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I kInow my weight gain after surgery was due to fluids... It came right off once they took me off of the IV that delivered fluids to me. I was able to take in my clear liquids pretty good and with the IV delivering fluids as well I gained 7 pounds.... But that didn't las long....

@@dgross congratulations on your upcoming surgery! so many women here saying that pregnancy ruined their bodies, or at least started them down the slippery slope of weight gain.

For me, it was starting on birth control pills. They kicked off an uncontrollable weight gain. Decades later, I found out that what they actually kicked off was a hormone disorder called PCOS. Years of getting diets from doctors only to gain more weight on them. Once I was diagnosed, I was able to lose some pounds, but by then the damage had been done. Morbid obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and arthritis.

Just wanted to chime in about weight gain/weight loss since being sleeved. I was sleeved April 2013 (now over a year and a half out) and I'm still losing slowly but surely. I started at 306.5. Currently at 200 lbs. I'm 5'7", 28 years old, wearing L shirts and size 12 pants are getting big. I don't drink soda (never ever -- people that say "oh I leave it out and let it go flat first"-- that's stupid, I'm sorry. Don't do it), I get my water in, I'm not great with vitamins but my bloodwork looks great so I'm not worried about it (although I do keep up with my calcium and D3), and I try to eat balanced meals (not ALL protein, but a healthy balance while still focusing on that protein). I've had small fluctuations in weight along the way (a couple pounds here and there) and I don't always make the best choices as far as food goes, but you've just got to put everything in perspective -- if you've made it to a certain pant size, do you really want to go back up in size? You've gone through a major surgery and major lifestyle change for this weight loss -- do you really want to throw that away? Hang in there, if you're in the first six months or year DO NOT STRESS about any fluctuations, your body is just trying to figure out what's going on. You'll be fine, just follow your surgeon's plan and get that water in!

My surgeons office says it’s normal for weight loss to be slow to start and sometimes even a little weight gain until week 6. If you are frustrated with it, can always switch something up. Eat more calories, workout a little longer, do a different workout entirely. I’ve been hiking with my dog the last few days for longer than our usual neighborhood walk and the scale is trending down. I’m out of the week 3 stall now it seems. The different elevation is probably helping me too—our usual walk is very flat, this new route is a little hilly.

Good Morning all you fabulous November sleevers! It's been awhile since I posted (Jan). Had my sleeve done on 19 Nov 2012. Highest weight in Feb 2003 was 235; lowest was 175 in 2010. Pre-op weight was 215; 210 after pre-op diet. Goal is 135, which will probably be about 10 lbs too much, but I know there will be some weight gain after the first year. As of Monday the 1st, I'm at 154.6 and have lost 59 inches. I wouldn't change a thing, 2nd best decision I've ever made (marrying hubby is 1st).

I got stretchmarks when I was a teenager (just from growing), and I know lots of people who did, too. It's not just a weight gain or pregnancy thing.

I had the doubts as well when I realized the weight was coming off and the diet was not that bad. I knew I wouldn't have the will power to stick with it though. So many attempts in the pass and all failures with more weight gain in the end. My lifestyle hasn't changed one bit other than being more active and feeling so much better and I'm only 2 months out. I can't wait to see what the future will bring. Good luck to you.

I had posted this on the WLS Veterans forum, but thought it would be a good idea to post this on this forum as well. I had gastric bypass surgery 5 years ago. I was incredibly determined and managed to lose 180 lbs. in a year's time. I'm 5' 9.5" and I went from a size 28 to a size 10. Now, I've regained a lot of weight and I'm starting over. I thought it might be helpful to list the steps that caused my weight gain. My goal is to tackle these 6 and starting moving in the right direction. Does anyone else have additional things that contributed to regaining weight? Stop weighing yourself Stop tracking your food intake Stop exercising Drink liquids with meals and ignore the 15 minutes before/30 minutes after rule Start eating your old favorite foods Stop visiting Bariatric Pal forums

"Fluid taken out of my band so I could train. During that time I was hungry all the time and ate pretty much whatever I wanted." I don't want to sound mean spirited but it sounds to me like you shut off your tool (took the saline out), and ate what ever you wanted. The question is was what you wanted unhealthy fattening foods/ and how much of it? I am a big proponent of the 90/10 theory of eating. Eat what you know is the the right way and good for you food 90% of the time and treats (not always dessert) 10%. When I was preband I was going to meet friends at Chili's for lunch. I normally ordered the bite size burgers with fries. Turns out that meal has 1,000 cal and 100 g of fat! What! No wonder even though I was doing more than 7 hours of cardio a week I was a slow looser. I have a friend who lost over 50 on WW and who bikes like a fiend. They were noticing some weight gain because they had reintroduced dessert. Guess what they had to cut back on. Again, I don't want to sound harsh because we all have our food issues. I don't keep carbs like bread, Cereal, crackers in my house because I don't have good control. I wonder if you journaled your food and if necessary went back to weighing all your food you would notice counter productive behavior.

That's good you are aware of the weight gain and want to do something about it. Sounds like you need to go back to basics when it comes to food choices. What did you eat before when you where loosing? I would go back to those foods. Of course, keep up the cycling! You can correct this minor bump in the road.

Ooh, Kelly, I'm with you in hoping you're not allergic to dairy! I'm a cheese girl, too, even more than ever now, since sleevie doesn't like most meats or eggs. Globe, I really think you should contact your doctor. Something's off, and it's not something you're doing, as far as I can read. Sounds like you're doing exactly what you should with your diet, and you exercise a LOT, in my opinion. Seems like you're burning more calories than you take in, so I'm really puzzled about the weight gain. So strange! But definitely check with your doc and keep us posted! So the last few days I've been kind of overdoing the carbs, even for me (I've never really restricted carbs because of the pickiness of my sleeve). I'm going to get back on a more "normal" diet for me--I'm thinking I'm going to up my salad veggies, lower my chips/crackers and cheese, and up my shrimp. I'm also going to try chicken again--maybe a bite or two with some salad, just to see. I tried turkey on Monday and it was rather emphatically rejected by my sleeve, but I really want to find a good animal Protein source that I can rely on besides shrimp. Need the Iron and protein!

Coops, I have been eating around 1200... and slightly lower carbs...around 70.... Yesterday I ate around 1500 and still lost .4...go figure. My weight is going down. I thought I was going to stay on the same plateau forever... but I have hope to reach goal now! I am 3 pounds from "Normal" and 7 from goal (will probably adjust down another 8-10 as a cushion... that will take me another 10 years to lose!) You can do it! Slow and steady wins the race! I have changed how I eat.. more greens (Kale) raw and cooked, more veggies, flax oil, flax/almond butter, blueberries and more organic produce, grass fed eggs... more Omega 3... I don't eat meat or fish so I am working on getting other sources...fresh local walnuts... less sugar....I read in prevention mag something about omega3(spring fats) vs omega6(hibernation fats) in the diet and weight gain... so I figured it wouldnt hurt, and it hasn't! http://www.prevention.com/food/smart-shopping/vanishing-youth-nutrient?page=2

And that is perfectly fine. And completely your right. Perez Hilton is just blowing this whole thing out of proportion. everything is all fine and dandy with him as long as it aligns with his opinion of life. But when someone goes against how he feels, watch out. Then there is a personal vendetta. He is the worlds biggest hypocrite, as evidenced on how he makes fun of Jessica Simpson for her weight gain, yet praises Beth Ditto (or whatever her name is) from The Gossip on being so hot.

I'm glad that you are feeling a bit better about the whole band process. I've gotten pretty down about it myself at times. I lost 55 lbs from July of 04 to August of 05, and then nothing until last month. Eesh. It gets so frustrating at times!! I don't like that doctors are 'fine' with 60%, and tell their patients not to expect any more than that. That 60% is an AVERAGE, which includes lots of people who lost 100% of their weight, and any people who haven't lost any weight, and everyone in between. I do think that as we get closer to goal, it will be harder to lose, but easier to maintain our weight with the help of the band, if that makes any sense. I'm sure that no one will have much of a problem for you to join the slow losers club. Well, to find out what's going on, I think we need more info! Are you tracking your calories n' stuff? Have you started exersizing (I know, it's horrible)? How much are you eating, and what are you eating? What does your doctor say? *hugs* Also, if you are working very hard, and not losing, go to your doctor and start demanding answers. Find posts on this site by Vinesqueen. She has worked her band as hard as it can be worked, and has lost I think 15 lbs total since being banded (she was down to 30, but gained 15 on a ONE THOUSAND CALORIE DIET!!!). She has been diagnosed with cushings disease and is being run through a gamut of tests, to try and find out what she can do to take the pounds off. Well, feeling better and having your blood suger be in control is good, right? What kinds of stuff are you eating? How many calories are you eating? And what does your doctor say? Like I said above, if you are following all the rules, your calorie levels are good, and you are exersizing, there has to be another part of the equation that isn't being addressed. Another thing to thing about is medications. Are you taking any medications that cause weight gain or anything? Is there an alternate medication you could be on? There are so many factors to weight loss sometimes, and it doesn't ALWAYS come down to calories in/calories out.

A question for any of you who have done the 5 day pouch test. My husband has been out of town and I have had a nasty cold and not really hungry nor can I taste much...so I figured what a perfect time to do the pouch test! I had been stuck/plateaued for a while. During liquids I lost weight FAST! Like 6lbs fast...now that I am finally incorporating some food back in (and good food too) I have noticed that I gained almost 4 of it back :smile:. Have any of you experiened this??

Now of course I mean each morning- not at night! I think because I am post menopause I don't face the TOM weight gain either. I hope I haven't jinxed myself!

I bottomed out around 142 lbs. (90% to goal) in spring 2012 (about 15 months after surgery), but didn't sustain it long, and I ended up stabilizing in the mid 140s for several months. However, since the summer I've gotten very careless with what/how much I eat, and stopped participating in support groups. Now, a bit over 2 years out from surgery, I'm bouncing around between 153 and 155. Seriously, it is all too easy for me to eat at least 2,000 calories a day, which is several hundred above my maintenance caloric load (1,700 - 1,800). 300 extra calories a day X 30 days = 2.5 lb./month weight gain. I never thought of it that way, but it's just basic math. I learned how to eat around my sleeve, have been eating lots of crap, and am back to some nasty pre-surgery destructive eating behaviors. I feel scared, remorseful, and guilty. I must get some help with emotional eating issues, because clearly I haven't fully dealt with them. I started a "slow carb" diet last week and lost a bit over 1 lb., which was disappointing considering I really stuck to it. Then I realized I was still eating at least 1,200 calories a day on that diet. Time to get more serious and get below 1,000 calories a day, until I'm back on track, and once I'm back to the low 140s I must stay vigilant about what I eat. I'm going to take the positive view that this was a necessary (scary) wake up call for me to get back on track before things get further out of control.

Well here it goes. I had vertical banding years ago and my Dr. never indicated if soda was good or bad. In the beginning I could not because of the small pouch, but as I stretched it out soda was fine. BUT I do think soda did contribute to the stretching and expansion of the pouch, and in turn helped cause the weight gain and other issues I now have. I am having revision to Bypass and already steer clear of soda all together. I learned from B4. FYI: My son recently had the sleeve MLS and even though his Dr did not specifically say no to soda, he cannot handle the gas pain it causes.

A couple of things. My surgeon isn't worried about stretching. Also, as I said, I'm talking about one can of soda over a few hours. Finally, I did look for medically accredited reports on stretching the sleeve by drinking soda and I couldn't find any. This link goes to a website, not a hospital or a doctor. The story was written by the anonymous "OC Staff". Are they licensed surgeons - I doubt it. Also, the "article" the OC Staff link to as a reference was also written by them and is says nothing about soda (see below). My point is that a sleeve is less stretchable than our original stomach. As I said, constant over consumption of anything will cause weight gain and stomach trauma... HOW TO PREVENT THE STRETCH AFTER GASTRIC SLEEVE SURGERY Eating one or two large meals will not lead to a permanently stretched stomach or issues with your hunger and fullness triggers. However, doing this multiple times can lead to issues. The list below hi-lights key points to reduce the risk of stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery. Limit volume not sweets. Instead of totally limiting every aspect of your diet, give yourself a reward once a week with a special treat limited in size. But do not go out and eat a large meal – regardless of the type of food. Do not drink when you eat. It’s better to drink your fluids an hour or two before eating and/or an hour or two after. This lets the fluids digest and they won’t increase the amount of gas that can build or limit the amount of space for nutrient dense foods. If you do have a bigger than normal meal, make your next meal small and make sure you don’t make larger meals a habit. If you are always feeling hungry, then eat small amounts of healthy snacks in between meals. Almonds are a delicious and healthy way to feel satisfied in between meals. Get a good book with healthy recipes that are geared for people who have gone through gastric sleeve surgery. We’ve got a list of our favorite books here. DO NOT get discouraged. If you fell off the wagon and binged one or two meals or even the entire previous week. The stomach and the mind is an amazingly resilient thing. Start over and start eating normal meals again. Call your surgeon and ask for help before it gets too far out of hand. Get on the online forums and ask others for help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Here is a list of our favorite forums. So stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery is not a myth. It can happen and it does happen. Be aware of it and prevent it. Remember how hard the surgery and recovery was? Remember what a big decision you made? Its never too late to change your habits and get back on the right track.

Here's the problem with that study and many others. It just proves correlation. Nowhere does it mention what these people's diets were outside of diet pop. Most people who drink diet pop were already overweight and had these diseases. We have no idea what else those people in that study were eating or drinking outside of diet pop so how can we say diet pop is the cause? The very few studies that exist that dry to show causation by controlling the diet of the participants have not found a link to weight gain by drinking diet pop. I ate fruit when I was gaining weight. It would be like saying fruit causes weight gain but let's forget the chips, pizza, and Taco Bell was eating as well As to the Water thing, the main ingredient in diet pop is water so it hydrates you as well. What is baffling to me is people will mix aspartame and chemicals in their water and thing it's better than diet pop.

When I found out I was pregant I was 43 years old and 15 weeks along. I had 2.5cc in my band and was pursuing a course of slow weightloss (2 to 3 pounds a month). I had just gotten below the 300# mark and freaked out when I learned it was likely I would gain back much of what I'd worked so hard to lose. I immediately contacted a team that specializes in helping women who are pregnant post-WLS to manage their weight while ensuring good nutrition for their babies. With their guidance, moderate exercise, and with the tools I'd already learned regarding handing cravings and whatnot (see this post http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/147416-one-year-post-op-no-results-please-help/page__st__20__p__1787949#entry1787949) I managed to keep my weight gain down. The day I went in to labor I was 7# up from my pre-pregnancy weight, with an added benefit that keeping my weight down meant a smaller (7#1oz) baby for vaginal birth. I experienced some nausea and had little room for food the last month of pregnancy and practically lived on frozen yogurt bars and Protein drinks, but did not have my band unfilled because I knew it wasn't my band that was causing the problem, it was my being so pregnant (my mother lived on popsicles on the last month of her 3 pregnancies, she said). I'm 3 weeks post partum and just had 1cc removed from my band yesterday -- I'm struggling to keep down food along with all the Fluid I'm drinking (at least 64oz a day) because I'm breastfeeding and losing 4# a week is too fast. I've dropped 27# from my pre-pregnancy weight, and I've done that by making sure to get up and around as soon as possible. Moving my body and keeping my metabolism up is integral to reducing my weight. I've been walking a mile (minimum) every day since the baby was 10 days old, first with the pram and now I'm wearing him in a baby bjorn for the walks and a few hours a day. I'm 3.5 years post-op and down 90# with 90# to go. It is slow going, mainly because I've got PCOS and I'm a foodie (I like really good food rather than junk-food) who had portion-control issues. I've learned to address emotional eating and cravings, portion control (I use salad/dessert plates for meals now) and to move my body however I can (be it dancing in my living room, parking father away from my destination, or going for a swim). So far, having a baby hasn't hijacked my weight loss -- it's increased my focus. I have doubled-down now that there is a little person dependent on me being healthy and here for the new couple of decades. I suppose what Im trying to say is -- it can be done. The band is a tool, but in order to use it effectively over the long term, you have to develop tools to deal with cravings and portion sizes and food choices, and once you've got those tools down, the lap band is more of a back-up tool, rather than the primary method of weight reduction and maintenace.

I had my surgery and lost about 100 pounds. I was 150 lbs and 5'6" on a muscular frame. I was healthy, very active and happier than I have ever been in my life. Most importantly, I had the energy to be the type of wife and mother I wanted to be Now that we have had our second child I am having difficulty losing any weight. My story goes like this...After a year of trying to conceive, I became pregnant with twins. It was a high risk pregnancy, so I was not allowed to exercise AT ALL. When I asked the doctor if I could at least walk on the treadmill, he said "not even a gentle stroll". Then I went to my lap band doctor and wanted to have a partial unfill since I was carrying twins. He insisted on a complete unfill, which was REALLY difficult considering I was forbidden to exercise. I then lost one of the babies and was devastated. At around 28 weeks I was put on bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy. In case you haven't figured it out, the exercise restriction, unfill, and bedrest were a trifecta to rapid weight gain and I packed on almost all of what I lost to begin with To compound the issue, I fell down the stairs 2 days before going into labor and broke my foot, resulting in 8 more weeks of no working out! I have since had a beautiful baby boy! I am now 5 weeks post partum and have lost 25 pounds. Quite frankly, that is just baby weight and has nothing to do with my partial re-fill. I've had two fills and am up to 5 ccs right now. Prior to getting pregnant my sweet spot was at 5.5 ccs. As of right now I have no restriction though and have lost NO weight with the fills thus far. I go back next week for another fill, but since I haven't lost weight I am worried that there will still be fatty tissue built up around my stomach and will prevent the level of fill I need. I am trying to not be so hard on myself, but I need to lose this weight fast. I go back to work at the end of August and cannot afford a whole new wardrobe because I can't workout and lose the weight in time. I really need a good fill to help balance this out!

I just wrote and article about the link between marriage, depression, and obesity. I think it played a huge role in my weight gain.

This is where you're absolutely, positively wrong. In the short-term, gastric bypass patients do lose weight, pretty much no matter what they do. But after the honeymoon period, this can--and often does--reverse. The body gets VERY efficient, with its new machinery, and if not fed appropriately, weight gain is not only possible, but more common than not. Look, whatever surgery you have, you're going to have to change your lifestyle dramatically or you WILL have difficulty reaching and/or maintaining goal. If you want a magic bullet, you're not going to find it. Anywhere.