How upfront was your surgeon about a goal weight?

[B-52 7,113]

My surgeon did not talk about goals...he did ask me what my weight was when I was in High school..(40 years ago)...

I told him I was 160-165.....played football, ran track.

He basically said there was no reason I could not get back to that....

My Surgeon does not talk about goals, but does stress living a new lifestyle filled with eating less, eating good, and being as active as possible., and to get away from that lifestyle that makes people fat and sick..

And that has been my mantra since.....

BTW, I am now at the weight I was in High School over 40 years ago....it was not a goal, but a result of living a new, or regaining, a lifestyle.

[glitter eyes 1,398]

My surgeon or PCP never mention a goal weight. My initial goal was never a number on the scale, but to feel healthy and have energy. I have went from 271 to 164. I now have set a goal weight for myself at 150. If I lose anymore than that of course I will be happy, but I am focusing on how wonderful I feel.

[Quest4TheNewMe 225]

The NUT and I discussed it and I told her that in the past, my goal has been 175, but I'd really like to get to 150. She said that 175 was a reasonable goal.

I'm still aiming for the 150. I'm currently at 198.8, just over two months post-op.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

@@MisforMimi - My doctor hasn't set a goal weight either. He just said that most patient's lose between 50 - 60 %. I'm actually okay with that since it doesn't set me up to chase some number that I may or may not reach.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

My nutritionist gave me the goal weight of 165 after asking me about a million questions about what was the lowest I ever weighed, what was the highest I ever weighed, what was the most I'd ever lost, how much I regained, how long I'd been able to stick to an exercise regime, and a whole bunch of other things. My personal goal was 155, because that would put me at a healthy BMI. In all honesty though, I would be more than happy just to get below 180, which is my lowest weight in recent history and the weight at which I had my plastics done after losing 90 pounds about 3.5 years ago. Once I get back to that weight, anything else is just a bonus in my book.

[Kindle 8,667]

My nutritionist gave me the goal weight of 165 after asking me about a million questions about what was the lowest I ever weighed, what was the highest I ever weighed, what was the most I'd ever lost, how much I regained, how long I'd been able to stick to an exercise regime, and a whole bunch of other things. My personal goal was 155, because that would put me at a healthy BMI. In all honesty though, I would be more than happy just to get below 180, which is my lowest weight in recent history and the weight at which I had my plastics done after losing 90 pounds about 3.5 years ago. Once I get back to that weight, anything else is just a bonus in my book.

I kind of felt the same way. Even though the nut and myself had certain goal numbers, once I hit 170, I finally felt really good, all my aches and pains were gone and my BP was normal. I thought at that point I would be happy even if I didn't lose another pound. The rest has just been bonus!

[joatsaint 2,814]

My doc said to realistically expect to lose 140lbs long term. I was 375 and he expected me to get down to 235.

I've lost and kept off 170 lbs for 2 years and don't see any reason I can't maintain this weight effortlessly.

[AhnaLucille 57]

I was told I should weight 109. And he said 125 was good. I still can't comprehend 109. That just seems way to small.

[Healthy_life2 8,324]

My doctor said the average bariatric patient will loose 60% of their weight. He did not set my goal.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

My doctor said the average bariatric patient will loose 60% of their weight. He did not set my goal.

I was given the same info

[Trace Lynne 95]

I was originally asked what I thought my ideal weight/goal would be when I started the process at the weight management center. I said I would like to get down to 130-140 lbs. However, as part of my intake/tests, they did a full-body composition test, which gives body weight by bones, organs, fat, muscle.

When the results came in, the doc said that I seem to have fairly dense bones, which explains how I managed to avoid breaking bones over the years despite several falls which should've broken something, I guess. But based on the body scan and my height, my ideal weight range is 150-170 lbs. He said anything below that would be muscle loss and/or too low bmi.

I remember that discussion really well, because it took me back to my experience as a larger teen, I was chastised by my PE teacher who took to publicly shaming in class because her expectation was that I should weigh 130 lbs, but I was about 160 lbs at the time. All that time and torment, and I was right where my body wanted me to be.

I would like to get down to 150 lbs, if that is within the healthy range my doc wants me to be in. However, its not really about the number. If I'm fit, able to do the things I want/need to do, and I'm health, the number doesn't matter to me as much. Except, I would REALLY like to get back down below 200 lbs... only about 60 lbs to go on that.

[aclinton16 32]

My surgeon has not murmured a peep about a goal weight for me.

She's only given her practice averages based on each surgery.

If your surgeon gave a goal weight, who's was more motivating theirs or yours? How many pounds were they different?

Reading all this stuff about bounce weight and stretch goals etc.....

My surgeon has never mentioned a goal weight either

[Bluesea71 698]

My doctor said the average bariatric patient will loose 60% of their weight. He did not set my goal.

I think that is what most surgeons say and that is what statistics report. Remember these statistics include people who have WLS and make absolutely no lifestyle changes. Think of the people you see on the reality show "my 600 pound life" who continue to eat buckets of fried chicken post surgery. Those statistics also includes people like myself who took the surgery seriously and recognize it will require lifelong lifestyle changes to maintain the weight. You need to decide which statistic you want to fall on - one who succeeds or one who fails. With that being said, I have lost most of my weight up to this point with little or no effort. Now granted I ate a pretty clean diet pre-surgery and didn't really crave sweets/junk food, so I have some things going in my favor. I think so many of us came to this journey with so many failed attempts to lose weight that the idea of actually having success for once is a new concept! My number one issue was Portion Control and the restriction was just what I needed for success. I couldn't imagine reaching any weight loss goal let alone surpassing it! These boards on Bariatric Pal are filled with people who have been successful with their WLS.., but don't be fooled. People who are not successful are not likely to post about it in a public forum. We each need to decide how committed we are to the journey. I decided the moment I got surgery that I would be a successfully statistic and surpass my surgeon's goal and I'm doing it.

[roundisashape 712]

I got nothing from the surgeon, but the nutritionist keeps harping on 40% excess weight lost, which would still put me over 230 pounds. The more I meet with her, the more I find her easy to ignore.

My primary care doc said to go ahead and shoot for 150 though. She's super supportive, and I do find it motivating that she thinks I can accomplish that. I mentioned 130 as a personal goal and she said I probably could if I wanted to, but stay toned up and see where I'm happy on the way down. My end goal is just a vague, malleable idea in the back of my head, it seems so far away - I just set a whole bunch of tiny goals (none over 10 pounds at a time) and I'm working on one little thing at a time. Next goal is 1 pound away .

[TheCurvyJones 721]

My surgeon didn't give me a goal until I asked for one and even then it was the standard 'normal BMI range'. I don't think I'll ever get there, honesty. That's probably too small for me anyway. I hit my personal goal over the summer and he is happy with that.