LIGHTWEIGHT ?

Hi everyone I had a few questions about being lightweight what makes you a lightweight I'm 5"3 HW 250 but lost 39lbs before surgery so SW 211 I know I couldn't have been a lightweight at 250 but with a SW being so low does that make me a lightweight? Do lightweights lose slower on the VSG board people are losing 30-35lbs in the first month but I only lost 17lbs I'm not comparing just want to know if this is common. I'm happy with the 17lbs and my doc says I'm doing fine and that I'm on schedule. So the question is is this common?

You have to consider it in percentage terms.  If you at 211 lose 17lbs that's the same as someone at 422 losing 34lbs.

It's frustrating when you hear about others' great losses, but try to not compare yourself to others - easy I know... I'm gonna have to take my own advice when it's my turn! ;-)

I'm 5'3" and my high weight was 240 and I was considered a lightweight so yes you would be considered a lightweight even at 250 believe it or not.  I never thought at 240 I would be called a lightweight.  Only in the WLS world would 250 lbs be a lightweight.
Yes, lightweights seem to lose slower but in reality percentage wise it is about equal.  If you have 100 lbs to lose and I have 150 lbs to lose then you need to lose 33 lbs to  lose 1/3 your excess weight and I need to lose 50 lbs so even though it seems as if I've lost more we've both lost a third of our excess weight.  Does that make sense?
It does seem to me, just from being around these boards for a while, that those with less to lose to seem to reach goal and are able to keep it off a bit better then those with a lot more to lose.  That is the good thing about having less to lose.  You have more time to lose less weight.
I started out this time at 220 lbs (I was a revision) so even to lose 100 lbs if I lost a pound a week I could still do that in under 2 years if I needed to and be within the weight loss window, which they say is usually 1 1/2 to 2 years.

100lbs in a 2 year weightloss window is 1lb/week.  What a great way to think of it.  I'll have to remember that before I start whining.

Welcome to the lightweight board.

Best explanation is this one from the dsfacts web site:

It's not POUNDS, it's PERCENTAGES!

by Carolyn M.

Two people, both 6 months post-op. One has lost only 63 pounds and feels bad about her "slow" weight loss. The other has lost 96 pounds and thinks she's doing great.

They are both wrong.

Person A had only 105 excess pounds, so she has already lost 60% of her excess weight. She is actually ahead of the game at 6 months out and is on track to lose it ALL.

Person B had 265 excess pounds. At 6 months out she has only lost 36% of her excess weight. At this rate, she will end up retaining 28% of her excess weight, enough to keep her in the obese category.

See what I mean? Don't compare pounds to pounds, that's like apples and oranges.

Percent of excess weight lost: pounds lost divided by total excess pounds
Use a BMI of 25 as a goal weight

On track to lose it all is 25% lost after 2 months, 50% after 6 months, and 80% at one year.

Please note: These are averages. Your mileage may vary.

Btw, I lost over 100% of my excess weight in less than 8 months...then stalled for 6 months and then dropped about 8 more lbs.

Liz

You're doing fine!  17 lbs in the first month is a lot for a lightweight.

I started out around 240 as well, although I'm taller than you are.  I've lost about 116 lbs, which corresponds to about 115% of my excess body weight when I started this journey.  - I never lost 30 lbs in one month, and my weight loss was slow and steady until I started to work to turn it off at about 9 months.

Thanks for all your comments and advise now it all makes since that's why my doc is saying that I'm on track..............WOW I never thought i could ever be called a lightweight    

WELCOME!!  

140 should put you at a normal BMI so YES you are definitely a LW.  Your VSG friends probably have more to lose than you so 39 lbs probably sounds like alot but you will get to goal way before them if you follow all of the VSG rules.

I think everyone else answered all your questions so I will just WELCOME you to the LW Board!!

Linda