How did you set your goal?

I mean, as I sit here a pre-op at a whopping 330lbs, tired, achy, and cranky.  I truly have no idea what my "goal weight" should really be.  I mean, I know what the BMI chart says (i think) for my height 5"71/2" but lord knows all my life I have NEVER thought that weight would even be possible?

So do you set a goal for yourself?  A number you like?  Do you follow the BMI charts?  Does your PCP or Surgeon give you the number?  Just wondering where most of ya'll come up with your "goal" weight!

I'm so heavy right now I think I would just love to be 280 again......but obviously that is still MO.

I have been thinking about this a bit myself. I had my post-op check-up and it stated my goal was 200 lbs--I was surprised.  I do remember the surgeon asking me what I wanted, I said I would be happy under 200 lbs.  I am assuming that is where it came from.  I was 331 pre-op 8/10/11.  I am now 280, this morning.


200 lbs seems very heavy, I calculated and I would still be obese with a BMI of 33.  I just picked a number I wanted when I made my ticker.  I would love to hear the answer to this!

I never set a goal,  I did not pay attention to BMI (which is a very flawed measurement).  I went by how I looked,  felt,  fit in my clothes, etc.  No number can really give you the answer for you.  My surgeon set a "goal" but I ignored it - I was aware of what it was and I knew when I got there - but it didn't mean much to me. 

Now I weigh more than my goal was.  I am a size 10,  fit,  healthy, muscular, feel great,  look great.  I don't care about the "goal."  It's irrelevant.

I think focusing on a number and on the scale is just a way to torture yourself,  and to make yourself feel bad when the number you seek eludes you (short and long term).  Get off the scale,  eat correctly,  take care of yourself, and it will all work out in terms of your weight loss.

I didn't/ don't have a goal.  I'm just along for the ride while my DS does it's thing. 

BMI is extremely flawed and incomplete and will drive you to drink if you gauge ourself solely by it.  For example, my aunt is a grand high poo-bah in  Weigh****chers.  One of her disciples would love to be an instructor.  She would love to have this person be an insctructor.  However, this person does not fall within the 'normal BMI' parameters and is forbidden by WW to instruct.  The person is NOT overweight, she works out and is muscular.  BMI cannot differentiate between fat weight and lean weight.  And WW is too stupid to go beyond what the number says.

Find a doc with at least a Tanita scale if not a full bore body composition scale.  This will tell you how much fat weight vs lean muscle weight you have.  It will also tell you how hydrated you are. 

My goal, if I have one, is to reach a healthy balance between my lean and fat contents. 

All that being said, I really advocate just kind of eating your protein, hydrating, and see where it takes you.  The scale is a tricky thing and beats us up more than it helps.  Don't worry about 'goal', just enjoy the ride. 

I was really happy at 130 when I was 19 and it's smack dab in the middle of a healthy bmi, so I'm going with that. I would just like to shop in normal sections of the store. I'd be happy with that.

In my sig line, I have a "first goal". That goal is 190, which is my lowest adult weight (what I weighed when I was 18). If I can get to that weight, I'll be really happy and perhaps set a different goal later. But I'm trying really hard to not be very number-oriented right now (esp because I'm in the middle of a freakin' stall).

Take this with a grain of salt, everyone is different.

My surgeons office used the following formula:

CurrentWeight - ((CurrentWeight - BMI(Normal Weight))*.8) = "Goal Weight"

(The .8 means they thought a normal person would lose 80% of their excess body weight)

So, based on the information you submitted you would be:

330 - ((330-160)*.8) = 194

They told me this is where I'd end up (this formula) based on the surgery alone, If I exercised and watched what I ate I'd get lower then the number they provided for me.

Again... grain of salt.  I fully intend to thin out as much as possible, more than my 'Goal Weight'.

Justin

There's a formula floating around for DS patients with a BMI of 50 or more to use to figure a goal via the DS. 

Personally, I thought I'd love to be back at 150, which is what I weighed when I was a hot little thing in high school and college.  I figured I needed to allow some room for weight via excess skin, so I picked 155.  This also put me at the top of the normal BMI range for my height.

I also picked a goal size, which was more important than the number on the scale, really.  I went with a size 12.  At my height and on my frame a 12 looked pretty damned good before.

My surgeon does not  like to give a goal weight, but after I twisted his arm, he said a BMI of 25, which is 158 for my height.

I never set a number on the scale as a goal. Those numbers lie. My goals were all health and activity related.

The only scale number I cared about seeing was 199. But even then, that was gravy compared to getting rid of my many ailments and becoming able to participate in life again.

My surgeon never mentioned a goal weight.  I mentioned to my PCP that I would like to get to a "Normal" BMI, which for me would be between 155 and 159.  Interestingly, the last time I saw my PCP, he commented that BEFORE my surgery he would have said "No Way", but having seen my success so far, he thinks I very well may get there.  Here's hoping!!!   

Donna