I am a 52 y.o.f., 6 days post banding. I've been reading posts and noticing weight loss goals in the range of 130-140 pounds.

I started at the December consultation at 299; when I went in for the banding on March 16, I was down 23 pounds.

My surgeon asked what I hoped my goal to be. I'm a bit taller, and I felt like if I could get to 180-200, I'd be happy - down 100 pounds, still "too big" by most standards, but compared to 300 pounds, I'll take it! They felt like that was a good goal for me, as they said usually with lap band it's 50 pounds the first year, and 100 by the end of the second (barring complications, doing everything "right"). They also said that if you need to lose 150 pounds, you don't usually actually lose 150 pounds, but 75% of that, thereby making my 190-pound goal right in range.

So I wonder, with all the posts with goals of 130-150 pounds, should I rethink my goals and work towards that? I didn't want to get bogged down with expectations and if they weren't reached, feeling like this had been a wasted effort. I want to be realistic, but I don't want to not push hard enough either.

I think this is a difficult decision and I struggle with it too. I started at 350 and set my goal for 180. This still leaves me in the overweight category, but so much better than where I used to be. Now that I'm actually approaching my goal, I'm thinking about revising it downward. I'm happy with the size I'm wearing (size 12), but I still want to be thinner. I struggle with the balance between how I want to look and how I want to live. I'm not willing to eat nothing and work out constantly. I need balance in my life and if that still leaves me a little overweight, so be it. Contrary to what most of us have been led to believe, thinness is not the same as happiness.

Pick a goal that seems realistic and modify it later if you want. This is your goal. Make it fit your needs.

Cindy

Journey,

Everyone is a little different and goals can very subjective. Some people want to fit into an old outfit, get back to pre-pregnancy weight, return to college weight, or get into a normal BMI range. My first goal was to surpass whatever I did on “regular” diets. I am a 6 foot tall male in my early 40s. My best diet weight was 205ish (I started lapband at 285). I passed that first goal fairly easily about 5 months postop and felt I was still able to lose more. I set my next goal get to a “Normal” BMI of 24.9 (which for me was 184 lbs), I made that goal about 8 months post op. Still, I thought I could lose more and felt like I still had some belly flab to deal with. I took a Hydrostatic Dunk test to determine what my actual Body Fat was relative to my total weight and decided I wanted to get under 13% Body Fat which is considered “Excellent” or “Athletic” on most charts. I passed that goal about 1 year postop (I currently have 9.7% Body Fat).

So I would say set your first goal to a healthy attainable goal and readjust as you get closer to it. Don’t believe the hype about only being able to lose a portion of your excess weight on the band. I have lost 115 lbs, which just happens to be 115% of my excess weight. If I believed that logic I would have stopped at 209lbs which would have left me with an overweight BMI of 28.3. Remember, those estimates are based on averages. Some of those people don’t follow the rules or have complications. If the band works well for you and you do your part, there is no reason to limit yourself to anything predetermined.

Edited March 22, 201016 yr by KartMan

I have a rough goal of 160, however that's not written in blood...I'm shooting for healthy and comfortable in my own skin (for the first time ever...). If I get to 175 and like how I look and feel, and am comfortable with how I'm eating and exercising I'll consider it a success....If I get to 160 and am still comfortably losing I'll continue on. I'm so far away I just can't really look down the road a hundred pounds and say "that's my number!"

Good luck!

Started at 236 and want to end somewhere between 135-145. I started at a size 18 and am currently 161 pounds and between a size 8-10. I was banded in May

My goal has adjusted as I've lost weight. At my highest weight (312) I though 175 sounded like an amazing number. After I started losing I decided that 155 (5 pounds less than my highest weight in ideal range) was a goal I could accomplish.

My main goals have been health and fitness related. Weight is relative, but I would love to be in my ideal range! Even if it is only by a few pounds!

I was banded 6/14/09, I was 263. I weigh 191 now and I have set my goal at 160. I am 5'3" and 56 years old.:confused:

oddly enough, my doc and i have not yet discussed what i want my goals to be. maybe that's something that will come up at my appt day after tomorrow (first post op appt so far). but i did notice that the nurse made a notation on my chart that according to my height of 5'3 the charts say i should weigh about 128. well, sorry to say it but i do NOT want to weigh 128. i think that would be too thin for my liking. my own personal goal is to be down to 150. i wouldn't want to get any lower than about 135. i was about 140 to 145 before i got pregnant with my son almost 11 years ago and i was very pleased at that weight. i was about a size 8/10 and that's what i'd prefer to be in the end. however, being a size 18/20 now i would be happy at a 12/14 if that's all i could get to. i have high hopes though and do expect that i will one day reach my size 8/10 goal. :confused:

I am 5 feet 8 and a half and my goal is 145ish. I am at 201. I got my first fill in December and 2 more later on and it is beyond slow going even with me running on the treadmill. It is depressing but I know if I haven't had my band I would be gaining weight. I am 29 and would love to be at 165 by the time I hit 30 in January.

I'm 4'11" and my doctor wanted to make my goal weight 139 but I thought that was too high so we changed it to 120. I picked 120 because that was my weight in high school and I thought I looked good at that weight.

My weight loss has been slow because I'm not working out as much as I should and I plan to correct that.

WOW your all have done great with your weight lost. What are you eating? Are you staying full? I'm struggling. My starting weight was 289, I'm down to 253. I would like someday to get down to 140lbs. I know that a lot of this is due to my weakness. I long for this weight to come off. I have read some much information about what to eat or not to eat, what to frink or not to drink...I'm lost and have not figured out what works best for me. You all keep up the good work

I think it depends on the person.for personal reasons.i started out at 325lbs. now i am 206lbs. which is good for me now but my goal is to get to onderland.in the one hundred pounds range.i do not want to get (too small)never thought i would use that word.then i know when i get to onderland.then (we bandsters) set our goals again.i think it is your personal choice.if we leave it up to some doctors we will be looking like toothpicks.if you know what i mean.

Goals and averages are very very subjective. I do not have a a specific goal, but several mini ones.

I want to be healthy, I want my knees not to hurt, I want to be able to walk up and down the mall without being winded. I want to fit comfortably in a dining booth or airplane seat. I want to buy clothes in the regular sizes so I dont have to pay 3 times as much for the same darn thing.

I dont believe that we have to be measured by averages. Mainly I concentrate on continuing to go down, knowing that without the band I would likely be gaining.

Of those goals, I have met several, my knees rarely hurt now, I took a recent trip and the plane seat and bathroom were so much better. I dont stuggle to fit into booths any more, I am buying most of my clothes in the normal section (18's and xl's now) instead of Womens departments or Lane Bryant, Avenue and the like. For now my goal is to get under 200lbs, once I get there, I will likely adjust my goal but like to keep the goals smaller and more attainable so I dont feel like I will never get there.

I have a photo from when my husband and I started dating - 10+ years ago - I was 140-45. I thought I was fat. Looking back(hindsight is 20-20) I looked damn good. I also have a photo from a business meeting when I was about 160 - and I looked good - a little chubby - but good. Getting up to 283 and seeing a photo of myself put it all in perspective. My first goal - under 200 ( and if it's by my wedding anniversary this fall it'll be icing on the cake as I'll weigh less than I did on my wedding day). Next 160 and if I can 140 - then I'll re-evaluate. My mother was 5'6" and 118 - she thought she looked great - it was like hugging a bag of bones. I was built to be curvy and can finally accept it.

Any medical expert can tell you there's more to being healthy than a number on a scale and BMI is not the end all be all. Ditto KartMan - the only limit you place is on yourself.

My goal weight is not written in stone. It's a goal that is at the bottom of the healthy range for my height, but was chosen because I have back issues that really do benefit from maintaining the lowest weight possible.

Whether it's a weight that is possible remains to be seen. I will be very open to change if, as I approach it, I find that I look and feel good at a higher weight.

But I didn't have this surgery to settle for "sort of" losing weight--I want it ALL off. So I won't be satisfied until I do reach a point where I look and feel good.

I have been both thin and fat as an adult, and was near to my lowest weight after having both of my kids, so I don't view having had kids as any sort of barrier to loss. (I do, however, freely admit it is a major contributor to my need for plastic surgery----tennis balls in tube socks, anyone? :smile:)

But this perimenopause thing? I have no idea how that will ultimately affect me in this adventure! We'll see....

Edited March 23, 201016 yr by BetsyB

Thank you all so much for your insight! I'm so new at this. You're all right about one thing: each person needs to have their own goals for their own reasons. I, too, want to do normal clothes shopping, not always wish I had a table instead of a booth at a restaurant, not feel pain and out of breath after walking a bit.

So for me, right now, I'm going to stick to my 190 goal. About seven years ago I did a self-imposed exercise regimen and diet, and lost about 75 pounds in six months. I got a bad case of bronchitis, couldn't walk my usual 3-4 miles a day, and when I recovered I just never went back, and the weight started piling back on. But I had gotten to about 240 at that point - that's heavy for a woman, but I was newly divorced, started actually dating, would go out and have requests to dance or for my phone number, and never scared a man off with my weight, apparently. It was WONDERFUL! I am one of those people apparently who can "carry it well." (lol) So for me to get below 200 would be amazing.

I did ask my surgeon at the information session if the weight loss could be faster if you were diligent about exercise and "behaving" and he said absolutely! So right now, I'm focusing on eating what I should, exercising, and seeing how hard - or easy - this all feels. I just know psychologically I already feel better. People who see me might just see someone as overweight; I know the progress I've made and the steps I've taken, even if they don't, so I feel GOOD about me for a change!