How did you know?

[Meg41]

How did you know when you had reached your "goal" weight?

I am now in the "normal" range on the BMI Charts and on the height vs weight charts but think I'd like to go lower.

How did you define your goal?

[Kissa]

Your goal is just that, your own choice. Everyone feels differently. So many things influence us. The thing is to make it work for you.

As you will see, many of us have chosen a goal and then moved it down or even up. Some of us try to stay within a pound or two of our chosen goal, others allow ourselves 5 or so pounds leeway.

If you would like to go lower that is fine, within reason of course. I would never advise you to go too low, that way is as bad for you as being seriously overweight.

Good luck!

[JuliaL]

I based my goal weight on several of the "ideal weight" calculation sites online. Most of them said that anything between 130 and 150 would be a healthy weight for a woman my age and height, so I chose 140.

After I got down to 140 I did try to go lower. I got to 136 for about 15 mins. I couldn't maintain at that weight and still enjoy food. For me food is one of the greatest pleasures in life, and when I learned that I could still enjoy food and be a healthy weight, it was an inspiration to me. I will never be someone who can think of food as just fuel - it's so much more than that. I don't think that my attitude towards food is unhealthy because I now appreciate healthy food choices and am able to limit my treats.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I knew I was at my goal weight when I got to a size that was healthy, and a way of eating I could sustain for life.

[2big4mysize]

my goal weight was redefined by my lean body mass increasing givine me a body fat of less then 15%

check your body fat and don't make your goal weight to be in ther unhealthy body fat range.

[ericajones80]

I got a body fat test...one of the electronic ones where you hold onto the handles...and it tells you what your body fat is and how many pounds of body fat you have. It also says what your weight is with 8% body fat. I want to be from 8%-12%

[steady]

Originally Posted by ericajones80

I got a body fat test...one of the electronic ones where you hold onto the handles...and it tells you what your body fat is and how many pounds of body fat you have. It also says what your weight is with 8% body fat. I want to be from 8%-12%

I did this test too and it also said 8%. I'd be in denial if I though it was accurate. How can a machine calculate body fat from one's hands? That isn't where I hold my junk...I should probably have sat on it to get a more accurate reading.

[Loretta V]

Steady. Love your reasoning about sitting on the body fat determiner.

[Meg41]

Julia - "I got to 136 for about 15 mins." That's very funny. I'm doing that with the 140's!

Lots of humor here, thanks for your responses. I'm just having some difficulty knowing what my goal should be. I have a body fat scale (damp bare feet) don't know how accurate that is either but I am in the best shape of my life & exercise 60 - 90 min a day. I hope I'll just know when I reach my goal.

[BellaHMB]

Mine was originally 150 but then I kept going to 135. I like it here but it does take work!

Bella

[JuliaL]

Originally Posted by ericajones80

I got a body fat test...one of the electronic ones where you hold onto the handles...and it tells you what your body fat is and how many pounds of body fat you have. It also says what your weight is with 8% body fat. I want to be from 8%-12%

Healthy body fat for a woman between the ages of 20 and 40 is 21%-25% Anything lower than that is difficult for most woment to sustain. For men it's much lower, around 14%-17%. That's because men naturally have more lean muscle mass.

[2big4mysize]

8% is below essential body fat levles for females. well below actually.
we need 10-12 percent just to have the body fat needed to be alive and triving. That 8% is for guys. Women depending on if they are athletes or not should be 14%-32% depending on which chart you check but nobody has it at 8% for females.

[Kissa]

DOH! Too many sums for me.

Born 1947. Height 5'3"/ 4". Weight 125/8 lbs. Size 2/4.

I look good, feel good, I exercise regularly and I eat well. I do look at the scales but I don't know what % is fat, water or muscle exactly. I think that is maintainance?

Don't get bogged down with tests and charts.

BTW Steady is looking great!

[steady]

Thanks Cindy!

[homestretch]

I am still figuring it out. I just initially decided that I wanted to lose 50 pounds. I may readjust my goal after the holidays but for now I just want to maintain.

[liza15]

I think your mirror is your best guide. It is such an individual thing. But it really boils down to two things: 1- what Y O U think looks good. (not a weight chart, or ANYONES opinion) 2- how hard are you willing to work to get there. How do you want to eat for the rest of your life.

[dae_tona]

Honestly, I moved myself into maintenance but even I still don't know. I thought about getting myself back down to where my size 4 clothes fit me comfortably again (all the clothes in my closet are size 4 & under & EVERYTHING is tight on me currently-even my size 4's).

If there is one thing I am starting to notice, though-I feel better on a lot more fat (olive oil, nuts, avocados) and less protein. I am also starting to notice that I feel horrible if I don't have at least a little sugar in my diet everyday. So what have I done to fix that? I decided to try-one more time-to eat a piece of fruit to see if I could get over sugar cravings that fruit causes me to have. And for once, I'm not having sugar cravings. (which is very nice as I am on a no junk sugar, no artificial sweeteners fast for awhile to see if I'll feel even much better)

So I think I'm close to maintenance mode now but not there exactly yet. The scale is out the window as a number will not determine maintenance for me anymore. When I can get back into my size 4's comfortably, then I think I'll finally call maintenance. And it's then I think I'll finally know. Hoping so anyway.

Dyan

[luckyduck]

I say go by how you look, not by what the scale says. I am 5'7" and had called goal at 120pds. Now, 120pds sounds plenty skinny; however, I still had a big belly and beefy thighs. I asked for advice on these boards, and while everyone was very nice, almost everybody said to be happy and to learn to accept myself as I was. There was ONE brave person who suggested that I lower my goal weight, which was the advice that I finally took (after nearly killing myself with all sorts of exercise routines for over a year). I now weigh 115pds and my stomach is much flatter and my thighs look much better (thank you, Idioglossic).

[CherryCola]

Originally Posted by Kissa

I look good, feel good, I exercise regularly and I eat well. I do look at the scales but I don't know what % is fat, water or muscle exactly. I think that is maintainance?

That pretty much sums up my experience...when I sat down and my stomach didn't fall over my pants - I called GOAL! The number didn't even matter at that point honestly!