How many lbs overweight is enough?

[peppermint]

I am considering this surgery and was wondering if there is a overweight minimum of pounds that you have to be in order to be a candidate?

I am about 80lbs overweight is this enough? I am a 15/16 in pants and wondering if there are any other women who have had this surgery who are under 100lbs overweight? Were you able to lose all your weight?

Diets just don't seem to work to well for me I really don't eat that much, but I do have a large dinner and usually skip breakfast.

Any feedback would help, thanks.

Patricia

[Shell]

There are several women I know who were not 100 lbs overweight and had the surgery, it is most likely you would not be approved in the U.S. by your insurance company if you were not 100 lbs overweight which is why most lower BMI patients go to Mexico for the surgery. One thing to remember though so you do not get discouraged, some people lower BMI's ( or less weight to lose) may lose slower then those of us who had 100 lbs plus to lose.

[JennaR]

I am a low BMI. I had a BMI of 32.7. At banding I was a size 16, sometimes an 18. But I am tall and proportion out well and hide it well too. I went to Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez in Mexico.

I am 5'8" and weighed 217. My goal is 145. So I have 75 to lose total from banding. I am 2 months post op and am 1/2 way there. I now weigh 187 and still losing every day. But.... I am working EXTRA hard at it. I know that low bmi's lose slower so I am really giving it a kick in the butt. You MUST work at it.

[clg8579]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum so please bear with me. Had surgery on 5/26/05 and feeling great! JennaR, I have a question though: You had surgery 2 months ago and you're down 30 pounds already? WOW!!! You say you are working extra hard - what exactly are you doing to get these amazing results?

Thanks

clg8579

[JennaR]

Thanks. Actually it is 33 lbs now. I am eating chicken like its going out of syle. Lots of veggies and fruits. No breads except for tortillas in my chicken wrap. I am staying away from sweets but I do fall off the wagon sometimes. (my birthday last week was horrible as I only ate cake all day, baaad girl).

I take a VERY light walk in the morning around the block with the dogs and I run/walk at night when it is cooler. Plus, I am a police officer and am fairly active all day.

I have a big fear of food though because of my PB'ing so I really don't eat all that much. But... I am not hungry. I drink drink drink water allllllll the time. I usually pee about once every hour!! It is annoying, but the weight is melting off.

I figure if I just tough it out for about 6 months and actually try and diet and exercise then I will be at goal that much sooner. I plan on ROCKING this band! This was no joke for me when I got this band and because I have to live with scars on my belly, damnit, it is gonna work!!!

I am a bit compulsive I think over the "normal" bandster and am taking the diet and exercise to a bit of an extreme. I didn't start exercising though until 2 weeks ago. The first 6 weeks was just following the doctors diet to a T and it (the weight) came off.

Just a note about the "running". I TRY to jog as much as I can, then I walk, and as soon as I have my breath back I force myself to jog again. Sometimes I can only jog 5-6 steps, then walk, but I force myself to jog again even if it is only for a few steps. The key is to push myself as hard as I can without overdoing it. I bet I look silly and large bouncing down the street, but at this point I don't give a damn anymore, the weight is coming OFF for good this time.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Also try www.lapbandtalk.com for more info, ton of info on there and many more success stories (as well as the problems that bandsters face)

Jenna