How did you set your weight loss goal?

Hey guys how, what, or whom determined your weight loss goal and or ideal body weight?  I can't seem to get a straight answer from the doctors.  I'm 6'0" and 385 right now.  Some say I could get down to 200lbs and others say not to go below 250lbs.  They say that I'm too muscular to get under 250lbs.  My surgery is still set for this Wednesday April 22nd and I just want to have some kind of idea or reasonable expectation.  I guess time will tell.  

Google BMI calculator and chart.  My doc said I should weigh what I did when I was 21. around 155lbs.  Hell, I'd blow away at that weight . Also He said that I could expect to hit a stall withing 15 lbs of goal weight and that if I did get to it I would put on 20 lbs within 4 yrs.  I just want to be a 34" waist, medium sizes at 5'9" no lbs on my goal set

My doc asked me what I would like to weigh. I told him I would be ecstastic to weigh 200-205. He chuckled and said I would probably end up around 175. I have never weighed that in my adult life, so I picked 185 - my high school graduation weight, and just barely normal bmi. He was happy with that.

So, I don't know that it is a cut and dried answer. The science is to get you in a normal bmi - but I suppose there are other health factors as well.

You're going to lose a whole LOT of that "muscle" you have right now along with the fat. I carried my 325 pounds pretty well but since I got down to just under 200 a few months ago I have now been working on adding back a little of the muscle I used to have.

I would say pick a number you would like to see yourself at and go with that. Your body is going to do what it is going to do as long as you stick with your side of the bargain.

When I hit 240 I thought I had arrived! Everyone kept telling me how great I looked and all. Then I kept dropping and now I can't believe the progress when I look at pictures from just a few months ago.

This whole thing still makes my head spin sometimes.

Brian, I agree with you.  I know that I will lose a lot of muscle.  You can't help but lose it and the fat too.  I know that's one reason to take in a lot of protein.  I pump a lot of iron now on a regular basis but once I'm cleared by my surgeon I'll try to take it up a notch or two.  

I've never totally agreed with the BMI thing.  I've read that if you applied it to most of the professional athletes they would be considered morbidly obese.  Let me make this totally clear, I'm not saying that I'm on pro athlete level, I've never claimed to be.  I know that I'm very much over weight but I've been tested and was told that I have twice the muscle mass of a normal person.  Since the same cubic amount of muscle weighs four times more than the same cubic amount of fat I think muscle mass should be taken into consideration when determining an ideal body weight for an individual.
I think that instead of an ideal body weight I'll set my sights on an ideal body fat percentage.  I'll find one of those tanks that you sit in and they test your body fat.  

Hell, I'm just starting my journey and I've know that I've got a long way to go.  I'm going to take it one day at a time and one pound at a time and in the process I'm going to enjoy the ride.

When I consulted with my surgeon, he asked me what I wanted to weigh.  I told him 200 lbs.  He said I should be able to get there if I stick to the rules of eating right and exercising, and that I had set a realistic goal.  Almost a year later, I am there.   I was skeptical at first, too, and thought 250 or so would be where I'd end up.  BMI chart says I should be around 180 lbs.  Don't know if I can get there, but I am motivated to try since I made my goal.  You're gonna do fine, get ready, its a good ride.

At 5'9", my ideal body weight is roughly between 165 and 140.  When I started at 380, I thought that even the high end of that range was unattainable.  165?  That was 215 pounds away.  I couldn't even imagine being that small.

I never set a goal, but kind of had a "benchmark" at 220.  I thought that I'd be happy enough there.  In 1999, I went on a diet and got down to 210 and was pretty damn happy, so I knew that I'd be fine with 220 (even though on the dern BMI scale I'd still be labled obese.)  My doctors told me, with my starting weight, I should expect to get to between 220 and 200.  Seemed reasonable enough to me.

My body disagreed with both me and my doctors.  I just kept losing until a year ago when I settled at 145, a weight I've maintained for over a year so far.  I still can't believe that what I considered impossible actually happened.  Turns out I'm small framed, so I look in the mirror and think that I look just right.

So, you, your doctors and even your friends and family may try to pinpoint what to expect, but, in the end, your body will decide.  If you do everything as you're supposed to, you'll end up exactly where your body wants you to be.  All the other numbers are just speculative.

Cheers,

Chris

I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY (ad. infinitium) wish I had gone to a kinesthesiologist early on, and gotten my body composition charted. body fat %, lean muscle mass, bone density, VO2 max etc.

As I got closer and closer to what I was thinking was a pretty good weight I realized that weight wasn't a very good scale anymore. I had to look at % body fat. That's really the only true determination of what we're going for, right?

So, go get your stats right now, and then when you're closer to goal get them again. You'll see SOOO much data.

But, the basic answer to your question from me: % body fat.

 Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice.
Duane

I think folks sometimes get too hung up on BMI, the "ideal" weight, and pre-set "chart" numbers. We are all individuals and our bodies are different. I really didn't set a specific goal or target weight.  My cardiologist and PCP both said if I could get to 210 or less they would be happy with that. Understandable, since I was 390+  at the time. Once I decided to have WL surgery, I just figured that if I followed the plan my WL surgery team set up for me, my body would respond and find it's own "ideal" weight. And it appears to be working that way, at least for me.  I'm at 185 lbs. now, and still seem to be dropping, although it is much slower than before. My BMI still shows that I am  "overweight", but the Docs at Vandy told me last Friday that they're not concerned with my BMI because I do a lot of exercise and weight training. They told me they use bodyfat % for someone like me because it is more accurate in someone who is doing regular exercise and resistance training. My body composition has changed dramatically from all the exercise and weight training,  I'm sure.  I can tell I have added some lean muscle, which has definitely offset some of the weight loss in the last few weeks.

In any case, I know I'm now a lot healthier, feel so much better, have so much more energy and am enjoying my life again - all thanks to WL surgery!   It works - if you work it!