Is anyone's goal weight higher than the BMI chart weight?

[spdmonkeymama 36]

Yeah when I saw the surgeon he said I didn't have a pre op goal except I can't gain more than 2% during the program. For me thats 7 pounds. I am a little worried about that because I can flux between 10 pounds according to my doctors scale. He doesn't have a digital one and has told me they are not the best at measuring larger people. I am hoping they go by the nuts scale because hers is a digital one that also does the body fat. I have only seen the nut once and she didn't give me any guidelines on how much to eat pre op. I am confused how I am on a medically monitored weight loss program with no guidelines.

[Christinamo7 4,042]

YES. my goal is 160. Quite frankly I could barely even get my hopes up that I could ever be that small. that would be more than 100 down from my all time ever highest of 267.

The doctor thinks I'll go lower, and maybe I will - but I can not even wrap my head around it at this time. By the BMI charts I would have to get down to 120 - 129 to be in the "healthy" range. at 160 I'd still be "obese"

[Christinamo7 4,042]

@

I wonder if I'll change my mind the closer I get to "goal".

it's ok if you do!

[catwoman7 11,212]

I told my surgeon at the beginning that I'd be ecstatic if I got down to 200 (or just under), and I'm there now. Having been c. 370 for a few years, 200 lbs seemed like a pipe dream at the time. I'm still working at it hoping to go lower (I'm now thinking 170-ish), but if my body decides it wants to stay here, then I'm OK with it. I'm right on the "obese" borderline, but I think I look OK. More like a large - but not "fat" - person. At least I feel like I fit in now and don't get weird looks or feel like I stick out.

[her1981 448]

Yeah when I saw the surgeon he said I didn't have a pre op goal except I can't gain more than 2% during the program. For me thats 7 pounds. I am a little worried about that because I can flux between 10 pounds according to my doctors scale. He doesn't have a digital one and has told me they are not the best at measuring larger people. I am hoping they go by the nuts scale because hers is a digital one that also does the body fat. I have only seen the nut once and she didn't give me any guidelines on how much to eat pre op. I am confused how I am on a medically monitored weight loss program with no guidelines.

I did low carb to drop weight before the surgery. It's pretty effective. Do you have and anticipated surgery date?

[lauraellen80 855]

My surgeon didn't give me a goal, he just said that the average loss would be about 60-70% of my excess weight. That would have put me still in the "obese" range, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to that. I initially set my personal goal at 145, which was still in the "overweight" category for my height, because it was the lowest weight I could realistically see myself at. But as the weight was coming off, I realized that I could revise my goal downward, so I picked 134.8 because it was just in the "normal" category and would put me right at 100 lbs lost. Then I hit that and decided that it'd be nice to have some "wiggle room" and went for 125-130. I'm now working on maintenance but am still losing a little and am at 114.4 at the moment. Even when I was a ballet dancer, I couldn't maintain under 120, so this is really bizarre for me. Since puberty, there has never been a time in my life where I wasn't trying (or hoping) to lose weight.

So, to some extent, your body will dictate where you'll end up. I think there are a lot of factors at play--how long you were overweight/obese, your age, your metabolism, genetics, etc.

[Hagengirl3 65]

My doctor set my goal at 180, but to be honest, I never thought about it. I actually just set mini goals and never looked further ahead then that. First mini goal was to be under 200. Then it was just every 10 pounds. When I was in the 190's my only goal was to see the 180's. Once in the 180's, the goal was to see the 170's. This made everything more manageable for me. I recently got into the 130's which was absolutely amazing since I don't ever remember being in the 130's. I have no desire to get to the 120's so am now just figuring out how to lose the last couple pounds and maintain.

[her1981 448]

They used the machine that measures body fat, muscle, bone, and Water. According to that, my fat free weight was 180, so I could weigh up to 230 and have a healthy percentage of body fat.

Edited April 6, 2016 by her1981

[JamieLogical 8,708]

My nutritionist set my goal weight at 165. In order to be a "normal" BMI for my height, I would need to get below 154. I have gotten down to 159 and am fighting hard not to lose any MORE weight. I can already see my ribs. I don't want to be thinner! My body fat percentage is the thing I care about. I'm at 21.4% body fat now which is very lean for my age.

[gingeryank 37]

Interesting question. My 6 weeks post-op appt is tomorrow. I suppose we'll discuss my goal weight then. 135 is the number I have in my head because I remember feeling good at that weight. I'm 40, 5'1, and female, btw. Technically 135 still puts me in the overweight category.

From reading the veterans' posts, it sounds like our bodies have more to say about our goal weights/set points than our brains.

I started at 212 and am nearly 40 lbs down 6 weeks out. I realize that the rate of loss slows down, but I'm still so early in the process. My body might decide to go under 135 whether or not I'm trying.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Edited April 6, 2016 by gingeryank

[mo. 1]

My goal is 165 which is my teenage weight and I was healthy there. To get out of the overweight category I will have to be 158. It's hard to imagine either... With my weight only 260 right now, it's possible I could be smaller. But at 165 I was a size 12. I can live with that!

Sleeve gastric bypass on 4/18/16. HW 270 CW 260

[Daisee68 2,493]

You know I keep getting this question a lot lately since I am so close to "goal". At my very first consultation last January (2015), I was 326 (5'10") and the surgeon said she would like to see me under 200 but I would have to work hard at it. I am 10 months post-op and am currently at 188-190 (depending on which scale you look at ). So I exceeded her goal and to be "normal" BMI, I have to be 173 or less. My NUT told me a good goal was 27 BMI before plastics. That would be 188 so I met that goal. My endocrinologist said today that he felt that if I got to 170-175, that would be awesome as he felt it gave me a little room to gain back and if he didn't see me lose 1 more pound, he was thrilled. (BTW, I got to go off my cholesterol med today and he told me I no longer even had to monitor my blood sugar for diabetes as long as I stayed under 200 pounds when it MIGHT come back.) I got to 150 my senior year in high school after pretty much starving myself and frankly, I looked WAY too thin, so 150 is definitely not my goal. My shoulders seem very narrow and I don't think I can stand to lose much more in my upper body but I have always been lower body heavy and definitely need to lose more in my thighs (though of course, we cannot spot reduce fat). I am more focusing on clothing sizes. I am still in a size 14 pant (16s some places) and XL or XXL shirt (again depending on place). So to me, that says, I still need to lose a little more.

All to say, there seem to be so many different opinions on this and I think potentially your body eventually decides where it wants to be and you will see how you feel when you get to a certain point if you want to lose more. If it is still over "normal" BMI and your doctors are totally ok with that, then no need to stress about it! (At least that is what I am telling myself.)

[JamieLogical 8,708]

Weight and BMI are ultimately pretty meaningless numbers. There are SO MANY more important numbers. BP, A1C, cholesterol, triglycerides, body fat percentage. THOSE are the numbers you should be focusing on for health and longevity!

[lauraellen80 855]

My goal is 165 which is my teenage weight and I was healthy there. To get out of the overweight category I will have to be 158. It's hard to imagine either... With my weight only 260 right now, it's possible I could be smaller. But at 165 I was a size 12. I can live with that!

I don't know how long ago it was for you that you were at 165, but don't be surprised if you get there and find that you can wear smaller than a 12! I was about 120-125 in high school (mid- to late-1990s), but I never wore below a 7/8. At the same weight in 2016 clothes, I wear a 2 or a 4. Vanity sizing is insane! I often wonder how the ~really~ skinny girls find clothes... like, are there secret stores for uber-thin people that carry things in triple- and quadruple-zeros?

My shoulders seem very narrow and I don't think I can stand to lose much more in my upper body but I have always been lower body heavy and definitely need to lose more in my thighs (though of course, we cannot spot reduce fat). I am more focusing on clothing sizes. I am still in a size 14 pant (16s some places) and XL or XXL shirt (again depending on place). So to me, that says, I still need to lose a little more.

I've found that my weight is distributed differently now that it was when I was around my current weight as a teenager, 20 years ago (shocking, I know). My upper body seems a lot bonier than it did then--my collarbones and sternum stick out more than I remember.

[lauraellen80 855]

Weight and BMI are ultimately pretty meaningless numbers. There are SO MANY more important numbers. BP, A1C, cholesterol, triglycerides, body fat percentage. THOSE are the numbers you should be focusing on for health and longevity!

True. Don't forget clothing sizes--they are probably the most meaningless because they are so arbitrary, especially for women (see my post above!). I want to get my body fat measured to see where I'm at in that regard--I know I could stand to build some more muscle at this point.