Is my goal weight too ambitious?

[bogglesauce 238]

Hi there,

My highest weight was 311 and I've lost about 20-25 pounds so far during pre-op. I just started my liquid diet a week ago and still have three more weeks to go - not sure how much I will lose but I can definitely tell I'm losing. Anyway, my goal weight is 160 and I've noticed that most people who get down to a similar weight started off around 260 or less. I'm wondering if, since my starting weight was 311, will I even be able to achieve 160 years from now or should I adjust it and raise it to 185 or something like that? Any advice or tips?

Thanks so much in advance!

[vrm2bfit 35]

Long term goals are great, But make sure they are realistic to your lifestyle. Do you work out on a regular basis? Are you making good choices when you eat. The surgery itself will have you losing weight but to get to you long term goal you have to put in the extra work and dedication. I've given myself many goals.

1st Goal - Get under 200lb

2nd Goal- 165-175

Ultimate goal 143

This is the way I feel what the surgery will do for me :

This surgery will help me get close to my goal weight so I can then continue a healthy lifestyle and maintain my weight. Once i get close i have to buckle down and manage my weight. I'm giving myself a 10lb fluctuation grace. Once I'm at or around goal weight I will not let myself gain any more then 10 lbs.

[dmdakd 44]

I've learned two things.

1. You can't compare results from one person to the next. Don't let other peoples numbers drive where you want to go.

2. You can't be too ambitious. Your goals will probably change as you go, when I started out I thought if I get to 275 that would be all I needed, then I cruised right passed it, then I thought 250 was a pipe dream, then I passed it. Now I'm thinking 224 so I could lose a nice round 200 pounds. Who knows where I land at this point, now when people ask I just shrug and say, my new diet is a diet forever, I'm just along for the ride and will see where I end up.

I guess my point is, only you can decide your goal, if you think 160 is where you want to be and you are willing to put in the work (don't let anyone fool you it's going to be a ton of work) then you will make your goal.

I wish you the best on your journey, while there have been days that I hated everything about my new eating life, I wouldn't change it for anything.

[shericrazylady 113]

My surgeon suggests a realistic goal meaning once you start getting close to that take a long look at your self in the mirror while naked of course and decide wether you think maybe i could lose more or maybe I shouldn’t and try maintain where I’m at and start toning my loose skin etc

[bogglesauce 238]

Great feedback @shericrazylady and @dmdakd!!! Thanks so much, this is really helpful

[TheRealMeIsHere! 863]

@bogglesauce you can do anything that you put your mind to. What others achieve has nothing to do with what you can do.

Surgery is a tool only, how you use it is up to you.

Little by little you will need to change your relationship with food. Eat to live not live to eat.

Follow the program, exercise, no flour, sugar, bread, Pasta, rice or potatoes. Protein 1st, non-starchy veggies second. Non calorie liquids only, stopping 1/2 hr before & after meals. Eat when truly hungry, stop at 1st sign of full. While I treat myself occasionally, this is now my life and I never feel deprived of anything.

A helpful mindset that I heard is to tell yourself/others, "I don't eat that" rather than "I can't eat that" A simple thing, but very empowering.

Pre-surgery, I didn't weigh much less than you. Was 275 the last time I weighed myself, so was probably closer to 300. Got to 115, been maintaining 122 for almost 4 years.

[bogglesauce 238]

8 minutes ago, TheRealMeIsHere! said:

@bogglesauce you can do anything that you put your mind to. What others achieve has nothing to do with what you can do.

Surgery is a tool only, how you use it is up to you.

Little by little you will need to change your relationship with food. Eat to live not live to eat.

Follow the program, exercise, no flour, sugar, bread, Pasta, rice or potatoes. Protein 1st, non-starchy veggies second. Non calorie liquids only, stopping 1/2 hr before & after meals. Eat when truly hungry, stop at 1st sign of full. While I treat myself occasionally, this is now my life and I never feel deprived of anything.

A helpful mindset that I heard is to tell yourself/others, "I don't eat that" rather than "I can't eat that" A simple thing, but very empowering.

Pre-surgery, I didn't weigh much less than you. Was 275 the last time I weighed myself, so was probably closer to 300. Got to 115, been maintaining 122 for almost 4 years.

Thank you! I can do it

[TheRealMeIsHere! 863]

ABSOLUTELY you can!

[Berry78 4,259]

Sure, you can do it! The average loss for someone with your stats puts them at 186ish. But why would you want to be average?

I like this, very much:

3 hours ago, bogglesauce said:

A helpful mindset that I heard is to tell yourself/others, "I don't eat that" rather than "I can't eat that" A simple thing, but very empowering.

[bogglesauce 238]

I see we have very similar goals @Berry78

[Berry78 4,259]

Yeah, I like the number 157, but I'm not married to it. Even 185 will be thrilling!

[atlseeker 17]

I was wondering myself how to figure out a goal weight, and then I heard about an app called Get to Goal. I heard about it on the Weight Loss Surgery podcast with Reeger Cortell--which is AMAZING--and I found it to be really helpful and scientifically based. You enter data on your age, weight, and health, and it gives you an approximate trajectory of where you could end up. Of course, folks can always be outliers, but I really liked how it handled it scientifically.

Good luck!

[bogglesauce 238]

I used this site to figure out the likelihood of getting to 160 and it said "20%" so we'll see!

https://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-bypass/how-much-can-i-expect-to-lose

[TheRealMeIsHere! 863]

23 hours ago, bogglesauce said:

I used this site to figure out the likelihood of getting to 160 and it said "20%" so we'll see!

https://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-bypass/how-much-can-i-expect-to-lose

Aim to be in that 20%, no reason that you can't do it if 20% of people do, so can you!!

For me, it says that at 18 months, 20% of people reached 174. In under 12 months I reached 115 lbs & have maintained 122 lbs for almost 5 years.