So the talk of 'excess weight' has me thinking... (Dangerous, I know)

What exactly do people measure as 'excess weight'? Isn't that kind of a fluid thing? Because sometimes I see people's heights and weights, and their 'goal' weight, and they are much higher than I would expect (and a few much lower).

So like if someone that is my height (5'5"), and my starting weight (260)... would ALL of their excess weight be the number that puts them into the normal range (150), or something more like 135 which would put them into more of the middle of the normal range (strictly speaking BMI scale ranges here)?

I haven't ever figured out my 'excess weight' formally... and now I'm curious if everyone is playing on the same scale here so I CAN figure mine out

OK... so already being at my goal, I'm jumping into the pool a bit late... but jump I will anyway!

I don't really know, either, because normal BMI ranges are pretty wide. I'm 5'6" and a normal BMI range for someone my height is something like 115-154 (I know the 154 part for sure - not as sure on the low end since there's no way I could get down that low with my frame - but it's something around 115). That's a 40 lb range. I went by the high end of my range (154) re: the point at which I'd lost 100% of my excess weight, although I'm lower than that now (138-142)

And BMI was designed to measure weight for a population, not for an individual.

That's a good question. I've always assumed it was calculated from the top of the "normal" BMI range, but that is just an assumption on my part. It would be hard for me to understand how the weight from the middle of "normal" to the high-end of "normal" could be considered excess weight.

I'm 5'4, and randomly chose 145 as my goal weight...then when I checked the BMI, found that is the end range of the "normal" weight scale. Then I changed it to 144 because my starting weight was 304 an I wanted the numbers to match better, lol. I'm nowhere near my goal at 4 months out, so I'll have to wait and see what my body looks and feels like as I go lower, to see what my actual goal should be.

My goal was calculated at middle of normal BMI, as I lost weight it was quickly realized that when I hit the low end of normal I was a skeleton. So for me I don't go by the BMI calculators and strictly go by look and use a weight as a ballpark.

I think it's going to be different for everyone. I hate the BMI scale, because it can really make someone feel bad even when they are at a healthy weight.

I think your excess weight is the weight that puts you to a point where it bothers you. Be it a physical issue, or a mental one. At 291 pounds, which was my weigh in at the Bariatric Seminar that I went to, I was unhappy and completely unhealthy. Right now I'm sitting between 160 and 165 on average. I dropped down to 154 last fall, but popped back up over the holidays and have been struggling to get back down there.

Do I think that 165 is my ideal weight? No, I don't think so. I don't hate this weight, but I do want to get back down to the mid 150s. Early on I said that I wanted to get down to 140, which is when I would go from overweight to normal weight at 5'3". BUT, I honestly don't think I care about the BMI scale and what constitutes "normal" on that scale. For me it's unrealistic, because I don't want to be that thin.

So, I think you should look at your body, feel your body, and decide for yourself what your ideal weight would be. Personally, I think you look fabulous just as you are, but we all don't have to live inside each others shell.

Found this online from a paper abstract about using the Met Life tables: "In bariatric surgery, ideal body weight (IBW) is used to calculate excess body weight (EBW) and percent excess weight lost (%EWL). Bariatric literature typically uses the midpoint of the medium frame from older Metropolitan Life Insurance (MetLife) tables to estimate IBW. This is neither universal nor always clinically accurate."

This was the method my surgeon used. That number for me is 155. He said he'd consider me a success if I ended up at 183. I want to be 170 or as I've been there and that felt perfect for me.

Ah. Good to know. Thanks. This gives me the same goal weight I have had since I was in my 20's (5'7" tall and 140 pounds). I guess subconsciously there was some method to my madness