How do you know what is a good goal?

[jengeesh]

My start goal was to get to a size 12-14 weight 140ish-150. I'm close to the HALFWAY mark now 6 months in. I'm not sure if that should still be the GOAL. I'ld like to lose at least 30 more FOR SURE. I was a size 12-14 when i was 18 years old. I'm close to 30 years old now. That's kinda how i judged a GOAL was my weight at 18. On the charts i'm still over weight at 145. Should i shoot for a CHART goal weight. What are your goals and how did you choose them?. Just been wondering what i should go for.

[Discolemonade]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

I don't know. I weigh 169 and got into size 10 yesterday. I was a size 22 when I started. Size 10 is not small enough for me. Health Services suggest 115-155 for my height. I went 10lbs below the higher weight because their recommendations are off in my opinion. I'd look sick at 115 lbs. So, I am making a size goal more than a weight goal. Which ever comes first! I want to be a size 4 or 6! OMG! thats WEIRD saying. But my next size down is an 8 so it's not out of reach. Last go round I stopped when I was satisfied with my size. But I gained 20 lbs back. I am now staying on this WOE for life and once I'm done with the rungs, I'm not dieting, I'm educated and trained.

[*Emma*]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

have you had a look at the weight charts?

i know it doesnt work for everyone (certainly not me) but sometimes its a good pointer for others!

[Lynsey]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

That's a hard one I was just thinking of myself. The goal that I have chosen puts me as still "mildly obese" on the charts. But I remember being that weight as an adult, and it did not hinder my activities in the least, I looked and felt good. I may adjust my goal as I get closer, but I have no intention of going for the 105 pounds I was when I got married. I looked sick then and know I would look sick now. I plan on increasing my muscle mass considerably, and I think that needs to be taken into consideration. I think when I reach goal, I'll get a bmi test done at the doctor's office and go from there. If my bmi is within the healthy range, I won't try to loose more, but will welcome it if it just happens due to staying on plan.

[*Emma*]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

you can also remember that you can weigh more with the Akins WOE but be smaller, i know thats the case for lots of people here....

i guess we should recommend clothes sizes rather than weight targets

[guekjian]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

My goal weight is the weight I used to be able to stay at effortlessly when I was younger...like in my 20's. Now that I am in my 40's, I know that I should probably leave myself 5 pounds leeway, but I am still calling 135 goal! I once weighed 120...for about 6 hours...and then I got pregnant the very next day. But I can tell you that at 5'7, that was WAY too thin for me because I still had a big b*tt...LOL!!!

[jengeesh]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

ty everyone!. my goal was also picked by judging what i stayed at for years without effort "before 3 children AND a Hubby lol". Even thou 140-150 may be still overweight on those charts i'm only 5'4. I think it might be right for me. It would be awsome to get into A 8 i never was a 8 so i don't know i guess i'll wait see what happens.

[Sera]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

My overall goal is what gives me a healthy BMI but when I'm close to goal I will see how I look.
Might just as well be that I'll stay 5kg over my current goal because I feel that I look good and healthy that way.

[Lola007]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

Not sure how often these threads are checked, but I will take a shot here.
I've been 8 lbs from goal for over 6 months. Before I start rambling on about what I've done right or wrong - which i feel i was doing everything right - i'd like to mention that I think I'm on a decent level on the "charts." I'm 5'6", 148 lbs, size 6. My goal is 140 but I've never even dreamed of being size 6! my goal was a size 10! I have a hard time letting go of the number "140" since it was goal, as opposed to pants size. Now I do have occasional birthday cake, go up 2lbs, and take it right off again, so I'm not struggling to maintain. I think I just can't let go of the thought of WHY DOESN'T THIS WORK FOR ME ANYMORE? when i try to go back to finish off those 8lbs... i end up gaining. after a week I'm up 3 lbs and quit becuase I panic and I want those extra lbs off. Is there any reason why this would stop working at any point?

[Brook]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

Charts suck. BMI is dumb - it doesn't take into account your body type, build, muscle mass, etc.

When I started this 5 years ago, my goal weight was 135. I started at 234lbs. By the time I hit 165, I knew that 135 was unrealistic and unhealthy for me. I had started working out and lo and behold, with my body type - at 149lbs I was 17% body fat (athletic). For me to drop another 14lbs would have brought me down low enough in body fat to be unhealthy.

Use your body fat as your guide. Calipers are cheap - and frankly they're not all that accurate, but they're a heckuva lot more accurate than some random number from a chart or a number you get from pooma.com (pulled out of my .com ). You can have your body fat tested at your doctor's office as well.

At 149lbs I'm a solid size 8 - 6's in some things. It's totally counter intuitive - but it's true. With regular exercise you will weigh more and be smaller in size. It's a beautiful thing.

HTHS
~Brook

[Lola007]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

THANKS for the response. Great Job by the way! I know this is more a mental thing...i'm mentally fat. probably always will be. My body fat is not too bad, 25%, which i believe is in the healthy range. I know I have muscle mass b'cuz my poor sore body told me so after 1 1/2 yrs of hard core weight training! but again, i don't think my real issue is with the number, since i'm satisfied with my size 6 - I just wish I could understand why atkins doesn't work anymore. i mean, does it halt after a certain BMI level? or should this work for anyone at any given time?

[Brook]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

Atkins works just fine. You're just going to have to tweak it. Are you still eating as much now as you were 10lbs ago? As you progress, your intake has to reduce. Smaller body sizes require less food.

I plateaud at about 165 for several weeks. My carbs were on. My percentages were on. I hadn't added any new foods, etc etc. It finally dawned on me - I had to reduce my intake.

Add to that the workout part of it. Are you switching up what you're doing? Are you doing the same things?

[Lola007]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

actually, i was eating a lot less, and i tried upping the fat because i never really did really high fat. i started using mayo, eating avocado's, using more butter... i upped my workouts and weight training... the water... u name it. i think my big mistake was, that for the first 60 lbs/1st year, i never went off induction. i think i may have messed up the whole system! i do eat carbs now, some fruit, some veggies, occasional starches.. and i just maintain.

oh another question, as u reach closer to goal... does fat intake stay up or are u supposed to reduce that ?

[SunnySmile501]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

I have a number that I hope to attain, but plan to stop when I like how I feel and how my clothes fit. I can't even go by sizes, because from brand to brand, I can wear from a 12 to a 16 right now. I even have a pair of Faded Glory jeans, size 16, that I can't get on my body and a pair of 14's, same brand, that are baggy!

Sunny!

[gonnabskinny]

Re: How do you know what is a good goal?

Most times it is just a guess. My guess was based on at what weight in life that I felt the most comfortable and what I thought was realistic based on my age. I am a 6' tall large boned male and will be 55 years old in November. When I was at my heaviest weight (unfortunately it was a whopping 394 lbs) I set my goal weight at 200 lbs. Almost 1/2 of my weight. I am now only 37 pounds away from that goal and still losing about 2 lbs per week. With my workouts and doing Atkins I have shrunk from a 60 inch waist down to 41 inches. My fat % is currently at 25%, which still puts me in the overweight category, but when I get to 39 inches I will finally be in the "normal" range.

When I get to 200 lbs I will solidly be in the normal range and I will re-evaluate my goal at that time. Ideally, I would get down to my high school weight, which was 184 lbs, and I would have a 36" waist, but I don't know if that is realistic at my age. So, I will just take it as it comes. I don't put a lot of faith in charts. Only you can decide where you feel the most comfortable and at what weight you think you look the best. You may not even know what that is until you get there.

Good luck in your journey!