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Hell yea I did! My surgery was Jan 14. And I had all the holidays to enjoy. I ate EVERYTHING in sight. It was fantastic. I didn’t morn the loss of food at all. But it sure was great not to worry about weight gain etc and just eat!!!! Kind of like the all in diet a lot of professional fitness people do! :)

https://www.viome.com/blog/microbiome-and-weight-gain-everything-we-know-so-far https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190212-could-gut-bacteria-microbes-make-you-fat Some bacteria we get from our diet could indirectly cause weight gain by changing the gut’s behaviour https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/6-years-after-the-biggest-loser-metabolism-is-slower-and-weight-is-back-up/

Must go and live life today.. Including getting blood tests to show everything is good and in track But I wanted to put this out there.. This is me. I'm doing well, but this is me I have OCD and it may make things a little more challenging at times.. Thank you for indulging me Compulsive overeating, also sometimes called food addiction, is characterized by the compulsive eating of food. Professionals address this with either a behavior therapy model or a food-addiction model.[1] An individual suffering from compulsive overeating engages in frequent episodes of uncontrolled eating, or binge eating, during which she or he may feel frenzied or out of control, often consuming food past the point of being comfortably full. Bingeing in this way is generally followed by feelings of guilt and depression. Unlike individuals with bulimia, compulsive overeaters do not attempt to compensate for their bingeing with purging behaviors such as fasting, laxative use, or vomiting. Compulsive overeaters will typically eat when they are not hungry. Their obsession is demonstrated in that they spend excessive amounts of time and thought devoted to food, and secretly plan or fantasize about eating alone. Compulsive overeating usually leads to weight gain and obesity, but is not the only cause of obesity. While compulsive overeaters tend to be overweight or obese, persons of normal or average weight can also be affected. In addition to binge eating, compulsive overeaters can also engage in grazing behavior, during which they return to pick at food throughout the day. These things result in a large overall number of calories consumed even if the quantities eaten at any one time may be small. When a compulsive eater overeats primarily through bingeing, he or she can be said to have binge eating disorder. Signs and symptoms Binge eating, or eating uncontrollably even when not physically hungry Eating much more rapidly than normal Eating alone due to shame and embarrassment Feelings of guilt due to overeating Preoccupation with body weight Depression or mood swings Awareness that eating patterns are abnormal Rapid weight gain or sudden onset of obesity Significantly decreased mobility due to weight gain History of weight fluctuations Withdrawal from activities because of embarrassment about weight History of many different unsuccessful diets Eating little in public, but maintaining a high body weight Very low self-esteem and feeling need to eat greater and greater amounts. Addiction During binges, compulsive overeaters may consume from 5,000 to 15,000 food calories daily, resulting in a temporary release from psychological stress through an addictive high not unlike that experienced through drug abuse. In bulimics, this high may be intensified by the act of purging. Researchers have speculated there is an abnormality of endorphin metabolism in the brain of binge eaters that triggers the addictive process. This is in line with other theories of addiction that attribute it not to avoidance of withdrawal symptoms, but to a primary problem in the reward centers of the brain. For the compulsive overeater, the ingestion of trigger foods causes release of the neurotransmitter, serotonin. This could be another sign of neurobiological factors contributing to the addictive process. Abstinence from addictive food and food eating processes causes withdrawal symptoms in those with eating disorders. There may be higher levels of depression and anxiety due to the decreased levels of serotonin in the individual.[2] There are complexities with the biology of compulsive eating that separate it from a pure substance abuse analogy. Food is a complex mixture of chemicals that can affect the body in multiple ways, which is magnified by stomach-brain communication. In some ways, it may be much more difficult for compulsive overeaters to recover than drug addicts. There is an anecdotal saying among Overeaters Anonymous members that "when you are addicted to drugs you put the tiger in the cage to recover; when you are addicted to food you put the tiger in the cage, but take it out three times a day for a walk."[2] The physical explanation of compulsive overeating may be attributed to an overeaters' increased tendency to secrete insulin at the sight and smell of food, though medical evidence supporting this is controversial.[3] Research has found a link between the sugar and fat content of foods and bingeing behaviors.[4]

Welcome back QT! I am so sorry to hear about everything going on in your life the last month or so! I understand your pain...Last Dec 14th (06) My MIL had a massive stroke, too. We also spent the holidays at Grant...Long story short...she beat the odds and woke up on Christmas day! She has came a long way, but has lost speech, and the use of her legs and right arm...I tried to take care of her here at my house, but after about 6 weeks we had to put her in a nursing home. It is a nice place, as nursing homes go, but I sure do wish I could have kept her home with my FIL. The are only in their 50's so it makes for a long road a head for them... anyway...I am sooo proud of you for keeping the scales moving in the right direction. I know all of the stress along with the holidays could have been a major weight gain for anyone! Thanks everyone for the support. I am so excited for the next few weeks...between the vacation and surgery, Time is going to fly!!!!

I recall being in college and happy about weighing 145lbs. Had nice curves, but was not fat. My surgeon's office set my goal weight at 155 and said I could go lower if I chose to. The way I figure, when I get to 145, if I seem sick looking I could gain a few pounds. Heck, I am a weight GAINING expert! Putting on a few pounds shouldn't be a big deal!!! Just want to be at a stable weight.

The real issue with carbonated beverages is how toxic soda and diet sodas are. Some people are bothered by the bubbles, but there is research to support the fact that ingredients in diet soda actually cause weight gain. So the real question is, if you know that that particular had that works against your primary goal of getting leaner and healthier, do you really want to re-introduce it into your life at this time? For the record, I drink carbonated beverages whenever I want but I don't drink them very often. I'm more of a coffee drinker anyway. And the bubbles and carbonated beverages don't bother me at all. I am over a year out of surgery. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Congrats to you,you're doing that thing! I too noticed a weight gain after 2yrs RNY, was down but now getting my life back with exercise and more mindful eating! Congrats again! Sent from my LM-T600 using BariatricPal mobile app

I stopped taking it too…. I was advised to stop taking it preop so I never started again. I have to go see my gynecologist next week so, I guess that's one of the questions I should be asking. I'm also not on my birth control pills – that was another thing they want to meet a stop preop i'm not sure if that will affect any weight gain or Water retention or anything of that nature… I'm on a relatively low dose one. But I can definitely feel the sis coming on and feeling them burst. It's not as bad or I should say frequent when I'm on my meds. What are y'all's experience with them?

Ok my due date had been revised. Which is no surprise because ALL my children measured small in the beginning. So I'm due March 10th instead of February 28th. But it will be an automatic c section because both previous babies were, that means I shave one week off of the due date. My weight gain has been 0 in 7 weeks since conception. My restriction is that of it right after surgery. I don't want to eat but force feed myself. Popsicles have been my best friends. I'm sick from morning to night (which gives me comfort knowing I have symptoms lol), breasts are slowly getting sensitive, I have food aberrations to everything but then have cravings also but I don't know what I am craving. sleep comes and goes. I take my Vitamins and Calcium. I'm on Zofran for morning sickness. I'm hoping to avoid gestational diabetes. Doctor thinks its a good possibility I can avoid it He did list me as high risk pregnancy due to my Bariatric surgery, but I'm praying to the good Lord that's just a label and I have a healthy pregnancy. So my goal is to update weight gain/losses and any issues I might come upon that way all these questions most of us have can start being answered. I how that I can help others with this. Importantly we as sleevers need to remember that we will always have this tool its about choices, control, and loving ourselves enough to do the right things Sent from my EVO using VST

Interesting read. I can't help though but think about how much weight people gain during a time period of 11 years who never were obese in their whole life, maybe not even overweight. I just need to look at colleagues and friends. Weight gain (sometimes really significant) between the age of 35-50 seems to be quite common. So while I definitely don't want to dismiss weight regain over a time span that long, one should maybe also take a look outside the realm of the bariatric world and be careful what to label as "failure" or not (though this usually seems to be more of a patient-problem than a doctor-problem). If "goal" is BMI 24.9 or less you're definitely right. Now I'm going to talk about something that is really rarely talked about in the WLS community (we seem to have exactly one moderately active thread about this): eating disorders or disordered eating. When one takes a look at "failure rates" of treatment of patients suffering from eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia, bariatric patients don't seem to have worse outcomes so we don't seem to be exceptionally "bad patients". Too many patients seem to only change gear and develop overly restrictive eating habits, starve themselves and compulsively exercise, all too often encouraged not only by the scales showing less weight, but also by their environment and even their treatment teams.

Tina, sounds like things are going wonderfully! I'm so thrilled. Good for you for getting an attorney! "Serves" him right! LOL! Okay it wasn't THAT funny! :thumbup: Good job nipping the weight gain in the bud and getting back on track! WTG! Take good care and enjoy! Hugs!!!

lol -you know those were my thoughts too...i was like until im approved im going to just kick back and go with the flow. of course extra weight gained is extra to lose but still i did it. there's also a class i have to go to before i can have my surgery, the class is on the 20th, lol. i did not want to do a band lifestyle change class until i knew i was getting the band.

Hello all! I am 41, married with 2 grown kids and 3 grandkids that all live out of town...(husband is 15 yrs older so I inherited all the kids and grandkids!) No children of my own, but we have 2 dogs that get treated better than most humans! I have had back problems since I was a teenager (and in shape) but that has been made worse by my weight gain over time. My breaking point to decide to do this has been pretty recent when both my back and my knees got so bad I could barely walk. It is such an embarrassment every day at work as I hobble down the hall to the ladies room, out to the parking lot, etc... I work with a bunch of fit people that work out multiple times daily, so I feel so judged most of the time. Whether they are actually judging me...who knows but that is how I feel. Some folks won't even look me in the eye anymore as they pass me in the hallway. I live in the Houston area and I am getting banded a week from today, April 4th by Dr. Spivak. I don't have any pre-op diet to follow but I have started replacing at least 1 meal a day with a protein shake more as a way to test out a few different brands/flavors. My husband is incredibly supportive as well as the few people I have told. I was so embarrassed that I let myself get into the position of neeeding surgery, but everyone I have told has been so supportive since it is obvious my weight is really beginning to take a toll on my body. I am having sugery on a Monday and my husband convinced me to take the entire week off so I could heal properly. Not an ideal way to spend vacation time, but I know it will be worth it in the long run! At this 10 seconds I am not nervous about the actual procedure, but I am really scared about everything that follows. Knowing that when I wake up in the recovery room, my life will be different is hard for me to get my hands around. I am ready to make this change, but if I am to be completely honest I am scared too. Don't get me wrong...I am excited too! I have never been a great fan of exercise, but since walking is so painful for me now I have to say I am looking forward to being able to move again. Just dropping 20-25 lbs will help in that respect. I don't think I will take being ABLE to exercise for granted again! I am tired of living in pain, having no clothes that fit, etc. I am looking forward to being able to shop somewhere other than Lane Bryant and Avenue. I have shopped there for so many years I cannot even begin to imagine what that will be like. Anyway, that is a little about me. It's been nice reading about everyone and I am looking forward to hearing about everybody's experiences as we all go thru this in the next few weeks.

If it was that easy no one on here would be heavy. If we could change our mind like a switch, don’t you think we allWould??? It’s not as easy as willpower, not even close. Even having the stomach removed isn’t enough for some people. And now to the op- your body lost a ton of weight from a fast starvation type diet (weight loss surgery is just a forced state of starvation) then you got pregnant with a wrecked metabolism and a starved body- and your body sent your cravings through the roof and slowed your metabolism to a crawl to grow your baby, and heal the damage. When we diet our bodies believe that we are in a famine. And they are smarter than us and built to survive- that is how weight gain from dieting happens. My advice is to take the opportunity to explore other ways of losing weight /weight maintenance other than surgery. Consider eating disorder therapy and a dietician that specializes in eating therapy to help you rebuild your metabolism. Being thin isn’t everything. It really isn’t anything. Youre a new mom, you need food and you need health and you need to free your mind from feeling like a failure so you can focus on your baby. You are not a failure in any way and you are beautiful whether you are bigger or smaller. Therapy can really help with these negative self image issues we all have. You are not a criminal for wanting to eat fast food. There are many ways to be healthy. Eating wholesome food to satisfy yourself, getting exercise every day, treating yourself to a new haircut, new clothes, figuring out what you really enjoy eating without guilt or shame, and loving your body the way it is. That’s health. Self care and self love is health. If you want to be healthy on the outside, you have to get healthy on the inside. Rebuild the trust in yourself. I highly recommend Intuitive Eating to you as an option.

I'm sorry you are feeling out of control with your weight. Set up an appointment with your surgeons office. Get their opinion if you have stretched your stomach. They can help you get back on track. Another option to consider is counseling/therapy. It will help address your mindset with weight loss. Food choices and grazing will cause significant weight gain. Grazing is the consistent, day-long consumption of low value food items, in other words: snacking. For example, mindlessly finishing your child’s breakfast cereal, stopping at mcdonalds, popping two donut holes into your mouth at the office, eating a protein bar mid-afternoon and a strawberry Greek yogurt with granola at night. The best way to address grazing after bariatric surgery is to employ preventive measures prior to the onset. That said, many patients will not succeed preemptively and must therefore deal with the problem of grazing only after it presents. Should you find yourself in the habit of grazing after bariatric surgery, the obvious resolution is to break the habit. This is no doubt easier said than done, but consider all that you have achieved to this point. The first step is to ask for help. It is unlikely that you can resolve your maladaptive eating alone. So simply ask for the help. Use your support network and those professionals who are currently among your inner circle. Begin to monitor yourself closely. Write down or log your food in MYFITNESSPAL all that you eat or drink for a period of three days or so, and then compare your notes with the nutrition plan from your bariatric surgeon’s office to note how much they do or do not correlate. Learn the different types of hunger, specifically head, eating out of boredom and physical hunger. In addition, cut out all junk food. Sit when you eat, and mindfully enjoy the meal. Eat meals that contain protein and fiber in the form of fresh and lightly cooked or raw fruits and vegetables because they make you feel full. Drink plenty of water over the course of the day except at meal time. WIshing you the best, Jenn

I think this thread goes on this forum, not wher I posted before... Hi all! Tomorrow marks my fourth month post surgery. What has this journey been like? Well... 1. No leakage or any other serious complication- thank God! 2. I never expected the post surgery experience I had. Anxiety and depression, like I've never witnessed in myself or anyone else. kicked in about two weeks post. Uncontrollable, snowballing, unexplainable, irrational fear, sadness, and regret. I went on tranquilizers, developed a mild dependecy on the benzo, had to follow a tapering process, but all ended well. This experience is unforgettable to me and my family! Everyone entering this surgery process should be aware that this is a possible reaction to surgery. I'm not sure if only to this type of surgery, or all. The more the time passes, the more I see posts that relate to my experience. So far I've contacted six people with less, exact, or worse anxiety and depression after the sleeve. Be aware of this possibility. Know that it can debiliate you, thus you need a safety net. However, also be aware that it passes. Thank God, all that is in the past. But the experience I don't think I will ever forget. 3. Because of #2, an improved appreciation for God, life and for all my loved ones. 4. Weight loss: forty pounds down- yay! 5. Besides #2, the most impacting part of this experience is accepting the fact that the surgery did not rid my addiction to food, nor my unhealthy eating habits. I completed a mandated five month program before surgery. The instructor endlessly stressed to start working on our eating patterns and habits before surgery, to ease the transition and have more success with the procedure. As much as this was emphasized, I didn't do it. It was also emphasized that the surgery didn't cure our addiction and relationships to food, this too I ignored. To me, surgery would cure my addiction to food, would for ever change my eating patterns, and never again would I experience the vicious cycle of binging, guilt, shame, weight gain, etc. etc. etc. In my mind I figured I'd be forced to change because my body wouldn't tolerate overeating. I ached for a change, and surgery would force the change on me....problem solved! I awaited surgery with glee and faith. Well, the story goes otherwise. I have changed some of my eating patterns and you will find plenty healthy veggies and fruits, plus lean meats in my fridge. I joined the gym for the first time in my life, and through therapy am trying to sort out my relationship with food. However, surgery hasn't forced a change on me. You know those stories of having to induce vomit (or it naturally occuring) due to overeating? NEVER happens to me, NEVER! I cannot eat as much as before, but defenitley more than I expected. I can eat a full cup of spaghetti with cheese and sour cream in one sitting. I'll finish it, feel full, and stop eating. But thirty minutes later my pouch has made room, and I can take some more in. This especially happens when I eat out and we usually sit around chatting for a while. Time passes and I'll start nibling at my food again. I can eat about half a cup more--without being hungry. Why do I do it? I'm working on understanding it. Those stories of no longer tolerating fatty, sugary, lactose, or other foods- not I. I can eat EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING. Dumping syndrome? I don't even know what that is. Having to chew food to mushy consistency- not I. I chew, but never to the consistency I thought I'd have to. Taste buds change post surgery- not mine. Not one of the billions of taste buds have changed- at all! Bottom line, this surgery didn't force any change on me. I have gone up and down in weight, and can't seem to break the 40 pounds mark. It's been this way for the past five weeks. I still experience the disappointment in myself over food choices and behavior. The shame and guilt sneak up, and soon I'm angry and feel defeated. All the emotions, habits, and challenges I faced with food and weight pre surgery I face now too. I thought I'd be facing these issues two years after surgery when my pouch has relaxed and expanded a bit, and many regain the weight. I thought that by that time my life would be extraordinarily wonderful- that I'd never regain the weight and give up my success and joy. Well, it's only been four months and I'm facing reality already. Everyone considering surgery needs to know this. I think those who've had success with the sleeve have had it because they've made changes that have yielded the success. The sleeve itself will not yield it. Maybe everyone already knows this, but I have been known to be a late bloomer. Do I regret having had surgery? Honestly, there is nothing to regret. I had (and pray that it continues) zero complications, I still enjoy food, have a very active social life, have gone down a size in clothes, and experience no pain, vomit, nausea, or anything of the sort. I feel blessed that my surgery has gone so smooth, pain free, and complication free. I pray that it continues to do so. I prefer to deal with my current issues, than any physical complication. There really is nothing to regret. On the contrary, I believe this surgery has a higher purpose in my life. It isn't yielding the weight success I imagined, but it is forcing me to look deep into myself and work with what is out of balance. I can't run away from it anymore. I refuse to have gone through this experience and continue on the road of addiction, caught in that endless dark cycle. This is the change my sleeve had brought to my life. My progress comes in baby steps, but I'll get there. God bless you all!

Hi all! I want to share my story because I feel like things are "hopeless" again like they did all of those years I had been dieting prior to having my gastric sleeve. I was sleeved in September of 2010 by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali. I had a wonderful experience there and would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I feel like I may need to do it again since the weight gain has started. I started at 240 lbs and the lowest weight I got to, which was last year at this same time, was 150 lbs. At that time, I stuidly felt like I was losing too much weight, as I wanted to stay curvy, so a friend of mine who has had the lap band, suggested I find something high calorie to substitute my daily intake with so I was getting enough calories to not lose any more weight. Being an emotional eater, this should have been a huge red flag for me, but here was an excuse for me to overindulge, so I took it. cheese was what worked for me. I ate a lot of cheese.. sometimes, nothing but cheese once I figured out it would go down easy. After that I moved onto processed crackers and Cookies, again, things that go down easily without getting full and without getting the sick feeling. I weighed myself yesterday and I'm back up to 167 lbs. Two months ago I was at 163 lbs, so i'm rapidly climbing back up the scale. I do go to the gym, was twice a week, but in the last two weeks i've bumped it up to 3 times a week. I do strength training with weights and cardio. I am fairly active on the weekends, as I am fortunate enough to live in an area where everything is either walking or biking distance. The problem is, and i'm suspecting this will be most of our problem here on this site, is that we are emotional eaters. And it was great at first with the sleeve because you literally could not eat anything.. .or you were so afraid to eat anything that you just wouldn't eat it in fear of getting "that feeling" (you all know what i'm talking about). I can take the literature and read it over and over... my doctor can send me emails and tell me what to do (eat your Protein first, dont snack, etc). In a perfect world, if I could do that, then I wouldn't have needed to have weight loss surgery in the first place. My brain tells me to eat for comfort, eat when you're happy, eat when you're sad, eat to Celebrate.... and the hard part is, now that I've figured out what I can eat with the sleeve, its becoming more and more difficult to overcome this feeling. I have been in therapy for about 8 years trying to overcome this emotional eating issue, but its so easy to go back to what we know, rather than change it. Not making excuses... i'm just reaching out to others who may have the same feelings and eating disorder as I do... and maybe if we can get rid of that shame we feel by sharing with each other, we can overcome this need to eat to stuff our emotions. Because I do feel very shameful that I paid all of this money, risked my life in Mexico to have this surgery done... and now i'm sabotaging myself and undoing the very thing that I've wanted my entire life... to be thin and "normal". Whatever normal is... If you haven't had the sleeve yet, please, make sure you get in tune with yourself with regard to the emotional eating, becuase although the first year or so of the weight loss is great! If you dont get your disorder under control, it will all come back, eventually. I said at the beginning of this post that I feel hopeless, but by letting me share here, I do feel a little more hopeful than I did when I started writing this. Thank you for listening. Nikki

Yay for you! Good job on preop weight...be prepared if you get on the scale tomorrow you may have some weight gain, just fluids drops off quickly. I was sleeved on the 19th and i am down 10 since surgery. Had pintos n cheese, frozen yogurt and lemadelines tomato soup today. Plus a protein shake....was a good day. Besides the acid reflux which i know will go away this is the best thing ever...you will see....we are on our way! ~kris

interesting concept there motherof4. . never thought about doing that. . maybe i'll try it next time a craving hits and i'm not really hungry. . .retraining really sucks. . . i struggle with it every day. . before surgery i thought it wouldn't be all that hard, damn it's hard! tomorrow i start my 5 day pouch test to get back on track. . .no weight gain yet, but it could happen any time soon huh?????? that would be a tragedy!

I had to get mirena removed 2 months after it went in.. I had horrible weight gain.. I've been looking into the copper IUd but I'm scared lol

OMG! This thread was written for me! I am currently experiencing weight gain and am sooooo depressed! I recently had a TT and I have done nothing but consistently put on weight. I am up 5lbs since my TT and have no excuses. I eat like a pig and can't seem to stop myself! My daughter and BF keep telling me to stop and slow down and the more I am aware of what I'm doing the more I want to keep eating! I can't seem to figure out what is bothering me and why I am obsessed and DEMAND to sabotage myself! I'm screaming out for help but I know I am the only one that can stop this insanity but I just can't seem to do it. Because of this thread I am going to start tracking my food again on myfitnesspal.com and I am going to start walking for exercise again. Thanks to everyone for the inspiration and insight!

PCOS is <!--StartFragment -->Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Here's a link that explains the syndrome and its various symptons, which include weight gain. http://www.webmd.com/hw/womens_conditions/tw9104.asp?src=Inktomi&condition=Healthwise

Sorry Kat, I should have written that. Having it that long I just assume (wrongly)everyone else must know. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) It affect a woman’s menstrual cycle, fertility, hormones, insulin production, heart, blood vessels, and appearance (hair growth). Women with PCOS have these characteristics: high levels of male hormones, also called androgens an irregular or no menstrual cycle may or may not have many small cysts in their ovaries. Cysts are fluid-filled sacs. PCOS is the most common hormonal reproductive problem in women of childbearing age. An estimated five to 10 percent of women of childbearing age have PCOS. No one knows the exact cause of PCOS. Women with PCOS frequently have a mother or sister with PCOS. But there is not yet enough evidence to say there is a genetic link to this disorder. Many women with PCOS have a weight problem. So researchers are looking at the relationship between PCOS and the body’s ability to make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the change of sugar, starches, and other food into energy for the body’s use or for storage. Since some women with PCOS make too much insulin, it’s possible that the ovaries react by making too many male hormones, called androgens. This can lead to acne, excessive hair growth, weight gain, and ovulation problems.

Mixers tend to have a ton of carbs.. that has always been my choice too. Some prior post they were worried about carbonation and while that's relevant for gas pains it ignores the effect carbs have in halting weight loss or going the opposite direction and causing weight gain. The very reason many of us are here is due to a lack of self regulating so I hope the people going back to drinks so soon learned this in such a short period of time.. lest we read more threads of people confused as to why they're stalling and gaining while drinking.

Green Have you tried to switch from risperdal to geodon? it works basically the same without the weight gain. My son gained 120 lbs in less then 1 yr on risperdal we took him off of that and put him on geodon and topomax and the weight came off and he had wonderful control. Have seen terrific control with other patients as well. Just a suggestion for you and that may help you to get rid of more weight and keep your psych issues under control.