Lightweights in the house! Any more people with less to lose/less BMI's?

[ladylaura 77]

That's awesome! Also an inspiration and something I needed to read right now. I've got my date coming up (June 10th), and I keep getting scared and asking myself, "Do I REALLY need this?" LOL I'm 5'3 and 235(ish) lbs. I'm in a size 18/20 or so too. Did you have any complications after? Were you scared or second guessing yourself before? LOL

I'm 5'3 1/2 and 8 months out. Began my journey at 225 and am now 156 and trying to get to 145. So almost at 70 lbs. it has really slowed down but I expected that the closer you are to goal and the smaller percentage you have to lose. This has been the best thing I have ever done! I have lost 5 sizes gone from an 18/20 to 8's and 10's. I'm so much more active. I don't consider that I was a lightweight, I agree with Laura, fat is fat. My BMI was almost 40!! I will get there by just keeping on keeping on!

Sent from my iPhone using VST

[getlownurse 105]

Just saw this thread and wanted to chime in. I'm a low bmi of 30. It's been as high as 38. Lost and Gained so many times. Daily life has been such a struggle with eating and working out for so many years and I'm sick of it. Now that I'm diabetic and pre hypertensive, I'm over it. Diabetes is draining me. 5'3" and 180, I'd like to be at 120.

While I suffer from physical problems related to my weight, I still feel like higher bmi people want to be mean and bully me. This has never happened, just a weird fixation in my mind.

It's late. I'm going to shut up.

[Butterflyhigh 504]

Just saw this thread and wanted to chime in. I'm a low bmi of 30. It's been as high as 38. Lost and Gained so many times. Daily life has been such a struggle with eating and working out for so many years and I'm sick of it. Now that I'm diabetic and pre hypertensive, I'm over it. Diabetes is draining me. 5'3" and 180, I'd like to be at 120.

While I suffer from physical problems related to my weight, I still feel like higher bmi people want to be mean and bully me. This has never happened, just a weird fixation in my mind.

It's late. I'm going to shut up.

I can totally relate to this. Not only am I afraid of what the higher bmi folks are thinking....I'm reeeealy worried about what my normal bmi friends/family may think. I've pretty much decided to only tell three people. I don't want to deal with the judgment and behind-the-back talk about how I could have just dieted and exercised more, how I'm not THAT fat, or how they would never be making this drastic of a choice if it were them.

[danelle235 79]

I'm a low BMI'er as well. I haven't had the surgery yet.

Currently I am a 31 BMI' date=' 5'8" and 205 lbs. Over the past 12 years I have been as high as 260 and 40 BMI and as low as 160 and 24 BMI. The older I get the harder it is to loose. I feel like I've been living my life constantly fixating and obsessed with food and weight. Always paying attention to the scale, feeling embarrassed by my tummy fat, dreading summer time when I have to ditch my sweaters, loosing weight Yay!, gaining it back Sob!, buying new pants, pulling out my fat jeans again.....

I am so ready to just jump off of this crazy cycle. I am scared about the lifestyle changes that will happen, but I know that those changes are necessary and am looking forward to making them. Over the past couple of months I have really been coming to grips with my internal fears and as of today I can not wait for surgery to happen.

Right now my last fear to overcome/deal with is HOW to tell my very close family members. Really, I will just be telling my sister and best friend. I know they are going to go through the whole "But your not THAT fat...Why don't you just try and exercise more....Are you suuuure you're doing this for the right reasons??"[/quote']

This is/ was my EXACT story. And yes, you probably COULD lose the weight. But the reality is, there is a 3% chance you will keep it off for good. This is permanent Portion Control, if you respect the changes after surgery. For me, I did it because I want to lose the weight and keep it off. Forever. I want to wear my awesome clothes for more than a few weeks each year when I'm killing myself with a diet! I didn't tell very many people because they would all say 'but you're not that fat'. a BMI of 30 is obese. my doc told me to add up weight I'd ever lost, and add it to my highest weight. Then (when I realized the total was

Over 500lbs) she told me that my body was learning to coping with morbid obesity, even at my 30 BMI. The fat still goes through your system which leads to health probs in the long run. If you think this is the right decision, do it. It's a challenge, but you can do it. I'm down 24lbs since May 1st, so something is working....

[Jenny12 361]

I'm 5 months post op. I started at 206 (37.7 BMI) and am now 152.6 (27.9 BMI). It's coming off extremely slow now!

[Not Applicable 52]

Hello!

I'm 5ft. 7 &1/2, had surgery Jan.14, 2013, weighed 200, 33 BMI. (A "light weight" to some)...

However, started a pre-op diet last May 2012, weighing in at 255 with a BMI of 40.

Currently, I'm at 161, 24 BMI (Super YAY!! In the "NORMAL" range)!!! And, I am only 6 lbs. away from my surgeon's suggested weight for me, (16 away from my personal goal of 145).

That means I have lost 41lbs. since surgery. Does that make me sad or feel like a failure to be what others might term as a "slow loser," .... Heck no! I'm off my BP meds, able to jog & cardio hip-hop w/out feeling like I'm about to die, get back into old shoes that were too small for my expansive feet.... Just so many things. Mostly, the knowledge that if I continue making healthy choices I will be able to keep the weight off. That one thing is sincerely a major blessing and relief for me.

[Dickens22 62]

I just finished my consults and have bmi 39.9 , 100lbs to lose. I have no co morbidity issues. I hope I am approved. Anyone have same situation with Anthem Blue Cross and have been approved?

[Bos123 221]

Hello!

I'm 5ft. 7 &1/2' date=' had surgery Jan.14, 2013, weighed 200, 33 BMI. (A "light weight" to some)...

However, started a pre-op diet last May 2012, weighing in at 255 with a BMI of 40.

Currently, I'm at 161, 24 BMI (Super YAY!! In the "NORMAL" range)!!! And, I am only 6 lbs. away from my surgeon's suggested weight for me, (16 away from my personal goal of 145).

That means I have lost 41lbs. since surgery. Does that make me sad or feel like a failure to be what others might term as a "slow loser," .... Heck no! I'm off my BP meds, able to jog & cardio hip-hop w/out feeling like I'm about to die, get back into old shoes that were too small for my expansive feet.... Just so many things. Mostly, the knowledge that if I continue making healthy choices I will be able to keep the weight off. That one thing is sincerely a major blessing and relief for me.[/quote']

We have close to the same stats...you are doing great! This last 14 pds is tough, it seems that I am staying the same but I'm working out more so maybe it's balancing out lol... How are you doing?

[MumtazG38 86]

okay, so I just saw the new pinned topic for mysurgeryoptions.com and was interested and asked for a quote. So, I'm awaiting a reply to compare and see who I want to go with (Dr. Israel Cabrera or one of theirs). mysurgeryoptions.com seems to have a few added benefits going through them. Like the coordinator (Susan Lackey) who is on VST available to chat anytime before, during and after your procedure, the Personal Trainer and Nutrition Expert William Cotter who is there to help people post-op with their exercise routines and eating habits etc. Sounds cool.

However, this post is about something I just read on the site under the Gastric Sleeve procedure advantages/disadvantages page. It lists that one of the disadvantages of the VSG is the fact that people w/ lower BMI's may not effectively lose weight from it? Huh? That's news to me. I mean, I know that the VSG is in no way a fix it all solution or some sort of magic bullet thing, but I've never seen it in writing till today that the procedure is less likely to result in effectiveness and/or successful weight loss and maintenance for people with lower BMI's. So it is a bit of a shock for me, reading it. I mean, I know maybe since we have less to lose we may lose a llb or two less a week or the weight loss may slow down a bit sooner.....but the way they've got it in writing on the site scares me. Here's what it says:

Current data indicates it may not provide effective weight loss in low BMI patients.

Ugh...that word! "effective"! *shivers*

So I get that it says "low" rather than "lower", which would indicate they mean proper low bmi people, maybe in the late 20's like 25-29 or something. But it does say "patients", and we all know that the lowest bmi even considered for this procedure is 30 right. So isn't it safe to assume they basically mean the lower bmi's near that number, as opposed to the bmi's more near, say 40-50 or so? Because usually, 25-29 isn't (often) even considered.

What do you guys think about that? Did some of you guys "know" that this may be the case with the VSG? I mean, not just a feeling you got from reading on here or there. I mean had you ever read it in writing like that, as an official disadvantage of the procedure? I hate to say it, but I feel like a seed of discouragement has been planted within me having read that on that page. I really don't want to get the procedure, work hard at the diet change and still end up where I am today, short $5800-$5900!!! That is terrifying!

If this is true....than what IS best for us lower bmi patients? Is there any procedure out there that actually works better for us? Or are we stuck w/ the short end of the stick either way we look? Is it seriously the luck of the draw for us lightweights. I refuse to believe that personally! I'm sure there is a WLS out there that is better suited in it's effectiveness for us! And if not, I'm more than willing to amp it up when it comes to the lifestyle/diet/exercise routines and changes with the VSG. I just wonder though...would the regular bypass suit us better (I'm terrified of the crazy side effects and the gain back rate w/ that though).

[MaddieJ 82]

OMG... that is exactly what I'm worried about! I wondered if it didn't work as well for lower BMI people. Oh well....I can only pray for my surgeon to have skilled hands and know that she better take as much off my tummy as she does the larger patients!

[MumtazG38 86]

agreed! I plan on making it EXTREMELY clear that I want to be left with EXACTLY 15% OR LESS of my stomach period! More on the less side, if at all possible. If he's ever taken more stomach out for larger patients, than he can just add me on to that list. I'm not paying to lose money here, I'm paying to lose the weight!

[MaddieJ 82]

I know what you mean! By the time I'm done even with insurance I'm going to owe plenty of money in co-pays. It better work- I feel like this is my last hope.

[MumtazG38 86]

Same here! But more than anything, We've got to MAKE IT WORK! We owe it to ourselves! (....and our wallets LOL)

[Butterflyhigh 504]

I've never read that VSG is not effective for low bmi patients. To the contrary, every study I've found indicates low bmi patients loose a higher percentage of their excess weight than those with bmi over 35.

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobes/2012/813650/

Here is just one study. This particular one only followed a little over 100 subjects, but there are many other studies with a higher number of participants. I'm on my phone and have a toddler crawling on me demanding Breakfast, otherwise I would find the other studies.

[SuNMooNStaRS816 423]

There are study after study that shows that WLS is more beneficial if done earlier...meaning at a lower BMI. I don't agree with gastric banding due to the foreign body, constant follow up, and the growing number of complications, but some surgeons are doing it even in the US at a BMI of 30 due to the studies. In other countries they are already doing VSG at BMI of 30. Hopefully the US will follow soon with insurance covering it. We all should be very aware of all possible complications. Then make the best decision for ourselves and our families or loved ones. VSG will help you to lose your weight. But it won't do all the work for you. It's just the tool to help us. We will still have to do some hard work, following the diet and progressing under DR's orders. The dreaded exercise is still necessary. It's a lifestyle change we all have to be willing to make to get the FULL benefit. You can do as much or as little with it as you see fit. Even low BMIers can lose all their wgt if you do the work.