Question:
Does everyone end up looking as

I was amazed at the way that most of the people in the photos from your photo page look after they get done losing weight!! They are SOOOO SKINNY!!!! Wow...is this an example of how most people end up after bariatric surgery wt loss?? Looking at all of the photos really inspired me!! It will be worth all the discomfort that I will probably go thru post op if I end up looking like these people!! Thanks for sharing the pics w/ all of us. If you haven't seen the pics yet..do yourself a favor and go look!!    — kathy S. (posted on May 16, 2000)

May 16, 2000
Hi, First of all, doesn't everyone look great?? Weight loss surgery is considered successful if you lose between 60-80% of your excess weight. I believe it is important for us to have realistic expectations going into surgery - and understand not everyone will lose 100% of their excess weight, in fact, most won't. To lose 60-80% of your excess weight is great!! Not only do you look better but you feel better. This is a sensitive subject for me because I was in a support group meeting last month with a woman who was very frustrated because she had unrealistic expectations about the amount of weight she would lose, her doctor didn't help her with expectations or help her set realistic expectations. Because she had not lost more weight she was frustrated and sad.
   — Jennifer L.

May 16, 2000
Hmm. I know my husband is surely as slender as his picture indicates. He was thin until he was 40 and blossomed overnight. AFter surgery, he went directly back to his normal weight! But most of us who have been heavy all our lives have trouble seeing ourselves as SKINNY. At 112, I still perceive myself as someone "who could stand to lose some wt". So much depends on the type of surgery you have and the post-op nutrition plan you follow, as to exactly how "skinny" you will be. However, for both of us, I know that we would do this surgery again and again. In fact, I just DID do it again in January!
   — vitalady

May 16, 2000
Hi there! Some of us lose all of the weight that we have to lose and some lose most of it. I find it very very difficult to accept when people say that I am skinny or petite because, like Michelle Curan, I see myself as someone who could stand to lose another 10-15 pounds. I am at 117 right now, but I see all of the fat that they don't when I am undressed. Even if you lose 75% of the excess weight, I am sure that you will look fantastic. Yes, hopefully, to yourself you will think you are skinny, but I think alot of us will never see ourselves that way. Just alot more "normal" size. Good luck to you!
   — BARBARA R.