Lyngolean

I am a medical professional and I would say to stay away from the traditional BMI chart. It does not take into consideration body type or percent of lean muscle. I use the meter my trainer has which tells me I am at 23% body fat. That might sound like a big number but professional athletes and marathon runners are in the teens, so take that into consideration and I will go with it.

Apple, thank you so much for this! This is AWESOME!
The chart is results after gastric bypass, and basically proves that % excess weight loss is not applicable across the board, that % starting weight lost is much more applicable.
Essentially, those who have a BMI over 40 can expect to lose approximately 38-41% of their starting body weight. 40% makes for a nice round number.
So for me, I started at 305lbs, so 305 x .6 = 183lbs (goal weight)
Now, I had the sleeve, not bypass, so this may be underestimating my final weight by a little bit. But it gives a ballpark, and I'm comfortable with that.
People that start at less than 40bmi only lose about 33% of their starting weights. But, ultimately, they pretty much lose all their excess weight. THIS fact is especially exciting, because it is more similar to what happens with bariatric rats. Rats are only just so obese, and when they get bypassed, they tend to lose all their excess weight. Now we see that it's a function of not having rats fat enough to mimic our morbidly and super morbidly obese humans.
Thanks again for posting this!!!

OMG - I had no idea this was a function! Thanks for this, I’ll remember this for when I start losing.

Thanks so much. I’m very confident in Dr. Svendsen. I just want the day to get here already. My fears are mostly getting sick as I’m phobic of throwing up.

It's true that your eating changes. I suspect that whether the sacrifices are worth it depends on how badly you want to get rid of your excess weight. In the long run there are very few things you can NEVER have. (Pop/carbonation?) BTW, I noticed you are from Minnesota like me. My husband had a VSG by your surgeon about 8 years ago. Nice guy and did a great job for my hubby! Good luck!

At our clinic support group meetings, they encourage people to come back if they are struggling with weight regain after surgery. They have mentioned using medications to help with this. This is my biggest fear- weight regain, askeens86. Congratulations on your baby! Pregnancy and motherhood can truly be a challenge for somebody with issues with eating and weight. I speak from experience!

Well many have weighed in, let me at least say a few things.
Plan on sitting down and having conference with your prospective surgeon. This was a mistake I made with my,first program, I did meet with their medical assistants, nurses and nutritionists before,i even met him.bAnd intinctively,i did not like,him, oh Frusrt8, I said you are expecting too much, this is not a popularity contest, he is supposed to be skillful maybe you will fine. But I was uneasy with him. There is a old English poem " I do not like you, Dr Fell. The reason I cannot truly tell" but I perservered, did all the interviews with other medical specialities, but there was something inherently,wrong. I was just another source of income, no commitment to me or my future well--beingm If I had walked,outside their door and been run over by traffic, they would have stood there watching with detachment. Oh it hurt when the surgeon suddenly decided not to,perform my surgery, I had invested much time, my insurances had paid much,money and I was left with a profound sense of failure.
Make and take a list of questions. He can advise you,on which form of surgery can best benefit you, but he or she will be holding while you are asleep your very life in the it hands - make sure it is someone you like and feel you can trust. A warm interest in you and your future health is up most. I am certain others will tell the points to bring up but this weighs heaviest on my mind. And God sustain and bless you andbwa5ch over your future surgery whatever,variety you choose.

Yes, exactly. The hospital, I'm guessing has them on hand for a variety of abdominal surgeries. It helps with comfort. Nobody mentioned it ahead of time. You are way ahead of the game! Woot! Woot!

@hopeful333
sure there is hope and success of keeping weight loss off permanently!!
Six (6)+ years ago i was sleeved. Lost 105 lbs by years end. GOAL
DOS 235 lbs - 130 lbs GOAL 135 lbs CW
around 2.5 years, i felt good restriction. After that, it's "all in my head"
WLS helped me reach GOAL - but then i was pretty much on my own.
(mentally i had stay on the straight and arrow) NOT easy, but i'm still
around to talk about it!!
i periodically have fluctuated a few lbs - but i consider myself at maintenance
some OP gain weight PO, they were successful, reached GOAL or close.
Felt over confident, lax off and start eating wrong, grazing all the time, grazing
- that is how many gained weight.
After losing your extra weight, you must stick with the program ALWAYS
Continue your good habits you learned. You are NOT done when that "number"
is achieved. NOT easy, but you can do it. It aint over til the fat lady sings!!
good luck
kathy

The capacity of the stomach will increase a little after the first year, but not by much unless you are constantly intentionally overstuffing it. Someone above said they increased to about 1.5 cups. Many people who regained were convinced their stomach had stretched out, but those who had it checked were still as restricted as expected. Most people who I've seen report that they regained and are seeking support to get back on track say that over time they fell into bad habits and started grazing/emotional eating/eating poor/junk/slider foods. At 6 weeks post op I reckon I could easily consume 3000 calories or more a day if I was eating poor quality/slider foods frequently and drinking alcohol and other liquid calories. People who start drinking with their meals will find they can eat a lot more (even though it may cause some indigestion or toileting issues).
Get advice and support from a nutritionist. Develop good eating habits in your post sleeve honeymoon period and work to build a strong metabolism with a workable long term diet that will remain suitable and sustainable and keep you maintaining your weight loss beyond 2 years post sleeve. Creekimp63 has posted in a couple of recent replies that her support team recommend increasing to a maintainable 1200 calories (incorporating healthy carbohydrates while still meeting Protein targets) as soon as possible post sleeve, to avoid damaging your metabolism (when it wakes up post honeymoon period) with very low calorie diet and triggering diet fatigue and the metabolic/hormonal push to regain weight that so many of us already suffered after years of failed dieting and regain.
And get help now for any psychological issues that were contributing to your previous weight gain and any bad eating habits, as you need to deal with stress and mental issues without resorting to food, or progressing to other damaging behaviors like alcohol and drug abuse (some people with unresolved issues move on to other dangerous addictions once surgery prevents using food to manage/avoid stressors)
We are all here to support each other, and we all want everyone to succeed! Too many of us have suffered too many years from obesity.

I started fencing about 8 months post op when my younger daughter quit with 4 private lessons already paid for. I decided to use her private lessons and I loved the sport. So, here I am at 56, fencing people who have been fencing for years, and in some cases, fencing people I could have given birth to - as two of the divisions I fence only have the requirement that you be born 2004 or earlier.

I'm also 5' 5". I set my goal at 150, but in all honesty, I will be thrilled with anything 170 or below. I set my goal at 150 because that's a BMI below 25 (or right at 25, I forget). I think more important is how do you feel and what can you reasonably maintain. Sometimes people can look gaunt at a supposedly healthy BMI. I think a lot of it depends on your frame and body composition (fat vs muscle). Congratulations!

I'm seven years post-op. It's true I can eat more than I could at one or two years post-op, but I still have restriction. I can eat about a cup and a half of food before becoming uncomfortable. I will say that grazing all day long will put the weight right back on. I tend to eat when I'm anxious or bored, so I had to learn how to cope with those without eating. Once your weight is stable, keep weighing yourself and for heaven's sake, take steps to lose two or three pounds rather than letting them pile on until you are looking at 50 to lose. It really is kind of an eternal vigilance sort of thing.

This line alone could burn down the forums with the fires it starts.
MY opinion - people didnt work out a system that worked with their lives everyday
so when they got tired of doing the WL thing just like the diet thing they slowly added in tiny little reasons why they could just eat this once or a little and slowly over many many months followed by years the weight came back on.
The Sleeve restriction will decrease with time
You must develop habits that will take the place of the restriction when that time comes
They must be fit your life and be easy to continue and not feel like a punishment
You get 18-24 months to figure it out -if your lucky

Disclaimer: I haven't had surgery yet. But I will tell you what my surgeon's office told me. They said the reason that you are supposed to lay good groundwork and create good habits during the honeymoon phase is because after the honeymoon phase your metabolism starts to get wind of what's going on so to speak and starts working against you again. Pre surgery Your metabolism fights you tooth and nail to keep you at your current weight. Especially if you don't do metabolism boosting things such as daily exercise, proper eating, and drinking plenty of Water (which i'm sure most if not all of us are guilty of!).
There is something about this surgery that my surgeon believes temporarily affects your metabolism (the honeymoon phase). He believes that for a period of time it is not fighting you at all. This explains why people do things/eat things they shouldn't and still continue to lose plenty of weight. They dangerously believe that since it is such small amounts of food that their transgressions aren't going to affect their weight loss. And it won't during the first 12 months. But as soon as your metabolism catches wind of what's going on it's going to start fighting you again. If you haven't created good habits during this time then it will be so much harder to maintain your weight or continue to lose weight. The sleeve is not only a tool of restriction but also a temporary metabolism reset (according to my surgeon). Use it wisely. Use that time where your metabolism isn't taking notice of the copious amounts of weight you're losing to do activities that create a more efficient metabolism. Because a bite here and there of the stuff we're not supposed to have is going to affect your weight when that honeymoon phase is over if you continue .
When my surgeon explained this to me I really took it to heart and it makes me want to take advantage of that honeymoon phase to do ALL the right things. I am sure that is much easier said than done but I am hopeful that I will follow the plan strictly.
At the end of the day we are all in charge of our success, as the previous poster said if you stick to the plan you will not gain all of your weight back. Best of luck to you!!

This is fascinating! Have you always fenced or did you take it up as part of your post-op exercise routine?
Yes, 31% rocks for a post-menopausal woman. Go, girl!

Almost 2 years out, 115 pounds down and still losing. Working on switching up to lose body fat and build muscle - so I'm not super concerned about the scale number right now. Haven't had plastics yet - that will account for another 10-12 pounds.
I eat 100-120 grams of Protein a day and drink about a gallon of water/unsweetened beverages at day. I work out 6 days a week. I fence competitively. I work with a personal trainer. I have learned to eat carbs again- which I only do when I am fencing multi day tournaments because my body needs the fuel.
My body fat is around 31% which rocks for a 56 year old post-menopausal woman. I went from a size 24 to a size 6.
Your sleeve is a tool. But the biggest, bestest, most badass tool is you brain. Get you head in the right place and don't accept failure as an option.

When I woke up from surgery I was wearing an elasticized abdominal binder that velcroed around my abdomen. Approximately 12 inches from top to bottom. I found it very useful the first week.

At our clinic support group meetings, they encourage people to come back if they are struggling with weight regain after surgery. They have mentioned using medications to help with this. This is my biggest fear- weight regain, askeens86. Congratulations on your baby! Pregnancy and motherhood can truly be a challenge for somebody with issues with eating and weight. I speak from experience!

I was cleared for more than walking at one month, including strength training. I was told to expect to need Tylenol and an ice pack and eat a serving of Protein afterwards, I think I did need Tylenol the first time or two but was fine overall. Good luck!

It's kind of crazy how quickly we feel full, isn't it?? Hard to believe!

It's true that your eating changes. I suspect that whether the sacrifices are worth it depends on how badly you want to get rid of your excess weight. In the long run there are very few things you can NEVER have. (Pop/carbonation?) BTW, I noticed you are from Minnesota like me. My husband had a VSG by your surgeon about 8 years ago. Nice guy and did a great job for my hubby! Good luck!

Loneliness doesn’t discriminate. I’m glad you’ve found a forum that you can be anonymous and get the support you need. Everyone here supports you. Best of luck! Don’t be a stranger.

It sounds like you give a lot. You give love to your kids and husband. You give time and energy to your parakeets. You give inspiration to your fans. I’m really glad you’re open to taking the support of all of us here, you deserve it.

Sosewsue61 asked me to write something about myself.
In no particular order of importance: I have a free-flying aviary with 20 uncaged parakeets. I keep their area clean and full of stimulating amusements. I enjoy their unconditional companionship. My newest additions are five weeks old, raised from blind and naked to happy and healthy. At four weeks, a parakeet is fully-feathered and ready to fly... and mine did.
I'm married and have four adult children. My daughter is a doctor of pharmacy, and two of my sons are medical doctors (not bariatric surgeons, though!). My youngest son -- the "smart one"-- is pursuing a non-medical career. I have a medical background, too, but my actual occupation is one I can't mention because then it would be easy to figure out my identity. It's strange... but when I wrote in my topic headline about having no friends, I meant face-to-face friends. I have fans all over the world, but they know me ONLY based on my public persona. Because of past scary-creepy stalking behavior, it's no longer safe or a good idea for me to open myself up to my fans directly. It really is possible to be known by thousands of people, and still be horribly lonely.