I would like to pose this question in the forum and by asking this am I no means trying to judge anyone as I am just curious. I have answered alot of heated questions from my family and friends about my goal weight and where I want to be in life. I am 6' tall..... i currently weigh 329.6 lbs which puts my BMI at 44.7. My goal weight, I set for 180 which puts my BMI @ 24.4 or right at the top of the "normal" catagory. Everyone keeps telling me "oh you should stop at 225....you looked so good then". Sure 225 looks better than 325....but it's still 45-50 lbs overweight and not healthy......so My question is why would a person set their goal weight that still leaves them in the obese catagory??

I determined my goal weight, not by the charts, but by what my weight was when I was my healthiest.

I too set my goal weight (10 lbs less than my doctor's goal) because I want to be my best (healthiest) self again. I know that with age I propably won't look healthy at 101 lbs but I want to go as fas as I can...just in case it bounce back!

However I think I will play by ear, listen to my body, even I don't reach my goal now, so be it. I'll focus on the maintenance at my new weight.

Exactly! Why go threw all of this and still be overweight? My goal weight is 135 which puts me right in the middle of the normal range. I know people will say I am losing to much weight but they are not the ones who will be paying my medical bills. Also, I want to have some room to lose or gain a few pounds without becoming unhealthy.

@Cynthiarm2000.......Thank you!!! Finally someone is looking at the same big picture as I am!!!! I havent weighed 180 in 30 years!!! Will I look as good now as I did then.......probably not!!! But I am not doing it to look good , style and profile. I doing it to add some years onto my life. I have diabetes and heart issues,(those are the 2 biggest) Im not ready to die in the next 5 yrs or so. I wanna see my kids get married and have kids!!

I have been battling my weight, probably after I returned from my first tour in Iraq, 2003-04, and as an Infantry Platoon Sergeant you have an “attitude” an “image” you must uphold. After my last tour in 2006, I pretty much was beat down, but mentality I still felt that I could go on as I did when I was younger and much fitter. Now two years after retirement (Retired in 2012 after 20 years), and turning 40, I still think I can “Do It.”

I want my health and body to catch up to my mind, and know I can still be VERY active. With procedure, this “tool,” I know I’ll be a NEW PERSON. People, even family don’t understand that, because they will ALWAYS love you for who and what you are. THIS IS FOR YOU, and whatever “demons” we are trying to suppress. I’m READY to see the OLD but improved me. And if 180 is your goal, GO FOR IT, we all have our goals, and we are ready to see something different in us, and if that’s what it’s going to take. Embrace it!

Edited October 16, 201411 yr by ArtDLG

Exactly! Why go threw all of this and still be overweight? My goal weight is 135 which puts me right in the middle of the normal range. I know people will say I am losing to much weight but they are not the ones who will be paying my medical bills. Also, I want to have some room to lose or gain a few pounds without becoming unhealthy.

Awesome point! Why go through all this and still be overweight???...I never looked at it like that!! THANKS!!!!!!

People are weird.. I started out at 260 and now weigh 150. For my height, 150 is still overweight. I'd like to lose 30ish more pounds, which is still a fairly decent amount to go.. but people I work with/know casually are always making comments like, "You need to stop losing weight now" or " You're going to blow away" ..I don't understand it myself, but it's a common theme. To me, it's so clear - I'm still overweight! I don't want to be.. but everybody else is seemingly freaked out when it's really none of their business. I've even mentioned to some that press me that I want to be in a healthy BMI range and all I hear in return is that the BMI chart is wrong and I shouldn't follow it. It's nice to hear that you look good, but some of the things people come up with... Like I said, I don't get it. Find your own happy place and don't listen to what anyone else says, cause well.. frankly, they don't know what the hell they're talking about.

@Momohime.......your co-workers say that because they are used to seeing you heavy....not at the appropriate weight for your height. CONGRATS on the 110 gone!!!!

It makes sense to make your goal at below 25 BMI but you have to listen to your body and how it feels. Frankly how it looks too. Everyone is different and as we know current research shows that it's not just being skinny that makes you healthy. You can be above 25 BMI and be healthier then someone at 20 BMI. This is a journey and as such it will require evaluation along the road. I also think you will reach a natural set point where your body will want to stay and as I have seen it can be above or below your goal. Nothing is chiseled in stone. Have a plan but work your plan.

I agree with you. I didn't really look at the BMI charts when setting my goal initially. I wanted to lose 50% of my initial body weight. I of course checked it against the charts and it put my right in a healthy weight range. I also get a lot of comments from my mom especially that I need to quit losing weight because I'm getting too thin. Then I remind her that I am right in the middle of a healthy weight range. And then I remind her that I don't feel at liberty to comment on her weight, so she should not feel at liberty to comment on mine.

My surgeon's goal was 160 which was still overweight. My personal goal was 150...at the top of the normal BMI chart and what I weighed when I was super fit in my 20's. Well I've blown past both of them and seemed to have settled around 140. I've basically just let my body decide where it wants to stabilize. But I would have been happy at 150 or 160. I dont want maintenance to be a constant struggle just for the sake of a number on the scale.