Goal Weight?

I was never given a "goal" weight by my surgeon, but I seem to remember being told that it was realistic to expect to lose (keep off) 70% of your excess weight... that being the case... tell me if this sounds right... i started out at 374 pounds. a healthy BMI for my height would put me between 120 and 159 pounds (which seems so ridiculously little, i can't even imagine). so using the mid point in the healthy range (140) my excess weight would be 234 pounds and 70% of that would be 163 pounds... does that seem right? that my weight would eventually stabilize around 211 pounds? i was hoping to get down to around 175, which would be a good bit smaller than i've ever been as an adult...

My surgeon is basing my "success" on an excess of 165 pounds.  That would put me down to 134 pounds if I lost 100% of my excess.   I actually sat down and did the math for each milestone I should be hitting. 50% is when my surgeon puts me on his "success" list = loss of 82.5 lbs (weight of 216.5) 60% is the low end of statistics for keeping weight off = loss of 99 lbs (weight of 200) 80% is the high end of statistics for keeping weight off = 132 lbs (weight of 167) I figure that at each milestone I'll celebrate.  I have no hard-and-fast number that is my ultimate goal weight.  How on earth can I make that decision when I have no idea what my body will be like and how I'll feel when I hit any of those milestone figures?  I haven't been close to a normal weight in years and my memory isn't that good to remember what high school was like when it comes to my health and weight.  In my siggy I have a goal weight of "160ish" --- that final number might be 170 or it might be 150, who knows?!  That 160ish number is very loose in my mind, flexible and apt to change at any point. I know that if I set a goal for myself I won't be happy until I hit a solid goal I set for myself.  I'll be depressed and wallow in misery if I don't hit that goal - no matter how unrealistic or far-fetched it might be.  I hate having the silly scale dictate what my success is going to be.  A number is not my goal.  So, knowing myself and not wanting to set myself up for failure and disappointment.  I have set a loose goal weight and will re-evaluate that number when I'm closer to it.   So, that's a long and rambling response to your question.  Not sure it was any help....  hehehe Pam

Pam, I love your ramblings.  They are always helpful to me. Pam