Newbie, Low BMI, Loving this site/Forum

Y'all (a little Texas for ya) are all so amazing, thank you thank you!!!  I feel like I can finally ask things I have wanted to ask without being judged.  I just don't think its always about the number of pounds we have to lose, we all want to lose the weight and go on with our lives....thinking about other things besides weight, food, body image, guilt, etc.  I have found it very hard to talk about anyone about having VS done.  I always hear, you only need to lose 50 lbs, you can do that if you really tried.   REALLY, they think I haven't tried everything under the sun?  Thank you for all the sweet welcomes...yall are awesome!

P.S.  Can someone tell me how to get my weight tracker thingy to show with my post?

Welcome to the LW Boards. 

I used ticker factory at:  http://www.tickerfactory.com/ezticker/ticker_designer.php

Create your ticker - be sure to remember your password.  Copy it into your signature under settings, message Board.

To edit it in the future, just click on your ticker and it should open ticker factory up and you just type your password in and edit weight.  It should update the one in your signature line.

You can also create it on OH, but I never used it.

Good luck on your surgery.

Linda

Welcome to the board.

I started the journey with a BMI of 37, but dropped below the magic 35 by a couple of lbs just before my surgery date, so I had to self-pay - I still had 80 lbs to lose to get to the center of my BMI range for healthy.  Before I took this step, I was constantly increasing weight, and increasing my co-morbidities, so it was the right time to change everything.

Good luck in your journey!

You are fine! Welcome.  I was in the same position with many people tellng me that I did not need my surgery and asking why am I getting it even in the WLS community.  I love this forum as well  and find it very helpful.  My surgery is 12/27/11 and I am so excited and nervous.  You are going to find great help and support here.  I know I did !!!

Actually, statistics show that lightweights are more likely to lose all their EW than heavyweights. So starting at a lower point is better. The heavier you are, the more likely it is that the surgery won't reset your body's homeostatic system back to a normal BMI but just improve it. Now, they get a significant mprovement, don't get me wrong, but it can be discouraging to go through all this and end up around the same BMI as many of us lightweights start with.

I think that's part of where the grinding up and spitting out comes from. The rest comes from the notion that being overweight is a moral failing which is something our society tells us at every turn, and, even having decided to get surgery, many people don't lose that notion, not deep down anyway. So us getting surgery before we've "paid our fat dues" is somehow morally offensive.

The thing is, studies have shown that as soon as you have 50 pounds or more to lose, the odds of doing this successfully with diet and exercise alone are slim. OTOH, if you have, say, 25 pounds to lose, it can be possible to do this with a diet. It doesn't work for people genetically prone to obesity but it does work for a lot of people.

To me, when you add in the risks of surgery, this leads me to the opinion than anyone with 25 pounds or less to lose would be crazy to have surgery and anyone with 75 pound or more to  lose who has tried diet & exercise and ended up regaining all they lost plus friends at least once, but definitely more than once, is crazy not to. It's the people in between who have a tough decision to make and whether surgery makes sense is going to be individual.

I do know people who have lost 70-80 pounds and seem to be keeping it off. OTOH, I do know people who are "only" 30 pounds overweight who are already suffering from the sort of problems that are normally associated with being obese and have alreay yo-yo-ed many times. Also, even if you have a "small" amount to lose (though I don't really think 50 pounds is a small amount), if you've already dieted and lost and regained several times, then you have shown you are a person who is genetically programmed to be obese and getting to 100 or more pounds overweight is just a matter of time.

So at what point do you recognize this and realize that you aren't going to be able to solve your weight problems with dieting because dieting is going to make it worse and have surgery? For some of us, this realization comes earlier than others. It's a very personal decision and it's life-altering so the answer for when it's time to get surgery is going to be different for everyone.

I don't tell people who wait until they are 200, 300, 400 or more pounds overweight that they are idiots for having waited that long so I wish they wouldn't tell us that we should "just diet and exercise" because we got to our breaking point when we were lighter than they were when they got to theirs. (And I appreciate all those who are heavier when they have surgery who 'get' it and don't do that.)

And, finally, the number one response you get when you ask "Does anyone have any regrets about getting WLS?" is: I regret I didn't do this sooner! It's never: I wish I'd waited until I was heavier and sicker!

Thank you all so much for the warm welcomes and support - this forum is AwEsOmE!!!  MacMadame - wow, you are amazing.  You made me see some things in a light I have not even thought about. Thank you so much for taking to time to explain things in a way that makes so much sense.  I just feel like one of the biggest things for me is I want to start living my life and be at a health weight to do all I want.  One thing I have not mentioned is that I ride (horses), actually I rodeo.  My whole family rodeo's and my weight is really starting to effect my riding. I still compete but can tell without losing weight and keeping it off its just a matter of when I will have to give that up too.  Thank you again making me feel so welcome here.  I will continue to ask questions I am sure.

Texasgirl73