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So... what happens when you stop checking out the forums every day and quit tracking? Well, for me it means weight gain. Hit my low of about 165 and then... well... then, essentially have been on a bender since then. It's been about a month. I know what I have to do, I just have to actually DO IT. I'm up 4lbs and can't seem to shake it. I'm NOT going over 170 again, but I have to find that happy medium between starving myself and gorging myself. My solution: start holding myself accountable. I'm starting over today. Tracking, posting, and weighing daily. For others out there in the same boat, don't give up or give in. Take it one day at a time and don't let setbacks get you down.

The most common side effect of trazodone is weight gain. I’d avoid that one!

I had surgery two and a half years ago. I, too, had an extremely traumatic childhood, part of which involved being frequently left home alone without food. That obviously led to a host of eating/food issues and a considerable weight gain in adulthood. I've lived with a fear of starvation since childhood, so was also concerned about whether I could go through the various eating stages for the surgery. What really bolstered my confidence was when I was able to severely restrict my food intake a few weeks *before* the surgery, paring down my calories to about 800/day, which is what I would live on for the year after surgery. After the initial fear wore off, it actually became easy. I was really shocked at how easy it was. Plus, I was lucky to have weekly therapy to discuss my progress and concerns. The surgery resulted in my losing my lifelong fear of starvation. My brain now knows that there is always food available to eat, that I won't be threatened with hunger, etc. It has been really uplifting. I hope this happens for you, too, whatever your childhood issues were.

Hi. I’ve struggled with my weight for most of my adult life. My weight has fluctuated so much and I’m tired of looking and feeling the way I feel. I lost my mom four months ago and it hurts like hell. I wish you all the best and I pray for your comfort-emotionally, psychologically and physically. I’m scheduled for surgery on December 10th. I’m nervous and worried but I’m also excited to look and feel better. My back and feet hurt constantly and my anxiety and depression is all over the place and I dread taking pictures and going out because I’m so ashamed of my weight gain. Since my mom has passed food has definitely been my comfort.

I know every surgeon is different, but I to- went in to speak with my original surgeon about a resleeve procedure and he advised that is was a bit of a tricky procedure and heavily weighed on whether there was dilation of the pouch and/or scar tissue. We decided against it and I'm currently in pre-op for revision to RNY (GERD, weight gain) Of course, do what you feel is appropriate for you, but make sure to ask a lot of questions because I didn't take a lot of things into consideration when bringing the idea forward. Good luck!!!

LIke @Jaelzion, im a grazer. Its what i've got to do as I am limited as to what i can eat at one sitting...both during weight loss phase AND in maintenance (but more so in maintenance as a need to keep calories up) I'm 3 years post op (and been maintaining my current weight consistently for almost 2.5 years) and this way of eating hasn't (yet) resulted in any unintended weight gain. For ME it doesn't seem to matter how often or what I'm eating...just total calories...so it doesn't matter if eat 2000 cals in 3 meals or if its spread out in 15 small snacks throughout the the day....end result is still the same.

The further out I get, the more I adopt the attitude of Never Say Never. I have regular crap food in my diet. As I do healthier stuff (i love me some salad). I love food and can thoroughly enjoy eating in my much smaller quantities. Balance and portion control is key for me. I started eating bread again (the regular, non-keto, full-everything kind WiITH butter) about 2-ish years post op…and surprise, surprise, I didn’t implode. Warm, fresh bread is THE BEST (my Mr. is the bread whisperer lol). Now, I won’t eat 5 slices anymore, I’ll likely just have 3-4 bites (as it is very filling for me), but still. Other than excess sugar, I can enjoy a wide range of foods with no ill effects nor unintended weight gain. Im 3 years post op and been maintaining my weight consistently at 115-ish since reaching goal almost 2.5 years ago…non-healthy food choices (with portion control) and all. My most recent labs a couple weeks ago showed once again that i am the picture of health. I do understand that for some folks, some foods are triggers or potential starts of slippery slopes. I guess just know what your boundaries are and strive to stay within them. You may not be perfect, but u can be perfect ENOUGH. Indefinite denial and avoidance, especially if it causes you angst is a meltdown waiting to happen. P.S. For those early in the process, for me it helped to tell myself: “Not right now, but maybe later”; or, “This kinda sucks, but it won’t always be so”. Making peace with the fact that nothing is forever helped with accepting my present circumstance. and who knows? what u really want today may not even be on ur radar tomorrow or next week or next year. And if it is, you can always have it then. Good Luck! ❤️

slight weight gains when you're in or near maintenance are very common, but I'd try to get ahead of that because it could start getting out of control if you're not careful. It's way easier to lose 5 or 10 lbs than it is to lose 50. I've been in maintenance for about five years now, and I allow myself a few lbs of fluctuation, but when my weight gets up to my "oh crap" number, I spring into action. It's all hands on deck until I'm safely back in range. If 172 is comfortable for you, maybe have 180 as your "oh crap" rate? (just a suggestion - you could make it anything). To get back down, just really buckle down and make sure you're following all the rules until you're safely back down to where you want to be. note that a 10% gain (10-20 lbs for most of us) is VERY common after you hit your lowest weight. It usually happens during year 3, but then, you lost your weight very quickly, so you're likely already in maintenance even though it's only been a year (and congrats, by the way!! That's an impressive loss!!). That 10-20 lb gain is not inevitable, but it seems to happen to the vast majority of us without much "effort" on our part. I think it's just your body settling in at a weight it wants to be (not saying that you're doomed to stay there - with effort, you can get lower - but our bodies do seem to want to settle in at some "set point" - unfortunately, my "set point" is about six lbs more than I want to be, so it's a constant struggle!!)

Hey everyone I had the switch in September of 2020. I was 419 pounds and got to the lowest point on October 14 where I was 172 pounds. However in the last 3 weeks I am back to 179. I’m getting all in my head and trying to figure out if I’m doing something wrong or is there going to be weight gain regardless. I just figured I had more time. Any feedback would be super amazing.

I’ll be 2 years out post VSG in January… lowest weight was 122 back in February… now I am 135 and I have an 18 month/2 year check up tomorrow!!! I am freaking out! I’ve been working out and trying to gain muscle but this weight gain has me stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, you name it uhhhh. Anyone else in the same situation want to talk and help each other out?

It's really frustrating! It happens to a lot of people; it took me 7.5 months to have the surgery, but your delay sounds really unfortunate. As @ShoppGirl said, you will be there before you know it. Work on the depression the best you can with therapy and medication if needed (If you start medication for depression, make sure the doctor tries a medication that is less likely to cause weight gain). I found that once I was set to have surgery, I tried to live a more "bariatric" life, by eating more protein and fewer carbs and exercising more. It's so hard to do any of this when you're depressed, but at least try upping your protein. It will help you feel less hungry, or at least it did for me. If you can take a walk in the fresh air, it might make you feel better for a bit. (Of course, that depends on your weather... I live in Boston where we have crap weather a lot, so I often walk in the mall!) Stay strong!

Try not to be too discouraged. These are the hurdles that your insurance company hopes will make you give up so they don’t have to pay for your surgery. Keep getting treatment for your depression and do the best you can with your weight. I bet once you have a surgery date you will be able to lose a bit if you want to. Be kind to yourself though. Depression is real and weight gain or loss is not at all uncommon. I have actually had it present both ways in myself. When I was younger I would lose weight during bouts of depression but now that I am older and also on medication it makes me gain (not sure if it’s age or the meds that cause it but I can’t change either so I just accept it). I have my fingers crossed for you that your consult appointment goes on as planned and you are able to officially start this journey. Once you are on the other side of surgery looking back you will realize it goes faster than you think. But definitely keep getting treatment for that depression because you want that under control before surgery to give yourself the best chance at losing all your weight post surgery. Keep posting on here too. This is a pretty special community. It’s been very helpful for me. Congratulations on your decision to pursue WLS and best of luck on the next few hurdles. You’ve got this.

I had a sleeve gastrectomy too & had some reflux before surgery. I was also a lot like you in that I spent years not eating & skipping meals so my metabolism was pretty shot & I enjoyed a large glass of wine or two at night. I eat more now than I did before surgery (smaller portions but more frequently) & I’m making better food choices. My metabolism is much faster - I feed it all day long. Only have a drink about once a month, occasionally more often or an extra glass & I don’t really miss it or look for it. I still have reflux but it manifests differently but is generally managed by 20mg esomeprazole everyday. The average weight loss across sleeve & bypass is about the same at around 65% at the five year point. That is 65% of the weight you need to lose to put you at a healthy bmi. This takes in bounce back regain, complacency weight gain, lifestyle choices, medical conditions, etc. As with all statistical data some stabilise at a higher point others at a lower point. The surgery will get you so far. There may be physiological & psychological factors which influence your success but ultimately it is up to you. I lost all the weight I wanted to lose plus more - 137% loss. Wasn’t intending to lose more but it took me while to sort out my maintenance. Been stable for a year now. I made sustainable changes to what I eat & when I eat & came to terms with why I ate. I still have odd days or times I’m not hungry but I still try to eat because I recognise I need to eat for my body to function. Eating because I need to not because I want to was an important realisation & contributing factor to my weight loss & now in maintaining my weight. Not perfect about this though because I do enjoy the odd treat but I’m careful about what the treat is, the portion size & why I’m eating it. Good luck with whichever surgery you have.

im curious about the weight gain on the RYN, how is that possible with having no stomach? What is it that stretches? I thought with RYN weight gain was tougher? Im having my RYN tomorrow. Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

My surgery date is November 12 and i just went to my Pre- Ansesthesia Testing yesterday. I notice when i got weighed that i gained 5 pounds, my surgeon told me that she doesn't want me to gain anymore weight, now I'm stressed out I've been working out and cutting back calories as i was told to do. but instead of loosing I've gained, I don't know if me being on my period for the past month has anything to do with the weight gain either. I just hope this wont postponed my surgery I've worked so hard these past few weeks

I will say coming from someone who has had PCOS for 20+ years it is it’s own can of worms as far as trying to get it under control. I have a great doctor who realizes the struggle with it. Since starting on my pre-op weight loss I have realized how much it affects our weight. I can literally get 10-20 g more of carbohydrates per day and cause a weight gain. And I don’t necessarily mean “bad carbs” I mean even starchy vegetables, etc. There are some great PCOS resources out there for eating specifically for that disorder. Hoping you can find a plan or doctor who understands and can better help and treat you. I know the frustration it causes.

pictures are included so please be advised before hand I do include the surgery pictures just not to gross just the healed scars and all of what a fleur de lis tummy tuck looks like!!! 💢‼️‼️ Well it will soon be my 2 year anniversary for the gastric sleeve and let me tell you what kinda of world wind it has been! To this day if I eat more then 4 ounces of steak I can’t eat anything for the rest of the day since it feels stuck but so far I have been able to eat regular foods. My breads still have to be toasted to not get the tummy gurgles. My stomach talks to everyone especially at night so if I am in a night class and I haven’t smacked at my usually 4 hours it’s like “hey professor hear me answer you” so YES my stomach after I eat speaks to the whole room and after hours as well. The bathroom problem is still a problem so I can poop regularly for 2-3 days and after I’m stuck for 2 day with nothing unless I have a day full of meals then I am golden. I also had a fleur de lis tummy tuck back in January. And that itself was a mess and such a hard recovery which was worth it to fit into my clothes, just wish I didn’t have those hiccups. food wise I have been eating a bit more from what I did in the beginning but never a full size normal plate always the little cereal bowl. So I would say I can eat about a cup or so of food depending on the food heavy steaks only 4-5 ounces and some side dishes. But it’s always at 8 ounces max on good days and other day a bit more. I was seeing a nutritionist even at 2 years in and she had been amazing. weight gain and loss : before my surgeries I was at 256lb after I lost 92 pounds, then after the tummy tuck they removed about 10lbs of skin from my mid section. i was down to 147lbs in January of 2021 after the tummy tuck then now in November I have normalized to a regular weight of 154lbs -156lbs in all it had been a very very long journey and I would say for the most part I would do it again if given the opportunity. now for the pictures guys it has been really really amazing to see me like this find me on Instagram ☺️ @aishas1992

I didn’t gain any weight while in the hospital. But then again I was clearly not overly hydrated as most people are because I had to go back and get fluids. My clinic did tell me not to weigh myself for the first two weeks though and I think that was probably because of fluid and inflammation causing weight gain.

It differs person to person. Some say a couple of days some say a week. I didn’t drink much for the first 3 or so days because of pain on swallowing from swelling so the IV fluids likely compensated for me not drinking. I wasn’t peeing any more than I usually did. I weighed myself day 4 post surgery & I was 1.5kgs less. I didn’t notice much abdominal swelling either & had no gas pain at all. This was totally different after my gall removal surgery - gas pain for days, bloated & took 4 days of peeing like a racehorse to lose the 2kgs I’d gained. But as I said we’re all different. We retain fluids differently. Our body reacts to trauma differently. Our surgeons operate differently (mine uses little gas in bariatric surgeries but uses more for gall). We heal differently. As long as you realise any weight gain is likely from the surgery you’ll be fine. It certainly won’t be from eating copious amounts of food 😉. Hope all goes well with your surgery.

Oh, the unsolicited advice & sometimes hurtful comments. People do get over it & as @ms.sss sud it becomes old news. Now I just get comments about how good I look 😉. When you first loose the weight it is a bit of a shock to others & yourself. They (& you) have a picture of you in their heads & it dues to align anymore. Like they can’t recognise you anymore. It takes time to get used to how you look being so much slimmer & for that fat image to be replaced. Also you will find that once your weight stabilises your remaining fat seems to resettle around your body. At first it seemed I had lost my hour glass shape & I had no butt at all. Now, my waist is definitely there again & I have a little booty but my weight has not changed. If you are working on toning you’ll likely notice the resettling more. And don’t forget either that muscle weighs more than fat. As @ms.sss also said your weight will be lower if you have skin removal. So it is something to take into consideration. I think you may even find that the abdominal fat you see is really just loose skin. I didn’t go down the skin removal path as I don’t have much loose skin. (It doesn’t impede me in any way & isn’t noticeable even in fitted body con clothes.) There are a lot of factors that influence how much loose skin you end up with: highest weight, how long you were overweight, age, gender, genetics, weight gain & loss history, etc. So you can never really compare what you look like with others. Though we’re human & we can’t always stop ourselves doing that. 😉 I always say you have to find a weight you are happy with, are healthy at & can maintain without having to make too restrictive sacrifices that limit how you enjoy your life. Only you know what weight that is. Congrats on your weight loss. You’re looking amazing.

I just found in another post how this is normal. It was the 7 day post gastric sleeve post. I was so glad to read those responses I thought I was having complications. By the way my weight was up to then I did some yoga poses for gas pain relief and started passing Flatbush and having diarrhea and my weight start going down. I had been told the weight gain was the gas they pumped into us to do the surgery and we had to wait till the bod absorbed it. guess mine finally is. Also any surgery is treated by the body as an acute trauma so you have holding on of fluids and inflammation that adds to that weight gain. Give it 3 days and the normal surgery weight gain will go away.

Unfortunately the feeling of failing is very common. A lot of it comes from poor information from your surgeon & your team. I don’t understand why they don’t prepare people better on what to expect. It would greatly reduce a lot of the anxiety people experience after surgery. Makes me angry. So sorry your surgeon & team didn’t private you & don’t seem to be on your side through this. Ok, first. The heady amounts of weight you lose at the beginning doesn’t continue. The rate at which you lose will reduce as you get closer to goal & are eating more. Losing about 1-2lbs a week is pretty average by months 3 or 4. Some my lose more, others less. You will lose at your rate. Many factors affect the rate (age, starting weight, previous weight loss history, gender, etc.). Stalls (plateaus) happen. Think of them as your body taking a break to come to terms with the stress of the diet & weight loss. You may stall from 1-3 weeks at a time. Every pound you lose is a win. Sorry but eating one meal a day is ridiculous. How are you able to consume 60g of protein plus a variety of other nutrient sources in one meal? It’s physically impossible for you! No wonder you’re feeling hungry. You are hungry!!! Do you have a dietician/nutritionalist? Once eating solid foods the goal should be introducing healthy eating habits (when you eat, what you eat, why you eat) which is why we’re advised to eat 3 meals a day & some (like me) are encouraged to add snacks as we progress to ensure protein & other nutrient goals are being met. Your portion sizes will increase as you progress too. Eat slowly. Don’t be afraid to graze on a meal for 30+ minutes if necessary. It takes time for the message you’re full to get through. I still try to eat only until I’ve had enough. (Do I really need the next bite or just want it?) Keep protein the biggest part of any meal or snack & eat it first if possible. Having a small amount of whole or multi grain carbs is ok - I was allowed to eat rolled oats from the purée stage. I even could have any fruit from around months 3/4. I went to my dietician every two weeks but honestly, I worked most of my eating plan out myself - she just confirmed I was making sensible choices & suggested some alternatives. You have to work out a way of eating that works for you & while you’re losing is the perfect time to begin. Do lots of reading (avoid the fad stuff - they’re never sustainable), reflect on your eating habits (trigger foods, foods you crave, what drives you to eat, weight gain/loss history, etc.) & how your lifestyle may impact your eating plan in the future (you have to be able to maintain a weight you’re happy & healthy at while still being able enjoy your life). A too restrictive diet will fail because it will limit you enjoying your life. You will get where you want to be. Good luck.

I too wonder what my maintenance calories are because never in my life have I reached that stage. I am quite short so any sort of weight gain is always apparent , so dont really wanna gain 10 pounds extra down the line when Ive reached my weight goal....

Thank you for your responses! My doctors info says it is reserved for patients with BMI 50 or greater, I’m in the low 40s. I also have reflux so I guess that part would make me not so suited for the switch??? I am interested though because just like you all have said, it gives you better weight gain resistance for the long haul. It also, I’m sure, does come with more risk/complications maybe.