By the numbers

I think the first question for WLS patients is always “How much will I lose and how quickly?”  Or that may be a FAQ from others. And of course, the official answer is “it’s impossible to say exactly how much or by when”.  And of course, many think that those are the numbers by which success is measured. I say, success in WLS can be measured by numbers, just not the ones you might think. 

Yes, that number on the scale is important, but how it figures into success is by what you compare it too, not just for the number itself. For those like me that love to calculate and recalculate and estimate and budget and pour over the numbers incessantly, we can go by some general percentages as provided by the surgeon to figure out how much we “should” lose.   HOWEVER, let me emphasize again the important thing to remember is that these estimates are not the measure of success or failure, they are just estimates. 

In non-surgical weight loss, 5-10% loss is considered successful. And yes, we are doing something more drastic because we need to lose a more drastic amount of weight, so 5-10% sounds like a joke, but just remember this to keep things in perspective.  With WLS we are looking at 40 – 75% of excess weight lost in just the 12 months post-surgery and that will be amazing! Will it be everything we hoped and dreamed?  No. But it will be 30 – 65% more than we probably would have lost without surgery. I mean really, it will be 100% more for me, because let’s be honest, I didn’t end up at my heaviest ever by regaining just that 5% I had lost. 

Coincidentally I found this stock photo with a scale showing the amount I need to lose. If nothing else, this illustrates how I basically need to lose an entire adult to be at a healthy weight. Yikes.

I’ve seen different weight loss estimates from different places, but I’m basing mine on what my surgeon provided.  So allegedly, I will see an estimated 40% loss of excess weight within the first 3 months after surgery.  As of today, I need to lose 126 pounds. So that would be about 50lbs down for me 3 months post-op.  I won’t be out of the 200s yet, but still a great start! I’ve never lost 50lbs in a single time period.  

About 6 months post-op I will allegedly see an estimated 65% of my excess weight gone. So again, based on today’s numbers, that will be about 81pounds lost!  I’d be solidly out of the 200s and weighing less than I have since I was 20.  That’s something to celebrate no matter what else I lose afterwards! 

One year post-op the estimates state I’ll have lost about 75% of my excess weight.  That’s only another 10%, but your weight will be down now and pounds will come off slower, so that’s to be expected. 75% would give me 94.5 lbs lost. This would put me at the high end of the “overweight” BMI range, but still just under of the “obese” range. That’s excessively better than “morbidly obese” where I am now! 

Once I hit 75% of excess weight lost – I will be at a weight I haven’t seen since at least 18.  The one year post-op mark will hit about a month before my 35th birthday to give you an idea of how long it’s been. Wow! is all I can think.   Even crazier to me, I’ll be at a weight my husband has never seen me at, at least not in person. 

While I would have about 30 pounds yet to lose based on these estimates, I’ll be farther along, healthier, and a much better me despite those 30lbs. And really, I’ll only be about 10 pounds from my high end goal.  The 30 pounds are for my ideal goal. And let’s be honest, when its been something like 16 years since I’ve only needed to lose 30 pounds I have no reason to not gleefully scream from the rooftops about my success. 

So the way I see it, I’ll have lots of numbers to measure my success with, but none of them will be just that isolated number on my stupid scale. And I’ll have a ton of reasons (maybe even 268 reasons) to do a continuous happy dance over my entire first year and beyond. 

And you should too if you are on this WLS journey like me. 

-S