Reasonable Weight Goal?

Hey everyone.

I'm a 15 year old girl, I'm almost 5'0" inches (I'm rounding up a little bit ;D) and I weigh about 145 lbs. I want to get down to a healthy weight, and I've been on several different websites in a rather unsuccessful attempt to find a reasonable and healthy goal weight.

I consider it unsuccessful because gotten tons of weight suggestions ranging from 90-120 lbs. Confusing much? I asked my doctor what a good weight goal would be at my yearly physical, but his ever so helpful answer was "whatever makes you feel comfortable." He then felt it appropriate to give me a lecture on eating disorders.

I've done some experimentation with BMI calculators, and I think that 115 lbs. is a good goal for my age and height (I know that at my age nutrition is important as my body is still developing, and I don't want to be ridiculously skinny).

Does this sound like a good target weight? I'm worried about setting too low a goal, so any feedback will be appreciated!

Thanks everyone! 

I'm guessing other people will have opinions but one thing I wanted to say was, you're not done growing (upwards) yet, and you're still laying down the bone and other stuff that will be carrying you around this world for the next seventy, eighty, who knows how many years, so whatever your weight goal now it's going to be wise to be a bit more lenient on yourself than say someone in her twenties or thirties, we're all done growing and can safely concentrate on paring down the chubbiness.

At that age I still had growth spurts in height and you have to have the ability to meet those needs, otherwise you're like someone taking a car off the assembly line before the chassis has been properly fitted.

Good luck - and good health!

I agree that you need to be careful about setting your goal weight too low because you are still growing =).  I also agree with your doctor for not giving you a number, but telling you a good weight is where you feel comfortable.  You are not 'successful' in getting a more accurate suggestion from website/calculators because you are still young, your metabolism is quite high, you are growing and maturing. 

Instead of setting a goal of 115, even if this is where you are thinking you may be most happy, I suggest setting smaller goals.  Say 5 to 10 pounds at a time.  Not only are these goals more tangible, but they allow for you to grow (upwards) and adjust your goal.

If you make a goal of losing 30 lbs and work toward that goal without looking back, you may find yourself too light considering a few inches of height that you gain in the mean time.  

At your age nutrition is important for your growing body, but also try to be easy on yourself.  Don't stress about your percentages of nutrients and grams of sugar right now, just focus on making healthier choices in general.  You have the rest of your life to perfect you diet!

More people tend to be successful if they do NOT set an “ end goal”;  rather, they only set short term goals.

For instance, losing 5 lbs, than once you have achieved this,  aim to lose 10 lbs.      

And you even need to be careful with these short term goals;  if you are going through a rough time in your life, than it may be unrealistic to try to focus too much on losing weight. A better option, would be to take it easy, and aim to lose 5 lbs instead of 10,  that way you are still losing weight, but you are not putting too much pressure on yourself when you are not feeling at your best.


Also - it does not make sense to set your final goal “ weight”, because you have no idea what weight your body will naturally be healthiest and happiest at.

You actually need to let your body dictate its ideal weight;  you do this by losing weight in sensible short term, 5 - 10 lbs goals,  until you are in the healthy range.

Once you reach the healthy range, THAN I would recommend that you start to think about a ranger that you would like to stay within;  providing it is realistic for your body type.

Good luck!    Remember you can always ask for more help if you reach a healthy weight, and you are uncertain of where to stop. A lot of people can share their own experiences regarding that.

I would focus more on getting good nutrition and being as active as possible rather than especially having a goal weight.  I think that's what your doctor is trying to tell you... and steer you away from calorie-counting.  Because your body still has a lot of growing to do it needs reasonable amounts of good food and plenty of exercise.

If you get more exercise (an hour a day), eat five portions of vegetables and fruit a day and switch your other food choices intelligently your weight will naturally come down.  Where it settles will be the right weight for you at this stage.  Could be 115lbs, could be 125lbs... but if you still need to grow in height, it'll all even out in the end.

Good luck

 

 

I think at 5 feet tall you can be anywhere from 95 to 115 and be in the generally-considered healthy range.  It's a matter of personal choice and what you're comfortable with.  I don't think any weight in your range is "ridiculously skinny" --that's just people reacting to the changes you're making.  Expect a lot of grief from some folks when you near your goal.  Bottom line is, you are petite. You can be 100 lbs without being underweight.  My recommendation is to NOT tell other women what size you wear. 

Original Post by ktmcda:

My recommendation is to NOT tell other women what size you wear. 

Which would be fine if the OP was a woman who's body had finished growing and not a young girl who's body is far from complete..... Your advice is totally wrong for people hardly out of adolescence.

Thanks for the advice everyone :). 

I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track; I don't eat fast food, or a lot of junk food, I munch on fruits and veggies throughout the day whenever I feel hungry, and I only eat whole grains instead of the processed stuff.

I do count calories loosely, mostly because I'm a vegetarian and I need to make sure I'm getting enough protein. I eat between 1500 and 1600 calories on sedentary days, and increase to about 1800 on days I exercise. I've started running, and I ride my bike a lot as I don't have a license yet :P. Come September I'll be riding 5 miles a day to get to and from school, plus the mileage to get everywhere else I need to go.

I usually work better if I have a specific goal in mind, and I prefer numerical data to just "whatever feels good", so I'll try setting smaller goals of 5-10 lbs. like personaltrainer87 suggested.

I'm losing weight mainly for health reasons, and not for vanity, so all of your feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!