Introducing myself

Hello, I'm Melody. I'm 46, and the mom of one. I started my WLS journey 7 years ago, but something always happened that got in the way of having my surgery. So I gave up. I managed to lose 150 lbs on my own using MyFitnessPal, but predictably, two-thirds of the weight came back. I recently discovered that WV medicaid changed their policy regarding WLS, so I've restarted my journey. I had been planning on RNY, but after the seminar, and talking to the surgeon during the consultation, we decided that the VSG was the better option for me.

I have to lose 33 lbs in the next 12 months, which I know I can do. I'm aiming to lose a pound a week. That will give me a buffer for those times when I don't lose as much as I want. I am concerned about how long I may be off work, because like all of us, I have bills to pay. My job doesn't require much lifting, but there is some, and I would have to ask my coworkers for help. I'm not sure how understanding they'd be.

I am a little disappointed, because I listed 150 lbs as my goal weight, and the bariatric nurse told me that I won't get to that, and had me revise the number up to 200 lbs. I want to reach 'onederland'! She said that if I did get to 150, they would become concerned that there was something wrong with me. She explained her reasoning, but it didn't make sense to me.

The blood testing they did revealed a vit D deficiency, so I'm taking D3 supplements, but that was the only deficiency that was found. Everything else was good, and my chest X-rays were normal. I have my next weigh in and bariatric support group at the beginning of next month.

What was her reasoning that you wouldn't make it to 150 lbs? Was their a medical reason? I started at 485 lbs and have made it to onderland with a goal of 160. Unless there is a medical reason, I don?t see why you can?t make it.

Other than that, welcome Melody! This is a great site for support.

Her reasoning was so full of jargon that it was difficult for me to parse. I think that it was medical; she said that if I got down to 150 lbs, they'd have to run tests on me to see what was wrong. Honestly? I think that once I've had the surgery, I'm going to lose as much as possible for as long as possible, and see where I end up. If I get closer to 150 than I do 200, all the better.

How tall are you? (Because the reply will be different if you're 6'5" than if you're 5'5"!) :D

I'm 5'6"

with 5'6" 160 and below can be your realistic goal. If I were you, I would try t get to 170, then evaluate with a full body DEXA scan.

Have fun in between...

It certainly seems like your goal is within your normal range, so I'd probably just smile, nod, and work on reaching MY goal. It would definitely be wise to have a DEXA scan once you're closer to goal, just to see how your body fat is doing.

I don't know how tall you are, or any of your medical history, etc. in order to comment on an appropriate weight for you. But I think it is common practice for surgeon's offices to try and help manage people's expectations. I'm not saying this is right, but it seems common. To do that, they go off the averages, which is something like 70% of excess weight.

Now, that being said, I'm not sure about her medical concerns, or what they were.

I was 333lbs at my first doctor visit, and they told me I could expect to get down to the "low 200's". I am a little over 2 years out and weighed 143lbs the morning. I'm 5'8" for reference.

Just don't be average! ;-) There are LOTS of people on this site that have lost more than the averages.

Thank you! That makes me feel so much better!

I will reinforce what Jester wrote. If I was average, I would have gotten to 350 lbs. I weighed 264 lbs this morning, and have been within three pounds of that weight for the last four months. While it might seem like a lot, I am pretty lean.