What's realistic loss??

Hi!  I was banded in 2008, lost 80lb over 2 years...and then proceeded to have major issues with the band which led to having it unfilled in 2013...and regaining nearly 70lb.

I'm now 45 yrs old, 310lb, BMI 51, and scheduled to have a band to RNY revision on 12/15.   I met with the nutritionist, who ran a bunch of numbers on machine that calculates fat v muscle, age, weight...and she believes that a realistic weight goal is 215 lb. 

While I'll be thrilled to lose 95lbs...I am kind of hoping to lose much more (I'd like to see myself in the 150 range).  Is this realistic given I'm a revision and my age?

I would love to hear other people's experiences.  ALSO...I'd like to hear from people who've lost....how much does excercise play a part in your day?

I think it's totally realistic to lose more, but how tall are you? If your'e tall then 215 might be good for your height. You can probably lose more if you want but there will come a time where your body only wants to be a certain weight & you'll stay there for awhile till it decides to lose more, but in the meantime you'll lose inches, not everything will be reflected in the scale so don't hang up on the numbers too much.

I'm right around your age, 44 yrs young!, and believe me there have been plenty of other posters on this board much older than you & heavier than lose & have lost more weight than what is considered average & kept it off. I started at 366 & I'm now 268. 2lbs from the century mark! My dr has never given me a number as to where he thinks I should be. I figured to go for the 150-155 range, that puts me in the high range of a healthy bmi, I'll see how it is & figure out whether to stay or lose a little more.

From what other posters have said, exercise plays a very small part in weight loss, it's really done for all the health benefits it gives your body. As the weight comes off you'll likely want to be more active & it feels good! Finding the right exercise that you'll like will most likely be the one you'll keep up with. So far I like bike riding in the gym & walking, although that routine varies based on my mood, my job schedule & the weather/parking. Not sure when I became a gym rat but I find myself on more than 1 occasion thinking how I can fit in my workout, at the gym or otherwise. If anything I have this fitbit pedometer that I wear & I try to get in my 10 thousand steps most days of the week.

Good luck in your weight loss journey!

Hi! I started at 332 and am down to 169 as of last Friday, exactly 9 months out from my surgery date. I did lose 50 during the 2 months before surgery. I am 46 and only 5'2" so a healthy BMI for me is 132 on the high end. I would love to get there but I think it might take plastic surgery to get there. Exercise has played a big part in my weight loss. I am sure that a lot of the weight I have lost would have come off so far but not all and maybe not so quickly but everyone is definitely different. I walk, do body pump, and yoga. I want to have the muscle mass needed to maintain a healthy weight and also to be toned for when I do get plastic surgery. I also like exercise because it makes me happy after I am done.

Hi there.  I am 43 years old and I started at 344 lbs. and a BMI of 57.   The Cleveland Clinic's "realistic goal" for me was 210 pounds by 12-18 months post-op.  I am currently 10.75 months post-op and 169 pounds.  My personal goal is 148 pounds which is the highest weight I can be with a normal BMI.  

I always hated exercise, so after surgery I simply worked on getting steps up to 5000 per day and then 10000 per day.  Not sure how I eventually ended up joining the YMCA and exercising 4 to 5 nights a week?  I don't believe it helps me lose -- but I do think that it makes me feel better. 

In my opinion and experience, it is completely possible to lose more.  

Thanks so much for your reply....you are inspirational!!!  Aside from the 10,000 steps....any other words of advice?

My weight is higher than yours and I am 25 years old and 5'5''. I was given 109-150 as a healthy weight range by a doctor, but I think I would be okay to end up around 210-230. I've been overweight my whole life, so I'm nervous about being smaller.

I am not sure if these is a difference for people who are banded and then have RNY but I can't imagine you would be much different from me?  Again, I am not sure :)  I never had a band, but on Dec 1, 2013 I weighed in at my all time high of 369.  After two weeks on a liquid diet, on Dec 16, 2013 I went into surgery at 351.  Today, I weigh 164. I am 37 years old and 5'5". 

I credit my success with a lot of activities.  

1. A digital kitchen scale.  WEIGH your food.  I cannot (even 11.5 months post op) guess what 3 oz of chicken is.  I am an ounce off either way!

2. Low carb - mostly for the first 9 months.  Carbs have started to sneak in (things like a few chips, a bit of popcorn) but still NO bread, pasta, rice.  For the first six months I had less than 40 g of carbs a day.  And I know many plans allow things like mashed potatoes and tortillas but they are trigger foods for me so I avoided them.

3. Exercise.  I wear a FitBit and fanatically track 10,000 steps per day.  I also go to a gym 5-6 days a week.  I splurged for a trainer and it truly changed my life and motivated me.  Now I do small group classes.  I am awake now because I have Body Pump in half an hour!

4. No alcohol.  I went over 11 months without even a sip.  Now that I am drinking every now and again, even in just the last few weeks, my loss has slowed.  Alcohol = higher calories and alcohol = not so great food choices.  Just my experience.

5. Getting new clothes that fit all the way through the process.  When I wore shapeless and too-large clothes, I wasn't as motivated.  As I became more and more svelte, I had a great pep in my step when I dressed my new body.

6. MyFitnessPal.  I post every single bite that goes into my mouth on this app on my iPhone.  It helps keep me accountable.  Sure, I had two chocolate chip cookies yesterday.  And logged that 180 calories and 20 g of carbs and adjusted the rest of my day accordingly.

7. The daily menu posts on the forums here.  I like posting there because it makes me think about my menu, plan it, perhaps defrost something, AND gives me great ideas.

My doctor would not give me a goal but I randomly set 160 lbs as mine.  Now that I am 4 lbs away, I am going to go for 150 with a super stretch goal of 145 which is "normal" on the BMI charts.  When I weighed 351 lbs I would have never imagined being 150 but now it's in my sight.

I guess the moral of this story is if you are willing to put in the effort and dedicate your life to moving your bum, making good choices, eating protein first, avoiding temptations, and prioritizing yourself, I think you can do whatever you put your mind to!

Emily

Emily...this is awesome!!  Thanks so much!  Truly inspirational.

To answer the question that you posed to me above, I quoted Emily, because she and I seem to do a lot of things very similarly -- and it seems that we have similar starting weights, too!

1.  Weighing the food  --- YES YES YES!  I also use a digital scale for all solid/dense proteins.  I have gotten pretty good eyeballing it -- but I still weigh.  Eyeballing was a very successful method of me getting to 344 lbs...

2.  Low carb.  YES.  I am still very low carb -- less than 40 per day and usually less than 30.  I consider myself a food addict and carbs trigger me.  Also, I was an insulin dependent diabetic -- I don't want to go back.  I do not eat potatoes, bread, crackers, chips, popcorn, flour, -- ever.  Not once... not ever.  It works for me.

3.  Exercise.  Like I said before, I started with a goal of 5000 steps.  That moved to 10000 steps.  I had no plans to do any more -- but soon I felt so good that I was getting the 10000 steps in without any effort.  I decided to join the YMCA to also help my son get more exercise.  He is motivated by my healthy lifestyle.  Now I work out 3 to 6 days a week.  I actually like it.  But, I didn't start out doing that.  I was still pretty sedentary for the first few months.  Exercise is a lot more enjoyable when you lose some and don't feel sweaty all the time.

4.  No alcohol.  YES.  I still haven't had even a sip of alcohol.  I wasn't a big drinker before and I really don't miss it.  Therefore, I just don't.  I also have fears of cross addiction -- probably silly.

5.  Clothes that Fit.  YES.  Although, I don't have a lot of money to spend, so I have second-hand shopped all the way down.  Now that I am firmly in regular sized clothes, I can't believe how CHEAP smaller clothes are...

6.  My Fitness Pal.  YES!!!  I log everyday and everything.  I noticed a long time ago in my real life support group that people who log their food tend to have long term success.  Sure, there are people who don't log and are successful, but I noticed more often than not, those *****gain or don't meet their goals lack accountability.  My fitness pal really works for me and I have made some like minded friends who support me and whom I support.  It's really important to me.

7.  The daily menu post.  No.  I don't do that because truthfully, too many people on here eat things that I wouldn't touch.  So, I never found it very helpful.  

Congrats to EMILY -- great post, btw.  We seem to have very similar stats... things can really change in a year, huh?  Wishing both of you all the joy of good health for 2015!

Thank you so much.  I've actually tried each and every one of these at some point during my years of dieting...but nothing felt sustainable.  Perhaps once I'm actually losing the weight...it will all come together, and I'll keep motivated.