Goals....How important are they

How important is the goal setting, the "this is what I want to weigh" part of this process?

Here's my story. I'm a rather large guy, 6'7 currently 340, highest ever 360, Ive been this tall since 7th grade. When I was in high school I weighed 260, 290 in college playing college football, 320 when I graduated college, and up up and away since then.  Of course Like all of us, I did the fad diets, weigh****chers was my biggest success losing 60 lbs one summer. But I'd always put it back on.

I went from 360 to 290 with the lapband and started running.  I've never been a runner before and I love it.  I ran 2 half marathons, slow, 3 hrs each, but I did it.  I've run tons of other races 5Ks, 10Ks 10 milers etc.  But last July I injured my knee and thus have put on 40 lbs bringing me to my current weight. I hope one day to run a full marathon, just 1 to experience it and know that I could do it.

So what is my goal weight? I dunno. I just don't want to drop dead mowing the lawn someday, doing something stupid like that.

What would I like to weigh? I think I would look and feel great at 260 again but dream of 250.  I think once I start running again I will see good results. I'm already walking 2 miles a day and hope to RUN 3 before my surgery date (2/10/2014).   I would be completely happy maintaining 280 for the rest of my life though.

I see a lot of good results on this board. what happens if I lose 100 lbs? 240 would be an amazing thing. I think I would look like a string bean and have lots of loose skin but it would be amazing. I can't even imagine what running would feel like a hundred LBS lighter.

So we will see.

I'm sure you will get a lot of answers on this topic, as it's a popular one, but here's my 2 cents. I'm a six foot tall female and my highest weight was 310lbs. The bariatric center I have been involved with put my goal weight at 210lbs. I thought that was nuts, but I now realize they use their goals for patients as an incentive to "sell" new/perspective clients on their great success stories.

I decided my goal was getting into a "normal" BMI percentage, so for me that weight is 185lbs. There is a lot of info out there about how using the BMI scale is far from a perfect measurement, but for me, right now, it works. I may adjust that number down as I get closer, time will tell.

Congrats on your upcoming surgery!

Thanks for the info from Hot_Lanta.  So how have you been doing. 

I started out much higher then you (537). Originally my surgeon told me he would be happy if I got to 300 but after seeing my determination, rapid weight loss and compliance he wants me at 250. Today I am at 410.

I have a set of mini goals I am working against, my next one is 399. I am working with a personal trainer and his goal is 245. I want to be 245 and strong (low body fat), yes I will have skin to deal with but that is what plastics is for. I started my process with the surgeon on September 9th and I have lost 127 lbs, in about 15 more lbs I will be at the halfway point in my weight lost. 

So bottom line for a male who is determined to be active and compliant, 100lbs is NO problem.

I have never been given a goal by anyone in my weightloss team, so I have been working with mini goals of losing 10 lbs at a time. I picked an overall goal out of the air of  180 lbs (5 ft 10 male) which seems pretty reasonable and lets me have one of those kool tickers. But I an not wedded to that number if its too high or too low.

I like having goals, so I made a bunch of them:

(3/20/14) 291 - Extremely Obese BMI
(4/29/14) 269 - Fifty Lost/25% EWL
(5/17/14) 260 - Driver's License Weight
(8/2/14) 233 - Obese BMI
(9/12/14) 219 - One Hundred Lost/50% EWL
(11/25/14) 199 - "Onederland"
180 - Age 18
174 - Overweight BMI/Surgeon's "Goal"
169 - One Hundred Fifty Lost/75% EWL
159.5 - Half the person I used to be
145 - Normal BMI
120 - 100% EWL (based on Ideal Weight calculations)

ULTIMATE DREAM GOAL - 120 pounds, 20% body fat (Normal BMI range is 145-109)
Height - 5'4"

That said, I also know that I have no comprehension of what I'll look like or what my body will be like at any of these places.  Right now, I weight the least I've weighed in my entire adult life and I look nothing like I did the last time I weighed this much.  I'm also much stronger and more capable at existence than I was the last time I weighed this much!  

So while I have goals, I also have the unknown.  Yes, I weighed 180 when I graduated high school and I thought I looked fine, but 180 at age 38 is a heck of a lot different than 180 was when I was 18.  So I'm just going to keep fixing my lifestyle and seeing where it takes me.  

I think everyone has some sort of goal. Some are just simply to be healthier, and any weight lost will accomplish that. Some have a goal to put diabetes into remission, or be off BP meds, etc. And some have a goal of a very specific number. It's really up to you, and what will make you happy.

You are a very tall guy, but I wouldn't call you large. I'm 6'3", and topped out at 475, or what I called borderline medium/large. My surgeon had a goal of 250, and my own goal was 225. I've been at a steady 185 for a year and a half, which is right in the middle of the normal BMI range. You would just slip under a healthy BMI at 220.

Whatever your goal, just work hard and follow your plan, and be happy with the result. You probably know a lot about exercise and fitness from what you've told us, but lifting heavy once you are cleared for it will help you maintain as much muscle mass as possible.

Good luck, and keep us posted.