How do you determine your goal weight?

I am 5' 10" or 5' 11" depending on which doctors office I am being measured at. The DMV has me at 6 feet even and that is just no true! So let's say I am 5' 10". I do have a large frame--size 14 womens shoes and can palm a basketball without a problem and have not bought an off the rack hat since I was in middle school.

Not a fan of adhering to the BMI chart, just not a huge fan of them.

I am thinking 165 as a goal weight, but is that too much? Should I be shooting for say 145?

My doctor gave me a pretty high 'goal' of 180 (or maybe 190, I need to look at my paperwork) but I feel like that is just too much.

So did you know your goal ahead of time, or did you get to it and say YES, this is what I was going for?

I weigh 143 pounds and am only 5'3.5" tall (but have huge boobs still and muscular thighs and large leg bones (you should see the size of my kneecaps!)), so 145 pounds on someone 6 inches taller with a large frame seems quite low to me.  I would think 165 would be better (but agree that 180 is pretty conservative).

My surgeon doesn't give goal weights, so I sat down with my PCP, and based on my previous weight history (what I weighed at various times and sizes before I gain such a huge amount of weight), and based on my age (45 at time of surgery) and build (as mentioned above), he said he thought 145 was realistic and healthy. Since that was right at the upper "normal" BMI (which I am also NOT a fan of), it sounded reasonable.  My lowest weight was 142, and I bounce around in a 5 pound range.

Lora

I'm 5'10 when I weighed 145 I looked sick, or hat is what I was told. I wore a size 4. It was too thin. I've been measured up to 6 feet tall as well. 

Also, my goal s set at 160, I think 170 will be good. I just want to lose a little more just n case. :)

I am 5'10 and my Dr said 150 is my goal weight. I can't imagine that. I was 165 when I got married 27 years ago and thought I looked great, a little full figured yes. 150, honestly seems very low for me, but we will see where I end up. My biggest thing now is all my extra loose skin I will have being overweight most of my life, my stomach hangs as it is below my ... mons I think is the word, so I know I will be needing adjustments to my body once I hit 'goal' whatever that amount may be.

My goal at first was 170 I'm 5'5
Surgeon thinks I should get below 150

Even at 170 I would still be considered "overweight"to me it's not much a number but overall health and being happy.

I'm 5'10" with a big frame also and my doc gave me a goal weight of about 220.  WTF????   I said, NO WAY!!  I'm shooting for 170.  That seems realistic to me.  He told me that I could get down lower but he was just thinking strictly according to what the statistics are about RNY weight loss.  I know that I will get to Onederland!  

On my best day when I was thin, at 150, I wore a size 12-14 bottoms, tops were a size L or a 14-16, I am a large frame and I am only 5'4''. My personal self goal with this surgery is going to be 150 again, but the doctor has set my goal at 170 which does not bother me at all. I was comfortable at that weight as well. But, I am trying to get back down to the 150, then have the 5-10 lb. cushion and be comfortable there. I have never been smaller than a 12, ever in my life! Not even when I tried to get ugly thin when I was 19 and got way down to 120 and got really sick and had to gain 30 lbs cause I was too thin and had to keep taking b-12 shots every week. I was "almost" anorexic and that is why I had to gain weight! never again! do what is comfortable and healthy for your body.

Connie

I'm 5'10"/5'11"   I never really had a goal weight, just wanted to be in the normal BMI range.  My lowest weight was 148 and I looked skeletal...like, scary.  My maintenance weight was about 160-170 and I wore a size 8 or 10...still looked very thin - almost too thin. 

I just had a baby in Dec and weigh about 190 right now.  Still thin, but would like to get back to around 170 - I felt great there...but my surgeon told me I was too thin. 

I actually think 180 sounds like a good maintenance goal for you (cuz u say ur frame is so large).  You will most likely lose more than that at first and then have some bounceback to where you are most comfortable.  Just gotta see where you are most comfortable when you get there. 

I'm a guy, so I know my numbers and experience are a little different. My surgeon thought I could hit 250, as my high weight was 475. My own goal was 225, which I picked because it was the last time I was in good shape. I'm currently at 195, 5 pounds into the healthy BMI range at 6'3" tall. I never thought it possible to reach that weight less than ten months after surgery.

We all have our own reasons for choosing a goal, whether it is a general desire to be healthier, or a size in clothes, or a number on the scale. As I said, mine was the weight where I last considered myself healthy. 

Whatever your choice, I hope you end up happy, wherever you land.