How did you decide your goal weight, and did you reach it?

[JupiterinVirgo 846]

So let me just state upfront so that I do not believe in the BMI scale as a measurement of health and normality. I understand many of you might disagree with that but this post is not a debate post. The history of the BMI scale is something worth looking into if this is your sole measurement of reaching your goal. It isn't mine, which is why I am trying to consider what a proper and also realistic goal weight is for my body.

I have the surgery 11 months ago, i'm down over 124 pounds, and have entered ONEderland. Before my surgery, I thought that if I got anywhere under 200 pounds I would consider it a smashing success. And I do! That said, I feel I would like to continue losing weight.

My original goal weight, sit by me, was 180 pounds. Currently, I am about 15 pounds away. I chose this number because it is the lowest weight I have been in my real adult life, and after the last time I lost a lot of weight, this was where my body settled. I found it very difficult to get any lower than 178 179.

Thinking that the odds of me getting to 180 were not very large to begin with when I began, I thought this was a realistic goal-if a stretch. But now I see it is not unreasonable to believe that I could go further.

Right now, I am considering a goal of 160 pounds. Which is 35 pounds away from where I am now. This to me, is a stretch goal. I haven't weighed 160 pounds since childhood. That is, before graduating high school.

I'm not sure if it's realistic or not, and I'm not sure if it's too high of a goal weight or not. When I told one of my good friends that I moved my goal from 180 to 160, he suggested I should go for 130 which to me seems ridiculous. I know I would be very skinny at 1:30 but I don't think it's realistic.

My height is about 5'7". I am female. I am 37 years old. Is there anyone out there who would share with me where they began, what their goal weight was and why, and whether they were able to obtain it? I think you so very much for sharing your story with me!

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[blizair09 3,250]

I agree with you about the BMI thing. I set 180 as my goal for being a 41 year old 6 foot tall male. Part of me (actually a lot of me) thinks that's really too much, but I set that as an initial goal and we'll see. I came up with the 180 with my surgeon's staff because that is what I have to weigh to get my BMI to fall in the highest end of normal (grimacing as I did it).

I think I would be happy at 190 or 195. I am a little over half way through my weight loss right now, so as I get closer to 200, I can make a decision about how far down below 200 I want to go.

I just want to be healthy and to look good for my body shape and frame at my age. I got down to 178 (the lowest I ever weighed as an adult) after my parents and I did phen-fen back in 1996-97. As much as I relished being "skinny" back then, even at 21, people thought I took it way too far. BMI says that is where I should be, but that means what it means...

Edited November 1, 2016 by blizair09

[reree6898 1,164]

I started off at 319. I don't do the whole BMI as an end all measurement either. My surgeon prefers to look at body fat percentage more then anything else. My dr said he would like to see me at 170. I am just over a year out from sleeve surgery and am 156lbs at the moment. My personal goal is 140 because I feel that is an average weight for my height of 5"4'. I have already reached the top side of the body fat percentage that my dr said is the healthy range at my one year check up. I think you are probably at a good target of the 160 for your height.

[Babbs 14,680]

First of all, amazing success!

I was one of those that DID choose a goal weight according to BMI, but I agree with you wholeheartedly that it is a bunch of phooey as are as choosing a "healthy" weight. I feel body fat % is a much more accurate measurement as far as overall health and fitness.

That being said, I chose 150 (high end of normal BMI for my height) but decided to deliberately keep losing until my body decided to stop at around 143. The reason? After having a husband who had a bypass 10 years ago, seeing hundreds of posts on forums like these, and looking at statistics, there is a very high chance of a 5-10% bounce gain a few years post op. I decided to go as low as I could possibly go so if I do in fact gain the bounce weight, it won't put me too much over in the overweight category. I would have liked to go lower, but my body said NOPE. My body fat percentage is in the high normal range for my age, so I am working on bringing that down instead.

I would suggest letting your body go as low as it wants to go, as long you're still healthy, for the reasons I stated. Why go through major surgery and not just go as far as you can possibly go with it?

As far as the "too skinny" thing, let me be frank. People don't even know what a healthy weight looks like anymore, so anyone in the 'normal' weight range looks too skinny to everyone! I mean, I could easily lose 20 more pounds and still be healthy. Just small.

[theantichick 2,204]

I also think the BMI is a load of horse manure. It's a handy number to use as a rough guide, but the ranges were set in an arbitrary fashion IMHO, and don't reflect health AT ALL.

I picked 185# because that's the last time as an adult I remember really liking the way I looked and being able to do all the active things I wanted, without having to exercise like a crazy person every single day and watch every single bite I put in my mouth. In college I was able to maintain 165# (I'm 5'9") but it was almost a full-time job. I had to run 1-2 miles a day as well as stay on a VERY strict diet, WITH a college kid's metabolism. I'm not willing to go to that extreme for a number on the scale. I figure when I hit 185# we'll see if I can go another 10#. 175-185# range would be amazing for me, and give me a little room for fluctuations. I don't want to rule out anything lower, but I know where I'd be satisfied.

I will very likely never be at a "normal" BMI again. I'd have to get under 170# to have a "normal" BMI. Under 200# gets me out of the obese category. My entire medical team will be ecstatic the day I get under 200#. Anything after that is gravy as far as they're concerned. My surgeon will consider anything under 230# a success.

[Travelher 915]

I'm 5'4 and i set mine at 170. I got down to 160 after my band surgery in 2005 but settled at 170 and I felt and looked good at that weight.

My lowest adult weight was 145 in my early 20's but that when I was working out 3 hrs a day and eating less than 800 calories a day..not healthy and I started to develop injuries as a result of the excessive exercise. I don't see that as realistic for me.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@JupiterinVirgo

What you explained in your goals is pretty similar to me. I thought anything around or under 200 was a huge success. I really just hoped for 250 and thought if I got there, I could live there. I never really dreamed I could get this low. I picked 180 because that is what I weighed in HS and I felt it was realistic.

Now that I am 204 at 15.5 months out. I am really thinking about adjusting my goal from 180 to 165, maybe 175. I am already getting pretty small without being under 200. My goal was to lose as much as possible before plastic surgery. I have a decent amount of skin to be removed so I feel like my end weight is going to be a lot lower than what I can imagine right now.

[Recycled 2,182]

Your body might set your goal for you. I picked 185 and actually reached it. However, it seems no matter what I do, I level out at 200-205. I just can't stay below 200 without a whole lot of extra effort. So I guess it will be 205.

[mokt 58]

First of all, amazing success!

I was one of those that DID choose a goal weight according to BMI, but I agree with you wholeheartedly that it is a bunch of phooey as are as choosing a "healthy" weight. I feel body fat % is a much more accurate measurement as far as overall health and fitness.

That being said, I chose 150 (high end of normal BMI for my height) but decided to deliberately keep losing until my body decided to stop at around 143. The reason? After having a husband who had a bypass 10 years ago, seeing hundreds of posts on forums like these, and looking at statistics, there is a very high chance of a 5-10% bounce gain a few years post op. I decided to go as low as I could possibly go so if I do in fact gain the bounce weight, it won't put me too much over in the overweight category. I would have liked to go lower, but my body said NOPE. My body fat percentage is in the high normal range for my age, so I am working on bringing that down instead.

I would suggest letting your body go as low as it wants to go, as long you're still healthy, for the reasons I stated. Why go through major surgery and not just go as far as you can possibly go with it?

As far as the "too skinny" thing, let me be frank. People don't even know what a healthy weight looks like anymore, so anyone in the 'normal' weight range looks too skinny to everyone! I mean, I could easily lose 20 more pounds and still be healthy. Just small.

I am with Babbs on this one. I was sleeved last November and set my goal to 190 as I remember feeling good and healthy at that weight and couldn't imagine being any smaller. I am 5'7" and Almost a year later and I am down to 135 lbs. I am letting my body go to it's natural set point. Most of the people in my life think I am too skinny, but really it has more to do with them not being used to seeing me this size....not to mention that most people are carrying extra weight. Your body's natural weight might be less than what you ever could have imagined....I say go with it and be the healthiest you can be, especially after going through this surgery and especially with the knowledge that most people regain some of the weight after 2 years.

Best of luck!

[Julie norton 2,850]

How about a weight you feel healthy at !!!and all your clothes fit for years? Nothing in my life is perfect, including me, but I adore being at a weight I can MAINTAIN. That is gold to me. GOLD

No more up/ down / all around.

Almost 10 years post op and would not go back for anything!!!

(FYI. Lost @ 100 lbs from highest ever weight , 70 with my band.)

I feel great in my 60's!

[Torressl1234 6]

I started at 309 at my highest before surgery and honestly I set small goals for myself instead of looking at long term. Right now I want to get to 250. That would be a huge accomplishment for me as that'd be the most weight I've lost in 9 years. I'm only 11lbs away from that goal at a month out. Then once I meet that I will go from there. I find the goal more attainable that way and it puts less pressure on myself. One day at a time.

[shedo82773 1,236]

Hi, I really didn't get a goal weight goal from my surgeon, his PA said that by Dec I would weigh 150#'s. Now let me share my STATS: HW 249 (this time I was 285#'s and lost some and kept it off before my RNY) SW 232 LW 117 CW 125. I actually got to my lowest weight in 6 months. Both my Surgeon and PCP were worried about my weight loss. They felt like I was losing muscle instead of fat. So I did gain 8#'s which isn't half bad and I have maintained for 2 and 1/2 years. I believe that owe my success to being able to exercise now. I walk 3 to 4 days a week and walk 4 miles each time. I also have FIBROMYALGIA, OSTEOARTHRITIS and the beginning of RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. I was insulin dependant and took 100 units of insulin 2 times a day. I took 500mg of METFORMIN 2 times a day. I was on 12 different medications. Now I am on 4 per day plus my Vitamins. This is a WIN WIN if you ask me. I am also on less than 1/2 of my blood pressure meds. I wanted to get off of them but I just can't seem to quit my stresses. If someone figures out how to let it go please let me know. I LOVE LOVE feeling so ALIVE!!! So Happy that I had my RNY.

[rolosmom7 740]

185, because that's what I weighed in college. I'm 27 so that's a fair comparison. In college I was on the swim team and kickboxing 3-5 days a week. That put me in a size 10 at 5'10.

I'll re-evaluate if needed, but I have natural curves that have been there forever. My boobs don't drop below a DD. Now the band size - that is a different story! Also, if you do the hand around wrist test for small, medium, or large frame I have a large frame.

[PorkChopExpress 820]

My "goal weight" is more of a window, because I'm not as much focused on scale weight as I am how I am looking and feeling. I have an image in my mind of what I want to end up being like, and my goal weight is basically just a "jumping off point" for that. So it doesn't really demonstrate my goal, because my goal isn't a weight. It's a state of being.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I started at probably over 350 lbs -- not really sure because it got to a point where I didn't want to weigh myself. After a couple of months of diet and exercise pre-op, I did weigh in at the surgeon's office at 339.

I didn't really have a goal weight to start, but eventually realized that if I reached 139, that would be both a nice round number than I could pat myself on the back for losing -- like, why stop at 190 lbs when I could tell myself and anyone who asked, I lost 200 lbs!? Also, if I got to 139 that would put me pretty safely in the range where my insurance company's "partnership coaching" program would stop harassing me with phone calls from 20-something "health coaches" who lecture me about diet and exercise. So I aimed for 139. The last 15-20 lbs were HARD, I struggled with every pound, but I got there.

These days I tend to hover around between 137 - 141. If I get to 144, I go into serious weight loss mode and get myself back down to 137,