Hi.

We are in the same boat. I am 5'5" and weighed 228 when I was approved for WLS back in May. I'm not sure of the actual number, but my BMI was well under 40, and I would not have been approved for WLS but for the presence of comorbidities.

I have lost 47 lbs since May 2014. I stalled right after surgery in June. I've had weeks where I've lost more than 10 lbs, and weeks where I've put on a pound. These days, I am losing betwen 1-1.5 lbs per week; sometimes more, sometimes less. It depends on how I am eating and exercising, how stressed out I am, if it is that time of the month, whether I am well hydrated, etc. The biggest cause of a stall - UNDEREATING calories. Yep. Doesn't seem to make sense but there it is.

Really, how well you lose is up to you and how compliant you can be pre- and post-op. It is also up to your body.

You will not lose weight as quickly as others who are more morbidly obese than you. Don't get discouraged. You have less weight to lose than they do. When I started my journey at 228, I had 80 lbs to lose to get to a "normal" BMI, which is my goal. There are people out there who will lose 80 lbs and more pre-op, just by following the pre-op diet.

I had the same concerns as you, and I was discouraged by people who seemed to be out-pacing me. At a post-op check up, my MD suggested that I look at % of excess body weight lost instead of focusing on pounds lost. This is why:

So, with 80 lbs to lose (originally) and 47 lbs actually lost (to date), I have lost 58.75% of my excess body weight. Considering I had WLS in June 2014, I have been told that my rate of weight loss is above average, healthy and sustainable.

Consider, in contrast, a woman who is 5'5" and weighs 328 lbs. She has about 180 lbs to lose to get to a "normal" BMI. She would have to lose 105.75 lbs to have lost 58.75% of her body weight in that same time period.

In short: you can't compare yourself to others. Its all apples to oranges. Also, doing so encourages you to hyperfocus on your weight, which is often not a good thing, and can lead you to feel discouraged and even resentful of others' progress. We all have dark days, but you just push through.

Real, healthy, for-life weight loss take time and effort, no matter where you start or want to end up! When I get impatient, I make it a point to think to myself, "Kate, you didn't get fat in one day." When I get discouraged, I just make sure I am doing what I've been instructed to do (we can all go astray!), and think to myself, "I will get there!!"

Good luck to you! Feel free to friend me.

1ZenGirl wrote: »

Also it is true you can't lose weight anymore after a year out? If I am a slow loser that sort of worries me!

It is absolutely false.
You can lose weight anytime. However, weight loss does slow down after the first year. So follow your program and take maximum advantage of the first few months.
By the way past is not indicative of future. I lost only 20 pounds in the year before surgery, but 123 in the year after and another 15 in the month and a half since my surgiversary. With less weight to lose, your numbers will obviously be less, but wanted to give some hope to a fellow "slow" loser.

I think slow is relative. I did a lot of research and followed a lot of people who'd had surgery and I STILL had unrealistic expectations of weight loss. We won't lose 10 lbs a week! Most of us won't lose 10 lbs a month. But you will see steady losses month over month that continue long after you would have given up on that weird fad diet you tried again for the 5th time. I'd never lost 50lbs before. Or 75. Or 80. I am 103 lbs down and counting.

As for loss after the first year, that is a myth. The first year is extremely important, but loss after the first year, or second year even happens ALL THE TIME. I am 22 months out and STILL LOSING pounds and inches. Getting smaller by the month.

Hang in there, DO THE WORK, stay positive, celebrate every milestone and enjoy changing your body and your life!

This was helpful for me, folks. Thanks for sharing. I was at 43 BMI when I started the 6-month supervised diet, and now I'm right at 39. I'm starting my two-week 30-carb diet on Monday with surgery on the 27th. You've helped me have a more realistic view of what to expect weight-loss wise after the surgery. I hope my head and my emotions can keep it straight.

I was approved with a BMI of 35 due to my comorbidities. I think 40 is what they use if you do not have a lot of health problems.

My husband has sleep apnea and a 40 BMI--he was turned down by Aetna for surgery. (we are fighting the ins co) He has dropped a bit more weight and is now down to a 38.5 BMI---Based on what I have read on the ins site he should only need a 35 BMI too. His weight went up and down even dieting so the said he was not suited for the surgery. (If we could do this all on our own we would not need the surgery)

Another thing I have learned is that the goal weight selected will impact my thoughts on 'success'. I picked the top end of the BMI scale for 'overweight'. I can't imagine what I will look like at 240, and it is 20 pounds lighter than my lowest adult weight (and I looked pretty darn good). If I had chosen the middle of the 'healthy' BMI range, it would feel so much farther away. When I was over 400, that final number really didn't matter to me, but now as it starts to come into view near the horizon, I think about it more.

Also, I did not even consider the impact of extra skin on that number. If (when) I get to 240, I will likely be lower inside with 15-20 pounds of skin. Not sure how that will work out, but I am prepared to factor it in as I get closer to the number.

Rob

i agree! do not look at speed and do not compare yourself to anyone else -- everyone is different. i started at 223 for pre op diet, on 6/13/14 i was 217 going into surgery. 5 months out i am at 157 -- thats a total of 66 lbs lost. i lose and avg of 1.5-2 lbs a week now and while that is not what i would consider a rapid loss it is none the less steady and wonderful!!! one thing that helped me keep perspective was the % of weight lost ... i wanted to lose 93 lbs total so at 66 lbs i've lost 70.97% of my excess weight already ... thats HUGE! people that have a lot higher BMI or amount to lose will of course shed pounds quicker, but the % seems to stay about equal. my advice? don't stress, follow and trust the program, and you will do great!

I was at 235 pounds (I'm 5'6") 37ish bmi at my consult, after the 6 months required Dr assisted weight loss (I gained). I had multiple medicated comorbidities not all under perfect control. Was down to 36ish by surgery a month later. Reached my goal range of 140-150 9 months from surgery. 80 pounds in 9 months, so not super fast, but that was intentional on my part. I wanted to set myself up for a managable metabloism long term and set my calories as high as i could and still lose. Maintained that for 4 months but have decided to lower it to 130-140. Im at 139 today. Seems like that's where my body is trying to go plus I still have a lil spare tire I'd like to see gone. Slow is GOOD. I've never felt like I was "dieting". Never lost hair. Loose fit skin... I have some but it's not as bad as it could have been I guess.