Gastric Sleeve Weight Loss Surgery Results and How I Met My Goal

If you're on the losing end of the spectrum, it's no wonder that after gastric bypass surgery your typical weight loss after surgery is probably a paltry 8 pounds. You've put yourself at risk for life-threatening complications, including death, because you chose to ignore the risks of a weight loss surgery. Your doctor probably told you that you could expect small decreases in your BMI and that you would become healthier as a result. Those are not promises you were willing to take then, and they are certainly not what you should be hearing today.

In my experience after gastric bypass surgery, my average weight loss after 3 months is only about one pound per week. During the first month, I gained an average of three pounds of body weight in all. It was at this point that I contacted my surgeon and asked for more help. I realized that there was something wrong and that I had to take corrective action. I still believe that the majority of people who go through gastric bypass surgery do not realize that the weight lost in the first month or so is not going to be regained.

First of all, I must tell you what I mean by "excess body weight". Your physician or dietitian used a scale called the Body Mass Index (BMI). This index determines your ideal body weight based on your height and age. Your BMI is a good measure of obesity, but it does not take into account all the factors that cause excess body weight. The reason for this is that your BMI will never be 100% accurate because the body varies from person to person.

After my bariatric surgery I was able to maintain my weight loss much better than I had before. But keep in mind that I did not lose all of my excess body weight. I was not even close. In fact, when I first started to report to the doctor's office for my next checkup I was surprised at how little weight I was losing. The doctor wanted me to lose a much larger amount of weight because I was still carrying excess body fat.

So how did I achieve all of this? I think I did it by using the same bariatric surgeon who performed my gastric sleeve procedure. What I learned from this surgeon is that there are some important lifestyle changes that you must make if you want to maintain weight loss after gastric sleeve surgery. I followed these recommendations exactly.

First of all, I changed my lifestyle by avoiding processed foods as much as possible. I went from a chocolate shop on my way home from my surgery to a Safeway supermarket near my home. What a difference it made. Instead of having a candy bar for every meal, I would have a fruit juice or a small bag of grapes for breakfast.

Next, I also started to eat more protein. Not that protein was not already helping me with my weight loss, but it just seems to help people feel full for longer. So instead of having fast food for lunch and dinner every day, I would have chicken salad for lunch and an Alaskan salmon for dinner. This allowed me to have a larger portion of protein for my body to help me with my average weight loss 12 months later.

Another thing that I did in order to achieve my desired gastric sleeve weight loss was to increase the amount of vigorous activity that I get each day. I went from jogging a few miles each day to starting a morning run. And after just a few months, I started to be able to do that without feeling too much pain. After surgery, I am still working out about three times a week, but I can tell that it is making a difference. In fact, I can even do swimming now!