I just had my 6 month check up with my Dr and I had the chance to ask them what my goal weight should be. Their "goal" for me is to be comfortably in the overweight category - somewhere around a BMI of 27. This seems high to me, and my personal goal is to be in the healthy weight range, around a BMI of 22 (which I know is aggressive). Her rationale is studies show people who are overweight but exercise, and people who are of average weight but don't exercise have about the same morbidity. So, they focus on getting us firmly out of obese, then worry more about activity.

For those of you whose Dr's gave you a goal weight or BMI, where did it fall?

5 minutes ago, AlwaysCruising said:

I encourage you (as in everyone) to be realistic. Science is real, being realistic is healthy. Goals are great, unrealistic goals are not.

Plus one can always set lower goal weights later. (If one wants to, that is. The point of diminishing returns will come after all.)

1 hour ago, summerset said:

Plus one can always set lower goal weights later. (If one wants to, that is. The point of diminishing returns will come after all.)

true - part of me would love to get back into the 130s, where I was 18 months post-op. I'm now in the 150s. BUT...since I've been sitting in the 150s for the last two years, it's pretty clear that I evidently don't want to do what it takes to get back down there. And it would take a lot - more than I'm willing to do, obviously...

If you feel good in your own skin and are healthy at 150 then rock 150 ? nobody gets to tell you what weight you should be (except your doctor within reason)

3 minutes ago, minimamaz00m said:

If you feel good in your own skin and are healthy at 150 then rock 150 ? nobody gets to tell you what weight you should be (except your doctor within reason)

oh my PCP is perfectly fine with it and has no sympathy for me when I talk about wanting to be in the 130s again. Actually, with my build (large frame and muscular) and age (60), 150s is a better range for me ANYWAY. But I did like seeing those 130s on the scale when I was there!

One of my first appointments with my doctor, I said I wanted to lose 100. I was currently at 257 at the time. He said he liked that goal. On surgery day, I was 249. I managed to get down to 241, but gained due to covid. I will be happy at 150, 130 tops..nothing lower, I'm 5'5.

I'm also 5'5" and these are my goals as well - 150 for sure, 130 if I can take it. Or, if I recall correctly, that would be about size 8-12.

SG2020 HW 294 SW 270 CW 270

The desired weight is not what is used in this equation though. It is bone and muscle mass. That is determined usually by a special scale at the dr's office. If 145 was the weight of the bone and muscle mass then this equation would be correct. For example, I weighed 260 at the doctor's at my initial visit - the scale found 130 of that to be bone and muscle and the other 130 to be excess weight. So using the same formula, I'd lose 60% of 130, so 78 lbs, putting my "success" weight at 182. Does this help?

This is interesting to me. Due to COVID, almost all of my interaction with my doctor's office has been remote. The only time I went into the office was for my x-ray; I didn't get to use a special scale. Now I want to look into this.

But if you have low muscle mass before surgery and you build that up via exercise afterward, does that actually makes your goal weight a moving target?

SG 7/30/2020 HW 294 SW 270 CW 270

Unless you are a super athlete or heavy power lifter, your muscle mass will not be much of a factor (or at least very minimally).

If you are talking muscle or fat PERCENTAGE, then thats a bit of a different story, but again has little to do with determining goal or target weight (unless you are an athlete)

One’s body fat percentage will of course go down as you lose weight, and conversely your lean body mass percentage will go up.

Case in point: prior to weight loss, my body fat percentage was at about 40-45% (at 235 lbs). At around goal, fat percentage was down to about 12-15%. Then after PS, even though Im still more or less the same weight, my body fat percentage is now about 20-22%.

Which is why, as Im typing this actually, weight on the scale is probably not the best stick to measure by. Probably a tape measure on your body parts, or how your clothes fit is a better indicator?

P.S. I am not a doctor nor presume to present myself as any type of expert on body composition...just sharing a perspective ❤️

Edited August 1, 20206 yr by ms.sss