Greetings All,

My NUT explained to me that after 12 - 18 months after WLS, it will be difficult/near impossible to lose weight. I would think that if you haven't yet made your goal weight and you continued to eat on plan and workout (even if you are close to goal weight) then you would still lose weight. It might not be as fast as in the beginning because you have less weight to lose but...

I am sure she explained the reasoning behind this but I can't remember what it is...does anyone know?

I would disagree with her. At 12 months post-op I was still 30 pounds from goal and yet I hit goal at 20 months post-op. I actually thought I hit goal at 18 months post-op, but I just counted, and nope, it wasn't until 20 months almost exactly to the day.

For most people though this often seems to be true. The first year is a honeymoon time where you feel kind of crummy at first, so you don't eat much, then you are all motivated to do well, so you follow the plan and lose weight, but as you get close to the year mark you've generally figured out how to eat around the restriction and if you let yourself do that then you're unlikely to continue to lose weight. Your stomach is still the same size, but if you haven't established health habits and eating patterns, the further out you are the harder it is to do so because you no longer have a stomach that is healing and making you sick if you don't do what you're supposed to do. Also, you've lost some weight so you're feeling confident and happy and naturally you go out, have fun, eat crap you shouldn't and soon enough, you find out what people mean by "fat and happy".

You don't lose the ability to lose weight after 12 months, you just tend to lose the motivation.

My doctor said the same thing, but added that it was because the body's metabolism adjusts after about 12-18 months to the new eating patterns and activity levels, therefore meaning you'd be basically having to eat even less and exercise more to get results... sort of like where we started before the surgery (well, kind of, since we've had such a great opportunity to relearn healthy eating habits). I don't think this is exactly the same across the board for every person, just a general caution.

I'm coming up on 13 months out now, and still losing. I've also started feeling really good and getting into exercising. I was doing okay through the summer into the fall, but the drive and enjoyment levels have really ramped up for me at this point and I'm now pushing past my usual routine and advancing into uncharted territory for me.

So I do think it is possible to continue to improve both eating and fitness wise after the 12-18 month period, but you have to work for it harder.

I'd disagree as well. It slows down because your body does adjust, however if you establish good eating & exercising habits you will still lose. It's just that the first year is the real "honeymoon" phase where weight lose is pretty easy. My rough guestimate would be you go from losing 5 -10 lbs a month to more like 3 -5 lbs a month and stalls may occur more frequently.

totally disagree also. although the SURGERY weight loss has likely leveled off, i am still able to lose weight when i decrease cals and increase activity. fortunately, 18 months out, i now feel like i am able to lose weight like 'normal' people do, with decrease of cals/increase activity. prior to surgery i tried that many dozen times and failed every time!

Well, I'm 15 months out and I have been struggling to lose even a pound the last two months, so I'm encouraged by some of these post.

All newbies, please take the first year seriously.

My doctor said you can definitely continue to lose weight after a year, it will just be much slower (he spoke the truth).

Disagree as well -- the whole thing that was stressed to me and I'm sure others is, "This is a tool to losing weight" just imagine how impossible it was to lose without it( At least for me it was.) I'm 85 lbs down and 10 months out and my weight loss has gotten INSANELY slower; but that doesn't mean it will stop.

I know full well and can feel myself getting comfortable at my current weight and need to work harder to lose it. I still have 30 lbs really to be 'happy' with myself. What is 30 lbs now after all this weight lost?! I'm happy with the habits I formed during this 10 month surgery and promised myself to continue by never revisiting the dark side of horrible foods and laziness.

I am 13 months post surgery and am also experiencing extremely slow weight loss. It is slow, but am still losing. I write my weight on a calendar each week and even though it may feel like I'm not losing anything, I have been losing about 3 pounds per month for the past three months or so. That is pretty slow, but it is still a weight loss. I eat exactly what I am supposed to and have not varied at all since surgery date. I have not had a bite of Pasta, bread, or sugar since surgery. I also exercise (cardio and weight lifting several times per week). I have 25 pounds to lose to get to my goal, and while it is taking longer than I thought it would, I know I will get there eventually. It can be frustrating, but stick with it and don't give up.

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses!

Another NUT who doesn't know much.

I am so discouraged by the "wisdom" I hear dispensed by way too many NUTs associated with WLS programs.

Shee!

My personal experience with many nutritionist is that they often over simplify their explanations. As this thread has evidence the full explanation is likely closer to something along the lines of WLS having it's biggest impact on weight loss in the first year. The rest is up to the individual.

I'm 2.5 years out and am still losing slowly- you have less to lose, your body does not want to give it up- just stick to the plan the results come eventually

But also remember in terms of percentage of body weight, you might be losing at the same rate -- but since you have less weight, there are fewer pounds in that percentage.