Gastric sleeve surgery is a useful tool in the fight against obesity.
The bariatric (weight loss) procedure, otherwise known as the sleeve gastrectomy or laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), reduces the size of your stomach, forcing you to eat less.
Once the bariatric surgery is performed, gastric sleeve patients go on to lose between 65% and 75% of their excess weight in the first two years.
However, percentages only tell you part of the story. You may want to know how much weight YOU stand to lose by undergoing the gastric sleeve.
To calculate your expected weight loss in pounds, it helps to explain a few things first.
To be eligible for the gastric sleeve, you must have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40, which indicates morbid obesity. In some cases, you can be approved for surgery with a BMI of 35 if one or more associated conditions are present. These comorbidities are the conditions we typically associate with obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), and osteoarthritis (aches and pains in the knees and joints).
A gastric sleeve not only assists with rapid fat loss, but many patients report improvements in the symptoms caused by their comorbid conditions. Those conditions could even diminish in intensity or disappear entirely. The patients who experience a complete eradication of their comorbid conditions are often told to stop taking medications they had been prescribed for years, because they’re no longer needed after surgery.
The gastric sleeve involves the removal of 70% to 80% of your stomach’s tissue. Unlike the gastric bypass, which reroutes your digestive system, only your stomach is affected with the gastric sleeve procedure. Consequently, this means you are unlikely to experience a vitamin deficiency, which can be an unfortunate side effect of the gastric bypass procedure.
Gastric sleeve surgery requires small incisions and the use of laparoscopic equipment, which allows the surgeon to perform the surgery inside your abdominal cavity while viewing the action on an HD monitor positioned nearby.
After cutting a majority of your stomach tissue away, your surgeon will leave behind a small stomach tube or sleeve that resembles a banana. This sleeve is where the procedure receives its name. When you eat food, the sleeve will catch that food and prepare it for digestion. Since your stomach size is now limited, your food intake is also limited. You will begin to feel “full” faster during meals. Unless you want to feel overstuffed, you will find yourself eating a small amount of food. In turn, you will lose weight fast.
The gastric sleeve also creates hormonal changes in the body that control hunger and satiety. This means you will find yourself eating less by default, but you will also feel less hungry. You won’t feel like you are being deprived by not eating so much. Instead, you can focus on other things in life instead of food, such as how much weight you are losing overall.
Patients often want to know how much weight they can lose with the sleeve gastrectomy. Total weight loss varies from patient to patient. Some patients lose 25% to 60% of their excess weight. That’s between 25 and 60 pounds for someone who was 100 pounds overweight.
There are five factors that impact how much you can lose. If all these factors are present, the loss of up to 30 pounds during the first month is not unheard of, and is, in fact, very likely.
1. You take the time to find the best bariatric surgeon near you. Your surgeon should be highly skilled with an excellent track record of checking in with patients for years after surgery. A doctor who cares about your post-surgery health is more likely to help you achieve your long-term weight loss goals. Look for doctors with a healthy dose of positive online reviews.
2. You follow all pre-surgery suggestions. Your bariatric surgeon may suggest that you lose some weight before surgery is scheduled and will give you dietary and exercise guidelines to follow. Your bariatric surgeon wants to make sure you are healthy enough for the LSG procedure and that you will lose the most amount of weight possible. Any advice given is done so with those two goals in mind.
3. You follow healthy eating and exercise lifestyle habits. You may already find yourself eating smaller meals. And because you are not as hungry as you were before surgery, you may crave healthier foods. This will make weight loss management easier in the months and years after gastric sleeve surgery.
To ramp up weight loss even more post-surgery, your surgeon will give you an activity schedule. You will be advised to start slowly, such as taking up walking after surgery to accelerate fat loss. Walking after surgery can also prevent surgery complications like deep vein thrombosis and blood clots, which are common risks of gastric sleeve surgery. However, risks are mitigated in the hands of a skilled bariatric surgeon, which is why finding the best surgeon in your area is key.
4. You adhere to all post-surgery instructions from your weight loss surgeon. Your surgeon will tell you how to recover and lose the most weight after surgery. The advice may include a liquid diet before slowly introducing soft foods, and then more solid foods to your menu. You should also follow up with your surgeon regularly and attend all post-surgery appointments. Your weight loss surgeon will want to assess your health every so often to ensure your weight loss is resuming steadily, and according to your surgical plan.
5. You have an excellent support system. Even the strongest among us need a shoulder to lean on every now and again. Those with friends and family members rallying around their weight loss are highly likely to succeed. Your bariatric surgeon can also put you in contact with counselors, psychologists, nutritionists and fitness experts. You may also receive resources for support groups in your area where you can interact with likeminded people. With all of those people assisting you with long-term weight loss, your gastric sleeve surgery goals are almost assured!
Now let’s get back to the original question. How much weight can you lose with the gastric sleeve?
In the month following the gastric sleeve procedure, most patients find themselves losing around 30 lbs., on average.
After the three-month mark, you will follow your surgeon’s post-op dietary guidelines, which will have you transitioning from liquid to solid foods. You can expect to lose an average of 25% to 35% of your excess weight, which comes to around 30 or 40 pounds if you were 100 pounds overweight before.
Six months after surgery, your weight loss will be progressing steadily, though it could slow down somewhat. At this stage after gastric sleeve, you should find yourself losing 45% to 55% of your excess body weight. This amount is equal to around 50 pounds of fat loss, which averages to around two pounds per week.
The first year following the gastric sleeve should bring you very close to your goal weight. Your weight loss may vary, but on average patients lose between 65% to 70% of excess body weight at this stage, as long as they follow healthy eating and exercise habits.
It is now a year and a half after surgery. By this point, your weight loss should stabilize, though everyone is different. On average, patients lose between 60% and 70% of their excess body weight. That’s 60, 70, or more lbs., all by following your bariatric surgeon’s advice!
After three years, you should be used to living a healthier lifestyle. Given that all the above conditions are still present, which means you are still working with your bariatric surgeon by going to all of your follow-up appointments, and you are still living a healthy lifestyle that includes smaller meals, healthy eating, and regular exercise, it is not impossible to see 80% or even 100% excess weight loss by the three year mark.
If you were 100 pounds overweight before, that means you could find yourself at your ideal weight, with 100 lbs. lost! All with plenty of energy, and more zest for life!
Do you have a goal weight in mind? You can find your expected weight loss prior to gastric sleeve by subtracting your goal weight from your current weight. If you currently weigh 350 lbs. and your goal weight is 150 lbs., subtract 150 from 350, which gives you an excess weight of 200 lbs.
Now multiply your goal weight by 75%, which is the average maximum weight loss after the gastric sleeve procedure. 200 lbs. x 75% = 150 lbs. of excess weight loss.
If you went on to lose 150 lbs., you would go from 350 lbs. to 200 lbs. in the span of two years!
So, what are you waiting for?
At Healthy Life Bariatrics, Dr. Moeinolmolki often sees patients lose between 80% to 100% of their excess weight within the first two years following the gastric sleeve.
Dr. Moeinolmolki is a sleeve gastrectomy surgery specialist with years of worldwide experience. The doctor has discovered a strong correlation between the amount of excess weight patients lose overall with the healthy lifestyle habits they follow. You can maximize your weight loss by adhering to Dr. Moeinolmolki post-surgery suggestions, which includes a post-op diet and exercise routine. Do that and you could lose the excess weight for life.
You could also experience a significant improvement or remission of obesity related health problems such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, and high cholesterol.
To determine how much weight you will lose after the gastric sleeve procedure, schedule a virtual consultation with Dr. Moeinolmolki at Healthy Life Bariatrics in sunny and beautiful Los Angeles, California. Dr. Moeinolmolki has the surgical techniques and advice to help you achieve your weight loss goals. Call (310)861-4093 and choose a time for your initial consultation that works best for you.
