weight loss

 So, when I went to one of the seminars I attended, I was told that I shouldn't expect to be smaller than I have ever been. She said if you have never been a size 4, don't think you will be one after surgery.  Do you think this is true?  I don't need to be a size four but I would love to be smaller than a 12. :(

 It depends on your starting size and how much work one puts into the weight loss. I was a lightweight, lost some weight pre-op, and after surgery I lost more than 100% of my EWL. I ended up in a size 0-2/P. I am only 4'11" but there are many examples of lightweights that exceeded their surgeon's expectations. I have never been this small as an adult. There are no hard and fast rules. I think most surgeons give averages, so some will be above and others will be below.

Some of it, is up to you.



Gail

I think that's total bull****

I mean we've ALL been an infant so at some point in our lives we were less than 2 ft tall and weighed less than 30 pounds, right? So at what age is there is some magic line we can't cross? And what about that age would tell your body "I will never let you be that small again"? Bodies don't work like that.

Btw, I am a size 2.  If I got all my excess skin off, I'm about the size I was in Junior High, I think.

And I see people here all the time saying "I'm as small as I've ever been in my adult lifetime!"

It's definitely not true, at least not in my case.  I have been up and down in weight all my life, since puberty.  When I was thin I was usually a size 3, although sizes changed over the years due to vanity sizing.  What is a size 3 today isn't the same as it was in 1980, but in 2002 I had my first WLS and I got down to 120 and wore a size 3, for a little while anyway.  So with my revision I figured I could get to 120 again, although I knew I would probably bounce back from that, up to about 130 - 140, which would put me right at a 25 BMI.  Perfect.  My surgeon told me I might not lose any weight.  My body didn't listen because I got down to 120 and kept going.  I got down lower then I ever remember being in my life.  I mean theoretically I know I had to weight 105 at some point but it was probably only for about 5 minutes at age 12 in the summer between 6th and 7th grade when I went from weighing about 80 lbs to 130 lbs.  I must have passed through the 100s at some point but I never once saw it on a scale if I did.
Don't get me wrong.  That was never my goal and it still isn't my goal to stay here for very long but since I've been here for nearly a year I guess I'm supposed to be here for now.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that when we listen to our body and feed it what it needs and not what it wants it will land where it lands and we are just along for the ride.

I am under 120 and have been for over a year.  I'm also 4'11".   I don't think I was this small when I was in college.  My first goal was 140 because I had been able to stay there for a while as an adult.  My body wasn't done yet and I just kept on keeping on.   I still don't wear a 4 but only because I have no waist.  Sizes have changed but I can wear most 6's now and was a 10-12 in college. 

I hope that is the case I am about the size I was in high school now ! I'm hoping to get to my goal of 140 lbs. I'm 5ft. After goal, then I'm going to set a "dream goal" of 120 lbs. We will see. I try not to get too stuck on numbers. I am healthier now than I've ever been in my life. Good luck to you.
Mandy

Well, in high school I had pretty much these same measurements and weighed 125 pounds. I was a size 12/14.

I currently weigh 132 pounds (more muscles than in HS), and wear a size 2/4. Yes, sizes have changed that much in 40 years!

So she may be very wrong - or, depending on your body, a little bit wrong. How about, instead of weight, you consider using body fat? As we build stronger, denser bones and leaner muscle, our SIZE goes down, but our weight goes down a bit slower (muscle and bone are more dense than fat, so they take up less space for the same weight). It made more sense for me to use that as more of a landmark towards the end of the loss journey than the scale.

Well, vanity sizing has reared it's head so much smaller sizes are possible...even after a lifetime of being obese as I have been.

I was a size 14 in junior high...and overweight, I weighed about 150. In 1984 when I left the military, I still wore a size 14 and weighted about 155. I kept one of my uniforms.

I have gotten to my lowest adult weight after being told I would be lucky to lose 75% of my excess weight. I lost over 100%. I currently wear a size 2-6 depending on who  makes it...usually a size 4. So I tried on that OLD uniform hanging in my closet...the one from 1984 that is a size 14...and it fits. Yet my current clothes are typically 2-6 in the pants and a small/med top.

Those seminars are designed for the general morbidly obese person seeking information...not lightweights. And for those who are a 50BMI, the chance is far greater that they will not see a size 4.

Liz

I never wore a size 4, but I am now.  That size was not even in my brain.   I was hoping to be able to wear size 8's, but I ended up in a size 4/6.  I understand why folks say the things they do in order to keep us grounded, but I often. wish they didn't say the things they do.  I think for some individuals those comments limit our thinking before we even begin.  That is what I love about this board.  Everyone is so supportive.  I believe we can reach our goals no matter how long it takes us IF we are willing to do the work.  I did not reach my weight goal until just recently, and I will be 3 years post op on Nov. 17th.

Thanks guys. I just felt like i ws getting cut off at the knees!