My surgery is scheduled for November 16th and I keep wondering about setting a goal weight. I am 5'2" and the problem I am having is I have no idea what a 5'2" body looks like at 120, 130 140, etc. I am currently 267 lbs. I haven't been 120 pounds since elementary school. How do you set your goal weight? Looks or strictly BMI, or a combination of both?? Any suggestions of photos or websites to see some examples of sizes?
Thanks
Cherry

There ar a couple of site I have stumbled on that allow you to search for actual photos of ht/wt combos.  Here is one:  http://www.mybodygallery.com/index.html

Thank you, Lori for sharing that site!!

There are better ones with more pictures....I just cant find them right now! It is cool to see what various weights look like. 

 very glad you shared this!

Thanks so much. That really helps.

I knew I really wanted to make it to 'normal' BMI, which is 164 for me. I think somewhere between 155-160 is where I'd like to ultimately end up. I'll re-evaluate once I'm at 164 what I want to do.

Here is another website to see what actual women look like at different weights:  

http://makeovr.com/weightmirror/

Thank you!

We're about the same size pre op you and I. I was 267 when I first saw my doc. I am 5'1" and was going for a goal weight of about 125. My surgeon pointed out that was an unrealistic number saying take the weight from an insurance or doc's chart, and add 20-30 pounds. He explained if I'd been obese for a while I had gotten denser bones and muscle mass to haul the excess weight around. Therefore, the numbers on the chart aren't right for us. At 150 I was a size 10-12 and at 140 and 8 or 10. I was always active and had good muscle tone so I think that helped with the smaller sizes. Don't be set on a certain goal weight- have a targer to shoot for: say between 150-170 and when you get there see how it feels for you. For some, the lower weight is best, but for some reaching somewhere near their initial goal is enough. For me the way my clothes fit and how I feel is a better indicator that I'm at goal than a number on a scale.

jen 9+ yrs post op rny