What's your goal?

People are actually surprised when I tell them my goals aren't so much number related. I get the "what, you don't want to weigh xxx?" or "don't you want to be skinny" questions a lot!
When the guy doing my psych eval asked me why I was having wls and what I hoped to achieve I told him this!
I want to
-get off the two blood pressure medications
-be able to bathe and wipe myself without difficulty
- be healthy
- be able to move
- get pregnant
I've accomplished all of those goals! Healthy and being able to have kids were priority for me! I don't want size 6 or skinny! I never thought I'd get where I'm at now! Size 6 is not an obtainable goal for me but healthy is!

In the beginning I wanted to have a normal BMI. I didn't make it. Am I sad or disappointed about it. I was at first, but I had to think about how far I have come and what I have accomplished. 

1. I can tie my shoes with out becoming so short of breath
2. I can paint my own toe nails.
3. I can do 3 sets of 10 male push ups.
4. I work out like I never thought possible
5. I can work 3 12hour shifts in a row and no longer have horrible pain in my feet or pitting edema in my calves or feet.
6. I have so much more energy
7. I am more outgoing, will to try new things and have met some of the greatest people since I have had this surgery.

There is so much more. The most important thing for me is that I am no longer existing, I am actually living. So I didn't make my normal BMI goal, but I have lost 182 lbs, 90% of my excess weight. Truly what more could I ask for. Life is good.

My most recent goal was to be a size 10 so firm that I can go into any store and buy size 10 and it will fit, check off that goal!  

But now, I feel my goal is to try to find happiness, security and acceptance for myself.  I still look in the mirror and see a "fat" girl.  I still do not think my mind is matching my body and I need it to do that.  I need to "love" who I have become and be ok with who I am now.  It is hard to explain....I just need to stop looking in the mirror and saying negative things like "ugh my stomach" or "ugh my saggy whatever" and start to say "wow, look how good I look".

I met my goals...every single one. I'm off all diabetes meds and am healthy and doing amazingly well. I feel really, really good and I can buy off-the rack misses sizes in any store...no more plus sizes. I would love to drop another size and hit my goal, but I'm not going to be disappointed or sad if it doesn't happen. Now that I'm getting close and have exceeded my wildest dreams, I find that I have more goals......more regular exercise now that I can move, expanding my healthy cooking repertoire, and just enjoying and being thankful for every single day.

I intend to keep doing what I have been doing for the last several months maintaining one day at a time. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I will tweak as needed.

I have been at goal weight since April, I'm eating well, I'm running 5 miles a day, doing vitamins and protein and hydration, etc. It's all gotten to be just what I do.

My goals are to stay at my weight and to stay healthy. I am completely grateful for my new lease on life.

My main goal is to be happy. I was very depressed for the 5 years before I decided to have surgery. Im pretty early out only 4 months but I love that the first comment I get from people now isnt wow you look great (though they do say it) its wow you look so happy now! Its amazing how big a difference this has made for me. I feel great already and cant even imagine how I will feel in another 4 months. Cant wait to be able to shop anywhere and not plus sizes anymore, cross my legs (almost there), go anywhere without fear of fitting in a chair, I guess all the typical stuff. Other major goal was to finally feel comfortable enough in my skin to be open to a relationship and happy to say Ive met that one

I had so many goals right after surgery, that I can't even list them. They were all met within the first few months. I can tie my shoes and breathe at the same time. I can cross my legs. I can wear a pair of jeans that have been hanging in my closet since 1997.

I've had to continually come up with new goals to keep myself focused. Sometimes it IS a number and sometimes it isn't. Right now I am this >< close to having lost 100 pounds so, that is a strong focus for me in the next few weeks. Beyond that I want to be able to run 5K, three times a week. That will take me a bit longer to accomplish but I'm getting close. (Now it's more about motivation then athletic ability.)

As soon as I can check one of those off of the list, I'll set another goal and then another.

I have decided that numbers don't mean much to me at this point! Yes I have a goal set, but that is to my ideal weight, and if I get to that, that is great, but if I get to a point where I think it is to small, I will adjust accordingly. I have not been at my ideal goal weight since I was in high school, and it was very tiny for me, but I did not do it in a very healthy way, so I am just going to cross that bridge when I get to it. My biggest goal is to basically hit the reset button and start all over in the eating process. I have found that I have to play around with my healthy food in order for it to be appitizing, but I know that is possible if I put in the effort. I hope to keep the fast food to a bare minimum when I get to the point where I eat regular food again. It has always been a down fall for me, but I hopefully have learned from my experiences in life and stay away from it, I would be happy with all together, but I know that can some times be impossible, but I at least hope to make healthier choices and not just settle for cheap and easy. I also want to make sure that exercise becomes part of my daily routine that I enjoy! I love my walking and that is what I am doing at the moment, because the weather has finally cooled off and it feels nice walking around the neighborhood. But I want to start heading to the gym and doing a little more, but I am waiting until my diet advances a little more, before I really start to push myself.

I had many goals pre-op, but some of my non-numeric goals included:

- get to a "normal" BMI [mostly accomplished... at 4 years post-op, I teeter right on the line of "normal" and "overweight"... so I can be one on Monday and the other on Tuesday]

- get my blood sugar into a healthy range (was pre-diabetic) [goal accomplished]

- have a "healthy" body fat percentage [goal accomplished - the last time I had it measured, it was 26%, which is in the "optimal" range for a woman my age (49)]

- be able to do normal, daily physical tasks (e.g., climbing a single flight of stairs or walking 3 blocks at even a leisurely pace) without getting winded [goal accomplished]

- get rid of the pain in my knees [NOT accomplished... too much arthritis damage already done before surgery... one knee needs replaced and still hurts every single day ]

- be able to fit into any seat in any venue [goal accomplished]

- be able to shop in any store that carries women's clothing [goal accomplished]

- as silly as it may sound... be able to paint my own toenails [goal accomplished]

Lora