Even if you're banded, will you always be "overweight"?

[sleepyjean 0]

I've been researching the band and I keep running across the information that bandsters generally lose around 60% of their excess weight. Why is this? Why don't people lose 100% of their excess weight? Or at least close to 100%? Are we physically incapable of it? Does something change inside of us? Do we just get to a certain point where we give up and say "ok, this is good enough." Because it seems to me that if you are properly restricted and exercise regularly and lose 60 pounds, if you continue on the same way, wouldn't you continue to lose until you reached a healthy weight?

Using myself as an example, I'm 5'6" and weigh 240. I'm 100 pounds above my "healthy" weight. If I were to lose 60% of that, I'd weigh 180 pounds and have a BMI of 29, which is just shy of obese. Maybe I'm being unrealistic - and please tell me if I am - but that seems nuts to me. I'd go through the insurance nightmare and the surgery and the liquid diet and the pain and I'd still be (for all intents and purposes) obese? It doesn't make sense to me.

I've reconciled myself to never being skinny, but I'd be really upset if obese was the best I could do. My goal is to get healthy, not just "less unhealthy."

Please tell me - am I delusional?

[tztmama 0]

Great points! Can't wait to hear the responses. I still very new but what you say makes sense. I guess it is a choice between doing nothing and staying at current weight (or higher); gastric bypass which would probably have all the excess weight gone but with more risks and possible complications; or the band.

[Wheetsin 714]

Hi sleepyjean,

The 60% is an overall statistic that includes people who do not follow proper eating habits after banding. It also includes people who do not exercise, and a variety of other non-ideal conditions.

As long as you consume fewer calories than you use, you will lose weight. If, through your band, you only take in 1200 calories, and are sedintary and only burning 1100 calories, you're not going to lose weight.

Hope this makes sense.

[maygoddess 53]

Gosh...I will "weigh" in on this one. I have not been around these boards for ages..or any lapband boards for that matter.I think my intro is posted around here somewhere.

I was banded in August 2002, so I am just over three years banded and I have lost just about 60% of my excess body weight so far. I think I have another 40+ lbs to go. I have never been at a goal weight so I have no idea where that really is..just a figure or range on a chart.

Why have I personally lost 100% of my excess weight yet?? Well..many reasons..mainly me and how I have worked this whole band thing, various circumstances over the last three years and now at a point where I am pretty complacent because I am size 10/12 and feel a little more "normal" in this world. I can shop for clothes wherever I want, not just the ugly fat gal departments or stores. More people take notice of me and though I do want to lose the rest of this weight and have at minimum a Tummy Tuck to make clothes fit better, I get tired of the whole band thing and worrying about calories and restriction and all that. I stillhave plenty of fill space left in my band since I have taken it easy on the fills or at least been lucky I didn't need to fill my band to the fullest in order to lose weight so far. I think I am still below 3cc's in fill..

If I was to do this all over again...I would have worked harder initially at losing as much as I could as fast as I could which would have involved more frequent fill schedule than what allowed me going back and forth to Mexico to see my doctor. It is not in my nature to go hard core at anything..and I excercise off an on and I eat what I want when I want(within my restriction of course).I now work in the wine industry which involves frequent intake of ahheemmm...liquid calories in the form of the grape stuff..so this makes it harder to lose more right now without some cutting back elsewhere...

But for me...I am not really as caught up in the % of excess weight LOST since I was banded as I am in the reason I was banded...how much of the weight I have lost so far in three years have I kept off....100%!!!!! Now that is a number I have never achieved in dieting all my life. Three freaking years and dropped 100lbs and I have not gained back an ounce!!

So..you can look at this any way you want. If losing 100% of your excess weight is important to you..then make sure you put in all effort to get it off and keep going when life gets in the way as it surely will..and you hit that somewhat happy point many of us do that says "I am fine where I am and the rest is gravy" from here point. THEN measure your success on the abillity to keep off what you have lost..no matter if it is 60%, 100% or anywhere in between.

Best of luck to you!

Patty

8/13/02

Dr Kuri

-100

[aaamom 0]

Patty, I just had to say what a wonderful post/response. I don't think anyone can top that ! You said it all and thank you for sharing !

We should be proud of all our success, no matter how small.

[chichigirl 1]

I really have a difficult time with all of the 'statistics' being used for anything. They are not intended to be absolutes, they are just averages and who says you have to be average.

I honestly believe it is entirely up to the individual, as much as we don't like to accept it, we are responsible for what size we are, because we are responsible for the diet we eat and the amount of exercise we do. With gastric bypass it's even got stats on those who have not lost or even regained weight. The surgery didn't come undone, but rather people chose to eat the wrong kind of foods in the wrong amounts and did not exercise. The band is simply a tool that aids us in weight loss, nothing more and nothing less.

Don't allow statistics to rule your decision making. You know yourself better than anyone else and only you can answer the questions needed to know whether or not you will be successful and if so how much.

Also looking at those numbers which determine obesity from morbid obesity, they are not absolutes either, they are simply guidelines intended to assist us in recognizing when we may be entering a danger or safety zone. I started off at 367 lbs and have lost 65 lbs, meaning I am still over 300 lbs, still morbidly obese, and I have multiple weight related problems, all of which have been greatly reduced by the relatively small amount of weight I have lost. For example I am no longer on insulin for my diabetes. That's huge for me.

Please remember to put things in perspective and don't allow statistics or anything else distract you from what you want to do. I hope you decide what is best for you and follow through on that, for you truly and honestly know what's best for you.

Good luck in making your decision and your journey.

Cindy

[Alexandra 55]

But for me...I am not really as caught up in the % of excess weight LOST since I was banded as I am in the reason I was banded...how much of the weight I have lost so far in three years have I kept off....100%!!!!! Now that is a number I have never achieved in dieting all my life. Three freaking years and dropped 100lbs and I have not gained back an ounce!!

This is me, exactly. I long ago came to terms with being called "overweight," "obese," "zaftig," "Amazon" or however the hell else the world wants to label me. Labels and statistics mean nothing to me. If losing more weight were my priority right now, the band would provide the means and ability for me to do so, and that is a SEA change from prior attempts at weight loss.

[CCBSTX 0]

I've been researching the band and I keep running across the information that bandsters generally lose around 60% of their excess weight. Why is this? Why don't people lose 100% of their excess weight? Or at least close to 100%? Are we physically incapable of it? Does something change inside of us? Do we just get to a certain point where we give up and say "ok, this is good enough." Because it seems to me that if you are properly restricted and exercise regularly and lose 60 pounds, if you continue on the same way, wouldn't you continue to lose until you reached a healthy weight?

Using myself as an example, I'm 5'6" and weigh 240. I'm 100 pounds above my "healthy" weight. If I were to lose 60% of that, I'd weigh 180 pounds and have a BMI of 29, which is just shy of obese. Maybe I'm being unrealistic - and please tell me if I am - but that seems nuts to me. I'd go through the insurance nightmare and the surgery and the liquid diet and the pain and I'd still be (for all intents and purposes) obese? It doesn't make sense to me.

I had a difficult time, before banding, looking at this statistic. Would I be happy with 60% of my excess weight loss? Would it be worth the idea of undergoing surgery for 60% or so loss? I told myself that there were many folks w/ 100% of their excess weight loss. Why couldn't I be one of them! The key to Gastric Bypass, Lapband, or any other WLS, is that they are tools. You ALWAYS can eat around them (surgars, carbs, quantity, high-calorie liquids, you-name-it).

Now banded recently, I have lost almost 30 pounds. Just the way I feel about myself, with 30 pounds lost, is WORTH IT! It's amazing. I will take 50%, 60%, 100%.

[La_madam 20]

I started at 265..I now weigh 161.50

I was morbidly obese and I am now considered in the "normal" BMI range

I do not let what the scale says dictate to me my success with the band. I have so many fantastic NSV"s to be greatful for. The numbers o nthe scale mean nothing to me compared to how great I feel and how I have my life back.

[Parvathi 2]

When I first spoke with my doctor after being banded, he told me that on average, they wanted patients to lose:-

One-Third excess weight in the first 6 months

One-Half excess weight in the first 12 months

Two-Thirds excess weight in 24 months

He said to try for as much as I could in the first six months, because after that, it would slow dramatically.

I saw him today for a check up. In 9 months, I've now lost over two-thirds of my excess body weight (-75lbs). He said he reckons that if I were going to slow down, I would have done it already and that my success so far makes him think I'll travel along like I have til I hit goal (155lbs or there abouts). I can only pray he's right. If I do slow down, you'll see me here whinging about it LOL.

While all of that is well and good, after losing just 25lbs, I was feeling better than I had in ages. I was able to sleep well at night and my sleep aponea had all but disappeared. I was healthier and happier. If I never hit my goal, I'll be extremely disappointed, but I'll still be 10 times happier than I was before I was given this wonderful little tool.

Good luck with making your decision.

[whippledaddy 5]

I don't know about the percentages. Not sure I can help you there. But I hope that you aren't basing any decision of this magnatude merely on hypothetical numbers and the magic formulas created and used by the modern day shamans known as "statisticians".

I started out at 366lbs nearly a year ago. I finally weighed myself the other day and now I weigh 264lbs. I don't know what percentage that is of my excess weight and I don't care. I do know that without the surgery I had a 100% chance of dying younger, and that it would have been a horrible death. Fat people don't die pretty.

"Losing" is a bad word. It sounds negative. We are taught from the moment of our birth that to lose is bad. Why would anyone want to "lose" anything, even weight?

I want to gain. I want to gain life.

And I have.

I can drive my small truck without getting friction burns on my gut from the steering wheel.

I can see my feet.

I can now climb a set of stairs.

I can buy clothes on sale.

I can hug my wife.

I feel less "visible" in public.

I usually don't have to look around to see if I am the fattest person in the room.

And a thousand other things called "NSV"s. Non scale victories.

Morbid Obesity is a disease. Or, more correctly, the symptom of a disease. A band, or any other interventive weight loss measure, merely treats the symptom. It is up to us to treat the disease. It's dark and dangerous and buried deeply in us, in "who we are" and what we are all about.

Maybe I will always be obese. Maybe I'll always be fat. I believe in my mind I'll always be fat, because inside, in the center of my being, I think of myself as a fat guy.

So, even if I drop to 97Lbs, I'll still be fat. Is an anorexic no longer an anorexic if they gain weight?

Well, just my two cents, but I hope you base your decision on a broader spectrum of desired results. Not just weight alone.

I just know that each morning when I look in the mirror I feel a little better about the fellow staring back at me. He ain't skinny (my wife has given me a direct order not to get "too" skinny! lol), but he ain't the Steamship he once was.

I'm not afraid of stares, or stairs, any longer. The spindly chair holds no fear for me any more. I'm glad I did it. It was worth it.

And I do know this: If you want to lose 100% of your excess weight, you can do it. The band helps. And no matter what the statisticians say it is the band that makes it possible. What percent of obese people lose a 100% of their excess weight without any kind of aid? Heck, if it were that easy would you even bother to consider a band?

I know I wouldn't.

Good luck. There is a huge group of caring people here who care about you and your journey. They can help. They are great listeners, and they are patient enough to read my posts, so that makes them pretty darn special right?

I wish you all the best. So many here do. And equally as many have made this decision, and know exactly where you are coming from.

Ryan.

[MerryHearted 20]

I asked the same questions in my pre-op appts and was told pretty much the same as the previous responses -- that number is an average, meaning there are some who lose less and some who lose more. Don't forget that built into those statistics (I assume) are those who have had complications of one type or another and haven't lost because of that. That's something like 3% of bandsters for erosion and slippage. I don't know what the % is for port issues that prevent getting proper fills.

For those who don't have complications, the band is there if you want to work it and lose 100% of your excess weight. There have been a ton of people at my surgeon's office who have.

I'm finding now that I'm banded that it's easy to eat too many calories by choosing the wrong kinds of foods. And it's definitely easy to slack off on exercise. So I wouldn't be surprised if I stall for awhile sometime during this journey.

[godley_gal 0]

I understand RIGHT where u are! I also have not been banded but am planning on it. A few months ago the 60% deal even made me put off the consideration aspect! Since then I have gained another 15 pounds! I can hardly wipe my own rear, go bike riding, sit comfotably at church or just feel like going out shopping! I was scared of the liquid diet and the pain of it all! I have also become even MORE insulin resistant! I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, PCOS, in short terms, get ready for diabetes! I have 2 boys + my husband who is extremely active, and I decided I want to LIVE! I am so VERY depressed, have high blood pressure + the PCOS wgich is a variety of symptoms. At 34 NOW IS THE TIME! I decided I wasn't living now, so anything that it took to lose the weight was sorth the short term "pain" or if it was only 60%, I know that it would help me tremendously with my health no matter what! PERSONALLY I intend to blow that statistic away when I get my band! PERIOD! I VOW TO MEET MY 100% goal for me and my family! I WANT to grow old with my sexy husband, and I WANT to hike with my kids! YOUR MIND is your strongest allie. I am a Christian so I have peace that God will see me through this and has shown me this TOOL to help me along!

Y O U C A N D O I T ! ! ! Make your appointment and lets do it together!

[Nykee 13]

I have resinged my self to the 60% average...

I will be lucky to break average and that means being about 220 pounds

and THATS FAT to many that they even get banded at that weight

i will LOVE to be 199

and its possible to be 150

BUT I WILL BE HAPPY AT 220.!!

I cant exspect to beat the average

[vinesqueen 2]

As the great Mark Twain said, "there are lies, damn lies, and statistics." You can make statistics say anything you want about anything. If you know what you are doing, you can statistically prove that my weight affects the price of tea in China.

The other thing you need to keep in mind is that scales lie. All of them lie. No two are calibrated the same way. The BMI scale is a lie too; it simply is a guideline.

The BMI scale takes no consideration for body make-up. It takes no consideration of body fat percentage, your fat-free mass. A body builder who's buffed to the max, or a professional athelete could come up as Obese. A body-builder, with 19% body fat is obviously not obese, even if the BMI scale says they are. scales lie.

I was told by the woman who does the fills for my doc's clinic that I should weigh 125 pounds given my hieght, and that I should be a size 6, because statistically, that's where I should be at 5'5". But the thing is, that will only happen if I get some terrible wasting disease, like cancer. A cancer that eats my muscle mass.

My FFM, my fat-free muscle mass, is currently 40%, down from 45% in May. Right now, my goal weight is in the range of 190 to 177 pounds. That might sound like a lot, but that weight range will put me in the 25-35% body fat range that is healthy for my age range. 190 pounds is a far cry from 125 pounds and I don't give a damn about socity and "norms." Staticistally speaking, I've been an outlier my entire life, why should my weight or my muscle mass be anything but out of bounds?

If you want to see why this has been worth it to me, even though at 190 pounds I'll still be considered Obese, check out my list of NSVs, my non-scale victories. The link is in my signature.

Good luck on your research, we all wish you the very best.