Hi everyone, my name is Stacy I am new. Right now I am still going through all my appointments, and preparing myself for the actual surgery. Well, I weight 438 pounds, and I was wondering, how realistic it is to lose 288lbs? Because I was told for my height that 150lbs is where I should be at. But that's 288lbs away. I am 5foot 7inches. Is that obtainable? I don't want to set unrealistic goals, and make myself feel bad if I don't ever get to that. Thanks everyone.. :)

Because of your current size, 150 pounds might be an ideal weight for you, but might not be completely realistic. (I say that to be honest, not hurtful... I started with a BMI of 57, so I was SMO myself.). People who have been SMO for many years sometimes simply cannot get to an "ideal" weight.  FWIW, the surgeons I work for believe that for people who are SMO, getting to a BMI of 30 (which is the upper bound of "overweight") is a very realistic weight. For you that would be 190 pounds.

That being said, though, MOST of how much weight you can lose is a factor of your ongoing diligence in following the post-op eating plan.  Those who commit to making a true change in eating habits lose all or most of the weight they want to lose and maintain that loss.  Those who never fully commit to changing their eating and those who allow old habits to creep back in unchecked will not lose the weight and/or will gain some/much of it back.

I would suggest setting a realistic, conservative goal weight based on input from your surgeon on what is realistic for someone of your size.  Then you have a realistic goal to shoot for, and if you meet that goal you can always set a second, lower one.  There is nothing that breaks my heart more than to see someone set an unrealistic goal weight and then berate themselves as a "failure" when they cannot achieve it! It is MUCH better to set a goal you can meet that will affirm the tremendous amount of work and commitment that you have invested.

Lora

Yup-- I agree 100% with Stacy. My starting BMI was 53ish, My ideal weight is like 140. Seemed like a stretch to me-- I set 175 as my goal, still overweight but a better BMI of 28.24.

Also remember the goal in RNY is to lose 70% of excess weight to be considered a success. So if your excess weight is 288#, then to be an RNY 'success' it would be a weight loss of 201#, not 288. 

This was an awesome thoughtful response and bang on! This lady has worded it in a way that a light bulb went on for me too. Great advice!

I think it's attainable to get to 150 your just going to have to work extra extra hard! My goal weight was 150 but I changed it to 175 not because I didn't think it was realistic, but because I think 150 will be too small for me that's just my opinion I like being thick and don't want to be skinny it was never about being skinny for me anyways.

I too started the journey SMO at 437lbs (my highest weight ever was 465) with a bmi over 60. What will help you most is to lose as much weight as possible before surgery, not only will it make the surgery safer and easier for the surgeon, the more weight you lose before surgery will help you get closer to your goal! I'm 6 months post op and have lost close to 100lbs post op and over 140lbs since October 2014 I must admit that it gets harder and harder but I'm pushing hard for that 175 anyhow just know us heavyweights can reach goals that seem unrealistic, it just will take a little longer and harder work to get there good luck!

Yes.  DS might be a more appropriate surgery for you though as compared to RNY.  Generally the more robust elect to have DS.

I had RNY and lost 143 lbs.  To do so though, I had to eat high protein and low carb. When I did have a carb it had to be low GI/GL as I have a disease where my body makes excess insulin in response to carbs and that cross talks with receptors on my ovaries and produces too much testerone (amongst other things).

Knowing this (that my body was going to act out harshly against me if I ate carbs) I adhered to a low carb high protein diet (lterally just the prescribed amount of protein and nonstarchy veggies) and the first time EVER in my life I was able to lose weight consistently and keep it off.

I also worked out 2 hours a day most days of the week...but I was motivated to get close to goal by my wedding day.

So in summary, yes you can but you are probably going to have to be very diligent for years because it is will take you longer to hit your ideal weight by virtue that you have more to lose.

In RNY's the "honeymoon" (i.e. where weight loss comes easy) is about 6 months to 1.5 years.  My honeymoon started to end at about a year out...but that was ok as I was at 139 lbs.

So you can do it. I would look at RNY versus DS though, make up your mind, and seek a surgeon from there.

Thats a lot of weight to keep off Stacy ad you have to consider your surgery very carefully .  I would look into the DS ... the RNY has a malabsorption component but it disappears over time as the body becomes more efficient at utilizing less calories .  Save your money for eventual skin and empty fat cell removal- you'll feel so much sexier and healthier too as well as struggle less with heath issues ad regain.  The fact is empty fat cells still put out feed-me hormones and the excess skin just holds you back you from achieving your dreams as the new person you now ( permanently ) are .  I haven't lost as much weight as that but I still struggle with certain unattractive areas .   am finally committing the money to the permanent solution ( PS) because I DESERVE to live best life I can... and these years are all I have .  (((()))) hugs

FWIW-- Plenty of us feel healthy and/or sexy WITHOUT plastic surgery, it's by no means required :)

It's certainly possible. I could write a lot more, but I would pretty much just repeat everything ****rogirl wrote above.

Try thinking about it this way -- even if you only lose half of the 288 pounds, your health and quality of life will be VASTLY better than it is now. 

Work hard, and you will be over the moon about your results.

Hi Stacey,  I agree with everyone here.  It is possible but for your specific frame and build it may not.  However, you will know when you get there.  My original goal was 220, my clinical chart weight should be around 180 for being 5'10".  I am currently at 229.  I am now of the mind set that I don't care as long as I maintain good health, weight, eat correctly and keep moving (walking, exercising, etc) my body will find its happy weight point.  Both my WLS and Plastics doctors stated that 220 maybe a achievable weight, setting a goal by the charts was unrealistic for me.  So to answer your question, yes it is possible to loose the weight you state, I have lost 332 so far.  You have to keep after it and follow the plan.  Believe  me its quite a ride but it is worth it.  Use this forum, it really helped me and GOOD LUCK!!