Goal weight vs happy weight

[boosh10 98]

Since I am new to this, I must ask. I see everyone has their goal weight. I have not had my first appt yet with doctor. (next month) Is this goal weight what you have discussed with the surgeon? or is this your own personal decision. AND.... has anyone not wanted to go as low as the weight the surgeon decided?

Im currently 6 foot tall and weight 315 , and im assuming my doc is going to go less than 200. I don't really wanna go less than 200. I felt my best and sexiest at 200-220. I like being thick. I understand that he'll want me to get to a healthy weight, but even at 315 im overall healthy except for the extra pounds. Lots of em.

Is there a way to get to your happy weight and stop? Or is that not advisable ? Or is the weight loss not controllable?

Of course I will discuss with my doctor, but just wanted to hear from experiences!

[ChaoticBliss 113]

<p>Since I am new to this, I must ask. I see everyone has their goal weight. I have not had my first appt yet with doctor. (next month) Is this goal weight what you have discussed with the surgeon? or is this your own personal decision. AND.... has anyone not wanted to go as low as the weight the surgeon decided? </p> <p>Im currently 6 foot tall and weight 315 , and im assuming my doc is going to go less than 200. I don't really wanna go less than 200. I felt my best and sexiest at 200-220. I like being thick. I understand that he'll want me to get to a healthy weight, but even at 315 im overall healthy except for the extra pounds. Lots of em. </p> <p>Is there a way to get to your happy weight and stop? Or is that not advisable ? Or is the weight loss not controllable?</p> <p> </p> <p>Of course I will discuss with my doctor, but just wanted to hear from experiences!</p>

My doctor did not give me a "goal weight" at all. I think his inferred goal post was "normal" on the BMI chart. My personal goal is only slightly below that, just wiggle room below. Ultimately, the goal is to be healthier and be comfortable in your own skin. I think other than that a number doesn't even matter. Good luck to you

[snowkitten 371]

Since I am new to this, I must ask. I see everyone has their goal weight. I have not had my first appt yet with doctor. (next month) Is this goal weight what you have discussed with the surgeon? or is this your own personal decision. AND.... has anyone not wanted to go as low as the weight the surgeon decided?

Im currently 6 foot tall and weight 315 , and im assuming my doc is going to go less than 200. I don't really wanna go less than 200. I felt my best and sexiest at 200-220. I like being thick. I understand that he'll want me to get to a healthy weight, but even at 315 im overall healthy except for the extra pounds. Lots of em.

Is there a way to get to your happy weight and stop? Or is that not advisable ? Or is the weight loss not controllable?

Of course I will discuss with my doctor, but just wanted to hear from experiences!

My surgeon told me that I can expect to lose 50% of my excess weight. This would make the surgery a "success". So he's expecting me to get down to 230lbs. My personal goal is 160-180

For you, a healthy bmi would put you between 140-180. So let's say 160 is normal for your height. That means you are 155 lbs overweight. With this surgery you can expect to lose 77.5 lbs putting you at about 237.5 lbs. At this weight your surgery would be considered a success.

Of course some people lose more some less. It all depends on how you work your tool.

[Sassy Pants1 186]

My surgeon did not give me a goal. The psychologist said if I get to 172, that would mean I lost the average amount of weight for a weight loss surgery patient. I guess the average is 65-70% of excess weight. 172 seems too high for me so I set my own goal weight.

[Kindle 8,667]

I passed my doctor's goal 14 pounds ago and my personal goal 4 pounds ago. I guess I could stop the weight loss by upping my calories, but I'm eating what I want, when I want, and am happy doing what I'm doing. I decided to just let my body figure out where it wants to be. I've read so many times (and seen it with friends that have had WLS) that you lose a certain amount, then gain a little bit back before you "stabilize". So I'm totally alright with being under goal right now in anticipation of a slight rebound back to goal.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Kindle

[joatsaint 2,814]

I started at 370+ and my doc said realistically I could expect to get down to 235. And I was more than happy at that weight ( got there in about 9 months).

Then it became a little more difficult to lose weight(as my new sleeve relaxed and I could hold more, and I wasn't burning as many calories between not carrying around an extra hundred pounds and metabolism adjusting to the new lower caloric intake).

Then I decided I wanted to be at 224 (my high school weight) and I got there through diet and exercise, And I am very happy at that weight. Now I want to get to 200, which is where I want to stop - I think. But if I was stuck at 220, I'd be a happy camper for the rest of my life.

So, I do believe the rate of weight loss can be slowed or stopped. It's just easier in the beginning, between the swelling of my new stomach and dramatic decrease in calories. Then there's the phase where you're not carrying as much weight, not burning as many calories and stomach capacity is increasing. Then the final phase where you're completely healed and your metabolism has fully adapted to this new eating lifestyle.

[snowkitten 371]

You mentioned that you got from 235 to 224 with diet and exercise, did you have to diet and exetcise for the weight loss from 370 to 235??

[joatsaint 2,814]

I didn't really have to do much exercise wise to lose the 1st 100lbs. The only exercise I've done is walking. I had a lot of foot pain before surgery. I started out walking from the farthest parking spot to my office front door, with the goal to walk 10k steps a day. It was in the 2nd month post-op that I really tried to start walking as exercise.

Here's my blog post I keep to track my progress:

http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-31216-nsv-2-you-best-step-off-b-hatch/

You mentioned that you got from 235 to 224 with diet and exercise, did you have to diet and exetcise for the weight loss from 370 to 235??

[snowkitten 371]

That's really good to know. Not that I expect it to be a magic pill but another Sleever friend of mine said the same thing so it's nice to know that the first 100 lbs comes off without excercise.

My phone doesn't like the blog link but as soon as I can get to a comp I'll check it out. Thanks!

[blondebomb 580]

My Dr said nothing where" he" would like me to b...I put a goal weight for myself. ..

[bikrchk 1,313]

My doc originally told me I should lose 100 pounds, from 235 to 135. I'm 5'6". At my 6 month post op, I was at 160 (still clinically overweight) and he told me I could stop if I wanted! I told him if it was all the same to him, I'd continue down until I was in the middle of my healthy BMI range. He agreed that was fine too. A month or 2 after that when I hit a size 4, I adjusted my goal range up by 10 pounds. I just go there and am trying to figure out this maintenance thing now. It's really about calories in vs calories burned so I too my BMR and set my daily calories there and try to eat back my exercise calories now as well. Today, MFP says I should be eating 1800 calories. That. Is. A. Lot! And I probably won't get there, (unless I eat 1000 calories for dinner, which is NOT happening, LOL). I'm making a concerted effort to eat more and have dialed back the exercise a bit, trading some of the cardio for strength training. We'll see what happens, I guess. This is actually harder than losing. It's easier to just stay somewhat "under" and drop weight. It's another thing entirely to hit a specific target WITHOUT going over! Feels like the price is right to me!

[erp 2,016]

My doc gave me a goal of 170-160. At 5'4" I felt like that was too high. My goal was to be a healthy weight for my height; I didn't have surgery to stay overweight. I set my goal based on BMI and more importantly body composition (BMI <30, body fat <28%). I am now under my personal goal and working on my stretch goal so that I can have a "bounce" range.