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Again, I'm not a nutritionist, but it looks like the GNC product you listed is NOT focused on weight gain, and is probably a reasonable Protein source. I found this on BodyBuildingForYou.com: "So What's The Big Difference Between Whey Protein Isolate and Concentrate? Most of the whey protein powders you find will contain mostly whey protein concentrate with some whey protein isolate mixed in. You'll also find a lot of pure whey protein concentrate, and some whey protein isolate. Comparing the two, whey protein isolate is more expensive than concentrate - because it's of higher quality(more pure), and have a higher biological value (BV). Whey protein isolate contains more protein with less fat and lactose per serving. Usually, isolate contains 90-98% protein while whey concentrate contains 70-85%. Whey protein isolate is the highest yield of protein currently available, and it comes from milk. Because of its chemical properties, whey protein is the easiest to absorb into your muscles. Obviously, with its high concentration, whey protein isolate 'would' be the best to use, but like all great things, there's always a downside. It's more expensive, and just because it's more pure, doesn't mean it'll give you more muscle and size. Its extra concentration may not justify the extra costs for you." So...my nutrionists strongly recommend whey isolate, but what I'm seeing is that there may not be that big a difference. Whey protein appears to be better than soy or collagenic for absorption.

No, the Protein powders are not for "weight gain" they are to help "bulk up" weightlifters. They will cause you to gain weight if you eat your regular diet and include them. However if you are using them as Meal Replacements (which we basically are) you will not have an issue with them. I highly recommend IsoPure liquid. It comes in 20 fl oz bottles and comes in different flavors (Grape Frost is my fav). It is the consistency of Water and tastes like Crystal Light. If the flavor isn't strong enough for you, you can even add a little Crystal Light to it but I like it just as it is. Each bottle has 40gm of protein in it so even if you do 1 bottle a day, you'll be all set. It is very important to get all your protein in. Especially for your hair.

Your body is probably in shock mode at the starvation it thinks it is in. It will hang on to fluids and such, so keep the fluids moving through you, this helps the body release fluid! It is not surprising what you are going through, we all do, and this weight "gain" WILL change, just keep following your program. Read other's posts on this site, you'll see that most, if not all, of us go through this. And look FORWARD to your success, you WILL find it!

I guess I’m doing this backwards because I should have come to the “Tell your story” section when I first started perusing VST. I can’t even remember how I found this site honestly. I was using Obesity Help and quickly got turned off by that site because there is a lot of unnecessary drama happenin over there. People leaving nasty and negative comments for each other and what not…just wasn’t for me. So I’ve decided to do all my sleevin here on VST. I’ve gotten so much advice, inspiration and insight from the people here. VST rocks. Now, for the “my story” part. What can I tell you about my overweight life that you haven’t already heard from everyone else? My story is typical - heavy as a child and all through my adult life. Dieted endlessly..lost weight, gained weight, had babies, gained more weight, found love, lost love, isolated myself, battled with self confidence, gained more weight, found love again, yada yada yada. So here I am in my 40s heading into Sleeveland, and I’m asking all of you directions on how to get there and stay there. I have four children and a great husband who deserve to have an active Mom/Wife in their lives so I’m not just doing this for me, but I’m also doing it for them. My husband is the only person that knows of my surgery plans. What’s my reason for keeping it secret? I just don’t want to tell people. I don’t want to hear what people have to say about my decision. I just want people to see me and have their jaws drop. Stop looking at me like that. It’s no different than when people get botox or face lifts. They wanna look better, right? Well in my instance, I’ll look better AND I’ll be improving my health. And the big bonus is that I’ll get to re-ignite that inner me that has been hiding for way to long. I’m bringin Sexy back! My official weight loss surgery journey started in late May, and I’m officially on my way to getting sleeved. As of today, I still have a couple of procedures and tests to complete, and I’m doing my best to get those done so my surgeon’s office can submit my paperwork to my insurance company. (I wanna get sleeved in September *fingers crossed*) In the meantime, I’ll be posting, blogging, and researching everything sleeve here with you guys on VST. My ideal story ends with me getting sleeved, slimming down, and living happily and healthierly ever after…. (yeah, I know that’s not a word, but it has a real nice ring to it). So…that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Shortgal - I agree 80 pounds is great and the size 10's I'm in now are already smaller than the size 14's I originally hoped for. My biggest problem lies in the fact I'm still sitting at a 10 pound weight gain nearly 6 months after plastic surgery. There is just NO WAY that is all from swelling this far out and even though I shouldnt be focusing on a number on a scale I just can't seem to see my way to being happy with myself unless I can take off those 10 pounds plus at least another 5 pounds to account for some of the 10+ pounds of skin they removed. It also doesn't help much that one day my DH will see me trying to watch my food and comment that he really doesn't want me losing any more then the next day he will see something I'm eating and ask when my next fill is as if he thinks I'm pigging out. I don't really feel there is anything wrong with my current weight being my goal. And I've met plenty of women even heavier that I consider at goal. The problem lies in my recent weight gain and whether or not it is a sign of my falling down an all to familiar slippery slope. I'm just afraid if I allow myself to be too comfortable with this weight it will only lead to my continuing to rationalize even more and more weight gain until I'm back to square one.

I'm in a catch-22. I can't afford to have it removed and too afraid that my weight would balloon if I did. I already have other health problems that would be seriously worsened with weight gain. Its not like I'm thin now. I weigh around 132kg. It has only really slowed my weight gain, not stopped it. Until i had my last and first fill, I needed to eat every two hours...

I have consistently been of the belief that some form of counseling should be considered by all of us while losing the weight, either to figure out what triggered teh weight gain to begin with, or to help us deal with the weight loss and "new us" as it happens. There WILL be emotions revolving around this, whether hormonal or not. Some of us have never been thin. Others haven't been thin in a long time. Still others will be dealing with attention we never had before or haven't had in a long time. And others may start getting attention from the opposite sex while our spouses act like we're a bump on a log. There are a lot of things that will stir around massive weight loss, and I personally feel it is imperative that some form of therapy be involved. I think a lot of people go into this thinking that our problems will all go away as the pounds melt off. As some here have already mentioned, the weight gains we had were indicative of a much deeper issue. Those issues are still there for many of us, simply covered up by a lot of eating and fat. It's like burying a body... it may be out of sight for a time, but once dug up, the "evidence" is still there. I recommend a good self-help book if you can't afford a therapist; or check your church, if you are a member, to see if they offer something. You might even find a therapy organization that has a sliding scale, or Overeater's Anonymous which may be free (sorry, not sure). Anything that helps you uncover the root of your issues will do wonders -- it doesn't have to be a professional. Good luck, MrsFlipFlops. I feel where you're coming from, I really do.

Cheri I really love how you process your thoughts on here...very well said and so many of us have the same struggles too. I can't do moderation so I do try and stay away from junk foods. But I do go out an get some every now and then. It has gotten me in trouble but i did reduce 1/2 of the weight gain. I know I need to increase my exercise more to burn more calories. I have just begun my maintenance phase and look forward to hearing more experiences with maintenance too.

I am currently 15 weeks pregnant and I have not gained any weight, I have lost about 20 lbs since I got pregnant..However, it is because my morning sickness is so bad..I plan on keeping my fill the entire pregnancy, if it becomes harmful to the baby then I will get unfilled...I think you kinda have to take the good and the bad...getting pregnant you obviously gain weight, I think a person can control weight gain by eating healthy and getting enough exercise..but I rather gain 100 lbs and have a healthy baby then not gain a pound and not be able to get pregnant...hope you get your positive soon :thumbup: I have been down the road of fertility problems and that 2 week wait is a pain in the butt..

Congrats Cindy! I am in my 27th week and so far i've gained just under 10 lbs. I've had 2 slight unfills so far. The first was at 8 weeks (-0.3 cc) and the second was yesterday (-0.5 cc). I've been happy with my weight gain and my OB has no problem with it either. I know i will start to gain more in the home stretch so i didn't mind putting too much on in the beginning. I was also lucky and didn't have any morning sickness to worry about. Enjoy your pregnancy!

So I am doing my 6 month supervised diet. I went on vacation and gained some weight. I think I am still going to be up by a couple pounds by the time my next weigh in is. Is this going to be detrimental to me? I have lost like 3-4 pounds every month so far (this will be my 4th weigh in).

Some people have a few pounds weight gain right after surgery, but it starts dropping real fast after a few days. I lost 32 lbs the first month, but it really slows down after that. I've lost 60 lbs in 4 months. Not as much as I would like, but I have only 40 more lbs to Lose, so I'm over halfway there.

Hey guys... Ok so i got sleeved on 10/06. As of 3 days ago. my weightloss was of 40 pounds. But today, when I got on the scale, I was up 4 pounds. Im freaking out a little bit... I hope it doesn't continue to climb.... Anyone had a similar experience? Thanks for sharing any thoughts or advice with me.

I have been dealing with me gaining 100 pounds from back surgery. The back surgery has not worked it actually worst due to extra weight gain. I can't exercise at all. I am immobilized due to my lower back issues. I am eating health but my weight is just being maintained. The scared heart diet is really my first attempt to lose this weight and it's not working. I just found out based on my BMI My qualifying isn't going to be an issue. I just am trying on my own to find ways to lose weight. I don't want to go into this without giving it my all????????????????

Good Morning New Friends, I am so grateful to have found this forum! I am a 50 year old relatively healthy married female. Nine years ago I had lap gastric bypass. When I began my journey there, I was 274 lbs and a size 22 about to be a size 24. I got down to a size 10-ish (I really am big boned!) Anyway, I find myself at size 16 and I really loathe my body....I am ready for lap band because I see the results seem FAR better than what I got out of gastric bypass. I don't know what I am more disappointed in...me or the procedure. I gained a TON of weight after I had knee surgery and the doc told me to basically sit down and be hold. I got FAT. Then I needed a 2nd surgery and was "grounded" again....but he told me it was OK to exercise...so I am slowly coming back....but the 40+ weight gain is brutal. In the past, I did Lindora, Weight Watcher, Alli, all that stuff. No long term results. Anyway, I have different insurance now and live in a different city. I am in Huntington Beach, CA and have an *** (Blech!) which is Tri Care Prime. I am scheduled to go to my new primary on 6/20. I come from people who die in their 50's from heart disease complicated by type II diabetes. I do want to be one of those. I don't smoke, I work out 4 days a week...I eat fresh fruits & veggies and little red weight. I take a bunch of supplements but not on any meds. My questions to my new lap band friends: 1. What do I need to tell my new primary about lap band. I am determined to get it approved but your input will help me fast track it as much as possible 2. Are there certain Tri-Care Prime doctors in the OC who are likely to help a patient get lap band? 3. What's the difference between lap band and o-band? Is one better than the other? 4. Who are the best surgeons for this procedure? I genuinely look forward to all your informed input and advice. Thank you. APRPro4U

After a whole year (2012) of no fills due to lack of insurance, and me not being able to afford $350 p/fill, I went and got my 1st of 2 INSURED fill last month, I maintained my weight for the 11months i did not have a fill, which my Dr. said was pretty darn good, as he said he expected a weight gain, as did I. So we were both pretty surprised. 1st fill was 1/10/13 - weight was 259, 2nd January fill 1/31/13 - weight was 254. Im going for my 3rd tomorrow and i cant WAIT!!!! The hardest thing I think i had to "get used to again" was the restriction. After almost a year of being able to eat more than I should, its pretty difficult to only eat 1cup of food. Mentally this is hard. Sort of like starting over again but, Im excited and ready for 2013!!! Have any of you out there had the same experience, how did you overcome the mental hunger - bc its getting more difficult each day.

Lets face it. There isnt one BIG person in the world who doesnt dream about ebing somewhat at a regular weight. I was on that same boat before you. I was a compulsive and addictive eater. Therefor my weight gain was at a fast pace. The lap band however CHANGED MY LIFE. After getting the lapband i realized what real living was. I saw the weight coming off and i got more and more motivated. If you do choose to do it. you will see how your food addiction will turn into a LIFE ADDICTION. you will because addited to the new lifestyle and how GREAT it makes you feel. GOOD LUCK with your decision. J Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

welcome to the site. Congratulations on the weightloss so far. Weight gain is not a good thing but it happens and I`ve had my fair share during the course of my weightloss journey. Are you due a fill? If you`re not restricted enough, my advice will be to get a fill instead of struggling along. Good luck and Happy New Year to you.

I am NOT telling my boss.......... HE FREAKED when I took time off for my consult and kept asking me if I had an interview.... so when I told him I needed time off for appointments (tomorrow and next MOnday) he looked at me cockeyed (thinking I had 2nd and 3rd interviews) so I broke down and told him that I was meeting with a nutritionist.. (NOT telling him about the psych) OMG... it has been nonstop talking about NUTRITION!!! and my latest weight gain..... We are in a small department with adjoining offices so our only coworkers are each other.. he is 60+ and he truly thinks of me as a daughter..... HE IS NOT SUBTLE and basically a loveable pain in the ass..... I am taking PTO days to cover my time. I have told exactly ONE person here because she is a good friend, but I'm already regretting that one too. because she is now making excuses why SHE CANT DO IT.... (I told her today... HEY its not for everyone, but it IS FOR ME, I'm not trying to talk you into it) Good luck with whatever you decide.............. (OH and I will most likely tell people freely AFTER I have lost weight.. because I am HR and I truly want people to know they have the option with our insurance)

I think a lot of overweight people have used their weight at one time or another to create a sort of "wall" against lots of different things. Certainly some of your experiences individually might have triggered weight loss....rape? loss of a child? Some women who have come out of really bad relationships drown their sorrows in food. The main thing is that here no matter what triggered weight gain and supported keeping the pounds on, we've all come a long way! Congrats to you for stepping beyond your past.

I feel like I have made so much progress working towards that golden moment of getting a surgery date- I have been to the nutritionist and she is seeing me in two weeks instead of a month in order to help me try to get the surgery in April- I have so many different appointments I have put them on my phone to keep them straight- a sleep study Monday night from which I head to an Upper GI the next morning, , followed by a treadmill test the next day.... and the psych eval the following week. Even a colonoscopy as I am due for that and my dr. wants me to have it done before the surgery. None of it phases me with my wonderful goal of getting my sleeve. Then- kaboom- my lower back went out. I am already bedeviled with back and knee issues along with fibromyalgia that are a huge reason why I am bound for the surgery. I need to lose weight to ease things for my body but the injuries keep me from being able to lose - you know the vicious cycle! I am on pain medication, even a patch, and am use to living with pain, and relying on the magical Water aerobics to keep me moving and ease my pain. But this is different- it feels like a disc problem and I am bedridden and in agony. So now I have an MRI in the middle of all these other tests to see if I have something that needs surgery. Something is wrong, I know it. And my doctor thinks so too. I am terrified- for one thing the back surgery I had eight years ago precipitated a 120 pound weight gain when I went from being active and alive to being incapactated and eating for comfort. My inactivity is already an issue in my ability to lose but the thought I might need surgery again when I am working so hard to get my sleeve and go for life is completely freaking me out. I told my husband last night that I am thinking of insisting on having my sleeve first even if I do have surgery. Then at least I would have a limited capacity for food and would have my sleeve eating habits . I will try to get it moved forward based on this urgent situation of needing back surgery- so that I can recover for two or three weeks and then once I am moving well and able to have surgery again THEN I would do the back surgery. Just think good thoughts for me everyone! I just can't stand getting so close to getting all my ducks in a row only to have something take the rug out from under me. Sigh.

I think one way to get an inkling of whether the band will suit you or not, is to look at your eating patterns. The band restricts you from eating large volumes of food. If your weight problem is more caused by over eating than by eating junk food and high fat/high sugar, then you are more likely to adjust well to it and be successful. If your weight gain is more from too much chocolate, the band will still help control your hunger pangs but you must supply the willpower to eat healthy food instead of indulging your sweet tooth. Unfortunately, the band doesn't stop you eating crisps and icecream :tongue2: Really take stock of what you eat and compare the meal sizes and frequency, including Snacks, with that of your skinniest friends. I've always known that my problem wasn't that I ate a lot of junk, I ate some sure, but not a lot. My problem was that I ate really huge meals and did absolutely no exercise. The point came home to me clearly after being banded when one night I was eating dinner with a couple of very slim girls from work. I was all proud of myself for my tiny portion and wondered if they'd say anything, when I realised that their portions were just as tiny - they ate like that all the time. What I had considered normal was the same portion that a large man doing heavy physical work would eat (and probably still gain weight on). The band works if you work with it. It has freed me from the hunger daemon and allowed me to make healthy choices because I am no longer compelled by a frenzied desire to wolf down everything in sight. Best thing I ever did for myself.

Yay I just got unhooked from most of the gadgets and the catheter! Didn't have a drain. And I now have water :-D Been walking really good. My nurse said the average weight gain from the gas & fluids is 10-20 pounds. I've only gained 3, so that's awesome! I may ask to stay a second night just so I don't have to be home alone all day tomorrow. Then ill also have help over the weekend and I should be fine to be alone on Monday. They gave me the option. We'll see later on today.

You may have seen my posts about my..what I felt to be lagging weight loss. I think your surgery was within a day or 2 of mine on 7/25? After being a bit depressed about that my husband asked me to go to a Dillard's Outlet to help him find some pants at a good price. My first thought is oh my Lord..it is hot...I don't want to go anywhere NEAR a mall...(but as well all know Dillard's is usually an anchor store so I didn't literally have to go into 'said mall'). Against all my hesitancy I went. There were some dicey moments...I had been up so much and taken so many steps outside of long loops at the hospital which were finished off immediately by sitting in the chair in my hospital room or getting back into uncomfortable hospital bed. I learned some important things even though I have NOT been able to walk much at all with my torn up knee, I actually seemed to have lost enough weight (from the START of my journey 15 months ago, not in POST OP loss)...that my knees were NOT in excruciating pain. I did have moments where are standing so still looking through hundreds of pairs of pants that I had to grasp the 'end caps' as I had several dizzy spells but they passed. I had some clear Premier Protein with me that I nursed off of. I got back and I felt better for having gently pushed my boundaries. The next day, I dropped a bit more weight. We shake our body up and it starts letting us lose. Then it plays 'survival mode' and gives us a stall....it will be a cat and mouse game but sometimes I've seen people who lose a lot of weight in the first 2 or 3 weeks having to contend with some rough stalls..and I wonder if the ppl who lose weight a bit more slowly...do they seem to have less stall..stalls of smaller durations, or ?? My Dr's office emailed a reply when I asked them to look at what my intake was as I was concerned about slow weight loss..and honestly...I have never heard this before but I will post what they said (they do hundreds of these WLS's each month): You are in what we call "survival mode" right now, everything you take in your body is storing to properly heal you. We do not begin to see the rapid weight loss until you are fully healed at 6 weeks. The weight gain is from fluid retention due to the amount of iv fluids you received in the hospital this typically takes 2 weeks to go away. Just continue to focus on sipping hydrating fluids and alternating protein shakes in between. Not sure about the 'rapid loss not occuring until I'm fully healed at 6 weeks but if it picks up the pace, then great!

Hi. I had the band surgery May 2010 and it only worked for a couple of years. So after gaining my weight back, about 65#, primary doctor suggested sleeve. Went through all the steps last year for my date 11/21/2019. However, surgeon had difficulty removing band and port due to severe scar tissue. Still didn't get hiatal hernia repair either. Gained back pre-surgery weight as required, started process again that April with Dietitian but after 3 months canceled due to weight gain, then in August lost 33 lbs using Optavia program by mid-November and set date Nov 30th. Since then I've lost another 19#. Well worth it. Sent from my [smartphone] using BariatricPal mobile app