Who can answer my question?

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  • Hello!

    I am almost 32 years old. I love to eat. I am 5'5" tall . I weigh around 285. Is there anyone out there who can give me a realistic idea of how much weight I can lose if I have lap rny? Also, how long will it take?

    I know that studies show how you can lose 80 % of your excess weight in six months or something like that... what does that mean for me?

    Is there anyone out there with my kind of weight who has had the surgery and knows how much and how fast I could lose... considering that I will be very good on my diet...

    Thanks,
    Patty
  • pattie...
    you ask a major question, and i'll answer it with a combination of what i KNOW and what i've been told, and what i've experienced. first, believe it or not, you're a relative lightweight. i weighed 409 at my surgery. at just about a year later, i weigh 248. or so.

    yes. that's 161 pounds after a year.

    now, the obesity center told me that the rule of thumb is that, at the 6 month mark, you will lose about 50% of what you WILL EVENTUALLY lose. based on national aggregated data, people who have the rny lose about 75-80% of their excess weight. and that counts both those who drop below and those who lose very little.

    they also told me that there is a two-year window of opportunity [but i've also heard that there's 18 months] to lose the weight. after that, it becomes the same struggle that everyone else has. however, i also know a couple of people who are struggling after 6 months, and just about everyone who didn't reach their goals after 18 months is struggling.

    having said that, this is a very individual process. but there have been studies comparing those who lose all of their excess weight and keep it off with those who don't. and some of the key findings: those who lose and keep it off eat three meals a day plus one snack. they keep up with their exercise, they eat 60-80 grams of protein, they limit their carbs.

    now, remember i mentioned that there are a couple of people i know who are having trouble after 6 months? one of them drinks several gin and tonics a week [a no no, because of the extra calories and carbs]. another one has decided that she needs to eat grilled cheese sandwiches to get her protein, and eats ravioli as well. both have too much fat and carbs, especially in relation to the amount of protein.

    in short, it's just not enough protein for the calories and carbs to justify eating it.

    and those who don't eat enough protein lose their muscle, so most of their weight is in actual fat and they don't have enough muscle to keep their weight off. so much as i hate to say it, a person has to exercise.

    the greatest weight loss is in the first six months. the surgeons at my center like to see people lose at least 25 pounds during the first month, and it's not unusual to see a pound a day come off for the first couple of months,. so, by six months, i'd expect you to lose about 80 pounds or so...

    hope this helps.
  • Wow! 80 lbs.... how fast can I see that surgeon?!??!

    That will take me to where I was when I graduated high school... thought I was huge then... looking back in pictures NOW I looked pretty darn good!

    Thanks for the info.
  • Listen to Jiff, she is one smart chick!!!!

    Because of the complications I had, I actually gained weight, due to the high calorie tube feedings.

    My surgery was 01-14-02, on 03-15-02 (the next time I was weighed) I was up 20 pounds........my hubby thinks I actually gained more, but we don't know. He said, before they started the tube feeding my eyes were sunken into my head and I looked horrible.

    since March I have lost a little over 120 pounds. I have been on a self-imposed up and down cycle for about 6 weeks. Finally have gotten that under control, by upping my water and getting my butt moving.

    Remember this is still just a tool........you MUST work with it!!

    Debbie
  • ok.. so that means that debk has lost 120 pounds in 10 months or an average of 12 pounds a month... at that rate, we could have expected her to lose 72 pounds at 6 months. BUT, because the weight comes off faster at the beginning, she actually lost more than that at 6 months.

    at 6 months, i had lost more than 120 pounds. but remember that the heavier you are, the more dramatic the weight loss at the beginning. look at ole alvin, for heavens sake!!!! 200 pounds in 10 months!!!! but he started at more than 550...
  • Debkay! I miss spoke! I did NOT see this post earlier!

    patty....excuse me, I need to be sisterly!

    So......Jiff......If MamaJ and I each weigh 312 pounds and jump rope at the same time while holding are boobs....how much will we lose? hmmmmmmmmm?

    Love,
    peach
  • holding your boobs

    Patty I think the point is, we all lose diffrently.

    I'm a member of another web-site, I call it the fighting web-site. They break out in fights all the time.

    Anyway.........I see posts about "I've only lost 30 pounds in two months, but so and so lost 45." I hate those posts!!!

    Your starting weight, your metabolism, how true you are to your eating plan, so many things play into your loss. It really is hard to say how much person A, will lose compared to person B.

    So my advice, don't compare.

    Debbie, who just loves crossing her legs
  • I think the point needs to be stressed here also is the WLS is not a 'lose weight fast' gimmick.

    (Debkay...I know well of the fighting website *LOL*)

    I didn't have the gastric bypass surgery. I had the lap-band installed. My weightloss will be much slower only 2 pounds or so a week, but by the end of 18 months I should be on the same weightloss scale as a person who had Gastric Bypass. (meaning if you look at both patients each will have lost pretty much the same percentage of weight on average).

    Bypass patients lose weight quicker. Guaranteed. But when you look a couple of years down the road, most patients who have had any type of WLS end up at the same destination.

    I think the measure of success comes in not how quickly you keep it off, but how well you maintain your weightloss.

    I actually get a little upset when I see ads for WLS being the quickest way to dump those pounds. WLS isn't a magic pill. Potential patients need to remember that. If you have Bypass surgery it's a lifestyle change, a change in how you will forever eat your food, a change in the types of food you eat, etc.

    Lap-Band patients have the same thing. It's forever remembering to make the wise food choices, and paying with the concequences of making the wrong ones.

    WLS is not the easy way out, nor is it the most pleasant. For me however it was the last resort of yo-yo dieting.

    I think the media plugs for WLS are great, but I think they also greatly mistake it for being an 'easy way to lose weight'.

    I hope I don't offend by this post, but WLS is not a joy-ride. The results are wonderful, but it's not all peaches and cream.

    Debbie is right...THIS IS A TOOL...not a quick loss scheme. Don't go looking into WLS lightly.
  • Hey Amy, the first time I saw a billboard for wls.........all I can say is, it's a good thing hubby was driving. I was craning my neck backwards to read it. I couldn't believe it was on a billboard.

    As for the fighting web-site, I stay out of the line of fire.

    Debbie
  • PS- the billboard was in Florida.
  • Amy and Patty, I hope my comment to my sister did not offend either of you....I really was just teasing her as I often do. I did not mean in any way to make light of WLS.

    peach....who will try to behave better.
  • Hello ladies!

    I have been at work while you ladies are slinging fat jokes at each other, so no, I am not at all offended...

    In fact, just the other day, I attempted to jump rope while holding onto one of my fat people's boobs and we both ended up in the ER! Caution...never ever jump rope while holding a fat woman's bosom! I think that it has that warning message right on the jump rope package!

    I don't really know what you guys are talking about a fighting website, but I didn't mean to start trouble.

    I am well aware that WLS is not easy... If there is an easy way to lose weight, then I would have certainly heard of it! I am what you call desperate! I have tried everything in the book. To some, I may be a lightweight now, but in ten more years, I would probably weigh 600 lbs if I don't do something!

    I merely wanted to know of how I could dream... thanks for the info.

    AMY- thanks for your info about the outcome of the surgeries being the same in 18 months. You know, I am sure that we will all be happy when we're normal sized...no matter which route we took.

    Patty
  • Peachie...no offense...in fact I only laugh at your jokes, you are too funny. I can't wait to meet you in person.

    I just get upset when I read journals sometimes, and when I surf the web in regards to WLS. People make it out to be one of two things, a quick fix, or a fix for failures...neither of which is true.

    Debbie, I haven't yet seen a billboard like that, but I live in the 'sticks' in WA.

    Patty, I really hope your journey turns out with the right surgery for your needs. There are many options out there...make sure you do your homework. Look at the results of Jiffy, and Debkay...WOWZers! ! ! What a transformation (although I still wish to see some updated pictures). Me, I'm a turtle with this weightloss, but in almost four weeks I have lost 21 pounds...Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
  • patty.. DREAM BIG!!! or small, as the case may be.

    some of the weight loss is in your control, but some isn't. just be sure to get your protein [have i said that enough yet???], drink your water, avoid carbs, and exercise. yes. that dreaded E word. oh and take your vitamins. and you can use children's chewables. something like flintstones. no sense suffering with stuck pills!!

    and remember: peachie and i are real life sisters. yes we are. and contrary to what she might say, i'm older than she is but she has more wrinkles [there.. that should start another fight!!!!]

    AND frankly, if peachie can actually jump rope, i'll hmmm. let's see ... buy her a new pair of pants!!!!

    and the fighting website is spotlighthealth.com. it's a zoo. that's why we post more often on this website. we're much more civilized! but there is a whole lot of info there. ya just have to be careful. not only are there a lot of crazy patients, some of the surgeons are nuts as well..
  • Patty, you didn't start any trouble

    We have fun with this stuff!!! And peachie and Jiff ARE real life sister's. I have met them, they are beautiful, fun, smart and crazy women!!!

    Debbie