How do people determine what their goals are as far as weight loss, and more importantly how do you stop loosing when you reach that goal???

I read this everyday here, and it makes me think about it...I just read a post from a women who has reached 150 and decided she will stop there, and she is only 5"5" tall.....and I asked myself "Why Stop There?" and HOW are you going to stop???

I have found, along with some of my peers who have had this surgery, that this is a permanent lifestyle change that lasts forever as long as the band is there being a constant.... and it is not a diet that I can turn on or off...my food intake has been drastically reduced, and to a large extent the types of foods I eat have also changed....why else would I have wanted surgery if not to correct the things that made me fat in the first place??? Over eating and bad food choices?

Having said that, with this new life style I have found the weight will continue to come off until the body reaches what IT considers the correct, normal and natural weight.......reaches a point of equilibrium, balance....only way I could have stopped loosing at a weight at my determination would have been to get an un fill when I reached my goal...enabling me to eat more?

Early on my Dr. laughed at me and said I will stop loosing when my body wants to stop loosing...and as long as I continue my Protein, etc, that will be my goal...

I have reached that point...and according to BMI Charts, I am still 10 lbs over weight...according to Body Fat analysis, I an in the very low, Fit and Athletic range...a little below normal...

So I wonder, when people reach the goals they have been striving for, how do you determine and stop at that point???

How do you stop at a certain weight? EASY - you add an extra snack or two.

I, for one, have a goal of 150, and I'm shorter than 5'5". Why would someone choose to stop at 150, is a pretty broad question/statement to make. There are other things to consider beyond height alone; age, body type, bone structure, etc. If I got down to (let's say) 135, I would look drawn and unhealthy. At my age, too thin doesn't look "well". If I continue to eat as little as I'm eating now, my weight will drop to a place that I really don't want it to be. I'm not 25 years old anymore, and looking drawn with a wrinkly face isn't my goal. When I get to where I want to be, if I can't control how much weight continues to come off, I will adjust the fill to a point where I maintain a weight that feels and looks good. And I look forward to having that problem to deal with.

i do not have a (goal weight/number) in mind..

i do have a size id like to see..

i want to get to a point where my body is healthy and fit...it may be 155 (the weight

i was when i got married) or 135..who knows..i do not live by what the number

on the scale says..i do not let it dictate my life..i did that for 20+ years of dieting...

my wls gave me the strength and courage to make the changes to my body from

being super morbid obese to where ever i am heading...until people realize that

unless they change what they eat, exercise and stop making excuses, the wonderful

tool they strove for and worked so hard to get (to lose weight) will not work..its not

for sure and its not a guarantee..it is easy to use...people either choose to use it

as intended or instructed..or they dont...and they move to wanting other surgeries...

because the feel the band or whatever doesnt work as it does work..those who choose not to use it correctly, their journey will never end..and they will forever struggle

until the day i die, my journey/process of getting and staying healthy will never stop..

I think when trying to get to goal some people still do the "diet" thing. They are very careful about what they eat and workout often. But once they are at goal, they'll have some dessert or an extra glass of wine. Or maybe they don't go to the gym everyday. They're no longer at a calorie deficit every day so they stop losing.

For myself, I've counted calories every single day for over 10 months. But I've still had empty calories at times that would make my doctor frown at me. Occasionally I've had that second glass of wine or some dessert while out celebrating a special day. And my exercise regime is hit or miss. BUT I know me, I know what's realistic for me. And that's how I plan to live my life. And I've lost over 90 lbs. I have no idea at what weight ill stop at. BMI charts say 125. Guess I'll figure out when I get there.

I think when trying to get to goal some people still do the "diet" thing. They are very careful about what they eat and workout often. But once they are at goal, they'll have some dessert or an extra glass of wine. Or maybe they don't go to the gym everyday. They're no longer at a calorie deficit every day so they stop losing.

For myself, I've counted calories every single day for over 10 months. But I've still had empty calories at times that would make my doctor frown at me. Occasionally I've had that second glass of wine or some dessert while out celebrating a special day. And my exercise regime is hit or miss. BUT I know me, I know what's realistic for me. And that's how I plan to live my life. And I've lost over 90 lbs. I have no idea at what weight ill stop at. BMI charts say 125. Guess I'll figure out when I get there.

The BMI charts are unrealistic. There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to our bodies. What is clear, however, is that obesity isn't a healthy option. Fine tuning a realistic and livable healthy goal weight is an individual thing, and certainly shouldn't be challenged by others here on LBT.... or anywhere.

It's simple really- some of us are more concerned about how we feel and look than what the numbers on the scale say. If a woman is 5'5 and happy and healthy at 150 pounds then why shouldn't she stop losing? Heck, if she was happy at 170 pounds then good for her.

There's more to life than numbers on the scale or a BMI chart. There's health and happiness.

Oh, I like this post. Yes, many of us speak of goal weight but there are also folks like me who have goals not weight related. My 'goal' was to lose enough weight to proceed with joint replacement surgery. That goal was reached months ago once I got below 200 lbs. When I went in for surgery on October 8th, I was 175 lbs. Do I want to lose more weight? Yes. Did I reach my primary goal already? Yes again.

I think for those of us with co-morbidities that impact our day to day lives, getting rid of those are the goals rather than the number on the scale.

I knew what I wanted to look like before I had the surgery. When I reach that goal, I will reevaluate and see if I want to lose more or am happy where I am. Everyone needs a goal to shoot for, but it needs to be flexible since you won't know till you get there if it was the right goal for your needs.

It's simple really- some of us are more concerned about how we feel and look than what the numbers on the scale say. If a woman is 5'5 and happy and healthy at 150 pounds then why shouldn't she stop losing? Heck, if she was happy at 170 pounds then good for her.

There's more to life than numbers on the scale or a BMI chart. There's health and happiness.

Amen to that!

It's simple really- some of us are more concerned about how we feel and look than what the numbers on the scale say. If a woman is 5'5 and happy and healthy at 150 pounds then why shouldn't she stop losing? Heck' date=' if she was happy at 170 pounds then good for her.

There's more to life than numbers on the scale or a BMI chart. There's health and happiness.[/quote']

Love you Mis73. You always put things into perspective.

Besides at 5'5 150 lbs is around a 25 BMI which is considered very normal. Why not stop there? I for one don't want to get caught up in just the weight but how I feel and look. Initially I set a weight goal, but will adjust this as I go,

when I was young it was all about the scales which could be what got me in trouble in the 1st place. I also agree that thin especially too thin is not always beautiful.