Search the Community

Hi everyone I made this post in introductions that should be here.I lost almost 20lbs on 2week post-op diet but gained about 6 back after starting soft diet. My first fill is this week 9-17 maybe this will get things going. Thanks Steve

No weight gain...no weight loss. I wish this wasn't my story. Posted by AngieB, Jun 11 2009, 02:34 PM Admin/Owner Options Make This Entry A Draft

Thanks for the advice everyone. Nope, not exercising regularly, so it's not muscle gain. Nope, not over the 9 days, just overnight. I'm happy to report that this AM the scale was back down....so probably more or less Water weight gain. I'm on 800 calories a day, for 14 days. My surgery is set for Tuesday. I can't wait!!!!!!! Good luck tomorrow, Melissa!! :thumbup:

I had gained more than a few pounds at my last weigh-in and I was terrified that they were going to delay my surgery because of it, but the CRNP didn't say anything about the weight gain and I surely didn't bring it up lol. Afterwards, someone else told me that as long as you didn't gain over your original starting weight, it wouldn't delay the process, so hopefully it'll be the same for you. I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck!

When I had my rapid weight gain, I couldn't stand having a photo taken, and I couldn't stand looking in the mirror .... Yes, I never want to look like that, ever again! Months later, I am no longer photo shy. All the Best @@Treadmillwalker I am looking forward to your updates, later on

Sunday I finally saw something I had been waiting years to see....199.2 on the scale. I was so excited to finally be below the 200 mark, which I am sure most of you can understand. Flash forward to this morning 201.8 - the wonderful water weight gain. When I woke up this morning I knew instantly I was retaining. My eyes and face were puffy, my hands felt tight. According to by BC pill pack next week is my TOM. Even though I haven't had a period since surgery (no, not pregnant) I still have the water weight gain and the wonderful moods. Right now I ache, my back hurts, my face hurts - how in the world did I manage to pack on that much water over night? By band is NOT happy about this- I barely got my special K down this morning. Frankly, I am getting reflux from my water this morning. So it's all liquids today until this water gets out of me. Anyone got any ideas how to flush the water out aside from fluid pills? I don't like being Puff the not so magic dragon.

Hi guys so I had my gastric bypass in August of 2005. I was at 280 pounds and list over 150 pounds in a matter of 8 months. I had a baby and lost the 13 pounds I gained in a matter of a 3 weeks. I got pregnant again a year and a half later and lost the 20 pounds I gained in 2 months. But after my second pregnancy I went into a deep depression and have gained weight weight again. I am 210 pounds. I still eat very little but I don't know what is going on. Can anyone help or give any advice please!

I had a baby a yr ago and lost 30lbs after that. Then I went and got th IUD I was fine the first few months. I have lost my sex drive my additude is off the charts and I gained weight. I have read boards with a lot of people gaining weight from it. I just don't want it to interfer with my band, but I guess I will stick with it until after surgery. I may just try another form of BC becuase this has got to go I don't like the mood swings and lost of sex drive. Then the weight gain I know is from the IUD becuase I still eat the same way.

Call your insurance and ask for the wording specific to your plan. Everyone’s plan is different. Just call and get it straight from the horse’s mouth. I’ve heard some say they can gain more than 6lbs, while others say nothing about weight gain during nutrition. Best of luck!

I went to my Dr about a month ago and was told how much I had to lose before I could have the surgery,( 26 pounds) and how much I had to lose before I could schedule the surgery. (13 pounds) I thought to myself that day, wow this isnt going to be very hard at all! They recommend you do the medifast shakes, but I cant afford them. They are about $60 a week. I have a big family and only one income right now, and we just cant afford it so the Dr told me another diet plan to use. I have been doing this diet and walking 2 miles almost everyday. On the other hand, my primary Dr put me on a new medication around the same time as I went to the surgeon, for my headaches I was getting. Little did I know, a side effect from that medication is weight gain. So here I have been, trying so hard to lose this weight while being on a medicine that causes weight gain. About 1 1/2 weeks ago when I wasnt losing any weight, I went online and looked at the side effects of this medicine, after a friend suggesting maybe it was the cause. I have since seen my primary and been weaned off of it. I just weighed myself and I have only lost 1 pound in the past month because of that medicine. I guess I am grateful that it didnt cause me to gain weight, it just kind of caused me to not lose any, but I go back to the surgeon in 2 weeks and I feel like a failure because I thought I would be going there and would have lost that 13 pounds and would have been able to schedule my surgery. Thats obviously not going to happen now. Does anyone have any tips on ways to lose the weight quicker? I feel like this is never going to happen.

went to my psych appt. yesterday and he said I have anorexia which I find odd because I am still 381lbs! But he says with my strict eating and severe calorie counting and anxiety about weight gain accompanied by the occasional fasting to up my weight loss that these are all symptoms of anorexia! He says it is not all my fault or in my head and that he figures it began the first month after surgery when I was unable to keep an food down and lost almost 70lbs in one month. He believes my stomach has become accustomed to vomiting and the pain I feel in my stomach is real , so he is gonna get a nutritionist that specializes in anorexia to help me and get me some meds from my surgeon to help with my stomach so I can finally Begin taking my vitamins and take in he proper amount of protein a day! also he believes I have a fear of eating due to the severe vomiting I have had in the past which makes total sense to me.. I am happy that I made the decision to go to my appt. yesterday and I for once in 3 months feel hopeful on feeling better and having more energy along with being healthy and weight loss..

Week 27 Last week’s weight – 194.8 This week’s weight – 195.8 Total weight gained this week – 1 Beginning weight – 246 lbs Total weight loss since surgery – 50.4 lbs Sorry for the late post. I’ve been PMSing most of the week and cheesed off that I gained a pound this week. In all fairness I probably deserved it. Last week I hit the long coveted 50 lb mark and instead of staying vigilant I slacked on mindful eating and drinking water. I also started my period so that wasn’t helping my mood (can you say giant bag of peanut butter m&m’s?). I’ve had to reexamine my goals. My next big weight loss goal is to get to the next and final 50 lbs off. That is too overwhelming for me to think about so I’m going to focus on just getting out of the 190’s for right now. Another thing I have been obsessing about is protein. I honestly don’t think I have been getting enough of it in so I purchased 3 tubs of protein powder from Unjury ($75…yikes!). I got their protein, vanilla, and strawberry sorbet. I like all three and each one has 20 grams of protein. My plan is to have a least two a day and get as much protein in as possible in between. Until Wednesday!

The decision of whether or not to proceed with WLS needs to be carefully considered, because the lifestyle changes which are required are made for life. No one but you are able to process your motivations and priorities for your life but you. There have been 3 other times in my life when I lost significant amounts of weight; after 2 pregnancies (first time I lost 85 pounds, then I lost 65 pounds after my third son), and once after gaining weight with medication I was prescribed (lost 60 pounds). Between those 3 episodes, I was able to maintain a healthy weight of 130. About 10 years ago, it was medication again which caused the weight gain which stayed with me until having my WLS this past February. I had tried to loose the weight on my own, but being post menopause, my metabolism would not help me the way that it did when I was younger. What caused me to move forward with the surgery was finding out that my A1C levels had crossed the threshold of a diabetes diagnosis. I successfully lowered the A1C with diet and exercise, but then I was in a serious car accident, and could not be active except for physical therapy for 5 months. My insulin resistance was worse, and I knew that I would never be a compliant diabetic. The band provided the opportunity to regain some of the health that my excess weight was taking from me. The weight loss journey is not an easy one, but one which I strongly feel that most everyone is pleased with the results of their hard work. Loosing the excess weight while you are young, you should be able to avoid many of the health issues which present when you are older. IMHO, your mileage may vary. Good luck with your continuing deliberations!

@@tracy amanda. Eating the occasional treats vary from person to person, so the decision to occasionally eat unhealthy choices is up to you. What has worked for me: I ate very strictly while I was in the "losing phase". I never had any treats or even the occasional cracker, rice, bread. However, once I entered my maintenance phase I incorporated some healthy carbs such as whole grain rice, sweet potatoes, beets, more fruit, etc. I also will eat the occasional treats such as cookies, chocolate, doughnuts, etc. I have always logged my food so I have been able to see patterns and identify how many calories and carbs I can safely eat before the weight gain starts. For some eating unhealthy carbs can be a trigger to go down a slippery slope. However, if you are able to eat them and immediately get back on your normal plan then the occasional treat isn't bad.

Hi, I'm just starting to think about lap-ban surgery. I am 38 & have recently broken the 200lb mark (only 5'3.) That was kinda a bench mark number for me. My weight has not been a life long struggle. I've wrestled with 10-15 pounds since college but after my daughter was born (she's almost five) the weight piled on quickly. I used to be very active & atheletic & would like to get back to that. Plus, I'm just feeling sluggish & not great. I want to be active & healthy for myself & my kids. My son (7y/o) has high functioning autism- I think contributes to some of my weight gain. My focus has been on him for the past several years. I've done that at the expense of taking care of myself & using food as a form of stress relief. I wonder what is life like after the surgery? After you're well healed and weght lose is moving in the right direction- can you have a somewhat normal eating pattern? I assume you'll always need to eat small meals but can you eat regular types of food? I like to cook & grow veggies in the summer- could I eat a salad, go out to dinner with my husband, share an ice cream with the kids on the boardwalk or will I have to live on Protein drinks forever? I really would look forward to healting healthy foods -I'm not concerned about having to eat a healthy diet. I am concerned that the surgery would mean not participating in things like family holiday dinner etc- ie I'll stand out cause i'll only have a pine float (toothpick & water) at every occaision. If anyway has thoughts/experience on those concerns, I'd appreciate your input. Thanks, Jen

Be cafeful in what you eat. Prednisone is a steroid and it can cause rapid weight gain, but don't panick, when you come off the drug you'll loose the weight. Just know it going in so you don't freak out if the scale goes up.

I found this article on AOL about food and genomic interaction. There's not a lot of new information here, but it's never a waste of time to possibly gain a new perspective - maybe turn on a lightbulb over our heads! Awaken Your Fat-Burning DNA Dr. Mark Hyman discusses the interaction between genes & weight-loss. Listen to Dr. Hyman's Podcast Dr. Mark Hyman, author of 'UltraMetabolism,' talks with AOL's Book Maven Bethanne Patrick about the role genes play in your diet and weight-loss plan. Here are excerpts from the interview: Bethanne Patrick: Oh, it's great to talk with you and this is so exciting. Your book is about nutrigenomics, can you explain to us what that is and then we'll talk a little bit more about your background. Dr. Mark Hyman: This is a whole new wave of medicine that's emerging based on science and nobody's hearing about it. It's really how food talks to our genes and turns on messages of health or disease, weight loss or weight gain, and it's called nutrigenomics. Get More Health Advice Mark Hyman discusses how to achieve greater health and vitality and lead an age-defying, disease-free life. Listen to Dr. Hyman's Podcast Interview Podcast Interview: Read Your Body's Manual How Does Inflamation Affect Your Weight? chocolate and Other Fats to Help You Slim Down Download a Free Sneak Preview of 'UltraMetabolism' Buy ‘UltraMetabolism' Get More Health Advice From Dr. Hyman Find More Self-Help & Wellness Interviews More Tips and Advice From AOL Coaches Bethanne Patrick: Wow that's something I don't think any of us ever really thought about. Is that why I love bacon so much? Dr. Mark Hyman: Probably not. I don't know if it's sending the right messages. Bethanne Patrick: So explain to us, when you say 'food talking to your genes,' what kinds of messages are you describing? Dr. Mark Hyman: Most of us think of our DNA as sort of locked in our body, waiting to be passed onto our children, but in fact your DNA at every moment is interacting with your environment, interacting with every bite of food you take, interacting with your thoughts, your feelings, and various things, so when you take a bite of food, literally, the information -- beyond the calories in the food -- goes right into your cells, into your DNA, and switches on genes, or turns off genes based on what information is in that food. Bethanne Patrick: So, DNA is interactive. Dr. Mark Hyman: It's like the software for your body. If you are not giving it the right messages to start the gene activation that leads to your metabolism, it's going to lead to weight gain and disease. The whole book Ultra Metabolism is based on the notion of this revolution in medicine -- that if we live in a way that's in harmony with our genes, we can fit into our jeans. Bethanne Patrick: You use the analogy that putting the wrong food into your body is like putting diesel fuel into a regular car. Dr. Mark Hyman: Exactly. I mean, would you think of feeding your dog French fries, a Big Mac and a Coke? No. We know that there's something wrong with [feeding] that to a dog. Yet we feed that to our children. These foods are not what [we have] adapted to from an evolutionary point of view. So if we live in a way that's more akin to how our bodies were designed then everything takes care of itself. Bethanne Patrick: Tell me about how you found out about nutrigenomics and ultra metabolism. Do you have a lot of experience in this field? Where does it come from? Dr. Mark Hyman: Well, I always call myself the accidental weight loss doctor because I never started out seeking to help people lose weight. People came to me with health issues, and I saw people who tried everything. My job was to be a medical detective to figure out the underlying causes of their problems. When I took care of the underlying health problems based on this new science nutrigenomics, the pounds took care of themselves. People just lost weight, without even trying. For example, yesterday I saw a woman who came to see me in November because she was tired and fatigued, had digestive issues and had many, many, many other issues and she was overweight. Three months later she came back and she lost 37 pounds. Bethanne Patrick: Wow. Dr. Mark Hyman: I didn't even recognize her and I didn't tell her to lose weight. I never tell people to go on a diet or lose weight, I said 'here's how you eat in a way that works with your body, rather than against it' and when you do that the natural intelligence and wisdom of the body takes care of the rest. Bethanne Patrick: [What are] these seven myths about obesity? What is the starvation myth? Dr. Mark Hyman: The starvation myth is the idea that if we eat less and exercise more we will lose weight, and unfortunately, when we do that, when we starve ourselves or restrict our calories, we trigger a primitive survival response that drives us to compensate by overeating. We all have the experience, for example, of starving yourself all day, skipping Breakfast, light lunch or maybe not at all, and then you get home and what happens? You clean out the refrigerator. Bethanne Patrick: Exactly! Dr. Mark Hyman: And then you feel sick. Of course, we've done that over and over again. Now the first time you might do it you might think, 'Oh well, I shouldn't do this again because it's going to make me feel sick.' But how many times have all of us done that? Why? That's how our bodies are programmed. So if you eat less than your basic needs, if you starve yourself, you'll always backfire, you'll gain the weight back, and you'll probably gain back even a little bit more. People gain an average of five pounds for every diet they go on. Bethanne Patrick: The second one is the calorie myth. What's that about? Dr. Mark Hyman: If you look at how calories actually work in your body, different foods have different properties beyond [their] calories. For example, if I [drink] a Coca-Cola which is pure sugar, it goes straight to my bloodstream. It turns on messages that make me gain weight. If I eat a diet that's full of Fiber and whole foods that has the equivalent amount of calories it has a different effect. Doctor David Ludwig, one of the top scientists and researchers in obesity in the world at Harvard, did a study with three different groups of kids and gave them three different breakfasts: oatmeal, field cut oats and omelets, exactly the same calories. What's fascinating is that the kids that ate the oatmeal were hungrier, they ate 80 percent more food that day and their biochemistry was different; their cholesterol was higher. Bethanne Patrick: Really? The oatmeal eating group? Dr. Mark Hyman: Oatmeal enters the bloodstream quickly. The omelet group had sort of a slow-burn effect. In other words, the calories were released slowly into the bloodstream and they didn't trigger these hormonal responses and these genetic responses that trigger us to eat more and be hungrier. Get More Health Advice Mark Hyman discusses how to achieve greater health and vitality and lead an age-defying, disease-free life. Listen to Dr. Hyman's Podcast Interview Podcast Interview: Read Your Body's Manual How Does Inflamation Affect Your Weight? Chocolate and Other Fats to Help You Slim Down Download a Free Sneak Preview of 'UltraMetabolism' Buy ‘UltraMetabolism' Get More Health Advice From Dr. Hyman Find More Self-Help & Wellness Interviews More Tips and Advice From AOL Coaches Bethanne Patrick: The third one is the fat myth. Dr. Mark Hyman: The fat myth is the idea that if we restrict fat we will lose weight. The Women's Health Initiative shows us that low-fat diets don't really help. And I think that the real important point here is that it's the type of fat that you eat that makes the difference. I think one of the things we don't realize is that if we eat a diet full of trans-fat or the steak fats that are in processed food, it really goes to a part of our genes, turns on messages that make us gain weight, that slows metabolism, that makes us have more inflammation, that makes it more likely that we get diabetes. If we eat the right fat [like] Omega-3 from fish oil, flax seeds, walnuts and seaweed, they will turn on the genes that make us lose weight. Bethanne Patrick: The carb myth is sort of is the same thing. Dr. Mark Hyman: I say to people that carbohydrates are the single most important thing you need for long term health and weight loss. That goes in the face of what a lot of people are saying right now. The reason I say that is carbohydrates are the source of all the Vitamins and minerals and what we call phytonutrient or plant chemicals that help us stay healthy. Things like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, Beans, nuts and seeds -- these are all carbohydrates. Bethanne Patrick: But they're good carbohydrates. Dr. Mark Hyman: Absolutely. It's the ones that are processed and refined and full of sugar that are bad for us. Bethanne Patrick: The sumo-wrestler myth is about skipping meals. Love that name. Dr. Mark Hyman: Yeah, well sumo wrestlers are made, not born. The way they're made is actually the way most Americans live. Like a sumo wrestler, they wake up, they may skip breakfast, they do a little activity and then they eat a huge meal and go to bed. When you skip breakfast and eat dinner before you go to bed, you're going to gain weight because your metabolism slows at night. When you fall asleep with a full stomach you're guaranteed to gain weight. Bethanne Patrick: The French paradox myth is myth number six. Why is that? Dr. Mark Hyman: Well, we think that the French are healthy and don't have heart disease because they drink wine and eat butter, and that's not true. Actually, they're getting more sick and more overweight because we're not only spreading Democracy, we're spreading obesity across the globe, including in Europe. What they used to do was eat real unprocessed and whole foods. Bethanne Patrick: So that's the key -- the unprocessed. Dr. Mark Hyman: They ate fresh food. They went to the market place every day and walked, because that was how their villages were set up. They also enjoyed their food. They didn't have the two minute lunch, they had the two hour lunch, and when we have pleasure and enjoyment with food our digestion and metabolism is geared to burn more calories than when we're stressed. When we eat at our desk, we're actually going to shut down our metabolism. Bethanne Patrick: The final myth is the 'Protector Myth.' What is the protector myth? Dr. Mark Hyman: The protector myth is the notion that government regulations and policies around the food industry out there is helping us to stay healthy and protect us from harm. I think that's unfortunately a very sad notion. The food industry makes up 12% of our gross national product and employs 17 percent of the labor force. And it spends 33 billion dollars a year marketing junk food to consumers. Only 2% of the 33 billion dollars is spent on marketing fruits, vegetables and healthy food. We're in a crisis because the only thing you can buy when you go on the road is food that's highly processed, devoid of all nutrients, that's full of calories and that actually turns on genes that make you gain weight and get sick. The entire food industry – the restaurant industry, the diet industry, hospitals, drug industry -- everybody profits from people being sick and overweight. The whole system's backwards. We need to stand up for policy changes that can help, such as getting junk food and vending machines out of schools and stop advertising of junk food to children and so forth. Bethanne Patrick: If people are interested in this, where can they go to get more information? You've got a great website. Dr. Mark Hyman: Yeah, www.ultrametabolism.com/aol, they can actually download a free sneak preview of the book. I've convinced my publisher to offer this online which allows people to get a sneak preview. If they're interested then, they can go ahead and get the book. My DVD is available for the UltraMetabolism PBS show, which they can watch on their local stations or get a copy as well.

Why can't you have alcohol. I am only 12 weeks banded but I have had alcohol twice (a friend's birthday party and New Years Eve) with no problems. You just have to be accountable for the calories and make choices about what you are willing to do (either accept the weight gain or work it off). No whining if you don't lose weight the week you chose to drink alcohol.

okay so im going crazy:lol:. after 2 years of debating this im finally going for it. my hubby is in the airforce and we ae currently overseas in germany. i started the first step of making an appointment with my PCM but am terrified of not getting a referral. not to mention even if i do get a referal, so many people are having trouble with tricare. im 22 years old, 247 pounds. 5'8inches tall with severe arthritis and a degenerative hip diesease that can only be fixed by a hip replacement. has any one on here had hip surgeries (i've had 2 so far) and got approved for the band? im worried that it could hurt me instead of helping me with the surgery. they might say the hip diesease caused the weight gain and i know that you cant have any condition that causes the weight gain. you can only have a condition that gets better by less weight. even though ive always been a big girl, i have to admit, i wouldnt be this big if i could exercise more. (my hip has no cartlige in it so its painful to exercise.i still do though, and im sure with less weight on my joints it would be less painful. anyways, thrusday is approaching ever so fast and i have no clue what to do. :ohmy:

Hi it's really hard I know the cravings may always be there unfortunately we have to resist the urge to eat them fill up with protein first and Vegs have healthy things on hand to snack on the less u eat bad things the less u will want them find things to do to keep yourself occupied boredom invites temptation if u have a hobby do that take a walk work out walk the dog clean closets whatever the more u lose the less u will want to eat weight gaining foods that aren't good for you don't keep stuff in the house that tempts you that helps me a lot if it's not here I can't eat it only wish I'd done that years ago lol

The first week went great. Lost 13 pounds. Went from 311 to 299. Then the second week started and I was up a pound. I thought no big deal, probably Water retention or something. Then the next day I was up another. And the next, another. I am on day 12 and am at 303. Making it look like I've only lost 8 pounds. What in the world is going on? I have stuck to plan. 2 meals of 1-2 slimfast shakes, 1 meal of lean Protein and non starchy vegetables. I also get "free foods" of cucumber, pickle, sf Popsicles. I have been meeting goal of 64 oz of Fluid a day. I don't know what is wrong and it's making me sad and frustrated.

I was just sleeved on November 19th. I weighed myself on the 20th and had GAINED 12 pounds!!! As of today I've lost 6 of that. My original thoughts were to not weigh at all until my 2 week appointment, but someone commented that I looked thinner already so I was curious. HA Anyone else weigh themselves right after surgery, to find a gain?? I'm sure it's just Water weight, but STILL!!! That's not what I was wanting to see... Also, my incisions are starting to itch... healing?? The largest of the incisions made a "dent" in my stomach. It is so weird and gross looking. Did this happen to anyone else??

I take two antidepressants, neither of which is weight neutral, but the doctor explained that the benefits outweight the minimal weight gain they cause, so I need the healthy brain more than I need to be a supermodel. LOL!