Where to stop?

Tomorrow marks nine months since my VSG with Dr. Alvarez. I am 5'3" and this morning I weighed 151 pounds. I am currently wearing a size 4 pants and a medium shirt. My body is V shaped with wide shoulders and I carried most of my weight from the hips up. Anyway I have never really had a definite stopping point but everyone is saying I should try to maintain my weight and not  loose anymore. According to the BMI scale I'm at 27( overweight) and 25 and below is considered normal weight. I guess I really started pondering this over the weekend when I realized that the smallest size pants that Costco carries is a four which I am currently wearing and I haven't even had my lower body lift which will take away a lot of inches Honestly I thought my body had decided for itself since I had only lost 10 pounds over the last three months but then last week my body started loosing again and I dropped three pounds in one week.. Anyway I guess I'm just wondering how you all decided what the right stopping point was and then what did you do to make the weight loss stop?.

Everyone is different, of course, but I wanted to be a 'normal' weight, which for me was a BMI below 25. That weight for me is 184 (I'm 6 ft tall) - so when I got there I settled on a few pounds under to have some bounce back room.

In my early 20's --- almost 40 years ago I weighed 155 but I know I don't want to be that thin at 62 years old. I'm comfortable where I am now and I think that's the most important thing. Being content with where you decide to settle in is the key.

I have to say that I'm still losing even though I've bumped my calories up to 1200. I'm struggling with eating enough calories because I'm not increasing my carbs by too much because I'm carb sensitive and don't want to get on that slippery slope -- currently 90-100 g.

I wanted to be a normal BMI as well, then when I achieved that, I wanted to be 150, which I had been in my early thirties. That was pretty easy, too, so I aimed for 140.  After I hit 140 I started to add calories--peanut butter, another protein shake, stir-fries with olive oil--but slowly lost another five.  My weight has pretty much settled at 135 and I'm really happy here although I am eating the same as I was at 140.  My body just wanted to lose more. I have some room for bounce-back if it happens and I feel really good at this weight. I guess what I'm saying is that my body decided where it was going to stop and I just went along with it. 

I set my sights at within a normal BMI, which happened to be the lowest weight I had ever dieted down to years ago- (155/5"7 to 5"6.5 depending on who measures, lol...) I knew that wasn't likely the end as I recalled having a belly then- so I kept up with my normal routine till I got down to the mid 140's- high 130's.. and got my BF% tested since I couldn't go by scale weight or my eyes really (both lie, one because it doesn't tell how much is fat- the other is the skin issue.) 

My BF % at 147 was 27 something%, still too high. I've since knocked that back to under 25%, which was my 2nd. I would get a BF% test done, it helps. It may not be the end-all-be-all for accuracy, but it's much better than going by sizes- too random & variable- I have a range in my dresser, I can't use size as a goal at all apparently or I'd be nutters by the variations. BF is also def better than a scale. I also pay much more attention to my measurements now, skin or no. 

I have been slowly (very slowly) losing fat still over the last three months.. but weight wise- staying about the same, due to weight lifting. My body shape has changed dramatically inches wise, but weight-wise only about 7-10 on the scale! I still log everything, my daily intake averaged over a week is likely in the 1600 range, though scaling that back a bit due to holidays coming up- and trying to stay low as possible so I can have a treat without going over my comfort-zone too often. I'd like to come out on the other side of this season still in range (136-141.)

So.. long answer short- I guess I still have not "finished" losing in reality, but I have bumped up my cals significantly- mostly addl fats, with a little carb added in. My macro goals on MFP are 1200cal (don't stay that low most of the time) and 25% carbs (with at least 25-30g being fiber), 35% protein and 40% fat. So that comes to: 1200cal/105protein/75carb incl 25-30fiber) and 53g fat.. I regularly exceed these, except for carbs, which generally stay on target or under.. if I go over, its fat/protein cals. I really love eating this way, and my body likes it too.

 

You sound very similar to me.  I am 5'3"(and 1/2", very important when you are tiny!) and I'm currently weighing 113.8.  originally I wanted to weigh 135, but my body continued dropping.  My BMI is @20, and BF is 22-24%, depending on my water% is that day.  I too have a "V" shaped body, but over the years, my body has redistributed, primarily thanks to exercise and time(gravity).  My pants do run smaller than my dresses, but it also depends on the brand.  Petites and juniors run smaller as well.

 

You will find that your body might continue dropping even if you don't want to.  You will also find everyone will ALWAYS find you too thin, because they are comparing you to the old you.  Just make yourself happy.  You are the only one who counts!