So when/how do you pick a goal weight?

[Tenloris]

Hi there !
I think I was just focusing on getting to the surgery 😊 but now I see lots of people at their goal weight and getting close to it. I am curious about if you spoke to your doctor about your goal weight, how did you come to your personal decision? Thanks!

[Dutchie]

I took a random number, which is in the middle of my healthy BMI range.
I am way below that now.

[Gvn71]

I was asked by the surgeon where I wanted to be. I picked a number that I felt would be healthy for me and he agreed and thought that I could get there with work. That number was here and gone a while ago. I think it is a good idea to pick a realistic number and then see where you end up. I would have been happy at 205, but I just kept losing!

[KiwiGal]

I was never given a goal by my surgeon. I picked the lowest weight that I had been in my adult life and had been happy at. I'm almost there and feel that there is more to lose so I'm just going to see where my body decides it wants to be. But it is nice to (almost) hit the first goal. :-)

[mellowjoy]

I just picked what I thought was a reasonable goal. The doctor agreed with my goal. He said he was just glad that I didn't chose a dress/pant size as a goal like some people do.

[Christie13]

So I picked something in my healthy BMI range but towards the top as it seemed more obtainable. But ultimately you don't pick your goal weight, it picks you. Your body is going to settle where it thinks it should be. You will notice a lot of people get under their "goal" weight as their bodies determined where they wanted to stop. I would say your ultimate goal, though, should be to get into the healthy BMI range.

[Viv28]

My dietitian told me the goal they wanted me to see me reach. I had one goal in mind but as I got closer I felt that was too small. I reached my goal in less than a year and changed my mind a few times. I am where the Dr's feel I need to be but I can lose more.

[GlennA18]

I have 3 numbers.

Goal 1 is what I consider success. I'd like to lose more, but if I stopped at that number it'd all be worth it.

Goal 2 is what I initially wanted. It was my weight watchers goal years ago. I looked pretty damn good at that weight.

Goal 3 is my Marine Corps Weight, By *almost* all measures i was skinny at that weight (lean & mean for sure), but my BMI would still be 25.8 - or overweight.

I think Goal 3 is achievable long-term. It'll require work on my part, but still realistic. While it's possible I may get as long as my boot camp graduation weight (172) I'd be happy around 180.

And as I type this, I'm getting more excited. Next year at this time I hope to be right around 180

(Edit to add...
having a goal is one thing. Sharing the goal (at least for me) means I have to do it. It gives me some accountability)

[Dutchie]

What Christie said...

[jessiejess]

I had more than one goal weight because I had milestones in my head. My first was to be below 200 - onederland. But my posted goal weight was chosen because I remembered how I looked at 160 when I was in my early 20's and looked great. Then when I hit 160 I had a new goal. My new goal was 145 because that's what I was once told by a modeling agency that they wanted me to weigh (when I only weighed 155). Once I hit 145 I had a new goal set by my trainer. He said to keep going to 135. I said "WHY?" and he said "Just do it and you'll see". I got to 135 but it was below what I ever imagined I could accomplish. I couldn't believe it. Then I kept going and didn't even try but made it to 130. Then people started telling me I was too thin. I love how I looked but never imagined in a million years that I could even get below 160. Now I'd give anything to be 179! You just pick your milestones and what's best for you. I recommend not choosing one that you feel is unachievable. Also, ask your doctor what they think you should aim for to begin with. Choose a goal weight that feels realistic to you, reach it, and then re-evaluate to see if you want to and can go lower. It's all about what your body wants.
Good luck and take care. Just remember to be realistic and don't set one that you feel isn't within a realistic range. Remember, this is your journey and you can change whatever you want at any time. The important part is to listen to your body.

[Tenloris]

I think part of my problem is I’ve been overweight to some degree on my adult life- and I’m short I’m only 5’2” but I remember feeling really good between 116 and 126 .....lord that was before I had a child -more like late teens and early 20’s, but yes I think the smaller goals would seem to me to be very important for motivation. It’s kind of sad or telling or I don’t know what- I decided to tackle my TWO-closets full of clothes, And put them in some sort of order ...... I’m not a clothes horse -it just happens I have clothes anywhere from size 12 to 20 .

[AnnieG]

I think part of my problem is I’ve been overweight to some degree on my adult life- and I’m short I’m only 5’2” but I remember feeling really good between 116 and 126 .....lord that was before I had a child -more like late teens and early 20’s, but yes I think the smaller goals would seem to me to be very important for motivation. It’s kind of sad or telling or I don’t know what- I decided to tackle my TWO-closets full of clothes, And put them in some sort of order ...... I’m not a clothes horse -it just happens I have clothes anywhere from size 12 to 20 .

I kept all my small clothes (despite being convinced they would never fit). Well they don't. I'm way under where I thought I would be. My doctor's office said that I didn't need to worry about a number or a size (easy for his skinny self), but that my body would find its own balance. And it kind of is. My goal was 135, and I weigh 121 at 9 months out. I don't think I want to be smaller than that (at 66 you need some fat to fill out wrinkles, lol).

As to sizes, I was never single digit (although I do think clothes are sized differently now). I'm in a size 4 jean, which I didn't even know was a thing.

Trying to set myself free from the tyranny of a number, and just see where I feel good in terms of health.

[Tenloris]

This will truly be a journey -and it will be exciting because once I pass a size-they will be out of the closet for good! Hoping to regain when closet for household stoage, instead of clothes

[jessiejess]

I sold all of my plus size clothing in a consignment store for plus sizes and made a killing! I'm definitely a clothes horse. It was totally worth it over donating. Talk about a return investment. And I was so glad to get it all gone for good! Get those clothes out of there so they're not a crutch to fall back on. It's so motivating to do the purge.

[denzel]

My experience:

I saw the bariatric-specialist dietitian pre-op, post-op, and then paid extra to see her at every transition of food stage post-op.
She gave me the long term goal - 53.5 kg +/- 3 kg. (So, a range of 50 to 56 kg).
And asked me what mine was. "50 kg" - which at the time seemed like an insurmountable dream. (This was 32.5 kg lighter than my heaviest, going from a BMI of 35 to 21.2). My BMI at my initial appointment with the surgeon's off-sider was 74 kg, BMI 31.something. Op day, down to BMI of 30.something, 70.something kg

I gotto my goal weight (50 kg), and passed it when I was in hospital with a paralytic ileus/small bowel obstruction as a result of a side effect of anaesthesia for another op 4 months post-sleeve.
I had developed a Campylobacter gut infection (still in 2015!, same year as having the gastric sleeve) and got down to 41.3 kg, BMI 17.5 about 7 months post-op (September 2015).
I got it treated, and was around 43.6 kg, BMI 18.5 when I had plastic reconstructive surgery in the December of that year (2015).

December 2016 I weighed 48.35 kg BMI 20.5 And in photos taken on that day I look chubby.

Then I slowly put on weight over the next year, weight about 51 kg, BMI 21.6, December 2017.

I went through seven months of "Cymbalta Withdrawal Syndrome" when I abruptly stopped taking the Cymbalta (originally prescribed for Fibromyalgia by my Rheumatologist) due to nausea etc with another Campylobacter gut infection and I simply could not stop eating. There were no brakes on volume. I had no energy, and felt totally drained energy-wise.
By March 2018 I had got up to 54.988 kg, BMI 23.29 (body fat %30.9%), and after having a hideous night with muscle pain, Achilles Tendonitis, Tennis Elbow, Reactive Arthritis (I went on to develop three "trigger fingers"!), I went back on to the Cymbalta, feel heaps better and it has put a curb on my eating *thankfully*!

Weight last week (Wednesday) was 51.61 kg, BMI 21.93, body fat % 27.9% , weight loss = 3.378 kg. Doesn't sound much, but that is a weight loss of 6.1% (and a drop of body fat % from 30.9% to 27.9%. I have found that every percentage of body fat = abut 1 kg on the scales).
My "mini weight goal" is 50 kg, so 109% heavier than that mini goal of 50kg. So, I am working on losing 9% of my recent heaviest body weight.
And my next "goal weight" is 47 kg. BMI = 19.94, so that will be a loss of 8.5% of my previous recent heaviest body weight.

I "work it". Every single mouthful, every single meal, every day.
LCHF (Low Carb, Healthy High Fat)/Keto diet.
I work with my sleeve, using it as the magnificent tool that it is. I am incredibly grateful to it. I NEVER want to go back to where I was before.