Goal weight?

Did everyone have a goal weight before they started this process? I feel like I need to have a goal weight, but I don't. I just want to feel better and be able to go out and play with my 8 year old son. I want to be able to fit in the rides at the amusement parks. I want to be able to go into any store and shop, not just Lane Bryant, Avenue and Ashley Stewart.

Also, I don't want to be disappointed if I don't get to this "number". I'm 5'8", what is a "normal", healthy weight? I've always been big so I don't have any old pics or clothes to say "I want to be this size again." The last time I was thin was in elementary school, even then I was bigger than most of the kids.

Hey MissStephy :)

The first time I met with my surgeon, I asked her what my goal weight was, and she told me that her goal was to get me off my high blood pressure medication, reduce my joint pain, and reduce my weight related headaches. She said that if I lost enough weight for all that, she was happy, but I could lose as much weight as I wanted, so it was up to me! I decided to set my goal at 125 because I'd always fantasized about that number lol

Going by BMI, 5'8" and 145 pounds puts you at a BMI of 22.8 which is exactly in the middle of the "normal" BMI range

Also, there is this website which shows pictures of people according to height and weight, so you could look at those and see where-ish you'd like to be.

https://height-weight-chart.com/

I'm so glad the website helped you HoJo, that makes me feel great!

And congrats on the 20 pound weight loss, that's amazing.

Sometimes a surgeon will pick or help you pick out a goal weight based on where your "normal" is on the BMI chart, or a certain percentage of EWL.

My surgeon chose a goal weight for me of 151.5, which was 85% EWL based on my official starting weight of 292. If I hit that, he'd consider my surgery a success. I had a personal goal of 140 because I could never remember being that weight ever, even as a kid. I remember being 120 lbs as an 11 year old, and then I remember weighing 175 at 15 year old. I was 5'2" at 11, got as tall as 5'2.75", and I've shrunk to 5'1.5". Yay for shrinking as I age.

Some surgeons don't ever assign or ask you to pick a goal weight out.

I'd suggest whatever number you choose, work as hard as you can to hit that number as quickly as possible. We have a window of 6 months-18 months ( some people get 24 months ) when it's easiest to lose the weight. After that, it's significantly more difficult to attain weight loss.

If you're unsure about a specific number, your surgeon can and should give you pointers or advice. Wanting to be a certain size doesn't really seem to work out because sizing is so varied from brand to brand and store to store. Hope this helps.

Whatever you choose, I wish you tons of luck.

I had weights that I wanted to achieve as I lost- but that # on the scale is so damn temperamental. The one goal I had that has and is consistent was clothing size. I wanted to be a size 12, and I am. I've been truer to that than the goal weight I'd set. If I look like I'm edging out of my 12 I get down and dirty serious. So far- despite a few pounds of gain- I'm still in my 12's/

My surgeon's new patient form had a goal weight question. I put 180 because it was what I weighed when I graduated high school and I was worried if I put anything lower I'd be denied for having unrealistic expectations.

My surgeon agreed with that number, which then was frustrating when I reached that number because I had to fight with my brain saying "it's okay, you can stop now, you've reached your surgeon's goal."

For my actual ultimate dream goal, I used this site. It provides a lot of different formulae to play around with. I plugged my numbers in and fiddled around with the various calculations and read about how they worked. That led me to my dream goal.

I'm still working on getting there. I guess, for some people, that might be disappointing 4.5 years post-op. For me, it's not. I made my surgeon's goal a long time ago, after all :) Everything else is just glaze on the meatloaf.

At my first pre-op appointment with the surgeon, they asked me if I had a goal and I kind of shrugged and said 160lbs. I am 5'7" and in previous attempts at WL I always said if I could get to and maintain 160lbs I'd have a tummy tuck. My lowest was always around 185-190. They told me 160lbs was a good goal and top of normal BMI.

I hit 160lbs in about 4 months and then started playing with ideal weight calculators and the consensus seemed to be around 145lbs. When I hit that I decided to give myself some cushion for re-gain and I'm now around 130lbs. I got down to 124lbs post plastics, but that was with 8 weeks of no working out and pretty much no appetite. Once I started working out again the weight came back on quick and I'm right at my pre-plastics number now.

BMI gets lots of negative attention - and it is true that it may or may not be an accurate measurement of good health, but since it is most often THE deciding factor for WLS surgery there must be something to take away from that right? I would suggest that you set your goal for a normal BMI or close to that for a start.

At 5'8 you should weigh 164 pounds to be at the top end of a normal BMI. I would say that there is a 10 lb margin of error in that so set your goal for 175 or even 185 and then go from there. Even 199 is a good place to to start. It is a good thing IMO to set a goal, without that you have no idea what you are are trying to do.

I am 5'4 and set my goal for 150lbs- just because I wanted to lose over 100lbs, and at the time 150 seemed so damn low! Then I decided 134 lbs so that I would be a normal BMI. I never wanted a doctor to tell me my health problems were obesity related ever again, and then I got down to 113 lbs. That was too low for me and i am hovering between 125- 133 for the past 4 years. But really for me - 150 is my DO NOT collect $200, no getting out of jail card number. Pick your number - and go for it... You can adjust accordingly. But for sure you need to start somewhere otherwise you are in limbo. Good luck - anything is possible!!

You may want to pick an interim goal and when you reach it, go from there. You can get a dexascan as you get closer to your goal weight range. Bodyfat percentage is a good indicator of health.

My surgeon expects all of his patients to get under a BMI of 30. For someone 5'8" that would be 196 pounds. That was my initial goal (189 for me at 5'7"). Then I wanted to have a BMI under 25, which was 159. My ultimate goal was 140 because that was what I weighed in my 20's and I knew I felt good at that weight.

I liked having mini goals along the way. The best part about this is that we get to choose our own goal weights. Good luck!!