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How do you choose a "goal weight"?

So, this whole concept of goal weight has me baffled. According to BMI charts, I believe they estimate that I should weight less than 179 to have a BMI of 25. That seems really low to me!! I am 347 right now, but my thinnest as an adult was 260 & I felt OK there, although there was a definite want to lose more weight. I am tall & I do have a large bone structure. My feet are a size 12. My fingers are longer than my husbands.

I know that when I get sleeved (come on insurance!! ) I will gauge my success on lots of other factors besides weight.... but it is nice to know what you are aiming for!!

How did you guys pick your goal weight??

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  • My surgeon asked me what my goal weight was and I told her I refuse to have one!!! I told her that I just wanted to be healthy and to feel comfortable in my body. I have spent too many years of my l

  • I recently had my body fat tested by a professional and I have 190 lbs of lean mass (bone, muscle, water, etc). Using the archaic BMI charts, I would need to LOSE MUSCLE in order to be in the NORMAL r

  • Buckeye Girl
    Buckeye Girl

    My goal weight is a guess, as you will see, under my post, " I will know when I get there"

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Personally, I have made my goal weight much higher than what any bmi test has told me. I figure that if I set it too low and never reach it I will be disappointed. With making my goal achievable I will not experience that. That doesn't mean I have to stop at my goal, but any extra weight at that point is the cherry on top.

Best of luck!

I am almost 5'8 and right now I weigh 245lbs. I told my surgeon I wanted to be 135 pounds. My primary doc thinks that's insane because I am a very broad boned person. He seems to think I will be fine and love the way I look at 160 or 165lbs. I have never in my life been thin so I am playing it by my mirror and how I feel. My goal weight will be whatever I want it to be lol. But as of right now my goal is 199lbs. Then I will re-evaluate myself every 10 pounds after that until I am happy with what I see. Some people can say they are or want to be a "goal weight" but you have to factor so much into that number. So I would say shoot for something realistic, use the charts as a guide, and once you get there you will know.

Newbie,

You and I are similar height and bone structure. I think once you get to about 190 to 180 you will feel otherwise about 165 let alone 135. Most of the people I know don't think I really should lose anymore.But I want to get down to 180.

I am almost 5'8 and right now I weigh 245lbs. I told my surgeon I wanted to be 135 pounds. My primary doc thinks that's insane because I am a very broad boned person. He seems to think I will be fine and love the way I look at 160 or 165lbs. I have never in my life been thin so I am playing it by my mirror and how I feel. My goal weight will be whatever I want it to be lol. But as of right now my goal is 199lbs. Then I will re-evaluate myself every 10 pounds after that until I am happy with what I see. Some people can say they are or want to be a "goal weight" but you have to factor so much into that number. So I would say shoot for something realistic, use the charts as a guide, and once you get there you will know.

My goal weight is what I weighed my senior year of High School. It just happens to be a BMI of 24.7 which is tip-toeing the line between healthy and overweight and I'm perfectly fine with that.

[quote name=Lisa :)' timestamp='1317502127' post='214154]

My surgeon asked me what my goal weight was and I told her I refuse to have one!!! I told her that I just wanted to be healthy and to feel comfortable in my body. I have spent too many years of my life allowing the number on the scale to define how I felt about myself. Now it's more about doing the things I want to do...and being around for my kids and my partner!!! But if I had to use numbers then I would definitely use body fat %, not BMI and not weight.

:P

^ ^ ^

This post is exactly right for me.

As a matter of fact, I want to get down to 29% Body Fat (I'm about 34% right now). I DO NOT want to lose one more inch on top! I lost so much weight up there I had to have plastic surgery just to feel more proportionate. I am not actively trying to lose anymore weight what so ever.

Here's the thing... I'm 5'7 and weigh 179 Lbs. I believe my BMI scale puts me at around 28.5. Are you kidding me? So I still need to lose another 30 Lbs? Just to be in the high end of the BMI scale even??? Um, no - not now not ever. I did not sign up to look like a bag of bones!! I love my curves and have zero desire to lose them (more than I already have) I am able to get size 4's on for goodness sake!!!

I'm having liposuction to remove the rest of the fat I have on my body in the areas of my choice. Once I do that, I'll be able to fit those Size 4's perfectly (they are always tight in the thighs). I'm good from here.

So... picking a "weight" goal is great - but IMO go up instead of picking a goal that is far below. Keep in mind too that majority of us will end up with some kind of residual fat (we lose weight, but never lose fat cells - they simply shrink). We will also end up with excess skin. All this weighs quite a bit.

Good luck!!!

BMI charts are fine for some, but are NOT a one size fits all approach. I picked the high end of the chart for my goal weight and thought I would start there. I can NOT imagine being on the low end of that scale. 140lbs would have me looking like a crackhead for sure. I am tall and weigh 170 now and I think I look healthy, fit and normal. I could lose another 10lbs, but that would be it!!

Just pick a number and then when you get there decide for yourself if you want or need to lose more. That is what I am doing and ONLY YOU know what is good for you. If you feel you have lost enough, then stop. If you need to lose more, then set it to a lower number.

Best of luck to you!!

Kelly :D

Hey Kelly, I think it is about time you shared some photos with us. Would you be willing to share?????

We are all curious and could use some inspiration! ;)

Of course, we understand if that is not your thing.

<3 Shell

i just picked a number that i would be happy with. when i was younger i was 120 pounds and i was super thin. im 5'8" and sometimes i measure taller then that. (not sure why) anyhow, 150 pounds seems just about when i looked the best when i was younger. i looked healthy and fit. i just want to look like that again.

  • Author

I WOULD like to one day be in one-der-land :), but we will see once I get closer.

On an awesome side note.... I GOT APPROVED THROUGH BCBS TODAY!! sooooooooooooo excited!

My doctor chose a 'goal weight' - 150, that would have put me just under a 25 BMI - I'm sure that is how he chooses a goal weight. My PCP agrees, a healthy BMI is what is important. I wanted to wear a size 8 - priorities! I hit his goal and my goal...and kept going. My mom always said I was big boned, but I'm NOT, who'd have guessed it!! LoL I am 52 yrs old and am go between 137 and 143 (141 this morning). My jeans are 4's and 6's. NEVER in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever wear this size. In 9th grade I wore a 9, then I gained weight....and when I got married at age 19, my wedding dress was a 9. It's been downhill since then! 50lbs with one child, 35 lbs with daughter #2. My advice is this - do not under estimate this surgery, this tool. It's amazing.

So, this whole concept of goal weight has me baffled. According to BMI charts, I believe they estimate that I should weight less than 179 to have a BMI of 25. That seems really low to me!! I am 347 right now, but my thinnest as an adult was 260 & I felt OK there, although there was a definite want to lose more weight. I am tall & I do have a large bone structure. My feet are a size 12. My fingers are longer than my husbands.

I know that when I get sleeved (come on insurance!! ) I will gauge my success on lots of other factors besides weight.... but it is nice to know what you are aiming for!!

How did you guys pick your goal weight??

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