People who have reached goal ("normal" BMI), what was the key to your success?

I had a disheartening moment when I looked at OH's post-op planner, which told me that my weight loss will pretty much stop after losing about 104lbs. At that point, I'll still be 186lbs, and still "obese" according to BMI charts. That did not make me feel good. 

What did make me feel good was looking through some before/after photos, and reading some posts by people who had reached goal in the "normal" BMI range. 

So for those who did it, what was your key to getting there? Give some advice to the woman who is worried that she'll fail. :/

Oh, crickets! You must be going on OH's idea that 65% excess weight loss is average or normal. Just forget about the statistics. This journey is what you make it to be. If you want to lose 100% of your excess weight, then that's what you will do. You will just have to want it badly enough.

The other thing I'm going to urge you to do is get the BMI thing out of your head. I would instead focus on body fat percentage (harder to measure, yes, but much more accurate as far as health goes). I am technically obese again myself, but my body muscle mass is very high for my height and my fat percentage is not all that high (24%) considering I'm supposed to be obese according to the BMI charts and an optimal body fat for me would be 20%.

I let the BMI thing really messed with my head because even at my absolute thinnest I was still technically overweight according to the BMI chart. Yes, 30 inch waist jeans, but still overweight according to the BMI charts. A crazy maker for me, but then again, my trip....

My advice: choose a weight you think you'd like to be and go for it. You can reevaluate along the way as many times as you like. There is no failure on this journey in my mind, unless you give up. AS long as you're fighting the fight, you're doing what you can!

 

 

If your short in one area you must make it up in another.

frisco

 

For me, I'd say it was maximizing my protein intake while minimizing my calorie intake. In other words, meeting my protein goal with the least amount of calories. 

1. Log every day.

2. Worked to be consistent with my eating plan a mnimum of 90% of the time.

3. Determined the level of calories that I could lose at and ensured I was under that at least 90% of the time.

4. Exercised.

5. Went to support meetings.

6. Had my family on board and supportive.

7. Got my labs done on time.

8. Followed the professionals advice.

9. Didn't quit until I hit goal.

10. Learned to ride out the stalls.

11. Learned how to crawl back on the wagon.

12. Paid attention to the small positive changes as loss continued.

13. Kept crap food out of the house.

That is most of it anyway :)

 

That's because OH's planner goes with the average of 65% excess weight loss.  There's no reason why that can't be exceeded.  

Eat clean high protein, low carbs and low calories; it took me almost two years to get to goal but I did it and have been maintaining for a year. You can do this, but track, log and comply. Do not eat anything you shouldn't until you have lost your weight and then only if you have planned for it. Personally I exercise first and then I have the calories if I really want something outside my everyday program. But that is only in maintenance. You can certainly get to your goal.  Us VSGers can meet the 100% of weight loss if we work at. Hugs!

Protein first.  Every single time I eat it is about protein.

Stay hydrated.

Stop worrying about how fast the scale is moving, stalls happen to everybody.

Take measurements every two weeks (can help you see that you are still losing inches even if you are not losing pounds)

Get moving. (more important for maintaining than actually losing but get in the habit now, exercise cannot overcome poor food choices)

Don't compare your journey to everyone else. (this may be the most difficult one)

And most important, put your head down and keep moving forward.  Consistency and perseverance is the name of the game.

Weigh every single day and address any regain quickly. 

I agree with all of the above. I logged, weighed and measured my food, walked, weighed myself daily, focussed on protein and hydration and green non starchy veggies.

The bottom line to whatever you do however is this: as long as you consume fewer calories than you burn you will continue to lose to goal and beyond. Eating less is the key. Everything else helps you to be mindful but you must eat less than than you burn every day.