If "Failure" is the "F" word of bariatric surgery then "Goal" must be the "G" word. I HATE it when people who are trying to avoid admitting the "F" word use the "G" word as an out. "When I comitted to the surgery I only wanted to lose 5 pounds and I did so now I can weigh 500 pounds and I'm a huge success!" No you're just huge, not a success.
People have tried to get in to the program for events. Their "G" word was an event. Get into a dress or go to their high school reunion. Fortunately most of them get weeded out of the program but some lied well enough to get through. To bad. They better stay familiar with the "F" word.
"Goal" as it applies to bariatrics means one thing. (although different programs have slightly different definitions.) A "Goal" is a fixed number based on your height and a BMI chart and a fixed percentage. Joanne uses a BMI of 24. Some programs use 25. At 74 inches my BMI at 24 is 186 lbs. I got a little lost the other night but I believe Joanne uses 80 percent as her fixed percentage. Some programs go much lower.
What that means (maybe and I look forward to corrections) is that I weighed 404 lbs. 404 - 186 is 218 lbs which is my raw number. I then take 80 percent of that which is 174 lbs. I subtract 174 lbs from 404 lbs and I get 230 lbs.
My "GOAL" is 230 lbs. Did I want to get off some meds? "Yes." Did I want to fit into my best suit? "Of course." Are those the "G" word? NOPE. They're just things that happen on the way to my Goal. . .
Some people decide that being less obese than they were when they started is all they wanted to accomplish. They're "comfortable" with their new level of obesity. That's fine. Anybody who wants to be fat will never be judged by me. I just worry when they make more of it than what it is. Is it "comfortable"? "Yes." Is it healthy? "No" Irregardless of what they may want to believe a BMI in the 30s has an increased risk of alot of health issues. Sorry folks. . . Thats just a fact. . .
I hope that the "comfort" folks stick with the program and find a new motivation to make the commitment to get to their goal. I can only guess at the enormous satisfaction that must await those of us that actually make it to "Goal."
Mike
People have tried to get in to the program for events. Their "G" word was an event. Get into a dress or go to their high school reunion. Fortunately most of them get weeded out of the program but some lied well enough to get through. To bad. They better stay familiar with the "F" word.
"Goal" as it applies to bariatrics means one thing. (although different programs have slightly different definitions.) A "Goal" is a fixed number based on your height and a BMI chart and a fixed percentage. Joanne uses a BMI of 24. Some programs use 25. At 74 inches my BMI at 24 is 186 lbs. I got a little lost the other night but I believe Joanne uses 80 percent as her fixed percentage. Some programs go much lower.
What that means (maybe and I look forward to corrections) is that I weighed 404 lbs. 404 - 186 is 218 lbs which is my raw number. I then take 80 percent of that which is 174 lbs. I subtract 174 lbs from 404 lbs and I get 230 lbs.
My "GOAL" is 230 lbs. Did I want to get off some meds? "Yes." Did I want to fit into my best suit? "Of course." Are those the "G" word? NOPE. They're just things that happen on the way to my Goal. . .
Some people decide that being less obese than they were when they started is all they wanted to accomplish. They're "comfortable" with their new level of obesity. That's fine. Anybody who wants to be fat will never be judged by me. I just worry when they make more of it than what it is. Is it "comfortable"? "Yes." Is it healthy? "No" Irregardless of what they may want to believe a BMI in the 30s has an increased risk of alot of health issues. Sorry folks. . . Thats just a fact. . .
I hope that the "comfort" folks stick with the program and find a new motivation to make the commitment to get to their goal. I can only guess at the enormous satisfaction that must await those of us that actually make it to "Goal."
Mike
