Goal Weight?

Hi Everyone, I am now 16 months post surgery and have lost 203 pounds. My surgeon has set one goal weight for me while my family physican set another goal, 10 pounds heavier than what the surgeon set. I am currently 36 pounds from the surgeon's goal and 26 from my physcians goal. Both have told me that I am carrying 20-25 pounds of excess skin and as we all know, no amount of dieting or exercising will get rid of that. Bottom line to me is this....If I never lose another pound, as long as I do not put the weight back on, I'll be happy. The number of pounds lost is not the true measure of sucess of the drastic surgery we elected to undergo. The true measure of success is the improvement in the quality of life. Mine has improved immeasureably! Sure, I would like to be that size 10 I was before the weight piled on. I would love to have that toned, sleek body that turned heads when I was in my late teens and early twenties. While I will never be that Karen again, I am really liking the Karen I am today. I have gone from a size 7X to a 12 or 14 depending on the manufacturer. Today, I'm even wearing a size 16 because of the style. Sure beats that 7X anyday! I'm not going to beat myself up if I never have a perfect body again. I will, however, congratulate myself for what I have accomplished and continue to work towards keeping the weight off.

Hey Stephanie ... my surgery was also just over 3 years ago, and considering I never really had a goal to start with, it will be hard to know if I ever get there (but I know I am NOT there yet)! I currently feel I have "50 more pounds to go" ... ok, I've actually been saying this for the past 30 pounds or so. I also think that "I'll know it when I get there" ... which my therapist explained is not a good idea, especially with consistently having "50 pounds to go" and my current eating issues, but I make sense to myself (most of the time). Have you tried going back to basics and kicking up the exercise? Do you track or journal on fitday.com or another tool? I wish you well if you decide to try to keep going. Karyn

My high weight was 325. I lost 75 lbs off that before surgery and 76 since surgery for a total of 151 lbs. My surgeon set my goal at 180 lbs. He said that he knew I could attain that BUT that going below that would require extremely hard work. Boy, was he right. My low weight was 174. But the last few months I have gone up and down from 178 to 185. I am at goal. Yes, I know that I am still overweight by about 50 lbs at only 5'1". BUT I also know that my health has improved drastically since surgery and that is why I did the surgery NOT for the number on the scale. However, some days that number does matter and does affect how I feel about me. Depending totally on the manufacturer I can wear a 14/16/18. Sure beats those 4X/5X that I use to buy. Mary

I'm 27 months out and have not reached either mine or my doctor's goal. His goal was 130-140. Mine was 142. This morning I was 148. I got to 145 for a few seconds and then right back up to 147. I had gained 6 pounds (153) and was terrified but have been able to get most of that back off. Now maybe I can get the rest gone. I was whining about it to my WLS doc in June and he said I just may be where my body wants to be. I told him it does NOT want to be here. It really wants to be 135! I'm 5'5", medium frame but I have very slim arms and legs with wide shoulders and hips so I have never looked as heavy as I've been. I guess that's good. I wonder if I'll ever be satisfied with my wt. I look back at my before pics and don't even recognize myself. How could I have been that heavy? (262) I will never be there again. I've gone from a 3X to a 8-10 in pants and a med/lg top depending on the brand. But I still think I'm fat. I'm not sure my brain is ever going to catch up to the body. Logically I know I'm not. Fat people can't wear an 8-10. I wish this surgery fixed our brains too!

Wow.. Thank you all for your responses and your encouragements.. My surgeon never actually set a goal and I didn't set a number goal either.. Just a size one.. lol. I was at my highest 370.. so in comparison 215.. I'll take any day. I did have a tummy tuck and I thought for sure that would account for 20 lbs.. don't count on it.. I think the doctor said it was more like 5 or 6 lbs.. I thought he was joking. =[ I still have the excess elsewhere, but I learned not to take that into too much consideration. I have not gone "back to basics" full force. Altho, I have put a lot of thought into it lately. I know I don't eat the protien that I should. I do try to eat a lot but it's hard. I don't think that Weigh****chers would be bad.. however, I think we all KNOW what we have to do. It's doing it that stinks. Being accountable to something like weigh****chers might be an incentive tho. I have a friend who is starting a healthier lifestyle so we've decided to do weekly weigh-ins with each other. I hope that inspires me to do better and be more careful with my food selections. Thanks again everyone.. And congrats to all of us for being awesomely beautiful women at whatever weight we are !! =]]]]]]]]

Stephanie this is my priorities 1. healthy even if not at my goal 2. weigh my goal 3. fit into clothes-easy to buy to fit My doctor is against weight loss diets since he feels has contributed to obesity Check w/ your doctor if you go on diet you should have his support since he is treating all your other medical issues /needs to be on board

I never hit my goal weight, but Im down from a size 24 to a 10 even a 6-8 some cloths so I feel pretty good. although with me its a skin thing, I often think if I had the money and had all this skin removed who knows how much I would weigh or what size? I think the big thing is to remenber how far we have come, and how much better are health and lifes are, try not to look so much at your scale.

My surgeon's goal for me was 165lbs~I hit that at 1yr out weighing in at 164lbs. My personal goal was 150lbs and I hit that around 16mths out. I am 5'9" and I would say medium to large framed. Tracy B 328/150 5'9"

Oh that elusive goal weight! My surgeon had my height listed as 2 inches shorter than I really am. I think because the gal knew my BMI was going to be close so she fudged when I first went in. Anyway...he set my goal at 132..I'm 5'6" so he said probably someone right around 140. I had surgery 27 months ago and my low weight was 146. I'm now weighing 155. I have lost and gained this same 10 pounds for about 17 months. It's really easy to see this tool work. Everytime I go back to basics the weight comes right off. I just need to find a way to MAKE myself STAY on the basics. I might try Weigh****chers because the school system I work for is going to pick up half the cost for a 15 week program. I think that's what I need. I need some accountability and support locally. I set my goal at 138 and would really like to see it and decide if I like me that low. I wear mostly size 8 bottoms and size small shirts. Christie

define goal. My dr did not give me a number, rather said let's see where your body settles into its comfortable weight. that answer pissed me off, I wanted / needed a number and an idea of what to expect. I started at over 260 and at 4'11" that gave me a BMI in the super morbid obese range. I was hoping to be under 200, get off BP meds and be able to be more active. I met all of those goals. I have normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol, am able to exercise daily with out pain, and enjoy life. Thank God my Dr did not give me an exact number, but a guideline to a reasonable, attainable, maintainable weight. Going by the "charts" I am still overweight at 135 & should lose another 20 pounds or more. But, I am healthy fit and strong and wear a size 8. I look normal by any standard but the anorexics. I was a little lower for a short time and felt I looked pretty old and unhealthy. pale, dark circles under my eyes etc. My understanding is that success is defined by losing about 60 % of the excess weight. My definition is focused onthe improvement of my health. It seems that many people set impossible goals and then spend years beating them selves up for their percieved failure rather than celebrating the amazing success they have achieved.