How to calculate percent of excess body weight lost

To calculate excess body weight lost is simple.

1. Using a BMI chart simply identify the weight that takes you from overweight to normal. For me that weight is 177 lbs.
   
2. Using your starting weight subtract your ideal weight.
3. Next, divide the number of pounds you have lost by the number of pounds you need to lose in order and this will tell you the percent of excess body weight you have lost.
   

The reason this number is important is that most surgeons will say that a specific surgery usually results in 75% of excess body weight lost.

From my research here are the generally accepted amount of excess body weight to lose is:

Lap-Band: 40%-60%
Sleeve gastrectomy: 60-75%
Gastric bypass: 75-85%

However, sleeve gastrectomy is a relatively new procedure and long-term statistical data is still being developed. My surgeon has stated that he sees sleeve gastrectomy patients and gastric bypass patients lose weight at the same rate and generally enjoy comparable weight loss. Returning to my results, so far I agree.

4 months out

Friday the 16th of October marks four months since surgery, today I got on the scale, and it read 272. I did not anticipate losing one hundred pounds within the first four months. Before surgery when I was doing my research, it was fairly common to lose one hundred pounds in six months. However, I knew this is just a number the real number that matter is the percent of excess body weight lost. So far, I have lost 51% of my excess body weight.

Today also marks the day I completed my second goal. My first goal was to weigh less than 300 lbs. and my second was to lose 100 lbs. Now I’m working on my last goal which is to lose 75% of my excess body weight or to weigh 225 lbs. The one goal I am not setting for myself is to weigh 177 lbs. or to lose 100% of my excess body weight.

I have two reasons for this, the first being my surgery is guaranteed to help me lose 75% of my excess body weight and the second is I'm not sure I want to be that thin. I have a feeling the dietary and fitness changes I'm making will gradually keep propelling my weight downward but at this time I'm not setting a goal to lose all of my excess body weight.

Surgery has Improved Me

Hello World, meet the new and improved Kevin.

I am happier, more positive, and enjoy a better outlook on things. I definitely was not a negative person before surgery but as impossible as it may seem my personality has improved.

Allow me to elaborate.

I have changed A LOT since surgery. My personality is definitely not the same as before I had the surgery. This past week I have came to the realization I have changed. And to be honest, I hope these changes are permanent. I asked my work partner if she has noticed a changed in me since surgery because I feel like I have changed. She told me that I'm happier and a lot more positive. The unimaginable thing is that I think I'm even more outgoing.

The only thing I am taking for granted right now is the fact I don't feel run down and tired all the time. However, even though my overall mood has improved, I don't necessarily think my overall personality has changed. When I look in the mirror I still see me weighing 372 lbs. I still have the same self image that I had before surgery. My brain has not caught up with my physical changes.

I have seen people who have negatively changed since surgery and those are the people who put on the fake act to compensate for being overweight. When it comes to how I interact with people I would like to believe I'm genuine. I'm definitely not nice to people just to make them like me. I believe I learned at an early age that if someone doesn't like me then it's their loss. I think the big the biggest factor is that I never saw myself as a 'fat person'. I didn't let my weight define who I am now or what I can do with our lives. For me, it has gotten in the way but it never defined who I was. Also, I think the biggest thing resisting change is the fact that I liked myself before surgery. I think the ones who change hated themselves before surgery.

Like I said above, when I think of myself, it's like the new and improved Kevin and not the Kevin that became Jack after surgery.

Self Image

I've never been one to hate myself for being overweight. And even when I was 372 lbs I never thought I looked that heavy. Basically stated, I never let my weight define who or what I was or am.

I'm not sure if it's this attitude causing the delay in my brain recognizing the changes or if it's other factors but when I look at myself in the mirror I really do not see a change. However, if I see a reflection of myself in a window or some other surface where it's not a direct image I do not recognize the man I'm seeing.

I am thinking my brain will catch up and that the change is happening so fast it's having a hard time catching up.

Literally, the only time I see the rather stark progress is when I look at my before photo and the most recent photo.

Why do I post shirtless pics?

The answer is simple. I'm hoping someone will find my journal and see real life expectations. Everyone looks great with clothes on but I don't want to hide anything. Plus, it really lets me see the progress I'm making. Enough said.

3 Months Post Op

According to the Wii Fit I now weigh 287. That makes for a weight loss of 85 lbs since surgery. Since my last update I'm now wearing a size 2xl uniform shirt. This is down from a very tight 3xl shirt. I'm not sure if I trust the Wii Fit's weight estimate. I return to the surgeon tomorrow for my 3 month check up and we'll see how accurate it really is.

Eating...

I'm two and a half months out and I've been facing quite an odd psychological battle.

Feeling full.

Let's face it, if I felt full when I would eat before the surgery I would not be in the position I am in today. For the past few years I could eat a lot of food in one sitting and not feel full. And if by some miracle I actually would feel full I would feel guilty because the realization of how much I just ate would set in. Through classical conditioning the feeling full eventually led to feelings of guilt.

Over the past two months things have changed so fast that my brain is still trying to catch up with my physical changes. And now when I eat half a cup of food and feel full I first feel guilty and then I realize I just ate half a cup of food and I'm feeling full for a very different reason now. However, in some corner of my mind I still feel guilty.

I have done much better in learning my limit of food intake. My big helper has been Weight Watchers Smart Ones and Stouffer's Lean Cuisine. Their portions are perfect for me. I can spread them out over two meals and they are quite tasty. I am also not too worried about the sodium content because they are my only real source of sodium throughout the day. I have also slacked off on the protein shakes and have started trying to get all of my protein through meals.

Considering my new stomach can only hold 3-4oz of food I am forced to make every meal count and not eat crap. I try to make smart choices by eating high protein foods or fruits and vegetables.

Socially, I am still having a difficult time adjusting to my new stomach. So much of my social life revolves around food. I really have to work on slowing my eating down. That way I can pace myself with everyone else. The other thing I have decided is that when I go out to a restaurant I will share an entree with whomever I'm with. This really takes the pressure of eating off.

All in all, I'm slowly working on things and each week is better than the last.