Final %EWL

[maintenanceman 287]

For those of you who have entered maintenance, what was your final % EWL?

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

I was lower BMI to start and I had sleeve. I went fro 235 down to 169 but gained back to 179. Struggling to stay there. I am not sure exactly what % EWL is? If it factors based upon an ideal weight I never did understand what that weight is. Is it based on a certain BMI or what? I think I lost 28% of my overall body weight if that’s what you are looking for?

[maintenanceman 287]

EWL = Excess Weight Loss: the difference between staring weight and ideal body weight. If your starting weight is 300, and your ideal body weight is 150, you have 150 pounds of excess weight. If you lose 75 pounds, you have lost 50% of your excess weight (% EWL).

Ideal body weight calculator - https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight

[catwoman7 11,277]

100%. But I've gained 15-20 lbs in the last three years or so - but I think it's still much higher than the average (average for bypass being 70%)

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

10 minutes ago, losinglosinglosing said:

EWL = Excess Weight Loss: the difference between staring weight and ideal body weight. If your starting weight is 300, and your ideal body weight is 150, you have 150 pounds of excess weight. If you lose 75 pounds, you have lost 50% of your excess weight (% EWL).

Ideal body weight calculator - https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight

Yea I just don’t know where they get the ideal body weight?? Is it based on a certain BMI? I don’t think it’s necessarily consistent from one source to the other which would throw off the calculation a bit.

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

13 minutes ago, losinglosinglosing said:

EWL = Excess Weight Loss: the difference between staring weight and ideal body weight. If your starting weight is 300, and your ideal body weight is 150, you have 150 pounds of excess weight. If you lose 75 pounds, you have lost 50% of your excess weight (% EWL).

Ideal body weight calculator - https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight

Okay so using that number for ideal body weight I lost 74% of my excess weight.

[maintenanceman 287]

1 hour ago, ShoppGirl said:

Okay so using that number for ideal body weight I lost 74% of my excess weight.

How did your weight loss stop? Did you choose to go into maintenance mode, or did your body just decide you were done?

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

Just now, losinglosinglosing said:

How did your weight loss stop? Did you choose to go into maintenance mode, or did your body just decide you were done?

I set my first goal at 180 because my team warned me that people with bipolar disorder statistically don’t always lose as much as others. I was hoping to get to 160, though. I did get down to 169 and over four months went by without budging a pound so I realized my body was just happy there. I gained back ten pounds fairly quickly and now I am staying right around 179.

[maintenanceman 287]

You and I have essentially the same stats. I also have bipolar disorder. I’m currently at 167, and I would love to get to 159… ideally 150. I’m ahead of the curve, but my loss is definitely slowing down. And I’m needing more calories to be satiated. Just wondering how realistic it is to get to 150.

[maintenanceman 287]

1 hour ago, catwoman7 said:

100%. But I've gained 15-20 lbs in the last three years or so - but I think it's still much higher than the average (average for bypass being 70%)

How did you feel you looked at ideal body weight? Much of what I read indicates that ideal body weight for a formerly obese person is too small… results in you looking sick. True or false for you?

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

Just now, losinglosinglosing said:

You and I have essentially the same stats. I also have bipolar disorder. I’m currently at 167, and I would love to get to 159… ideally 150. I’m ahead of the curve, but my loss is definitely slowing down. And I’m needing more calories to be satiated. Just wondering how realistic it is to get to 150.

Well I think part of it depends on how active you are. I am not very. Since surgery I walk everyday but that’s about it. I just can’t be on a full blown diet forever so I had to accept that I may be a little bigger than MY ideal for myself but I am still feeling much better at this weight. I go out more and feel better in clothes and stuff so if I am able to maintain this I say I guess I will be happy….enough. Lol

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

15 minutes ago, losinglosinglosing said:

How did you feel you looked at ideal body weight? Much of what I read indicates that ideal body weight for a formerly obese person is too small… results in you looking sick. True or false for you?

Well i never got to ideal according to that calculator. For me ideal is 141 and I only got to 169. I think I would’ve looked fine at that weight though if I could’ve gotten to it. For some reason I don’t have any excess skin or anything. I think the excess skin is part of what makes people look sorta drawn In the face but I’m not certain. Maybe because I was lower BMI to start?? I was also tiny my entire life so I’m used to seeing myself small. Like 120’s until after the bipolar Symptoms started. It’s like a switch flipped inside me and I just started gaining and never stopped. I would lose weight through diet of course but always gained it back.

Edited August 22, 2022 by ShoppGirl

[SpartanMaker 1,285]

To put it simply, Ideal Bodyweight is a crock. These are all based on one of 3 things: BMI, population studies like the NHANES survey, or body fat %. None of these can tell you what YOUR ideal bodyweight should be, only what an average range of weights might be. Why? Let's look at these individually:

• BMI: Frankly the fact that this psuedo-science is so widely used is downright scary. This is all based on a formula created almost 200 years ago by a mathematician (not a physician), trying to determine what an "average" man would look like. It does not take into consideration muscle mass, frame size, or any thing other than height and weight. As an example of just how messed up this is, consider that some professional bodybuilders fit into the morbidly obese category even though they may only have 5-8% body fat.
• Population Studies: Studies that look at large populations have the same flaws in that they only look at averages. They are good for understanding population groups, but are not instructive to know what YOU should weigh.
• Body fat: In general, these formulas are going to be better than the above (as an example, see Gallagher et al., "Healthy percentage body fat ranges: an approach for developing guidelines based on body mass index." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72 (3): 694.), because they are at least based on your stats (% Body Fat), but they have 2 fatal flaws: First, they rely on BIA (Bioelectrical impedance analysis), but BIA is not that accurate overall. Second, Lean mass is also is lost as someone loses weight, but if the estimate is based on body fat alone, it will be wrong.

My point is the best way to know what your ideal weight should be is based on how you feel and look once you get there. If you need a goal to shoot for, aim high when looking at ideal weight charts. If you're not happy once you get to that weight, you can always adjust downward.

[maintenanceman 287]

7 minutes ago, SpartanMaker said:

To put it simply, Ideal Bodyweight is a crock.

I don’t disagree. It’s just helpful to have some reference point for goal setting. And for better or worse, most data on weight loss surgery outcomes is based on ideal body weight and BMI.

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

5 minutes ago, losinglosinglosing said:

I don’t disagree. It’s just helpful to have some reference point for goal setting. And for better or worse, most data on weight loss surgery outcomes is based on ideal body weight and BMI.

I think the “ideal weight” that they use is different depending on who you ask also. Which means it not 100% accurate when you plug it into the formula but I’m sure it’s close.