Goal weight ?'s

[lc_angel_08]

I am having a hard time deciding on what my goal weight should be. I am 52 yrs old 5'4 tall and my current weight is 127. I had set my goal weight as 118 however my trainer thinks that is to low and it should be between 125-130. She said women don't look good if they strive for the same weights as they get older they weighed when younger. She feels 125-130 is reasonable weight range for me to strive to stay with in and I should concentrate on staying there and working on toning up more. Its been hard for me to decide on a goal weight could some of you tell me how you decided what should be your goal weight. I could really use some help deciding what is the best goal weight for me.

[SandyL2002]

Re: Goal weight ?'s

I agree with your trainer... You are 1 inch shorter then me and that is really skinny... I hate to say this but as we get older we are not suppose to look like our toothpick teenagers...

When I was in High School I weighed 115 that is thin.. Oh I am 5'5"... When I got pregnant with my son I was 140.. Now that I am 18 years older..I am going to settle for 150... But my first goal right now is to get below 200 and then I will go from there..

[Brook]

Re: Goal weight ?'s

I say toss the scale numbers altogether and dig out the calipers or head for the dunk tank.

Body fat percentage is the way to go - not weight on a scale. This is even more true if you're working out regularly.

At 149lbs I sit between 18-21% body fat, and I'm 5'5.5". For me to drop down to 130lbs would be unhealthy.

For Women:

10-12% - Essential Body Fat
14-20% - Athletes
21-24%- Fitness
25-31%- Acceptable
32%+ Obese

[knicknack]

Re: Goal weight ?'s

I agree with brooke - it's too hard to tell without knowing a whole lot more information. Granted, your trainer has that information (and we don't) but... What is too thin for one person's frame is too big for another's, etc...

THing is, you can weigh next to nothing and still have a bunch of flab (that would be me right now!), so don't worry too much about the number on the scale. If you can tone yourself up, that's more important than the scale, and if you happen to lose weight in the process, so be it.

I think your trainer is right that women look a little better with a bit more weight on them as they get older, but that's again going to be different for everybody...

[BongMeye]

Re: Goal weight ?'s

12% BMI is what would best to target...hope that helps...because below that would be too little

[Alexa]

Re: Goal weight ?'s

This is a great thread on this that I used:
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ad.php?t=19784

However, I think I aimed a little too low and am finding it very hard to progress lower than a certain point. Your trainer is probably right in terms of a healthy weight.

Brook makes a good point too that with regular exercise the number of the scale becomes less and less relevant as your near goal. A size of fat % would make a great goal.

[lc_angel_08]

Re: Goal weight ?'s

I checked my BMI it is 21.8 but according to the site I used it says the normal range is 18.5 - 24.9 and less then 18.5 is underweight. I also used biofit to check my bodyfat % which came back as 23.1% They say a healthy bodyfat% for me adjusted for age is 24.4% and my desired weight loss is 0. Thank You Labarum I went to the site you suggested they gave my desired weight as 124. I also found it interesting that they say women tend to aim for a weight that is to low for them. So I guess I am going to set my target weight at 125 like my trainer suggested. I appreciate all the help from everyone its so hard to try to decided what is the right weight to strive for. I am going to try to just keep eating clean and working out and try to keep my weight around 125.

[LuckyD]

Re: Goal weight ?'s

Ic Angel that is my target weight, somewhere in the mid to high 120's. I am 5'4 as well and 10 years ago I would have considered myself overweight at that. I spent most of my years up until turning 40 weighing in around 114 to 117. My doctor said that that was a healthy weight for me since I seemed to consitently weigh in at that year after year (I have had this doctor for 20 years). But now I cannot imagine myself being that thin. I think I would look awful, plus the fact that my body just resists losing that much weight. Once I hit 130 it seems the scale will not move another ounce no matter what I do.

[lc_angel_08]

Re: Goal weight ?'s

lucky you know thats a really good point. I think that is a lot of my problem I was always so thin most of my life. If I weighted 105 it was alot I never tried to stay that thin I just could never gain weight no matter how much I eat. Then I got life threatening anemia about 6 years ago and gained about 50 lbs. It has been a constant struggle to get it off and try to keep it off. I always feel that I am over weight even though everyone I know thinks of me as thin. I have to watch what I eat and workout pretty much everyday just to stay in the mid to upper 120's. If I stop working out or don't watch what I eat I gain weight fairly rapidly. I hate to think what I would weight right now if I didnt try as hard as I do to keep my weight in check. I think I am realy going to have to work on accepting the fact that even though it doesn't feel that way to me right now a weight of between 125-130 is a healthy goal weight for me.