Should excess skin factor into goal weight, bmi?

I was just wondering if any of you factor in excess skin in your goal weight or bmi? My highest wt was 255 I now weigh 140. I of course have the wings, excess tummy fat and saggy ass and thighs. (which looks pretty good clothed, I am not complaining). So I would like to lose another 10 to 15 pounds. I started thinking that if I have 5 lbs excess skin is it really like my weight is 135. Is this crazy thinking on my part? Does this mean I may really be at a healthy weight, bmi?

I weigh what I weigh skin and all.  I don't adjust for skin.  It was included in my highest weight so its included in my goal.  Should I ever get it removed I'll welcome the weight loss.  Until then a healthy bmi includes all of me. 

This is a question I have been thinking about lately too.

I guess any skin weight should count, as technically, the toll it takes on your heart, joints, bones, etc, is the same as if it were fat.  Your heart doesn't know the difference.....

Although, I would much rather say that the skin weight does not count, cause I would be that much closer to goal....

I guess I know that it counts and it is a part of the whole package now, but my logic is that a person who has not had drastic weight loss and is at the same weight as I am has a somewhat different body composition. In other words is it less realistic to get another 10 to 15 lbs lower because I will always have at least some skin in the equation that someone who was never big like me who is my same height/size would not have. I know this is kinda circular logic

I don't think this is crazy at all. Seriously... BMI is only an indicator of health. It is a NUMBER. Think about it this way...

You and Sue have the same BMI... exactly 26. You're both overweight. Are you overweight the same? Is your health the same? What if Sue doesn't have any legs due to a tragic JAWS attack? Would she STILL be the same level of health as you? She'd be a lot fatter on what's left of her, and probably NOT.

So.... You and Tina have the same BMI.... but you have batwings, and she doesn't. Which one is healthier, (if you use BMI as the sole indicator of health) the person with that BMI due to a higher amount of fat, or the person with a little more skin tissue?

BMI .... is just a number... and it's only a guideline.

I was Super Morbidly obese... my BMI was 60.... no way in the world I'm going to get rid of probably as much as 20 pounds in excess skin without it getting lopped off. So my BMI is 27.8 right now. Lop off the skin (batwings, panni, flubberthighs) and suddenly my BMI is 24.2. Do I say that I have a BMI of 24? Nope. My BMI is what it is. But am I at a decent weight for my body frame and height? You bet I am. You can drive yourself crazy trying to reach some mystical number on a scale, chart, or label. But in the end you are just a person, and those numbers are ALL guidelines.

If you want to lose the weight just to acheive the number.... I'd say that's not the best reason for losing it. If you want to lose it because you're still a chunky person... that's one thing. I have lately just gotten frustrated at people who think that it is essential to lose five or ten or fifteen pounds just so that they make some numerical goal that has no bearing on their already awesome shape, health, and size. If you have the shape, health, and size you already wanted, why torture yourself for a number?

I have no idea why this is my hot button lately.

I think if you are losing JUST to hit a number, then you might need to rethink.  If you still have 10lbs of fat to lose, and your surgeon thinks this is true too, then go for it.  If you are gaunt and have skin hanging off your bones, then stop!  (ok, I'm being graphic...)

once you get down to losing most of your weight, the skin and BMI charts don't really make a lot of sense, not to mention as formerly obese people, we usually have higher bone density, which means our bones even weigh more than an average person. 

Accdording to a BMI chart, I could still lose another 15 or so lbs and be "normal", but at a size 6 at 5'6, i think i would look sick.  If I got all the skin removed...maybe that would drop me 5lbs.

Awww Sue, you said it better than me.

I agree. What I struggle with is when to let it go, when to stop. You can look at my profile pics to see my recent progress. I do not have skin hanging of my bones... The parts of my body that I would like to be smaller are also the parts with some extra skin. I also do not want to live my life chasing a meaningless number, but I want to achieve my best possible outcome...just not sure what that is yet. I also find myself a very bad judge of my own size. I am constantly looking at others and trying to compare so that I can get a gauge of my actual size. My brain still struggles with seeing the fat me.

This may sound nutty, but last summer I started finding reasons to have my picture taken with friends/family.  I wanted to see what i look like next to them.  This really helped me understand what I look like.

Here's an example.  My sister and now wear the same size - which has NEVER happened (we're 5 years apart) - but here we are, sharing pants, shirts, etc.  She weighs LESS than me, and is 2-3 inches taller with bigger boobs. 

PS no matter what I will always be shaped like an hour glass with a little too much time on my butt . My husband has told me that if the hips go, he's gonna be pissed. I like to call it the junk in my trunk