A thread for super-sized bandsters - starting BMI over 50?

[JLPAGE 0]

Get thread!!

My highest was 426 surgery weight was 418 as of Tuesday I was 367. I am 6 foot tall and large framed!!. I hope to be 230 250 at the end. I was 190 in 7th grade and 5 foot 10, Since that weight I can't really remember a weight I just got fatter and fatter. My new big goal is 325 by June - hopefully I can hit it. I ma trying now to recommit to myself and my band. I have been yo-yoing lately. It is a struggle with thinking you have hundreds of pounds to lose. I am going to think in 10 pound mini goals. well off to see my dr for my monthly followup hopefully I have lost the 6 I gained last month!!!

[shellyj. 0]

starting weight 350

bmi 51

goal weight 199 (secretly 170 but i would LOVE 199!!!!!!!

i still have a ways to go! almost 3 yrs post

[Wheetsin 714]

My minigoal, which is far more ambitious than what I should be aiming for... but I can't help it because the loss represents a smaller size, in which I have lots of cute work clothes, and the date represents a huge conference I have to go to and want to wear my cute work clothes to!) Anyway, that goal is around 300 (+/- 5 or so lbs) by the middle of May. That gives me roughly 2 months to lose roughly 30 lbs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Shellyj - we seem to have similar stats, both with weightloss as well as weight<->size relationship. How tall are you?

[Ms. Vicki 0]

Thanks Wheetsin for starting this.......

I was banded on 2/27/06 and weighed 335 that day. The day before, my PCP's scales showed 338. I'm using that as my starting weight (cause it looks like I've lost a whole 3 lbs more, teehee). My BMI was 53.5. I've always thought that I was 5'6" tall but the Dr's office measured me to be 5'5" (I guess I've shrunk in height since I'm 51 yrs old).

So far I've lost 19 lbs, but most of that was in the first 2 weeks. It seems to be slowing down which I expected. Sure is discouraging though. With this much weight to loose, it is hardly noticeable, except in my face. My husband says he can tell. He teases me and asks when where I've gone! Bless his liitle heart. He is such a dear....and SO supportive.

We do have more challenges than many on this site. I saw one person say that she had lost half of her excess weight after just 2 months. I'm not criticizing, but geez, makes me wonder why she had to go through the pain and expense of the band! I apologize. I have no right to second guess others decisions. I'm sure it is just jealousy.

I haven't had my first fill yet, so maybe the loss will speed up after that. It is easy to get down. I have to lose a lot just for people to notice. I have a skinny friend who told me she needed to lose 16 lbs and she was having a hard time doing it. That's almost a daily fluctuation for me! (okay that's an exageration.)

I am so thankful that you guys are here for me. There are lots of success stories here. Thanks for the encouragement.

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

Wheetsin-

Thanks so much for starting this thread :scared: I am 5'6", starting weight at pre-op was 386. That made my BMI 62!!!!:faint: I am now at 269, which makes my current BMI 43. My goal is to be 236 by my one year bandiversary, which would make my one year weight loss total 150. I'm hopeful....but I think the loss is definitely starting to slow-so I'm beginning to believe what they say about the majority of the weight being lost in the first 6 months after banding. We'll see.......My ultimate goal, to be 199. I truly don't remember being anything starting with the words "one hundred" since the school nurse weighed me in 6th grade and told me I was too fat. :confused: With all of that said, I feel the best I have in a very long time. I can wear jeans, I can feel a few bones that I never knew I had, I can chase my 3 year old literally running up the stairs, etc etc etc. Funny though saying I would be happy to maintain my loss and stay at 269....but I guess others wouldn't understand that unless they had been almost 400 pounds before. Hmmmm.... just talking out loud:rolleyes:

[illude 0]

you know i never really looked into my BMI but when i read this thread I started to research it....I'm a bit ashamed as to how much I weighed & what my BMI was before I was banded....but my weight 2 weeks before surgery was 576lbs....so that's what i'm going with....& using this http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ my bmi was 105.3 WHOA that's crazy.....but now 2 years 4 months post-op I'm 200lbs & my bmi is 36.6 being 5'2" doesn't work to my advantage any either.....I still have a little ways to go. I would love to be around 140lbs....but my goal weight was actually 250 then I changed it to 180....yet to get there I've almost decided to stop and just proceed with reconstructive surgey....but being that I'm having no luck with that I'm going to continue to lose & try my best to get down as low as I can.....this is a really neat thread!

[babsintx3 0]

Hi Everyone,

Started with a BMI of 53.9 at 334 at 5' 6". My lowest weight since being banded was 180 lbs. I now sit at about 190 ish. I dont know what I weigh because I refuse to get on the scale. My clothes still fit me, although tighter than they once were, so I am back to dieting again to try to lose 20 lbs by the summer so I can enjoy myself without worrying too much. I am working with my band, but really need to get back in the gym. I gain weight even on 1400 calories a day, so it is a struggle even with the band. I will be three years out on June 23rd.

Babs in TX

334/180ish or 190 I dunno cause I dont weigh myself anymore.!!! NSV

[Wheetsin 714]

Wow Babs, that's an amazing loss!

How long had you been banded when you hit your low of 180? Was that recently, or have you been at/near that for a while?

[Wheetsin 714]

Ok, I just saw Babs' post and didn't notice all the new posts here. You ALL Have such amazing losses! I'm betting my money on the first 6 months, as in - I'm really trying to milk it for all it's worth.

Between January and October of 2004 I lost 120 lbs. on an extreme Atkins diet, basically following the rules of induction for the entire time. I "took off a weeK" when DH and I went on a cruise in January 2005 and had gained back at least 70 lbs by summer. Pre-Atkins was my heighest weight... I don't even know what I weighed because the standard scales didn't go over 350. I'd say I gained back all of that 120 except maybe 20 lbs when I was banded. Consultation weight was 370, I wasn't weighed on that scale before surgery... but looking at the gain my home scale showed I'm figuring my surgery date weight was 382. As of this morning I'm at 337 but it's also time for me to start retaining Water (up to 8lbs ) so I won't know a "real" weight for another week or two.

I know from my Atkins experience that I need to lose around 60 lbs for me to see any kind of difference, even in my clothes. And then there's the "mental difference" that's hard to get past -- the little vice in your head that tells you "those pants aren't really looser, they just got stretched out" or "They aren't looser, they just never fit as tightly as you remember they did." That's why I keep a photo log! (and even then -- "well maybe I was just holding in my gut and didn't realize it"...)

[Morsaille 4]

My BMI was 52, at 312 pounds on Jan 16th. Today, even though I have lost less than most of those with similar band-dates, my BMI is 47 and I am down 25 pounds (on my home scale, the doc's is all a big lie).

Thanks for the thread! I just had my second fill today and it did not go nearly as smoothly as I had hoped. But I did get an increase. With luck and a whole lot of work my numbers will start changing. I may even catch up to you bunnies! You know who you are... coughWheetsin&Photonutcough.

Illude, you are amazing! I have read your story and seen your pictures on another thread and can only say WOW!

[PhotoNut 7]

*Grins* Come on Morsaille - I'd be happy to have you catch up with me! *holds out a hand* In fact, I'll give ya a hand!

Gosh, all of you/us have done so well. How brave we were to not give up. I came close to giving up. I'm so grateful for this band, a real gift from God.

I know its only been three short months - man those went by so fast! - but I'm feeling tired already! It seems like so far to go. The initial high from all of this is starting to wear off and I'm staring at over a year of work to be done. Granted, 47 pounds is a great deal of weight to shed.. but there's 133 more to go. How have you long term bandsters dealt with this? Do you try to forget your band and think about other things? I'm almost afraid to forget about it. I'm afraid of slipping back into the old ways. This is where I would typically fall off the diet wagon and give up. I know the band will keep me going, but what do I do with my head?? LOL

[babsintx3 0]

Hi Wheetsin,

To answer your question about how fast I lost the weight:

80 lbs the first 6 months

120 lbs lost by the end of the first year

34 pounds in the 2nd year

I had one day where I achieved 180, struggled to get below this and plateaued for 6 months at 182-189 on a bad day. I quit smoking in May 2005 and gained 10 lbs and hung out around 189-192. Had plastic surgery in August 2005 and had all my fill removed. I have not had good restriction since then and I have had two fills in the last 3 fills taking me from 0 to 1.00 to 2.25 to 2.50 and still I need more restriction. I am taking it slow and really watching what I am eating and I am trying to get back on track. I dont know what I weigh, but my two size 14's are tight but still barely fit, my 16's are fitting fine like before, but are not as loose as they used to be. I am guessing my weight is sitting in the 190's but I am afraid to weigh, so instead, I will wait until I diet for the next 3 weeks and then get on the scale when I am closer to the 180's. So thats about it!!!

Babs in TX

334/180/190 ish now

[rharriet62 0]

Hi,

I love this thread! I started out at 367 with a BMI of 54.5. I now weigh 287, but it's been SLOW. I work out like crazy...kickboxing, spinning, pilates, AND meet a personal trainer twice a week. It's just amazing that I am not dropping the weight faster, so after my fill last week, I decided to keep a record on fitday.com. I have to goofing up somewhere!

It's great to hear all your stories!

Rose::biggrin1:

[Teresita 0]

I Lost 5 Pounds This Week And 4 Pounds Last Week I Am So Happy!!!!!! I Now Weigh 405......woohoooooo......i Can't Wait......i Can't Wait!!!!!! Yeahhhhhhhh

[Wheetsin 714]

Hi rharriet, with that type of workout regimine, I bet you are losing fat. The scale just tells us how much our skin & everything inside of it weights at any given point in time. Something like body fat or FFM analyzers, or even a tape measure or pants size, will show you much more accurately how much fat you're losing. A workout like that is going to build muscle, which weighs a lot more (3 or 4x) than fat!