Difficulties In Setting a Goal

I have read up on it a little bit, looking for people at similar starting and loss. It's weird that people with the same amount of loss (starting and ending) can have such a difference in poundage of loss after ps. I know there are several different procedures but I assume it just comes down to every person having a different body structure. Have at least a year here to loose and maintain before I really need to think about it. In the meantime I am glad for the new lease on life that VSG has given me.

I had an an initial goal of 150 because it was right on the cusp of a healthy BMI. I also remember being in a size 8 at that size years earlier, so that sounded good to me. Once I got there, I didn't really do anything differently and decided to just see where I ended up. I got to 143 and a size 6 when the weight loss just stopped. I now have settled at 144-145 for over a year. I'm glad I lost a bit over goal so I can have a bit of a cushion and a line I draw where I absolutely won't go over, and that's the 150 mark. Once I get close, I work my way back down to the 145 mark. A bit of bounce regain is normal a few years out, so that is definitely something to take into consideration when choosing a goal weight. 

I'm still losing without really trying too hard so I think you're right that my body will settle at a comfortable point where I'm happy with where I'm at AND my eating habits aren't just straight out "dieting."

It's good to have a bit of cushion. :)

Find a facility in your area that does body composition DEXA scan. That can cost 100-200 but they can give you a real very accurate body fat % for all your areas: torso, arms, legs..Etc. you will know exactly how much fat you have left on your body and  know how much more if any can you lose safely without getting too low for a woman. Woman need app 14-15 essential body fat. Anything below 20% is considered low body fat. Normal for any woman - unless she is an athlete is 25-30%. 

20-25% is considered lean ...Once you know that - you can then determined how much more you can lose and still have done "reserves" if you get sick. 

The only problem with the link you provided is does this number (35 inches) apply to those of us women who are unusually tall? When I was approaching goal at first, my doc took the waist measurement and at that time it was 36. She shared with me that I needed to get it under 35 if possible due to this statistic for women. I then asked her if she thought that given I am 4 standard deviations away from being a "normal" height for a woman if she thought that maybe 36 inches was Ok. She pondered that and agreed. I am under 35 now, but not because I lost significantly more weight from that day- it was the TT. Once all that extra skin was removed my waist size dropped a couple of inches. 

I agree with Hala- if you can swing the Dexa scan do it. My insurance would cover it, but I don't want extra exposure to the radiation due to being scanned constantly. That would not be an issue though for most. 

Here here, fellow tall gal! I once heard it put that women should aim for their waist to be no more than half their height. That seems more inclusive of those of us who are tall.

Regain is not written in stone. If you work really hard, you never have to gain a single pound.

Having said that, the vast percentage of people put back about 20 pounds after hitting their lowest weight. Everyone swears it won't EVER happen to them. But mostly, it does.

Decide who you are, and where you want to be. Ignore, for god's sake, everyone that tells you that you're too skinny. You aren't, and others are not a fair judge. 

I went 60 pounds below my surgeon's goal, and 35 pounds below my own. I'm glad I did.

I struggled with this too. First goal I set at 220 (I am 6'2'' with a medium frame so that was high). It took some time for me to accept that I picked that goal due to being afraid I could never ever make it to a normal bmi. I revised it to a normal bmi once I realized this. Then, once at goal (bmi 24.9 and 194 pounds) i decided to go under 10 pounds for some room to bounce up given that statistically we regain 5% of our EWL. Lost down to 185 and stayed there for a while. Due to some other health issues my doc did tell me to not go under 180... not 'skinny" for me, but enough reserves to help with future recoveries should that situation arise. That then is what set in cement my final goal, which is really a range. I don't want to drop under 180 (have a few times and had to adjust back up) nor over 195... that happened once, had surgery to fix the gallbladder/hernia and went right down to 180. 

So why bother you with those details? I think setting a goal is more than just a physical number or "how you look". There might be other factors to consider. First, I do recommend you allow yourself a little bounce back room as long as it is not putting you at an unhealthy weight. Next, if you are one that is at the bottom of your bmi range (or just very thin) really take a good look at the emotional part of why you want to go lower. Not saying that applies to you, but in general take a look at the emotional part of setting goal. Finally, the loose skin is a mindfuck. It made me feel "heavy" even though I wasn't. I was not one prior to vsg to thing I would ever want to bother with plastic surgery, but ended up with a TT. The difference was absolutely dramatic. I went from looking pudgy to sleek- all due to that extra skin. I was one that carried all of my extra weight in my stomach though.