How much weight will we expect to lose? Gastric Sleeve

[AchieveGoals 46]

Hi everyone! So I just visited my psychologist today, and she is the obligatory psych visit that some insurances require in order to get approved for surgery. She was telling me to realistically expect to lose only 60-65% of EXCESS weight after the gastric sleeve. THIS IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT MY SURGEON AND ASSISTING DOCTOR HAVE TOLD ME! I am currently a female, 280lbs right now, 5'7. And if someone would ask what my goal weight would be, I would say around 140-150lbs. Also I use to be a lap band patient, and my lowest that I had gotten down was at 218, and started at 297. The psych today was telling me to realistically expect me to be a shy under 200 pounds with the sleeve. I'm sorry but please tell me that this beyotch is WRONG. That really discouraged me. How much is the most weight that some of you have lost? Have you guys hit your goal weight, or are close to it? Any answers would help.

[it'sonlythefirststep 141]

I am 5’2” and starting weight was 270 I had sleeve done in March. I weigh 150 now. My goal was 130 but after talking to my primary doctor and surgeon we changed my goal to 145 due to looking too skinny and unhealthy. So I am 5 lbs from goal

[baribetty 165]

I think the success of the sleeve has everything to do with you and your individual decisions and actions. I had the surgery on May 2nd and 7 months later I can already see how easy it could be to go back to unhealthy choices. Life goes back to normal on the other side of surgery and the surgery itself can only do so much for you. Changing your lifestyle really is everything. I know we hear that, and also that the surgery is just a tool a lot pre-op... but it really is true!

[MiltonP 121]

I’m 9 month post op I’ve lost 127 lbs started out with 300 day of the sleeve I’m 12 lb below my goal doctor said I would only lose around 80lb so I busted my ass in the gym I’m going 6 times a week I also practice jujutsu 4 times a week and follow my doctors diet to the letter by the time I was 6 month post op I lost 93 lbs your doctor is right by the way sleeve will only help you get on track the rest is up to you, change your life style your eating habits drinking habits sleeve isn’t a magic weight loss tool you need to put in the works go to the gym get a personal trainer bust your ass off and when you feel like quitting step it up a notch when you feel like wanting to stay home watching tv force yourself to exercise is the only way you will be able to get the pounds off and keep em off

[Healthy_life 1,437]

13 minutes ago, AchieveGoals said:

Hi everyone! So I just visited my psychologist today, and she is the obligatory psych visit that some insurances require in order to get approved for surgery. She was telling me to realistically expect to lose only 60-65% of EXCESS weight after the gastric sleeve. THIS IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT MY SURGEON AND ASSISTING DOCTOR HAVE TOLD ME! I am currently a female, 280lbs right now, 5'7. And if someone would ask what my goal weight would be, I would say around 140-150lbs. Also I use to be a lap band patient, and my lowest that I had gotten down was at 218, and started at 297. The psych today was telling me to realistically expect me to be a shy under 200 pounds with the sleeve. I'm sorry but please tell me that this beyotch is WRONG. That really discouraged me. How much is the most weight that some of you have lost? Have you guys hit your goal weight, or are close to it? Any answers would help.

I'm not sure how anyone can say you will weigh X amount a year out from surgery. Your weight loss will be an unknown outcome.. Be encouraged to know people have hit goal and beyond. Be realistic and understand that in some cases people don't reach goal. (for many reasons) None of us here can tell you what your weight loss will be.

Would it matter if you only lose 60-65% and are out of the obesity category? The goal is healthy weight range, Right?

(1) How much is the most weight that some of you have lost? Your experience will be unique to you. Try not to get hung up on other people's weight loss rates and totals. It will drive you crazy.

(2) Have you guys hit your goal weight, or are close to it? I hit my goal and beyond. I am maintaining my weight four years out.

[Ømatt 51]

I was told I'd lose 60kg/130lbs over 12 to 18 months

I'm 5 months post op and down 80kg/176lbs and still losing regularly

i think how much you lose comes down to your own efforts, diet and exercise

[elcee 3,341]

I have a heap of friends that are sleeved. Most of them lost a lot of weight initially. About 3 of those are still at goal or close. A number of them have regained a bit. I have 1 friend that lost hardly anything and is now fatter than she was before she got it, her husband who lost a heap has now also regained a lot. Those friends that were band to sleeve don’t seem to have achieved the low weight goals they wanted to but have not regained to preband weight so they are happy.

You will get out what you put in. If you expect it to be a miracle solution it isn’t.

[Swanton_Bomb 522]

Those are the stats, some people do better, some do worse. I was disappointed when I learned that, because that would still leave me pretty damned fat. I will work as hard as I can to do better, but I asked myself, "If this surgery can help you lose and keep off 'only' X number of pounds, would it be worth going under the knife?" After thinking about it, I said yes, it would. Of course I would prefer to be thinner, but being in the overweight category, while not ideal, is a hell of a lot better than being in the morbidly obese category, in regards to health, mobility and even looks.

[Orchids&Dragons 9,047]

60-65% is the average. Whether or not you can do better than that is determined by a combination of factors. Part of it is your food/exercise choices. Part of it is genetics. Part of it is any other health issues that you already have. The psychologist is being both conservative and also probably assessing whether you have realistic expectations. (Sometimes you'll see posts on the boards from people who thought they'd be losing 20-25 lbs every month until they hit goal.) But, having done lap band, you know it's a long haul, not a sprint. It's not unfair or mean for her to let you know the range of outcomes. For those of us who started in the morbidly obese category, believe me, 60% makes a huge difference, even for those who cannot go further than that.

[Jazzy1125 1,010]

My doctor said 75% of excess weight! I am sure there are some who go beyond that. It all depends on motivation, determination, and drive to continually be there. Also accountability as to not start to slip over the course of time.

[notmyname 593]

I'm like Swanton_Bomb. My doc said that the average weight loss is 60-65% EWL. I calculated that (conservatively off of the high of my normal BMI). I'll be honest, if I "only" lose that much, I'll be disappointed - mostly because I'll still be barely in the obese category. But I'd still have lost about 80 lbs. I talked to my therapist about this a lot. I mean, I'd be massively modifying my body and still potentially be obese? But, in the end, I'd still have lost almost the same as carrying around a newborn calf on my body 24/7. So, I decided that was wroth it.

I'd love to lose more weight. But I know myself, if I set some lower goal and don't achieve it, it will take a toll on my mental health and I'll feel like an udder failure. I'd rather set my goal conservatively, then if I lose more I'll be pleasantly pleased.

[AFVet 26]

Those are the stats based on 1000s of people. I wouldn’t take much stock in that and I refuse to be ruled by the statistics of those who went before me. I too was told to expect to lose 60% of my excess weight by 18-months post-op.

in my case I’m about to hit my 4th month and have already lost 55% of my excess...and it’s still coming off fast. Almost 1 pound per day. At this rate I’ll be at 70% by my 5th month.

Don’t let anyone tell you what you can do...you show them!

[SteveT74 359]

Based on most studies, the average person with a sleeve looses 60-65% of their Excess body weight (meaning the amount they weigh above the normal BMI for their height). This 60-65% number is based on a study of multiple studies of VSG outcomes at 1, 3 and 5 years. The average person in the study started with a BMI of 42 and 80% of the participants were women with an average age of 45. Men seem to do a bit better with weight loss using the sleeve than women for reasons that are no fully understood (while men and women perform equally well with the RNY). People that start the weight loss process with a lower BMI (under 40) tend to do very well with the sleeve (often with losing more than 80% of excess body weight and sometimes 100%). Co-morbidities pre-surgery seem to have some impact on outcome. People that smoke seem to have better weight loss numbers (not that you should take up smoking) and people with diabetes tended to perform less well (depending on the study).

Finally, there are people that have a genetic predisposition to responding to metabolic surgery. Some people are predisposed to be super-responders. These are the people that seem to lose 100% or more of the excess body weight and can do it without following their post-op diet religiously--and they keep it off forever (or so it seems). Other people have the opposite outcome. They can follow their diet religiously and they lose very little weight and have a tough time keeping it off. Most people fall somewhere in the middle--those are the people that lose 60-65% of their excess body weight.

If losing 60-65% of your excess body weight does not seem sufficient to you, there are other procedures available---including RNY, a duodenal switch or a newer procedure called SIPS (or modified duodenal switch). These other procedures promise better total weight loss results (particularly for the SIPS procedure), but the trade offs may not be worth it. That's really between you and your doctor(s).

Edited December 13, 2018 by SteveT74

[Paul Clarke 108]

From my experience, and perhaps I have been gifted with good genetics, the outcome of this surgery is up to you. I have seen the 60% figure quoted in many places. That wasn't what I wanted either, and through a lot of hard work (and some minor suffering), I have been able to loose all of my excess body weight. 60% or so is an average. Within that, some people will loose a lot of weight, others will gain weight. Your outcome and your journey are personal to you. My advice. Find a lifestyle that works for you and is sustainable and just do that. If it works, keep doing it until you reach your goal. Change up things when what you are doing isn't working. Cover the basics, consume less calories than you burn. The most important thing is to keep going in the face of inevitable discouragement and set backs. You will make mistakes, but everyday the calorie clock resets and you are given a clean slate. What you did yesterday is less important than what you do today. if you want this result enough and you are prepared to put in the effort (which is considerable), you can do this!

[lzucks 232]

Based on the data they collect, they can give you an estimate but everyone is different. Your results could be better or worse. Part of that is up to you and whether you adopt healthy habits or not. My program told me I could expect to lose about 90 lbs but my goal is to lose 115 which would put me at a healthy BMI. Less than 4 months post-op, I’m more than halfway there which is encouraging to me.