Thoughts of the future after WLS - ThinnerTimes

LisaBoston · 12-27-2005, 03:07 PM

Well another Christmas is past us. Hope everyone had a good holiday.

I am off work for 13 days, so lots of time to think about my upcoming surgery - in 9 months. I just realized that for as long as I can remember, I have been shopping in large size ladies clothes. In the past 7 years exclusively at Penningtons.

In my town, we don't have ANY large size stores..sears catologue is here, but I have outgrown the PLUS sizes. The closest shop for large clothes is 3 hrs away. We make the trip every 3 months or so (there is a Costco there too !).

It hit me all of a sudden that when we go, I can spend about an hour in the Pennington's store and get all the new clothes I can find for the next season. After WLS I am going to have to spend probably 3 times that amount of time to find clothes in a variety of stores. I will also be able to shop the Sears catologue, the SAAN store here and the Walmart Store about an hour away. I have very mixed feelings on this. I can't remember a time when I enjoyed trying on clothes.

As I ate my Chirstmas supper this year. (We had seafood fondue instead of turkey) I overstuffed myself and felt sick. Next Christmas will be very different. I truly believe that I am so conscious of what I am eating lately, looking at labels for the grams of sugar, trying out protien drinks and such that I feel I will be prepared when the time comes.

One last thing. I was reading the WLS for dummies last night and wondering about a goal weight for me. Here are the stats....any thoughts on what I should make my goal - reason I ask is that I understand that with WLS, that we will loose 60-75% of the AMOUNT we need to loose. If I set my goal too low, I may not feel successful, if too high...will this be enough? I know it will all depend on time and how I feel, but can anyone assist on where I should set this number based on the following:

Current BMI 47 - 310lbs

Normal BMI - 20-25 (131-164lbs)
Overweight BMI - 25-30 (164-197 lbs)
Obese BMI 30-40 (200 lbs plus)

(PS: the doctor wants me to choose a goal weight) I was 180 lbs when I was 18 years old, my thoughts are 160-180 lbs, but this still keeps me in the overweight category.

For those of you close to goal or at goal, was this an issue for you? Did you change your goal as you went along?

SAMI'S GRAM · 12-27-2005, 04:06 PM

I went to the movies with a friend the other night. As we walked through the mall she asked if I had been to some of the small-specialty shops to look for clothes. I looked at her as if she was nuts. I only went to Lane Bryant, Sears, Penneys and Mervyns. Large dept. stores that had plus depts. It had never dawned on me to go to those other stores.We went into one of them and I know it sounds kind of dumb, but I felt anxious. It's still hard for me to grasp that I fit into those clothes now. Well, I guess it's just another thing to work through! About your goal. . .I just picked a number that gave me a BMI that was not overweight. Not very scientific. But, others on this forum have higher BMI and look and feel great! On the other hand, we had a girl at our support meeting whose goal was to be a size 8. She had been told it was probably unrealistic when she had her surgery. Well, she was now a size 10 and extremely depressed. Go figure!
Think of a time when you were happy and healthy and pick that number!

Martha

coptergirl · 12-27-2005, 04:29 PM

Lisa about picking your weight - pick one to satisfy your doctor that you have a goal,and also pick a BMI that is sort of mid range. Give yourself the grace, though, not to obesses about a number on the scale. If your goal is to be 120 in the end, but you feel great at 150, then stop at 150...

Dyann · 12-27-2005, 04:33 PM

To pick a weight is difficult as even if you weigh 170, you may have 10 pounds of excess skin. Pick a range and a state of health. Set short interm goals. Just something to focus on. I am a very visual person and someone gave me a website that plots your expected weight loss, from the lowest expected to the highest possible and anything in between that you choose. PM with your email address and I will email it to you. I don't want to get obsessed with numbers, but I will like to plot my progress and do the best I can, not in comparison to anyone else. I think a BMI of 25 is a great goal.

mfergusont · 12-27-2005, 05:09 PM

Lisa, I think a BMI of 25 is pretty good too.
My surgeon gave me a goal of a BMI of 22, which is 125 for me. But when I think of excess skin and stuff, it makes me think that maybe him setting a goal of that BMI might discourage some. I am starting to wish that my goal weight wasn't quite so low, as I can remember being 135 at 15 years old and feeling/looking great. I think it is better to set a higher goal at first, that way you don't get discouraged trying to get to that small weight. Just in case.

Good luck Lisa!!

LisaBoston · 12-27-2005, 07:33 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. I have made a goal of 160 for myself, which would be a WL of 150lbs. I can change as the time goes on, but I really felt that I needed a number to go on. I can only assume the doc will be happy. I will update after I talk with him. thanks.

HAMPTON5555 · 12-27-2005, 07:38 PM

I had a freaky experience with shopping when I passed into normal sizing. I was at Stein Mart and tried on a few plus size clthes and realized they were all too big. I vetured over to the regular size area which compared to the plus area took up acres of the store. My world of choices overwhelmed me to the point of a bonified panic attack. Keep in mind I am not a panicky type person. As I gathered up clothes I realized I had arm fulls of choices. I walked over to the dressing room where they had a table and chairs. (for bored hubbies no doubt). Anyway, I layed all the clothes on the table and my heart was racing. I was about to bolt out when my cell phone rang. It was my best buddy and she asked what I was doing. After explaining my delema, she ordered me into the dressing room asnd said that this was the best reason ever to have a panic attack!! So I went in, tried on all those clothes and realized not only did I have choices of what fit, I could also be choosy at style and colors becuase I had so much to choose from

It has taken a while, but I am getting to the point where shopping is not too scary and actually fun...at least until the credit card bills come!!

You will love it too!!
Best to U!!
Rain

LisaM · 12-27-2005, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaBoston

Thanks for the suggestions. I have made a goal of 160 for myself, which would be a WL of 150lbs. I can change as the time goes on, but I really felt that I needed a number to go on. I can only assume the doc will be happy. I will update after I talk with him. thanks.

My fellow Lisa...I can only tell you how I made my decision.

I set my goal for 150 for a couple of reasons - at 5'1", I will technically still be overweight if I hit my goal weight. I think the person who said before that you should pick a weight where you were happy and healthy had it tagged.

At my lightest as an adult (127) I fainted every time I stood up because I couldn't eat enough to survive--my body fat percentage was 11%, when a normal woman's is around 21-22%. It was distinctly unhealthy for me. Also, the percentages you mention are the percentage of the amount between starting weight and ideal weight.

The insurance tables call that 109 pounds for me--so if I lose 153 pounds, I will have lost about 75% of what "they" say I should... so I'm crossing my fingers.

Mavisavis · 12-27-2005, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaBoston

Well another Christmas is past us. Hope everyone had a good holiday.

I am off work for 13 days, so lots of time to think about my upcoming surgery - in 9 months. I just realized that for as long as I can remember, I have been shopping in large size ladies clothes. In the past 7 years exclusively at Penningtons.

In my town, we don't have ANY large size stores..sears catologue is here, but I have outgrown the PLUS sizes. The closest shop for large clothes is 3 hrs away. We make the trip every 3 months or so (there is a Costco there too !).

It hit me all of a sudden that when we go, I can spend about an hour in the Pennington's store and get all the new clothes I can find for the next season. After WLS I am going to have to spend probably 3 times that amount of time to find clothes in a variety of stores. I will also be able to shop the Sears catologue, the SAAN store here and the Walmart Store about an hour away. I have very mixed feelings on this. I can't remember a time when I enjoyed trying on clothes.

As I ate my Chirstmas supper this year. (We had seafood fondue instead of turkey) I overstuffed myself and felt sick. Next Christmas will be very different. I truly believe that I am so conscious of what I am eating lately, looking at labels for the grams of sugar, trying out protien drinks and such that I feel I will be prepared when the time comes.

One last thing. I was reading the WLS for dummies last night and wondering about a goal weight for me. Here are the stats....any thoughts on what I should make my goal - reason I ask is that I understand that with WLS, that we will loose 60-75% of the AMOUNT we need to loose. If I set my goal too low, I may not feel successful, if too high...will this be enough? I know it will all depend on time and how I feel, but can anyone assist on where I should set this number based on the following:

Current BMI 47 - 310lbs

Normal BMI - 20-25 (131-164lbs)
Overweight BMI - 25-30 (164-197 lbs)
Obese BMI 30-40 (200 lbs plus)

(PS: the doctor wants me to choose a goal weight) I was 180 lbs when I was 18 years old, my thoughts are 160-180 lbs, but this still keeps me in the overweight category.

For those of you close to goal or at goal, was this an issue for you? Did you change your goal as you went along?

I am only 5'1" and made my goal 135. I hope I can reach it, but will see as I get closer. I made it this for a few reasons.....#1. My age, I don't expect my middle age body to become model perfect and this is the higher end of my range for my height, #2. It puts my BMI at just slightly over the 25, but considering I will have a few lbs of skin, it's about right. (I don't plan on a TT), #3. I just really want to say I lost 100 lbs!! Good luck with your upcoming surgery. I think it's awesome that you are using these months to educate and prepare....it will be time well spent!

LisaBoston · 12-28-2005, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HAMPTON5555

I had a freaky experience with shopping when I passed into normal sizing. I was at Stein Mart and tried on a few plus size clthes and realized they were all too big. I vetured over to the regular size area which compared to the plus area took up acres of the store. My world of choices overwhelmed me to the point of a bonified panic attack. Keep in mind I am not a panicky type person. As I gathered up clothes I realized I had arm fulls of choices. I walked over to the dressing room where they had a table and chairs. (for bored hubbies no doubt). Anyway, I layed all the clothes on the table and my heart was racing. I was about to bolt out when my cell phone rang. It was my best buddy and she asked what I was doing. After explaining my delema, she ordered me into the dressing room asnd said that this was the best reason ever to have a panic attack!! So I went in, tried on all those clothes and realized not only did I have choices of what fit, I could also be choosy at style and colors becuase I had so much to choose from

It has taken a while, but I am getting to the point where shopping is not too scary and actually fun...at least until the credit card bills come!!