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I have not had my surgery yet, but I really believe that when you are so physical while you where training your metabolism gets really cranked up so when you had your second surgery and you physical workouts have shrunk down so far your body is not burning as much, ie. weight gain or no weight loss...My husband is a runner and did the Marine Corps Marathon if he does not train for awhile he gains...How about walking some more and add hand weights to your routine? I live in GA, too and know you can find some really great parks with killer hills!!! You can do it just take a breath and move, move, move.....))) Stay Cool

Hello friends. I wanted to ask for some advice/encoragement. I had my surgery in Jan of 2010 and had lost 70 pounds! When I moved to GA in July I started gaining when I saw my new surgeon. After 4 months of complaining of hunger and weight gain(20 pounds!!!!) they finally dug deeper and found that I had a leak in the port. I had that replaced on Mon Nov 7th and at that time they also gave me a fill. I feel restricted and am back to eating my 3-4 oz portion meals 3 times per day and a protein shake in the morning between breakfast and lunch. However...my weight continues to go up!!! What gives?? I am soooo discouraged because not only was I so excited to finally start losing again, but sad because I can't exercise for 3-4 weeks. I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in February so I had to stop running and will have to start all over again when they clear me for exercise. Could I still be retaining fluid from the surgery? My site is still a teensy bit swollen but not that bad...Any suggestions? I'm at my wits end and don't know what to do or what is wrong with me:-( Please help!!!

I know I had all the tests, but my cortisol was not high. From what I remember, a high cortisol level defintely promotes weight gain and I believe is usually treatable.

A few weeks ago I was sorting through school work and papers that came home in my fifth grader's backpack at the end of the school year and had been left in a pile. In his math folder I found this great handout: Problem-solving Top-ten List." It's intended to help students who are stuck on a math problem, but I found it to be great life advice and very applicable to eating and weight loss battles. What do you think? Top Ten Reasons For Getting Stuck in the First Place: 1. You tried to rush through the problem without thinking. We are often great at rushing into new weight loss programs and diets hoping each one will be the magic answer. Clients often tell me how they've picked programs in the past that weren't compatible with their tastes or their schedules or their preferences and that they probably knew from the beginning they wouldn't want to continue long term. 2. You didn't read the problem carefully. We don't just run into this difficulty with math problems. In many life situations, if we don't clearly understand the problem, we might choose a problem solving approach that isn't going to meet our needs. In my emotional eating programs, I encourage users to take the time to understand their unique situation. Taking the time to understand your reasons for overeating and the types of solutions that will work for you is essential to not getting stuck further down the road. 3. You don't know what the problem is asking for Again, this doesn't just apply to math problems. If we're working to solve the wrong problem, we aren't going to get anywhere. If you are struggling with emotional eating (stress eating, boredom eating, or eating when you are lonely or upset), no food plan or diet in the world is going to fix that--because it's not about the food--it's about figuring out what to do with the feelings. 4. You don't have enough information. I often tell me clients that if they feel like they aren't getting anywhere, or if they feel like they are beating their head against the wall, odds are that there is a part of the problem that isn't being addressed. The program I use with my clients devotes a significant amount of time to showing you how to collect information about yourself, about your hunger, and about your unique relationship with food so that you can solve the eating problems once and for all. 5. You're looking for an answer that the problem isn't asking for. If you overeat because you are bored or stressed or anxious or angry (or any other emotion), the problem isn't about food choice. The answer the problem is asking for has to do with finding new or better ways of responding to your emotions, your stress and your needs. The weight loss industry spends billions of dollars convincing us that if we follow a certain diet we will be beautiful and happy. Food plans don't create happiness and diets (or weight loss) don't help us cope with stress (or anxiety or loneliness or boredom). A schedule of when and what to eat (a diet) doesn't prepare us for what to do when we stop using the schedule, and it doesn't help us figure out what to do INSTEAD of eating or overeating. The truth is that diets aren't the answer for this problem. Enduring change and enduring weight loss happen when we make changes that work with our lives--not when we try to maintain behaviors that leave us hungry and grumpy and feeling like we are missing out. 6. The strategy you're using doesn't work for this particular problem. I'll say it again. Diets tell you what to eat. Often, being on a diet will increase the amount of time and energy someone spends focusing on food. Diets don't teach you how to change patterns of emotional eating or overeating when you aren't hungry. They don't teach you how to feed yourself and expand your life in ways that won't leave you feeling deprived. Users of my program and participants in the groups I run are often surprised at first by how little time they spend focusing on food. The programs I offer don't count fat grams or calories or carbs because I feel it is most helpful to target the *reasons* you feel hungry and the *reasons* you eat even when you aren't. My focus is helping you GET OFF the diet rollercoaster and put food in a much smaller place in your life. 7. You aren't applying the strategy correctly. If you've been dieting for years, it can be hard to move out of the mindsets of deprivation and of blaming yourself when the diet doesn't work (even though the diet was probably doomed to fail in the first place). Using the right tools takes practice. I find that clients initially have a hard time looking at their eating patterns and their emotions without feeling the old self-blame, shame and guilt. One of the biggest benefits that clients in our emotional eating programs and groups note is being able to stop feeling guilty and bad all the time. That's huge! 8. You failed to combine your strategy with another strategy. If we try to fit ourselves into a strategy or a program instead of finding a strategy that fits and works with our specific individual situation, we're likely to get stuck. Cookie cutter eating plans and programs are problematic because we are all different. For instance, my Emotional Eating Toolbox™ program guides you to your own answers and strategies through the work you do and the answers you provide about yourself. You are encouraged to explore a variety of strategies and choose the solutions that will work for you. 9. The problem has more than one answer. There is no ONE magic cause of weight gain and there is no ONE magic answer for weight loss. People's paths for taking control of their emotional eating will be different. Once you have the basic set of tools, you will be more successful if you learn to use them in the way that complements your personality, your strengths, your struggles, and your life. 10.The problem can't be solved. This one is tough--both with math problems and with life. Emotions and tough times are real. We might not like them but we can't just wish them away. Trying to ignore or bury emotions doesn't work well in the long term either. The truth is that there is no diet or food plan that is going to help us cope with tough emotions. If we forget about the emotional part of our eating and simply focus on the food, we're going to get stuck and we're likely to fail. And then we are likely to blame ourselves--which isn't helpful either. There ARE powerful tools that can help anybody get through the emotions and situations that they struggle with. When we learn them and practice using them it's easier to put food in its place, make choices that feel good about eating, and put more energy into creating the lives we really want to be living. Melissa McCreery, Ph.D. is a Psychologist and the founder of Enduring Change Coaching. She helps her clients create and live the life they crave. She is also the creator of the Emotional Eating Toolbox 28-day Program for Taking Control and Moving Beyond Dieting. Sign up for a free teleclass about emotional eating after WLS, learn about upcoming WLS seminars and other programs or contact her www.enduringchange.com.

He was less than professional. All he needed to say was let's get you back on track. I'm sorry your feeling hurt. I don't do any follow ups with my bariatric program. I get my check up and blood work up from my family doctor. The great thing is your not on your own. You can contact another bariatric program out of your area. The dietician can mail or email you the food plan instructions. Many people here on bariatric pal are willing to share their diet instructions for you to use. None of us are perfect. Many of us have had weight gain. Getting back on track can be done. You have our support.

I just have to post this regarding weight scales. They are a good thing but can also be your worst enemy. I have read countless post regarding people that get on the scale and do not lose any weight and then get depressed and feel like if they did not lose they might just as well eat. YOUR SCALE IS YOUR WORSE ENEMY AND YOUR BEST FRIEND.....................you just have to know when to use it. For those of you who feel the need to weigh on a daily basis............STOP. When you were gaining weight did you weigh daily..NO......WHY???? because you did not want to know how much you had gained since yesterday. This weight gain may not have even been due to the amount of food or what you ate. Maybe the food you had was full of sodium and your body held on to more fluids and that is where you weight gain came from. It is the same after you have the surgery.......WHY WEIGH DAILY???? You did not put this weight on in a day so why do you think that it is going to come off in a day. Yes some of you will lose weight fast and on a daily basis but this is not true for all of us. My suggestion would be that you pick a day of the week and weigh only on that day. This will keep you from being down on yourself so often as you may not lose weight everyday or even may gain a pound. If you can stay away from weighing daily then take your scale to a friends or the neighbors and go and weigh once a week. You will know when you are losing weight when your clothes are getting lose, your pants do not fit as tight or you are not huffing and puffing so much going up the stairs. The scale is only a measurement and can not be used as the single instrument in your weight loss. Please to those of you who let the scale control your life after WLS get rid of them.

Hi Blondie, Weight gain/stall is very normal during these stages. Just know that this is 'temporary'. Your new stomache is healing, and so is the rest of your body. Stay on track, follow your surgeons instructions and before you know it, you will be shedding off those pounds. Hang in there (hugs)

Well, today I saw the Endo, but it didn't go quite how I would have liked. Becaue I don't have the strechmarks, and because I work out I don't have the thin arms and legs, he doesn't think I have cushings, but he ordered the 24 hour urine test and three other tests. (my husband has my PDA with that information). I do know they are testing my testosterone because of the increased body hair, the increased facial hair (6 laser hair removal treatments and it is all growing back) and the male patterned baldnes, he thinks I might have something wrong, like a masculinizing tumor, but probably not cushings. He wasn't interested in my sudden and unexplained weight gains, my fatigue, or my inability to lose weight. I think the man weighs 150 soaking wet. He's going to send me to a doctor that specializes in metabolic issues, although she mostly sees professional atheletes. He kept refering to me being obese (no kidding) and thinks that is why I'm having all the problems. He thinks I should work harder at losing weight. (hello! I had WLS for crying out loud, I work out, and I've managed to lose 15 pounds net since April. I'm not terribly optimistic, but he didn't dismiss me altogether either. He did tell me to stop taking the thyroid medication. He looked at my test results from Jan and couldn't believe the other doctor put me on thyroid medication. This doesn't mean that I don't have Cushing's, it just means that I won't know until after I get the test results back from the lab, and until I finish peeing in a bottle for 24 hours. Oh joy that one... I just sort of thought that after reading all that I've been able to read about Cushing's that some of the major symptoms that I have would have been looked at, and not brushed aside. He wasn't interested in my journals, my before and now pix to see the difference and I was disapointed at that. The Cushings's board said to bring all that stuff, and he didn't even want to see any of it.

Ok so lets start with stats Heighest 270 Surgery: 238.1 Current 223.2 * I actually gained 4 lbs in 3 days* Height 5'7" So let me start off my saying... BLAH!!!!!!!! OK so here goes.. I thought I was doing really well.. I was going to the gym 5 days a week, staying motivated, drinking all my fluids, and trying my best to stay on the program.. Don't get me wrong im not perfect and I did cheat.. normally I don't regret it because I really work my butt off at the gym, but recently I think because I've been justifying my cheat with a "well ill just work extra hard at the gym" im actually seriously sabatoging my progress. Let me say though funny part is im not cheating my eating foods im not supposed to eat.. but because i work in a bar im having a drink instead.. SO NOT A GOOD THING as im only 3 weeks out of surgery. Why am I telling you this... BECAUSE I AM GOING TO HOLD MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE! Now here is the kicker... TODAY I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL FOR SEVERE ABDOMINAL PAIN ON THE LEFT SIDE... I was in the ER for 11 hours, and they still have absolutely no idea why i have this pain .. i don't honestly think its because of the alcohol, but it scared me enough to realize that even a small cheat can be DETRIMENTAL to my health. As of now i am still in a considerable amount of pain, docs did an iodine test to see if i have any leaks and a CT Scan, all which came back normal.. SO why the pain? If anyone has the answer to that... PLEASE LET ME KNOW. From now on though.. im stickin to the plan cuz one thing i do know.. even though the alcohol may not be causing my ab pain... It sure as hell is contributing to my WEIGHT GAIN! And it is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy to early to be gaining weight! I mean ive heard of the the 3 weeks stall... but the 3 week weight gain.. GET REAL! So here is my pledge.... I will abide by the rules, i will still hit the gym, and i will hold myself accountable!

i wanted to ask you how do you define "restriction" i know i had the wrong idea of what it was. i thought i would be able to eat like 3 teaspoons of protein and feel like i was gonna throw up if i ate another bite...well to my surprize that's not was restriction is. lol i found out the hard way that true restriction isnt necessarily about how much you eat, but about how long you are satiated between meals. sometimes before i got restriction i would be hungery like 2 hours later. now i can go anwhere from 4-6 hours before i am truley hungry and not just "head hungry". (boy is that a hard lesson to learn as well.) I feel your frustration on the weight gain to,. i was about to jump off a bridge whenever i gained one pound! but i've figured out that my weight is gonna fluctuate a few pounds and now i just focus on how my clothes fit. Hope something i said helps. Keep up the good work. Jennifer

I have thought the same thing at times (why didn't I have the bypass). My sister had the bypass and what happened to her (as the statistics show) is she lost a bunch of weight and then gain a little back. With the band, it is much slower and steady but I don't think there is the weight gain at the end (because you have always been on solid foods). Anyway, my doctor says that after 3 years, the band and bypass end up being about the same weight loss.

my husband has seen me yo yo for many years. he was always amazed of my will power. but the last 2 years i couldn't lose no matter the diet i was on. every medication including insulin caused weight gain. when he saw me in the ER and my heart stopped he got post traumatic stress syndrome. it freaked him out. when i got home from the hosptial he started helping me with medications and started doing more things around the house. he even started calling me from work to see how i was. when i first mentioned the wls he was all on board. reading all the articles on the internet going to my meetings etc. my family wanted me to live and know how hard i tried to lose wt. he just told me today how amazed he is with my inner strength. ahhhhhhhhh :wub:

Last year I went to my pcp for a physical. When I read the report I was described as morbidly obese. I weighed in at 303 lbs with a BMI of 43. I have tried many diets and lost, regained, lost, regained. I decided it was time to change my life and started researching WLS. This journey started in June 2014. I went to one Weight Loss center and felt pressured into having the surgery. At my initial consultation I met with the bariatric coordinator and she was already asking me what surgery I wanted. This raised some red flags and I moved on. My PCP recommended a dr at Rex Bariatrics in NC. I then continued my research and started reading posts on the various forums. I scheduled a consultation with Rex and was very impressed with their program and level of support. I decided to proceed with my journey and started the process. I was required to attend three pre op groups, have a psychological review, get an endoscopy, meet with the nutritionist, etc. With my insurance company there was a six month physician monitored weight loss requirement. While completing the requirements, the insurance company dropped the diet the six month diet requirement. After completing all the prerequisites I then waited for the approval letter from the insurance company which arrived after about two weeks. There was not turning back at this point as I was certain that this will change my life forever. I decided to have the VSG and had a surgery date of October 15th 2014. One day before my birthday. On the day of surgery I weighed 284. The surgery went well. It is imperative to walk as soon as you get back to the room. Unfortunately I tried walking and kept on passing out. That evening I experienced severe shoulder pain. I was told that this was from the gas used to inflate my stomach being absorbed into my body. I was able to work through the pain and the next day I was released from the hospital. I would say that the first three days were challenging. I had extreme pain where they removed my stomach. I was definitely tired. On the fifth day I was feeling much better and off the pain meds. I was out shooting pool by the weekend. For the first month or two I was loosing about a pound a day. One big challenge for me was getting my required amount of Water in. With the lack of water I experienced severe constipation. This was the worst complication from the surgery. I battled with this for many months. I was taking colace and also Amitiza for IBS. When I added Fiber into my diet everything got much better. DRINK YOUR WATER. My goal weight was 195. I was able to hit my goal in about six months. I then went into Maintenance at that point. From eating 500 to 600 calories during my weight lose phase I then went up to about 1000 to 1200 calories and 120 grams of Protein and 60 grams of carbs. I continued to loose weight and leveled off at 187. I thought this would be my optimum weight and stayed between 184 and 187 for about two months. Currently I am eating about 1600 to 1700 calories a day. 120 grams of protein and 120 grams of carbs. I am petrified of weight gain and having a hard time transitioning to real food. I am still having yoghurt, Protein Bar (Quest Apple Pie) and cottage cheese. For lunch I have a protein bar and some fruit. I make dinner my big meal and usually have egg salad, salmon or tuna salad or eggs. I have cooked some baked salmon and some casseroles. As I write this I am weighing 183 and trying to not go any lower. My optimum weight is around 187. Well that is my journey and I hope it will provide some insight on tips and details to help with your journey. Please reply if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them. Again this was the best decision I have made in my life and I no longer have diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for sharing . . . that is great to know. I am also still being very, very careful with my diet so I feel like I will be on the good side with weight gain. So far I am still losing, slowly, but losing.

I was told repeatedly that I could not worry about my weight during pregnany, and it made sense, but it was hard to accept because I was afraid of excessive weight gain. I had jut gotten within reach of my goal, and was terrified of having to take any steps back. You really do not want to lose fat during pregnancy. Not gaining is one thing, but losing fat weight is something entirely different and lots of research out there indicates it may actually be dangerous (excessive ketones in the blood, overall nutriitional health, etc.) On average the baby's "support system" will weigh about 20 pounds. The average term delivery weighs about 7.6 lbs. So that's close to 30 pounds just on the actual pregnancy. It's also normal for the body to try and hold some fat. My OB's office recommends 30 - 35 lbs as an overall gain to target through pregnancy. I'm right in that range, and honestly would not feel comfortable if I was under, even though I really fought gaining in the beginning. I can still wear pre-pregnancy clothes as long as they don't have closed fabric over the baby area, or are stretchy - shoulders, back, arms, etc. still fit the same... so I have no reason to think I've gained any sizes even though I've gained quite a bit of weight. Early on I told myself I would gain 15 lbs. What I based that on was just psychological/emotional, not medical/healthy. Eating well, that quickly got pushed aside. It seemed like every month the scale was up a few more pounds, regardless of how careful I had been. And IMO that's how it should be. Unless I go past term I will deliver this month and my "goal" (I hate goals, but for lack of a better word) is to be within 5 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight by the start of the new year. We'll see how that goes.

You and I are very close in weight and I know how you feel about the difference between the 130's and 140's. I just had plastic surgery this week and from the Fluid, I went from 135 to 142 and had myself a little mini meltdown when I got on the scale the day after surgery. Fortunately, a few days later all of the fluid is gone and I'm back to where I was, but I would love to be down to 130 and I completely understand that even though 142 is small, you feel so much hotter at 130. So..you can get off the weight gaining track! Today is Monday, December 1 which is like the perfect day to start a diet, at least until Christmas. I would really like to know out 5 pounds before Christmas pictures so I eliminated all sweets for the next 3 weeks. Think about all the cute clothes you can wear when you're 10 pounds thinner, and go get on that treadmill.

I'm 16 weeks and I still have no signs of pregnancy.. so.. don't feel bad!! I feel fat when I push on my belly, and no kicks or anything exciting. I am also 6'0 and due to my first trimester weight gain (ahem) I am back to needing to lose 50lbs.

Sunday I did the Insanity workout. I was so sore Monday and Tuesday and I weigh in today and I am up a little over a pound! Can t be related to how sore I was? My food I take was the same so I know it can't be my eating. It's not that time of month. I know I shouldn't be so worried about a pound but I'm just wondering if exercise causes weight gain? When I was working out I felt fine...I went at my own pace and I took breaks and drank Water. Thanks in advance!

I'm in phase 2 soft foods and I'm gaining weight I have gained about 5lbs in the first 5 days. Am I doing something wrong I'm eating 4 ounces every 4 hours like prescribed Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

I think part of success is surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are experiencing success. I so agree with Danny and Sosewsue that the beatings must stop. Experience shows morale NEVER improves under these conditions. I think you have to re-believe you can do this and get hold of things. The first is with utter honesty to yourself and others. So start by making a ticker, posting your stats--take weight and measurments. Then plan, plan, plan. I completely agree with going to see your surgeon and RD for a check-up and to get a new plan. Haul out the old RD plan. And choose the day or meal and simply START. Commit to the one meal. And do it. Commit to limiting snacking and dumping the crap--kick it to the curb. Bring a cheese stick or an ounce of dense protein. And eat it if you feel snacky at first. Then commit to the second meal and third and fourth, then commit to the next entire day...then the next. And it builds up. Success is nothing more and nothing less than tiny, baby, consistent, actionable steps that are repeated daily/routinely. Don't look too far down the road. Stay in the moment and the do the tiny baby step work. The future takes care of itself. Also, never underestimate the power of a good walk to or a good fast workout with sweating and raised heart rate to lift the spirits. Research is showing exercise and getting out in the sun can be as effective as mood elevator drugs -- without the side effects of weight gain. Hugs and hang in there. You've taken the first step. Now it's time to take the next.

Hi, I had my surgery on October 17th in Buffalo NY. My surgeon was Dr. Pham from Synergy Bariatrics. I have to say that my hospital stay was different then I nexpected. Private room, bathroom. The staff was exceptional. Right now I am 4 days out and still having bad spasms. The pain is pretty much gone but the spasms are a real trip. The bad news is when I get on the scale I still have the 7 lb weight gain I brought hoe fromthe hospital which seems unreal since all I have been taking in is water and crystal lite. This morning I actually got a 4 oz. liquified protien shake down and so far no nausea. I am taking this as a very good sign that things are getting better. I just want to see that scale move. Good luck to all. I am so glad to have this forum.

I am five months out and so far have been losing pretty consistently. I lose around 2-3 pounds every week. The last two weeks, I've had some odd changes on the scales and am unsure of the reasons. I lost 1 pound in a day and the next day I put on 2 pounds, which took me almost a week to lose again. In the next week I lost nothing. My periods have stopped for ten months because the GP said it was due to sudden weight loss and weight gain but I'm sure I've been having premenstrual symptoms for nearly two weeks now. My abdomen and fingers are swollen, which makes me think it may be fluid retention, as nothing else can explain a pound weight loss and then a sudden one day weight gain. I'm eating mainly proteins and today was very constipated, even though I take stool softening tablets. I was in agony this morning. In terms of my food, I eat from around 800 calories to 1100 and have started an exercise routine the past two weeks of one hour a day on the epilictical machine and treadmill. I also walk a lot but I don't drink enough water! I know it's terrible and I find excuses but I'm pretty forgetful I suppose. I have a litre a day, if that!

Hey Guys, I'm feelin really bummed today :thumbup:. I decided to get the lapband, I went to the orientation here in Fayetteville, NC and completed all the required paperwork. My doctor was even in my corner, she completed all documents needed and wrote a letter of recommendation stating that my BP is elevating due to weight gain, it's not quite high yet, but due to the weight gain it is elevating. On the paperwork it has that my BMI is a 40 for approx 4 out of the 5 years, but based on the surgeons office that I was going to go to the insurance person for that office said it wasn't good enough, and that my insurance co wouldn't approve it because based on their scales my bmi is only 39.8. That really sucks, I did everything they asked and she wouldn't even give me an appt to see the surgeon.:frown: Now, I'm sort of scared to try another surgeon as I may get turned down again. I am scheduled to go to Duke for the orientation. Anybody had any experience as such that can give me a litte advice. Thanks

Hugs, Jamie. Lots and lots of hugs! It is a vicious cycle - you gain some weight, you feel guilty/stress about it, which causes you to eat more which increases the stress....Try not to put so much pressure on yourself; summon up whatever it takes to realize that the band will still be with you after you deliver a beautiful new baby, any weight gain now is not permanent. Your band is NOT time limited; it will still be there. Take care of yourself and the wee one. keep posting so that we know how you are doing.

Give yourself a break girl! You are a hormonal mess and you are eating for 2. Think about it, you have been through ALOT this past year and I am willing to bet that part of you being hungry all of the time is your body's way of making up for the loss in Vitamins & such that your body has done without for the past year. I wouldn't sweat the weight gain unless you start gaining more than the 30-35 that is recommended for any pregnancy. Take care of that little one