Goal Weight?? Help!!!

I can't decide on my goal weight. My surgeon didn't go over what he thought it should be. I guess I should have asked him that. I know there are several sites that can give me numbers but I would like to hear from other VSGer's!

If anyone has similar stats as I do (see below) can you let me know what your goal weight is.

I think 145 might be too aggressive for me.

Height - 5'8 1/2"
Age - 29
Bone Structure - Medium/Large
Current Weight - 223
Current Size - 16/18
Goal Size - 6/8
VSG - 10/20/2011

Thanks for any input, I appreciate you!!!

I chose my goal weight by my BMI numbers.  For you height 164 lbs is when you fall into the "normal" category.  With that, you know your body best--go with what you are the most comfortable and healthiest.  Your goal weight can be changed.  I'm sure you'll reach it quickly!

I'm 5'8" and I got my goal weight by throwing a dart at a dartboard. "Normal" for me, like you, is 164 or below, but it was hard for me to believe I could get there - I've never been below 200 in my adult life.

That said, I may get to 164 or below. I think it's hard to know until you get down close and see how your body is looking and how you're losing. The trick is not to get committed to the first goal weight you choose - if you choose low and don't make it you're not a failure. If like me you choose high and get there, it's not necessarily time to stop.

Maybe set 164 as your beginning goal. If you get there and still aren't satisfied with your weight, just stay on your plan until you are.

I'm a hair under 5"8" with a large bone structure, so similar to you.   When I was around 20-21, I weighed 165, and felt pretty darn good with that.  I was about a size 8/10/12 depending on the brand...but thin enough so my thighs just barely touched.  So I set my goal weight at 155 with the thought of "aiming high."  I think in my head I start to slack off close to goal, and having a lower one will help me get to where I need to be.

You are not a heavy weight and you are young, your BMI would be 21.7...  I don't think your goal is too aggressive...

I am a lot older than you, started at your weight (I am taller) and got down to my goal (and beyond) of 155 lbs.  Today I am 147.4 lbs and I want to maintin under 150.

However, having said all that, I changed my goal 3 times before I settled on 155 (140, 150, 155).  I think it is a personal decision and only you will be able to determine where you feel best.  As long as it is within the healthy range...  I think you should choose whatever works for you and you feel best at.

Good luck and remember nothing is written in stone.

Cindy

Dont get too caught up a number hun.
I kinda picked mine out of the air. 150... and thought well if I can get into a size 7 (highschool size) Im golden. MInd you Im shorter than you. 5'4 and a half. I ended up at 140 (size 4/5 or 26/27)... I like it here, it works. Pick a number that you know you really want to be under and hope for the best, work hard and stop when it feels right. My doctor said I could go as low as 130 but Im happy here and here is where I plan to stay...
Alot of people my hieght aim for 120 and lower but I do have a larger bone structure and dont wanna look like skelator... 

I've set my goals based upon body composition, with the goal of getting to around the 15% body fat level (which is on the lean side of normal for men, or middle of the "fitness" range on some charts). That still leaves me "overweight" on the BMI charts at about 27 but that's life - I would rather be healthy and moderately muscular than "normal" and gaunt. BMI only really has validity over a population; individuals are to, uh, individual for it to have any real meaning other than as a very rough indicator (though most of the surgeons would like to see you at about 24, because that's the level that most of them set as "normal" when figuring their %excess weight loss figures.)

I picked 150 out of the air.  I'm 5'7" and was 60 at the time of surgery last year.  I thought 150 would be a nice even number, just inside "normal" for my height and below the lowest I've ever been able to achieve in the many dieting attempts I've made over the decades, which was 159 for about 10 minutes.

Well, these days I maintain between 137-139, BMI between 21-22.  I discovered that my body would decide what my goal weight would be.  I fully expect that I might gain a little over the coming months as I settle into maintenance, so being under my stated "goal" is pretty comfortable. 

I picked an even 5-pound number lower than what I'd ever weighed as an adult.  That was 160.  That is a BMI of 26, still overweight technically, but I *loved* what I looked like at 165.  So 160 will probably be better.  Plus, I don't have dreams of skinny.  I've been fat my whole life, and I think my head would explode if I woke up and weighed 125 pounds (even without the extra skin).

That said, I mostly have a goal way of eating, in the sense that I want to have a sane relationship with food and eventually being satisfied eating about 1200-1400 calories a day and not pigging out.  Exercising to be healthy, not to eat more.  So, I will probably accept whatever that means for me weight-wise. 

I see you are younger, taller and smaller than I am/was.  So I'd say you can definitely achieve your goal size.  Not sure what that would correspond to in weight.