I'm 230 right now. I am strongly considering getting a lap band. Statistics say people lose around 45% of there excess body weight. Just a rough estimate, I'd say anything above 130 for me (I'm 5'4") would be considered excess.... I think 145 is where I would technically be considered overweight so I'll use that as an example. So subtract 145 from 230 and you get 85... 85 pounds of excess body weight. So if I lose 50% of that (42lbs), I'll be at 188... still very obese.

Can someone please correct my math.... 42 pounds of weight loss doesn't sound very worth the $3000, months of 'getting the hang of it' etc. Ick someone please tell me this is wrong.

Even if I do it like this.... excess body weight being anything above 120, that still only puts me at losing 55 pounds.... and being at 175. I mean 175 sounds pretty good right now, but 5 years ago I was a nice 130!!!

Someone please help me figure out my potential weight loss. Having a lap band doesn't exactly look easy or fun, so I at least want the results to be worth it. Thanks!!

I have just started so I'm not at goal. There are people here who are at and even, below goal.

I know that is scary when you hear it, but remember Dr's are conservative always.

I was told I would never make my goal weight. But I can tell you with some extra work I did it plus some. I am not going to sugar coat it, it was harder at the end but it can be done! I was stuck at about 80% and kicked my butt into high gear. I began working out more than I was and changed my protien intake. It was the hardest weight to loose but definately worth it! Many people have made their goal weight on here, it can be done but Dr's don't like to get hopes up. If you want it bad enough you will do it!

Good luck to you! :rolleyes2:

Copying a previous post...

[...] Keep in mind, the band is not like a pre-paid gift card. It doesn't give you 150 lbs to lose and that's it, you'll never lose another lb. But you'd think it has some sort of pre-set loss limit attached to it the way people talk about it. YOU are the only thing that will keep you from reaching your goal with the HELP of the band. YOU have to go into this with your mind made up that you're going to beat the statistics, because you're the biggest roadblock you'll find anywhere.

I have about 40 lbs left to lose, down from about 210 to lose. I'm not trying to lose right now because I'm pregnant. But when I'm no longer pregnant, I will lose the rest of my weight. It may take a while, but it will happen. I didn't come this far to settle for still being obese. I mean - that doesn't even make sense.

So just remember that there are average weightlosses with the band, and just like every average out there, there are people who set it higher, and people who set it lower. Decide which you want to be, set your targets, go and don't look back. There's no reason you have to settle for anything less than healthy.

It is so personal on how much you lose. If you want to eat around the band, you can. The band is a tool, but what I love about it is that I haven't gained any weight back. Yes, it maybe a struggle to lose the weight, yet I am keeping off what I lose. That is something I haven't been able to do my whole life. Being that you are so realistic already, I think you would do great with a band and that it would be successful for you. Good luck!

Thanks everyone.... I've been browsing the before and after pics thread. That's helped lift my spirits a lot. I gained a lot of weight when I was pregnant with my daughter.... I was 175 post baby and the weight crept up to 215 over the course of maybe 6-8 months post partum. I've been a sliding scale ever since. I try to lose and I'll drop 10-20 pounds and gain it all back shortly after. The first 10 pounds is easy.... but it took me forever and a day to lose 20 stinkin pounds, and with all the hoopla about '10 pounds a month is healthy', thats discouraging to hear when you're working your a## off and can't lose anything. My doc suggested the lap band to me because I've tried so many times and always lose hope after a few months of nothing. Honestly, I just don't have the will power. I have hypothyroidism and POCS which both make it hard to lose weight, so combine that with a low self esteem and whaddya get.... failure and hopelessness. I'm nervous as crap about even considering the lap band... I mean the thought of not being able to pig out on my birthday is not a pretty picture to me. I can stick to a diet pretty well, but a cheat day every now and then is what keeps me going!

I'm still thinking about it... lots of questions... I've been thinking about it for a few weeks now. It's been on my brain every single day. It's a scary thought, but it sounds like it's worth it. I think I need some encouragement from folks who have been there. My mom and husband are backing me up and are talking to me about all kinds of stuff, but they don't know what it's like.

Statistics are just that. It takes into consideration of people who lost 100% or even 105% of their 'excess weight' as well as those who lose 0% or -10% of their excess weight.

If you look around this forum, many have made it to goal + some. There are also others who the band did not work and they went on to have another surgery.

Statistics (in all aspects) are really hard to make decisions by. I hit 66% weight gone in 1 year, and I'm not stopping!

People don't understand statistics. When studies show that lap band patients lose an average of 42%, that doesn't mean everyone loses that amount. Some people don't lose ANY and some people get to goal weight.

This is the way that it was explained to me in one of my statistics classes is:

Say you know that the average height of people in a room is 5'5". How many people in the room are 5'5"? The answer is: you don't know. It could be most, it could be half, it could NONE.

Statistics describe groups, not individuals. You are an individual and you will lose your individual amount.

So how do you know how much you will lose? You don't really. But one of the goals of the pre-op appointments with the nutritionist and the shrink are to help you get an idea of how lap band surgery works and how your own tendencies will play into your success and failure.

For example, are you an emotional eater? The band doesn't help with that. Do you have a sweet tooth? Many sweets are "band friendly". Is your problem mostly hunger or portion control? The band is designed to control your hunger and limit your portion sizes. Are you someone who sticks to a diet and doesn't cheat or are you a big cheater? If you are a big cheater, it's quite easy to cheat the band.

Also, 42% is a lot better statistic than you get from a traditional diet. The success rate for people who get to goal and keep their weight off for at least 5 years (not even for life) is somewhere between 2 and 9 %. Lap band patients as a whole lose more weight and keep it off longer than those who go on a diet, even those who combine their diet with exercise.

The way I look at it, why do something over and over again that has a very low chance of success? Maybe the lap band won't work for me, but I already know that dieting doesn't work. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different outcome each time. That makes getting a lap band the sane choice in my book.

Katie, I remember thinking that exact thought when I was researching the band. I decided I was going to defy the stats and I did. It was my choice not to give up until I was done losing, the band never failed me, I failed the band when I wasn't losing.

I'm grateful everyday I have my band!! It was the best decision I have ever made and I paid cash for my band, I was denied 3X by my insurance.

Don't worry about the statistics. 8 months out and I have lost 91% of my excess weight and will lose more after the tummy tuck. It all depends on the amount of work that you put into it. My doc considers it a success if you lose 50 pounds in one year, but you have to remember this is a lifelong journey. Gastric Bypass doesn't necessarily guarantee that you will lose (or keep off) any more weight than the lap band. The one thing you MUST know about this band and the statistics about it, for most people 98% of the work is done in your head and the rest is done by the band!

I'm going to get to goal....and so will you!

I have told myself that (literally) every day......

I deserve this

I am worthy of this

I will accomplish this

Statistics ........ we don't need no stinking statistics!

Katie---whether or not you can get to 125 depends on how much you want to get there. The band will help---but ultimately YOU decide how much you want it.

Eventually as your weight drops, your focus finally drifts away from food. Where as right now you are worried about not pigging out on your birthday----when YOU are in control and not the food in control---so to speak, it isn't a big deal! So you don't go out and order a big steak and loaded baked potato, and a couple of rolls, and a salad smothered in ranch, and butter drenched veggies. All in preparation for the big cake and ice cream.....

Instead you go to a nice restaurant, and order the most tender filet on the menu---when it comes it is buttery and tender, and you take a couple of bites of all the extras---but you savor each little bite, eating slowly---enjoying the company you are with. And this year you are celebrating---you have lost say 50 pounds already!!!! Now when you get done with dinner, you feel like DOING something, it might be a romantic stroll through a river walk, or you spend the evening at an amusement park--or make a weekend of it and go skiing.....the point is, as the weight goes, you take interest is doing things, food isn't the focal point---activity begins to take it's place.

Used to be when we had a big cookout at our place, I was all about the food, and desserts!! Now I might eat, or I might not, but you will find me playing volleyball, or pitching horseshoes---or taking some of the kids riding--I am doing, not just focusing on the eating!

The closer I get to my goal, the slower the weight loss, and the more I find myself actually working to get there---but it isn't the strain it was 100 pounds ago! My body actually enjoys doing things.

Can you see 125 again? I fully believe you can IF you want to badly enough. The real kicker in the deal is----when you do get to 125....it will be through some lessons learned in portion control, and diet habits, and you will lose some bad habits along the way---you will end up healthier, and the weight will stay off!

Only you know if it is worth it to you or not......

Kat

I've lost 120% of my excess weight....

You can do it if you want to. Its not even that difficult. Its not like I did anything really special to do it, I just exercise regularly and eat properly. No harsh dieting, no strict low carb, nothing. I just eat less than I used to and move more.

I think that the exercise was key. I do exercise very hard, six days a week, but its part of my lifestyle now. But even that, if I have to take a week or two off, I dont stress. Its just about climbing back on that wagon after every fall, or obstacle.

Many people dont even *want* to lose 100% of their excess weight. They're quite happy to just be healthier.

At first I thought the same way as you. Spend some time on this wonderful forum, and you'll see that a lot of people have gotten to their goal weight!

Here, I'll make it simple for you.

You will lose as much as you WANT and MAKE yourself lose. Period. End of story.

No one says it is easy, but it can still get done. Yes, we have a little help, but it's 98% mental. It's not hard to get in the same amount of calories we used to if we want it bad enough.

My doctor was the same way, which I think most are. They don't want to set you up to think you're going to lose 100%, because it's by no means a guarantee. But like others have said, it all depends on the work you put into it. I'm only 2 weeks out today, but I'm so glad I did it. My doctor leaned very heavily toward the bypass because I had over 100 lbs to lose, but in the end it was my decision and I decided on the lapband. For me, it's not about the amount of weight, but just getting healthier in the closest to natural way possible.

I think this is the best decision I've ever made!