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Could you get down from 390 to 200, or even lighter, and then keep it off? Yes, absolutely. Anyone can, with or without surgery. However, there's a difference between can and will. Obviously, I don't know your physiological intangibles such as your muscle profile, body type, genetics, ability to stick to goals, follow a bariatric diet, etc. BMI doesn't account for these things. Because of this, we can crunch some statistics, and assuming you're average when it comes to the intangibles, we can begin to get an idea of the odds for you. Based on the BMI chart, every pound over 154 pounds is excess for your height, which leaves you with 235 pounds of excess weight. Now with sleeve statistics, the average person loses between 60 and 70 percent of their excess weight. Obviously, some lose 100 percent or more of their excess weight, and some lose much less than the 60 to 70 percent average, but again, let's assume you have an average surgery experience and lose 60 to 70 percent (we can call it 65 percent as an even marker). 65 percent of 235 pounds of excess weight is 152.75 pounds. 390-152.75=237.25. So, by math alone, 237.25 would be your most likely outcome, which is obviously 37.25 pounds over your goal. To meet your goal, you would have to exceed statistical expectations when it comes to average amount of excess weight lost for sleeves. Instead of losing 65 percent of your excess weight, you would have to lose approximately 81 percent to hit 200. I'd certainly say this is doable, albeit not easy. Now the unfortunate thing about losing weight is that your body fights you on it, and it has various forms of ammunition. Cravings, plateaus, and different types of phantom hunger are all in its arsenal. Bariatric surgery depletes our bodies' weapon stock to an extent and limits the damage should we fall into one of its traps. It's something we can lean on. It won't do the job on its own, but we've essentially enlisted reinforcements that swing the odds of success in our favor. However, the one thing that bariatric surgery won't change as we get closer to our goal weights is adaptability, and this is probably why your weight loss has stalled in the past. Our bodies learn our tricks. They adapt to low carb and low calorie diets, and thus, the weight loss stalls until we give up. So what do we do? If a plateau occurs, we have to change our tactics (even slightly) to catch our bodies off guard again. Change the diet and eating patterns slightly. Try a little intermittent fasting, or maybe switch out your carbs for fat for a bit. Same thing with exercise. If you're exercising (let's say running for example), switch things up and go to HIIT training or swimming for a while. Once your body adjusts to that, then go back to running. It's a little weird to be "at war" with ourselves, but the reality is that we are. Got to be smart and merciless when it comes to confronting the weight monster.

I know surgeons and dieticians/nutritionists have a variety of pre -op and post-op diets, but two weeks on a clear liquid diet after a sleeve for someone at your start weight seems extreme. I certainly wouldn't have survived two weeks on a clear liquid diet post-op.

Winky, I know how you feel. I am on day 3 after sleeve surgery and my food cravings are strong. My stomach feels so empty and is alway making noises. The food commercials on TV are driving me mad. I couldn’t take it anymore and put a tiny smear of peanut butter on my finger and sucked on my finger. Good grief, what kind of crazy person have I become? All I think about is food. How am I going to survive two weeks of a clear liquid diet? This is torture for me.

Before my company switched to BCBS of Illinois I had Cigna. They are FANTASTIC about approving things as long as it's medically necessary. For example, I have MS. I take 4 medications for it. ONE of them (Tecfidera) is $8,900 per MONTH. As soon as they had the docs on file that I have MS, they covered it no questions asked with just a $10 copay. My other 3 meds total $3300 per month. Same thing. They also covered my 6 x-rays (3 with and 3 without contrast) every 6 months, no questions asked, because they are needed for my MS. So if your surgeon submits everything to them and lets them know it's medically necessary, I can almost guarantee it'll be covered no problem.

I make the peanut butter "cookies". Peanut butter, an egg, and sweetener (I use honey, and only half the called for amount). Google any 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe. Easy to just grab one or two as a snack. Satisfies the craving, and the craving goes away eventually.

stalls tend to last longer the closer you get to goal weight. I remember so many times during year 2 thinking "well, this must be it...", and then the scale would drop again. It finally stopped for good at 20 months out.

So I had a stall. An eight-week-long stall. And I'm pretty close to my goal weight, so I figured maybe this was it... they say N% of your excess body weight, and I'm way past that N%, so this must be it, right? I know it seems early (seven months out), but maybe my body's reached its new set point. Yay, no more meds, yay, normal sized clothing from the middle of the size range, not the top end and oh please God let it fit. So I bought a bunch of new clothes. I've been wearing hand-me-downs and Goodwill thrifting specials for months now, and I wanted some new clothes. I had some belts made, too. Finally I can start to look like an adult! Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha. My body decided, over the last week and a half, to lose NINE POUNDS. The clothes I bought are too big. Fortunately some of them still have the tags so I can exchange them. But I guess I needed to do this in order to get things moving again. LOL.

My packet will be submitted to CIGNA next week. I have Open Access Plan, and my surgeon’s practice is a Cigna Center For Excellence. Has anyone been denied despite meeting every criteria/co-morbidities articulated by the insurer? Just curious. Thanks.

You have infinite patience imho. I’m trying to remain positive, and so far so good. My surgeon’s admin is waiting on one document…the CPAP machine receipt when I pick it up next week…and my packet is ready to be submitted. today I had a visit with my PCP to begin ‘documentation of weight Loss failure.’ I figure if I’m looking at mid June for surgery, I can use this time to jump through the only Cigna hoop that remains unaddressed. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I was only allowed 3-4 shakes a day, 2 cups of broth, cucumbers and celery. I found that freezing the ready to drink shakes for a couple hours made them slushee like and I could eat them with a spoon. I also used a cirkul bottle for water so I could switch the cartridge flavors pretty often and adjust the amount of flavor as I wanted. They have some good ones now like green apple and watermelon. I also mixed unflavored whey protein powder with bouillon powder and boiling water to make it into flavored “cheese curds” to eat in broth. Or I’d thinly slice celery and boil in broth to have a sort of noodles (not helpful for you I know, sorry.) Also freezing prepared crystal light into popsicle molds wasn’t against the rules for me so I did that so I could eat those.

@ vikingbeast......wow! Only 1 day clear fluids.....😲 amazing how differently things can be doctor to doctor. I have a high BMI and I was told I have to have 2 full weeks of clear liquids before surgery. Now I know thats to help shrink the liver (plus to aid in further weight loss) but shocked yours was only 1 day lol....Im jealous 😜

I had VSG in Mx. last September, after 3 consultations with US surgeons that I always bailed on. Truly, my ONLY regret is that I didn't do it sooner. Congrats to you and your mother for making the choice to get healthy together! We will be here to cheer you on! BariatricPal is a great resource. I also recently joined BariNation (which is a paid program) that I LOVE!

A grocery haul- So I did most of my weekly shopping today and thought I’d share. This is for myself and 4 kids. I spent $125.19US and got $5.75 in cash back rewards so just under $120US total. 10lbs strawberries 5 pints blueberries 5 half pints raspberries 2 English cucumbers 4 zucchini 4 bell peppers 10oz Bag of spinach 5oz Bag of kale Bag of shredded carrots 6 individual yogurt cups 3 8oz bags reduced fat Mexican cheese blend 4 Gatorade real hydrations Olive Garden light Italian dressing New Primals BBQ sauce Unsweetened coconut flakes 1.5lbs shaved beef 5-count pack protein bars 2 12-count toaster pastries 1 16-count cereal treat bars A bag of Twix popcorn 2 Twix candy bars stovetop popcorn kit A pack of taki meat sticks Pack of cookies Not pictured- 5 boxes brownie mix (for work goodies as they were on sale) 5 24-count cases of water (we have hard well water) 3 2-liter bottles Diet Pepsi A 4-count box ice cream cones A 2.5lb bag chicken tenderloins (already in the slow cooker)

Yeah -- I've read stories of people who cheated and were fine. And then others who cheated and day of surgery on the operating table they got denied because their liver was too big. I know I'm not the biggest patient ever so I SHOULD be fine, but I also know it's a journey and the first few days are probably the hardest. I am curious to see how much I lose in these next two weeks LOL.

Can't you postpone your booster for a few weeks? Seems like hydration is a higher-priority need.

OMG your diet is even harder! I'm lucky compared to yours. 😥 I'm on day three! Let's really connect and keep each other accountable/give each other help! I hadn't heard of Knox Blox and now I'm googling. I'm down for trying different things. Honestly, I find myself on YouTube a lot trying to figure out what to do and how to mix it up. I haven't tried the Shamrock Frams shakes or the Rockin' Protein ones. Fairlife is really recommended by a lot but I'm having trouble finding them at a somewhat affordable price since I already went out and bought four protein powders...honestly, I've spent about $250 just on liquid foods to fill my fridge. It's insane considering I'm just drinking liquids. It's mind blowing. But there's nothing I can do about it. It still seems so impossible and I'm trying to be positive about it but right now my mind is hung up on this: Some surgeons require all liquid for 2 weeks, some surgeons require all liquid just the day before, and some surgeons require all liquid all day except for one solid meal under XXX calories for 2 weeks. So I keep thinking to myself that maybe there's some wiggle room...but I also don't want to risk it, but so many other people get placed on different diets for the same procedure.

I love seeing everybody's stories too. My surgery was 03/24. I'm having trouble eating solid food unless its soft. I feel a wave of pain in my chest when I tried to eat chicken. It comes and goes for a few minutes. I'm guessing it's my esophagus muscle squeezing. I've had that before when I thought I ate too much. This time, I had very little chicken so I know it wasn't that. It scared me. So I'm back to eating eggs for protein. I did have a stage 3 hiatal hernia repaired. It might have been that as well. Joined the local YMCA. They don't have a swimming pool, but my membership is nationwide, so I can go to one of the other swimming pools in the county. My kids love it, and they have some workout machines outside a play area. There are glass windows so you can use a bike, row machine, etc while watching the kids play. Upcoming challenges: Still unable to take vitamins w/o nausea. Was considering ordering some patches, but I'm not sure about their efficacy COVID 19 booster on Friday. I'm dreading this most of all. I've had 3 shots and I had a strong reaction to every single one. Fever 104, headache, body aches, fatigue, basically flu symptoms for about 3 days. I don't want to eat or drink, so I'll be struggling with fluids.

Hi! 😎 I'm on a 2 week pre-op diet of all liquids. 😭 🤢 One of the yummiest things I'm allowed to eat is sugar-free pudding. I've bought the Snack Pack sugar free pudding in flavors chocolate and vanilla and they taste great. However, I recently bought the pudding mix to make at home (and make in bigger amounts since clearly I'm hungry). I mixed the pudding mix with almond milk (saw online that recipes recommend you use less almond milk compared to traditional milk), since on my diet I'm allowed to have unsweeted almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk but not regular milk. Bad news -- the pudding I made doesn't taste as yummy as the pre-packed Snack Pack pudding. Any tips to fix my pudding? I really enjoy eating it but I definitely need it in bigger amounts than the small snack-size... Thanks! ☺️

That's awesome! I am the day after you, April 27. Today is day three of my liquid diet. Are you also on two weeks of liquids only? It hasn't been as bad as I thought. I bought a ton of different kinds of protein drinks to try and Shamrock Farms Rockin Protein is hands down my favorite!

Your time will come It took me two provider appeals and one member appeal to get my surgery approved. I just kept positive and finally, my day is almost here! I totally understand about peace of mind as a result of a clean house. I have spent the last two weeks doing the same! The first few weeks after surgery, all I want to do is focus on learning to meal prep for my new lifestyle and getting enough water!

Awesome. glad to see a actual guy on here and their results. But yea everyone goes into a stall. But keep working on it and you will continue to loose some weight.

Yes, it's normal, and for me it persisted eight weeks post-op. But it got better every day. My surgeon was so completely unconcerned about it that it set me at ease.

Good luck. Just know that the first week can be hard—there's a lot of gas... but it is so, so, SO worth it and in six or even just three months you're gonna wish you'd done it sooner.

Don't do this. Don't try to set yourself up for metrics like that, because everybody is different, and most importantly, every BODY is different. I will say that my bariatric centre's nutritionist tried to shame me for eating 800 kcal a day and told me that's why my weight loss stalled. I fired her loudly and found a different nutrition coach, who increased my calories based on my activity level, and weight loss resumed. I currently eat 1500-2000 cal a day at seven months out and am still losing, though I am extremely active and also taller and heavier than you are. I do want to say one thing, because I'm a total control freak and had to weigh myself every day. Get out of that habit right now. And if you must weigh often, then keep a running average. Pick a day—let's say Wednesdays. Every Wednesday add up your total weights and divide by the number of weigh-ins. Then track that average. Why? Because your body has way more going on than just fat loss. If you eat salty, or if it's time for your courses, or if you've been doing a lot of weight lifting, or if you're constipated, etc., etc., your weight can fluctuate by as much as 3-5 lbs. over the course of just a couple of days. Does that mean you "gained weight" (as in fat)? No... you couldn't eat that much. So it's inflammation, or bloating, or muscle inflammation. Learning this saved me from the terrible things I would say to myself if I stepped on the scale and had an unexpectedly high weigh-in.

Good stuff! You look great. Stalls happen and they're as frustrating as 🤬. But the closer you get, the more often they happen, and sometimes for longer, too. But you're off your BP meds, you're already feeling better—write that stuff down so that when you wake up and the damn scale is being a traitor again, you have something to fall back on. I remember reading somewhere that you lose about as much in the first three months as the next nine months after that, so the curve definitely slows down.