I have been considering lap band surgery for a while now. I am concerned that the general percentages lost are reported at 50-65% but

I am told everyone is different. I see people have lost more. When you guys started out, did the weight percentages bother you. My BMI is 43 and I really want to lose all my weight. What can you do to reach your goal and be more successful.

hi elle,

welcome to LBT.

i was banded in October 2006 and have lost (so far) 51% of my excess weight.

what do i credit to this?? i work out. quite a bit - normally 6 days a week for at least 1/2 hour. and i am currently low carbing it..

there will be people who say you do not need to work out to lose the weight. that is true for some, but i want to get the weight off NOW and the exercise has played a huge part in that.

best of luck to you!

The percentage I was worried about was my weight going up.

I knew with my appetite I was going to be 280 lbs in 2 years. 300 lbs in 2 more years after that.

Those percentages scared me. My knees were getting very weak. I could not walk fast enough to walk with friends. At 265 lbs it took me 35 minutes to walk 1/2 mile. NOBODY wanted to walk that slow.

edie

I have been considering lap band surgery for a while now. I am concerned that the general percentages lost are reported at 50-65% but

I am told everyone is different. I see people have lost more. When you guys started out, did the weight percentages bother you. My BMI is 43 and I really want to lose all my weight. What can you do to reach your goal and be more successful.

I found those percentages comforting, actually. They seemed much more realistic than what I'd seen for other bariatric surgeries--much more attainable. I wanted something that would WORK, and if I could actually get to that place of having lost even 50% of my excess weight it would have seemed a miracle to me. That's what being morbidly obese all your life does to you--you absolutely don't believe you could ever be normal.

As it turned out, before my slip I'd lost 130 lbs of what was probably (medically speaking) 170 lbs of excess weight. So 70-75%, roughly. It was a miracle, and I can't wait to be banded again to get back to that place where maintaining that loss is even possible without my life being a hell of hunger and constant dieting.

THAT is the success that banding held for me, not reaching some imaginary number that's just a point on a chart. And it delivered in spades.

I think if I gave the % a lot of thought, I would have never had been banded.

I knew I could do this, and not losing what *I* wanted to lose never crossed my mind. I ended up losing over 110% of my excess weight.

I'm 3 years out and have lost 60% - 70%, depending on whether I'm happy at 160, or want to get to 140 as my final goal. No, I'm not where I want to be, but I'm happier with where I am than where I was. My starting BMI was 45.something, and now it's 32.1. I was just telling my sister last night that when I lose 10 more lbs, people are going to think I'm nuts running around screaming "I'm overweight, I'm overweight!!" lol.

Lots of people have gotten to goal.

Even if you lost only 20 percent, your health would be better and your body will feel happier, Ive lost 100 lbs now, I still have 30 to go, no rush, just want to be healthy. I'm wondering what have you got to loose besides the weight if you do get banded. I wish you the very best, what ever path you choose, go for it!

I never ever assumed I would be one of the ones that only lost 60%. It didnt occur to me. I honestly believed I WOULD lose 100% and I have. Perhaps I was unrealistic, I dont know. I can be lazy and not start something but when I do it, I tend to be a superachiever. I do not do things by halves. I would either not exercise or I run, there's no inbetween walking for me, lol. I'm like that with everything.

How did I do it? Exercise mainly. Really hard exercise and lots of it.

Like the others have said it depends on your attitude to your band. Some people just sit back and let the band do what it can - they are typically your 50% losers. Others (like the guys above and myself) have gotten in there and used the band as a tool, and exercised and eaten well *most* of the time (chocolate and I are still friends!). I've done the sums and I've lost about 72% of my excess weight in 7 and a bit months, and I am no where near done. I've got at least another 25ish lbs to go.

That said, 50% of your excess weight gone is better than none. And its better than putting more on, which is where I was headed.

I don't do any exercise and have lost 66% of excess weight. I still would like to lose 20 more pounds but I don't want to weigh 120 pounds. At my age, I'd look like a mummy if I did that. I'm pretty happy with my weight loss so far.

I'm one year out tomorrow and I had 120 pounds to loose and have lost 60 pounds so I guess that's right on 50 percent in the first year. Not nearly as fast as I thought but I guess I would have gained in fact I had gained every year for the past 5 years before the band.

I guess I am one of the 60% losers, but I'm not done yet! I'm 16 months out and have lost 90 pounds with 60-65 pounds left to go.

I see absolutely no reason why I can't reach my goal if I ever get off my ass and start exercising!

Weight loss is totally up to you. It all depends on the work you put into it. There's no "magic percentage" at which one stops losing weight. The bottom line is, if you take in fewer calories than you consume, you will lose weight, period.

I guess I am one of the 60% losers, but I'm not done yet! I'm 16 months out and have lost 90 pounds with 60-65 pounds left to go.

I see absolutely no reason why I can't reach my goal if I ever get off my ass and start exercising!

Weight loss is totally up to you. It all depends on the work you put into it. There's no "magic percentage" at which one stops losing weight. The bottom line is, if you take in fewer calories than you consume, you will lose weight, period.

This had been my first post, I never realized I got so many replies(I didn't get e-mails). Thank you everybody for giving me the info and good advice. I have been banded on 1/31/07 and working my way down.

I was banded June 06 and have lost 65% of my excess weight. It does take more time to lose the weight with lapband.

I haven't even considered the statistics, to be honest. That's because I've had enought stats courses to know that it's just the average of the very best and the very worst, so it really has no impact on what YOU OR I can do. Take test grades, for example. An average score may be 60%, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible or even very difficult to get 80%, 90% or even 100%, if some effort is put into it.