Does it really take two years?

[kinipela24]

I know I shouldn't be in a hurry but I am reading on a lot of websites that it takes two years or people to reach their target weight as opposed to one year for people who got gastric bypass surgery on average. Has that been your experience? Any feedback would be great thanks. I also read that people with a higher BMI to start (mine is 51) will lose the wight quicker. Any insight would be great. Thanks!

[Christie13]

Generally people who have more to lose will lose weight faster. The closer to goal you are, the slower the weight will come off for most people. Truly everyone loses at their own pace. Hard to predict. I can tell you that I am very close to goal and I am almost 5 1/2 months out. I was at a lower BMI than you. I have lost 55 lbs post op...which is a lot on me since I am 4'11". I personally chose the sleeve because it has less absorption issues and no dumping.

[kinipela24]

Thanks Christie! It is just comforting to hear positive experiences and results from others who have been there! I really don't wanto resort to the bypass although I have been researching it lately since it's the "gold standard" and I am "super morbidly obese." That is crazy to me. i don't feel like that. Morbidly obese but super, no. Kind of messes with my head but I guess that is another topic lol

[azladyrider]

I started at 180 in June of 2012 when I had my surgery and hit 98 pounds by late November - too thin I know so I was at 110 - 115 for a few years and due to being on meds I'm up to 122. Still not horrible but for me that's freaking me out so with summer coming (and tossing the thyroid meds in the trash) I'll get those off quickly

OH and the dreaded stall - ugh - a month or so out the scale will stop (maybe maybe not) but even when my scale didn't budge I dropped jean sizes - it was almost like my body was catching up to the scale. I was in a tight 18 - 20 jean at surgery - got into my 8's and 10s by September - went nuts and bought new jeans - fit into 6's (whoohoo) and before I could even take the tags off I was in a 0

[kinipela24]

I started at 180 in June of 2012 when I had my surgery and hit 98 pounds by late November - too thin I know so I was at 110 - 115 for a few years and due to being on meds I'm up to 122. Still not horrible but for me that's freaking me out so with summer coming (and tossing the thyroid meds in the trash) I'll get those off quickly

OH and the dreaded stall - ugh - a month or so out the scale will stop (maybe maybe not) but even when my scale didn't budge I dropped jean sizes - it was almost like my body was catching up to the scale. I was in a tight 18 - 20 jean at surgery - got into my 8's and 10s by September - went nuts and bought new jeans - fit into 6's (whoohoo) and before I could even take the tags off I was in a 0

Wow! Man I would love to be 180 NOW! but I guess it is all relative. You were not super tall at that weight I hope! Congrats on your success and thanks for sharing! It gives me hope. Just so many unknowns and ears before June 14th and it can become a bit of an obsession.

[kinipela24]

I started at 180 in June of 2012 when I had my surgery and hit 98 pounds by late November - too thin I know so I was at 110 - 115 for a few years and due to being on meds I'm up to 122. Still not horrible but for me that's freaking me out so with summer coming (and tossing the thyroid meds in the trash) I'll get those off quickly

OH and the dreaded stall - ugh - a month or so out the scale will stop (maybe maybe not) but even when my scale didn't budge I dropped jean sizes - it was almost like my body was catching up to the scale. I was in a tight 18 - 20 jean at surgery - got into my 8's and 10s by September - went nuts and bought new jeans - fit into 6's (whoohoo) and before I could even take the tags off I was in a 0

Also,
I saw you got your surgery done in Mexico. I am going to see Dr. Illan in TJ. Have you been able to get the support you need in your hometown post op?

[LaffeyTaffey]

It can take a couple of years to reach your goal or it can take one. It's really up to you how successful you are. You're welcome to look at my stats. I'm currently 210ish and started out weighing 355 at 5'6". I feel amazing, but I haven't exercised really since my surgery - definitely not even a few days a week. If I had been exercising post op, I have little doubt I would have been at my goal weight by my 1st surgiversery! But I'm in nursing school (an advanced pace one) so that's a bit more important to me currently than making sure I get up even earlier than I already do for school to exercise :P Good luck! If you're at a high weight like I was preop, my suggestion would be to lose as much as you can before the surgery to kick start your weight loss

[RehabNurse]

My weight on the day of surgery was 218. My original goal had been 110 (I am 5'1), but after three months post-op I revised it upward to 130 because I was losing at a painfully slow rate and felt it would never come off. Take a look at my monthly losses in the signature block below my post, if you wish.

It took 14 months for me to reach the revised goal weight of 130. In other words, that's about 90 pounds in 14 months.

I continued plugging away and eventually reached 118 pounds at about 18 months out. I liked how I looked at 118 pounds, so I stopped there. Since I started at 218, it took approximately 18 months for me to lose 100 pounds.

To be fair, I have issues that result in a slower metabolism. I am hypothyroid, insulin-resistant, and a black female. Research indicates African-American females lose more slowly than Caucasians due to naturally slower metabolic rates: https://consumer.healthday.com/vitam...et-683243.html

Nonetheless, I have been in maintenance for seven months and it is going well so far. My weight only fluctuates by one pound. I maintain my weight of 118 pounds with a caloric intake of 1800 to 2000 calories a day. I also run five miles per day on most days of the week. I am walking on sunshine about the great deal of flexibility I have with regards to food choices.

[Donald G]

I think one of the biggest reasons people fail after having WLS is they set unreasonable expectations from the surgery. When/if they don't hit these goals they set for themselves quickly they get dejected and slowly start giving up. My PCP told me in the months leading up to my surgery that it took me many years to gain the weight I did so expect it to take a while to lose it as well. So far I am having great success in 11 weeks post op I've lost 65 pounds. That's the total amount I expected and hoped to lose in my entire first year. My BMI like yours was 51 I went into my surgery hoping I could hit my goal in 2 years as I was looking at losing almost 130 pounds post op. When my weight loss slows a lot which I am expecting it will soon I just have to remember how many years it took me to gain my weight and not expect so much out of myself in losing it and hitting my goal.

[Luna354]

I want to lose over 100 pounds. I don't think it's realistic for me to expect that to happen in less than a year even with losing 50 in the first 3 months. Managing your own expectations is huge. I actually had a lengthy conversation with my Dr about it. We talked about goals and he doesn't like us to attach a # to the goals. I'm kind of taking it one step at a time and measuring each success as they come. By doing everything we are told to do, success will follow.

[Shirl]

Jennifer,

My BMI was just under 40 (39.5) but I had recently been diagnosed with Type2 Diabetes after years of being pre-diabetes, and my cholesterol was out of control. I want to lose 105lbs from my highest weight which was around 245lbs November 2015 in increments (or whatever the downward word is of that). I lost 19lbs pre op, and I have lost 53lbs or so in my 10 months post op.

I thought I could surely lose 85lbs post op in one year!!! But it doesn't look like I will, I follow my program 98% of the time, I still battle with sweet breads and some fried foods, what makes it harder is that I have been on extended visit with my son and his pregnant wife so they are not the best eaters, but I can say I can say "no thank you" for the most part. However, I yesterday I went to weight myself at my favorite NutriShop back home, they have those fancy body composition scales and they have my stats on record. Last time I was there was in February and I lost close to 10lbs since then, but most impressive I gained 5lbs of muscle and lost a significant amount of fat. While I am here Im going to call UT to see if I can get DeXA scan done. According to them (UT get fit program) my ideal weight should be around 165lbs because of my personal bone, muscle and fat composition. Well, I'm only 5lbs from that goal!

As others mentioned set realistic (SMART) goals, get on a program and work everyday toward your goals. Mine were to beat diabetes and cholesterol and to submission, and on my three months post op labs I had done exactly that!

Yesterday I also went to do my labs for my one year check up in May. So we will see how well I have done with my micronutrients!

Best wishes to you.

[RehabNurse]

My PCP told me in the months leading up to my surgery that it took me many years to gain the weight I did so expect it to take a while to lose it as well.

In my situation it didn't take many years to gain a large amount of weight. In fact, it took months.

I weighed 128 pounds in October 2013. By October 2014 I was weighing 200 pounds and beginning the prequalification process for bariatric surgery. By April 2015 I reached my heaviest weight ever of 225 pounds.

Some PCPs are under the impression that all obese people gained their weight gradually over many years when that is often not the case. In my case, I always gained rapidly and lost slowly.

[Shirl]

I concur with RehabNurse. I was thin all my life until my second pregnancy. In fact, I had gained 40lbs in my first pregnancy and had lost all the weight by her three months check up.

I was diagnosed with toxemia and diabetes 28 weeks into my second pregnancy, I went from 135lbs to 200 in a matter of months, and by the time I gave birth I was 213lbs. My son will be 27 years old this coming May, and I have struggled all those years yo keep my weight down. I was able to get down to 178 lbs about a few years because I was taking phen phen, but because of the scare I stopped taking it and well the struggle went on until last May.

[kinipela24]

Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate it! All I can do is set realistic expectations, keep a positive attitude, and perservere. It is just the fear of the unknown that is difficult for me-not just relating to weight loss but my personality in general. Definitely something I'm working on actively.

[DesertGal]

I started at 180 in June of 2012 when I had my surgery and hit 98 pounds by late November - too thin I know so I was at 110 - 115 for a few years and due to being on meds I'm up to 122. Still not horrible but for me that's freaking me out so with summer coming (and tossing the thyroid meds in the trash) I'll get those off quickly

OH and the dreaded stall - ugh - a month or so out the scale will stop (maybe maybe not) but even when my scale didn't budge I dropped jean sizes - it was almost like my body was catching up to the scale. I was in a tight 18 - 20 jean at surgery - got into my 8's and 10s by September - went nuts and bought new jeans - fit into 6's (whoohoo) and before I could even take the tags off I was in a 0

Sue, you look wonderful! Every time I see your pictures I say "I hope I can drop the weight and look as good as she does, several years out."