Goal weight

I am 5 5.I wanted to get down to 140 but my doctor said no lower then 155.

Where to doctors get these crazy notions that aren't based in accepted medical practice? At 5'5", your normal body weight range is 115 to 150. I would ignore your doctor completely and let your body decide where it wants to be. Eating extra to stay at a prespecified body weight is a really bad idea. I am the same height, and I would not be happy at 155. I am not happy at 147. But that is not true for everyone. You will have a better idea of what works for you once you get there. I set an initial goal of 150 purely based on bmi charts, but I later set a secondary goal. You do not need to worry about this right now. Just focus on drinking enough water and getting your protein for now.

Who are you? You've obviously put someone else's avatar on my friend Maria's profile. 

What are you talking about?

My reply wss to Maria, not you Wanda.

Oh, Grim. It's still me! I just had to add an at goal photo!

If I didn't know it was you, I never would have guessed. You've done a fantastic job.

Thanks Grim!

2X What Maria says.  As you get close - it will be clear what a healthy weight is for you. 

Here is where the doctor got the idea of 155 for you.  Your doctor cannot over promise what WLS surgery can do - that would be luring you into WLS surgery with false promises. The outcome of WLS surgery is not perfect for everyone and only 20-25 % of people get down to their ideal weight and stay there.  That is not to say that you cannot be one of them - YOU CAN BE ONE OF THEM.  But on the front end, before surgery, your doctor has to be honest with you and let you know what the results are for the average person. 

On average - a person takes off 65-75% of their Excess Body Weight and keeps of 50% of the excess body weight at the 5 year mark.   You do NOT have to be average - you can be BETTER than average.  And if we are ALL better than average - then the average moves and we all win!!!!!

This breaks down a little further for data from a few years ago:

~20-25% have gained it all back at the 5 year mark. 

~50% have kept at least 50 pounds off

~20-25% get and stay at their ideal weights

You decide what group you are in by the effort and persistence - your willingness to follow directions, deal with emotional and physical issues as they crop up, etc, will determine your long term results. 

Best wishes for your journey.

PS - If you are 100% compliant, the speed at which you take the weight off has nothing to do with your long-term results. If you are NOT complaint, you may never take the weight off.

PPS This is the best video explaining this.  Thus guy was not my doctor, but his info is on-target and well-researched.  No, I am not getting a kick-back, but his stuff his so organized and condensed that I do recommend it and use it often myself.

http://drmatthewweiner.com/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-after -bariatric-surgery/

PPS I had 2 goal weights - a safe one and a dream goal (the lowest I was in high school - 40 years ago).  Now, I am at 13% body fat and 20 pounds under my dream goal because I followed directions and this is where my body leveled out(combination of genetics and hardwork).  I am still technically 'overweight' by the BMI scale - I am taking in my size 8s and wearing size 6s- so be healthy and don't put too much stock into the BMI to set your goal weight. I lift weights so BMI doesn't work for people who are really fit. 

This.

A lot of times the recommendations we get from medical professionals is a mixture of science, experience, abundance of caution, practicality, and trade-offs.  We don't always - I'd say rarely, in fact - get to see the full analysis.

Some surgeons don't even give goal weights, others set them right in the middle of a healthy BMI range, and the rest choose a balance between health and attainability.  I don't necessarily think any one of them is objectively right.

All this said, I'm not saying a physician's advice should be taken as gospel and unquestioned either.  :)