Hi!
I’m kind of new here. Just had my gastric bypass, route n y, surgery on December 19th, 2023. I’m looking for some other stories that started at a weight over 300. I started this journey at 338 and I’m feeling like I’m not seeing a whole lot of people who start at over 300+. Kudos to the people who start earlier, I’m just looking for similar stories to mine I guess. My projected weight loss is about 124 pounds but I’d like to hear some other opinions on how much people have lost at being at a higher weight. What’s a reasonable expected amount to lose? Or what is realistic to expect for weight loss starting at 300+ in terms of everything like excess skin, working out, what life is like now? I know everyone is different. Just Curious. Thank you. ?

Hello and welcome in the forum. I started at a similar weight to you. I was told I could loose 65% of my excess weight through this surgery if I stuck at it. I did that and a few more percent. At my 2 year check in with my team, they were overjoyed with my progress. In private moments, I look in the mirror and say ' wow, you did this' The surgery has done everything I ever wished for and some other things that I never imagined. Enjoy the ride

As @summerseeker was told, 65% or so weight loss is about the average excess weight loss for Roux-en-Y (RNY). Personally, I find such averages to be next to useless. I'm not average. Heck, it's axiomatic that the average person is not average.

At any rate, what to expect.

My plan is forever. From day 1 post-op I was intent that I would never be on a weight loss diet ever again. My plan is foods I enjoy that fit my life goals. No crash diets. No counting calories, carbs, or whatever. No weighing myself at home.

Working out is one of those things everyone agrees needs to be done which I didn't do. Ever. There is nothing like exercising for it's own sake. No thanks. I did do a lot of walking, what my spouse and I call 'people watching.' When I got down to about 100 pounds overweight I challenged myself to run 5K. I did a plan similar to "Couch to 5K" (C25K). When I got to 5k I realized I enjoyed it, so I kept doing it. I started binge running. Running was a time just for me, that I could contemplate the coming day and listen to audiobooks. A great start or end to a day. Long story short, I ended up running 5 marathons. That is something I never thought I'd do. I got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Extra skin for me was inevitable. My deflated stomach hung way down. To a lesser extent all the places one would expect extra skin I had it. I started with an Abdominoplasty, after which a bleeding disorder almost killed me. No more elective surgeries for me. So I've had to get used to things as they are. Not the end of the world.

What life is like now. I've been my current weight for about 17 years which is a weight loss of a bit over 500 pounds. I am still happily eating to plan. Some of the things I wanted to do after I lost weight I didn't end up doing. Other things I never thought about I thoroughly enjoy.

Mostly, things just got easier.

Good luck,

Tek

Edited December 29, 20232 yr by The Greater Fool

I started at 373 lbs. Two years later, I was down to 138. I had the expected "bounce back" regain in year 3 (unfortunately, I went over the expected "bounce back" weight of 10-20 lbs - but then, I'd lost a crap ton of weight - more than a lot of people)

as GreaterFood said, 65% loss of excess weight is average, but as with any average, there are lots of people who fall above or below that. It all depends on how compliant you are with your plan, and your motivation. I was more than ready to get rid of that weight once and for all.

I didn't originally set a goal of a normal BMI; I told my surgeon that I wanted to get to 200 lbs, which at the time seemed like a pipe dream - but I blew through that. I switched goals a couple more times, the last one being a normal BMI. I was told that was a bit unrealistic as only about 10-15% of their patients manage to get there, but I made it (and btw, that 10-15% stat is backed up by some of the research articles I read, too).

but even if I'd only made it 200 lbs, I would have been overjoyed. I looked 100% better at that weight than I did at 373, of course - my health was much better, and I could finally do all the things I wanted to do but couldn't while I was super morbidly obese.

life is absolutely terrific. I wish I had done this YEARS ago - and I would go back and have it done every year if I had to. I never dreamed I could be at this weight and I am really enjoying my life as a "normal" person again!!

excess skin - I had a ton of it, but it was easy to hide in clothes. However, I eventually had it removed because I hated looking at it. But I'll attach a picture of me from BEFORE I had plastic surgery. You'd never know by looking at the pictures that my torso, especially, looked like a Sharpei puppy, but it did. Other than the scars, I have a normal-looking body now.

Edited December 29, 20232 yr by catwoman7

this is me before I had plastic surgery - with my tons of excess skin. See what I mean about it being easy to hide in clothes? No one knew it was there but me (well, besides my husband and doctor). (I tried to insert this into my above posting, but it kept wanting to drop it in the middle of my text. ARGGH! Must be something with Mac (I just switched from PC). Anyway, here I am - excess skin and all:

Tek - you are such an inspiration . Every time I read one of your posts,I feel like I've been energized and given a terrific pep talk !

I was 388 the day I went into my initial surgery. I had the sleeve and then revision to bypass due to complications. You can see all my stats in my signature. As of today, I've lost 160 pounds. My ideal weight (NOT my target weight, because my ideal weight makes me look sickly) is no higher than 155. The difference between that and what my surgery day weight was is 233 pounds. 65% of that 233 pounds would be 151 pounds, so I've already lost more than that. I have another 30 to go to hit my goal weight, and while it's slow going (I currently just started my 987964610 stall lol) I'll get there. Where there's a will, there's a way. You can do this.

I've had 8 surgeries in the last year and a half....7 of them this year....5 of them because of complications. I have 1 more surgery scheduled for next year and then that should be it. And even with all my starts and stops because of surgeries and recovery time, I still lost 160 pounds. Imagine if I was able to just keep going and not have all these health issues.... Anyway, don't get in your head about averages and statistics and all that. Everyone's journey is different.

Focus on your health, mobility, mood, and medication amounts drastically improving. Focus on how clothes look and fit on you, what sizes they drop to, and how you feel. These are called non scale victories, and they will absolutely SAVE YOU when you hit stalls. Focus on how you fit in a booth, or in "regular" seats in the movies or in doctor's offices. These things will tell you more than the scale ever will. Getting off meds, no longer having hypertension and diabetes, these were game changers for me.

My highest recorded weight was 341 pounds, but I lost about 70 pounds before surgery. I'm almost 3.5 years out and I'm in the mid-130s now. I didn't expect to lose this much; I wasn't really hung up on a specific number, but I think my original goal weight (based on average WLS data) was about 180. It was initially fairly easy to lose weight after surgery (the "honeymoon period" when my restriction was very strong and my hunger was almost nonexistent), but it took a lot of effort to get to where I am and maintain it. I've completely changed my diet and eating habits and I work out a lot (at least 90 minutes every day). A lot of my life revolves around diet and exercise to maintain my weight, but I still enjoy food and eating at least as much as before, and I have discovered a love for a lot of healthy foods.

After losing over 200 pounds, I do have excess skin, and I don't currently have any plans to have plastic surgery. I have a flabby belly and sagging thighs. I have a little arm flab but not as bad as I expected. My butt and chest are quite deflated. I'm never going to have a bikini-ready body and I accept that. A shaping cami works wonders to hold in the belly, and flattering clothing can hide the rest well enough that no one would guess that I used to weigh more than twice as much.

I care much more about the non-scale victories than the number on the scale, and for someone who started at a super morbidly obese weight, getting to my current size is a whole new world. My health has improved in so many ways -- my blood pressure is normal, lipid panel is good, and my doctor undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. I used to have a hard time finding clothing in my size, as I was too big for even "plus size" clothing at some stores (I used to wear size 26/28), and now I can find my size almost anywhere (I am now size 6/8 or medium/large). I used to struggle to walk short distances or a couple of flights of stairs, and now I can walk miles without breaking a sweat and glide up 10 flights of stairs without stopping. It's amazing how much easier it is to get around when I'm not carrying the weight of a whole extra person. I used to be hyper-aware of people judging me for my weight, and I dreaded meeting people face to face, knowing that they would think less of me when they saw my size. It is hard to describe the emotional burden that has been lifted by not having to worry about people making negative assumptions about me based on my weight.

I have not had any direct complications from the surgery, but because of the rapid weight loss, I developed bradycardia (slow heart rate) and had to get a pacemaker. That's been rough, but overall, I am far better off having had the surgery and losing the weight.

Had surgery on Wed 12/6. Starting weight was 377.

My surgery was on the 4th of December, my starting weight prior to surgery and prep was 310. Down to 257 as of this morning.

My group never made me feel like I was too big or not suited for surgery but the work you put in was what really showed. Hope everything goes well for you!