Poll: Those that made goal vs. those that didn't
People (especially those who have ALWAYS been obese) have a LOT emotionally invested in this surgery being "successful". All one has to do is look at the PLETHORA of posts from people who are significantly less than a year out, have hit a stall, and then FREAK OUT at their own imagined "failure"... yet again. If this board prohibited posts about "help me, stalled 3 weeks out", "am I really done losing at 5 months?", "why can't I get the last 20 pounds off?", "how long did it take you to get to goal?", etc, there would be significantly fewer posts... because most people who have WLS are desperate to be "successful" and get the weight off with this "last resort".
It is not just a matter of being intelligent about goal setting. Some people were given a number by their doctor. Some people admit that they looked at someone else and decided "I want to weigh what she weighs", and MANY people just looked at that damn BMI chart and shot for the middle of "normal" without taking anything else into consideration. Every one of those cases is a potential "failure" waiting to happen. Add to those people the number of people who tried to be realistic in setting a goal weight but still never made it, and that is a lot of people who are potentially reading this post and once again saying "I just don't understand what I did WRONG!!" or, worse, saying "how come everyone else can get to goal and I can't... maybe I don't deserve to get to my goal weight".
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

Just wanted to add that in as much as there are a lot of people potentially reading this and feeling a sense of not understanding what they did "wrong", that is also a lot of people potentially reading this and saying, "Oh, I always drink when I eat maybe that is my issue" or "I haven't started weight training yet, let me incorporate that and see how it goes." or "Wow, lots of people don't reach their goals so I'm going to relax about it."
Take care,
Denise
Check out my blog--menumealplanning.com. Tales of making meal planning managable, family fodder, and everything else under the sun.
RNY 2/3/09, LBL/BL w/Augmentation 9/16/11
Start weight: 335 Current weight: 185 Goal weight: Whatever the hell I can maintain without driving myself insane!
I agree with Lora, and caution everyone to really think about what she wrote.
Also, having never been a healthy weight as an adult, I had no weight to "get back to", like many people did.
My "goal" was to be healthy and to lose as much weight as my body allowed that was healthy. My surgeon hoped I would get down to 180 (from 272). I surpassed that goal, and then some. I bottomed out at 142, hung out at 145 for a while and my surgeon found my weight "concerning". I was not trying to lose any at that point, and started tracking food to make sure I was eating enough since I had increased exercise.
I now I hovered at 155 until the holiday**** and I took a break from running, and now sit around 160. I would like to lose 5 cuz my pants fit better, but if my body decides to stick at this weight, then it's a winner. I'm not diabetic, I'm not on high blood pressure meds, and my cholesterol is at a healthy level. These are the numbers we must remember to be most concerned about - the scale doesn't mean everything.
and yes, I'm a hypocrit, since I do weigh weekly, because I do care about the scale, but that's cuz it's the only number I can check from home, and it's an indicator if things are getting wacky. Mostly I just care if my pants fit!
First 5K race October 4, 2009 (34.59) PR 5/22/11 (27:26)
First 5 Mile: January 1, 2011 (50:30)
First 10K: July 4, 2010 (1:03.26) New PR 4/10/11 (1:01.14)
First 10 Mile: April 11, 2010 (1:46.15)
First 1/2 marathon: June 13, 2010 (2:22.21) PR: 5/1/11 (2:17.30)
First Marathon: October 16, 2011: 5:47:20
Goofy Challenge: January 7-8, 2012
If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right. - Mary Kay Ash
Check out my blog--menumealplanning.com. Tales of making meal planning managable, family fodder, and everything else under the sun.
RNY 2/3/09, LBL/BL w/Augmentation 9/16/11
Start weight: 335 Current weight: 185 Goal weight: Whatever the hell I can maintain without driving myself insane!
I had to exercise and watch my intake, plus I am a slow loser as compared to others.
Overall, I am doing fine, but I am determined to reach my goal weight.....SOON!!!
So glad you are so inspired!!
Hang in there my friend!
Denise
Check out my blog--menumealplanning.com. Tales of making meal planning managable, family fodder, and everything else under the sun.
RNY 2/3/09, LBL/BL w/Augmentation 9/16/11
Start weight: 335 Current weight: 185 Goal weight: Whatever the hell I can maintain without driving myself insane!
This is a very mentally polarizing poll, though. I ain't mad atcha but still...I thought "uh oh" from just reading the subject line.
It is my theory that there are a multitude of things that affect your particular outcome including, but not limited to:
-Were you EVER thin? (I think for formerly thin people's bodies, at least from observation, their bodies sort of "remember" what thin was supposed to look like and go back there joyfully)
-how much weight you had to lose
-how much you exercise (not enough or too much especially)
-what EXACTLY your surgeon did to you
-your particular food issues
As for me, no, I didn't get to my self professed goal of 160. I exercised like a DEMON. For the period of time I lost (the first year), I did not slip up. Not once. Not ever. I was sort of food phobic, which may have bitten me in the ass.
So I don't know why I did not lose more weight. I do know however, that for me exercise was key in my shape. I weigh nearly 200 lbs. now and I wear a size 10. So something more than weight has to be going on with me because everyone else I know who is nearly 200 lbs. is about a size 14 or 16.
In the end, I don't need to know why I didn't get to goal. I've learned to embrace the awesomeness that I am. I am voluptuous. I have curves in all the right places (sayeth my trainer AND the five men a day who hit on me) and I feel good. So it's all good with me!
RNY Gastric Bypass 1-8-08 350/327/200 (HW/SW/CW). I spend most of my time playing with my food over at Bariatric Foodie - check me out!
So your answer is exactly what I was hoping to extract from my question. Why do people think they didn't get to where they were hoping to? Was it a surgical procedure issue? Do they think it is genetics? Do they get enough sleep? Are they taking meds that affect their weight loss? Or are they eating a Reese's peanut butter egg a day (raises hand)?
As I said to Lora, I was really trying to see if there is a common thread among those that reach their goals and those that don't that may bring to light some changes that could be made in order for folks who haven't reached their goals, but feel their is room for improvement, to continue downward (or maintaining as another poster mentioned). That comes with the understanding that there are just some factors we can't control such as how the surgery was performed or medical issues affecting weight, but I know for me I definitely have room for improvement in my diet, so I don't just want to sit here and say, "Well, I didn't reach my goals--oh well." I aspire to improve and I felt that reaching out to my OH peers for their advice was a good place to start.
I have reached a hell of a lot of goals; I just have a few more I'd like to reach. Does that mean I don't consider myself a success--hell no! But having been a quitter for more years than I care to think about, I feel like it is okay to aspire to more, especially when I know there is more to be had.
Thanks for your thoughts as always,
Denise
Check out my blog--menumealplanning.com. Tales of making meal planning managable, family fodder, and everything else under the sun.
RNY 2/3/09, LBL/BL w/Augmentation 9/16/11
Start weight: 335 Current weight: 185 Goal weight: Whatever the hell I can maintain without driving myself insane!
I see people with all kinds of goals from 180 to 105, not knowing their height that is a huge factor, but is the person with a goal of 180 MORE likely tio make goal than the person with a goal of 105? Probably
If my goal was chart-perfect via BMI charts then I'm a failure. If my goal was the height-to-waist-ratio, then I'm a freaking bedazzling success.
My doc didn't give me a goal. I just settled on something 20 lbs over "chart perfect" based on my age, length of time obese, and bone structure as a large boned person. I made that goal, so I consider myself as pretty much one who made goal.
What do I attribute my success to? It certainly isn't exercise or being a model patient.. I personally think that in my case my surgeon was more aggresive regarding the length bypassed since my starting BMI at the beginning of looking into surgery was a 60.... with 200 cm bypassed, I think this is more aggressive than I needed. When I'm workng for a living and not sitting at home eating and drinking like I'm trying to regain everything, I have issues getting in enough food to keep me from LOSING....so I'm oen of the lucky ones who got there with really little effort. However I'm a religious fanatic when it comes to NOT eating while drinking.
I don't feel like I make much effort (except to eat ENOUGH) regarding this whole thing. I've been told that I would start to have to make an effort now I'm in my third year, and perhaps I'll have a ***** of a time losing my 7 lb regain from a month of indolence....we'll see.
~Lady Lithia~ 200 lbs lost!
March 9, 2011 - Coccygectomy!
I chased my dreams, and my dreams, they caught me!