This should be seen by every VSG patient

[Grace]

Check out this very realistic average wt loss calculator in the link.
I so wish I'd seen it prior to surgery. I started at 335. This calculator puts my expected weight at a realistic 210. I was within 8 lbs of my expected weight loss! Had I known that I probably would have hung in there and been happy with my results.
The program I was in said I should be 190 or less, and when I bottomed out and nothing moved for months it felt/was an impossible goal; and made me feel like an utter failure so I gave up and it was part of why I gained weight back.
I think people lose a bit more and less and it depends a lot on activity, but still...I'm in tears here for the lost chance at being happy with myself back then.
Keep it real, folks, and promise to love yourself whatever the number on the scale says!
your results may vary since people can't just let me post without harping on me... no wonder I left here for years.
I'm gone again, permanently. Bye.

http://www.obesitycoverage.com/weigh...ht-will-i-lose

[Ann2]

Grace, I hear you re managing expectations for WLS long-term success. However, predicting WLS results is a lot more complicated than plugging two numbers into an online calculator.

There are many calculators like that online. As you know, they're based on WLS patients' average weight losses. Average losses don't *predict* how much someone can or will lose. The range of weight loss post-op is quite large, based on a wide array of physiological, behavioral, medical, psychological, environmental and other factors that influence how much weight someone can or will lose post-WLS.

Likewise, how much someone can eat post-op and maintain their weight varies considerably and is due to the same and even other factors. Those great differences influence how easy or how hard it is for someone to maintain their weight losses.

For the record, that calculator predicts I would have lost only 66 pounds and would have reached only 171 pounds. Instead, I have lost 100 pounds and now weigh 135 pounds, where I'm maintaining well after 21 months post-op. That's not as long post-op as you are. So we'll see how I do long-term. This journey really never does end.

[SomeGuyJeff]

i think i saw this just before surgery and was thinking i would be disappointed if i only got to the weight they predicted (iirc about 250 lbs for 6'2"). ive blown that away by having lost about 45 more pounds and still losing.

[Kindle]

Like Ann, I lost far more than what the calculator said I should. And while I think stats and numbers and textbook answers are not a particularly good way to measure an individual's chances at success, there was at least one good thing in that link....

"Keep in mind that 60% is an average. There are people who lose less and some that lose much more. Ultimately, success from gastric sleeve surgery comes from setting the proper expectations, making a decision to change your habits and sticking to that decision."

I believe this statement is much more relevant than the calculator itself.

[mrtumnus]

Ahhh I am not seeing it sorry...I am only 9 1/2 weeks out and lost 42 pounds and I believe I will get past 173 pounds as a final weight. My goal is 126 and that is what I will take it to!These calculators are simply guessing on averages

[WANAGL]

Like Ann2 and Kindle, I've already lost more than the calculated amount.
Kindle's quote is spot on! Ann2's post is also!
I read Ann2's secret to my success regularly. It's inspiring!
I listen to these veterans... They know their stuff!

[zoey101]

Well all I can say is I am super happy this isn't accurate at all as I have bypassed this because it says I would be at 154 and I am at 130 for 7 months straight now. I would not have been happy at all if this calculator was a sure thing.