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I've been wondering about this too. My doctor hasn't said anything about a goal weight so I have no clue what to aim for. Of course I have that perfect world number that seems way too far fetched but who knows. I don't know if I should just set small goals for myself or set the big final goal. I feel like if I set my own goal and don't reach it I failed. This is my first chance at being at a healthy weight in my life but the BMI weight for my age and height seem unreachable at this point.

I can understand the frustration. What has worked for many is to do a little of both. Set a long term goal of where you want to maintain. Before hitting that goal, set some mini goals that will pump you up and are going to be hit be sheer fact that WLS works. You can ride on the successes a long the way to give you the ammunition to seek out and hit the big goal. As most will tell you, the last 25 lbs is hard to lose so during that time you need to be sure of who you are and what you want to achieve, in order not to fall short during the homestretch. And then remember this is a lifestyle. Losing and hitting goal is just the beginning...

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I am 9 1/2 months out and I originally had a number in mind that I would have been totally happy with. I made that number and have reevaluated it several times. What is funny is that at some point along the way I quit stressing over the scale number and as I became more active it became more about toning and tightening and endurance for me! I also decided instead of the scale number' date=' more about a size for me in clothes that nine months ago I would have thought was impossible! I have about 10 lbs and 1 more size to go, but I know it will happen in the next 2 months! My doctor did tell me for my frame he wouldn't want to see me in the low normal range for my bmi but that is all he said. But of course that is because when I go in I'm one of "those people" with spreadsheets, charts and my fitness pal printouts! LOL

Sent from my iPhone using VST[/quote']

Excellent perspective! Who needs that scale anyways? A good mirror and sense of how clothes should fit on your body is all you need. Know thyself! :) I think if you talked to a lot of sleevers out 6 months or more they will agree with you. It is a feeling when you wake up in the morning. You can feel that your body has tightened just a little more. It is a good time to take inventory of bones and muscles. Lol.

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Excellent perspective! Who needs that scale anyways? A good mirror and sense of how clothes should fit on your body is all you need. Know thyself! :) I think if you talked to a lot of sleevers out 6 months or more they will agree with you. It is a feeling when you wake up in the morning. You can feel that your body has tightened just a little more. It is a good time to take inventory of bones and muscles. Lol.

Oh I NEED my scale!

Mirrors are fine and clothes are good. But some clothes stretch a bit (or shrink unexplainably :P) and mirrors can lie.

That's always how the weight starts creeping back up for me.

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I'm 5'9 and naturally muscular. I wasn't told a goal weight, but roght now I'm shooting for 165. I honestly have no idea what to shoot for. I've never been normal or even overweight. Right now I'm just trying to get under 200! 6 more pounds to go!

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Oh I NEED my scale!

Mirrors are fine and clothes are good. But some clothes stretch a bit (or shrink unexplainably :P) and mirrors can lie.

That's always how the weight starts creeping back up for me.

Oh not to mention every designer cuts their clothes e to a different size even though they all have the same number on their tags. Go figure!!

Speaking of scales, we just bought the WW body composition scale for my wife as she starts out the journey. It is cool in that it gives body fat %, bone density, BMI etc for several users. It is also very close in readings to what the fancy hospital scale tells us. Yay! I am going to get on it once a week just to keep up with where my stats are at. The only thing it does not do is make a Cappuccino . Lol.

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Hi my doc never gave me a goal weight. We never really even discussed bmi or goals. I picked an ungodly number in my head because all through my 20's I was that weight and I looked awesome im 5ft 7 I had abs and ribs and I was in a great place so healthy, but I was a diffrent person back then, I was minus all my new responsabilities as a mother a wife full time job groceries soccer ect. you get the point. Back then I was exercising a good 3-4 hours a day . I taught aerobics at night and ran. Now I have morphed into this thing thing that I cant even tell you it kills me to look into a mirror. My goal is to take back some time for me no not 3 hours but at least an hour a day. It may sound cliche but my days start at 500am and Im doing for everyone till at least 10pm , but I am going to learn to pencil myself in. Nice post.

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Oh not to mention every designer cuts their clothes e to a different size even though they all have the same number on their tags. Go figure!!

Yes vanity sizing! And let's not forget for woman they put spandex in everything these days.

I buy only 100% cotton jeans so none if that stretchy stuff. Trying to fool me :P

Yep I'm sticking to my number...

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I'm 5'9 and naturally muscular. I wasn't told a goal weight' date=' but roght now I'm shooting for 165. I honestly have no idea what to shoot for. I've never been normal or even overweight. Right now I'm just trying to get under 200! 6 more pounds to go![/quote']

I am envious of you Nicole. I think I was naturally a blob. Like slimer in ghostbusters. Have you been losing muscle during your march towards goal? Everyone needs to be ultra careful about this. It is not just about eating Protein. Heck I ate 125 g all the way to goal but lost nearly all my upper body muscle. It is about using those muscles consistently and keeping them out of catabolic state and in anabolic state. Important everyone! Pay attention to this. :)

Wish I knew that during month 5-7 when I was running every day. The leg muscles stole mass from my upper body since I was hardly using those muscles. So the last 5 months have been about rebuilding and eating, eating and eating every day, working out hard during the week, resting on weekend and getting good sleep at night. Lots of small meals and high quality Protein every day. Only a few more months and I will get this body composition goal of mine. As a WLS patient, I still am not able to eat enough to bulk up so it has been a slow process towards my goal. However, I love the power that comes with becoming more fit but scale weight staying the same. However, maybe it is not realistic to expect the scale to stay the same when swapping fat weight for muscle weight. Hence, the motivation behind my post as it pertains to me.

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Hi my doc never gave me a goal weight. We never really even discussed bmi or goals. I picked an ungodly number in my head because all through my 20's I was that weight and I looked awesome im 5ft 7 I had abs and ribs and I was in a great place so healthy' date=' but I was a diffrent person back then, I was minus all my new responsabilities as a mother a wife full time job groceries soccer ect. you get the point. Back then I was exercising a good 3-4 hours a day . I taught aerobics at night and ran. Now I have morphed into this thing thing that I cant even tell you it kills me to look into a mirror. My goal is to take back some time for me no not 3 hours but at least an hour a day. It may sound cliche but my days start at 500am and Im doing for everyone till at least 10pm , but I am going to learn to pencil myself in. Nice post.[/quote']

My word! yes your goal number is low!! It makes me look like a slacker!

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This may be against what society deems status quo but I'm looking, obviously, to be healthy but I really want soft round feminine curves and to be fit and healthy.

Think a la Marilyn Monroe. Only a brunette bombshell! ;-)

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I am envious of you Nicole. I think I was naturally a blob. Like slimmer in ghostbusters. Have you been losing muscle during your march towards goal? Everyone needs to be ultra careful about this. It is not just about eating Protein. Heck I ate 125 g all the way to goal but lost nearly all my upper body muscle. It is about using those muscles consistently and keeping them out of catabolic state and in anabolic state. Important everyone! Pay attention to this. :)

Wish I knew that during month 5-7 when I was running every day. The leg muscles stole mass from my upper body since I was hardly using those muscles. So the last 5 months have been about rebuilding and eating' date=' eating and eating every day, working out hard during the week, resting on weekend and getting good sleep at night. Lots of small meals and high quality Protein every day. Only a few more months and I will get this body composition goal of mine. As a WLS patient, I still am not able to eat enough to bulk up so it has been a slow process. However, I love the power that comes with becoming more fit but scale weight staying the same.[/quote']

Yes, the first 6 months I did not work out. It took the whole six months before I started feeling weak and extremely flabby! It didn't take me long to get it back though. My brothers are built the same way. We just a few strong folks, ya know? ;p

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Thanks Belladone- I do sense your frustration to be living in a body that does not feel like your own. All those memories of being healthy and super fit. It is hard. Not having been in that position myself, I can offer sympathy but not empathy. However, I can say this : continue to use those images and experiences as a driving motivator, especially when it gets tough because of life circumstances, stalls, you name it. It sounds like you have your hands full day in and day out with responsibility and am glad you see the need to take some time out for yourself. Can you do 30 minutes a day? That might be manageable. When you have those Images and experiences in your mind, it is like a program for your subconscious to line up circumstances in your life to make it a reality. Keep referring back to them and perhaps identify with them in an affirmative way to help you move towards the goal. Block out the distractions in your mind (that little nagging voice) and focus on the images for that was a reality for you not too long ago. There is no reason it cannot be a reality again.

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This may be against what society deems status quo but I'm looking' date=' obviously, to be healthy but I really want soft round feminine curves and to be fit and healthy.

Think a la Marilyn Monroe. Only a brunette bombshell! ;-)[/quote']

I get curious about this as i see more and mire woman here say that. You and I are friends so I will ask you ! :D

When I read woman here say they want to retain their curves does that mean staying slightly above normal BMI numbers or not getting to the point of underweight?

Edit! Pretty new picture by the way :)

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My dr did not discuss a goal weight. I wouldn't have cared anyway, I know my goal weight. As a teenager, I was steadily a certain weight and it was perfect, except that I had very few curves. My goal weight is 10 pounds over that teenage weight, with thoughts that those extra ten pounds will be in my hips and bewbs. We will see.

Fiddleman, a note about your 10 lbs. I was in the military and watched many incredibly fit men have to get taped (aka measuring the width of neck and stomach ratio) because their bmi suggested they were overweight. If their taped measurements met a certain criteria, they were considered at ideal weight, not overweight. It's really too much for me to get in depth about since I'm typing on my iPad, however it's something you may be interested in looking info up about. It's your exact situation. Great job and keep doing what you do.

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I get curious about this as i see more and mire woman here say that. You and I are friends so I will ask you ! <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

When I read woman here say they want to retain their curves does that mean staying slightly above normal BMI numbers or not getting to the point of underweight?

I guess I look at bmi when its in a certain range as a guide. I totally want to avoid being underweight and I want to be healthy inside and out, not just on paper.

I don't want society to dictate how I should look. I want to reach a point where I'm satisfied and healthy. And womanly.

I want to take the "ass" out of mASSive and put the "oo" in bOOty.

I want curves, not rolls. But overall I want health.

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