my doctors goal for me is 120 but i feel i will be happy with 140-150

I never got a goal from my doc either. I made my own goal based on what I'd be happy weighing.

My doc asked me what my goal was. I told him 135. I'm 251 now before the sleeve.

I would suggest reading Ann2's secret to my success. She gives very detailed account of what she did to lose her weight at each stage. My surgery isn't until the 20th and my doctor says to worry about protein goals only at the start. Personally I intend to go by what Ann has done because she has been so successful at keeping her weight off.

Ann2 and I have almost the exact same stats but have gotten where we are with very opposed game plans. I was never given caloric goals and have never tracked or measured my food. I don't even own a scale and maybe use the one at work 2 times/month. I've gotten 60-80g protein and minimum 64oz water (usually get 100g) every day since the first week postop. These are the only two things I keep a rough tally of in my head. I lost over 100% of my excess weight and have kept it off for two years with Protein, water, vitamins and smart food choices.

There are a dozen ways to succeed, you just have to find your way. Other people's plans and goals may not necessarily work for you. And as for goal weight, my surgeon had one number, I had another, but my body ended up making the final decision.

Thank you, Donna -- I hope you find that what worked for me will help you, too.

But Kindle's right -- there's more than one way to succeed with WLS. Some people exercise their butts off; some go very low-carb; some lose all their weight eating as vegetarians, even vegans; some people are very controlling about what they eat; some are more intuitive, instinctual eaters and make that work for them, etc.

And here's the rub: people also fail at WLS using exactly the same approaches shown above.

The deal is that you have to find a way that works for you and then commit to doing that. That doesn't mean keeping on following consistently a program that does NOT work for you. Thank goodness, my way is still working well for me. If it stops working for me, I hope I have enough sense to find another way that works better.

What's most important, I think, is the depth of your commitment to finding your way to a healthier life and to staying healthier.

Good luck to us all!

Amen to Kindle and Ann! My game plan is low carb cycling, weighing every single day, not drinking my calories, and little exercise. Doesn't make sense, but it works for me. The most important thing is to learn your body. I ignored mine for so many years, and just fed it whatever my brain wanted and thought looked good. This is key to success and most importantly to maintenance. We can become so focused on getting to goal that we don't make plans for how we are going to stay there. Take care!

Thanks everyone.

That's exactly what my doctor told me. Protein, water, exercise, and vitamins daily. I was told not to count calories and never have. He never gave me a goal weight, just said his patients average losing 60 to 70% of their weight. I lost 100%.