Just so you know, just in case I haven't mentioned it before, I have continually felt as if I wasn't losing near fast enough after surgery. I'm sure that the 4 week stall I went through didn't help me any mentally. Also, when you jump on the forums and you read about all the people that are in about the same time frame you are out from surgery and their weight just seems to melt off...now, that's frustrating! I had got to the point that it was just too depressing to even jump on there and read anything. Okay, with that said, I really think that there's a lot of misconception out there about where we should be at any given point in this sleeve journey. My dietitian gave me a whole new perspective on everything. First of all, everyone is different...okay, we all knew that yet we still manage to compare ourselves to each other. Second, with that said, most of us start out at a higher or lower weight that some and our heights are different. Third, how do we know that all of our bougie sizes are the same....or for that matter, even if they are, some people can tolerate more water, more food at an earlier stage. I believe that the sooner a person is able to eat more normal foods, the faster their body tends to level out (in other words, our body stops freaking out) and we start dropping at a faster rate. So after my nutritional class, I've learned so much and have actually come out of it feeling like I'm right where I'm supposed to be.
So the other day when I went to my nutritional class, we discussed what the meaning of excess weight was. She, my dietitian, said that there's no magical number. It's simply the extra weight that you have to lose to get down to your goal. Your goal is whatever you think you should weigh when it's all said and done. Nothing more to it! So, I already had a goal in mind, 130 pounds. I've been there once before in my mid-twenties and probably could have lost an additional 10 pounds on top of that. Oh and she said that you should count the weight you lost before surgery during pre-op. So 3.5 weeks before surgery when I started my pre-op diet, I weighed 280 lbs. So at that point my excess weight was 150 lbs.
Now, when I hit 3 months post op, I should have lost 30-35% of my excess weight. So, 35% of 150 lbs. (excess weight) would be 52.5 lbs. So let's say that there are 4 weeks in a month...we all know that this can vary....so I'm guess-ta-mating (Ha!) that somewhere around 12 weeks out, I should be at my first goal of losing 52.5 lbs. That would be around Sept. 15. That leaves me with about 3 weeks to lose an additional 7.5 lbs. to hit that goal. How exciting is that? I couldn't believe it when she went over all of this with us. Here I was thinking that I was a slow loser and I was afraid that my surgeon would be very disappointed in me when I go for my 3 month check up. Ha! Not so!
Other goals later down the line....6 months, I should lose 50% of my excess weight and at a year, it should be 75%.
I think part of the problem is that when you're going through the process from the beginning until whenever they finally start talking about goals, you're just kind of out there floating around and trying to figure things out on your own. You don't really know where you're supposed to be at whatever that given point is in your journey. I think they should talk about this before you ever have surgery so that your mind and your emotions aren't all bent out of shape. It would have saved me a lot of grief. Oh well! Hopefully this post will lift someone elses spirits.
Hey there. Thanks for posting about this. When I went for my initial consultation with the surgeon, he indicated that I would only lose approximately 55% of the excess weight...for me that would be around 45 pounds? Does that even sound right? What am I not looking at correctly? If it is only going to be that, it wouldn't even help me get below 200. How frustrating is that. I have another meeting scheduled but am curious to hear your take on this. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteHi Judy! Thanks for reading my blog.
ReplyDeleteNo, that doesn't sound right at all. My surgeon and his staff wouldn't even discuss goals with me until now. They didn't want me worrying about calories, etc. but instead about recovering, taking my vitamins, and fluid intake. Though I will say that the first office visit I had with my surgeon, my hubby and I asked lots of questions. He did tell me that at a year out, 75% loss of excess weight was expected...then he went on to say that a good majority of his patients have gone on to lose 100% of their excess weight. If you go by what I was told at my nutritional class and your excess weight is 200 lbs., you will have lost around 60 pounds at 3 months post op (about 12 weeks post op) and this also includes the weight you lost during pre-op. So in other words, you start with your weight at it highest at the beginning of the pre-op diet. Then at 6 months you should be down to a total of around 100 lbs., give or take. Then a year out, it would be around 150 lbs. lost if you only lost 75% of your excess weight. But keep in mind that you could lose more than 75%.
I'm not an expert on this but only taking what I learned at my nutritional class. I just don't think that there's any way you can't lose your excess weight if you do what you're supposed to do. And listen, I haven't even started exercising and I'm about to make my first goal. Also, I was thinking that I was doing horribly with slow weight loss and thought, hey, this isn't working but it's just not true. It is a slow process and I'm right were I'm supposed to be. I can tell you that with the struggles and the emotional ups and downs over the last couple of months, I would do this all over again. I love the fact that I'm feeling better and lighter. I love the fact that I'm hardly ever hungry and that I'm satisfied with a very minimal amount...that my food doesn't rule me anymore. I know what you heard must have been shocking...why would anyone have a surgery that wasn't going to get them very far. Please take my advice and go read some of the success stories on www.verticalsleevetalk.com. Most everyone that has this surgery loses most or all of their excess weight and our very happy with their choice.
Hang in there! It's so worth it! Oh, find out what size bougie your doctor will be using. If he's using a 32-34, there's no way you won't lose your weight, no matter what he says. Also, make sure that there is a plan for follow up visits and nutritional classes. If it weren't for that, I might have really thought this wasn't working for me and just given up because of that 4 week stall I went through. It will come off in chunks and then you will stall, then chunks and another stall but it will come off.
Keep your chin up! Feel confident that, YES, this surgery works.
ccugirl13@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI left you my email address on my blog. I am so computer challenged!!!
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