Question:
I have to lose roughly 150 pounds. How can I assure that I reach goal??

I am 5'5" and at my last doctors appointment, I weighed 279 pounds. I have probably gained a few more pounds since then and am waiting for my first consultation with my surgeon on June 29th. My personal goal is to weigh between 130-140 pounds. How can I assure that I reach this goal? I have noticed that people here lose a tremendous amount of weight, of which you should all be proud of, but many fall short of goal. Some by 40 pounds, some by 5, some by more, some by less. What can I do personally to reach my goal weight?    — enjo4 (posted on June 7, 2000)

June 7, 2000
I am 4 weeks post op and I was told I could expect to lose at least 75-85% of what I want to lose as long as I did the things I was supposed to - proper eating and lots of protein and water. My goal is get down to 125 so that would still put me about 25-45 pounds over. I have researched that people who do a lot of exercise can increase their loss by and additional 30%. You are right, not everyone reaches their perfect ideal weight, but for me being 40 pounds overweight is much better than 175. Good luck:)
   — Paula G.

June 7, 2000
It so depends on the type of surgery you have. Some surgeries require diet and exercise to reach any reasonable goal. Some surgeries do the job more completely without as much participation from you. Mine is this type. I don't diet at all, but I must be very mindful of my supplemented nutrition. Since I have been made not to absorb either calories OR nutrition, I must get my nutrition in some other form. You also will come up short in certain nutritional elements which can cause cravings and such. So, it's important to do your research and find out which elements are commonly lost to us. Then supplement them accordingly to keep your body from knowing what you're up to. The 5 main things to remember: LOTS of protein supplement (& vites); MUCH more water than you think you want; no grazing; no drinking with meals; no milk or sugar. The 5 habits can make all the difference. Although I have the advantage of the type of surgery I have, I could fail if I mess up on any of those 5 critical elements. I'm nearly 6 yrs out and have held at 112-115 all this time. My husband is 5 yrs out and stays at 175 without effort. But we still follow the 5 basic rules for good long term wt loss.
   — vitalady

June 8, 2000
So many results of this surgery are unique to each person. Even the advice of the surgeon/experts differ from person to person significantly. What is clear is that quantities of food are forever altered unless we push the envelope ourselves (which we clearly can do in time by eating too much at a sitting or too often through the day-as in grazing) Choices also are still up to us. Even small quantities of high calorie foods will add up over time and promote weight gain. Hence the many discussions on this site and others about proper use of this surgery as a tool. For those of us with an open RNY, for example, the craving for sweets diminishes enormously. But if we start eating sweets again anyway (I avoid them like the plague, personally)I think you can turn that button back on in time. The other thing you might want to think seriously about is not getting too hung up on a particular number for your ultimate goal weight. Depending on the length of time you were morbidly obese you may weigh more than your appearance suggests. Many of us look somewhat gaunt for a while and do not look like what we actually weigh at all. I'm still in the high 160's but I look more like I weigh high 140's. But I have lots of loose, hanging skin (which is heavy!) and my bone density is surely higher and heavier than normal weight folks my size. So you can't tell by looking. I wear a size 12-14 which I'm thrilled about and I'm still loosing, albeit very slowly now, after a year and 120 pounds. But I'm in a healthy pattern now. One which is comfortable, satisfying and MAINTAINABLE. That to me is my goal, not the number on the scale. And that is what will mark my success over the long haul. Best of luck to you.
   — Carol M.