LaLaDee

Yep, and that's 185 assuming you're totally average from a statistical perspective, so you really never know what is possible. I also think about what my weight would have been if I hadn't had the surgery. Realistically, it's not like my weight would have stayed the same, e.g. at my pre-surgery weight, it would definitely have climbed much higher without some kind of intervention...

I haven't seen that outcomes calculator before. It's quite interesting. I'm three years post op, but I put in my data prior to surgery and it predicted that I would be 259lbs in my third year, I'm actually about 210. I think that calculator is pretty conservative, so it's definitely very realistic in what you can achieve. I think a lot of people, e.g. on these forums are doing much better than what would be predicted by that calculator, but it really is up to the individual.

this is cool! Although this is definitely based on averages. It predicted at year 2 I'd weigh 232. Actually, I weighed 138 then - so almost 100 lbs less (I gained a few lbs in year 3, which is unfortunately, very common). As others have said, that 50-70% they always quote is an average - and as with any average, there will be people who fall on either side of that. Just stay as committed as you can to your program. I almost never went off mine that first year.

I haven't seen that outcomes calculator before. It's quite interesting. I'm three years post op, but I put in my data prior to surgery and it predicted that I would be 259lbs in my third year, I'm actually about 210. I think that calculator is pretty conservative, so it's definitely very realistic in what you can achieve. I think a lot of people, e.g. on these forums are doing much better than what would be predicted by that calculator, but it really is up to the individual.

Of course. I appreciate how scary the whole plastics business is, but it's actually been amazing for me so I'm willing to share some of my story. You might be able to see the baggy deposits under my arm pits in my "before" pictures earlier in the thread, they're the reason I needed the extended Brachioplasty. They used to chafe against my bra and made life generally uncomfortable, along with the saggy skin that dropped below my arms, it's all magically gone. The trade off is obviously the scars, but I'm amazed how my whole body looks thinner. Below are some pretty graphic photos (don't look if you're squeamish) at around 2 weeks post surgery. Apologies for my messy bathroom and strange angles.
Things seem to be healing pretty nicely, I'm wearing silicon tape and hoping for the best long term outcome but as my surgeon warned me multiple times, it's tough to predict how arm lift scars will heal. Even if the scars don't improve much, my clothes fit so much better. It's amazing!
I'm in a similar position to you, in that my BMI is still in the "unhealthy" range, but I definitely dropped a few pounds/kilos from the skin removal (noting that I did have some lipo). I hold most of my weight in my stomach, so that's where my loose skin really bothers me and where there may be a bigger difference in terms of weight loss following removal. I'm pretty keen to get the Tummy Tuck. I think I would easily go down 2 sizes in jeans if I had a tummy tuck. I also think it would motivate me to maintain weight loss and possibly even lose more. I'm still undecided at this stage if I want to drop anymore weight before more plastics or just go for it. However, I feel so amazing after my Brachioplasty. And I think I look better now than following my surgery a few years back when I was 20lbs lighter. The shape of my body just feels more feminine without my giant arms. I think our happiness with our new bodies/lives is about more than just a number on the scale. Plastics has been so great for my self esteem, but some people seem to lose weight without the loose skin and don't need it. I think it's a really personal decision, dependent on your bodies goals, self esteem and finances.

I love this thread!! I'm in Australia and some of these products are from Australia or New Zealand, but I don't want to miss out on the fun. Besides, the American supermarkets seem to have a version of everything so most of you can probably find something similar.
1. Dark roasted Peanut Butter - I eat this with apple or banana, on top of my oats, in my smoothies. As a rare treat, I will sometimes have this on gluten free toast too.

2. Kombucha - passionfruit flavour. I gave up Diet Coke (had a die hard addition but I think the sugar substitutes were making me crave real sugar) and high calorie juices. When I don't feel like Water, I'll have this. It's delicious, I don't know if it actually does anything in terms of Probiotics for the microbiome, but I like the taste.

3. Taco spice from costco. I buy these giant bottles of taco spice and throw it into beef mince or with chicken (I love a Mexican salad, taco Soup, or bowl of chilli carne carne). This actually lasts in my pantry, unlike those little sachets.

4. Halo top. Any kind - but peanut butter is my favourite. Lately, I've been buying the sticks as I can easily eat a whole tub (which is 280 calories). This is perfect when I want dessert (e.g. most nights).

5. Caramel collagen Creamer - I'm pretty sure this is available in the US, or will be soon. I think they have a dairy and non-dairy version, but I usually grab the regular kind. My skin, nails and hair look so much better when I'm doing collagen - it's a little miracle. I love the taste of this one, I stir it into smoothies, iced coffee and even my oats every morning to add Protein.

I'm three years out and prior to surgery, I had a BMI of 50. My surgeon recommended the sleeve because I was still young-ish then, e.g. early 30s and nutrient absorption is pretty important. My surgeon felt that the calcium/vitamin D malabsorption may lead to bone density issues later on in life (and after obesity, people generally don't have great bone density and are prone to fractures). Most of bariatric surgery is relatively new, so there aren't a ton of long term studies, so my surgeon is just guessing. And most people on the bypass seem to be pretty good about taking their Vitamins (which is something you should do with the sleeve anyway).
A couple of months after my sleeve I was diagnosed with a range of painful, chronic autoimmune diseases and I'm very thankful that I went with the sleeve because of the issues with drug absorption with the bypass (I have to take a ton of oral medications). Of course, I did not deal with GERD, which means that the bypass is right for many people.
With the sleeve, I was able to take my BMI from 50 to 25. Due to aforementioned illnesses and medications, I did deal with some regain, which I am slowly working on. At the moment, my BMI is about 29. I have never felt like the sleeve wouldn't be enough to help me achieve success.
All that to say, you can definitely have success with the sleeve or the bypass. As commented by others, a lot of it is going to come down to what your level of commitment, and your ability to change your lifestyle and deal with psychological issues. And you have to educate yourself. You can't drink a diet of only Protein Shakes forever. At some point, you have to learn how to eat real food in the real world, go to work, socialise and interact with food, people and life. If you haven't dealt with your "issues", you will have regain with either surgery.
It can be a tough decision, but I honestly feel that you can find success with either surgery.

btw - I get it as well. I gained 12 lbs during year 3 (which was OK since I was too thin at my lowest weight), and eight lbs last year (NOT OK). I've been really struggling to take that off - watching my calories, tracking everything, exercising almost every day (for the last couple of months, my primary exercise is bike riding, which I do 1-2 hours a day, 5-6 days a week). I've lost a measly three lbs. I suppose if I cut back to like 800 or 1000 calories a day, I could lose it faster - but I don't think I'd find that very sustainable five years out. Luckily, my weight is OK - I'd just like to lose another five lbs, but still - this is tough!!
back when I was morbidly obese, I used to roll my eyes at these women who were normal weight or slightly overweight who'd moan and complain about hard it was to lose five (or ten...) lbs. Yea....right. Try losing 100 or more! But now...I finally get it!!!

weight gain during year 3 is very common - with or without PCOS. Some people have had luck with Weight Watchers, intermittent fasting, or Keto. Some just go back to what they were doing in year 1 - not all the way back to Protein Shakes and purees, but the whole Protein first, then non-starchy vegetables, and maybe an occasional serving of fruit or whole-grain carb. If you do the latter, start tracking (if you're not doing it anymore) to see where you're averaging calorie-wise, and then start cutting back from that. I find that easier to do if I cut 100 calories at a time rather some drastic cut.
different methods work for different people - so just find one that works for you. You CAN lose regain - although it's much slower and harder than it was when you were in weight loss mode.

Hi all! I’m new here and just wanna share. I had VSG Aug 3,2017 I have PCOS which is like a cockblocker I’ll tell you now! I’ve gained about 30lbs since but am now on phentermine and have lost about 10-12 lbs. but it’s such a struggle . My highest weight was 260 and my lowest was 197. I’m currently 216 but I like 200 on myself. Just need encouragement because I feel I’m slipping away again!

Here in the US I know we have this brand of 100% Peanut Butter with no added sugar or salt that I absolutely love! So if an US peeps can find or order the Mayver’s

I love this thread!! I'm in Australia and some of these products are from Australia or New Zealand, but I don't want to miss out on the fun. Besides, the American supermarkets seem to have a version of everything so most of you can probably find something similar.
1. Dark roasted Peanut Butter - I eat this with apple or banana, on top of my oats, in my smoothies. As a rare treat, I will sometimes have this on gluten free toast too.

2. Kombucha - passionfruit flavour. I gave up Diet Coke (had a die hard addition but I think the sugar substitutes were making me crave real sugar) and high calorie juices. When I don't feel like Water, I'll have this. It's delicious, I don't know if it actually does anything in terms of Probiotics for the microbiome, but I like the taste.

3. Taco spice from costco. I buy these giant bottles of taco spice and throw it into beef mince or with chicken (I love a Mexican salad, taco Soup, or bowl of chilli carne carne). This actually lasts in my pantry, unlike those little sachets.

4. Halo top. Any kind - but peanut butter is my favourite. Lately, I've been buying the sticks as I can easily eat a whole tub (which is 280 calories). This is perfect when I want dessert (e.g. most nights).

5. Caramel collagen Creamer - I'm pretty sure this is available in the US, or will be soon. I think they have a dairy and non-dairy version, but I usually grab the regular kind. My skin, nails and hair look so much better when I'm doing collagen - it's a little miracle. I love the taste of this one, I stir it into smoothies, iced coffee and even my oats every morning to add Protein.

Clementine welcome back! I think a BMI of 26 is generally pretty good considering most of us started at 45+!!
Keep up the hard work. It IS hard work. For life. I am also not one of those lucky ones who lost the weight and never looked back. But I refuse to let my weight win, and I refuse to have had this surgery in vein. I am focused and on track.

Julie, good to hear you're also keeping focused, 10 pounds is very achievable and you know what to do.

Hi! This is my first time logging on in 2020.
I definitely am very grateful to have had the VSG, in August of 2015. I was miserable and just receding from life. I reached my goal weight in 2016, and then my dream weight in 2017 - the lowest I'd been since I was 14. I perhaps got too thin, down to a size XS / 2, and I'm tall. But I felt amazing and began receiving compliments from strangers and friends alike on looking beautiful, and I felt beautiful.
Unfortunately I regained some weight in 2019 after some dental disasters (I have several baby teeth that lack permanent roots, so they need to all be pulled and replaced with implants) required that I eat nothing but soft food. And then I regained again in 2020 after experimenting with fertility treatments (which weren't successful, sadly) and falling back into depression. I've gained a few more while quarantining since March. Grocery shopping became one of the few out of the house activities after we transitioned to working online, and I slipped into past habits of eating for joy and out of boredom.
My BMI is currently 26, so I'm not too far out from being in a healthy weight range again. I just want to get back on track and prevent continuing regain. I started tracking my food again on MyFitnessPal, and cleaned out the kitchen of temptations. I am hiking more often and going for scenic drives when I'm feeling restless to get out of the house. I returned here for motivation / camaraderie. I hope you are all doing well!

Hi Julie! I'm still around too...I am 6 yrs post VSG. Wow, how the time has passed. Initially I had the typical loss of the 'surgery doing the work' and felt great. Followed the rules to a T. But about 18 months post op I made major changes in my life, left a long-time career, moved, went to grad school, took a night position, etc. I started slipping little by little and although it wasn't too bad initially, as time went on I started having regain. Then I lost a parent, graduated grad school, went back AGAIN for a Doctorate, changed jobs again, etc. Finally about 2.75 yrs post op I got some super sobering health news (a condition that my surgery had corrected was back) and had to get real with myself. I had to seriously have a 'come to Jesus' moment with myself and realized the TOOL was still there. I went strict Keto and never looked back. I now have successfully lost my regain, am back where I was at my lowest post op, and am working to maybe drop another 20. No, I can't and probably never will again, eat what I really want to. I'm ok with that. My health condition is hopefully under control. I feel good. I have remained on track. I consider myself a bariatric success and I know a LOT of folks who weren't as fortunate.

N&I, it looks like you had surgery in Oct 2019 - the Vets board has an 18 month post-op requirement.

I'm three years out and prior to surgery, I had a BMI of 50. My surgeon recommended the sleeve because I was still young-ish then, e.g. early 30s and nutrient absorption is pretty important. My surgeon felt that the calcium/vitamin D malabsorption may lead to bone density issues later on in life (and after obesity, people generally don't have great bone density and are prone to fractures). Most of bariatric surgery is relatively new, so there aren't a ton of long term studies, so my surgeon is just guessing. And most people on the bypass seem to be pretty good about taking their Vitamins (which is something you should do with the sleeve anyway).
A couple of months after my sleeve I was diagnosed with a range of painful, chronic autoimmune diseases and I'm very thankful that I went with the sleeve because of the issues with drug absorption with the bypass (I have to take a ton of oral medications). Of course, I did not deal with GERD, which means that the bypass is right for many people.
With the sleeve, I was able to take my BMI from 50 to 25. Due to aforementioned illnesses and medications, I did deal with some regain, which I am slowly working on. At the moment, my BMI is about 29. I have never felt like the sleeve wouldn't be enough to help me achieve success.
All that to say, you can definitely have success with the sleeve or the bypass. As commented by others, a lot of it is going to come down to what your level of commitment, and your ability to change your lifestyle and deal with psychological issues. And you have to educate yourself. You can't drink a diet of only Protein Shakes forever. At some point, you have to learn how to eat real food in the real world, go to work, socialise and interact with food, people and life. If you haven't dealt with your "issues", you will have regain with either surgery.
It can be a tough decision, but I honestly feel that you can find success with either surgery.

I’m currently going through a Mexican Street Corn phase myself and made an easy batch of crema for the endless amount of corn I’ve been grilling:
sour cream + lime zest + crumbled feta (add a tiny bit if mayo if the sour cream is too watery)
Also eat it with raw veggies, with grilled meats, etc... #yum

I have tacos at least once a week.
2 tacos 205 calories, I just add veggies & use dry seasoning.
I use 96% lean ground beef 3 oz is 105
Hard Taco shells are a surprising and crunchy low calorie item. 50 calories a piece.

This morning I hit a new all time low BMI for me since I started gaining weight after my kids were born. My BMI is now 29.8 so I’m am now just overweight and no longer obese! I have 13.2 pounds left to get to my original goal, but think I’ll drop a further 5 from there to defend a 5 pound range. I’ve got PS scheduled in January, so right on track to reach my goal in October and then maintain a couple months prior to surgery. Feels soooooo good!!!

On another note, the closer I get to goal, the more people notice when I’ve dropped smaller amounts. Early on I’d get a lot of comments every 20 pounds or so. Now it’s about every 5.

For anyone dealing with regain, I FULLY suggest reaching out to your surgical team, nutritionist, psychiatrist, surgeon etc. They are there for you. Get some blood work done. Have a virtual meeting with your surgeon to talk about non surgical help. Support groups are virtual now but there are LOTS of them online! Seek them out.
Regain is REAL. But we all have the TOOL to help us get the weight back off, and we all KNOW what to do. I had regain too, don't let me sound high and mighty- I had regain about 2 years post op but successfully got it off and continue to lose. It's a struggle and THE STRUGGLE IS REAL...
Finally, I know for ME, I decided I must ALWAYS identify as a WLS patient. I can't ever walk away. I must always log in, read posts, seek support, etc. I still order Protein and use it in the AM. I still count protein. I still keep my diet VERY LOW carb. It works for me. What works for me won't work for all. But there IS a solution out there for you.

I reached my "happy weight" about a year post op. Then I gained 50 lbs or so over six months and stayed that weight for a solid year. I figured that was my new "set point" and I basically gave up. However, back in February, I was pretty miserable. I ended up going on a new medication (e.g. antidepressant). The pandemic hit as I was adjusting to the new medication. I don't know if it was the medication or everything going on in the world, but I just felt a new sense of focus to deal with the regain around May (my Birthday). I lost about 20 lbs since May (rewarding myself with an arm lift). I know there's still work to do, but whether or not I lose the rest of the weight, I'm trying to deal with my problems without eating.
To lose my regain, I had to go back to basics. High Protein, tracking calories on my fitness pal, walking every morning and classes at the gym (once it reopened). As wacky as it sounds, the less I eat, the more I feel my restriction again. Don't get me wrong, it's not like the early months following the op, but I feel "full" when I'm eating healthy Proteins. I just need to avoid my trigger food (chocolate and ice cream) which slide down so easily.
My other tip is just about adjusting your mindset - which is very hard to do right now. I'm trying to stay positive. Look on the bright side of life - which is challenging because I'm a pretty anxious, negative person generally and there are a lot of terrible things happening. I just keep thinking about my blessings. And I'm so proud of what I have achieved losing 20 lbs in 2-3 months, I'm lucky enough to still have my job. If I do get COVID, I'm much healthier than I was 3 years ago.
Finally, I really try and keep a healthy routine and avoid the bad habits I fell into. I try and get enough sleep. Drag myself out to exercise. Healthy Breakfast every day. These little routines and rituals seem to help me.
Good luck! I know you can do it.

My surgery was three years ago, but it was a total roller coaster before and after emotionally. I don't regret it all, but it was really hard psychologically to deal with. It's pretty normal to feel scared/anxious before surgery. Some people seem just excited, but I was freaking out and feeling sad that I was left at the "last resort".
The best advice is to be kind to yourself. Distract yourself with whatever will help you, reading, movies, talking to friends, prayer, meditation, sleep, journalling. Whatever works for you.
Good luck!

Hey New & Improved...did you realize that it's against forum rules to shame people for their choice of surgery? Now why don't you bugger off with your constant hot takes, lousy opinions, and egotistical attention seeking?

I just want to say that I think it was deeply irresponsible of your surgeon to put THEIR expectations onto you, especially when every single bariatric patient is unique and loses weight at different rates pre and post op. For every 5 people who manage to lose 100 pounds in 6 months time, you'll find 5 people who'll lose 50 or less pounds in that same span of time. Your surgeon should have allowed YOU to set your own goals for where you hoped to be by Thanksgiving and then helped you to get there.