My husband seems to think that "most" people eventually regain their weight. Is there any statistics out there on long term success? Or is he right? My surgery is tuesday and I wish I had some evidence that it's not true but honestly don't really know. 

The surgery itself will not keep you from regain.  Any WLS can be eaten around.  If you change your relationship with food, follow the rules for life, and eat right you will not regain all your weight.  Those who have significant regain are those who have chosen to not follow the rules given to them by their surgeons.  They have a false belief that the surgery will do all the work for them.  They drink with their meals, graze, over-eat, start eating high carb or high calorie foods and stop exercising. 

Choosing to have WLS is a last resort and should be treated as such.  It needs to be taken seriously and you need to commit to doing what  ever it takes to succeed.   Losing the weight is the easy part.  Maintaining  is HARD WORK. If you are not willing to change your mindset, you won't be successful.  

There are a lot of folks on these boards that are 10 years out and have maintained their weight loss.  I am 4 1/2 years out and still within 5 pounds of my lowest weight.  I still measure EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth.  If I don't, I know that my portion sizes will creep up and I will gain weight.

The question is,  "How badly do you want this and are you willing to change EVERYTHING where food is concerned?"  You can succeed with a lot of hard work both physically and mentally.  Remember, the surgery is on our stomachs, not on our brains.  The mental stuff is the hardest.  Therapy is a great asset.  

Good luck with your surgery!

Quite hard to answer without knowing which surgery you plan to have!

Regain is perfectly possible, but much less likely than without surgery. I am almost 9 years post op and although heavier than my lowest weight, am perfectly happy with my current size. I am sure someone will give you some stats but there are very different long term outcomes from different surgery types do you need to tell us this! 

We have to work with our surgery, and do that for the rest of our lives. But surgery makes it not easy, but easier. I spent about 30 years of my adult life yo-yo-ing and to some extent I still do, but in the past I went between 150 and 290.  Now I go between 150 and 165. And this is not just the exoerience of a year or so, I had lost  all my excess weight by August 2007. 

I’ve got to be honest. I do not believe in the theory “bounce back weight”.

I have had many discussions with my surgeons office and they feel the same way. They have told me in their experience that most people are creatures of habit and only a few really change their lifestyle dramatically. Yes it is exciting at first to see the weight drop off, but then people get complacent, or life happens, or they have never dealt with the issues that lead them to seek food as comfort rather than something more constructive.

Of all the people I personally know who have had weight loss surgery (12), I have never seen the success in them I have seen in me. I do not hold anyone to my standards and try to encourage others to reach their personal best whatever they decide they can live with.

I am anal-retentive...lol  I love creating plans, graphs, and charts. I love the thrill of pushing beyond what is accepted and going for what I want because I believe I can attain whatever I am focused on. If something I try does not work, I think of another way to overcome the obstacle.

Let’s face it, it takes a lot of diligence to plan your eating on a day to day basis...for the rest of your life. 

It takes 3500 extra calories to gain 1 pound. Medication, water retention, hormones, ageing, illness, poor food choices (non-high protein, non-complex carbohydrates, high calorie liquids) can cause weight fluctuations. These are areas that all have to be addressed as life goes on and adjustments may need to be made.

Suprisingly, exercise does not contribute that much to weight loss. A lot of charts are over-blown regarding calories burned during it. Only if you are training or competing for major sports activities will you burn a lot of calories. Exercise is really more for stamina, muscle tone, and a feeling of well-being.

I don't think the extra 3500 calories to gain weight applies to WLS candidates because our metabolism changes. We can gain on much less! I know I do not go over 1200 calories daily which I NOW realize is TOO much, also I exercise, eat protein first and plenty fluids and one month I gained 4 lbs although I have lost it since. I do though agree with all you said and I applaud you for taking accountability for yourself-THAT I think for all of us is the important thing! WLS is just a tool, a tool that has to be used properly-WE DO HAVE TO CHANGE OUR LIFESTYLES!! And not be as you so appropriately mentioned "creatures of habit" I like your positive attitude and self-trust. Good job in your weight loss. Maybe I need to become more anal-retentive, more focused and make a few charts up!!!

I do not believe we are totally exempt from the 3500 calorie per pound equation. With that being said, this is my RNY experience thus far at 5 years post-op...

I am in maintenance and I eat every 2-3 hours. I eat 3 main meals and 4-5 snacks daily that include protein. I eat 1800-2000 calories a day (and that is without exercise).

I am a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian. I eat at least 100 grams of protein a day. I eat simple carbohydrate dairy products that are no fat or low fat. I eat eggs. I eat complex carbohydrate beans. I also eat simple carbohydrate fruit and complex carbohydrate vegetables and whole grains. I do not count daily carb grams. All carbs are not created equal. I definitely refrain from eating refined carbs.

I drink at least 64 ounces of liquids daily. I take all my vitamins, supplements and calcium.

I had not participated in a formal exercise program due to Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis until recently. I had right knee replacement surgery in July 2014 and left knee replacement surgery in November 2014. I am now getting back to an exercise routine on a daily basis.

Thank you for your input.  I too, agree with exercise not being the key to wt loss.  It is the key to improving a lot of issues with daily living.  I am 65/yo and hypothyroid.  I have never seen documentation that exercise or wt loss surgery improves this ailment.

With bilateral knee replacements and 50% loss of an Achilles tendon I am not the marathon person.  Swimming seems to fit for me. Yes, my wt loss is slow and steady.  I am only one month post op.  I had a one-month visit this week and the physician I saw informed me I should lose 25lbs before my next visit in one month.  I could be discouraged...but, I will continue to follow the diet prescribed for this phase, "Phase one soft foods" for two weeks and start phase two of the same.  I would like to meet her expectations.   If I don't, I will still continue eat as directed, swim and watch myself changing sizes in clothing even though the scales do not show it.  Inches instead of pounds are my best friend for now :-)  

Here are some statistics from the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.  You can find the full article here.

Bariatric Surgery Misconceptions

Misconception: Most people who have metabolic and bariatric surgery regain their weight.

Truth:

As many as 50 percent of patients may regain a small amount of weight (approximately 5 percent) two years or more following their surgery. However, longitudinal studies find that most bariatric surgery patients maintain successful weight-loss long-term. ‘Successful’ weight-loss is arbitrarily defined as weight-loss equal to or greater than 50 percent of excess body weight. Often, successful results are determined by the patient, by their perceived improvement in quality of life. In such cases, the total retained weight-loss may be more, or less, than this arbitrary definition. Such massive and sustained weight reduction with surgery is in sharp contrast to the experience most patients have previously had with non-surgical therapies.

Misconception: The chance of dying from metabolic and bariatric surgery is more than the chance of dying from obesity.

Truth:

As your body size increases, longevity decreases. Individuals with severe obesity have a number of life-threatening conditions that greatly increase their risk of dying, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and more. Data involving nearly 60,000 bariatric patients from ASMBS Bariatric Centers of Excellence database show that the risk of death within the 30 days following bariatric surgery averages 0.13 percent, or approximately one out of 1,000 patients. This rate is considerably less than most other operations, including gallbladder and hip replacement surgery. Therefore, in spite of the poor health status of bariatric patients prior to surgery, the chance of dying from the operation is exceptionally low. Large studies find that the risk of death from any cause is considerably less for bariatric patients throughout time than for individuals affected by severe obesity who have never had the surgery. In fact, the data show up to an 89 percent reduction in mortality, as well as highly significant decreases in mortality rates due to specific diseases. Cancer mortality, for instance, is reduced by 60 percent for bariatric patients. Death in association with diabetes is reduced by more than 90 percent and that from heart disease by more than 50 percent. Also, there are numerous studies that have found improvement or resolution of life-threatening obesity-related diseases following bariatric surgery. The benefits of bariatric surgery, with regard to mortality, far outweigh the risks. It is important to note that as with any serious surgical operation, the decision to have bariatric surgery should be discussed with your surgeon, family members and loved ones.

Thank you for those articles. And someone else asked me what type of surgery I'm having,  I'm having the sleeve. I'm ready for this but very nervous. I have 3 small kids and I'm having doubts, but I'm sure things will be fine. I'm dedicated to the lifestyle changes. 

Most people do experience some regain, and yes, there are statistics that tell you what the expectation should be for each procedure.  It doesn't mean that everyone regains all of the weight they lost.  It means that they make the most of their honeymoon period so their regain lands them into a comfortable weight.  I, for instance, regained 20lbs of the 145 I lost with the DS (I'm 9.5 yrs post op).  The average weight gain for DS is 15-20% of excess weight loss.  I'm at 14%, so no complaints from me even though I'm officially "overweight" at a size 10.  My procedure has the lower rate for regain.  I suggest you look up each procedure to find out what they say to expect.

Also - I recommend you go up to the forums section and find the Revision wls board to see what their storiees are.  Many of them regained too much and are revising to a different procedure.