Your concerns are understandable. Everyone is different in how they heal. This is a major surgery and can take 4-6 weeks to realistically fully heal to full energy, and that is if there are no complications. It can take a while to have full energy because your body is adjusting to minimal calories on top of healing. Shedding the weight definitely gives more energy because we don't have such a load to carry. If your job is not physical where you have to do lifting you might be able to make it in 2 1/2 weeks. I took a month off and then worked half time for two weeks. My work is physical so I wanted to give my body time to heal. I had no complications. I actually went on vacation on week 4 which is when I could have solid foods but I still had to rest at times. This might not be what you want to hear but you asked about realistic, but again everyone is different.

Assuming that you proceed and have the procedure, being young, you may recover quite quickly. Some people who have been active here in the past returned to work in two weeks. However, you may have lifting limits for up to six weeks. You might want to ask your surgeon about that pre-op if it is a concern.

May people find that their energy soars during their "meltdown". All that melting fat can be really energizing.

As far as other concerns go that may impact energy, another one to consider is your blood glucose levels. I was diabetic before surgery. I found that when my weight went down as low as I wanted it (10 pounds less than my surgeon's goal for me), I began to have episodes of low blood sugar. I had to gain back ten pounds to minimize that. But even now, physical exertion quickly puts me in to hypoglycemia. Therefore, before I exercise (or go out week whacking, :) ), I have to eat. I eat before I go hiking, during the hike and after the hike. I just have to be prepared, so I keep some protein dense snacks (such as nuts) handy.

It's impossible to know ahead of time what your experience will be. However, I want to say that my health in general is so much better today than it was five years ago before my procedure, that it has been, in my opinion, worth ever low blood sugar episode.

Best wishes for a good procedure and an easy recovery. :)

I am one week post op and back to work. My job requires low energy. I would guess your 2 1/2 weeks will be good. I just hear concerns about how you may feel as introducing new foods. I'll keep you posted on that :)

I was 51, with a desk job and went back to work, I think 4 weeks out. I was very tired, but it was OK. I was over 6 weeks out before I had high levels of energy again.

Thank you all for your input. I will not have to lift much more than 10lbs but am on my feet 12+ hours/day at my job. I'm still having the surgery but I appreciate knowing ahead of time what I'm in for so I can be prepared and see what I can do about a contingency plan in case it's just too much.

I'm 10 days out and too tired to do much. I walk from the couch to the kitchen and have to sometimes pause to catch my breath or gain energy to go back. But then again, my blood count went down after surgery that required me to have a blood transfusion. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with my lack of energy? I do find some days are better than others. I also started driving my teen to school this week and the walk to the car is fine. Yet from the car, up a flight of stairs to my apartment is so draining that I am literally panting by the time I get to the door. Pain and soreness is still there but are getting much more tolerable. Overall I think it gets better each day. I start on a multivitamin next Tuesday when I start my 3rd week so I hope to see some improvements energy wise. Good luck to you!

I'm 4 weeks out and now I'm finally starting to feel normal. I was very weak and shaky for the first 2.5 weeks, and only slowly am getting back to "normal." Remember that you will have a new "normal." I'm very lucky to have good benefits. I am not going back to work (desk job, high concentration) for another week, and I'm very glad for it. But I am at the high end of the age range for this operation, so I do not recover as fast as I might have 30 years ago. Hang in there.

Everybody is different and there may be other issues besides just the weight loss. Even though I took all of the vitamins and minerals suggested and provided, I was still a little low in my nutrients at the three month point. I was a little tired and had a little trouble thinking during that time. Since the nutrients were adjusted, I felt much better and more like myself. So make sure you do exactly as the doctor suggests and get plenty of rest and take all recommended supplements. Protein and hydration are key too. Good wishes on your journey.