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There are a few things you can rely on during this process. And all of them are okay. None are wrong or right. Everyone loses at their own rate. Some lose more quickly. Others lose more slowly. Many factors influence this including, age, gender, pre existing health conditions, medications, etc. Hence the range of possible loss your surgeon suggested in your first month. The more you have to lose, the faster you’ll lose at first. Everyone’s rate of loss slows as they get closer to their final weight. Stalls happen. You will have times the scales won’t move. The first often occurs around week 3+/- & they often last 1-3 weeks. Just stick to your plan & your weight loss will start again. Not every one reaches their goal & some exceed their goal. The average loss at the three year mark is about 65% of the weight you were to lose to put you in a healthy range. I’d expect that is where the 55lb weight loss your surgeon has suggested comes from. Like you, my BMI was 35. I’d lost all my weight by 6 months but continued to lose for another 11 months while sitting out my maintenance, albeit very slowly, to about where I am now. But that was my journey. Yours could be similar or different & that’s okay. All the best with your surgery & journey.

To celebrate reaching my goal weight (95% excess weight loss), I had a DexaScan done to measure my body fat percentage. I'm at 20.6%, which is in the Ideal range for my age. The scan revealed that my weight loss was mostly fat and not muscle.

I'm 5'3. I had my vsg at around 200, got to 160. No problem getting it approved due to comorbities. I held that for about 6 years, felt good, most comorbities resolved. But then I got severe gerd and had an rny to fix gerd over a year ago, now weigh 109 lbs.

I had the surgery last year when I was 62. Only regret was waiting so long but I never had the funds before. I feel so well now and am super happy with my weight loss so far

I weighed myself weekly to begin with, but once it became clear that I was going to be a serial-staller, I stopped weekly weigh ins and went with bi-weekly to monthly. As I got closer to goal, I weighed myself less and less, letting months go by. I found that actually really healthy, mentally. So I hit milestones like "under 100kg", and finally "goal weight" without even realising until weeks later. Obsessing about the scale isn't helpful. I could feel my clothes getting looser, which was much more significant, and I was sticking to my plan so even when weight loss slowed down, I knew I was heading in the right direction.

Can’t help with the surgery in Mexico. Though if you have a good GP you trust & who is willing to support you through the process when you get home you’ll be fine. I was two months shy of 54 when I had my surgery (& am 5’3” & was a teacher in one of my lives too 🙂). The surgery was the best decision I’ve made. I feel (& look) younger & better than ever.

I had my surgery at age 55. I know several people who've had it in the 50s and 60s - and even a couple in their 70s!

I had acid reflux before the surgery, but the doctor also fixed a hernia when he did the sleeve so I haven’t had any heartburn with meds. Also my post nasal drip is pretty much gone. I would wake people up or keep them up at night coughing up phlegm.

Unfortunately, reflux or gerd is a possible side effect of the sleeve. Definitely speak to your surgeon about how it can be better managed & your options. I had reflux before my surgery which I managed most of the time with dietary choices. My reflux is worse now in that I need meds every day versus rarely before surgery. But the surgery also reduced some of the reflux symptoms I had like the horrendous hiccups. Try avoiding caffeine, carbonation & spicy & rich foods (though your current eating plan probably avoids a lot of these). Try not to eat heavy/dense protein a couple of hours before going to bed. Sleep on a wedge or raise the head of your bed with a brick. Worth a try to see if any of these things can help you even a little.

Jan 10th here. It just got very real. My doctor is allowing a high protein diet 2 weeks before surgery and the liquid diet only 2 days before. Is this normal? I know everyone is a little different.