Realistic goal weight for me.

lbrown1428

When I had my consultation with my surgeon before surgery he told me a goal weight he would have for me would be 150's. I started out at 215 pre surgery on 9/12/2014. I'm 5 foot tall and currently weigh 188 pounds. I walk at least 5 miles/day & go to the gym to lift weights a few days a week as well HIIT a few days a week at home. I'm hoping his goal weight isn't realistic because I would like to be lower than 150's. I have been overweight for the past 6-7 years. I weighed 120 lbs beofore my 1st pregnancy then after that I just kept gaining. So I know it's doable I'm just wondering why my surgeon would only have a goal of 150's for me and not lower.

loriloftness

My surgeon told me that the surgery itself would help me lose 60-70% of my excess weight. He said if I wanted to lose more than that (and I do) I would have to exercise to lose the rest of it. He would be happy with me being at the upper end of the bmi scale, but he was ok with my wanting to be at the lower end. I was 247 at my highest, my surgery start will be around 236 and my goal is about 135-140.

lbrown1428

Okay, I am doing eveything right and exercising so I'm hoping I can get down to 120's.

DJRonnieLINY

Remember; under promise and over deliver. Most of the doctors set low ball expectations. If you follow the plan, log in all food and exercise you will blow past the doctors estimate.

homerismyhero

I had the opposite feeling- that being 5'6" and starting at 325, a goal weight of 140 was too low- and discouraging from the start. That was from the NUT. The surgeon said if I got below 200- if it was 170, 180 or 190 - and stayed there - for the rest of my life it would be a success. Now that I'm at 215- and things are slowing down- I think 170 is the right goal for me- something I can achieve and live with long term. I feel like the surgery gave me 30 lbs- the rest I've had to work for every day. At this point- 8 mos out- I think I could easily eat 2000 calories a day. I've tried hard to stay diligent with exercise and diet- a few bad days but mostly successful.

paul87920

I'm 5'9" and had a starting weight of 463. My doctor wants me around 215. I too think my goal was set a little higher than it should be. I'd really like to get down around 125-130.

heathervsg

The BMI calculator sets a goal for me of 128, but my doc says 140. He says that 128 would be reasonable for someone 20 years younger, but as we age, it is better to carry a little extra weight. Has anyone else heard that?

rpyle111

I am 6'5 and I chose a round number near the top end of the "Overweight" BMI for my height as my goal. 240 is 20 pounds lower than my lightest adult weight (in my early 20s) and I felt pretty rock solid at 260.

From reading a few papers, the percentages predicted for the various surgeries are based on the ideal weight being the middle of the "Healthy' BMI range. By that metric, my goal would be 180-190, which seems nuts to me. When I take that lower 'target' into account, i realize why the percentages seem so low. By their metrics, getting to my goal of 240 would result in losing (only) 75% of my excess weight and I will feel like an overwhelming success.

I do believe that after the initial 4-8 months, weight loss will come down to individual effort and a sensible caloric deficit to get to where I want to be, and I am prepared to put in that work!

Rob

lbrown1428

I just feel like my surgeon doesn't expect much weight loss compared to what I see everyone on here says their surgeon wants them to be. I just turned 25 years old so I'm still fairly young. I just figured he'd aim more for 130's because I'm just barely 5 ft tall. Basically he thinks I would go from 215 lbs to 150's , which is only about 60 pounds of I got to 155 lbs at the end. I'm almost 3 months out now and weigh 188 lbs.

bikrchk

My doc originally said I should lose 100 pounds which would have put me at 135. I was 5'6", 47 yo and I'd not seen 135 since about the 5th grade. Freaked out was puthing it mildly. I thought that would never be attainable. So color me surprised at my 6 month post op when at about 160ish and still losing steadily he's telling me if I don't lose another pound he's satisfied with my progress! I told him if it was all the same to him I'd like to reach a healthy BMI. He was fine as long as I kept it in the healthy zone so off I went. A couple months later I decided to stop at 145 pounds and a size 4. Maintained that for 4 months and decided 1 month ago to go for the last 10 down to 135. That's a BMI of 21.8, still well inside healthy. Today, I'm 5 pounds from it. I'm not concerned about how fast I get there, but I think I'll make it! I firmly believe surgeons under promise so they can over deliver. As long as your goal is healthy, don't let anyone quash you dream!

Mangopickle

homerismyhero wrote: »

I had the opposite feeling- that being 5'6" and starting at 325, a goal weight of 140 was too low- and discouraging from the start. That was from the NUT. The surgeon said if I got below 200- if it was 170, 180 or 190 - and stayed there - for the rest of my life it would be a success. Now that I'm at 215- and things are slowing down- I think 170 is the right goal for me- something I can achieve and live with long term. I feel like the surgery gave me 30 lbs- the rest I've had to work for every day. At this point- 8 mos out- I think I could easily eat 2000 calories a day. I've tried hard to stay diligent with exercise and diet- a few bad days but mostly successful.

Goal wt of 140!!! do you have the thinnest bones of all time? I am a loose pant size 4 at 5'5" and 146. that seems like a model wt.

pawoodhull

heathervsg wrote: »

The BMI calculator sets a goal for me of 128, but my doc says 140. He says that 128 would be reasonable for someone 20 years younger, but as we age, it is better to carry a little extra weight. Has anyone else heard that?

Yes, that's what my doctor said when I asked why I he gave me a goal of 160. I'm 5'7" and started this at 386. I weighed 160 in high school and was told I was 20 pounds overweight. He said I was overweight for a teenager, but for a woman in her 50's 160 was a better weight. He also told me he expected me to get to 200, bounce back up to 220 and stay around there. That's not acceptable to me. I want ot be below 200 and be able to stay there comfortably, so once there, I will decide how much lower I want to go.

garber6th

My doctor gave me a goal weight of 150. I am 5'-4" and I am about to turn 51. Right now I weigh 175 and my weight loss has been slowing down. Since I have lost over 200 lbs, I did ask my surgeon how much of my excess weight at this point is actually fat and how much is loose skin. He suggested I consult with the plastic surgeon, who might have a better idea of that. I am really curious to find out because that might determine what my actual net weight is. My surgeon was very happy with my loss though. I had the impression that he didn't think I would lose as much as I have lost. With all that said, I can't remember the last time my weight was this low. It's probably been since I was in my early 20's.

2BeHappy2

Paul...were you kidding when you wrote that about wanting to drop that much weight, for someone your height?!?
Im 4'2 and although for a child at my height Id be around 75lbs, clearly Im an adult (w/ a chest) and so Id like to weigh about 90lbs but my Dr said 100 was a good "healthy" weight for me!

rpyle111

garber6th wrote: »

I did ask my surgeon how much of my excess weight at this point is actually fat and how much is loose skin. He suggested I consult with the plastic surgeon, who might have a better idea of that. I am really curious to find out because that might determine what my actual net weight is.

I added loose skin into my thoughts as a result of a discussion here. Another thing I wanted to do is to get a Body Fat Percentage done now so that I can monitor what I lose. If at some point I start losing more muscle to lose more weight, I might reassess what "done" means.

Rob

lbrown1428

After seeing what all of your surgeons have said I think I should get down to less than 150's considering I'm 25 and started at 215. It just makes me feel like he doesn't have much faith in me losing much.

bikrchk

lbrown1428 wrote: »

After seeing what all of your surgeons have said I think I should get down to less than 150's considering I'm 25 and started at 215. It just makes me feel like he doesn't have much faith in me losing much.

A surgeon will consider you a "success" when health problems are gone and you've achieved a 70% loss towards a healthy BMI. I dont know why they say 70%, but i hear it all the time including from my own surgeon. Many, many of us have beaten this "average". The higher you start, the longer it will be to get there, but it's not impossible! You have youth and activity level on your side! 38 pounds to 150 and you're just a few months post op? Absolutely doable!

homerismyhero

That made me laugh Mango...definitly not bird boned and definitly not going to weigh 140!

lbrown1428

Thanks, the only health issue I have is sleep apnea. Other than that my levels are good for everything. I'm hoping I get rid of the sleep apnea.

katematt313

I set my own goal at the top of the "normal" BMI - 149 lbs for a 5'5" woman. This is for personal reasons - I have a loved one who has liver disease and may need a liver, and as an obese T2 diabetic, I would never qualify. I started at 228. The MDs assured me that I would achieve this goal within a year from surgery.

I did not think 149 was possible, and I certainly can't remember when I ever weighed this (grammar school, I think).

Now, at 5 months post-op, I weigh174 lbs, and am just 25 lbs away from this goal. Now, I am thinking that I set the bar too low for myself. I cannot imagine what I will look like at 149, but it is definitely within reach.

DJRonnieLINY

I started at 311 and my GP felt anything below 220 would be a great success and 200 would be a stretch goal. The surgeon want 210. I am at 185 and stable. If you follow the plan, and exercise, your body will find it's normal level. Not the normal society wants us all to believe where everyone is perfect but a real normal, healthy weight.

@lbrown: Sleep apnea gone in less than 6 months.

lbrown1428

That's great! I hope I get good results! I'm follp wing the diet & working out. I'm hoping my sleep apnea will go away & stay away!