Well, y'all:

It's been too quiet in this forum! :seeya: So I'm posting that I'm officially 2 pounds away from hitting "goal," whatever that means--and I'm sending a shout out to all y'all who are also really close to getting to your goals!!

The 190 I set for my goal is based on my remembering that I once weighed that--I'm 6'2", and at 192 currently am at the upper end of "normal" for the BMI scale for my height. I'm wearing sizes 14 and "large" comfortably (loosely, in some, on my way to 12's), down from a tight 26/28 and 3X/4X, so I'm feeling a lot better about how I look. I also don't think I'm going to be stopping at 190, since in the last 10 days, I've dropped 4 pounds, which tells me my body's not entirely slowing down with the weight loss yet. I've had a cold and haven't been eating all that much, either, but I don't think that's had a ton to do with it. We'll see, I guess.

So now I have a question. At my height, do you think it's reasonable to aim for being a comfortable size 10/12 in lieu of a specified weight goal? I will never achieve the tiny sizes so many of you petite gals will get to--I'm not "big boned," but I think I am built a bit bigger than the average--I mean, I'm obviously LONGER-boned, but I don't think I have "big bones." Someone posted a link at some point to a site that talked about your "bone size" and showed how to measure using the circumference of your wrist and the gap in the bones of the arm at the elbow, and I actually find I have "medium" sized bones, if anything--not large, certainly. I am built curvy, too--big up top (still in an FF cup as the band has shrunk from a 48 to my current 38) and hips (but my butt is flat!). So do y'all think a 10/12 is a good goal?

I should say that my surgeon didn't set a goal for me, weight or size wise, and my nutritionist set one of 212, I think--I honestly can't remember, since it's been almost a year now since our consult. I feel like I probably have 15-20 pounds still to go, but I'm just not sure. Some of the jiggly bits are loose skin, and some is still subcutaneous fat, I bet.

Where is everyone in your journey close to goal?? Are you doing anything special as you get close? I'm trying to reward all the small achievements--getting to a normal BMI, for instance, or being able to pull off those size 14's without undoing the button--good stuff!

I am still sitting at 10 pounds away from my goal. The goal was kind of arbitrary on my part. I may stop when I lose another 5. I haven't lost any for a month - with the holidays, a 3 day trip to a family funeral out of state, and now a really bad cold/respiratory infection - I haven't been my most diligent.

My goal is really the same as you. I want to wear 10/12's and medium tops. I am 5'4" and that bone size test said I had small bones. My bone structure isn't really small - like some members of the family - but it is on the smallish side I guess. I am broad shouldered, not very buxom (a C cup) am pretty straight up and down from the waist to the hips, and have a flat butt. I said I wanted to weigh 135 dressed on the doctor's scale - right now I would weigh right around 145 on his scale. If I don't lose any more before my annual date (2/22) and I have been diligent with my food and exercising six days a week, I may come to the conclusion I need to stop where I am. I know I would lose the 5-10 pounds I want to lose if I could get rid of the excess skin around my waist, belly and bat-wings. Are you considering plastic surgery at all?

Funny you should bring that up--I was just talking with my husband about this this morning. I would love to have plastics, but I don't think I'm going to be either brave enough or in a financial position in which to do it. My husband says he's okay with how I am now (his exact words: "I think you're hot!"). Since his is the only outside opinion I value, I think I may just learn to deal with the excess skin. I already feel so much better when dressed. At any rate, I would not consider plastics seriously for at least another year, to see how much of this I can get rid of first.

Are you seriously considering plastics after a while? What procedures are you thinking about?

I absolutely love your "umph" quote, btw! It's so very true.

Funny about goals. I think it's going to take super-human effort for me to lose the last -20. I am right now a size L on top (some Med. but usually a L) and I am a 10/12 on bottom, and part of me thinks that this is good, I could stop here and be happy. But then part of me goes "what if" ...where would I be if I could lose the last -20?

I'm also pretty happy that I'm still a DD, and I remember our LilMissDiva saying she REALLY got deflated with the last -20 or so and so I'm worried about that. I'm not planning plastics anytime soon (my kids need to go to college before I need plastics) but it is kind of fun to dream about. Maybe someday.

It's hard stuff figuring out where we should land. I'm 5'6" but certainly not as tall as you Meg. I too will never be 130lbs. Just isn't going to happen. And I'm okay with that. At this point my goal doesn't even put me in the healthy BMI range, but you know what, that is ok too.

As long as you are happy where you land, all the BMI charts, and drs. in the world can take a flying leap, in the end we have to be happy with ourselves!

M2G,

At my 6 months post-op the Dr. showed me a chart that showed that people in the Overweight BMI range were almost identically health-wise to those in the Normal range if both groups exercised. Compared to Normal BMI people who didn't exercise, the Overweight BMI people who exercised were actually healthier! Really opened my eyes that once we get to Overweight BMI, getting to a lower BMI is pretty much vanity related.

And then the BMI scale is known to have issues. If you spent a longer time at a higher weight you will have heavier bones. If your skin doesn't bounce back, you have extra skin. Extra muscle mass is a factor too. For example, Diva weighs more than me, but I'm pretty sure her measurements are smaller and she wears smaller clothing size (except in bra :-)

Also, everyone has a different dream of how they look best. As long as you're healthy and happy, goal weight is a very personal choice.

I know I'm on the vanity side of the equation now, but I'm hanging in there and struggling with the last few pounds to my goal. I've seen a few people on here who blast past their goal and lose more, but that won't be me. Ugh. Must. Resist. MaiTai. Donuts. And chips. sigh. Must. Work. Out. More.

Lynda

Yay! I'm finally in this group. I have 30lbs to lose until I hit my goal.

Just did a bone test - it tells me I am large frame! Whoever heard of someone 4'11'' being large framed?? hmmph! Oh well, it does give me a better range for goal 117-134 and right now I have myself set at 130.