I would just follow the rules and go with what happens! It's so much fun! I kept a journal with my measurements about once a month, and my weight every day I lost. It went fast. You may lose all your weight by 6 months, who knows. My only goal was a normal BMI, it took about 9 months. I lost a little more than 75 pounds.

I never set a deadline for myself. I wanted to get to a normal BMI but didn't matter how long it took. I started with a BMI of 40 and hit my lowest weight (BMI 23) about 11 months after starting my preop diet. About 75% of that was by 6 months and took 5 months for that last 25%.

I randomly picked 180, because I was a senior in high school, and on my physical for college the idiot Doctor wrote that I was "moderately obese".

Times sure have changed.

It's not only the BMI, it's also age, hormones, number of pregnancies, bone density, activity etc...
I'm a middle age woman, had a really high BMI (around 53), several health issues and during my first consult my surgeon said I should lose around 50 kgs (110 pounds) at one year.
That's my doc's goal. I will probably be there at one year....or not...but my goal is to reach a "normal" BMI, improve my health is a priority and if I "only" lose what my doc say I will still be obese.
I'm 9 months out, so far I lost 90 pounds since the first consult. So only 20 pounds to go in 3 months right? Seems doable, but my weight loss have been really slow lately and I don't think I will be there at 12 months. My goal is to lose 40 more pounds anyway. I'm hoping to reach that in July, I will be 18 months out. My surgeon has been really supportive and he thinks I'm doing great (me not that much but it's just because I failed so many diets..) he said that loosing weight can last up to 18 months or even more for those who started with a higher weight.
I'm guessing you should be "at goal" before your 12 months mark...

There's a web site (sorry it's in French, try with google translate to translate the page) that uses the method a French doc I met 20 years ago used to tell me what my weight should be. It came pretty close from what other docs said...you can try it..http://www.elle.fr/Minceur/outil/poids-ideal

my first goal is 175 then 150 then 125

I started my journey at 216... I am currently at 141 at 7 months post op.... The weight loss has slowed the last couples months. It is tapering off since I am getting close to the "healthy weight" my body should be. My personal goal is 135 so I am almost there but I am loosing much more slowely now than say 4 months ago. I also think frequent massages help the process. I go once a month to massage envy. Its great! I know I have lost about 75 pounds and from an XL to a Small,, and it is fanstastic!! But I do see myself still as big, even though others are telling me how small I am.... I still have my tummy pouch, and my thighs still rub... I think I was waiting for those to go away b4 I could tell myself... im good. Its all in our heads, and we have to be happy with the progress!!