Lowered Expectations - Are you being UNREALISTIC?

When you were preparing for your weight loss surgery procedure, did your surgeon or pre-op staff counsel you on the realistic weight loss that you might ACTUALLY ATTAIN with your procedure? 

I remember, vaguely, a statistic being tossed out, and that that I would reach 176 lbs. 

That would be MY goal.  Sorry, that's where you land.

I immediately went home and said, "NO WAY.  I WILL REACH 130!  I will have 100% excess weight LOST!"  I probably went to Obesity Help.com and added a line to my signature, "Goal - 130, or 100% Excess Weight Lost For-ever!"  (I am sure I did.) 

We see how well that's "working for me," for examples, see:  the blog (in it's various forms) for the last seven years.  Thank you.  OH!  Get this!  Where did I land?  Yeah.  I'm 164 lbs. today.  Still holding here, and this is pretty much average.  So.  Doc was very close.

I never reached my personal elusive goal.  Then again, I never really tried that HARD.  I don't know if I care to bother, to be perfectly honest.  Right now, it's not high on the list of Life's Big Priorities.  It never shows up when I think about "What I Need To Do." 

I don't think -- "Lose Weight."  It's a non-issue.   It may be because I'm living sort of moment to moment.  Right now, I think, "Avoid chopping off fingers while making dinner, due to a seizure."  And, big worries are:  How am I going to pay the electric bill?  Not, "how does my ass look?"  Now, if I weren't dealing with this ridiculous seizure disorder -- I suppose I might feel a LITTLE differently.  I openly admit that with a little freedom to drive, and GO TO WORK?  I might have a gym membership ... or ... other activities, but, still.  I never beat myself up before my brain gave out either.

I squirm when I see how hard other people work to maintain 10 pounds less than I am, and I have a snack.  "Just another hour on my machine!  Then I can have a protein shake."  They kill themselves over getting to THAT PLACE.  They name their stomachs and their exercise equipment, and they fail over and over and come back crying about it.  Susan Powter said it best, "STOP THE INSANITY."

That said, someday soon I may feel compelled (Hello, Disclaimer!) to bust my ass for more shape, or to drop ten pounds for that eventual plastic surgery down in Mexico, but... for now, I'm good.

But it wasn't always this way.  I swore UP AND DOWN that I would be the 100% compliant, successful and stick-thin.  I thought this way, for at LEAST, a year.   Then I realized it's not that easy.  It doesn't just happen after a certain point, and we are all sort of left, dangling, and dieting.

It appears that some patients (including me circa 2003) aren't aware of what is normal for a bariatric surgery, and expect more than 100% weight loss!

100% is NOT NORMAL, nor is it required to be considered a SUCCESS?  Wait, what?  Sure, it's lovely, but it's pretty results-not-typical!

I can't do the math,  320 to 165 = ____ %.   I beat the 50%, but I am not a 100% loss.  But, I am a success.  Before WLS, did I think 165 lbs was a successful weight?  HELL NO.  But now? 

It's just fine. It's MORE THAN FINE.  It's fucking perfect. 

You don't NEED to be perfect.

In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time.
Anthony J. D'Angelo

Read this:

WLS Help -
In a study conducted at the University of Florida, researchers asked bariatric surgery patients about their expectations and perceived notions about weight loss. The study participants were asked to categorize their weight loss expectations as “dream,” “happy,” “acceptable,” and “disappointed.” (PMID: 18201668)

The patients answered in the following manner:

• the “dream” weight would be 89% +/- 8% excess body weight loss
• the “happy” weight would be 77% +/- 9% excess body weight loss
• the “acceptable” weight would be 67% +/- 10% excess body weight loss
• the “disappointed” weight would be 49% +/- 14% excess body weight loss

So how do medical professionals define success with weight loss surgery?

As a general guideline, weight loss surgery is considered successful when 50% of excess weight is lost and the weight loss is sustained up to five years. For example, if a patient is 100 pounds overweight they should lose at least 50 pounds; or, if a patient is 200 pounds overweight they should lose at least 100 pounds. Then, following the weight loss, the patient should keep off the lost amount of excess weight for at least five years.

The University of Florida study revealed that the “disappointed” weight of patients was the amount of excess body weight loss that bariatric surgery providers would consider a successful weight loss outcome following surgery.

Similar discrepancies were seen in a study conducted by Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine in which researchers examined weight loss expectations in patients undergoing three different weight loss procedures (laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, or laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy). (PMID: 19789932)