Question:
Are you satisfied with your loss even if not as low as doctor wants it to be?

Hello, I started out at 362 and am little over two years out. I am now fluctuating between 210 and 220. I want to be under 200, but due to the way I am built (small up top, bigger butt and legs - and very solid) I feel I look good where I am at even if I never lose any more. My doctor wants me to be under 150 and I feel like if I get there I would hate my body even more than when I was 362. I do have sagginess to my skin, esp. butt and legs. Also where I am at now I can where 14/16 shirts and 16/18 pants. I feel if I could get to about 190, then that would be a great # for me. Has anyone else disagreed with the weight your doctor wanted you to be at? Thanks!    — Tammy M. (posted on April 21, 2004)

April 21, 2004
If you feel comfortable where you are, that is fine. I am about 40 lbs from where I would like to be. My PCP told me that if I never lost another pound, he was pleased with my weight loss. My B/P and labs are all really good, and if he's happy, so am I. And if your body wnts to be where it is, trust me, it's hard to make it budge another pound, no matter what any doctor says.
   — koogy

April 21, 2004
Hi! I am 5'5 and right now at 150 pounds.I had my surgery 10 months ago and my weight was 274.My surgeons ideal weight for me is 122.She based that on my bone,muscle and water mass.Also my frame,health history and family health history.Those are all valid reasons for my surgeons goal weight for me.However,I know me and 122 pounds is way too thin for me to be.In the past I've felt and looked healthy at around 140 so that is my goal.
   — jennifer A.

April 21, 2004
You are the one living in your body and you must be comfortable. Too many docs open a book and say you should weigh X, but that is not realistic for many, especially the former SMO. My surgeon is very realistic and he came up with the same goal weight as I did - 200 lbs. We never even discussed a goal weight till I was 6 months PO. I think he felt that starting at 442 and shooting even for 200 would seem insurmountable and he did not want to discourage me in any way. The initial goal weight I set was 250 lbs but when I was at 292 by 6 months it was obvious I needed to revise it. That's when we set 200. I am now at 192 and unfortunately still losing. It would be okay except that I have about 15 lbs of skin to remove with the remaining PS's I plan to have. My surgeon felt that based on how I carry my weight etc. that 180 should be an absolute bottom for me. I agree as I am too bony from the hips up as it is. Now the thunder thighs and calfs could use some trimming but that's going to have to come through PS as it's mainly all loose skin/fat. There is no way to control it coming off from the thighs down through more weight loss. <p>While in general I have a medium bone structure, that doesn't seem to apply to my lower half. My knees (bones only) are huge. I suspect from all the years of carrying over 400 lbs. I also suspect that the density/weight of my bones is higher as no one can believe that I weigh close to 200 lbs. I'm wearing 12's and 14's (but they are getting too loose) for pants. I don't even think I could get smaller in pants because it's my bone structure that is driving the waist/gut size. I've already had a lower body lift and literally have skin over bones. The hip bones just stick out and I have no butt or gut, so they are not controlling the pants size. At 192 I'm a 28.4 BMI and technically overweight but I sure don't care. I'd need to get to 168 I think to be in the normal category and that's not a size I ever want to see on me. A skeleton with skin is not my idea of healthy, at least for me. <p>All that matters is that you are happy where you are at. Tell the doc to take a chill pill!
   — zoedogcbr

April 22, 2004
I agree with the other posters............doctors often go "by the book" in setting goal weights, forgetting that those are averages and we are not all average. I'm 5'5" and have set a personal goal of 150. I'm 20 pounds away from that. My doctor did not set a goal for me. He just asked me what my goal was and I told him 145-150, I'd know when I got there and he was fine with that. I'm wearing size 12 pants and my hips and legs are still getting smaller and I'm at 170 pounds so don't know what will happen but I definitely don't want to get too much smaller. My thighs and tummy are beginning to look like a balloon with the air let out of them. You decide where you want to be. You're the one who will have to work to stay there so just tell your doctor firmly where you plan to stop and he/she can just deal with it and congratulations to you! You have done wonderfully.
   —  SCbabe B.

April 22, 2004
I started out at 334. I'm 5'2 and now 188. I'm fine with this weight. I'm just like you, small on top and huge butt, thighs and calves. But I'm ok with it because I think even if I loose anymore weight, it will continue to take it from the top of my body massively. And I have lost enough boobage as it is. Even my dietician thinks I look good right where I am. I would like more of this belly off, but I'm not going to stress out about it. All in due time.
   — aprilbaree

April 22, 2004
Doctors tend to look at the BMI charts and find the weight for your height that puts you in the "normal" vice overweight or obese categories. I disagreed with my surgeon who wanted me to weigh 15 pounds less that the goal I set for myself and achieved. I'm a size 10 and 15 more pounds would put me at a 6. I like where I am at, so here I stay. Also keep in mind that the lower your weight the less calories you can consume to maintain that lower weight. This was a big consideration for me. I didn't want to lose too much and then feel like a failure when I couldn't maintain or have to deprive myself of my treats to maintain that lower weight. You can always set interim goals. See what you look like when you get to 200 and if you want to lose more do so. Its your choice.
   — Cindy R.

April 22, 2004
That's a tough question. You sond happy, but you should consider giving yourself a cushion for any weight re-gain. I'm the same shape as you, basically a pear. As god is my witness, I didn't loose a single ounce in my calves until I was under 200 lbs. I lost from the top down, for sure. You have to do what you feel is best, but I'd try for under 200, if I were you. Just MHO! best, Lisa C
   — LMCLILLY

April 23, 2004
Some of you folks must be *really* muscular! The original poster says she's "very solid," and that sure sounds true given the weight compared to clothing size. I'm in a size 14/16 at 155 pounds, so there's an awfully big difference. I've read many reports saying that the worst health effects are from abdominal obesity, folks who carry their weight around the middle: apple shapes. For pear-shaped people, like so many women who are bottom-heavy, the health effects aren't nearly as bad. Just another reason to add to the many good ones listed by other people about why your doctor is probably wrong for YOU.
   — Celia A.

April 23, 2004
I'm really surprised at the doctor that said 122- seeing at that's a BMI of 20, and in the low range of normal. In my case, I'm 5'5" as well, and 168. I'm wearing a size 8 in slacks, size 9 in jeans, but am an apple shape, and have a huge hernia, so I'm still in a 12/14 up top. I plan on getting a tummy tuck, boob lift/reduction (I'm still a DD/DDD) and a hernia repair. I'm hoping beyond hope that they will cover the thighs, which are sagging and causing skin infections. And then the arms I will have to pay for- makes me look like I could take off. So I realize that I will most likely lose a few pounds in surgery, but I can't see losing 34 more pounds like the doc said. I mean sheesh- isn't size 8 before surgery small enough?
   — sbonet

April 27, 2004
when I asked the doctor what weight should I be , he said lets just see where your body settles into its comfortable weight. I am 5' and 130 #, slightly over weight, and I love where I am.
   — **willow**

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