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I think its a personal choice. i had heard somethings from people i knew who had the bypass and i felt it wasnt for me. I started out at 325lbs and my drs as well as my goal for me was 160. Thats a total of 165lbs to lose....im 5'8'' by the way and im 25 yrs old. I had surgery just shy of 5 months ago on May 10th 2012. and im 97lbs down, i have 68lbs to go. Its still a ways to go but i cant believe its happening so soon. i hope to be at goal by january? (hopefully!) i wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose!! the sleeve has given me a whole new life to look forward to!

I believe you can lose as much weight as you need to ... but with a twist. It really is up to you, how compliant with the rules you are willing to be and the exercise regimen you are committed to. I am 15 months out and been at goal since last March. I have lost 120 pounds and still have excellent restriction. I know that if I wanted to, I could lose more, but at this point, I am afraid that would mostly be muscle. If you read the boards, you will see posts from many folks who will complain about not losing weight, but will also say that they are not exercising or they are not eating the right foods. As far as the foods go, I think we all probably started out with a poor relationship with food and the sleeve doesn't really address that. So, unless you are willing to confront and correct that, this may be an issue for you, too. Exercise can also be a challenge for us as it may have never been a part of our lives and starting it now is difficult. Bottom line is, you will get out of the sleeve exactly what you put into it. If you can be compliant and do the right thing, I don't believe there is any limit to the amount of weight a sleever can lose.

my co-worker has lost 180lbs with the sleeve. it is possible stick to your guns. those that have had the bypass seem to gain it back. good luck.

I have over 150 lbs to lose also. I saw two different PA's at my surgeons office and they both strongly pushed the bypass on me. I freaked out for the week before surgery. Obviously I wanted to have the weight come off but I really started weighing the pros and cons. Even if I lost 60% instead of 75% of my excess body weight I would not have to deal with malabsorption with the sleeve. I had my surgery thursday morning and I am so very happy I stuck with my original choice. I have healed up so quickly and pain was so minimal to what I had thought it would be. Ive lost 12 pounds in 5 days. It really boils down to if you are commited to following the nutrition plan you will get your weight off. It might be more of a "strugle" since we dont have the malabsorption but if you do it right, you can get to your goal! Follow your heart!! Best of luck to you.

Best wishes for an uneventful surgery and quick recovery!

I had a wine Spritzer about 2 months out, and it wasn't a problem. I am not a big drinker to begin with,so I really just took about 5 sips and was done.

Ok, it might be prudent to order a book from amazon.com, as there are books that will give you so much information on how to live with your sleeve. Here's one I saw today: The Sleeved Life: A Patient-to-Patient Guide on Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Weight Loss Surgery [Paperback] Pennie Nicola (Author) But for a quick overview here is some info I think might be helpful: From 4-6 weeks you should probably still be eating soft foods. Aim for 65 or more grams of protein a day, and 64 oz of fluids and that includes all fluids which should be sugar free. Sample soft menu, high protein foods: Breakfast Softly cooked eggs Cottage Cheese Yogurt Hot Cereal Soft Fruit Lunch Soups are perfect Fish - tuna is a great choice Refried beans with melted cheese/sour cream Chili Beans Soft cooked meats and poultry (crock pot is great for this) Soft cooked veggies Dinner Again, soft cooked meats and poultry or fish Soft cooked veggies Snacks Yogurt SF jello or pudding You will probably need to have at least one high protein shake per day to be able to meet your protein needs. I use Pure Protein powder for 25 grams of protein. Take a multi-vitamin everyday, and calcium citrate, a B12 sublingual 2 days a week, and a B-complex 50 with thiamin daily. After 6 weeks, start adding regular meats, chicken and fish, salads and a more normal diet, but start slow and see if you can tolerate. You can probably eat about 4 ounces or half a cup per meal and eventually 6-8 ounces. Good luck...and no drinking with meals, wait 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after your meals!!

Wow! What great encouragement. I get tired of hearing some of the horror stories. I know there are lots of positive people out there and not all have problems. We must follow the doctor's and NUT's orders. Hoping to get approved for sleeve later this year. Good luck to all of us!

I am one month our from my surgery and except for my most recent throat infection, I have had zero problems and my eating is progressing as it should. Just getting used to the new stomach sensations, and knowing how to eat. It's a piece of cake. You will do great!!

Saramoni, we will be experiencing our weight loss journey together. My surgery is 8.23. I look forward to change and Dooter thanks for letting us know how drastic things may be during the healing process but eventually a new normal will kick in. Good stuff!