Question:
When does your body know when it's lost enough weight

I am 8 months post-op, lost 129 pounds. Went from 301 to 171. According to the national weight average for my height of 5'2, I should weigh 135 and that's the goal I'm going for. When does my body know when I've lost enough weight? I don't want to become anarexic. Will my body know when to stop losing weight?    — dolphins94 (posted on March 11, 2002)

March 11, 2002
I'm 5'1", weigh about 110 or so. I did not contract any new diseases, including anorexia due to my wt loss or WLS. Different charts will give you different ranges. One chart uses 5' = 100#, and 5# for every inch thereafter. So, at 5'1", I am now 5# OVERWEIGHT. You can tell how much I love THAT idea. We stop when we're done, then we bounce around a little. I've never seen anyone who STAYED too thin long term, unless something was wrong (& they know that then). I hit 104 before I bounced around & settled in.
   — vitalady

March 11, 2002
I am 2 years post-op RNY, am 5'8" and now weigh 170 lbs. (-155 lbs.). My weight "leveled off" on its own approximately 4 months ago, and I lost the final 16 lbs. following a panniculectomy and armlift in November. My personal goal was always 150 lbs., but my surgeon and exercise physiologist said 170 lbs, due to my bone density. As it was explained to me, long-term obese patients have greater bone density from years of having to support all that extra weight.....this would NOT be true for younger patients who have not been obese for many years. Therefore, I will "appear" the same size at 170 lbs NOW, as I would have looked at 145-150 lbs. years ago. I was a little skeptical when I first heard that information, but it seems to be accurate. At 170 (which still sounds "fat" to me), I am wearing a size 10. With my height and bone structure, God never intended me to be one of those tiny size 4-6 folks :-) So, the moral of this story is to be confident that your body knows when to "stop".....only 1% of WLS patients are unable to stop losing weight and need reversal of their procedures....and, if you're a "long-term" obese patient, focus on size instead of pounds when thinking about personal goals.
   — Diana T.