So the talk of 'excess weight' has me thinking... (Dangerous, I know)

I'm 5'6.5". To factor my excess weight I took the high end of my BMI range ~155. So starting at 338, my excess weight was 183#. Expected WL is ~70 percent of the excess weight. 183*.7=128#. So that's what I needed to lose to be statistically successful. I've lost 77% of my excess.

I just reimagined my goal from 175 to 187. I'm perfectly happy with my body, size, shape etc-- all I'm working for at this point is a buffer I can live with away from 200. I don't care about BMI.

While Julie nailed it as usual. I will add that I used the calculator here on OH. I just said I expected to lose 110% EWL and plugged in my info.

That was my goal allowing for bounce back. When I was first here on OH in 2006 folks had much higher goals than we see today. Most folks at my height of 5'4 had goals of 160-170. Now 130 is pretty average.

What I read on an excess weight calculator site was the formula they use is 100lbs at 5' tall and add 5lbs for every inch of height. So at 5'5 it would be 125lbs. So if you start at 260 you have 135lbs of excess weight and if you have an rny...the average statistical loss is 70% of that.

None of that hat has anything to do with what people set as their goal weight. I'm 5'4 and I have no desire whatsoever to get to 120. My original goal weight was 170 (overweight). I'm under that so at this point just hanging out seeing where I end up. At this point I'm 7.5lbs above a normal BMI so odds are high that I'll hit that range.

Excess weight and "normal" range are different for each individual based on lean muscle mass. For example, due to my height (5' 5") doctors told me consistently that I "should" weigh 124. However, I have large dense bones and a great deal of muscle mass. My lean muscle mass (bones, muscle, and organs) is actually 155. I can never hope to weigh 124 unless I lose muscle and bone density. So, for me at 236 now, I estimate carrying about 66 pounds of excess body fat. Women should, and most likely will, retain between 10-25% body fat. This puts my ideal body weight between 165 and 180. Given my large percentage of fat cells, I will have trouble getting below 180.
I provide these details not to talk about myself, but to illustrate how excess weight and ideal weight are quite different for people of the same height, and for everyone, depending on lean muscle mass.

I want to add or emphasize that individual ideal weight cannot be determined by height alone. Find out through an EEG what your lean muscle mass is---that is your body with no fat or fluid. This knowledge lets you set a reasonable goal. If I went on thinking I should weight 124 and be a size 8, I'd go crazy. My skeleton is a size 14. That is important to know.

My doc never told me what m excess weight was. He just showed me a chart depicting expected weight loss with surgery based on my weight at initial consult. Personally I figured excess weight as any weight that put me at any weight that put me over a normal BMI (for my height 5"1' that's 132lbs) any weight below that is a bonus. I'm trying to get halfway between 99 and 132 just to give myself some extra cushion in case of some bounce back. Right now I'm focusing on getting to 125. At 128.8 and about a size 6 I'm ok. Hearing everyone's goals, I almost feel like I'm not setting my goal light enough.