How did/do you choose your goal weight?
I almost forgot about this weeks question! I can't believe it. I normally look forward to it but I've been so distracted by new new MAC! ;~P
A-n-y-w-a-y (I'm feeling a bit goofy tonight, please forgive the over the top voice inflections that are going through my head.)
Chatting with my friend Anne today, we came up with this question. It's actually something I've wanted to ask for awhile as I know many people are curious. I mean, really how do you pick a goal weight? Is it something you weighed before and want to get back to? Or a weight you heard is a good number for your height? Maybe it's goal your doctor recommended?
For me, it was a number I've never seen, at least not in this adult body. I remember clearly the day I found out I weighed 150 pounds I was 13 years old. I'm not going to go into all the hairy details, I talk about it a bit in My Story but let's just say that was the start of my 15 year yo you dieting fiasco.
So when I had to pick a goal weight for Weight Watchers I thought about that 150 and how I would LOVE to be that “chubby” girl once again. Then I thought, “heeey, w-a-i-t a min-ute (see... crazy voice inflections – think Mater in Cars) wouldn't it be cool to see a 4 on the scale. I've never seen a 4 on the scale!” And so my goal weight was born!
Not as scientific or magical as you thought? Hey, I'm still shocked I not only saw a 4 on the scale, but for some times I was in the 3's!
How about you? How'd you pick THE number?
Labels: WeeklyQuestions
posted by Roni
at
11:33 PM
31 Comments :
When I started WW last August, they told me what my goal range was, for my age and height....and I think it was 139-155. Well, 13 years ago, I lost a bunch of weight (not in a healthy way, though, I was depressed, so I stopped eating--I was looking for something that I could control!) But anyway, I got down to 155 at that time, and when I weighed 155, everyone thought I weight about 125. And I got into size 10 jeans at The Gap....not loose fit, just regular fit. So, naturally, I figured...155...that will be my goal weight. But my WW leader suggested that I go a little lower, just so I would have more than a 2 pound leeway. I started out at 247.4, and tonight I weighed in at 179. So I have 24 pounds to go, to get to 155, but I'm thinking that I might go on to 150, so therefore, I have 29 pounds to go. And man, is it slower coming off these days, than the first several months! But also....and this scares me a little....I imagine that 24 or 29 more pounds will put me in a lower size than I've ever been before (that size 10 Gap jeans), because 2 weeks ago, I bought a pair of size 12 a.n.a jeans from J.C. Penney. Doesn't that sound silly, to be scared of wearing an 8...or a 6? But I really am! When I was growing up, I went from a girl's size 14, into a 9 Junior the summer between 7th and 8th grade, and by 8th grade, was wearing a size 10 miss, and that's what I wore all through High School. I've never worn an 8...or a 6. It's just scary to me. But then I'm in much better shape this time, than ever before, because I've been exercising 4 days a week at Curves since February 2007, and in September 2007, I started a 2 hours a week pilates class on top of that. And for the last 2 months, I've been walking once or twice a weekend, outside on the streets, for a good long walk.
I think my biggest problem was not setting a healthy goal weight for myself when I decided to start dieting. I saw the progress and decided to "just lose a few more" until I had a full-fledged eating disorder. It would have been a great bit of mental-health cushioning to have set an ideal weight, and I think setting one with the help of Weight Watchers or some other informed party is a wonderful way to go about it.
A serious answer for once:
179 pounds is the highest whole number within the "healthy" range of BMI for my height.
I have no urge to be skinny, so that seemed appropriate.
I had picked a goal of being down 100 pounds (127) which is within my WW range, but I also liked the round number. Talking to a nutrionist later though,she said that was too low for me - to get down to 140 and see what my body likes. So 135-140 - I think I will make my WW goal 140 for some leeway. But the cool part is that is just 12 more pounds!! Much slower going, but I think that is the light at the end of the tunnel!
i've been at my goal, and i know i look GOOD at my goal, so i want to get back there again.
My goal (144) was pretty much a case of subtracting 10% from my current weight (or at least my weight at the time I set the goal). I have knocked a couple more pounds off that since I know I weighed in at 143 5 yrs ago.
However, 146 is OK with me - its still 12 pounds away but I expect it to be slow. And if I don't quite make it but can boast a fitter me, and have lost some inches then that is enough.
Like Red said - I have no urge to be skinny. I'd just like to be trim, healthy and in control.
I have no recollection of my weight in high school, and am always so surprised at how many women I know today want to get back to that weight. I was never skinny, but I wasn't huge either, a little chubby I guess.
So, picking a goal weight was hard for me. I did Atkins years ago, and got down to 165, and I felt good, but knew I had about 20 pounds to go. So, I thought that maybe 145 was my goal weight. I'm 5'3", but have a larger frame, and know I can't get down to my recommended weight for my height (something like 110 pounds, yeah right! i'd look like a skeleton).
I did a survey in some magazine a couple months ago to find your "happy weight". I can't even remember some of the questions, but I came out with the number 128. So, 130 is my new goal weight, and when I reach it, I will have shed 95 lbs. I'm still only 30 lbs lost right now, so I have a long way to go! If I look better at a higher weight, I'll stick to that, I'm not obsessed by a number, or a pant size. It's where I love my body, once and for all, that will be my goal weight.
(thanks for linking your story)
when I was working to shed my freshman 30 (this was years after college too :)) I still wasnt a weigher.
My goal weight was fitting into an interview suit Id purchased in a 'healthy' size (boring story, I know :))
by the time I nailed the weight Id already gotten a job/been there for a while.
it took longer than Id planned :)
M.
When I started WW in 2002, my leader picked my goal as 140. I remember feeling somewhat disappointed when she said it. I'm only 5'4, I was 27 at the time, and it just seemed too high for me.
I stuck with it, because she said I was looking great and she didn't think I should lose anymore weight.
I made my goal of 140 and while I was on maintenance I continued to lose and made my own personal goal of 132. I was very comfortable there and it fit me well.
Now, I would just be happy to see 140 again!!!
WHen I was 25 years old (8 yrs ago)--I lost a bunch of weight & got down to 135. Im 5'4" I felt great about myself. I could shop for clothes where-ever I wanted. I want to have fun shopping for clothes again :-)
My current weight is 215, so 80 lbs to go! Lord give me strength!!
WW says the highest weight for my height should be 150, while the BMI charts says 145. My goal is to get to 150 and not go over it, so basically somewhere around 145. 25 pounds down, 50 to go.
I've always figured somewhere around 170-175. 175 would put me at a BMI of 25. I've never been super thin (I really DO have a large frame) and I'm okay with that, I just want to be a healthy weight.
I also did the "happy weight" quiz (It was in SELF magazine) and my happy weight was 171.5. So I felt good that I wasn't too far off. I have about 28 lbs. more to reach my goal.
141- Is my goal weight. This is kind of crazy but since I am turning 33 this year, I made it my goal to lose 33% of my body weight -- which puts me at 141. Who knows when I get down to it, I might want to lose more. I am still working on the first 10% so I have plenty of tiime to think about it.
Steph
Hi Roni. I love your blog and read it everyday! Anyway...part of the reason I love it is because you and I are the same height and of similar build. For as long as I remember (from age 12 and up) I've weighed 175 lbs. No one has ever thought I was "fat" except for me I think. The first time I stepped on the scale and saw a "5" as you put it - I was the happiest woman alive!! So, that's what I call my goal weight...anything with a "5" in the middle, lol!!
Great question - and actually one I have wanted to ask you.
No pressure - but you actually skewed my goal weight!! LOL!
Our statistics are very similar. I am 5'9, my highest non-baby weight was 201. That was years ago, and I have stayed about 165-170 for in-between kids. I got down to 159 to go to Mexico a few years ago. So, before I found your site I wanted to get to 159 again. I am now at 156, and still have flabby thighs. My upper body really cant lose much more. I have thin arms and waist. But, my BMI is still too high - 27% (and this is done with electrodes which is as accurate as it can without doing the water test, according to the charts it is much lower) so it is accurate. I am a comfy size 10.
My new goal - again, after seeing you can do it - is to get to 148, size 8, and below 25% BMI. I take a cardio-sculpt class 1 time a week and walk on my treadmill, so I am confident I will get there!
Great post!!
Renee
HI Roni! First time poster, long time reader :) My goal weight is 133. This was a weight I was happy with at one time. But, I'm 136 right now, and still more flabby than 3 pounds will probably cure, so I'm thinking about lowering my goal. The healthy range for my age/height is something like 128-142 so I figure as long as I'm somewhere in there I'm better off than I was at 175!! BTW, I tried your pizza last night, and my fiance and I LOVED IT!!!!
I choose my goal weight based on a number I used to be. When I got married, I weighed in between 130-135. After having 2 babies and keeping on some of the weight, I was like - why bother I will never have THAT body again. And that made me decide to go for a goal weight of 130-135, because although I will not have the same body, I can have the same number and my husband LOVES my new curvier body.
When I lost weight before I was 142 and a size 4. everyone said I was too skinny and all I thought was "my goal is 124 so I need to keep working." I realize I set the bar a little high that time.
My goal this time is 145. A long ways off but my range is 124-155 and I think it could be managable. I don't think, after 2 kids, I will be anywhere near a size 4 but hey...I would take a healthy size 6 or 8 any day!
My ww goal is 155 and at that I felt I could lose more so I stayed in a losing mode till I was 143 with a 50 1bs loss. I'm a size 4 jeans and dont want to be a 2 but would like to see my tummy fat go. I'm more shocked that I lost 50 1bs and alot of inspiation came from you. At my ww center people seem lest motivated than you and I need good ideas to work the plan.
Thankyou Ronie you help me everyday know I can do it because you do it in a way like me thats fairly easy to do and I can 100% relate to you.
For me it was the weight they are saying for my height. The high end. 150. But really I have been in the 200's for so long, for as long as I can remember so anything that says one hundred would make me happy.
Well, let's see... I started losing weight by making some small changes in bad habits last late summer after I saw some horrible pictures of myself from vacation. I weighed 310! In the fall I started a program linked to a contest at our local gym and I am now down to 260 (as of 2 weeks ago, I weigh in tomorrow!), I didn't have a goal weight in mind until recently. I wanted to see if I could do it first. I can - woo hoo!
I joined WW last weekend and according to the website (not a meeting kinda girl), I should be between 147-153. I had always thought that 160 was a good number, but I've set my goal with WW at 150. That means I have 110 pounds to go.
With 50 pounds already gone I know I can do this!
And Roni...thanks as always for everything you do. Finding your site was a real turning point for me. It's been so helpful to see a real person's journey up close the way we see yours. You'll never know how much you mean to all of us!
Michele
I'm 5'4" and currently weight 142. I'm striving toward my goal of 125. I set that goal because I am small-to-small/medium frame, and that is what I weighed all through college and felt comfortable with. (I'm 33.) After graduation, I met my husband and stayed around 135 for several years, then bumped to 145, then 155, etc. etc. until I hit a high of 168. I remember feeling like I needed to lose 10 to 15 pounds when I weighed 135 to 145, so I've set my goal at the last weight I remember feeling like I looked how I wanted to look --- 125. I'm very active (marathon runner, yoga, weights), so I don't think this is unreasonable.
I determined my goal weight by looking at what was a healthy range for my height and would give me a healthy BMI. i had tried to set outrageously low goals in the past and it never worked so i aimed for something reasonable. I'm 5'6" and fairly muscular so i settled on 135. i hit my goal and went as low as 131, but settled at 136.5. this weight put me comfortably in a size 6 and allowed me to eat pretty much want i wanted w/out obsessing over pts. had a baby, gained 35 lbs and just today, 11 months pp, i saw 136.5 again! i have recently taken up running so maybe i'll go lower, but right now i try to weigh only once every few weeks and not obsess. fitness, not skinniness, is my new goal! can't wait to hear how your 5K training goes, as i'm doing the same (using cool running).
145 is what I weighed at age 23 when I met my husband, so I thought that would be a good weight to go back to. Still not there, but eventually I'll make it.
Well, I'm 5'7' and the last time i saw the 150's was freshman year. I know that this is a realistic weight. I also, have heard that your weight in the final year of high school was a good number to aim for.
I have actually set a short-term goal of 185 (from 210 this past December). I would like to reach this weight for the end of July. This coincides with my being a bridesmaid in my sisters wedding and wanting to be at a healthier weight before I try getting pregnant.
My goal weight is/was 137.
I took the Happy Weight Quiz (thanks coral for posting that) and my "happy weight" ranges from 132-140. (Depending on large or medium frame.) So I think I am going to use an average and say 136. So pretty darn close to my original goal! That makes me "happy"!
Hey, Roni! I love your blog, and reading about your weight loss journey.
I picked my weight goal of 135 pounds because that was 20 pounds less than what I was at when I began working on losing weight. I actually hit my goal 2 weeks ago!
My WW goal is 145. This is 50lbs less than what I am now and falls into that range that the doctor gives you for your height. I'd love to be lower, but this is my goal. Also, I realize that it is an achievable goal. It's not lofty or out of reach. It is something that is do-able for me in 6-10 months as I've just started WW. Thanks so much! I've enjoyed your blog and enjoy your recipes.
I picked my WW goal at the high end of my range - 141 - but that's too much for my height of
5'2" 1/2. I knew I wanted my weight to be anything in the 120's so I set my personal goal to 129. That's about 10 pounds higher than when I was at my ideal weight in my 30's. Being in my late 40's now, I didn't think it was realistic to go below the 120's again. I'm now maintaining at about 127 and I'm fine with that. I had a stomach virus and got down to 125 but that didn't last long once I started eating again. If in one year from now and every year after that my weigh is in the 120's I will be very, very happy.
I don't think I know what my goal is yet. The goal WW has for my height seems way too low for me so I am just working to get close to 140 and see how I look.
It's been so long since I looked anywhere near there that I feel like I will know more when I get closer.
WW is telling me 135, but I'm aiming for 140, because that's the lowest weight I was able to maintain for an extended period of time.
But who knows? Maybe I'll commit to 135 or even 130. :-)
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