Deciding on a goal weight what is reasonable?

[cocojo123]

:sign0163:

I have been overweight all my life starting on my first diet at around 7years old. Since then I have yo-yoed back a forth but spent the majority of my life classified as obese. A dirty word when you read today's headlines.

LL seems like a dream to me although I know that it will be really tough the possibility of losing three stone in three months will surely spur me on!

I choose 60kg (9'4') (BMI 33.2) as my goal which would be mean shedding as massive 39kg (6'1') (BMI 20.1).

The closest I have ever come to this goal is 82kg (12'9') so I have no concept of what I would look like or how I would feel at this weight. With my previous poor track record this seems like a very unreasonable goal.

I see that lots of people have mini goals but I can't bring myself to set any because I have failed so many times before.

Any suggestions?

Jo :wave_cry:

 

[Alibongo]

Hi Jo
I was like that, I have been overweight since I was a kid, and obese for the best part of 10 years.
But going by my BMI and what my sister looked like when she got down to 9.5 (just a bit too much) I have decided to go for 10 stone, but I will see how I look and feel at that.
I wouldn't of dreamed of saying stuff like this a couple of weeks ago, I never had a hope of losing a stone by xmas, let alone, planning for my future, but I have found with the classes, the diet and this site I found the confidence to say "Yeah, I can do this", to myself, which I have found very hard to do before.
I have no doubts that I can do it, sure there will be tough times ahead, but I can do this, and so can you.
I haven't put my mini goals on here, but have a list of them, my first one is 10% (20lbs) off my starting body weight which I am hoping to achieve by 12/12. If I stick to the plan I should do it.

 

[Gemma]

Hi ya I am doing CD but have had the same problem as yourself, I have never been slim and so have no idea where to set myself as a goal. I know i wanna be a size 12 so went out and brought a cheap denim skirt in that size. As long as i am happy with my bmi once I have got into it I will then maintain at that weight

 

[Christovee]

The original weight I was aiming for was just above 25BMI so I rethought it and went for something within the range.

While BMI isn't flawless as it doesn't account for variations in body type within it's scale, it is still probably the best indicator to go for healthwise.

On a more personal level, for a lot of people it seems to be about feeling 'normal', in that case, go for the weight which will achieve that for you.

 

[cocojo123]

Thanks for you wise words of wisdom!! I think I will take every day as it comes and buy myself a stunning dress or skirt with a goal to be wearing it next summer. Sorry about the silly poll but as this was my first post I didn't understand what I had got myself into until I got to the poll page and then couldn't get out of it!!

 

[Starlight]

Im NOT going to be influenced by my BMI my doctor has actually told me that for me to be at the middle of whats classed as 'healthy' he thinks Id have lost too much & look unhealthy!

 

[Conn76]

I know exactly what you mean. I don't remember ever being within my correct BMI range. So I am currently aiming to be just at the top end of the healthy BMI and then seeing whether I look how I want to. Without getting there it is so difficult to tell!

Good luck with it though!

xxx

 

[scotwannabethin]

I set my tracker at the start of this journey and I put in a weight I thought I would like to get too. My weight loss has taken slightly longer than I thought it would but it is dropping so I won't complain. I think I will take each week as it comes and I hope that I will know when I have gotten to an acceptable point for me. Not so bothered about the BMI thing, although it is very nice to be out of the obese catagory!
I still have far too many wobbly bits that I would like rid off before I go into RtM so a bit longer for me!!!
It is a very individual thing though isn't it? There was a thread on here not that long ago about the differences between folk who are the same height and weight but different sizes due to the distribution of their "cuddly" bits!!! lol

 

[Amber34]

This is something I really struggled with. Not knowing what to do, I set my ticker at a weight I slimmed down to before (as a result of a very stressful divorce and related problems), even though at that time people told me I looked ill - which in fairness, I probably was!

But now I've lost 20lbs, I can't imagine losing another 30lbs to reach my ticker target - not because I don't want to 'stay the course', but because I don't think that amount of loss will suit me. I have no desire to be a size zero, or even a size 10, although I do feel some pressure to be that size. I just want to look like me, and I think I will know what that is when I look in the mirror.

I'm not too worried about my final BMI either, although moving out of the obese range was also important to me.

As you say Scot, it is an individual thing, and I am hoping I know myself well enough to know when I have reached my goal.

 

[Mrs Lard]

Hello Everyone

I'd like to add my thoughts, if they help. When I started LighterLife, I had NO goal weight in mind. Why? Because I had never been slim as an adult (now just turned 41). I had no idea what different weights would look and feel like.

In the early days of Foundation, one of my fellow Foundation friends was very clear about her goal; a minimum of a six stone weight loss. I remember being a) gobsmacked and b) scared/jealous/in awe that she managed to be so clear about her goal!

I just couldn't imagine NOT eating! Anyway, I am almost five stone down (two pounds away - very important!) and I am only now beginning to understand what a good goal may be (for me). The best advice I ever got was from here, on minimins, from Sarah/Cerulean; it helped me focus on what was right for me.

Here's the blog I wrote about this very issue:

The Lard Arms

Here's the link from minimins:


<a href="http://www.minimins.com/lighter-life-forum/19105-management-question-cerulean-other-long-term-llers.html">www.minimins.com/lighter-life-forum/19105-management-question-cerulean-other-long-term-llers.html</a>

And here's what Sarah wrote:

<em>"The other interesting thing ... is that my counsellor (who has been doing this since the programme began) actually advises getting to BMI 22.5 and THEN losing a couple of pounds short of whatever you lost in week 1 (your glycogen load) as this is the weight that you will regain in management. Now of course some people don't need to be BMI 22.5 and as a slim person you may have a lower glycogen load than you did as a morbidly obese person, but she observed that her people that got through management tend to fluctuate by about 7lbs. So the lesson is not to expect to lose another stone in Management. I think that some people refer to Management as 'refeeding' because of this suggestion as some clients go quite low and gaunt before finally getting their glycogen back. Apparently my theory about dropping your BMI to 20-21 to shift any remaining problem areas before gaining a few lbs is also pretty sound.

"Interesting."</em>

I found Sarah's post invaluable.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

Take care.

Mrs Lxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[KerrieW]

Hi, I started on LL with about 9-10 stone to lose to get into the middle of my BMI range and it felt like an impossible thing. But when I break it down into stones it isn't so bad - I am now on CD but 5 months after starting on LL came last week and I hit 7 stone gone. Do try and find your mini-goals - a dress size, a certain number of pounds, a BMI value - my next will be 100 pounds lost and after that to fit a size 12. Try and find ways to reward yourslef when you hit these - I will buy something nice in a size 12 when I get there for example. Good luck, Kx

Also just to add, my first big goal is simply to get to the top of my healthy weight range and take it from there as I have never been this slim so it a new experience for me to.

 

[cocojo123]

Thanks for all you support I wish i knew about this site years ago! Can I ask you Kerry why you switched from LL after foundation to CD ?

Jo

 

[KerrieW]

Hi Jo,

I switched for 2 reasons - firstly the cost - I am a PhD student living off a stipend and it was just overwhelming me but the main reason is my LLC was rubbish. She didn't really provide counselling, we never did activities and she cancelled sessions or would get her husband to weigh us when she had other plans. I just felt like I was paying her to be lazy. She was also extremely overweight and despite telling us every week she was on the plan after 3 months when we had all lost 3 stone she had got bigger so it felt a bit patronizing - taking advice from someone who couldn't get to grips with the plan themselves. I knew I still needed suuport and luckily I switched to a great CDC but I'm also tackling some of my issues my self as I have realized that food is not the cause of my unhappiness - its a way of self-medicating. I have no regrets about switching to CD and no longer have huge financial troubles to worry about!
Kerrie x

 

[cocojo123]

Hi Kerrie
The first LL counsellor I met with was also morbidly obese and I just didn't feel I could get advice and support from someone who was twice the size of me. She also was very defensive and I didn't think she could give the psychological support I needed. She was also very nice so I felt very guilty ringing and asking for the number of a new counsellor. Getting the right counsellor is half the battle.

Jo

 

[scotwannabethin]

I went to a LLC for the introduction and explained to her that as I work shifts that I might have to miss a couple of the classes over the 14 weeks. Her answer to me was that the program wasn't suited to me and that I should try weight watchers!!
Needless to say, I found another councellor 35miles away who has been a gem! The first woman I saw keeps sending me letters asking me to come and join up with her and get slim for christmas! When I reach my goal, I will go and see her and tell her what I thought about her comments and how I didn't do WW!!!
lol