What should my Goal Weight be? Calling All Vets!

I am 9 months out, and have chosen 150 lbs as my Goal Weight.  Is that too high of a weight?  It might put me in a size 8 pants.

I am 5' 7.5 inches, but I always consider myself as 5' 8'.  Started out at 256 lbs and had surgery Feb, 21, 2013.  I am now 165 lbs.

In my 20s I dieted down to about 135 lbs 140lb (stayed there only for a year then regained!).  I was super thin, maybe too thin?  A little gaunt.  I am now turning 42, and set a goal weight of 150lbs.  But, maybe I should change that to 145 lbs?  I have loose stomach skin from having babies...and the weight gains, of course.  

I am now a size 10 in Old Navy jeans with 'stretch' in them.  Size 12 in other pants.  Should my goal be 'a solid size 8 in pants'? 

Thanks Vets for helping me with this!

 

it depends mostly on how you feel health wise and how you look

 sizes change by 1 size every 10 years so a size 8 would probably be a 10 now

forget the numbers stick with  how you feel

Good point.

Totally subjective and personal as to where that set point is....If I was you, I would continue to strive for the 150 and if you don't think that is where you want to be, adjust it then.  My goal was 145 (I'm 5'3") and when I got there, I wasn't ready to stop yet so I kept going. The goal doesn't have to be the end...actually it's the beginning of the rest of your life.  See how you feel at 150 and then go from there.  BTW, you look great and are doing a wonderful job!!!! Kudos to you!!!

Deb

You get to make this decision and you get to change your mind at any time.  This goal number is just a milestone, nothing really changes when you reach it.  You can always choose to go a little lower or higher.  The power and the choice is yours. I tend to want to go a bit lower for bounce back room, but you might not, it really is up to you.

A lot of people ask this and i always say the same thing-whatever makes you happy. I've seen people who's surgeons want them higher than they want to weigh and surgeons who want them lower than they want to weigh. I say whatever makes you happy. As long as your healthy and you like the way you look that's all that maters. Plus you really can't stick too strongly to weight as a goal because it can fluctuate so much from day to day or month to month based on a ton of factors. I'm a 6'3" 29 year old guy who started at 410. They want me to be down to 175-180 because i have a large frame and a good amount of muscle mass...even at my heaviest i always worked out. But I'm at 230 right now. My goal is 200 but i have people telling me I'm already to skinny or I've had a few say yeah, you could go to 180. Personally i like where I'm at now butwant more so I'm shooting for 200 but the reason I'm telling you all this is because it really is something only you can decide. When you really are satisfied with the way you fit into that new pair of jeans and really like what's staring back at you in the mirror, that's when you know you hit your goal. As long as you're healthy it doesn't matter. And who knows, maybe you'll be happy at a heavier weight then you thought. Its kind of a trial and error thing when you get close to goal because unfortunately we can't try on bodies like clothes to deside what fits best. Though that would be nice. Hope thishelped. Best wishes.

I have my surgery next month and I have enjoyed reading all the post and reviews. It's really helping me and encouraging me and I thank everyone for sharing their posts.

My personal opinion is that the only way to do it "scientifically" is to have your body fat tested and choose a healthy body fat percentage and shoot for that.

Really, what we're after is not a "weight," but a level of fat in the body.  Our "weight" can't go below a certain amount without cutting into muscle, and if we're doing a lot of exercise and building muscle our weight might even increase - but if the fat is going down, so what?

So I strongly urge everyone, as they near goal, to get a Bod Pod or DEXA scan done, determine your body fat remaining, and from there it's pretty easy to set a realistic goal weight.  Without knowing your body fat it's really a big guess as to what is healthy, achievable and sustainable in maintenance.

I don't think it is too low.  I have 7 inches in height on you, and wear a size 12 Old Navy (slightly loose), and I could stand to lose a few pounds (if I didn't feel like I needed to keep the extra calories in reserve for future recoveries).  We could have totally different bone structures and all- but my daughter (6'1'') weighs 135 and looks awesome- long and lanky, no belly fat rolls, but not emaciated or anything.  Shet wears a size 2 (loose too). 

I think you will know when you get there.  Go to 150 and see how you feel and if you like how you look.  I am at 8 months and slowly adding calories so I can stop losing.  I am short 5'1" and 108 pounds right now, and know that I don't want to go lower than this.  I really think my face looks older than it did even 10 pounds ago, but I am not freaking out about it.  I'm guessing you are still able to lose weight fairly easily and could be at 150 in 2 or 3 months if you want to.  Good luck with your decision.  You have done so well, and you look great.  You look about 20 years younger than you did in your old avatar pic.  You are a really beautiful woman.