my first wow moment

I had open RNY surgery on March 13, 2008 with Dr. Nohr in Alberta, Canada (although I live in Manitoba, no surgeons here). I have lost 78 pounds so far. No regrets! My first wow moment was clothes shopping --- I used to wear 5x (sometimes 6x) and now I can fit into 1 or 2x.... I bought a new shirt in size XL...... wow! I need to set a goal weight, I am 50 yrs and 5'3" (used to be 5'4.5"), what is reasonable? Diane

I am the height you used to be, so going off that, let me tell you how I chose my own goal weight. According to the charts I should be 134... a number too ridiculous to contemplate. However I have two things going against me... I'm big boned and genetically my butt will ALWAYS be big. I found a chart somewhere that suggested that if you are very large boned (I am, there's an inch and a half gap between thumb and forefinger when I try to put my fingers around my wrist). So using an insurance chart I found somewhere on the net, I set my goal weight at a realistic 154. Very likely weight for me to reach as optimal. My BMI will be in the overweight range at that point. Of course I stepped on a tanita scale with a full readout once (about 80 pounds ago) and according to the Tanita, if I weigh 174 that's the smallest I can expect to get without lopping off some extra skin and things. For now what I do is make mini goals. I often don't make them, but they're fun anyway. For example, I made a goal of losing 50% of my excess weight by my six month surgiversary. (based on my personal ideal of 154), and I've still got a month to go and I'm within 8 pounds of my goal! Congratulations on your weight loss.... sounds like you're doing great!!!

Hi Thanks alot for your support and comments. I did find based on BMI I should be 134, based on height and weight I should be 141-146 and based on people in my age group, they described their ideal weight at 154 lbs. It is neat to hear how other people decide their goal weight (not just on BMI) when lots of us can not remember what a normal weight was.... thanks again Diane