Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I picked a weight that was smack dab in the middle of a normal BMI for my height. Once I got close, I could see how much of the weight remaining was muscle versus fat. Then I find tuned my goal based on that.

I just did this and it did not work for me, made me too skinny.

I'm too skinny at a normal BMI, too. At 6 feet and 196 pounds, I'd need to lose 12 pounds to hit a normal BMI (ie under 25). I'm 20 pounds overweight on a height/weight chart. However, I run a lot and I look really lean at that weight (like a runner). My body fat percentage was 22-23%. That's well within the fitness range.

BMI can a rough guide, but I wouldn't use it for a goal. Get a body fat measurement and use that to set goals.

Scales lie. They can tell you your weight, but they don't tell you how much of that weight is fat or how fit you are.

I agree with other posters on using a target BMI of < 25.0.

That said, another data point that might help you: how much did you weigh when you were 18, 19, 20 years old? For many, weight gain starts in college. Your weight before that weight gain is a reasonable proxy of your ideal weight.

For me, I set a goal of getting to the weight where I had, in the past, felt "okay" - health was good, felt chubby but not fat. When I got there I set another goal, to the weight I had been in early adulthood. Then I got there, and am maintaining it. I still have plenty of fat on me, but I realize that I can keep this weight indefinitely, and eat more or less normally, and be healthy. That is more important to me than being thin for a few months or a year but then gaining again because I can't maintain that strict a diet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd start with the minimum weight that will give you a "normal" BMI. Once you're there, you can decide whether/ how much more weight you want to lose. But I would think that is a realistic goal to start with.

You mean maximum? That's what I'm doing.

Reply--yes, sorry that wasn't clear. I mean lose the least amount of weight that will bring you into the normal range.

1 - pick the max weight for a healthy BMI (assuming that you have normal muscle tone and skeleton; BMI isn't a very good gauge for some). That's a reasonable place to set your initial sights.

2 - Pick some fitness milestones, too. Like walking a mile in 15 minutes. Being able to walk for an hour straight. Doing a 5k. X number of push ups and sit ups. Being able to take the stairs to your office without getting winded (harder than a 5k, at least for me). Fitness matters, IMO, even more than your BMI.

3 - Get your "numbers" for cholesterol, glucose, etc. See if any of those could be improved. There's a good chance that being in better physical shape will help those.

4 - Do you have a dress or pair of jeans that you have kept for sentimental reasons? I still have the dress I was wearing when I met DH. Not sure if it is possible for me to ever fit in it again--DC did a number on my rib cage--but I still hold out hope.