I read on here a LOT that if someone has a higher BMI to start, that he or she will almost automatically lose more quickly than someone with a lower BMI. This has actually made me feel a little bit worse about my relatively low rate of loss because I started (and am still at) a higher BMI. Anyhow, I am wondering if anyone who has made this observation can point to any scientific studies showing that this is the case?

I asked my RD about it, and she said with her patients, the ONLY time she has sometimes seen this theory hold true is in a bigger guy who has lots of muscle mass (in addition to fat). She said it's not even always true in this type of patient.

I'm not being critical of anyone who has made this statement about high BMIers automatically losing more quickly, but usually it seems like those who are referencing it have lower BMIs and are talking about their own weight loss being slower than they would like. Obviously my heart goes out to anyone, high or low BMI, who is losing more slowly than we would like or more slowly than others seem to be.

On a completely different topic, another thing that I've wondered about with people who lose really quickly--sometimes it seems like that happens at times in people who didn't have a really healthy diet before surgery--like those who drank a 1,000 or more calories/day in sugar soda alone or ate lots of processed stuff. Obviously no one here, including me, had a perfect diet before surgery, or we wouldn't have needed surgery--but I think some of us just tend to gain more easily (especially if hypothyroid) even on a fairly healthful diet, and that's part of how we ended up being overweight or obese. So those who had a super-unhealthy diets who cut out sugar, processed carbs, increase Water and Protein dramatically due to surgery--they may see a more dramatic fast weight loss, especially right after surgery. They are shocking their bodies more than someone who comes from a baseline that is somewhat closer to a healthy eating plan, if that makes sense. No science behind this btw--just anecdotal in having read a lot of posts and blogs.

I would love to hear from low BMIers who have had fairly rapid weight loss and high BMIers who feel their weight loss has been slower than average. My surgery was on Feb 5, so about 7 weeks out. I have lost about 20 lbs post op and 18-20 lbs in a 6-month medically supervised diet before that. Though my loss is slower than others, I am going in the right direction! And 7 weeks vs 6 months to lose 20 lbs is a vast improvement. Even if I go at my own pace, I know that I am headed in the right direction and my goals are attainable.

Again, I want to emphasize that I'm not trying to start a low vs high BMI war here or something--I think we all have the same types of struggles and successes. I want everyone to succeed and be happy! The goal here is to increase a sharing of information so that if there are some myths floating about we can understand others' situations better and not necessarily make assumptions/generlizations. Or maybe the assumptions are true and I'm the exception. Would love to hear others' perspectives and observations on this topic. Thanks!

In terms of percentages, I have lost 21% of my excess weight in 7 weeks. That is awesome. I may not lose 100 pounds in 5 months, but as long as I keep losing, I am a happy girl. My calculations use my surgery weight of 241 minus my goal of 130 for a total excess weight of 111 pounds. I have lost 24 pounds since surgery so, 24 divided by 111 is 21%.

I don't think it's a myth. All other things being equal including exactly matching diets' date=' someone with high BMI would lose faster than someone with low BMI.

However, it's only one factor - all other things are not equal. There are variations in each person's metabolic rate,. There are variations in diet, both in calories and in the balance of proteins, fats, complex and simple carbs. Activity levels can vary greatly, as well as types of activity (cardio vs strength training, for example). Are there health problems in play? Gender plays a role in how quickly weight is lost.

So, while I don't think it's a myth, I do think it's over-emphasized as the driving factor.

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Don't forget age! I am 50 and am losing a lot slower than I did, day 10 years ago. It's a huge factor. I think it's a menopause thing, maybe