What is a reasonable goal weight?

Creating my profile here and putting down a goal weight I had to stop and think about that.  I am not sure what to expect as far as weight loss, how soon it happens and what I should have for a goal weight?  I mean what is reasonable to expect?  Having struggled to lose every pound all my life I can't begin to think of what a goal would be or should be. I am currently 250 and have my surgery scheduled for 10/12/15.  What would a reasonable goal weight for me be? I put 155 just off the top of my head but is that feasible? My doctor has been great but never really shared what to expect as far as weight loss per month on average.

I am female. 5' 4"

Great question...How tall?  Male or female?  I'm a 5'9" male and started at 336#.....I now weight 187.... my doctor told me to pick the high end of my BMI and shoot for something around there...Mine is 170# which is how I picked mine.  I know I went way beyond what I thought I could do, I was afraid I might fail so I picked a number kinda high.  I exceeded my own expectations.......good luck!

Female 5' 4"

I pulled 150 out of the air, and really only set a goal weight because I needed one for my weight loss tracker in my signature.  The lowest I ever got pre-surgery was 159, and I felt pretty good at that weight.  I was 60 at the time of my surgery, I'm 5'7", female.

Well, I fell right through 150, got to 132 at my lowest, drifted up a little to 135-137 and stayed there for about 18 mos., and then drifted to the mid-140s with increased capacity as I got further out from surgery, and that's where I am today.  I never adjusted my food as I approached goal or went lower, I just kept on with my food plan and let my body decide where to land, a practice I have been following since as well.  Would I like to get back to 135-137? Absolutely.  Am I happy at 143?  Crap yes! 

I'd say barring something unusual (like, are you a 6'5" man?) a goal of 155 is absolutely feasible.  I do think (sorry for others reading this, if it seems controversial), many people pick a higher goal weight because they just can't imagine in all the world, that they could get lower.  But most of us can, and can maintain goal or close to it, with continued food plan compliance.

Good luck!

X-post from another reply I gave, but applies to your question too:

The Cleveland Clinic considers the WLS to be a success with 60% of your excess weight lost. Thus, since I started at 344 pounds according to their highest measurement, my "goal" weight was 210. Seriously. There's nothing wrong with 210 -- I mean, it's a lot better than 344 pounds -- but I would still have been clinically obese. In my mind, I wasn't having my guts re-routed to still be obese. My first personal goal was to be simply "overweight" rather than "obese" -- so I chose 175. That meant I needed to lose about 165 pounds. I gained a lot of confidence in myself and my ability to really work my tool during that time. So, when I got there, I decided that I wouldn't limit myself. My new goal was to get to a normal BMI -- or 145 pounds. When I met that, I realized that I really wanted to get to a 22 BMI (about 132 pounds) -- and that nothing but my self could keep me or get me to that goal. So, I guess my point is this: you are only limited by what you choose to do with your tool. 

So, to answer your question, a reasonable goal is one that you want to attain.

I chose the top of my normal BMI range. The actual place I'll land will be seen once I get closer. Right now I am shooting for ONEderland....

Same here, NYMom. My surgeon chose 167 pounds which is 70% of my excess weight. That puts me at the high end of overweight for 5'3". I chose 140 which puts me at the high end of normal. She told me that if I go below 140, she'll be concerned about it. I'm going to see how I feel and look and also what size. I figure I'll know when I get there!! With that said, I have no plan to be anything lower than mid-normal bmi if I can get there.

My surgeon believes in - as someone else mentioned- letting your body figure out where to land. I have heard it said on here, while some people get 'too thin' or look that way in year 2, very few are too thin by year three... your body adjusts itself.

To me a goal should be obtainable with reasonable effort.  And it shouldn't take sacrifice to maintain long term.

I've seen people my height with a goal of 175 but coming from 375 it looks very reasonable.

Be honest with yourself and realistic.  I had an idea of what to expect since I have lost weight many, many times before and so I knew what I would look like and what it would take to stay there, not that I ever could.

But in the end my body did what it wanted and I went lower then I expected or even wanted but since I have been at this range for a while and I don't feel deprived at all I guess this is where I am supposed to be.

Honestly, I could gain 20 lbs and still feel comfortable and like a success.  And I am sure I would look a lot better.

Without knowing how tall you are, there is no way to know what is realistic for you.

Many people shoot a number at the top of the normal BMI range for their height, and some shoot for a number in the middle (which is usually only a few pounds from the top weight).  For some who were SMO for many years, a normal BMI is difficult to attain and maintain, but since you don't fall into that category, a normal BMI should be very realistic for you.

Lora