Around 1960, 1 in 8 Americans was considered "obese" by the kind of people who track these sorts of things. Today, it's around 1 in 3. Another third of us are overweight. The definitions for these kinds of statistics come from something called Body Mass Index or BMI. It's super easy to calculate yours here. My best estimate -- again without actually weighing in -- puts me at 27, smack dab in the middle of overweight, but not worse. If I'm successful in making me about 30 pounds less of me, I'll be in the middle of the "healthy weight" category.
For you, the challenge might be larger or smaller depending on how far you have to go and your own personal goals. For some of us, we want to just be a bit healthier. And to that end, even 10 pounds from where you are now could make a big difference to your joints, to managing your diabetes, to whatever weight-related malady you are suffering from.
For me, I picked a big number that's designed to get me comfortably out of the health-risk factor categories and keep me there for the duration. I've had to do this before, so it's not really new. In fact, I'm sure most of us have gained or lost weight throughout our lifetimes more than once.
The first step is to recognize that it's in your control. It's not genetic that 2/3 of Americans are overweight and obese when few were in the not-too-distant past. It's not the package food companies' fault or the fast food folks that you've gained more weight than you should have. It's all on you. And the good news is that means you're in control.
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