Ok, I know there was a topic very recently about this, but I cannot find it.

I talked to my NUT today and we talked a little about Goal weight. I told her that in order to be in the "normal" BMI range, I had to be at 174 for my height which seemed a bit of a stretch right now but I would worry about it later. She said to me (and I thought this was so interesting that I wanted to share it) that they recommend a goal BMI of 27 instead of the 24.9 that is normal for women - BEFORE any plastics because of the loose skin. After plastics (with weight of loose skin removed), the BMI can be adjusted downwards but not to be so concerned about hitting the "normal" range if I had excessive loose skin.

Makes a TON of sense to me and gives me a little hope since I am only about 50 pounds away from getting to that 27 BMI.

Not saying that those of you who are striving to get lower are doing anything wrong, but just thought I would share in case it gave anyone else hope as they re-evaluated their "goal".

Oh and she also said (and I feel like I have heard this before) that the weight can continue to come off up to 18 to 24 months post-op. Realizing that most of it came off in the first year but not to panic if it all wasn't off in the first 12 months.

I think that is about right. I'm researching this now. You may lose an additional 10 or more pounds when they take off the excess skin. That would cause me to rethink my goal.

Thanks @OKCPirate. To be honest, I am TERRIBLE with goals. (I have just been through 2016 budgeting at work and just do not understand that process either.) My thought is as long as I am following plan, then I will get where I get. I am trying not to get too hung up on a number, be it pounds or BMI. But I did think it was a bit encouraging to me as I often think the BMI chart is a bit off (which was the topic that was discussed in the last couple of weeks which I could not locate). Knowing that even my NUT agreed that being slightly higher than the BMI chart made me feel like I could get to a reasonable number and even though I would still be considered "overweight", I would have a good reason for being so - if that makes sense....

@@Daisee68 That's really good info! Thanks very much for sharing!

BMI's are very unscientific, and I have very little respect for them in terms of my weight - health.

Body fay % is the only true way to know if you are at a healthy weight or not....

A football player can be 20-30 pounds over weight and BMI would be high, abnormal, and considered obese.

But his body fat % can be very, very low, and ideal.

According to BMI's I still need to loose 15 lbs...but my body fat% is very low...athletic-fit range...so where am I going to loose that 15 Lbs ????

On the flipside, a person can have a low, normal BMI and still have a high fat %...and still be as unhealthy as someone who is morbidly obese with all the same health issues, and would still need to loose more weight in terms of fat to be healthy, or develop some muscle tissue.

scales that measure body fat% are becoming more popular...they used to be very high tech expensive machines but no more....my gym has them, as does my PCP office...and I looked at buying one for the home.

Excess fat is a killer !!!! Cause of type 2 diabetes, CAD leading to strokes, MI's, and amutations to mention just a few.

All my pre-surgery health issues were directly related to fat! Getting rid of that excess fat was my goal.

My arteries were clogged...cause of my heart attack and subsequent cardiac surgery...I had type 2 diabetes and took daily insulin injections....I had circulatory issues where I lost feeling below my knees at times....also skin infections - cellulitus.

All my Dr.'s clearly stated it was all due too much fat, and my blood work clearly showed it.

Granted, weight and BMI's can be directly related to body fat, but only to a point.

How to get rid of excess body fat?? The same old mantra..."Diet and Exercise"

I tried dieting, did not work and failed everytime...so surgery was my last resort to control my eating...once that was accomplished and I now eat so little, I choose healthy,natural and organic if possible low fat foods....no more meat or dairy products....

And exercise as much as possible to burn off the stored fat I have been carrying around fo so long.

I am not on any diet, do not count calories, etc...what I have done is developed a new way of living, from day to day, and enjoy myself with little pleasures along the way.

This really is great information. I have been asking many people about this recently. My bariatric team does not focus on weight loss goals or BMI goals. They focus mostly on healthy nutrition and basically told me my body will slow down and stop losing (assuming I continue to follow the plan) when it wants to. That being said they told me that I am ahead of where they would have expected and if I stopped losing now I would am considered successful.

I honestly have decided to simply continue the plan and whatever happens happens. I am still losing albeit very slowly.

On a positive note my hair finally stopped shedding and has sprouted tons of new hair. Of course it sticks up all over like Alfalfa! LOL!

Thank you for this information. I am still very far for worrying about a true goal weight but I know to be out of the overweight BMI that weight is too thin for me at 44 years old and it doesn't take into account any muscle. I would much rather have a higher BMI and weigh more because of muscle.