I don't think WLS works the same way for everybody

I don’t say this with animosity (at this particular stage in the game…rewind about 18 months and you might have gotten that).

 

But dare I say this surgery doesn’t work the same way for everyone. I’ve seen it enough times to know it’s true. Now granted, I put PART of my regain on me. My low weight was 172. I am now 201 and have been for a few years. I would say up until about 189 that was out of my control. I still ate super low calorie, super low carbs, worked out like a demon, etc. etc. I think it’s noteworthy to say that despite my regain I only technically went up one clothing size and that’s during the part of the regain I put on me.

Putting that all aside…let’s talk about the fact that my low weight was sort of high to begin with. I am 5’8 so a normal BMI for me would have been around 164 lbs. And yes I know that the surgery only takes you so far. But considering that I was working out five days out of the week, eating probably about 1,100 calories a day on a high volume day and well over 120g of protein a day and did so well after I STOPPED losing weight there is no scientific reason I can think of why I shouldn’t have taken that last few pounds off.

 

I use myself purely as an example. Like I said, I’ve had a few years to deal with this stuff and it truly is ok. Especially considering that I’ve actually lost a bit of weight here lately without even making that my goal!

 

I point this out to say that we don’t talk about that fact much. My surgeon talked about it plenty. He told me straight up ethnic women, statistically, tend to carry higher bottom weights. He said it’s not universally true but in all the statistics he’s read, women of color, especially black women, tend to end up weighing a bit more at further out marks (forgive me I wasn’t into studies back then so I didn’t ask him to cite his source).

 

But I’ve met white women for which the situation was the same. They bottomed out a lot higher than other post-ops. Some I know bounced. Some stayed steady.

In the end I am grateful to be 130 lbs. lighter than I was 4.5 years ago. But when I think of all the mental anguish I personally have put myself through because I never got to be 150 or 160…then I wonder…was I meant to be? Could my fate have been avoided? And thus, did I waste a whole bunch of time beating myself up when I didn’t have to?

Random thoughts. I don’t like the idea of wasting any part of my life that way so I focus on what I’m about now. I like working out cuz it makes me feel powerful in a world I largely cannot control and USED to try to control through food. I eat what I like, which 99.9% of the time is also very healthy and protein forward. And I try to examine the reasons why I occasionally have self-defeating thoughts.

So all in all, I consider me a success but I wonder if we’ll ever get to the bottom of why WLS doesn’t work the same way for everyone. 

Great post. 

I did get to goal, in fact lower than I thought I would ever see.  But I think that lightweights, with around 100lbs to lose, seem to get there more easily.  I also think bounce back is real.  I got as low as 111 but now seem to be sticking around 115-117 with high protein and low carbs and serious exercise. 

For me, even more than the scale is that I have lost all my co-morbidities. 

I think a lot of it has to do with our individual metabolisms.  I think some people have higher resting metabolic rates than others, don't they?

Well in some folks cases I'm sure that can be a culprit too. In my case I know exactly how much I burn a day. I've had no less than a 750 calorie deficit a day on MOST days of the year since my bounce (I've had my Body Media Fit since the onset of "le bounce"). 

So I think I'm just a freak of nature, lol! I mean who GAINS 29 lbs. by eating 750-1000 calories less than what they take in? I know if you go too low you can gain...but not 29 pounds. 

This is the reason I don't like to see the 3500 calories = lb posts - ummm. maybe if you have a ****hot metabolism but I KNOW I can put on a lb with a lot less than those calories!!!

I have really had to change the way I eat in the last year because I had some regain I wanted to shift and with the diabetes diagnosis, I was determined to try and do it all the best way I could.   I look at your and other menus and I do sometimes envy you - I really find that I have to eat as cleanly as possible ( which really DOES sometimes mean boring!) and I have pretty much said goodbye to white or processed carbs - no potatoes, rice or pasta

If I were younger (I'm 50 tomorrow ) I would probably sacrifice the few extra pounds for a more exciting diet but I'm really bound and determined to keep this thing under tight control and keep my weight in the normal BMI range - if it kills me (and I could almost die of the boredom LOL)

Yeah, that's the point I'm at now. That's why I wanted to emphasize this post is NOT about me complaining but wondering why. 

Bariatric Foodie exploits aside I'm a pretty predictable eater. These days I don't get as much protein as I used to from food because I always choose veggies over meat. Always. I do mostly supplements to get the protein and eat my veggies that I like. I don't do well with rice or pasta. I try to stick to sandwich flats (whole wheat) for bread. And there are about 7 foods I eat in different combinations nearly every day. 

I am encouraged by the fact that whether I've eaten a lot or a little, this is the weight my body seems to want to stay. I try to use that information wisely.

 happy early birthday! :-)

Thank you!

I don't think there is a rhyme or reason.  I've seen it allot the years I've been here, it just "is".  Now if I had a magic wand I'll make all of us weight what we want and look like we want too. 

Metabolism I'm sure plays a large part into why but it'll take someone that truly understands all that science stuff to elaborate because I don't.

I actually think I'm good here. If I were about 13 years younger I'd go be a fabulous "plus sized model" (I can fit into some size 12's thereby qualifying me!).

So TODAY it's not coming from a place of not being where I want to be. I am where I am and I am happy with myself. It just mystifies me because I spent so much time being insecure about something that I quite possibly had little control over.