Has anyone been upset with your surgeon's presurgery predicted weight loss? I had my psych screening today and am very annoyed with my surgeon's predicted total weight loss for me. I'm at 204, and I want to achieve my own goal weight of 128, which I weighed in my 20's (I'm 66 now). The psychologist informed me that my surgeon has predicted my weight loss to be only 40 pounds, to 174. I think that's ridiculous, and I argued vehemently with her that he doesn't know me, she doesn't know me, and there was no way I was going to go through the surgery and settle for being what I consider to be still fat. At 174 I'd be a size 18, only 2 sizes down. Hell, I can get down there myself without surgery - I'd gotten down to that 6 years ago, until I met my guy and started eating the way he does. (We are doing the surgery together.) Ok, my metabolism is slower than what it was in my 20's, but there are loads of women in their 60's who are at their ideal weight. Bottom line: I'm angry, determined to lose a LOT more than they expect, yet now apprehensive that they may be right. Not if I have anything to say about it!! I think they're dead wrong. Who's beat the prediction? Is my surgeon being more conservative in his predictions than most?

hey you guys, how many people on this site get so angry when they don't lose what they "thought" they were "supposed" to lose.

all my info -from my insurance co. & doc(University of Minnesota) says 40 to 60%. I welcome the comments from my doc. we are trying to get healthy not ultra skinny. do we really want to create another problem?

live each day with all the gusto that thin(not ultra skinny) people live. eat to live not live to eat. this is not a race.

it scares me when people get so worked up. isn't our health the main concern? are we doing this to "show them" or start to love ourselves for who WE are?

I have no need to be "ultra skinny" as you say. I have high expectations for myself, and I don' t belive that's bad. Is it horrible to use whatever motivation you can? I am not rushing this, I am taking slow, I am celebrating every pound and every nsv. HOWEVER, the band does work, and I needed to make this doctor see that. He speaks very poorly about the band, even to prospective patients. I went into my consult with him telling him I wanted the band, and all he told me about was the RNY, which I knew I didn't want! When I reiterated I wanted the band, he told me I would be very unhappy. Eventually, he believed in me enough to do the surgery, and I was going to prove to him that band patients can be successful. Why is that bad? I am healthy, and believe it or not, ALL of my bloodwork was normal, no sleep apnea, no diabetes, no cardiac issues BEFORE surgery. I am out to stay healthy. I want to keep it that way!

Let me add this... My goal is not to be "ultra skinny", it's to be "ultra healthy". Just because I use the fact that I want to prove my doc wrong as motivation, doesn't mean that I'm not doing this for me. It's just the extra motivator I need to really push myself. As far as I'm concerned, that works for me.. If I was able to just use the fact that I wanted to be healthy as my motivation by itself, then I might not have needed the band in the first place. Just another tool to get you to your end goal. Whatever it takes.

that is what I was talking about. this is a journey. if it takes a while to get to the goal, at least we are going in the right direction. maybe because I am older I look at this differently. I have spent many years disliking myself, I am so grateful. I feel nothing but joy, especially at this time of year!

I want to be a healthy grandma who rides bike and is able to swim with the grandkids. I want to hike and everything else that "healthy people" always do with the grandkids !!!

I think this lapband thing has become a "fad" and it must be hard for docs(reputable ones) to do so many of them. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with my band. My reputable doc wants me to lose about a pound each week, that seems low to me but I feel he has my best interest in mind.

When I woke up this morning somehow I just knew the psychologist had made a mistake and was misinterpreting what the surgeon had written. I called and spoke to my surgeon's nurse and told her what the psychologist had said. She told me that what my surgeon writes in the chart is the AVERAGE projected weight loss, not the maximum !!! I was very relieved and said someone should tell the psychologist she was giving out inaccurate information, and the nurse said she most certainly would. Unbelievable. This psychologist told my guy he could expect only to get down from 317 to 217, which would still leave him in the "obese" category. Now he knows he can reach his goal of 180. Oh, about my math - I was wrong, 204 to 174 would have only been 30 pounds lost! I feel much better now and am looking forward once again to being my normal weight (not skinny by any means). Now I only have the problem of being able to respect this psychologist in order to work with her in the program.

They didnt predict any amount of weight but when I sat down with the doctor I told her I wanted to get to 160. She said I should start with 180 and then I can see how I feel. I agreed. Really at this point anything under 200 will be great but I am gonna do the best I can!