We're only supposed to lose half our excess weight?? Hell, no!!

http://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/choice-of-bariatric-procedure-a-philosophy-obtained-in-20-years-of-bariatric-practice-2/

Did you see this article on the main page? It says those of us who have the sleeve or bypass and have a BMI over 55 are only supposed to lose 50% of our excess weight. Oh, hell to the no!! I actually love reading these stats because it keeps me determined to keep off all 100%!!

Yeah...with my highest weight of 381 there is absolutely no way in hell I will be happy at 281...which is where I am currently. I wasn't given a "goal" by my surgeon or myself. I have an idea of where I would like to be but most of all I want to be healthy. But only 50 % EWL??? Over my dead body. I'm with you Laura, determination to get and keep this weight off!!!!!!

I agree!!! I know what the statistics say; however, I know that I won't be satisfied until I'm a "normal" weight. I think these kinds of statistics are the right kind of motivation for certain people to "beat the odds" and then for others it is a reason to stop and say "oh, I've done enough!"

I like that my surgeon said "here's what the statistics show in general; however, that doesn't mean that more couldn't be achieved by an individual person..." He's giving me the facts but acknowledging that it all depends on how you work the tool!

I AGREE WITH YOU!!!!...no way am I gonna stop half way I'm in it to win it!!!!

That article disturbed me. I have a high BMI and am looking into surgery, and the statistics quoted in the article are ones I have not seen before. At the hospital seminar, they only presented generalized statistics comparing one procedure to another (and DS was not even one of their offered procedures).  According to a BMI chart online, for my height it seems that every 6 pounds is another BMI point. So, say I'm at 55 now and desire to get down to 25, I would have to lose 30 BMI points, which times 6 is 180 pounds. But I can only expect to lose 90 pounds with gastric bypass? What would be the point of putting your body through the trauma of major surgery for that result? I am really looking for reassurance that it works better than that! I am perplexed by weight gain after surgery too because a person 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds, for example, could maintain that eating 1800 calories a day being moderately active, or 1650 if you were sedentary. So for weight gain, you would have to be consuming more calories than that.  It is my understanding that pouches do not stretch all that much, so how can it be that hard to stay under 1800 calories unless you eat junk like refined carbs which are hunger triggers.  I know every case is different, but I would like to know what the people were eating that contributed to those statistics.

Sadly I believe the statistics posted in the article as an overall average. I have been active on these boards and in support groups in real life and the number of people *****gain significant amounts of weight is scary. Honestly, coming here and reading all the regain posts keeps me in check. It's easier than you think to not get to goal or to regain even though our anatomy has been altered. Plus many of us have totally screwed up metabolisms from years of dieting so we are not able to eat the number of calories you described and maintain. Many of us have to eat much less. We all must stay diligent for LIFE!!!

 

This is very true - very few of us have a metabolism that will allow us to maintain our weights on 1800 cal per day once at goal. I'm pretty lucky - my metabolism isn't totally whacked, and right now, pre surgery, I'm losing steadily at 1800 cal per day (just lowered it to 1500 to get ready for the 1200 cal preop diet). I've got friends in my surgery program tho who struggle to lose at 1200 cal.

That said, it's eaaaaasssssssyyyy, even with a postoperative stomach to eat more than 1800 cal/day. A mcChicken meal is 830 cal, not including drink. A bag of Doritos (not the family bag, just a regular sized bag) can be almost 500 cal! A caramel macchiato from Starbucks is 300 cal if you don't make it 'skinny'. A can of coke is 160 cal - and those liquid calories do NOT sate your appetite.

I've been observing and posting on this site for about 8 months and I think 50% loss statistic is very VERY conservative if not completely false.  That's not what I'm seeing on the forums at all.  I say poppy****!

I seriously hope not!  It's funny the way some people calculate EWL.  Mine does it from 118 pounds or what your ideal weight would be.  So I'd have to lose to 118 not just a normal BMI.  Also what happens to the weight we lost before?  Do they factor that in?  Lol I don't want to be a statistic and I hope I wont be.  I plan to keep trying no matter what.  Even if I'm stuck where I'm at right now...so be it! 

What a load if rubbish that is! And what a depressing message it sends to the new people. I chart my own course. I am in control, not the statistics, the validity of which I question.