Question:
How much weight am I likely to lose and KEEP OFF?

I'm considering surgery but will be paying for it myself and want to have a reasonable sense that it will be worth doing. I'll almost certainly go with the adjustable gastric band. I'm 5'7" and weigh 230 (BMI 36) with co-morbidities. I weighed 130 in high school and am now 56. I'd be thrilled to get down to 150, a little disappointed if I only got to 170. I've had experience in the past with weight regain after losing a lot through dieting, and am terrified I could go through all this and end up a few years later not much better off.    — sjwilde (posted on February 16, 2003)

February 16, 2003
SANDRA, I STARTED AT 270 ALSO 5 FOOT 7 INCHES. I HAD SURGERY 9/30/02 SO FAR I HAVE LOST 80 POUNDS. HOPE THIS HELPS. CHRISTI
   — Christi S.

February 16, 2003
You are considered a lightweight and will probably have no problem at all getting back to 130. As to whether you keep it off, that depends on you and your committment to the program. The pouch and this surgery is just a "tool" and as those who are a year or more out can tell you, if you do not use the tool properly you CAN regain the weight. You can eat around the pouch(graze on high calorie drinks and foods all day in small amounts-no exercise-drink with meals-overstuff and stretch the pouch) and gain it back. I think all pre-ops considering this surgery should know that before they make this decision. The WLS is a gift and a blessing and a life saver, but there is a committment to eating right and taking your vitamins for the rest of your life that if you can't commit to, then do not have the surgery. I will tell you, though, that "dieting" after WLS seems much easier to me (I get full faster, and exercise is easier being so much lighter!)
   — Cindy R.

February 16, 2003
If you're looking for statistics. My surgeon said that approximately 90% of RNY patients keep their weight off, 50% band patients keep it off, where as 5% keep it off from diet alone. So, there are people who gain weight back and don't keep it off. The plus, this is a tool, just like people have said. And if you were to gain weight back, I heard it is easier to lose weight again than pre-op. I was 250 and 5'2" and am now 145lbs. I plan on keeping it off, but I have to work with it, I exercise 4-5 times a week, maybe more often than some, but I make bad food choices sometimes, so atleast try to exercise so the effects aren't bad. At 8 months post-op I'm still losing weight and am about 15 lbs. away from my goal! Goodluck to you!!
   — Lezlie Y.

February 16, 2003
Your type of surgery PLUS your post-op plan will determine your long term success. The less invasive a procedure is, the less likely it is to "last". I'm not referring to lap vs open at all. But stapling is less permanent than transecting, banding is less permanent than stapling and so on. I'm not referring to where your "will power" comes in, but the body's response to "an invader" and its efforts to return to normalcy by rejecting the foreign material. I cannot describe the terror involved when you see your own surgery fail right under your nose & only another surgery will fix it.
   — vitalady

February 18, 2003
Hi, I started at 270lbs and 5'7" I lost 1/2 my body weight in just under a year, I'm at 135 lbs...my operation was the DS and regain seems to be very low with this operation, but I agree with the other posters, it varies so much from one person to the other even people with the same operation and similar stats will end up 50lbs from each other.
   — Diane B.