Can we not lose it ALL??

I think you are asking two questions.  One, what determines how much a person will lose and does starting weight some how predetermine whether or not a person will lose 100% EWL.  The answer to these questions is difficult to answer.  The short answer is "who knows".  But it is the why of it all that is the mystery.   I have been on the boards a couple of years now and I have seen lightweights not reach goal and I have seen the SSMO easily reach goal weight.  There are so many factors in why people are MO that is very hard to predict how any one person will do after the surgery.  And one must remember that stats are for the most part based on averages.  That means for every person who loses 100% there is someone on the other side of the curve that only lost 50%.  So when you look at 85% you need to know what the raw data was based on to give it meaning.   If you will PM me with your email address I can send you an Anthone study where he cites some stats based on starting BMI if you think that will help. Bottom line however, is that while the DS offers us the best opportunity to get the weight off and keep it off, and statistically it is far superior to anything else out there, there are no gurantees.   Red

Hey Red,can you send me that Anthone study on BMI.My heart sunk when it was said higher BMIs don't get to goal as often.I so don't want to be that!And I was thinking of Peach she was up there and she is doing great.So there is hope for me right???

I would be happy to send it to you.  Of course there is hope for you -- you silly girl!  You are going to do great.  You have a happy tummy! Remember stats are just numbers and are based on finite data.  If there had been a couple more or less people in the group the numbers could change dramatically.  Also you need to bear in mind that Anthone has tweaked the way he does the surgery since the study was published.  He is now doing a much smaller stomach -- so that should change the outcome of his numbers in future studies.   I have seen it written here so many times -- first get the weight off then play with your diet.  I know there are people that do everything right and still do not get to goal, but that is rare.  Make the best use of that first year by eating low carb and low (or no) sugar.  That will give you the best chance for losing 100%. Red

Thanks Red,Just got in.You have a great way to make people feel better."happy tummy"ya he did say that!I got the studies and will print them out and read over better.I do have alot of confidence in our DOC.....Bonnie

Hi Red, can you please send me that too?

I am convinced that DS is the best surgery out there and even if I never reach the goal that I have for myself, I am sure I will lose enough to live a very happy lifestyle! Thanks for sharing!

Something that I don't think anyone has mentioned is the fact that for MANY years the DS was only done on people with BMI's over 50.  There are people with bigger bmi's than 50 that reach a normal weight, and some that don't.  However, with the mindset changing and DS's being done on people with BMI's of 35 with comorbs and people over 40 bmi with no comorbids, I think those stats are changing.  I'm 11 months out today, and have lost 112% of my excess weight.  I was a "lightweight" and had a bmi of 43.2 on the day of my surgery.  Like Gina said, your mileage may vary.  You really ask some fabulous questions!  Keep 'em coming!  The more you know, the better you'll feel about your decision!  Lori

I think another determining factor that wasn't addressed as a factor (and still often isn't) is the proper eating for a DSer.  How many people have been given RnY diet info from their NUTS and even surgeons??!!!  I think as recently as 3-4 years ago, nobody knew to lower carbs, up the fat . . . .ok, not nobody, but far too many post-ops were (and still are) being given the incorrect dietary recommendation.  If not for OH, how many people would still be eating like an RnYer?  Which, undoubtably alters the percentages.

True that, Mary.

I cannot see how eating like someone who has had an RNY would slow down weight loss.  Yes we eat more fat, but they are told to eat low carb and low sugar.  The main difference is that we can eat more and generally speaking a greater variety of foods.