Hi... I've seen everyone with tickers and such talking about their weight goals. I was wondering what you meant by "goal." What goal is it that people are posting... ideal goals? I ask because I was pretty much told that most people loose about 65% of their excess weight, and that should be my goal... which would still be overweight. Even if that is all I'll loose, I'm still doing the band. No matter what, loosing that much weight can only do me good.


I'm short enough that 150 lbs is still considered obese. My "ideal" is something like 105.... which is less than I would have to loose to get there. So, I'm just confused as to what my goal should be. I don't want to say too low and feel like I failed to loose it. But, at the same time, I don't want to put it too high and sell myself short.

So, how did you set your goals?

Thanks!
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My goal is the high end of what's healthy for my hight. After I get there I'll see how happy I am and how I feel, and may or may not decide to set a new, lower goal. I do know from the past that it's unlikely I'll get below 125 without starving myself - I was very healthy and active at this weight a few years ago, and that's just where my body settled.

I set my goal for 10% of my body weight - the target that medicine tells us will really benefit our health. When I reach that, I will set a new goal. In WW, you meet with your counselor and determine a long-term goal weight but only AFTER you lose the first 10%. If you're doing surgery, you and your doctor should be able to set a realistic long term goal.

My goal is the same as sierra's. I want to be at the high end of healthy for my weight. I'm never going to be skinny, and I really don't want to be. I think the last 20 to 30 pounds will be the hardest to loose. I am already slowing down a lot.

It's good that you are thinking about realistic goals for yourself. I would ask your surgeon about it. I know that there are websites out there that breakdown what your BMI/weight should be for your height and age. Maybe you could find that information at obesityhelp.com. I'm aiming for a BMI of 25. I'm pretty close to it right now at 26.6.

A renegade here!

my goal was to lose absolutely as much weight as possible after the surgery - settle in at something that was comfortable and manageable, that didn't have me shopping in the WOMEN's department [post-plastic surgery], and that i could maintain without going overboard with my own obsessive/ compulsive tendencies.

my goal is to live a happy, healthy, comfortable, BALANCED life - and if i'm a wee bit overweight, that's ok. a wee bit underweight would be good too, but i REFUSE to beat myself up over this.

after all, i've done all that was humanly possible. it's time for me to LIVE, not obsess.

Tweet the % weight loss that you usually see cited for specific surgeries is based on studies done on people who had them and should not affect the goal you set for yourself, but you should factor in, along with other things, when you decide which procedure to go for...

I chose my goal to acheive the highest end of healthy weight (which is a body mass index of 25 kg/m2).. But once I get there *gleaming at the thought!!* I might try to go below

D.

My goal, too, is the high end of normal for my height. I maintained around 150 for many years (until 13 years ago) so I would be happy to be there also, but wanted to set my goal weight a little less. That being said--my philosophy is pretty much the same as Jiffy's. Getting off some of my meds, having less pain & being able to walk for pleasure again was my true goal.

My goal is to live a long, happy and healthy life with my family. I have been obese for too long and I've finally started doing something about it. I have already lost over 80lbs.My goal is to loose as much weight as I can where when I check my BMI, it doesn't say I'm obese or overweight. My ultimate goal is to be at 130. That's where I was several years ago.

My goal is also at the high end of the "normal" weight rnage for my height. I think that the number will change once I am closer to it. My body will decide where it is wants to be; either higher or lower. My main focus is getting healthy, physically and emotionally. The WLS for me has been a reawakening both physically and emotionally. My goals have shifted from the number on the scale to my personal and professional life. When you feel better about yourself, you want the best that life has to offer. That's how I feel now. I want a better job and I want better relationships. The sky's the limit!!!

Jeanette

Just my two cents worth, my goal is where I last felt good about my body. It is still above the chart for my height (5'5")... I was heavy then, but I felt good about who I was. I didn't feel like the real me was hidden beneth layers of fat. That's why my goal is where it is.

~Sharmel

good for you, scorp! we are not a number - and you're so right that we have no clue what we actually look like.

after i'd lost more than half of my body weight, my support group did an interesting exercise. take a roll of brown paper, and tape it to the wall. make it as many sheets wide as you think you need.

draw your outline.

then, get a partner, and lie down on the paper. the partner draws your REAL outline.

what were my results?

you got it - the outline i drew was twice the size of my real one.

and just the other day [AGAIN!] i stood in front of a narrow opening at work [piles of boxes in the hallway] and debated for a couple of minutes over whether or not i could fit through. i did. and did it a couple of times to be sure.

yeah. issues. bit time.

My goal is to FEEL good, to FEEL healthy, to FEEL thinner. I know from past experiences that when I look in the mirror I will NEVER see a thin me, my eyes and brain just won't accept it..... so my goal is to not see myself with my eyes but to pay attention to how I feel......does this make sense?

If I sat in front of a mirror all day long, I would never reach my goals/desires, my eyes would not let me see the real me, no matter how skinny I got.......so my goal is to feel good about myself.

Did you ever put on an outfit and say MY GOSH this feels so good, I feel good.... then you look in the mirror and say WHOLEY CRAP... I look awful and that just ruins your day. My goal is to let my "feel good" feelings take charge instead of my eyes.

People don't see us as we see ourselves..... so I want them to see how I feel (and not look).

Wish I could explain it better.....but when I feel good, I noticed my head is held higher and I'm smiling alot more at people....and they are smiling back at me.

.

I'm scheduled for Surgery in less than 2 weeks. btw AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
My Drs goal for me is 120. My goal is having no pain (physically) being able to exercise breathe have endurance again. Keep up with my husband (perhaps give him a run for his money!) I want to be the me that I want to be Size is just a # I want to feel GREAT I've had 30 years of feeling ok at best.

I don't really have a goal weight. The weight in my ticker is the highest possible weight I can be and still have a BMI in the normal range. But ... I don't know that that is my goal weight for certain because my goal isn't a number. I have to choose a number for tickers and for Fitday and for my doctor.

But my real goals ... those things that will tell me when I have completed the initial stage of my WLS journey are:

1) Being able to fit into a size of clothing that doesn't have a "W" after it.

2) Being able to get up off the floor without moaning, groaning or needing help.

3) Looking in the mirror and seeing something that I feel content with.

4) When I weigh less than my husband (for the first time in more than 10 yrs).

5) When I can sit more comfortably in a plane seat (I mean no one is comfy on a plane no matter how thin they are but I'd like to not have to put up the armrest).

6) When I can ride rollercoasters with my daughter because I can fit in the seat.

7) When I've lost enough weight and maintained it long enough to qualify for the plastic surgery that I may or may not have.

8) When I can have sex with my hubby without having large amounts of excess fat making things uncomfortable.

There are more things like this on my list. And I don't have to do them all ... but when I can say that most of these things are reality in my life I will have reached my goal.

Most of all I want to feel good. I want to feel strong and healthy and good about where I am in my life without the shadow of morbid obesity hanging over me.

My life is not a number and it cannot be summed up and assessed as pass or fail based on the numbers on the scale. Those numbers are to me, a tool that I use to help me guage progress and see where and when improvements are needed but the numbers have no control over me.

Best wishes,

My doctor set my goal. At the time of surgery I didn't have a clue about what a realistic goal would be. I just wanted to be free of the backaches.