HOW MUCH WEIGHT WILL I LOSE?

On average, people will lose between 50% and 60% of their excess weight

Our patients typically have 125 lb (57 kg) of excess weight. If you are this “typical” person, you should lose between 60 and 80 lb (27 and 36 kg) in weight.

If you are starting weight is lower, that is, you have less excess weight, you will lose fewer pounds (kilograms) but probably a greater percentage of your excess weight. If you are bigger, that is, you have more excess weight you are likely to lose more pounds (kilograms) of weight but a lower percentage of your excess weight simply because there is so much more to lose.

It is important to understand how we calculate your excess weight and how we set targets for weight loss. It is also important for you to realize and accept that we are not aiming to have you lose all of your excess weight. We are aiming to improve you health and your likelihood of living a full length of life, without the physical and psychological disabilities that obesity causes.

We regard the normal for the population as being a BMI of between 18.5 and 25. If you have a BMI of 25, you are at the upper limit of normal. We therefore calculate the weight you would have to be to have a BMI of 25 and subtract that value from your current weight. The difference is the excess weight. As you lose some of that excess weight we often describe this as a percentage, using the term “percentage of excess weight lost.” For instance, if your excess weight is 130 lb (60 kg) at the time of the band placement and you have lost 65 lb (30 kg), you would have lost 50% of your excess weight.