HOW do we figure out

what our goal weight is . i mean i know what i want to be but all you seem to have # are they your #s or dr. i started out at 270 i am 5'6 and 6 months out i am now 180 . i was hoping to get to at least 130 .. can someone help me come up w a number tia

Hey sherri, i'm not sure abt the numb thing either,, i know my doctor wanted me to lose 20 a mth,, but of course i'm not doing that,, i'm sure if i ate what i shld and exercised alot,, i probably wld,, but as of right now i'm 195 as of today and started at 268 ,, surgery date was 7/29/04 so i've only lost 73 pds,,my goal weight is 130-135. but good luck to u. dana

Your weight is 270 pounds. Your ideal body weight is 142 pounds. Thus, this means your "excess" weight is about 128 pounds. Bariatric surgery might help you lose 85% of this excess weight, meaning you might lose 109 pounds. If you lost 109 pounds, then you would end up weighing 161 pounds. 161 pounds would thus be your "goal weight" for bariatric surgery. Typically bariatric surgery patients lose this amount over the course of a 12 to 15 months, with slight fluctuations and possibly slight regain after that. WARNING: The figures below represent just one possible typical outcome. Key: - possible loss of 109 lbs after surgery - excess weight you might keep is 19 lbs - your ideal weight is 142 lbs Hugs, Erika L

Thanks for the explanation Erika! If you want to find your 'ideal' body weight, you can use the calculator at thinnerself.com. I can't believe that at 5'7", my ideal weight is 136 lbs.!! If I use those figures, it would mean my starting off weight of 277 lbs. minus the ideal weight of 136 = 141 excess lbs. If I expect to lose 80% of my excess, that would be 120 lbs. which equals 157 lbs. I'm still aiming for 150 - that way I have a few pounds as a buffer zone! Hugs, Nancy -83

Honestly Sherri I just did my goal weight based on past weights. In college I weighed 155-160 and I looked good. Of course that was 17 years ago and my body has changed a lot since then. I just decided to go for 170 feeling that would be appropriate for me. I posted the other day that 166 would put me on the high end of the normal range. I don't know if that is appropriate for me at age 37. Erika had a great idea for calculating goal weights and I may try to do that too. Tara 305/200/170 -105

My surgeon never mentioned a goal weight. When I finally asked him, he asked what I thought I wanted to weight. I said 150 and he said he said OK. I picked 150 because the last time I was in the 150s, I looked good. But, when I dipped into the 140s, I looked sickly. Now I realize that with age and body changed, I can easily go into the 140s. Well, I should word that better. My body doesn't want to making going into the 140s easily.

I picked my own goal weight and based it on the highest weight that would get my BMI into the normal range. For me at 5'5" that would be 147 lbs. I actually chose 140 lbs as my goal initially, thinking it would give me a cushion. However, it's been more than a decade since I was that weight, and age and being in menopause (not to mention having had 4 more children since then), I would be fine with 147. I think after my tummy tuck and breast reduction, my 147 may very well become 140. Traci

Hi Sherri, For my BMI to be 'normal', I would need to weigh 173. With a starting weight of 338 and standing 5'10", this means I had excess weight of 165 pounds. If WLS helps me to lose 80% of that weight, it would be a loss of 132 pounds, which would put my weight at 206 pounds. HOWEVER, that would still leave me toting around an extra 33 pounds. So, I set my personal goal at 188 pounds, which would be a loss of 150 pounds. If I then proceed with plastic surgery, I'm hoping that would take care of another 10 or 15 pounds, which would put me very close to my ideal 'bmi' weight. Unfortunately, I think that is easier said than done! Keep up the great work, and remember...One day at a time! Jeff 338/233/188 -105