I'm super excited to get banded (06/20/08). My question is how much can one expect to lose? What kind of time frame is normal to expect? I realize everyone's band experience is different... but i'm looking for a range of normalcy so i'll be able to gauge my progress. (so competitive i know)

---dita?

1-2 pounds a week. My doctor told me people usually lose 60% of excess weight the first year and the last 40% within 5 years.

Yep - doc told me 60% of excess weight. There are many of us that have surpassed that. I think the 60% is the easiest part to lose because it doesn't seem to take a great deal of effort. Now, I need to be more mindful of what I eat, and I have to exercise in order to lose weight. Before, I could eat just about anything and lose weight just due to the reduced quantity of food

Good luck to you!

Gen (wombat)

I'm 7 months out and have lost 58% of my excess weight since surgery to total 118 pounds post-op. I didn't include the pre-op loss of 17 pounds. I'm down a total of 135 pounds in all and still have 85 to go. I have been working out a whole whole lot and really watching what I eat. I've also become a vegetarian in the last 4-5 months, still have cheese and eggs though.

Hang in there, it will come off.

-Leena

Yes, it averages 1 to 2 pounds a week. Now sometimes your scale will jump down 3-4 pounds all at once, but then you may plateau (I did for five weeks) for a while.

Don't beat yourself up if you don't lose like someone else (you said you're "competitive") because that's not a good thing with the Band. I will read and compare especially those who were banded around my time, but I make sure I don't take it to heart. Getting discouraged won't do anything for you--and you could end up cheating your way back up the scale.

Good luck in your travels in Lap Band Land...

My experience is all I know.. 130# in 1 year and 1 week. Good luck to you.

1-2 lbs per week. If you exercise like a mad dog you can lose a lot faster. I lose 1 lb per week and do not exercise. Julie

I agree with what has already been said, but wanted to add a little more. It also depends on your starting weight. Those of us who started with really high bmi's tend to loose a little faster (we have more to loose). Another thing that also affects how much you loose is how close you stick to the lapband rules (or suggestions). Like no drinking with your meals, Protein first than carbs, and not drinking excess calories.

Good luck with the band.

Thank you all for sharing information and your personal experiences. Please keep them coming as i would like to get an idea of how much this varies person to person and how closely everyone follows the rules and how much exercise plays into it. I just think it's important to have clear expectations of how much work i'll have to put in.

...and don't worry make33 i know i'm competitive, but mostly with myself, i like to set my sights high. thanks for your concern, believe me the instant i get discouraged i'll be posting on the forum.

--dita?

As Nip said, your starting weight makes a difference, as does how your body tends to react to weight loss. I always lost slowly when I dieted, and I've lost slowly with the band (but not as slowly, and no regain!). I started with about 75 lbs to lose and I lost about 60% in the first year, which was 1 lb/week for me. I'm working on the last 20 lbs now, and I expect that to take longer. Some people lose faster, some slower. But to me, the important thing isn't how fast you lose, it's whether you are doing it in a healthy way. You have to follow the band rules and you must exercise. Lots of people lose without exercise, but you lose a lot of muscle that way, which is a set up for regain. And you have to know what kinds of things to look out for with the band. There is a lot to learn with this tool, but if you use it properly and take the time to learn things, and ESPECIALLY don't just let problems go because you're losing weight anyway (like frequent PBs/barfs or reflux), you will do great!

I was 204lb when got lab banded on 18sep2007 now down to 144lb,and going strong!!Very little excercise just the walking, but if i increase maybe will speed things up -- in fact i know it will!!!:biggrin:

I've lost about 35 pounds since my banding in December... I can't open my spreadsheet to double check at the moment so I'm questimating based on my memory... so I'm sitting right around at the 2 pounds a week average mark. I am extremely pleased and feel that the pace is perfect and allows me to have time to adjust to each new change.

I was 227 pre-op, 217 on day of surgery and as of this morning I was 171.4. I was banded 12/12/07!

How fast you lose the excess weigh depends on many things:

Your motabolism - what you eat - how much you have to lose and the amount of exercise you do.

IMHO I think doctors are short changing us saying that we can expect to only lose 50 to 60% of our excess weight - what are they say that we are not capable of losing 100% of our excess weight.

I have lost 84% of my excess weight in 8 1/2 months - I eat healthy and excercise

The band in it's self doesn't make you lose the weight it's the work that you put in that makes you lose the weight - and you have to work imho.

The only thing the band does is make you full faster and keeps you full longer (once you have proper restiction) but you can still eat around it if you chose to..

So your weight loss will be up to you - and how much you work you want to do.....

Good Luck !!

I've lost 48% of my excess weight and it's been 10 months. I'm not exercising and have had struggles throughout the 10 months...I believe that my weight loss is wonderful, I feel a lot better but if I had of put the effort into losing the weight, I would have been much more successful up to this point. Everyone is individual and everyone will lose much differently. The main thing is that I've lost 58 lbs to date and am continuing to lose and NOT regaining any of it!

I am exactly 6 months out and I have lost 34 pounds (48% of my goal) so I feel pretty good about it. Now starting to exercise more.

I lost a pound a week, no exercise, no weight gains, just slow and steady. I started with a BMI of 38 so my dr warned me that the weightloss would be slower.

Word to the wise - dont compare to others, you will be miserable, I was and I have finally started to be happy for others and be grateful for my losses.