Setting Weight Loss Goals

[clippergear 1]

I'm having a hard time finding information about setting weight loss goals after my surgery. It's important to have specific, measurable goals but I don't know how much I should be losing, say, per week or month, after my sleeve surgery. Is there a formula or percentage I should be looking at? How did you all set weight loss goals after surgery? Thanks in advance!!

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[Hop_Scotch 1,627]

Did you surgeon give you an idea how much you may be expected to lose over the weeks/months? My surgeon didn't have any expectations (or if he didn't he didn't share them with me). I didn't set myself an amount to lose each week or month, I just kept to my post op guidelines. If I didn't lose one week I knew the scale weight would catch up.

Weight loss after surgery is a bit fraught with danger, some people expect to lose a lot of weight quickly, but the reality is a lot different. There is the post op weight gain from iv fluids and inflammation, there are stalls along the way that could last from a week to many weeks, sometimes there will be temporay gains due to various reasons. Some experience a stall within weeks of the surgery....the infamous three week post op stall...it doesn't always occur at three weeks out some experience it a little quicker for others it may be delayed. Some people are fortunate enough not to experience stalls in the first few months.

Generally each of the surgeries has an average weight loss after year 1, year 2 etc, but some people will have lost less than that, others will have lost more than the average.

[NovaLuna 710]

My current goal is to lose 4 pounds a month. I only lost 3 pounds in December though (I did lose 7 in November so I guess it evens out), and so far I've only lost 2 pounds this month (though I did just get over a 19 day stall so... I'll take the 2 pounds lol), but I'm also only 21 pounds to my personal goal weight and I heard that the last 25 pounds is a pain in the ass to get off. I agree about that lol. I'm sooooo close to being in Onederland and it's driving me nuts! Anyway, the weight comes off the easiest the first three months, then the following three month it's still pretty good and then it slows. How much weight you lose each month depends on your body type, age, metabolism, and any number of things. Don't compare yourself to others because everyone loses at a different rate so don't think your surgery is defective if you're a slow loser. I, myself, am a slow loser, but I've still lost 120 pounds since my surgery (on the nose lol. I was 321 on the day of my surgery and I'm 201 right now).

You can probably find something somewhere which will give you the average loss for VSG and you can always try and set around that, but personally it's better to come up with a realistic goal on your own that you'd be happy with. I set my goals on what would make me happy. My surgeon's office wants me to try to get to 165, but my PCP thinks that for my body type it wouldn't be a good idea and she's much happier with my own personal goal of 180. She said that she likes my goal far better.

[FCB 3]

I don't think Bariatric surgeons tells what to except in terms of detailed weight loss. They went you to come in every couple of months and will ask a couple of question and will how he sees your progress.

I hate going to the doctor and Covid19 didn't help. So, I asked a surgeon friend of mine(not bariatric surgeon) what to except in terms of weight loss in first year and he said if you stick to your diet and calorie intake on average except to lose

1 month: 10% of your weight

3 months: 20% of your weight

6 months: 30% of your weight

12 months: 40% of your weight

and my weight loss fits exactly with this except for the 40% weight loss mark which I reached by 10 Months due to higher exercise intensity and really watching what I ate 6 months after surgery. My BMI was around 40 and I had no Pre-OP diet requirement, so I didn't lose any weight before surgery.

[catwoman7 10,936]

I wouldn't set weekly or monthly goals since weight loss rate can vary so widely from person to person. If your overall trend is down, you're good - and if you're sticking to your clinic's food plan, your weight WILL go down.

The psychologist at my clinic asked me during my first visit what my long-term goal was, and I said 200 lbs. It seemed to be do-able, and honestly, after weighing almost 400 for several years, 200 sounded like a pipe dream. I would have been happy with that if that's where my body decided to stop. He was fine with that - said it sounded reasonable (I ended up losing quite a bit more than that, but I wanted to set something do-able from the start so I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't happen).

average weight loss with sleeve is about 65% of your excess weight, so maybe have something in that range in mind as your end goal? (you may end up losing more than that if you're really committed, and potentially quite a bit more if you really work at it, but that might be a reasonable, do-able first goal).

[BigSue 1,324]

You may find this web site useful:

https://mbsc.arbormetrix.com/Registry/public/calculator/uiCalculator/7?menuId=1013

This site has a database of WLS patients and a detailed calculator where you can enter your info and see the average weight loss at 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years for patients like you. Once you enter your info, click the submit icon (it looks like a disk/save icon) on the top right of the screen to get your results.

This calculator shows averages, so some people will lose more and other will lose less, but it can be a good start for a ballpark goal. Like catwoman7, I was asked my goal at my psychological evaluation, and I said 180 pounds, which was based on what the above web site said given my weight at the time. Well, I'm there now and still losing, so I know I can do better than that. I'm still in the obesity range for BMI, and I definitely want to get out of that. I discussed it with my surgeon at my 6-month follow-up visit and he thinks I can get to 150 pounds.

But really, I am not that focused on the number on the scale. What I really cared about was getting my health under control, and I have had a 180-degree turnaround from where I was a year ago. My blood pressure went from hypertension range to low side of normal. My A1C went from 8.1 to 4.5. My cholesterol and triglycerides are good. I am exercising every day and I can walk a mile or climb a few flights of stairs without getting out of breath or sweaty. My quality of life has improved so much now that I'm not carrying around a whole extra person's worth of weight. I went from size 26/28 to 14/16. I no longer have to worry about whether I will fit in a chair or exceed the weight limit on a ladder. All of these things matter SO MUCH MORE than the number on the scale. I'm all for having specific, measurable goals, but I would recommend you set some non-scale goals.

I would also recommend that you not get caught up in the rate of weight loss or let anyone tell you how quickly you should be losing weight. Everyone is different, and if you compare yourself to someone else, or even how quickly you think you should be losing, you'll set yourself up for disappointment. For at least the first 6 months, all you need to do is stick to your guidelines and you WILL lose weight. Focus on setting good habits that you will be able to keep once your restriction is no longer as strong. As long as you are losing weight, you're doing fine. That's not to say you should panic over a 1-pound gain (your weight can fluctuate by a couple of pounds even in the same day), but if your weight is decreasing from one week to the next, you're on track.

I know that's probably not the answer you're looking for. I'm an engineer, and very numbers-oriented, myself, so I know how it is to like data and graphs and want to track expected vs. actual progress, but WLS has too many variables to be able to do it that way.

[ms.sss 14,812]

Neither doc nor myself set any weekly/monthly goals. Weight loss rates vary from week to week, and the overall rate slows down the further out/smaller you get. So adhering to a fixed number of lbs lost every week over time may be difficult at best.

Doc did say that if I were to lose 60% of my excess weight (based on ideal weight/BMI of 25) then he would consider it a successful outcome. For my starting BMI of 43, this calculated to mean a 60lbs loss == successful outcome (which btw, would have had me at 175 lbs, at a BMI of 32...still in "obese" category).

He also said if I were to reach this milestone within year, he would be happy.

He was happy.

P.S. I'm BMI 21 today.

Edited January 18, 2021 by ms.sss

[NovaLuna 710]

52 minutes ago, BigSue said:

You may find this web site useful:

https://mbsc.arbormetrix.com/Registry/public/calculator/uiCalculator/7?menuId=1013

This site has a database of WLS patients and a detailed calculator where you can enter your info and see the average weight loss at 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years for patients like you. Once you enter your info, click the submit icon (it looks like a disk/save icon) on the top right of the screen to get your results.

Hilariously, it's accurate for my one year lol. I hit my 1 year mark in 5 days so technically I could still lose a pound or two, but the site said the average for my surgery and the weight I was at and my height is to be at 201... and I'm at 201 lol.

[clippergear 1]

Thank you to everyone who replied. I really appreciate all the information!!

Sent from my SM-T713 using BariatricPal mobile app

[kelly Lake 17]

Congrats on Bariatric Surgery! I had my Gastric Bypass Surgery and Galbladder removal on Aug 24 2020 and honestly I was discouraged by my initial weightloss because I was comparing my losses to others. I was told to set reasonable obtainable goals for myself to start off and to focus those goals around fluids and protien and never the scale. I am at almost 20 weeks post op and I've lost about 68 lbs so far, 88 lbs since May. I was reminded by my surgeon tbat everyone gained tgeir weight differently so We should expect to lose it differently. I am proud of every singke pound I lose and I have also had weeks where I lost nothing. I will say snacking was the culprit there! Lol.. Just focus on the actions you can control, simple healthy guidelines and see how your body responds to them. No more than once a week weigh ins are best I know my weight can fluctuate due to salt, hormones, time of tge month etc so I don't weigh on my cycle and I shoot for every Sunday evening as a guideline. Message me anytime for anything!!