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Yes he has most of his experience in the xyz surgery, but the sleeve is a close second. His concern has to do with regaining weight and resolving other health issues like type 2, high lipids ect. As he tells it weight gain is about 8-10% with the xyz surgery as opposed to 15% with the sleeve. Truly I just want to be done with this and get on to living instead of existing!!!!!

Hi All I'm a newbie to this site, and am currently going through the pre-op clearance process. I am 90% sure this is the decision for me (sleeve), however, I still have some doubts. What I am most concerned about is the maintenance phase of this journey. (Is it weird to have nerves about that part so early in the game??). I've just completed a 1 year cognitive behavioral program to help change my relationship with food (this will always be a work in progress--never "cured"), and see a nutritionist weekly (even before surgery consultation). I am trying to begin following some of the bariatric guidelines now (drinking Water 30 min before meals, eating slowly, chewing a lot, being mindful of meals and not multitasking/inhaling food) I'm hoping this will introduce me to the structure I will adhere to the rest of my post-surgery. Here are my burning questions for the vets out there who've had this surgery 2 years ago or more (that are past the honeymoon phase and have had some time under their belt in maintenance): 1. Did you ever find you were subject to weight gain, even if you followed the "rules/guidelines" (monitored Protein, water, 30 min in between h20/meals etc) 2. If you did steer off course for a bit of time and happened to gain weight---did the weight come off when you went back to the "old rules"? I guess what I'm asking here---is do/did you find weight loss just as difficult as when you were heavier? My personal nightmare is to go through this surgery, and gain it all back. I am not a fast food eater, I don't even eat big portions. I am a sugar addict and while I often go for days without eating sugar/sugar products (flour/pasta/rice etc), I will wind up in a state where I'm binging like crazy. (Still working on this--will be a lifetime battle) Thoughts/Pearls of Wisdom?

My program doesn't allow for any weight gain. I'm nervous everytime I go. They weigh and record it at every appointment, nutrition, support group, surgeon,psych etc so I have a system down. I weigh myself in same outfit same time of day so my scale matches dr scale. I go every week and check my weight on a kaiser scale at the health information center then I have them log it in so I'm never suprised when I get weighed in. If I feel heavy I do all shakes for a day or two with extra Water and one low sodium meal at night it helps me a lot. By day two my tummy is flatter and I feel lighter. Clean food and a daily walk keeps me losing a little every week. Good luck.

I understand before I even went to my pcp I had to make up my mind if I was gonna quit for life for this! It is a hard decision I understand, smoking to me was almost a best friend...lol...but one I know I have to let go! We have decided for me that chantix with Wellbutrin would be right for me! With the sleeve right after I quit the weight gain associated with quitting would be gone! You can do this! And for life! To have a life free from nicotine and obesity is priceless;)

I'm becoming very frustrated and wondering if I have some kind of metabolic issue. I'm 5 1/2 weeks Post op and I find that on days that I don't exercise I gain 1 pound. I am following all of my nutritionist's guidelines (and what I've learned on here). I am aiming for 60 grams of Protein per day and only eat carbs that come in my low fat, no sugar added greek yogurt (I eat Dannon light and fit which only has 80 calories per day). I eat three small meals and stick to around 300-500 calories per day. I am losing, I try to exercise daily for an hour, but in reality it generally ends up being 3 days a week. I know that I need to be better about that. However, I weigh 274 and at this weight and the limited calories it seems like I should be losing even if I don't exercise. Curious what you all think?

I have read articles about this as well. The first couple weeks of exercise can slow or even result in weight gain. I have done light workouts with little effect, but did an advanced body pump class followed the next day by an intense 90 minutes session with a personal trainer. I gained 3 pounds on the scale in that 48 hours... But I know it is my sore muscles swollen and holding into extra fluids trying to heal. Don't let the scale discourage you, after your muscles acclimate the excess fluids will be shed and the fat loss accelerated. The inches and fat loss are far superior to the typical loss without exercise. The more sore you feel, the more you will see the impact on the scale, but it is temporary. Just Fluid retention caused as your body adapts towards becoming a leaner stronger machine.

Zoe, I'm sorry to hear about your back trouble. I really hope that the steroids help you asap so that you can feel better and not have to worry about those things causing any weight gain. I'm struggling a little also with weight gain, but mine seems to be attributed to lack of finding the oh so ever sweet fill spot A little background... I have the Swedish band that holds 10-11cc's, so it's the larger band... I flew back to Monterrey for my first fill. I was filled to 5.0cc's (no significant restriction felt) A month after that, I had my second fill with Dr. Houston. He filled me to 6.4cc's. (perfect restriction, a little too tight at first, but I hung in there and it loosened up) On February 19, I was in Monterrey with a couple of ladies who were getting lapband surgery, and Dr. Rodriguez said that he would give me a fill if I wanted/needed one. Since I was already planning on getting another fill soon, I took him up on his offer. (No restriction at all after this fill, as a matter of fact, I felt wide open again) A week ago Friday I went back to Dr. Houston for another fill. (Still no restriction) He said that I only had 4.5cc's in my band. I knew that my restriction had disappeared, not sure what happened in Mexico. Dr. Houston filled me to 6.2cc's using flouro. He said that he didn't want to go any tighter than that based on what he saw on the screen. Last Friday I went in to Dr. Houston for yet another fill, this time he filled me to 7.8cc's! I thought for sure this would do the trick, but to no avail, I still have very little restriction. I'm kind of giving up (for now) on fills....I'm going to see how I do over the next 4 weeks. I keep gaining a couple pounds, then putting myself on a stricter diet and it taking a couple weeks for me to lose those two pounds. Hopefully I will reach that "sweet spot" again with my fill level and start the losing ways again. For now, I'm just kind of frustrated, but have worked too hard to start gaining weight again so I'm going to be extra careful about what I eat and start moving (ugh) a little more. At least the weather is starting to get nicer, maybe I'll be more enthusiastic about riding my bike again. Hang in there! Hopefully you can discontinue the steroids soon~

This is my week 7 post op. I read a lot of messages on this forum and posted a lot of questions before my surgery. So I thought I had done my research and this was the right thing for me. Boy was I wrong. If you are considering vertical sleeve surgery (or any bariatic surgery), and are not more then 100lbs over weight, please read this message. I have been a healthy person all my life (40 yrs old). The worst sickness I ever got in my whole life was the flu once in a while. I have had a history of weight gain and loss all my life. At the time I decided to go through the vertical sleeve surgery, I was 80lbs over weight, and my knees hurt when climbing stairs due to my high weight. I would have also developed diabetes if I had not lost weight. I also felt that I didn't have enough energy [i wanted to play with my kids]. I had to wait 6 months before surgery (insurance requirement). My nutrition counseling visits were a joke. I gained another 20 lbs thinking o, I am going to loose all this weight after the surgery so let me eat up for the last time. My surgeon told me that I will be out of work for 2 weeks post surgery (which I naively assumed to mean it will take me 2 weeks to get better). After the surgery, every second of my life has been hell. Now, I am constantly sick. I have non stop nausea. I have bile comming up from my stomach and living happily ever after in my mouth all day every day. My taste buds have changed so that smells from any food make me gag. I am not able to eat or drink ANYTHING to save my life or give myself energy for any length of time. Most days, I don't even have the energy to speak much less walk. I am constantly dehydrated and lethargic. I look and feel like a zombie. [Remember I wanted to play with my kids :-( ]. My back hurts so bad that I have to wake up in the middle of night and support myself with my arms instead of my back. All my follow up visits with the surgeon have been same. O' you are healing well, the incisions look good. You just need to eat more Protein and drink more Water. I recently made a list of all that I used to do with my extra weight and low energy and I am not able to do A SINGLE thing from that list anymore due to this surgery and its consequences on my body!!!! If I had used the 6 months prior and 2 months post surgery to honestly trying to loose weight, instead of opting for the surgery, I would have lost enough weight to put me in a healthier body. I didn't have to screw up my body to the point that WHATEVER IS DONE CAN'T BE UNDONE!!! I don't know if I will feel better in 3 months or 6 months or never. Imagine the guilt I feel for turning myself from a healthy person to a sick lethargic one. If you want to loose weight so you have energy to do things, THIS SURGERY IS NOT THE ANSWER. There is more. The surgeons de-emphasize or blatantly don't tell the long term consiquences. You know how they tell you that you will have to eat extra Vitamins after the surgery. The exact truth is...The part of your stomach that processes some vitamins (B for example) is mostly cut out. Your body is no longer able to process it doesn't matter how much extra vitamins you take. You will have to be monitored for Vitamin deficiencies for the rest of your life. Eventually, you will have to get Iron infusions or Vitamin B shots once you develop these deficiencies. I wish I had gotten banded instead. Atleast, I had a way to undo the damage I have done to my body and my health. If my email doesn't convince you, Please go see a gastro doctor or some other kind of specialist (other then your surgeon), who see patients who have gotten bariatric surgeries done. Ask them about long term complications. Since my surgery I have talked to two gastro specialists and both of them told me about the deficiencies and how they see patients like these all the time. And now I have to go through a ton of more procedures to make sure there is nothing wrong with my surgery. I am wasting so much time and money, this surgery has consumed my life. My goal was to be healthy, not to be screwed for the rest of my life. And I feel the later is what actually happened. Please do more research then read about the happy customers on this support group.

When I was in my teens I wasn't fat but thought I was!! I weighed 125 to 135#'s but I wasn't like the other girls I wasn't tiny and petite. So even when I was thin I always felt out of control. My mom never had veggies, or potatoes. We lived on meat and gravy on bread. I never developed good eating habits. Then I met my hubby and got married when I was barely 17 and he moved me away from my mom, I couldn't wait to feel normal. I got prego but still, my weight gain wasn't bad. I started eating whatever I wanted, you see my hubby and I had one giant thing in common FOOD!!! He weighed 350#'s when e were married. Years passed I gained weight, pound on top of pound!! Had my 2nd child at 23 but I became a Diabetic on pills then shots. Losing weight wasn't a problem but I never learned how to keep it off. At one time I weighed 285#'s. My diabetes just kept on getting worse until I could not control it at all. We both have a little more in common now, food isn't our main focus!! We have 8 grandkids that fill our hearts to the brim with love!! We are closer now than ever. So I have a lot to be happy with. I had my WLS and I have been in maintenance for 3 and 1/2 years, hubby has lost 200#'s total. Life is AWESOME!!!

Has anyone heard of gaining weight when you transition from mushies to solid food? The nutritionist said that there is a possibility of a small weight gain initially....what the heck?!?! Is there any way to avoid that???? Thanks, Katie

Your attitude will help you lose the weight faster. Why? Stress slows weight loss. Stressing over stalls helps them hang on longer. Dump the stress, dump the stall. Your wisdom serves you well. http://www.caloriesecrets.net/can-stress-cause-weight-gain-or-weight-loss/

I have had my lap band for 11 years . I lost about 90 pounds and was fighting to maintain but had cancer twice 5 years ago and had not been to see my surgeon but after struggling with acid reflux and weight gain I made the decision to get my band checked about a month ago he did a X-ray and saw that my band was too tight so he removed almost all of the fluid. I had a month of freestyle eating I went back for a recheck I gained about 4 pounds. He is going to gradually refill me. What I’m trying to say is go to your surgeon he will help you that is his job. I’m feeling really optimistic!!

I lost 20 pounds before the surgery on the liquid, I just spoke to my nutritionist who informed me that my weight gain was not out of the ordinary. But thanks for your kind words of wisdom. If you read my post I asked those who had a similar situation for their responses. I already knew where I went wrong. But I guess you're perfect.

I thought this was good advice: Think you need a fill again by Nikki Johnson Do you remember that feeling you had when you first had your band placed? For a while, everything was great. You didn't experience hunger, you felt satisfied with a small portion of good food, you had more energy, and you were thrilled with your initial weight loss progress.[/color][/size][/font] If you are like most people, your experience changed over time, Some of those feelings of hunger returned, and you stopped losing weight. You knew you needed something, so you went to your surgeon's office and asked for a "fill" right? If so, you might be surprised to learn that it is your thinking about your band, and not the band itself, that needs adjusting. The LAP-BAND Bad Word Paul O'Brien, MD, FRACS, is a skillful, compassionate surgeon and a foremost expert on the LAP-BAND System. he was involved in its design in the early 1990's and placed the first band in Australia in 1994. Since then, he has treated thousands of patients and is recognized worldwide for his expertise. When his patients utter that worst of four-letter words, "fill," in his office, they are asked to throw a dollar in the Red Cross donation bucket--a reminder that, according to Dr. O'Brien, thinking about a "fill" is just wrong thinking. How can a concept that we hear about so constantly be so very wrong? Dr. O'Brien's answer is simple: "Any adjustment to the band is something that only takes place in the context of clinical consultation--part of a relationship of trust, honesty and communication between patient and surgeon--that is much more key to the success of the patient than the precise number of milliliters of Fluid in the band. This concept of partnership is the central theme of Dr. O'Brien's new book, The Lap-Band Solution--A Partnership of Weight Loss. Patty's Note: Available on Amazon.com ISBN#9780522854121 Like many people, you might assume that weight gain or a sustained plateau means an incorrectly adjusted band; in fact, you may be right. But you may be surprised to learn that weight gain sometimes results from a band that is too tight. This is part of the reason why the "fill" concept is so misleading. If your surgeon determines that you are not losing weight as you should, then discovering why that is happening is crucial. Sometimes adding fluid to the band will only make matters worse. Life in the "GREEN ZONE" Most people who have the LAP-BAND operation will have an amazing feeling of disinterest in food for the first week after surgery, before any adjustments are even made to the fluid in the band. According to Dr. O'Brien, that lack of interest in food is referred to as satiety. A related but different feeling is satiation, or the feeling you get as you are eating, precisely at the point that you don't need any more food to eat but you do not have an uncomfortable feeling of fullness. These two feelings--satiety and satiation--are what the properly adjusted band helps you achieve, allowing you to maintain your new healthier eating habits. Your careful observation and truthful sharing of your feelings and eating behaviors, combined with the expert care and training of your surgeon and his or her staff, can make the very individual determination of whether your band is properly adjusted much more accurate. In order to help create the most effective partnership between themselves and their patients, Dr. O'Brien and his colleagues at the Australian Centre for Obesity Research and Education have developed a concept they refer to as the "Green Zone". When patients are in the green zone, they experience satiety, satiation after properly-sized small meals, and satisfactory weight loss or maintenance. However, there are also yellow and red zones, both of which indicate that the band is not optimally adjusted. If your band is too loose, you will not have the benefits the band's hunger-controlling mechanism. If your band is too tight, you will have trouble eating properly and may actually gain weight because the foods you can eat more comfortable, that tend to be liquid and calorie-rich, like ice cream and chocolate, do not provide the proper nutrition. Learning to recognize when you have the feelings and eating behaviors that signal a problem can help you give your surgeon the information he or she needs to help you keep the band optimally adjusted. Thinking Adjustment Once you have eliminated the concpet of "fills" from you Lap-Band vocabulary, you will be able to let go of much of the conventional thinking connected to it. Perhaps you have heard talk about the "ideal" amount of fluid in the Lap-Band. While it may be helpful to have some idea of how much fluid is in your band, Dr. O'Brien says there is no magic number. No perfect amount of fluid will provide the best results for everyone. He says, rather, that "whatever volume of fluid is needed to achieve the [feeling of non-hunger] is the correct volume." When you notice that you are feeling hungry or are not losing weight, your body is telling you it is time to revisit your partner in weight loss -- your surgeon. your success absolutely depends on this relationship. So rather than thinking "adjustments," adjust your thinking, and, in partnership with your surgeon, find a lifetime of health! For more information about all of the themes discussed in this article, please see Dr. O'Brien's book, The Lap-Band Solution--A Partnership for Weight Loss, which is available fro Amazon.com. We also invite you to visit LAP-BAND® System Forum - Home for more information and supportive resources.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Not me, and good hook in the thread line. I went 3 months with no weight gain or loss. Not until I got a fill that gave me restriction did I start to lose more weight. I was OK with that since I wasn't really dieting very hard up to that point. I've been on diets for years and was waiting for the band(my tool) to do it's job(I paid for it damnit). tmf

That's what he said. Not to worry about te weight gain because once a fill is done they would melt away.

Hello, I am 32 years old 5'8 and 235 pounds. At my heaviest I weight 270 pounds. I have yo-yo dieted it seems like my whole life. At one point I lost almost a 100 pounds and went from a size 20 to a size 10 in less than a year. I was unable to maintain the weight past a 2 year period. I just watched the Dr. Oz show about the new FDA regulations for people who are not considered morbidly obese and I am seriously considering the surgery. I don't really have any medical problems, but I feel that depression is becoming a real problem for me. I worry about dating, about starting a family- I just don't feel confident enough with myself and the depression is impacting my life more and more- I know weight is the main problem! Also, although I'm healthy now, I worry about the health problems that I will have in the future. Don't get me wrong, I know that food and weight gain is a symptom of the emotional stuff. Believe me, I've read all the books, watched all the shows- In fact, I was invited to an Oprah Winfrey show after reading the book Women, Food, and God. However, to win the fight against your emotions - it has to be a 24/7 battle. I would like to have a life that's not consumed with eating or trying not to eat. I would appreciate any opinions.

I take a psych med with weight gain side effect too. I'm 3 wks post op and it has stopped working. Granted it's an atypical antipsychotic used for off label dosing for insomnia. High unreccomended in the psych world these days. No one said anything about the usage during WLS but I think it should have been addressed. Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

Can someone please share what is meant by 5:2 eating plan...? I see some use it for stalls or if there is weight gain. Thanks. I

There is a search button at the top of the forum. It may help to look up topics that relate to your situation. Some links that may interest you. https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/418753-weight-gain-after-veg/?tab=comments#comment-4684219 https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/381839-has-anyone-be-re-sleeved-revision/?tab=comments#comment-4312175 https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/418208-causes-of-revisions/?tab=comments#comment-4676887

I don't know about the weight gain, I had my sleeve procedure done on 12/21/15 and been very successful with loss, so far. However today I had some cream of wheat and although the it was very runny with milk, I think it expanded in my stomach and that was a nice adventure. I think each time we are able to add food, our bodies react differently and maybe retain some water. If you have started to be more active your muscles may have taken on some water that will go away as soon as your glycogen stores have depleted as well. I hope you get it figured out. Keep us posted. I go in for my 1 week checkup on Wednesday as well.

My Story: I'm from Chicago but now live in a suburb just outside of Chicago. I've been dealing with being overweight since my sophomore year of high scool. Prior that I was the skinniest kid in my home. My weight gain started with taking birth control to regulate my periods and from there it was all down hill. I am 39 with a husband and a step-daughter who just turned 18. I've been in her life and help to her raise since she was five. My husband and I have been trying for 13 years to get pregnant with no success. After going through surgery to remove my gallbladder I paid a visit to my new Gyne for the first time quite a few years back and I was prepared with tons of information on what I thought I have. After two sentences she looked at me and said "You have PCOS". All of the symptoms were in plain view including the embarrassing dark ring around my neck, horrible acne, and coarse facial hair. Finally I had a doctor who had a concrete answer for why I was feeling like crap and experiencing these emotional highs and lows. Fast forward I attempted to ask my PCP about Bariatric Surgery and she looked st me with a stern cold expression and said you'd have to be on a six month supervised diet and your insurance may not cover it. I was already having enough of a hard time so feeling defeated I gave up and kept suffering through attempting to lose the weight only to gain it all back and then some. Moving forward its been eight years since I've seen that PCP and I've been with my new PCP a couple of years. He keeps pressing me to lose weight and I want to but it is hard having PCOS. I am now on two blood pressure medications and Metformin for my PCOS. So thats infertility, insulin resistance, borderline diabetes (Pre-Diabetes), and high blood pressure that I am dealing with and all with a BMI of 51. Tall and wide is definitely not the look that I am going for. I just want my life back. I have alienated all of my friends, and most of my family. Most of the time I lock myself in my home and comfort myself by sitting behind a computer learning computer programming languages. I breakdown inside every time I see a baby and pray that its not too late for me. I recently looked back into having Bariatric surgery and discovered that BCBSIL no longer requires the six month supervised diet. With all that is going on with me I am not even sure which surgery is best for me. I don't know where to start or how the process goes but I am going to schedule an appointment with my PCP to discuss my options.

I do believe that sugar is toxic for us....Here is an article I thought you might like to read and give your opinion on..... Your Brain on Sugar It gives you a rush, messes with your mind, and always leaves you wanting more - and now researchers are calling for the government to regulate the sweet stuff like a drug. Is sugar worse for you than, say, cocaine? According to a 2012 article in the journal Nature, it's a toxic substance that should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol. Researchers point to studies that show that too much sugar (both in the form of natural sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup) not only makes us fat, it also wreaks havoc on our liver, mucks up our metabolism, impairs brain function, and may leave us susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, even cancer. So far, no federal action has been taken (advocates blame industry lobbyists), and experts say simply raising awareness isn't enough, especially when 80 percent of our food choices contain sugar. "It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion," says coauthor Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. Nevertheless, after the shock of hearing the news, many of us shrugged and turned back to our cupcakes. Yet, truth is, women in their 20s and 30s may already be feeling the effects of too much sugar without even realizing it. Here, the most common sugar-induced issues and how to beat them to prevent long-term damage—and feel your best right now. STRESS EATING For a pick-me-up, you may feel the urge to inhale a bag of M&M's or scarf down a box of Cookies. But the impulse goes deeper. To examine the hold sugar can have over us, substance-abuse researchers have performed brain scans on subjects eating something sweet. What they've seen resembles the mind of a drug addict: When tasting sugar, the brain lights up in the same regions as it would in an alcoholic with a bottle of gin. Dopamine—the so-called reward chemical—spikes and reinforces the desire to have more. (Sugar also fuels the calming hormone serotonin.) THE FIX In times of stress, dieters are more likely to binge, studies conclude. That said, a cookie once in a while (say, twice a week) is fine, but on most days go for oatmeal with brown sugar, suggests Jeffrey Fortuna, Ph.D., a health and behavior lecturer at California State University, Fullerton. The whole grains fill you up and the sweetness is just enough to release serotonin. INEXPLICABLE WEIGHT GAIN You stay away from burgers and drink diet soda. But sugar—both real and artificial—is the secret saboteur. When the pancreas senses sugar, the body releases insulin, which causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen for energy. Eat too much at once, though, and insulin levels spike, then drop. The aftermath? You feel tired, then crave more sustenance to perk up. Faux sugars don't help. "Artificial sweeteners travel to the part of the brain associated with desire but not to the part responsible for reward," says Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, a researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Nor do they trigger the release of the satiety hormones that real sugar does, so you're more likely to consume more calories. THE FIX Feed sweet cravings with fruit (the Fiber will help keep insulin in check), and sub in sparkling Water for diet soda. If you must indulge, go for a small snack made with real sugar, and eat slowly. Add fruit or yogurt to feel fuller and prevent a crash. BRAIN FOG Blanking out in the middle of a meeting? Research out of the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that sugar forms free radicals in the brain's membrane and compromises nerve cells' ability to communicate. This could have repercussions in how well we remember instructions, process ideas, and handle our moods, says Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, Ph.D., author of the UCLA study. THE FIX Stay under the USDA limit of 10 teaspoons (40 grams) of added sugar a day. Read labels and available nutrition information at chains: A 16-ounce Starbucks vanilla latte and Einstein Bros. bagel will max out your day's allotment! A wiser choice: black coffee and plain yogurt with antioxidant-rich blueberries and walnuts, sweetened with honey. AGING SKIN Sugar causes premature aging, just as cigarettes and UV rays do. With young skin (generally under 35), when skin support structures collagen and elastin break down from sun or other free-radical exposure, cells repair themselves. But when sugar travels into the skin, its components cause nearby amino acids to form cross-links. These cross-links jam the repair mechanism and, over time, leave you with premature wrinkles. THE FIX Once cross-links form, they won't unhitch, so keep sugar intake to as close to zero as you can. "It's the enemy," says Dr. William Danby, a dermatologist with Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire. Avoid soda and processed pastries and trade sugar packets for cinnamon—it slows down cross-linking, as do cloves, oregano, ginger, and garlic. A SLUGGISH WORKOUT Muscles need sugar for fuel, so carbs (which break up into glucose, a type of sim-ple sugar) can kick-start your morning jog. But fruit or prepackaged Snacks touting "natural sweeteners" contain just fructose, which is metabolized in the liver, not the muscles. The result: bloat, or even the runs. THE FIX A glucose-packed snack with just 4 to 8 grams of fructose—it'll help increase glucose absorption, says Dr. Richard Johnson, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver. Try a sports drink like Gatorade or trail mix with dried fruit an hour before your workout.

Dub, good lessons being learned. I am with you, I pretty much do not eat out in a normal way anymore, just not worth it. When I do eat out, I just order an appetizer. Now that my weight loss "fast" time is done, I know that weight gain is possible... so being very vigliant about my eating and exercise. I had a major shoulder injury four months ago, but that is better and am able to start swimming again this Monday. On eating fast -- I was always an inhaler... very fast and very big servings. The stomach will not allow big servings so even with the small serving, I was still eating way too fast. At 5 months, began in earnest to change that habit. Set an old fashioned timer (the one with the avocado green dial and a big ringer) for 20 minutes, and the divided all of my food into thirds, to be eaten at 6-7 minute intervals. Sometimes I would space out and forget, and all of a sudden the food was gone. Finally, now at 10 months, I have my slow going on.... 98% of the time. Whew. Same thing on drinking Water with meals. Big bad habit. Now, never drink 25 before or 30 after, it is finally habit... Still trying to figure alcohol out. At 10 months, had my first beer last night, actually 1/2 beer, sipped. A 1/4 cup of wine sipped over 30 minutes is my normal. It goes right to my head.

Hello. First-time poster here. Had sleeve surgery February 19, 2010. Lost 20 pounds in 5 weeks. Was on blood pressure meds and was taken off due to much better readings. Then the water weight pounded on me. I've gained 6 pounds since getting off the Benicar (bp meds) a week ago. I'm so discouraged. Not losing anymore. Eating the same. I am a huge fan of fish...eat it daily. Very few carbs. Hoping it's the water weight gain and it will even off soon and I'll start losing again. I drink water all day long...I mark my cup with a marker as I drink all day making sure I drink plenty! I know it's water weight gain because Benicar is a diuretic...and suddenly I am no longer taking one...plus I can't get my rings on my fingers! AND my eyes are SO puffy! Thanks for listening!