didn't believe i couldn't loose 100% of my excess weight. i dropped my "goal" to 117 when i hit 130, because being very short 5'1, i realized i could still stand to drop more & be in the middle of "normal" BMI (22.1) range.

i would create a "starting point" goal - the closer you get to that you can always adjust, as your body changes.

Interesting question. my doctor never stressed a "goal" he told me that average WL for me would be about 60lbs. I have far exceeded that. Now, at 25 BMI people keep telling me i look "too thin" and that I should stop losing. I have decided to not worry about it too much and just wait and see what happens. I thinkthey are just used to seeing me fat!

I keep losing without dieting because I am extremely active (running and spinning every day). I dont really want to go below 145 which for me at almost 5'7'' would put me at a BMI of about 23. I dont think I would look good much thinner than I am now. Originally I set my goal at 100lb loss thinking that it was never going to happen... now that i am almost there I am looking forward to the ticker saying "below goal"!

Everyone has made such great points. I like that we're all giving a reason behind our thoughts. That's very helpful.

About 5 years ago I started WW at 250 and lost down to about 185ish. Was feeling pretty good. Then we started an IVF treatment (2/2004), failed (5/2004) and immediately started the adoption process (6/2004). Between the pain (physical), the emotions with the grief and excitement of starting a new process I stopped paying attention. Did kinda okay for awhile, then we brought our daughter home from the hospital when she was 2 days old (5/2006) and it all went out the window! We weren't cooking, eating out/take-out ALL the time and just trying to figure out the whole parenting thing at our (advanced!! :wink_smile: ) ages. By the time I started paying attention again, I'd gained back up to 240. I'd since been playing with the same 10lbs until finally started getting serious and losing for my class that started in March (Kaiser has you go thru a 20 session class to try to lose 10%). My start weight for class was 236. I REALLY liked being back under 200. I felt more comfortable in my own body.

There is a pic of me on our fridge that shows a side view when I was 18. DH (then fiance) had taken it (candid shot, didn't know it). I'm standing at the mirror in the bathroom. I look GREAT! I was about 120/125 then, I think. I keep it on the fridge b/c I want to be that person again. Okay well, I can't BE her again (and really DON'T want to be 18 again!) but I want to feel great and look fairly great and just be comfortable again. Not worrying about what the clothes are doing (shirt riding up or shorts getting stuck between the thighs, etc!) or can I even make it up the hill or sit in a small chair or is the table too close to the booth seat, etc.

Anyway, I like the 10lb increment and go from there. Like I said, everyone has such great thoughts on this.

Sorry for the rambling. :thumbup:

My Dr set my goal weight, using my age & height, I suppose (or maybe not my age ?). So 135 is the top end of my goal weight. But MY personal goal weight is 118 for at least a day. That's the ultimate in dreams for me!

This really has been an interesting thread! Thanks for sharing ya'lls thoughts, ideas and opinions. I have enjoyed reading them and absorbing the information. For those that are straight up focused on a targeted goal weight I am wow 'ed! Kudos to you! I think it is awesome and inspiring! For those that have pondered the question like I have I say kudos to us too because even though we may not have a number in mind YET we are thinking about it and focused on becoming a better us!!!

*Reading through the post on this thread alone the weight that has been lost has been incredible! I look forward to the day that I can reply to a post after hitting my targeted weight and say " I did it and so can you"!!!

Thumbs up guys!!! This is good stuff!!! :w00t: