weight goals?

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benagek
benagek Posts: 46 Member
I was almost 240lbs before having the sleeve done last September. In all my years of dieting I always thought that if I could just get down to 150lbs, I'd be satisfied because I had never seen that number on the scale before.

Now that I'm 7 months in, I am down to 157lbs. Now I am wondering what my goal should be? Clearly I think I can do better than 150 now, but how do I decide?

Will my body know where to level out? Will I know when my body has done that so I can start maintenance?

I'm 5'4" and the "normal" range is 110 - 145 lbs according to those charts. I just never dreamed I could be in normal range because like I said, I've NEVER seen anything lower than 160lbs as a teen/adult.

Did you just pick a number and call it good? Or how did you decide?
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Replies

  • april731
    april731 Posts: 122 Member
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    This is something that has been on my mind as well. I'm 5'3" and currently 178. My goal weight has always been 130 because it's right in the middle of normal BMI range. However, I just had my year follow-up with the surgeon and nutritionist and both were very skeptical of that number (not because they doubt I can get there but because they don't think that I really have that much left to lose). It's still somewhat important to me to be "normal," but my new plan is to let my body get to its natural set point, whatever that may be. Ultimately, I want to be at a weight that is both healthy and not impossible to maintain.
  • Laura8603
    Laura8603 Posts: 590 Member
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    I also picked a goal weight smack dab in the middle of the normal BMI range. It was my weight watcher goal weight 20+ years ago when i reached lifetime. I liked the way I looked and felt back then so that is what I chose. It has been pretty easy for me to maintain (I am 6.5 years out from RNY). Right now I am up 5 over my goal weight, but i am back and tracking so I know I will lose it again.
  • joysie1970
    joysie1970 Posts: 415 Member
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    It's funny my surgery was 4/7, I'm 5' 2" my heaviest weight ever was 387 when I started my program I was 272 my presurgery weight was 249...last Sunday I was 238. I think I would be happy at 160 which is no where near normal for my height. To even think about approaching the 130 actually sorta scares me to be honest, I don't know if I would recognize myself or be curvy enough...I guess as I progress I will pick a number.
  • april731
    april731 Posts: 122 Member
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    Laura - it's nice to hear that you've been able to maintain a normal BMI weight. That is very encouraging!
  • JamesAztec
    JamesAztec Posts: 524 Member
    edited April 2015
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    First off, it's great to have goals. But keep in mind once you hit your goal that does mean now all of the sudden you're "happy". My doctors and dietician have been stressing this. Create healthy habits and enjoy life. No matter what number the scale says. That being said, of course I want to lose more weight. I'd love to get below 300 lbs someday (I'm 325 right now). And after I get there I'll probably set a new short term goal.

    One thing I won't do is EVER set goals based on BMI. It was developed my a mathematician (NOT a physician) in the 1800's and it was supposed to be used to measure large populations, NOT individual weight. It does not take into account gender, age, bone density, muscle mass, body fat %, etc. In other words, it's a terrible measure of overall health. For instance, almost every football player is "overweight" (except for maybe the kickers) and my guess is they are healthier than most of the population. In the United States, the public didn't even know about BMI (even though it had been around for over a century) until the government launched an initiative to encourage healthy eating and exercise in the late 1990's. I never heard of BMI growing up and I'm sure you all didn't either. They also changed the BMI definition of overweight from 27.8 down to 25 in 1998.

    10 Reasons BMI is bogus:
    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

    If you're still convinced you want to be a "healthy" BMI I would suggest just shooting for the Overweight category first. That's <30. Then try to get in the "normal" range <25. And if you make it there, just maintain. You're probably pretty fit by that point! It's rare that someone extremely obese gets to the normal range and maintains for the long term (Laura being an exception, congrats btw!). Think about it, a successful weight loss surgery is considered if you can lose 50+% of your excess weight. Everyone here is talking about losing 100% (or more) of their excess weight. The average for weight loss surgery is 60-85%.

    One last thing, I'm assuming everyone has or will have bariatric surgery. So, we all will have excess skin as we shrink. If you get down close to the "normal" range you probably have 5-25lbs of excess skin on you. So, keep that in mind. That's impossible to lose unless you get it surgically removed.

    To everyone, I would just say, eat right, exercise and be happy. That's the goal for me. :)
  • Moe0112
    Moe0112 Posts: 123 Member
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    I dont have a goal weight at the moment. For me its to be able to move around easier without all joint pains. That has been the main focus.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
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    I am in my late 50's and am 5'7". Normal range for me is about 145. My surgeon told me my "ideal" weight for age, bone structure and height is 160. On the BMI scale that's still in the overweight category. But again, per my surgeon my goal is 160. However, he told me he expected that I would get to 200, bounce up to 220 and stay there. This is not acceptable to me. I want to weigh less than 200. I don't really care if I go all the way to 160, that's not my personal goal. My personal goal is to get and stay somewhere below 200 pounds. Yes that's still overweight, but after starting at 386 and being beyond morbidly obese, overweight is fantastic.
  • rpyle111
    rpyle111 Posts: 1,066 Member
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    Between my age, the expectation of excess skin and my large frame, I set a goal for the middle of "Overweight", 240. I hit that last week and am sliding under by a few pounds, which is fine with me. I am hoping my body finds a nice happy settling weight between 230 and 240 as I move into a maintenance phase. I am slowly increasing calories and seeing how things go.

    Get the habits and behaviors in place, understand the concepts of calorie deficit and how intake and burn are involved and you will be able to manage your way to your goals!

    Rob
  • readallday
    readallday Posts: 173 Member
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    I set my initial goal at 140 as that is the top of normal BMI for my height. To Aztec's point, BMI is not an ideal measure but it gave me somewhere to shoot for when I was starting. I am about 17 pounds from that now and I feel like I probably have more than that to go to be where I want to be. So I am going to just keep doing what I am doing until I feel like I am at a good place for myself and my weight.
  • rpyle111
    rpyle111 Posts: 1,066 Member
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    I set my initial goal at 140 as that is the top of normal BMI for my height. To Aztec's point, BMI is not an ideal measure but it gave me somewhere to shoot for when I was starting. I am about 17 pounds from that now and I feel like I probably have more than that to go to be where I want to be. So I am going to just keep doing what I am doing until I feel like I am at a good place for myself and my weight.

    Great attitude!!!
  • benagek
    benagek Posts: 46 Member
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    Thanks for all your input. I think, because I'm getting a lot of "your getting too skinny" comments that it's just been weighing (no pun intended) on my mind. I don't feel "too skinny". I know that their comments are coming from the viewpoint that they've only every seen me as a 240lb women so they don't know any different. It just got me thinking.

    I feel so incredibly healthy right now. My diet is good. I'm learning to love exercise. I look forward to active work and play. I feel awesome.

    I think I will just plan on eating healthy and letting my body figure out a healthy weight for me. Who knows what that might look like.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
    edited April 2015
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    benagek wrote: »
    I feel so incredibly healthy right now. My diet is good. I'm learning to love exercise. I look forward to active work and play. I feel awesome.

    I think I will just plan on eating healthy and letting my body figure out a healthy weight for me. Who knows what that might look like.

    That's a great attitude!!
  • loriloftness
    loriloftness Posts: 476 Member
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    Aztec4Life wrote: »
    One thing I won't do is EVER set goals based on BMI. It was developed my a mathematician (NOT a physician) in the 1800's and it was supposed to be used to measure large populations, NOT individual weight. It does not take into account gender, age, bone density, muscle mass, body fat %, etc. In other words, it's a terrible measure of overall health. For instance, almost every football player is "overweight" (except for maybe the kickers) and my guess is they are healthier than most of the population. In the United States, the public didn't even know about BMI (even though it had been around for over a century) until the government launched an initiative to encourage healthy eating and exercise in the late 1990's. I never heard of BMI growing up and I'm sure you all didn't either. They also changed the BMI definition of overweight from 27.8 down to 25 in 1998.

    This! At surgery, my BMI was not 40. But, looking at my BMI would not tell you about my elevated BP (even on meds) or blood sugar or that I had sleep apnea for 10 yrs. It's one thing to use BMI as just suggestion for a range of weight to shoot for, but I'm not going to consider myself a failure if I don't get to where the BMI table says I should be. The greater measure of success for me will be when I am completely off BP meds (I'm already only on 1/2 the dosage I was), my blood sugar is normal (and it is already) and I can lose the CPAP machine. If I'm doing enough exercise that my body and bones are strong, I will consider that a success. When I can accept that I am a work in progress at all times and not get down on myself for not being perfect or eating perfect 100% of the time, I will consider that a success.
  • gaining_while_losing
    gaining_while_losing Posts: 96 Member
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    My first goal is to get under 200 pounds...and in my head, I think I have my ultimate goal at 165...but we'll see. I have a while before I get close to that...
  • ac7nj
    ac7nj Posts: 266 Member
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    benagek wrote: »
    Thanks for all your input. I think, because I'm getting a lot of "your getting too skinny" comments that it's just been weighing (no pun intended) on my mind. I don't feel "too skinny". I know that their comments are coming from the viewpoint that they've only every seen me as a 240lb women so they don't know any different. It just got me thinking.

    I feel so incredibly healthy right now. My diet is good. I'm learning to love exercise. I look forward to active work and play. I feel awesome.

    I think I will just plan on eating healthy and letting my body figure out a healthy weight for me. Who knows what that might look like.

    I get the same comments as well as you aren't going to loose any more are you? Well I'm 5' 9" currently at 183 +/- 3 pounds feel great and working out at the gym every day M W F strength Tu Th cardio deep water aerobics. my goal is to be between 175 and 185 my BMI chart would have me at 160. I don't think 160 would look healthy for me, I like where I am and exchange fat for muscle.
  • Dannadl
    Dannadl Posts: 120 Member
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    I think it's really hard to set an "ultimate" goal when you've never experienced living at that weight before. I'm 5'7" tall and 47 years old. Right now I'm sitting at around 183lbs. I think I'd like to get down to 135lbs, but I'm not really sure if that's realistic. The funny thing is, right now at 183lbs (34% body fat) I wear the same pant size (10) that I did in my 20's when I weighed 150lbs. The difference? Body composition, now I exercise a lot and have a greater muscle mass so my body dimensions are smaller and my percentage of body fat is lower that it was back then. For me to clear the overweight category on the BMI chart and enter the "normal" zone is 155lbs. I think a number on the scale is an incomplete picture. Try looking at % of body fat, weight & BMI all together to set tentative goals and then see how you feel when you get close. For me to get to 135lbs, and maintain a % of body fat of 15%, which is pretty low for a woman, I would need to lose another 48lbs total. But 42 of those pounds would need to be fat and 6 of them would need to be muscle. To maintain 135lbs at 18% body fat (which is more realistic for a woman) I would need to lose the same 48lbs but 38lbs of that loss would need to be fat and 10lbs of that loss would need to be muscle for the numbers and percentages to add up. Obviously the thought of losing muscle is unappealing to most of us, but it is a reality if you really crunch the numbers. If I were to lose 48lbs of just fat, and maintain all of my muscle mass I'd be sitting at 11% body fat. 11% body fat is sometime achieved by female body builders but is considered unhealthy for women and often stops menstruation. Aesthetically it is unappealing to me as well. I don't want to be that lean. And honestly with my extra skin I'd likely be less than 11% at that weight/composition and I think I would look too lean and have health problems as a result. To maintain my current muscle mass and get to 18% body fat, the number on the scale would need to be 147.5lbs. To get there I would need no loss of muscle and a loss of fat of 35.5lbs.

    So I guess I'm saying, look at more than the scale, look at body composition as well.
  • lowcountrygal75
    lowcountrygal75 Posts: 5 Member
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    My doctor sets a body fat percentage as a goal and not a weight. People ask me all the time what my goal weight is and I don't have one. I just want to feel great and be healthy. If I had to pick a weight, I would say between 140 and 150. My goal is to feel great and get down to a size 8-10....whatever that weight may be.
  • JreedyJanelle
    JreedyJanelle Posts: 645 Member
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    My doctor said I didn't need to lose anymore, he said I have good muscle tone, some loose skin, but he said I was fine. I don't know what happened but the week after I saw him I dropped 3 pounds. I am 5'7" and I am now at 158, I want to get to 150 which is in normal range and a weight I have been in my adult life. I am a size 8-10 and feeling good. I exercise and just want to keep my health as it is now. I really will be fine if I don't lose the extra 8 pounds.
  • spfldpam
    spfldpam Posts: 738 Member
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    Congrats on your success! You have done great! My WLS program didn't give me a set goal or weight, just as long as I was at a healthy BMI. I am 5"4' and got as low as 124 from 280. I lost 49 pounds pre op, the rest post op from WLS Sleeve. I made my personal goal of 135 and then 130 that I reached in April 2013 I had the sleeve surgery in June 2012. Once I decided to not loose more at 124 I was told to add more cals to my diet which I did. I went up to around 135 which is normal as most WLS people gain 10-15% weight as the go into maintence and add more regular food back into their diet. At this point I am more than 135. I am not happy but ok with it for now, trying to get back to 140. I gained over the Fall and Winter. Having problems with exercise right now due to bad knees so can't really even power walk or bike right now. I have lost a few pounds in the last 2 weeks which is funny cause I haven't done any walking/biking or working out and have lost weight?!?!?! I just want to be able to fit my butt into last years summer clothes!
  • kc82
    kc82 Posts: 65 Member
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    My WLS program and surgeon also did not give me a "goal" weight. My goal was to ultimately get healthy! However in my mind, I thought if I could get to 150 lbs, I'd be happy. I started at 311 lbs and once I reached 165 lbs (about 10 months post-op), the weight loss slowed / stopped. Could have been for a multitude of reasons, but I accepted that as where my body was comfortable. I have been maintaining this weight for a year now, however I still want to reach my goal of 150 lbs, so I'm trying to work hard to get there.