How did everyone come up with their goal weight? Beside the initial appointment no one on my medical team has talked about a one, and that was just asking me where I’d like to be. My personal is 181 the weight I was when I graduated boot camp in 1994.

Welcome, Duk. Nobody on my medical team talked about a goal weight either, and I had the same question when I started out. Like you, I chose my weight back in college, which was the last time I was really happy with the way I looked and felt. It turns out that I got down to that weight within about seven months and was able to keep losing, so I adjusted the number down another ten pounds to my high school weight!

If you know that 181 was a good weight for you (and it sounds like you do), then go with it. This is not an exact science, and it's more important that you are healthy and feel good.

at my initial appt at my clinic, the health psychologist asked if I had a goal weight in mind (although I think he may have just been seeing if I had realistic expectations from the surgery). I blurted out "200 lbs" (I honestly had no idea what my goal weight was when he asked). He said that should be do-able - which kind of shocked me because given I weighed close to 400 at the time, 200 lbs sounded like a pipe dream. But I made it - and then adjusted my goal weight down a couple more times (and then up a few lbs) until I hit an acceptable weight that I could maintain without too much of a struggle. So...it can change as you lose. That's probably why some surgeons don't have you set one.

47 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

at my initial appt at my clinic, the health psychologist asked if I had a goal weight in mind (although I think he may have just been seeing if I had realistic expectations from the surgery). I blurted out "200 lbs" (I honestly had no idea what my goal weight was when he asked). He said that should be do-able - which kind of shocked me because given I weighed close to 400 at the time, 200 lbs sounded like a pipe dream. But I made it - and then adjusted my goal weight down a couple more times (and then up a few lbs) until I hit an acceptable weight that I could maintain without too much of a struggle. So...it can change as you lose. That's probably why some surgeons don't have you set one.

Ha! Same thing happened to me. It was the psychologist who asked and I said 200 pounds (an even 100 pounds lost) and when she said it was well within my reach I was just like “wait what?” ? Last time I was 200 pounds was in high school

Im on hold due to covid so I haven’t had surgery yet. Hopefully soon ?

It’s really just a guess/wish. I put 220 thinking no way I’d hit that, 7 months later I did. I also thought 220 would be too thin (I’m 6’4”) but now that I’m there it’s obvious that it’s not too thin and I’m thinking I can hit One-derland safely and comfortably. Other than this forum I’ve never had to nail it down for anyone, and when family asks I just say “I’ll know it when I hit it” which was and still is true.

When I told the nurse my goal was 130, she looked at me like I had said 85lbs! LOL! She said she would like to see me lose 70lbs, which was 70% of my excess weight at the time. Obviously, I disagreed, and went on to hit my own personal goal, plus a little extra! LOL!

Boot camp weight sounds like a perfect goal!!!

My surgeon didn't have a goal weight for me, only that he said he would consider me a "success" if I lost 60lbs in the first year (This was calculated as 60% of excess weight, based on BMI 25 ideal weight).

I had different ideas: I aimed for 120, which was just about the mid-range of "healthy" BMI for my height, AND was the weight I was when I met Mr. back in my 20's. I later changed this to 127 as I felt it was enough at the time.

Anyhoo...I got to surgeon's goal at 3 months. I got to my revised goal at 7, then to my original goal anyway at 8.

My surgical team let me pick a realistic one, but theirs was about 20 lbs higher than mine in terms of their expectations.

On my first pre-op Doctor visit he said he thought I could get to 140. I was following Weight Watchers at that time and knew my “normal” range for my height was 94-124. For WW I chose 123 as my goal. On my first post op visit my dr said he thought I could get to 130. I told him I had to get to 124 otherwise I’d still be in the “overweight” class and I’m not doing this to get close to normal...I’m going for normal! He told me ok but don’t be disappointed if you can’t get there you’ll be fine at 130. I hit 130 with no problem and kept going until I finally stopped at 109. That seems to be my optimal weight because I’ve maintained that for a while now. Surgery was in Oct 2018.

I wanted a normal BMI. For my height, that meant weighing 132 or under. So I rounded down and set a goal of 130.

I've been all over the place. I started at 150 because for some reason I've had 150 stuck in my head for ever. Even in high school when dieting that was my goal. So that was my goal when I first started (it is pretty much mid-range of healthy BMI for my height). Then at my 6 month my Dr said she'd want me at around 185 (still overweight) so I changed it to 172 (top of healthy BMI). Then I moved it to 167 (exactly half my pre-surgery weight) since that was so close to 172. Now that I'm there, I've gone back to 150.... We'll see if I can get there and if I'm happy. That may be a little on the low end for my body type and height....

My surgeon asked me if I had any thoughts on what I wanted to lose. I said 31kgs which would put me at 60kg - the lowest weight I’d been as an adult & where I’d often yo yo dieted down to - with a BMI of 23. He said it was a good goal. I never changed my goal but my body kept losing & seems to have found it’s own happy place. Funny thing is I was told for years I had a large frame (the old wrist measurement thing). Now all the fat is gone, I actually am small/medium boned so being on the lower half of the BMI range is fine.

8 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

Funny thing is I was told for years I had a large frame (the old wrist measurement thing).

Same!!! Though people didn’t tell me this...i just told myself. LolZ

My surgeon had never talked about a goal weight, either. When I asked him about goals, he discussed making lifestyle changes and habits that stay with you for life as a goal. Additionally, my dietician also told me “you are more than just a number” on several occasions and commended me on my adjustments toward a healthier lifestyle, regardless of what the scale said. The dietician did eventually give me a goal weight that fell within the healthy BMI range.

My surgeon never really gave me a goal, only spoke in terms of average weight loss rate for the surgery I had, I didn't really have a goal, I just wanted to healthy and that is achievable (for me) at a weight that is higher than 25 bmi.

Years ago when I did WW, I came to the conclusion I didn't want to be fighting with my body everyday to achieve some magical number that was probably unachievable, that I would prefer to reach a goal that was more reasonable to manage without struggling and worrying everyday about every single calorie. I am happily in maintenance right now and managing really well, sure I could still lose more weight but at what cost?

Do what works for you and is best for you physically and mentally, that may be at the lower end of the healthy weight range, it may be the higher range, it may be over the higher range, as long as it isn't a constant struggle to maintain all is good and you've found your sweet spot!