I saw that someone posted this earlier in another thread.

Anyone who believes this is deluding him or herself. It is simply not true. Not only do you have to deal with the genetics of how much fat you are likely to store, but also of where you store it. Then you must account for frame size. There are limits on how thin we can get. Especially since the band has no malabsorption component.

I know lots of bandsters think that they can just get fills indefinitely until they get as small as they want. I used to think this too. But there are side effects to tight fills, such as not being able to eat solid food and reflux. Take it from a person who has been banded almost 4 years.

I'm not saying we can't get to a normal weight (BMI in the 25-27 range or so, being able to shop in normal clothes sections); I think most of us can. But to state that we can get as thin as we want is simply inaccurate and believing it is just setting oneself up for failure.

Well Capt'n Jack, at least you didn't get down to 98#s....

Thanks for posting this Fauxnaif! I have known so many big folk who have decided that they are going to get to size tiny, and they won't be happy unless and until they reach that size tiny. And this is from people who are simply incapapble of being tiny. One woman wanted to be a size 6, and she wouldn't be happy until she made it there. But honey, there was no way in hell she was gonna get there... she was built like me, strong, with broad shoulders, but closer to 6' than not.

Oh, and if you end up as a Turtle, or worse, like me.... well, you ain't gonna lose very fast, to put it mildly

I agree....at first I had this mental picture of what/how skinny I wanted to be....my cousin was much larger than me and had the gastric a few years ago and I saw how tiny she got...and just knew I could do the same...But I have realized that we are two different body types and "tools"....Im happy to have chosen the band and I am now ok with the slow weight loss it actually helps me to keep reality in my view.....

Im happy to just have lost and I will continue to work hard to get smaller, but I realized that we cant all be a size 4!!! Everyone always ask me what size do you want to be or wiegh...and I have to tell them I am unsure my body has never even been this small since Kindegarten!! LOL.....I just want feel better about my looks and have the confidence that comes along with that....

I started at 6'1" tall,

Since getting the band, I am now 3'4".

Go figure. :confused:

Well maybe I'm naive, but I know 2 people personally who have gotten to that tiny size with the lapband, one of them is my aunt. If there are no health issues preventing it, why can't we lose all of our exess weight?

Well maybe I'm naive, but I know 2 people personally who have gotten to that tiny size with the lapband, one of them is my aunt. If there are no health issues preventing it, why can't we lose all of our exess weight?

I think some people are not arguing that you could lose your excess weight... it is just a face that some body would not fit into a 4. I think anyone is capable of losing their "EXCESS WEIGHT"... I do not that everyone is capable of being a size 4. My bones wouldn't fit into a size 4.

Hehe, I don't know what my bone structure would allow for. I know for a fact that I can get down to a 12, but I was a teenager and chubby, so maybe a 10 maybe not. We'll see :confused:

Heather's right, this isn't about not being able to lose "excess weight" but having realistic ideals and goals.

Unless there are underlying medical conditions, I think that we have very good reason to expect to get to our personal real size. Most people do not take into account their fat free mass FFM, which has probably the biggest impact on what we can effectively weigh. We get hung up on BMI charts, which are only guidelines.

For instance, my FFM is 140 pounds. That is what I weight without an ounce of fat on my body. At a good body fat percentage of %25-30% I will still be considered "obese." But that body fat percentage is right where I should be.

This is why I worry about NewSho. Her BMI is "stuck" at 30%, but I don't know what her FFM is. It could be that she is at a good body fat percentage. I just really worry about you Sho! (((((hugs)))))

I was also told that because we have been overweight for so long that our bones weigh more and that we have denser muscle mass. So if we were a size 16 at 160 lbs on the way up we will reach a 16 on the way down before we hit 160, for example let's say at 170 (although this would vary from person to person) While it may be realistic to reach that sizi we were in college we probably won't be able to hit that weight, due to additional muscle and bone mass from carringing so much ecess, this too will effect our BMI. BMI's actually become very distorted in anyone who has been significantly overweight or has done body building, lol, or even a woman with DD's.

And let's not forget the ravages of age! What may have made sense or been possible for a 20-year-old may very well be out of reach for a 45-year-old, for no other reason than age. This is why the better BMI calculators take age into account--it really does make a difference if you're 20 or 50!

I agree that people need to take into account factors and body type when figuring out goal a reasonable goal. When I first started, I wanted to be 140, at which point I would have lost 140 also. I don't really think that's a possible goal given my current body size, so I've modified that to 140~160 lbs wise. For calculations, like where my halfpoint is, I've left it at 140 (like I will be halfway to goal if I ever get to 210), but I know that I may wiegh a bit more than that and be satisfied.

Of course, on the other side of the coin is body dysmorphia, and I may get to a size 10 and look great, but still not see it and keep wanting to lose weight... which isn't good either, you know?

I agree.

I also think you need to look at averages and ask yourself, will you be happy if you only lose xyz% of your EW?? I think, though, what happens is that we become greedy as we get skinnier. OK, I started at a 30, and now I'm a 16, I really really want to be a 12 or a 10 or wouldn't it be cool if I was an 8.

I also think you need to look at maintaining as a success. Yeah, it's great to lose 130 lbs and keep it off for 2 years. BUT, wouldn't you rather lose 90 pounds and keep that off forever?? OK... maybe not, but I would.

Even as annoyed as I am with having gained 45 lbs after two pregnancies and three years of being unfilled, there's an ever bigger part of me that says "WOW! I kept off 50 pounds with no fill for three years and through two pregnancies... I actually learned something!" :confused: (For the record, I never ever lost weight pre-Band... well more than 10 pounds...... and never kept it off for more than 2 weeks. SEriously. In my life.)

This is why I worry about NewSho. Her BMI is "stuck" at 30%, but I don't know what her FFM is. It could be that she is at a good body fat percentage. I just really worry about you Sho! (((((hugs)))))

Thanks, Hon.

As you know, I'm NOT at all happy to be at this size. I'll never be a size 4 or whatever - but really need to wear just somewhat smaller sizes to achieve Weight Loss Surgery success in my mind. One good thing: I've stopped obsessing pound-by-pound about just my weight also and my former surgeon forebade me to have a scale so I haven't gotten one yet, although I will eventually. So I concentrate more of BMI, which is a reflection of my general range. But no matter what, a "30" BMI is still considered obese. That sucks!

So I'm not nearly at a good body fat percentage yet. I only have real muscle tone in my lower legs - which predictably were one of the only parts of me that didn't totally just get huge during my battle with obesity. And my thighs are just hilariously fluffy - but no matter what, I've said no Thigh Lift. They are just too severe and the scars are too long. What exercise and Lipo won't do for my thighs, I'll just have to live with - but I know I have excess body fat in my thighs, butt, and hips that is always going to push my "body fat percentage" needle way over into the red. I am aware of that.

But with some actual restriction and good fill level - I'll work on getting the weight down to a manageable amount, and then I'll work more on toning up. I haven't given up the fight.

Happy Band Journeys To All ...

Yeah, unfortunately I think that's true. In my mind I want to be 68kg. Dont know why, its always the weight I was striving for when I wasnt very fat, but I've never weighed 68kg in my adult life and I'm not sure I'm meant to. I dont think my doctor would fill me tighter and tighter to get there and I wouldnt want to live that way anyway. And who says I'd look the way I want to even then?

68kg would be a reasonable weight for my height of 5ft 10 (Its in the 145-150 lbs range) but I'm not sure it'd be attainable for me. So I've set a more reasonable goal of 75kg for starters.

But one thing that I wont compromise on - I'm not prepared to stop at 2/3 of the way there as statistics say is common. I didnt have this operation to still be overweight. I wasnt very obese when I started, I'm only 38, I'm fit, healthy and active and I just dont think its unreasonble to want to get back to my healthy weight range, not just my better than being hugely fat weight range. And given my activity levels I dont think it'll be terrible difficult to achieve either.

For instance, my FFM is 140 pounds. That is what I weight without an ounce of fat on my body. At a good body fat percentage of %25-30% I will still be considered "obese." But that body fat percentage is right where I should be.

This is why I worry about NewSho. Her BMI is "stuck" at 30%, but I don't know what her FFM is. It could be that she is at a good body fat percentage. I just really worry about you Sho! (((((hugs)))))

Vines, at last weigh-in, although my BMI is just JUST under 30 (temporarily) and I'm officially 'not obese' you should know that my Body Fat Percentage is still in the "OBESE" range. This is the lightest I've been in 5 years but unfortunately I'm about to have emergency surgery and be off my feet for weeks. So I'm destined to gain some back. :cry But not only I am overwhelmingly FLUFFY, my body fat percentage is majorly comprised of Sharp Cheddar Cheese! :guess

~ Happy Band and Life Journeys To All ~

Maybe I'm crazy, but when I was in college and weighed 160 (I'm 5'3' and a hlaf) I think I looked really good. When I look back at pictures of myself from that time I can't believe how thin I looked. I would love to get down to 150, which I think is totally realistic and within reach, and would make me very happy. I think I would look like a totally normal average weight and would fit into normal clothes. I don't want to be tiny anyway...