surgeon"s goal weight????

Was going to type a long reply, just read Jazz4Mom instead.  She's got it.

Don't feel that just because the doctor specifies a goal weight that you can't go lower!  I am 5'2".  At my highest a few years ago, I was 240.  At my consultation, 220, day of surgery (8 months later) I was 195.  I am usually around 135 give or take a couple of pounds.  I've been as low as 132, but thought my face was too thin and didn't want to look sickly.  I think most of us have to get there to know what the right weight is.  Sometimes we lose too much and have to gain a few back.  Last week, my doctor told me the BMI charts are not very accurate.  Go by how you look and feel.

I'm glad that my surgeon refused to give me a number. It's just a number that seems to frustrate people.

It really doesn't own you, and it shouldn't control or impact your effort or mood.  There was no calculation that considered your specific activity (as opposed to generalizations like "moderate"), your specific food intake, your sleep pattern, your stress level, your horomones, etc.

I have no outside limitations or expectations. I will just let the surgery and lifestyle take me where it goes. I'm responsible for sleep, water, food, and exercise, which to me is empowering.

I have to reply to your post when you say that "
"
I have no outside limitations or expectations. I will just let the surgery and lifestyle take me where it goes. I'm responsible for sleep, water, food, and exercise, which to me is empowering."

That really hits it for me right now. I ocassionally go back an forth considering if
BMI weight is attainable for me. I have lost 93% of my EW and my body seems very happy here right now. I took the same approach about what I am responsible for and I feel happy with my lifestyle change. I feel very empowered by that to say the least. It has been so long since I felt like I had control over my body that it is so "freeing" to feel that way. I do want to lose that last 7% but it will come in time with more hard work. I also recognize that there is some collateral damage that will be hard to correct on my own. But I will bust my *** to make sure I stay on track with my lifestyle. That is such the key to this whole thing. One day at the time...being consciously decisive.
Thanks for that bit.

 I also compromised my metabolism with five months of optifast liquid diet during which time I lost 55 pounds and felt really great about myself. When I attempted transition I failed and gained the weight back over the course of under one year.I then spent another $650.00 (in addition to the $4000) to rejoin the program....desperation? This attempt lasted only a few weeks, the bloom was off the rose, I no longer had any faith in myself or the program.
Anthow, I feel that this metabolic problem contributes to my inability to sustain weight loss. My body thinks it is starving a hangs onto everything it can. IMO this is an argument for rather than against VSG, as the metabolic issue makes it nessesary for me to maintain a VLCD......forever. I don't know that I have the discipline to do this without restriction. Every time i have tried to diet since the optifast fiasco has been an effort sustained for perhaps one week, then I blow it, feel guilty...then all bets are off, free for all until I get back on the horse in a couple of weeks. Yikes. I am scheduled for surgery  a week from today and having big anxiety and second guessing. My bmi is 35, H 5'9. I have to lose 80-90 lbs to get into middle of healthy bmi range.
Anyhow, wow, ramblings of a lunatic. From all I have read, you will not stop losing at 170 unless you purposefully sabotage by consuming copious amounts of shamrock shakes daily. Your surgeon is simply being conservative.

Thank you all so much for your responses! This helps. It redirected my thinking back to that of a fighter & positive thoughts. I was questioning myself after she had told me that.  Thank you all again for being such wonderful support & resources of vast knowledge through experience!!!