curious

I've noticed that so many individuals have lost a great deal of weight in the pre-op phase of their journey. Some HW to SW is a 40-50lbs loss. I have not even come close to that. Does this mean I am not ready mentally? Because I WANT it more then anything. I get discouraged like I'm not putting enough in to get the big loss like most of you. I'm having a real struggle with changing my habits 360 degrees I'm taking small steps but not like u all have. I'm just curious if anyone else has had the same struggle as me in the pre op phase

The best advice I can give you is don't compare yourself or your progress to others. Everyone is different, and every journey is different. Also, every surgeon/WLS program has different requirements. Some require a lengthy diet program prior to surgery, some don't. So many factors figure into these pre-surgical losses.

That being said, for me, I did lose 60 pounds prior to surgery. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in July 2014, which scared the hell out of me. I immediately cut all processed carbs out of my diet cold turkey. The first month was a living hell. But I was bound and determined not to give in to the diagnosis. I lost 30 pounds over the next 18 months just by eliminating those bad carbs. Oh, I cheated now and then, but overall just plodded ahead without processed carbs, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, or sweets of any kind.

In February 2016, after emergency hernia surgery, I talked to my surgeon about a hysterectomy I needed. He told me I couldn't have it until I lost weight. That's when I decided it was time for me to have this surgery (which I had been researching for 8 years).

Over the next 7 months, between my continuing slow loss and a 3-month doctor supervised diet required for my surgery, I lost another 30 pounds.

My HW and SW show a good loss, but the actual story is that I lost 90lbs on my own and then gained 30lbs back and lost it again and then gained 40lbs back and THEN finally had surgery. I actually gained 7lbs during my pre-op phase because I was just at the BMI requirements and couldn't lose (and maintaining is hard!).

I had a similar story. I lost 90, gained 25, started the surgery process, lost 50 and had surgery.

It's not necessary to lose a lot presurgery, but it make****ting goal easier.

Everyone loses differently. People with more to lose tend to lose more in the beginning, people with less tend to lose less.. comparing yourself isn't super useful since our bodies all work slightly differently. And some people set their ticker to their highest weight ever which might have been years prior to surgery. So, yeah, don't worry to much. Focus on you and changing your habits - try to just change them 180, though. 360 is a circle and will put you back where you started ;)

180 it is :-)

My HW is a lot more than my actual starting weight once I began with a doc. but it took me 8 years to lose 125 pounds then it was creeping back on. When I regained 30 as I was trying to lose more I knew I needed help. I only lost 15 pounds from Dr visit 1 to surgery.

Try not to compare yourself to others, its hard, but might be better for your overall mental well being. That being said my HW & SW was practically identical. I really didn't lose that much if any in the pre op stage. The bulk of my weight loss was post op.

In my case, it was just an ongoing case of the yo-yo diet. My high weight is from 2011, and I had lost as much at 70 lbs of it at varying times before surgery, and gained back 50 before having surgery (with lots of plusses and minuses in between). I only lost about 10 lbs in the period between my initial consult and the actual surgery, most of which was in the last week. Everyone's journey is different, so try not to compare the numbers too much.

If we could lose all of the weight pre-op, we wouldn't need surgery.

I did a 3-month supervised diet for my insurance company and lost 5lb, that was it. What matters is the weight I've lost (and kept off) since having my sleeve done.