*Jade*

This is one of those crazy things. I think when we see what everyone is doing here it can skew how we feel about our own successes. At my last appointment (around 6-7 months post-op) the PA told me that as far as the practice is concerned, I am now a success story, with just about 70% of my excess weight loss to get to their goal of 160. My personal goal is to get as low as I can go, but at almost 9 months now, the weight is really moving slowly. Everything people say is true: my body still shifts around, my life is 100% better and healthier, I can't believe what I can do physically, and for the MOST part I am enjoying the way I look. My personal goal is 150; my stretch goal is 143 (100 pounds.) Will I get there? I don't know…I hope so. Right now it's a constant dance of figuring out what kind of workouts work for my body and make me feel good. Experimenting with what and how I eat. Trying to be patient when the scale doesn't do exactly what I think it should be doing. I think that is because a lot of what we believe, we still base on "conventional" wisdom, and that doesn't really cut it anymore. For example, keeping my calories steady and burning 3500 extra calories in a week does not automatically lead to a pound of weight loss. We want to quantify and be in control, and I'm squarely in the phase where I have to just do the right thing and trust.

It's a trip, isn't it?

Cowgirl - what advice did your nutritionist give on how to beat the averages? Would love to be as successful as you! Thx

losses via inches/pounds/BMI varies per person per doctor per various reasons..
i have the lap band w/plication..i have lost 170 pounds...starting bmi of 62..to me, that
is what matters me losing and not getting so hung up on %'s and comparison shopping.
have the WLS you want and will use as advised by your doctor and get well...

Everyone is different. I have the band. I lost 60% of my BMI in under 1 year. I have been around the same weight for over 1 year. My doctor is thrilled. I would like to lose 40-50 more. Time will tell. I didn't gain it all in 1-3 years.

Your level of success is mostly up to you. It's similar to high school where the scholastic average is around 3.0. You can be a 4.0 student if you work hard. You can also fail and be much less than 3.0. That's why it's called an average. We have many 4.0-4.2 students here but we also have some 2.0 students too. Sometimes it's not how hard you work, but life can throw a lot of curves.

BRAVO!! This should be the BP motto and EVERYONE should be required to repeat it to themselves everyday. And it should be written on stone tablets and hung at an official annual scale burning party.

Depends on what numbers you use to calculate your excess body weight. According to the Hamwi formula, I should weigh 125. (Which is fuc ... ing ridiculous, BTW). In that case, I've only lost 78% of my excess body weight. But if you use my surgeons goal weight, I've lost 113% of my excess weight! and if you use my goal, which is normal BMI I've lost 100%.

B R A V O !!! Well said and congratulations on a great, great job!!

I'm a bypass guy so I have no experience to base any comments on regarding the sleeve. I do know a little something about my journey following my bypass. I lost 130 lbs in just over 14 months. Starting weight was 285 and my weight leveled off at 155 and a BMI of 22.9 (height 5' 9"). I'm now almost two years and nine months post-op. Since hitting 155, my weight has never been above 156 or below 151. This morning I was 151.4.
"Excess weight" is usually defined by the medical community as any weight that results in a BMI of 25 or greater. So by that definition, I lost a little over 100% of my excess weight. To this day I always find that quite bizarre. There's absolutely nothing special about me. My approach to my weight loss journey was quite simple and unassuming. Stay positive. Stay patient. Stay focused on following the plan as closely to the letter as I possibly could. Exercise to my ability. And maintain a food log.
Neither my surgeon nor any member of her team ever suggested a goal weight. And I never asked. My goal was to simply follow my plan until my body told me it was where it wanted to be. I never had any preconceived idea regarding how long my weight loss should/could/would take. I was confident that I would know when I arrived at my destination. And that's exactly what happened.
I believe that the weight loss journey is much less stressful, and much more fun, if you just forget about time limits and goal weights. Trust the process. Trust your body. Allow it to find its own way in its own time. Your body will tell you when it's where it wants to be. And when your body is where it wants to be - you're gonna love the new you!

Wow! You are such an inspiration! So glad to hear of your success and longer life ... you richly deserve it.

Averages are interesting but not limiting. I started at 308; lost 150 in 14 months to Get to my goal158'. I maintained for awhile and am now down to 140. So I went from a BMI over 50 to now 23. I lost more than 100 percent of my excess weight I was 48 when I was sleeved, 50 now.
I was told to expect to lose 60-70 percent of my excess weight based on my surgeon's averages. I asked the nutritionist how to beat the averages.
Don't know why you can't beat them too. It's not easy or even fast but it's possible.

You need to not worry about percentages etc. Everybody is different. Your body may react differently than mine did or the next persons will. I had vertical sleeve done Dec 26th 2013. I have lost a total of 230 lbs. 65 oreop. 165 post op. Just over 6 months since surgery. Yes I am very motivated. I swim 45-60 minutes a day. Walk 3.5 miles every day I can. I also walk 2-4 miles during work. Lift weights if shoulders allow. It. Early morning I use resistance bands and AB rocket. I have no idea how much excess weight I have lost. Nor do I care how much more I may lose. Type 2 diabetes. Gone!! High cholesterol. Gone!! High BP. Gone!! Hypertension..Gone!! I haven't been on any meds for about 3 months. Only thing I take now is my vitamins!! I don't get all wrapped up with scale or percentages. What I get excited about. Having people see me and say OMG. You look great. Etc. Shirt size down from 6XL to 2XL. Pants down from 56 to 40. Yes I have excess skin that will have to be taken care of down the road. Again don't care right now about it.the benefits of the surgery is my health. My team says I have put 20 plus years back on my life!! I say don't worry about the weight loss. Excess skin. Etc. Look at the benefits. Oh yeah. I will be 47 years young end of July!! Good luck on your journey!! It us a great journey to be on!!

I am 54 but was 53 at the time of my RNY surgery on 5/30/13. I weighed 233 (at 5' tall I looked like a weeble and had been obese for 27 years) when I had my first appt w/my surgeon. I am 13 months out and have lost 120 lbs. I'm in a size 6 slacks and a small top. I used to be a very tight 2X. I have lost a little over 50% of my TOTAL body weight. I'm very happy about it, to say the least!

When the first doctor I talked to said, "You can expect to lose 60% of your excess weight" I asked how he came up with that number. He said, "Averages". My response was, "I am not giving this an average-type of effort."
I went into this wanting to lose 106 pounds - 256 high weight down to 150 pounds. I'm at 183 and have only lost 7 pounds in the past 2.5 months. I'm discouraged because I've slowed down so much. I'm just shy of 8 months post op.
I can tell you - although I won't be happy with my roughly 70% loss, if I don't lose another pound, my life is better today than it was a year ago. My size is smaller today than at the same weight years ago. I'm more active and a lot of my health problems are gone, my aches and pains are gone.
The numbers are not as important to me right now - I'm working out a lot and doing my best to eat on program. Those are the things I can control. I can't control how my body decides it's going to lose the pounds.. The scale doesn't have the same hold on me as it did early on. I feel fantastic and i think I look pretty good, too! :-)

I was reading up on this today as well and am wondering the same things!!

whatever WLS you and your doctor decide to get, if you use it as advised, it will have the best results...the surgery itself will only do so much (and many people who struggle are finding that little tidbit out)....the person MUST change how they eat, what they eat and most important their THINKING
i was super morbid obese.starting BMI of a massive 62 (i am very short so i was as wide as i am tall)...it was either or for me.....i had to make that change....so i wish you nothing but luck...write down questions you have and ask your surgeon as it relates to you...on this forum you will get good and bad, on all WLS and this is better and that is better and such...but this is about YOU...getting well means healthier weight and better quality of life...go for it...

Sleeved 5-22.. Down 31 since surgery 42 including pre-op diet. I feel good! No complications and I can still chug Water with the best of them. eating such small amounts still and don't have much variety in my diet which I'm sure will get boring as time goes on but for now the weight is falling off so it keeps me motivated. Sorry to those of you struggling. I don't think it's normal to be vomiting at this stage of the game. That is the first thing my dr asks me and told me to let him know if I do. You might want to check with him/her. Good luck. Sounds like we are all fading away (in a good way). :-)

Welcome, Jade! I am pre-op myself, currently right in the middle of all my pre-op tests. Man it seems like so much. But I'm excited. Your surgeon will go over all your options and explain the surgeries thoroughly, but ultimately, the choice is yours. It's great that your PCP seems like she is on board with your decision. That's important. Continue to research, especially surgeons in your area, because with this type of medical event , I would want simply the best working on me! (Which is happening in my case, lol!)
I wish you the best of luck on your journey!

Welcome to the forum Jade. Don't be afraid to ask questions? You'll find people here who love their band and those who were not successful with their band and revised to other WLS options.
I won't sugar coat it, for some folks this journey has been a breeze and for others, very difficult. Just be ready to make a major lifestyle change for the better.

Welcome Jade!
Feel free to post about fears, ask your questions, and continue to research. You will find a wealth of information here.
You'll find nay sayers in your life - they may be family members, friends, even members of the medical community. Do your research and network here. You'll know when you're ready to commit.
Best of luck to you!

Hi Jade,
Good luck with your decision. My surgeons office requires a great deal of education. They go through each WLS option in great detail, including complication rates and "life after." They ask you to think about which surgery you are interested in and then individually discuss with surgeon. In my experience, the surgeon answered my remaining questions and asked me which surgery I wanted. I told him the sleeve and he said he thought that would be a good option for me. My point is that you have consultation with your surgeon before having to decide for sure. Good luck with your decision.

Hi Jade. I am 9 weeks post-op gastric sleeve. It was the best thing I ever did. I am feeling better and losing every day! Good luck to you!

Welcome Jade The people here are amazing.

You are very welcome, Jade.
Enjoy the madness and the best of luck with your decision

Originally, when I asked my doctor if I was a good candidate for a lap band, he referred me to the bariatric clinic at Loyola University in Chicago. When I went for my first appointment, the staff explained the different options for weight loss surgery. I went with the sleeve on December 13, 2013, because I did not like the idea of a port with a lap band. I had no idea that you were left with a port.
I have had a couple of dark days where I have wondered what the heck did I do?, but overall, I do not regret my sleeve one little bit. I am halfway to goal and feel better in many ways. Also, my primary doctor has begun the process of eliminating medications.
I am sure that you will make the best decision for your particular medical needs. I wish you good luck and good health, and welcome to the forum.