Met with NUT yesterday

So, I met with my NUT yesterday for my preop nutritional counseling, she asked what my weight loss goal was. I said 180#. I started at ~317# six weeks ago and am down 24# so far on the preop diet. She sorta frowned and thought for a minute then asked what weight I had felt best at in my adult life. This is a difficult question to answer as I have never really stayed at one weight long enough to really know how it feels but I told her I thought 200#. She said she felt that would be my healthiest weight and we settled on that for a goal. Truth is 200# is were I wanted to be all along. But here's the kicker. Through all my research and most of the posts on this board, it seems as if there is an inevitable small amount of regain around 2 1/2 - 3 years. I was more or less giving myself these 20# as a pad for that period. My question is am I subconsciously setting myself up for failure by even considering this. This has really bugged me since I met with her yesterday. BTW, I didn't discuss this portion of the equation with her so that's on me. I appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have.

Randy

I set my goal at 150, the lowest I had maintained for only slightly more than a fleeting moment and at 22 when I was determined to fit into my gown through the help of supplements, 3 hours a day exercise, and cabbage soup. I was worried that was too low, but heck, it was a GOAL, I would be happy with 160 or so. As my weight loss progressed, I discovered 150 looked to be a breeze! So I lowered my goal to 145 so as to have a normal BMI. Also a breeze. So I just let things happen. When they got into the 130s, I made another goal- 125! I have floated at 128-130 for the last several months. I am not sure if I will ever make the 125 goal or not, but I know that I follow a healthy plan doing everything right at least 90% of the time. So, if my body wants me to have 125, I will have it. It may not be in the cards for me. But I won't be upset. I am afraid of the "bounce back" weight, but I imagine that will have more to do with whether I continue to do EVERYTHING right for at least 90% of the time. When that time comes, I will have to re-evaluate how much I can realistically do.

I guess my point is that it's tough to pull an arbitrary goal out of the air at this point. As you get closer to your goal, you will probably want to re-evaluate it based on how you have progressed and how much room you have to improve your commitment to your program. That will happen during your ENTIRE journey for the rest of your life. You are not locked into the goal weight you choose. I personally think it is important to allow ourselves to reevaluate our process periodically. If I had MADE myself stop at 150 (not sure if I could have), I would have been short changing myself a lot. If I don't make it to 125, I am not a failure, but having the lower goal has kept me focused on healthy habits.

I'm not sure if this is more confusing than helpful. I realize it's quite scattered but I just got home from the hospital last night with a total hip replacement and I can't make it any more coherent today. sorry.

Hmmm. Maybe my point was: Don't short change yourself, but realize that if you honestly give it your ALL, you will reach a goal weight that is best for your body. You won't know what that weight is until you get further through the process so don't feel stuck in a number you picked early out.

I will quit trying to make more sense for fear of making less.. time for a nap anyway. Good luck!

 

I am going to tell you about myself because mine is the only experience that I have .

I am over 4 years out and have not had any bounce back or regain. I had an original goal of 140 because it was the high end of a normal BMI. My body was happy to continue to lose and I was comfortable (and my Dr OK'd the weight) at 115. Due to some non WLS problems, I dropped down too low and am trying to get back up to that happy 115. (And.....I am in a weight gain stall I haven't gained in 3 weeks)

Do what feels right when you get there.

This is a tricky question to answer.  I don't think it's healthy for people to focus on the scale as their only goal.  But I also caution against 'settling' for something.  You may not feel like you can get lower then 200.  For me though, that would still be obese, and I would not have been comfortable there.  

My surgeon's office doesn't do goal weights just for this reason, they sorta let the body decide when it's done, and when the person is at a lifestyle they can live with and maintain that weight.

I set a goal of 120 but would have been happy if I stopped at 150 I thought. I am now 143 and when I talked to the surgeon last week I asked if my 120 was unrealistic.. he said "yes" I think you are going to end up less than that. I grinned from ear to ear and left with a spring in my step. Now whether or not I get there or stay there is really neither here nor there I feel 1000% better right now. MY blood sugar has been good my labs are good I don't require the naps I used to before surgery, I actually go out and have fun on the weekends shopping and stuff. Don't let the NUT set anything for you. If you want a goal of 180 shoot for it you can always readjust it lower or higher if need be later. Don't let the scale define you. Just get healthy and have fun!

No, the 20 pound "bounce back" is NOT inevitable. Many people don't experience it. I experienced a 4 pound bounce within just a couple of weeks after my lowest weight, but that lowest weight was after pancreatitis and gallbladder removal, so I think that was an artificial low. I am over 5 years out and have never been more than 7 pounds over my goal weight. That was my PCP's suggested goal weight (my surgeon wouldn't give goal weights), and was 5 pounds heavier than what I wanted to use as my goal. Even at my lowest, though, it was still a pound and a half heavier than what I wanted as MY goal... So I was glad I listened to him.

Sometimes there is bounce back if people force their body lower than it is comfortable at, and they gain a few pounds even if they are truly eating exactly the same way that they had been... And then their weight levels off, all while not changing anything about food choices or portions. That would be true bounce back.

Many cases of "bounce back", however, are because either people get to their goal weight while they still have some caloric malabsorption and then when they lose the rest of the malabsorption they need to drop their calories a bit to avoid gaining, or because they get to goal and then get lax about what they are eating.

Bounce back is NOT inevitable and, except for the first case, IS controllable.

Lora

Thanks guys, this has been some really good advice and it has given me a lot to think about. I am less concerned about the final weight now and am, as I have been from the beginning, concerned with being healthy and feeling better. That has already started to an extent, I can now bend over to pick something up out of the floor without every joint in my body feeling like they're coming apart. Anyway, thanks for relating the personal situations and for the advice.
Randy