Loose 10% of excess weight before surgery???

My surgon said that he requires everyone to loose 10% of their excess weight. Did anyone else have to do this and if so what happens if you dont loose the weight? If I could loose weight I wouldnt be trying to have this surgery in the first place. Anyone have any reconmendations on how to loose the weight?

I agree with you.  If we could lose weight that easily we wouldn't need this surgery.  My surgeon did not require any weight loss before surgery.  I had to get a psych and pulmonary evaluation, some bloodwork, ekg.... but I did not have to lose weight before surgery although I did lose weight on the liquid diet that's required for a week or so before surgery.  Good luck.

Rachel

I wasn't required to lose a certain percentage of weight prior to surgery. I did have to do the dreaded 2 week liquid diet, and I lost 7 lbs. It was hardly 10%, I went from 303 to 296. My surgeon said everything looked great internally (I had surgery on Tuesday). But only your doctor knows your body specifically so I'd follow the rules and lose the 10%. They know what's best!

TBuggs,

I feel the same way you do. I checked out a program about 30 minutes away from my house and they want you to loose 5%. When I did the orientation session I met with the nutritionist because of my great concern. what she said was that they encourage people to do slim fast or atkins and when a person goes full liquid and sticks to it they will loose. Now I have seen some people do the pre op for 2 weeks and only loose 7-8 lbs. My recomendation would be to talk to the nutritionist. Hopefully they do have one who can help you thru this.

I decided not to go this program because of the 5% weight loss requirement. I have a co worker that did go thru the program. It took her almost a year to loose the 5%. Her surgery date is September 10th.

This program I am talking about states that if you do not loose the 5 % they will not do the surgery and they have stuck to their guns with my co worker.

I chose a different program for the surgery because of this and the cost that they have. They have a $400 administrative fee  and make you see the nutritionist, sleep study, and several different charges that my insurance doesn't pay for.

Tam

My surgeon doesn't require any weight loss. He only requires you not gain any. You can not be over your consultation weight. He also only requires 4 days full liquid and one day clear liquids before surgery. Thank goodness!

I saw my surgeon on April 10th for consult and he required a 5% weight loss. The reasoning is to lose weight around your liver which makes working on the stomach easier. 

He also will not allow any weight gain b4 surgery and if 5% isn't lost, then he won't operate. (think it's also a compliance issue..if we don't have ANY self control, how will we follow the guidelines after the surgery??)

I started watching what I ate the same day (you know fat free, sugar free, passing on desserts, etc. Although my requirement was 15 lbs., I have lost 25 to date and have surgery on the 24th.

Good Luck!! You can do this!!!

I forgot this....when I went in for 3 wks pre-op, I was told if I hadn't of lost the weight I would've had to been on clear liquids 4 days br surgery, now it's only 2 days b4 because I had lost required amount.

Is it a BMI issue that they want you to lose 5-10%? My surgeon only uses a set amount of weight if he thinks it puts you at too great a risk for surgery. I did the 10 day liquid and lost about 14lbs, but as far as I know the liquid diet is just to reduce glycogen stores right before to make lap surgery safer. Good luck!  Try a lot of protein and vegetables, skip the carbs-you'll lose it in no time! Good luck!

The weight loss is required to make the surgery easier to maneuver through. It makes it safer for you. It's hard to do the preliminary weight loss effort that you have to achieve through your own will power. We can all lose weight if we have the will power to stay on the diet! The way I got through this was to realize that this time the weight I was taking off would be permanent weight loss.

How many times have to lost weight only to gain it back plus a few more pounds? Think of this last ditch effort to get to the surgery as weight you will never gain back! It kicks starts your future with your new band!

You can do it!

Kim