How did you choose a goal weight?

[MarinaGirl 609]

I chose my initial goal as the high end of normal BMI; then I got down to my weight in college when I was an NCAA athlete; and now I’m at the low end of normal BMI but am not worried about it as my labs are great, I feel wonderful, and my docs aren’t concerned.

I’m only 19 months post-gastric bypass so there’s room for bounce back and still be within normal BMI range. My horrible joint issues, especially knee pain, is sooooo much better at a lower weight that I don’t want to regain too much as that could lead to less mobility and early total knee replacement (bilaterally).

[PopsFury 38]

I've been disappointed my hip pain hasn't gotten better with the weight loss. Glad your knees feel better!

[FluffyChix 17,415]

6 minutes ago, PopsFury said:

I've been disappointed my hip pain hasn't gotten better with the weight loss. Glad your knees feel better!

Give it time. You will need to get closer to goal before relief. My arthritis doc said that for every 10% of total weight you lose, you will feel incrementally better. He's so far been dead on target. My bursitis in each hip and my SI joints are so much better as is the DDD stuff.

Hope you start feeling it soon. Congrats (major congrats) on coming so far, so quickly!!

[MIZ60 1,291]

I chose 150 since that was the weight I was able to maintain in my 40s with no real concerns. Pretty much ate what and how much I wanted. Weight gain really started for me when I was about 47. I was 125-130 in my 20s but I can not picture myself at that weight now.

All of my comorbidities have completely resolved now and I am in disbelief. I still need to lose at least 60 pounds which will happen when it happens.

[Paul Clarke 108]

I have has several goal weights during this journey. My initial one was 250lb, I set that when I was 412lb at my initial barbaric consultation. That was as much as I thought I could do at that time. Between then and surgery I was able to start loosing significant amounts of weight and I targeted and hit 100lb weight loss by before i went under the knife. So during that period my goal became a weight of 199lb, which I am very pleased to have reached. Now my goal is to be under 189lb, which will make my BMI under 24.9, so I am pretty close, maybe another month or so to go. Realistically at this point there is not much difference between a BMI of 26.2 and 24.9, but damn I want to hit that number so badly. Ultimately I want to balance my weight between 180 and 189lb over time. This means figuring out how to transition to maintenance, which is a bit daunting to me at this point, but I will figure it out. I have learned at each point of the journey, no reason to think I will stop now.

[Losebig 508]

I picked a number that I had previously been at and felt like I was a good weight and on the edge of 'too thin' (could see my ribs). I chose 190 based on that. My practice doesn't really emphasize the goal and didn't even write it down. As I got close to 200 my nutritionist started to talk about stopping losing weight. One thing I didn't take into account with 190 was that I now have some excess skin (thankfully it's not bad), but that skin weighs something and I can't lose it normally. That means that 190 now might be closer to 180 or 175 then, which was WAY too thin. After talking with the DR and nutritionist they suggested around 200 lbs because visually i was a good weight and athletically I was in great shape, which was the goal. BMI is useless for me because I have a long torso and a lot of muscle. I have struggled a bit to maintain around my goal and when I dip into the lower 190's I can tell, i don't feel good and it effects my athletic performance, around 200 is perfect. Right now I'm fighting to stay at 200 because I'm very active and now when I'm busy I forget to eat I can accidentally drop 5 - 10 lbs quickly and then have to fight to gain it back (doing that now).

So short answer is you can pick a number to start, it doesn't' really matter. What does matter is when you get close to a healthy weight listening to your team and your body to find what 'feels' right for you and looks good. I would recommend trying to pick a weight to stay at after the lose phase is over so you can make sure you don't start regain or lose too much if you're still in that first 18 or so months when it's easy to lose.

[Frustr8 7,886]

Paul, a Freudian slip, " an inital barbaric" consult or was that what it really was? I know I got grief at 355 pounds, mildest was Nice weight for a redwood tree, a might heavy for a Human Being! And this was from someone who was supposed to be watching over my very health!

[Biddy zz 🏳️🌈 1,003]

Firstly, I selected the weight I had comfortably been able to maintain when my gastric band was working 9 years ago. About 180lbs. Knew I could achieve that and was pretty comfortable with it.

When I overshot that following my bypass, I chose the weight at the threshold of my bmi not saying overweight. So I set my new goal at 156. When I overshot that, I just watched and tried to slow down the loss! I tried to slowly bump up my calories, and eat good Protein and eat an extra meal. I love my healthy cooking plan and don’t want to change it

- and I seem to have levelled off in 134-136 range.

Funny, I grew up chubby, believing I was ‘big boned’ (my anorexic mother’s term). But now I am 135lbs, a US size 4, generally an s or xls and I find I am, in fact, small boned. I have really very narrow boyish hips - so I wear smallest size men’s Levi 501s for example - they have way better pockets than the women’s!! Everything about me (apart from my skin LOL) is small. Except my blasted calves that haven’t even shrunk 1 centimetre are are now visibly the widest part of my legs!

Edited October 20, 2018 by Biddy zz

[Chevron 49]

Having previously lost weight, I knew my skin wasn’t going to bounce back and I would have some extra. My goal weight was a previous weight I had been which seemed to be a comfortable spot that balanced looking good with not having too much loose skin.

[RHCD 241]

Honestly when I had this convo with my team I was like under 200? Maybe 185 or 175 or even 165. All were acceptable for them as I was starting over 300? For me my BMI chart puts me at 160 and under for “healthy.” The only time I’ve ever been that weight was when I was a teenager working at a camp. I really can’t imaging my life there nor how I would look. I come from stocky builds.

I’m sitting at 205 and in that weird in between clothing size where I can wear some larges, in normal size jeans but also find certain cuts put me back in plus.

For me I want to be able to walk all day with out pain. I want to be able to go into normal stores and find plenty of things I can wear. I want to travel and not be the fat American.

[Jeaniered 183]

The goal I set was too extreme. But glad I set it as a goal as it gave me the drive I needed. So go for it - reach for the stars then you will be happy when you reach the moon! I knew when I got there, the hardest part now is to maintain at this weight. I’m still loosing and beginning to look a bit too thin lol.

[Jeaniered 183]

I lay in bed and can feel my ribs, in fact they are sticking out! But my bim is still not normal. If I lose more I will look Ill. I’m 63, happy with where I am, bought long length boots today, not extra wide and can cross my legs, go to the gym and run with my grandkids so I’m happy. I’m in the uk so have the nhs (though I did pay for my sleeve) and so I don’t have to go the medical insures to plead for treatment.

[JessLess 1,163]

I lost 80 lbs. dieting, exercising, and most importantly, taking Phentermine. I made that low weight my goal since it was about 6 years ago. My low weight was 175 and I felt like I was as low as I could get then. That’s my goal, although I’m hopeful I can go lower. I used to look fantastic at 140, but I was in my 20s. I’m going to do my best and see what 48 feels like at different weights.

[MarinaGirl 609]

5 hours ago, Jeaniered said:

I lay in bed and can feel my ribs, in fact they are sticking out! But my bim is still not normal. If I lose more I will look Ill. I’m 63, happy with where I am, bought long length boots today, not extra wide and can cross my legs, go to the gym and run with my grandkids so I’m happy. I’m in the uk so have the nhs (though I did pay for my sleeve) and so I don’t have to go the medical insures to plead for treatment.

I doubt you will look “ill” if your BMI is high normal. Why that kind of language?

[JessLess 1,163]

16 minutes ago, MarinaGirl said:

I doubt you will look “ill” if your BMI is high normal. Why that kind of language?

The reason some people think BMI is is bunk (myself included) are it doesn't take body composition into account. Some buff athletes have high BMIs because muscle weighs more than fat. When my PCP broke out the BMI chart I almost left her office for the 21st century, but all her other thoughts have been helpful.