Choosing a healthy goal weight

[jennbeingme]

...is definitely more confusing than it seems! small frame, large frame or somewhere in between...tables that were apparently calculated decades ago by insurance companies and we are no longer supposed to use.... friends who are beginning to say- you shouldn't lose much more, you'll be too skinny ( which makes me just laugh at them) and a mother who says- oh- you've lost 25 lbs- I hadn't noticed...
As a 5'7" female, age 39 who ( apparently) has a small frame ( with a big butt hanging on it haha) I've chosen 140 as my goal weight. It's pretty much dead center of the BMI ranges given and 14 lbs away from where I am now. It's also where I was at my healthiest 13 (gasp!) years ago before kids and was eating and exercising- How did you guys choose your goal weight?

[Peej]

I haven't chosen a goal weight yet. I feel like I will know how far to go when I get closer. I've been overweight pretty much my entire life so I'm really not sure what weight I will feel comfortable at.

[Lexley]

I'll know my goal when I get there! I'm 4'11 and have a small frame so I picked 100lbs. I used to weigh 95lb (about 6 years ago) and loved it but I don't think that would look as good on me now. 100-105lbs will be fine. But like I said, if I get to 120 and feel good I'll stop there. I think it should be dependent on personal preference and health.

[planetclaire]

I'm just under 5'8" with a small frame and I weighed 130 when I was 22, 23, but at 40 I was 158 and I would like to be 158-162 again. I maintained that weight for a few years before all **** broke loose and I gained lots of weight back :/

I think you need to consider 2 things when choosing a goal: How you feel at that weight, and how difficult will it to be to maintain. You don't want to be constantly struggling - at least I don't

[kibskix]

at 5'10 i'm aiming for around 160/170, and see how i feel from there. At 180 I was still in a size 14 and need to be at least in a 12 or 10.

[phil h]

When I started at nearly 260 lbs I picked 185 for my 6' 1 1/2" frame.I now weight 221.It is obvious I will look horrible at the lower weight.190-195 will be the lowest I will want to get.I will be lean but not emaciated looking.

[not2late]

Originally Posted by jennbeingme

...is definitely more confusing than it seems! small frame, large frame or somewhere in between...tables that were apparently calculated decades ago by insurance companies and we are no longer supposed to use.... friends who are beginning to say- you shouldn't lose much more, you'll be too skinny ( which makes me just laugh at them) and a mother who says- oh- you've lost 25 lbs- I hadn't noticed...
As a 5'7" female, age 39 who ( apparently) has a small frame ( with a big butt hanging on it haha) I've chosen 140 as my goal weight. It's pretty much dead center of the BMI ranges given and 14 lbs away from where I am now. It's also where I was at my healthiest 13 (gasp!) years ago before kids and was eating and exercising- How did you guys choose your goal weight?

I did the same thing you are doing. Picking a BMI that's in the middle of the healthy range. But as I got closer to goal, I gave myself enough "wiggle room" to either stay at the higher end of the or push to the lower end of the range.

See, I mainly went by clothing size. If I got to a solid size 8 I would be happy (and I am happy there by the way.)

[SunnySmile501]

If you've never done Atkins before, you can't compare weight to size like you could on a balanced diet or especially a low fat/low calorie diet. Most of us have found that we can wear clothes at a much higher weight than we could before.

In fact, when I finally got out a box of clothes to try on because I was finally down to the weight at which I could wear them before, they fell off of me. Literally. I put on a pair of jeans that I thought would still be really tight and when I put my hands in the pockets, they fell to my knees, zipped and buttoned.

I think it is best to pick something in the middle of the range and decide when you get to the point that you like the way you feel and you like how you look in your clothes.

[jennbeingme]

Thank you everyone. This helped a lot. Do you know what was REALLY funny? The lowest recommended weights that I found in my research came from Weight Watchers! hmmmm..

[stephbob]

I haven't really chosen a goal weight - I use 120 because it's a guess (a total guess!)

My lowest weight was in 2006, and I weighed 134 lbs and I was a size 6 pants. I want to get down to a size 4 pants, because for me, at 5'3"/5'4" with a small frame, I felt comfortable, but not too small at 134 and I think I can get down to a size 4 and still have plenty of weight to lose if I want. I'll decide when I get there