Question:
With such a restricted capacity to eat, why wouldn't the majority reach ideal weight?

I realize that some will find that they can tolerate "bad foods" and will perhaps never develope the good eating habits, but is that true of most people My surgeon wants to do a lap proximal rny where I can expect to lose 50-70% of my excess weight. I want to lose all of it - or at least most! I wonder if that many people out there are not following the doctor's orders for diet and exercise so that they don't get to ideal weight. Or, is it that people who have the capacity to become so overweight don't have the capacity to be "normal" - at least not anymore? I would like to think as I go thru this ordeal that I can lose most of this weight if I work at it. I eat ALOT now - and most of it unhealthy - if that is completely turned around and I am eating less than what "normal" people eat, and healthier, and I am exercising - please tell me that I can go beyond that 70%!    — Kim D. (posted on March 2, 2001)

March 2, 2001
Kim, I think the answer has a lot to do with the genes. For example, I've always had a very high metabolism (not so common in the 'morbidly obese world'). I got huge because when I was pre-op, a typical meal would be a large deep-dish pizza, 20 wings and a large salad; a meal at McDonald's was well over $20.00; I've always eaten eggs a dozen at a time, breakfast cereal a box at a time, and ice cream a half-gallon at a time (with a tub of Cool Whip and 5-6 bananas). And until I got married at 32 years old, I never gained a pound. On the other hand, I have chatted with women who (when they were pre-op) would eat a reasonably healthy diet, and they couldn't lose weight - they became morbidly obese, and just stayed there. Now, these folks will have to walk a tighter line when they are post-op to really lose a lot of weight - their "margin of error" is smaller than mine. If I were to claim to eat 2 slices of pizza for lunch every day, many post-ops would give me grief as to how I'm sabotaging my success. This is because IF THEY were to eat like that, it would have a big impact on their weight-loss. Two slices of pizza is probably one-sixth of my pre-op diet, and the fact that I'm very distal, who knows how much I would even absorb. (note I actually follow a healthy diet - but once or twice a month, I splurge). So yes, TO ME, this surgery is a no-brainer. I have little doubt I will continue to lose weight, and it is unlikely it will come back (also note I exercise quite a bit - which I never did when I was getting huge). But I am the "exception", not the "rule". Based on YOUR knowledge of how YOU became morbidly obese, YOU will need to develop a "Game Plan" of how to reach whatever goal you set. I wish you the best of luck !! Kevin
   — meilankev

March 2, 2001
Kim, Different surgeries result in smaller or larger percentages of weight loss, and some give better odds than others of avoiding late regain. I chose the Duodenal Switch for it's 70-80% of excess loss (I've lost 83%) and for it's almost total lack of late regain. You can check it out at www.duodenalswitch.com. I think it's possible to go beyond 70% with any surgery, but keeping it off long-term may require more work with a proximal procedure. Still, plenty of people do maintain excellent weight loss with all types of WLS. And don't discount dense bones and increased muscle mass from years of carting around all that weight. My 83% makes me look like any other normally thin woman. In other words, losing 100% of your excess may not be a good thing after all.
   — Duffy H.

March 2, 2001
Well, I lost 100% and have maintained at this level since 1994. My husband had his 1995, lost 100%. Part of our success is the surgery we had, very distal RNY, part of it is the post-op nutrition plan we follow. Seems to be a good combination to hold our lab levels UP, but hold our wt DOWN. We exceeded our doc's expectations, both of us holding normal body wts this far out after surgery. We just do as he suggested, working along with the tools he gave us.
   — vitalady