Realistic Expectations with Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery can certainly change your life but it’s important to have realistic expectations as to what it will achieve to best set yourself up for success. It’s important to remind yourself that weight loss surgery is a tool to help you lose weight. Without committed action to changing your lifestyle, you won’t achieve the weight and health outcomes you desire in the long term. On a similar note, it’s also important to understand that having weight loss surgery is not the easy way out and is by no means easy. It will require dedication, preparation, organisation, persistence, and a lot of effort. It will be hard at first, until you develop healthy habits so that your behaviours are automated.

Another important thing to realise is that losing weight won’t necessarily solve all your problems. You’ll still need to work on those, and you might need extra support to do that. Our psychologists have years of experience helping patients through challenges before and after surgery and are always available to you.

How much weight will you lose?

You can expect to lose a substantial amount of weight after surgery. Results will be different for every patient, and you should never compare your progress to someone else’s. You might find that you lose weight rapidly but then slow down, or you might lose weight slowly. Weight loss is never linear and it’s normal to plateau or to gain weight at various points after your surgery.

Our aim is to help you lose at least 60% of your excess weight (excess weight is the number of extra kilograms you are carrying over a BMI of 25). The final goal weight you reach depends on several factors, including your genetics, body composition, sex, age and what type of procedure you undergo. Your expected weight loss is also influenced by how successful you have been in terms of changing your dietary behaviours, lifestyle, and physical activity levels after surgery. Remember, when we quote long term weight outcomes for the different procedures, we are using data based on other people. Your results are the reflection of your own journey. You might lose a bit more or you might lose a bit less. Ultimately, how far you go will be up to you.