Realistic Goals

I am almost a year and a half out from surgery. My weight still fluctuates quite a bit-My low is 180, my high is 190. I know some bad decision making takes a part in this, but its also sometimes uncorrelated. At my height, 180 makes me overweight, right on the border of obese. I put 140 as my goal weight in my ticker before having surgery, thinking the goal then was just COMPLETELY unrealistic. My doctors told me a proper expectation would be maybe 210.

SO, all of that being said, what IS a proper expectation for me? I feel like I really have come so far. There are days that I am totally satisfied with where I stand, and others that I want to push myself to keep losing. I have had a consultation with a plastic surgeon, who thinks I am ready to move forward with him and not lose anymore. I guess the medical label of "obese" and "overweight" might be what makes me still feel like my weight loss journey should not be over.

It is a difficult subject, and I don't want to continue to torture myself over this if its just simply an unreasonable goal.

(also, any body have stories or thoughts about plastics? Went to see Dr. Sterry in Manhattan-he seemed great!)

No one can pick a goal for you. But if you want to lose more, I wouldn't pursue plastics until you are certain. It sounds like you ssre nmot yet satisfied, so....

Surgeons are happy if we lose 50 to 60 percent of our excess weight. I was never going to be happy with that. Getting to 50 percent was pretty easy. 60 percent was a little more work. 70 percent was a grind. And after 80 percent it was a lot of concentration and effort.

You could absolutely get to a healthy BMI if you are willing to put the work in. Heck, if you cut calories enough, for long enough, you could get under 100 pounds -- not that that would be remotely healthy, of course.

Really, it's all up to you.

Depends how strict you want to live as far as calories and exercise and how your metabolism works. How tall are you?

At 5' 7' and age 51 I found 140 hard for me to keep as years went on, also my face looked older that thin ...so my new goal is 150. I can maintain 150 with 1400 to 1500 calories. However this is with exercise most days. Some have reported they can eat far less at that height and weight to maintain. Metabolism I am guessing?? Above those calories daily and I am gaining.

From your after pic in your profile your elasticity and body looks very good at 180. You look young and your age helps to be firmer. Totally your decision. It is definitely a mind game for us... I know taking off last 15 of regain myself. I could stop here and look fine in many people's eyes but want to get to 150...I too am now overweight BMI and that bothers me after holding normal for about 7 years.

Good luck with your ps! I am contemplating myself but love the work of Dr. Michael's in Maryland. I have a consultation set for April when we will vacation to D.C. Many here have used and traveled far to get to him. I will look up your doctor too so I do my homework too!

Good luck!

I think your final comfortable ?landing? weight is most realistically looked at as a multi-step process.

First , you must get the excess empty ?skin?: and fat cells permanently off to change ( accelerate ) your metabolism forever.

The first lipo /plastic surgery will not be your last just a huge improvement.

>> First , you must get the excess empty "skin" and fat cells permanently off to change (accelerate) your metabolism forever.

When I was figuring out my ideal weight, I used this site -- http://halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm

It's got lots of different calculators and provides some of the science behind them as well. It gave me an idea of where I might want to be and then I just picked the number I liked best as my "ideal dream goal that I'm not going to tell anyone." If I get there, I get there.

At what weight do you feel the most confident? Healthy? In control and not left feeling you can never enjoy anything good? Are you in the size you want to be?

Thats how I assess what's realistic for me. And when I answer those questions all with a yes, my BMI is around 31-32. That's where I'm happy. When my BMI creeps up one of those question's answers turns into a no, which means I have to make a change in some fashion.

I made my goal in the top half of a normal BMI for my height. I didn't know if I'd get there but I did. I also said when I was 30lbs away I would take it 5lbs at a time. When you've been SMO for so long *****ally knows.

I found getting a Dexascan very helpful. It helped me realize I wasn't so far off, which helped me make the decision about PS. If you go to my OH blog you can read about my first Dexascan. I did lose some of my weight after those surgeries.. But that doesn't happen for everyone.

I did use Dr Michaels in DC area. Traveled from Long Island, well worth it. I did 5 consultations and realized it was important to use someone who this is their specialty. All PS will say they do it. I always say the quantity and the quality of our skin is different and makes for more challenging surgery.

Good Luck