Gastric Sleeve Experts... Please Chime In!

[lillita 18]

It has been a while since I have logged on... and I just had my 4th month post op visit with my doctor/nutritionist. I have lost 43 pounds in total and am so EXCITED! I feel great!!

Now, I am a little bit concerned because the NUT said that I am about 50%. He said most gastric sleeve patients lose 65% of their excess weight. So, that would mean, if I weighed 100 pounds over my IDEAL weight then I am expected to lose about 65 pounds and they consider that to be the norm. NOW, I want to lose the 100 pounds that I am over weight by -- but the NUT made me feel like that was not typical and went one to say that when one is heavy it takes more energy and therefore you lose more weight but once you have lost about 65% of the excess weight it is more difficult... So, is he trying to discourage me or, well, I don't know?

So, those of you who have had the surgery and are at the 1 year mark -- did you lose ALL your excess weight or was it the 65% of the EXCESS weight that my NUT was talking about?

[chilo1 62]

I'm only 3 months out and my surgeon said the same, but if you look here a lot of people lost their excess weight and more! That is what the average person loses but I'm hoping to lose most of my excess by going to the gym and working my sleeve to the max. I lost more than half of what i want to lose now(about 60% of my excess), so I'm quite confident that I'll lose more, and I'm even thinking now that I don't wa\nt to lose that much more cause i think I'll be too skinny. So i guess it depends mostly on us and the way we work our sleeve and not so much on the statistics

[MINI-Me 196]

If you went on the charts, I needed to lose 48 pounds to get to a "normal" BMI of 24.9 or 155 pounds at 5'6". At 65%, that would have only lost 31.2 pounds in a year. Well, I lost 70.8 pounds in less than 9 months. Seems like a lot of us on here have met our goal or are very close to it in 1 year or less.

I wonder if this is a stat for all WLS as a whole? I know there are some who struggle with losing the weight on VSG, but it seems to be a small percentage. And, I don't mean that to sound as trite as it probably does in writing. I so feel for anyone struggling with any weightloss - VSG, RYN, DS, Band, calorie counting etc. We've all been there and know the scars of those battles.

As far as getting to where I am ... I wish I could say it was all me and my strict compliance, but I haven't done very well at all on the exercise and haven't been such a stickler on the carbohydrate counting either. Having said that, I know that more exercise will help tone me up more & get off the last 7 I want to have gone by Christmas.

All of that is to say, I don't know why your nut told you this. It does sound a bit defeating, doesn't it? Maybe use it as a way to motivate yourself to "beat the numbers". Show them that your sleeve will take you to your goal!

[SkinnyHereICome 7]

It has been a while since I have logged on... and I just had my 4th month post op visit with my doctor/nutritionist. I have lost 43 pounds in total and am so EXCITED! I feel great!!

Now, I am a little bit concerned because the NUT said that I am about 50%. He said most gastric sleeve patients lose 65% of their excess weight. So, that would mean, if I weighed 100 pounds over my IDEAL weight then I am expected to lose about 65 pounds and they consider that to be the norm. NOW, I want to lose the 100 pounds that I am over weight by -- but the NUT made me feel like that was not typical and went one to say that when one is heavy it takes more energy and therefore you lose more weight but once you have lost about 65% of the excess weight it is more difficult... So, is he trying to discourage me or, well, I don't know?

So, those of you who have had the surgery and are at the 1 year mark -- did you lose ALL your excess weight or was it the 65% of the EXCESS weight that my NUT was talking about?

I am a new newbie I am hoping to have my surgery in December, so excited and still lots of little questions. Can you tell me about the day of surgery, what you experienced, did you have to have catheters, drain tubes etc. I have never had a surgery before other than childbirth, so that part is what freaks me out more that anything. I am having the laprascopic sleeve. Any other details you want to share would be great, pain levels etc.

[Lisalu 89]

I think the stats say that people on the average lose about 65% of their excess weight. But being an average, there is bound to be a wide range of what people lose. I'm now 3.5 lbs from goal so I've lost about 95% of my excess weight. It only takes 1 person who loses no weight to give the two of us an average of 50% lost. (That was a bit convoluted, but I hope you see what I mean.) Also, if someone gets the sleeve with 200 lbs to lose, it's possible they might not lose the entire 200 lbs, so that messes with the averages as well.

I'm praying that I can maintain this loss---that seems like the bigger battle to me.

[Oregondaisy 2,019]

I lost all m weight. If you stick to Protein first and a little veggies when you have room, you can't help but lose.

Try not to worry. Of course if you cheat and eat candy which goes down very easily. that will change everything.

You can do it if you are dedicated to following the rules and adding some exercise in.

[Tiffykins 672]

I lost all my weight and then some so the "norm" is not always the case. I followed the rules to get to goal quickly and wanted to worry about maintenance when I got there. I've been easily maintaining my current for over 6 months with the sleeve.

[Lisalu 89]

Here is some data from Jossart and Cirangle's 5 year data

Breakdown of %EWL by BMI

 35-45 Kg/M2 – 82.2%

 45-55 Kg/M2 – 73.4%

 > 55 Kg/M2 – 52.1%

This shows that the lower your BMI was to begin with, the more likely you were to lose a greater percentage of your excess weight. if you want to see the powerpoint, here is the link:

http://www.ssat.com/video/2008/SSAT%2049th%20Annual%20Meeting(3)-Cirangle.htm

[juliarh 35]

bummer, can't access the powerpoint, but I take your word for it Lisa Thanks!

[6kiddos 18]

I met with a nurse today (having surgery next week!). She said "average" for the first month is 5-10 lbs....BUT then she said most people she sees far exceed that the first month. So...it is JUST averages. Don't get discouraged.

[Tiffykins 672]

Here is a presentation from 2008 from Dr. Cirangle with some 5 year stats:

2008 Cirangle Presentation

If the link doesn't work, let me know. You have to run the link in Internet Explorer. It will not work with Firefox.

[pcos_chick 23]

Thank you SOOO much for posting that presentation!!!

I have been in debate since meeting with my surgeon about which surgery is the best for me and the presentation has cleared up my doubts about getting the sleeve! My BMI is 49 and I've got about 195 excess pounds to lose.

To the original poster... check out that presentation and don't be worried about what your NUT has told you. Work your sleeve, eat smart and exercise - you'll prove them all wrong!

[coops 1,790]

Hey,

I was told similar by my surgeon, but he followed that with, higher is possible as long as you continue to eat Protein first and include exercise... I am sorta hoping that I can lose most of it...!

[lillita 18]

It does sound defeating. I have lost an average of 10 pounds per month. I don't think that is a big deal compared to others. When I was there I overheard a lady say she lost 40 pounds in ONE MONTH. I have 97 pounds to lose to be at what my chart says I should be which is 115 pounds. I have never been 115 pounds so being 120-130 is GREAT for me. But, it was a little self defeating being told I would on average in a year lose only 65% of the 97 pounds. AND trust me I work for my pounds. I do the elliptical every day for 45 minutes and I watch what I eat. I can eat anything now and more than I used to. But, I average about 700-900 calories a day. So, I pray to GOD that the sleeve can continue to HELP me get to my goal weight and beat those statistics!

If you went on the charts, I needed to lose 48 pounds to get to a "normal" BMI of 24.9 or 155 pounds at 5'6". At 65%, that would have only lost 31.2 pounds in a year. Well, I lost 70.8 pounds in less than 9 months. Seems like a lot of us on here have met our goal or are very close to it in 1 year or less.

I wonder if this is a stat for all WLS as a whole? I know there are some who struggle with losing the weight on VSG, but it seems to be a small percentage. And, I don't mean that to sound as trite as it probably does in writing. I so feel for anyone struggling with any weightloss - VSG, RYN, DS, Band, calorie counting etc. We've all been there and know the scars of those battles.

As far as getting to where I am ... I wish I could say it was all me and my strict compliance, but I haven't done very well at all on the exercise and haven't been such a stickler on the carbohydrate counting either. Having said that, I know that more exercise will help tone me up more & get off the last 7 I want to have gone by Christmas.

All of that is to say, I don't know why your nut told you this. It does sound a bit defeating, doesn't it? Maybe use it as a way to motivate yourself to "beat the numbers". Show them that your sleeve will take you to your goal!

[lillita 18]

I only have safari on a MAC and wasn't able to open it.. Is there another way?

Here is a presentation from 2008 from Dr. Cirangle with some 5 year stats:

2008 Cirangle Presentation

If the link doesn't work, let me know. You have to run the link in Internet Explorer. It will not work with Firefox.