What was your goal weight?

I am 5'6" with a large frame. I started my wls journey at 410 lbs and now weigh 211. My surgeons goal for me was 215 which I thought way too high when he set it 19 months ago. We talked about it again when I went for my 18 month check-up and he maintains I've lost enough. He says if I continue to lose I will be losing muscle, there's no fat left to lose according to him. The plastic surgeon expects to take off 25 lbs when I have my tummy & upper body lift in October. I told her I'd like to lose another 20 lbs before surgery but she said if I did it would be muscle which isn't healthy. Two doctors are telling me to stop at 211, yet I want the scale to show a lower #. I have been very athletic most of my life so there was a lot of muscle before I put on the last 100 lbs after a sports injury a few years ago. I'm currently wearing a size 16 but the plastic surgeon says I'll be in a size 12 after surgery. I can be comfortable with the clothing size but honestly hate to think this journey will end with me still weighing almost 200 lbs. Strangely enough I didn't care where the scale was going to be at the end of my wls journey when it started. I went into this for health reasons. I wanted to get off the 5 prescription drugs and regain my quality of life. All of that happened by month 9 of my journey. Then suddenly it all became about a # on the scale. I plan to ask my PCP when I see him next week about having a body scan done to see the exact amount of body fat I have before I give up on losing more weight. I'm not sure I can lose any more since it seems to have stopped on its own. No matter how much I exercise, how little I eat it won't seem to drop much now days. I think mentally I'd be ok with stopping if the body scan shows a normal fat %. Basically I think most light weights can lose 100% of their excess weight but those of us who started out super super mobidly obese will probably have to settle for a number higher than shown on the insurance tables as ideal. A lot depends on a persons metabolism too. Some people reach their top weight due to very large appetites, others get there due to slow metabolisms. Starting at 410 lbs I expected to be a fast loser. I only lost 23 lbs the first month so obviously my metabolism isn't great. As we all know, nobody can eat that first month and believe me I followed my surgeons plan to the letter. I was so disappointed, but persevered and learned new eating habits that hopefully will allow me to be successful long term. Nobody ask for a book here but it's a topic I've given a lot of thought to recently. Hope I didn't bore you guys.

Never had a goal weight. Being so big for so long I had no concept of what a good weight should be. I figured when the weight loss stopped, I would evaluate and decide then what I wanted to do. Well, the weight loss stopped... I like it here.... GOAL! IIRC, my weight loss stopped at about 20 months, and was pretty steady up to that point. For the first 200 pounds, I weighed monthly at my surgeons office (I was too large for home scales and most balance beam scales until then), so I really didn't notice any plateaus. When I was able to weigh on a home scale, it was just too much fun to worry about the actual weight it showed Tek

You are too cute. I've followed your wls journey and enjoyed reading your post. I can relate to being too big to weigh on home scales, but I don't think I ever got the kick out of weighing you imply you get. Once more your attitude reflects a positive upbeat attitude towards life. Have a great day!

Great question Joni... I have been ponderingthe same thing. I am 13 mos out and my Dr. set a goal of about 200 for me since I was 380 and had been that size for years. I want to go lower!!! My original goal was to be healthy first then also be able to wear an 18.... I thought that would way too cool and possibly a pipe dream.... Well yesterday my size 16 jeans were falling off of me and I still weigh 215 lbs!!! I am a little over 5'7" but I am a powerhouse of muscle and endurance.... seriously... I fight my way through about 8 hours of exercise a week and I guess a lot of my weight is muscle so my friends think I weigh about 160 lbs!! But my real goal weight is 180 or really just to be able to wear a 14.... Of course I have a huge panni and will have it cut off next Spring... maybe 15 lbs!!) I don't know what my real goal is.... but I know I am getting close.... my husband thinks I'll hit 170 after the ps and be a 12 or 10..... Now I think he's a dreamer.... but I'm gonna keep on keepin' on until those 14's feel comfortable all day long!!! I see myself as a work in progress..... Good luck to you.... Laurie - 162 lbs!!

Hi Joni, My surgeon calculated goal to be a normal BMI (the high end, just under 25 which worked out to 155 pounds for me). I did lose down to there (100% at 153 pounds) but have put 10 back on. I know some people put the goal at the mid point of the BMI, but I liked the high end better. I rationalize that because I look much lighter than I am... the dense bone/muscle thing maybe? Personally, my goal weight changed as I went. My original goal was to get under 230 (I started at 305) since that's when my knees started to go. Then when I reached that, I figured under 200 would be nice (just because), then when I reached that, I dreamed a little dream of squeezing into a size 8 which occurred at the same time that I hit my doctor's goal, at least until those nasty 10 pounds came back. If I remember correctly, I lost the most in the first 9 or 10 months. Then I got stuck for a couple of months. Then I got serious again w/ the refined carbs and lost some more. Linda