How to set goal weight?

How did everyone else decide on their goal weight, or is it kinda an ever changing target when you're only a couple months out?

My personal goal, as a 5' 11" male, has been 175 lbs. I'm about 26 lbs away from that. My surgeons office didn't talk about goal weight (@ my three week appt.****il I asked. They said that I could be anywhere between 150-180.

Basically things are going really well, and I'm afraid (or excited, more like it) that I'm going to blow past 175. My original goal was to at least hit 200 by the end of October (will end up doing that next week), so I'm starting to think 175 may not be where I end up.

Maybe the answer is my goal weight ends up being where ever my body bounces back to and then I need to work to keep it there.

Any words of wisdom?

Thanks a mil!
John

hey John,
i was confuzzled as well . i know for me , i want to be able to use the bmi chart and not have it say your obese or your overweight lolol i want it to say that i am in the normal range . my weigh****cher book chart for you says between 148- 179 so i think 175 sounds about right. a few weeks back on this forum we talked about frames . southern lady had a nice chart that told u how u know if you are a small. med. or large frame that may help you make up your mind.
excellent job by the way

Well - I want to say "your body will know when to stop"... then you'll have some bounce back in a few years. 

Its hard to say.  My surgeon also didn't want to give me a goal weight.  When he finally did I'm like "huh - you've got to be kidding".. he said 115 and I compromised at 125....  I also did the "change the goal as I go down" thing.  That worked fine.  Its funny though that when I set my goal at 125 - I stopped. Literally, I did... and that's pretty much where I'm at today. Got down to 121 just before PS and bounce between 125-127 now. Guess my body likes it there.

Don't stress too much about a goal weight.  Let your body make the decision for you.



 

Goals are good during our journey.  A certain number or a certain size is exciting when you hit them, but keep in mind that they are just numbers and your body might decide not to agree with it. 

When I hit my "special" number, I decided to add more calories (protein drinks) and work on maintaining and then all of a sudden I really started losing again.  Now I'm 13 pounds under then and so happy my body decided what my goal weight should be.

Thanks everyone!! Sounds like the consensus is to let my body figure it out and not to stress over it.

I remember reading the 'frame thread' and will have to look that back up to see what mine is. Like you said, I just want to get to normal BMI, anything less is like icing on the cake.

Again, thanks for all of your wisdom!

That's what I'm trying to do... but I find that I'm obsessing about getting TOO small at this point!  (of course, a lot of that is DH and family telling me that I'm too skinny, that my face is "drawn," and that I'm waaay too bony... otherwise, I'd think this was really cool for about 8 more pounds!)

Best of luck figuring out where you should wind up - and congrats on getting so close to goal so fast!

I chose a number right in the middle of the healthy BMI range for my height. I kind of thought there was no way I would get there, because I haven't weighed that since middle school. Most surgeons set goal weights for patients based on 65-75%EWL because many don't lose 100%. My surgeon does not set goal weights because they don't want people to feel like failures if they don't reach goal, even though they are so much healthier than when they started, and they don't want others to stop at the initial goal if they would have been way more successful. I have a dream goal 15 pounds lighter than my initial goal, and I am going to go for it!

 Muscle weighs more than fat .... so sometimes the very people whose bodies we most admire  weigh far more than we could have imagined or is size- appropriate .   

They can also eat far more without gaining than less athletic people with less muscle mass .

One of the reasons ive never dieted is because I treasure the muscle mass that I built over the years ....and would never give it up to conform to a number .  

Still I work in a field where fitting into a size 00 is mandatory .... and getting and staying there is quite a feat ...kind of akin to jockeys managing to be  strong enough to control huge  powerful horses and also 110 lbs  soaking wet .  

I think as formerly fat people we put a bit too much emphasis on the scale .... i always weigh LESS  when im NOT exercising .... but look a lot worse too ...and my health goes buh- bye FAST .   

I understand  weighing every day though ( I do it myslef ) because it keeps me accountable for what I eat .... anyway my thought on goal weight is  -  your BODY rules and  U can only PRAY  U will get where  U  dream of going .   If U are one of those lucky ones be ecstatically happy  ( its rare) ....

but most of all be happy with your body RIGHT  NOW .

 Ure much healthier , much stronger , much more capable of doing all the things U just could dream of  from the sidelines over the years .

  Get out n PLAY !

 Its not about Ur BODY anymore its about U as a PERSON ... Its about being all U can be ... achieving Ur longstanding dreams .....  Ur body's not holding U back any more !!  Isnt it AMAZING ?!!  

Ok, Ava, I love you and understand what you're saying - but I'm getting technical!

Muscles does not weigh more than fat: a pound is a pound is a pound. 

However, a pound of muscle takes up far less space than a pound of fat (just like a pound of feathers takes up much more space than a pound of gold).  So you're correct when you say that people with a high muscle to weight ratio are smaller than people with a high fat to weight ratio.  But it's not because a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat.

That's why the military have been using body fat content measurements to assess health status rather than BMI, and why BMI is not good science for people who are active and fit.

 please be understanding and kind to the fluffy - headed person  trying hard to eat minimal calories and run like the wind at the same time ...LOL   

this is me .....minus the grass  necessary to keep going ...( and mind U horses are NOT  known for their BRAINS lol)