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We can argue stats and studies all day long, but in the end it doesn't matter for my success or failure. Whether 200 people in Italy or 20,000 people in the US lost weight and kept it off or gained it all back has nothing to do with ME. I control what I eat and whether or not I maintain my loss. With a few exceptions of certain medical conditions and/or medications that may affect weight gain, every individual controls their own success/failure when it comes to the numbers on the scale. IN general, Regain comes with poor food choices and bad eating habits. There is a big gap between the surgeons responsibility for a successful surgery and the patients responsibility for lifestyle changes. That gap needs to be filled with nutritional education and psychological support. Having a VSG and then eating Oreos or drinking alcohol in excess 5 years out is no different than getting a lung transplant and smoking cigarettes. Who's fault is it when that patient dies of emphysema/cancer/COPD? As a measure of success, of course they are going to look at weight as the main criteria rather than the comorbidities. After all it's called Weight Loss Surgery, not Diabetes Cure Surgery or Blood Pressure Reduction Surgery.

I was 264 and now am 146. I had the sleeve 4/14/14. I have had zero weight gain, however, I am the type to make a decision and stick with it. I made permanent changes and never backslide. I will eat something naughty at times but always stick to the overall plan. I don't drink alcohol and do not focus on food. I did the psychological work to permanently change my emotions. I have done serious work as health us a serious business. I no longer have any medical issues. Diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney and liver problems are gone. I only take an allergy pill, rather than 12 pills and 4 shots. The surgery is not a miracle, it is a tool. Your mind is the key. If you are the type that gives yourself permission to self destruct, you must take care of that. That was my approach. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I'm 4 weeks post op today. Yesterday was the first day I was able to get in the recommended intake of 600 to 800 calories. I was pretty excited. That was until I got on the scale this morning. I've gained 4 pounds. . Since starting this whole process, all I've heard from acquaintances is that I either won't loose, or I'll gain it all back. I WANT TO CRY!!!!Please tell me I'm freaking out for no reason.

I am SO glad to hear from some of the nymphs! Wow, it's been so long! I have wondered how everyone has been as well. I had been doing well. I didn't get to goal, but was okay with the weight I had lost, and then I got pregnant (3 years ago), had a complete unfill. I did okay and didn't gain too much during the pregnancy, then lost a lot of the weight again a few months after the baby was born, but THEN I started to put the weight back on. I have always been grateful I got the band because I know I would have gained and kept gaining without stop. The band stopped the weight gain and helped me get my normal body back (for a little while at least). I do have concerns about some foreign object in my body and what exactly is going on in there. I hope it doesn't give me cancer or something. I know, sounds weird, but I am a bit of a worrywart with things. I've gotten a few fills since the baby was born but honestly I have just been so tired with two kids that I haven't wanted to deal with getting stuck all the time. The band did get me to lose weight but not the way it should have - the way I lost weight was when I was so tight that I couldn't eat anything. I would get stuck, throw up, get an unfill, heal for a month, get a fill, get stuck, throw up, and the cycle would repeat. That is how I lost the weight. I guess bulemia would have been cheaper! lol! (just kidding of course) I just don't want to go through that again, although right now I don't know the alternative because I am back to my overeating ways where I can't seem to stop myself. Every day I start out like I should on "program" but by noon I'm throwing back the junk food. Once I get on program for a good week, I am always okay and do really well. It's just the starting I can't seem to get past. We are in the process of selling our house and moving to a new city which is extremely stressful on me because I love where we live right now. So just lately it has been hard. I wish I could hear from more of the November Nymphs!

I'm scheduled for April 7. I'm nervous wreck. I keep going back and forth about it. If I should have it done or I can lose the weight another way. I had the lap band 2 yrs. then it slipped. so here i am again. weight gained back plus 10 more, since Nov. of 2013. Im afraid I won't take care of myself as I schould and end up worse. I can focus on everyone else but me. I pray I make it thru and dont back out. thanks for listening oceanswaves

I am new to the forum. I recently moved from Wisconsin to Texas and I gained 20 pounds with that transition. I have it down to 15, but I am very upset with myself. I want to be back at my original weight loss weight. Does anyone have a similar story or how to triumph?? Thank you so much.

I have and I will the odd time if I fancy one or I am out boozing, which isn’t often lol I was a massive cherry coke junkie but because I was terrified of getting diabetes I would drink a lot of zero I drank at least 2liters of coke a day pre op we also didn’t have zero cherry then either. My taste for it has changed I find it sweet, I never liked diet coke because it was so sweet to me now zero is the same fake super sweet so not as ahhh that’s the stuff like it was before. I was told by one of my doctors seriously to stretch my sleeve by drinking carbonated drinks all day every day day after day for months and I would stretch it out. Long story short I have a small sleeve it was his way of telling me how I can make it bigger and have more room. 1 soda wont stretch you out 1 a week wont even do it you have to keep on doing it constantly over a period of time to have the gas stretch you out. They just dont want us to for that reason AND soda is a major cause of weight gain even diet when people just cut soda out of there diet and nothing else they drop a lot of weight its crazy. I think I first tired a cherry coke about 2 months out didn’t have more than about 4 mouthfuls in total before I was over it but yeah off and on since no addiction to it for me, had it in a mixer on 27th of dec and didn’t drink much of it none in jan not even half a glass at a baby shower 2nd of feb, had a full can of zero cherry coke today so you can see for me I do but not much.

I finally lost a whole pound over the weekend but unfortunately, it found me again We also went to dinner at friends' home and I grazed/ate over a few hours...got in a LOT of calories and way too many carbs. They didn't know I'd had surgery so it was a teeny bit awkward. I told them about it and they were super supportive but I didn't prepare well for being in a situation where we sat and chatted, nibbling on food and drinking wine. Not as much exercise as I should get, either, so not my best weekend. I'm back on track this week! I did have a lovely NSV, I had ordered some denim capris from Talbots end of season sale in a 12 and a 10...I wore the 12s this weekend! I haven't been out of plus sizes in forever, so that was great! Focusing on THAT and getting over my food stupidity is what I'm planning for the coming week. @@magoosmom I'm so happy to hear that you're seeing good results on the scale. I don't envy you younger women who have to contend with your cycles while doing this weight loss thing...I've been menopausal for about 18 mos (although the hormone dumps have caused some bleeding ) and it's nice to not have to deal with the water weight gain. @@suzzzzz That's tragic about the popsicles...I've been eating them too and had no idea they have that many carbs. May have to reevaluate them, but they've kept me sane at times! I hear you about the shot metabolism...all those years of losing/gaining/losing have destroyed mine.

It's not real weight gain. It reflects swelling, IV fluids they gave you in the hospital and water retention. The number on the scale doesn't mean much this early. You're good, this is normal healing!

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. That would be enough to make anybody depressed, tired. But if you feel like that isn't the reason, keep looking. Like Cindy, I'm not a doctor. But I've spent about 6 years going through perimenopause and menopause and I'm here to tell you, it does a number on you in so many ways. Some of the symptoms, hot flashes, tired, sleepless nights, weight gain, moody, hair loss, vision changes, loss of interest in intimacy and I could keep going. It's so wonderful being a woman. We are complicated and wonderful creatures. It might not hurt to check with your gynecologist. Maybe ask about hormone replacement therapy.

Hi, all! Just talked to a good friend who is a pharmacist. She said that she has seen people on Prozac, Zoloft,---some of the older anti-depressants, as she puts it--gain a lot of weight. Gaining weight would definitely make me more depressed... She recommended Welbutrin XL (300mgs?) or Lexapro (?SP) because she has seen nothing but weight loss on these anti-depressants. I certainly don't want to get on anti-depressants that contribute to weight gain. Being obese is part of my misery. So--there are meds out there that help calm nerves vs. anti-depressants? I thought Valium would only be prescribed for severe, severe anxiety due to life altering events. Am I wrong? I don't know if I'm depressed or just severly irritable (nerves)...I don't feel hopeless and sad, but I do have insomnia at times and could sleep all day at times, too. The VERY WORST TIMES FOR ME ARE ABOUT 7-10 DAYS BEFORE MY PERIOD. Ahh--just want to feel calm. I've never had a panic attack--don't feel that anxious. I'm just on the edge all the time. Make sense? Any thoughts?

Hope things go well! My doctor has me on gallstone medication for 6 months to prevent them. He said losing weight/gaining weight suddenly can cause them.

My roommate and Best friend whom I have known for twenty years is 120 lbs, Atleast Twenty of the pounds she has gained in the year and a half she has lived with me. We both are a little quirky and she says that people get married and get bigger because she is comfortable, she was with her last boyfriend for seven years but didn't get comfortable apparently until she moved in with me. She's my hetero lifemate. She tells people she is 5'0. Shes not, she is 4'11, but I will give her an inch if it makes her feel better. When she was younger her mother used to tell her how she was "98 lbs when I got married, not 99, not 100, 98" She, my BFF, LOVES biscuits, and Cookies, and bread. And the skinny thing can eat too. We laughed about it all the time, because people would see her, then how much was on her plate and freak out. Her mother would follow her around and tell her it was gonna catch up to her. Her mom made these bomb ass biscuits, which my BFF LOVED. If she could she would have eaten 100 biscuits a day, but her mother would put her on Biscuit Restriction. She could only have two biscuits at Breakfast unless she ate a peice of sausage and then she could have three (My BFF was a self proclaimed vegetarian at the time which drove her mother crazy) She would also put her on other restrictions and talk about the way her tummy poked out after she ate and how she needed to be careful. So if my BFF snuck another biscuit she would go to her room and exercise and exercise, then get up and go to the scale and go exercise some more. Then she started to do it everytime she ate because her mom would make fun of fat people. And talk about "fatties". At the time she was probabley close to 85 lbs at 16/17 years old. She had no boobs, and she wanted them so bad, but she didn't have the fat to make them. People thought she was a little kid. Finally she threw away the scale. Talked about her compulsive exercising, told her mom to stop making it so obvious that "she didn't want a fattie", and always ate a third biscuit whether she ate the sausage or not. Now we work out togethor, but she stays off the scale except once a month, and if she has the extra biscuit then we just laugh togethor. She doesn't own a scale and I threw mine away so the only time we can weigh is at the gym. I'm so proud of her. So being skinny, doesn't solve all your problems, which is something that I will have to work on remembering. You can still feel fat, or you can still hate your body, or you can still be a little bit insane like my dear BFF. Oh and since her weight gain she grew some boobs. They are a pretty solid A. Doesn't sound like much, but she's tiny. Life is good for both of us I guess. I'm losing the Big C cup and shes getting closer to her goal of a B cup and we are both happy about that. Go figure.

You may very well be not losing because of drinking with meals. If you don't wait afterwards the food is pushed through faster making you hungry sooner which leads to eating more often which = weight gain eventually! Stick the plan

You are not alone in having a weight gain. I want to kick anyone who says bariatrics is the easy way out. This is work. Getting back on track is overcoming the mental battles. If you are having stress/emotional eating problems, you may want to read some books on this topic or work with a counselor. None of us get to avoid life stresses. Its finding ways to cope without using food. Getting back on track may be hard but, being over weight is hard. Suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Go back to bariatric real food stage basics. Log your food, Stay within your weight loss calories and macros, hydrate and exercise. If you need help with your plan/calories/macros call your dietician for advice. There is a search button on the top left of this forum. Type in weight gain. https://www.bariatricpal.com/search/?q=Weight gain

I have no weight gain to report, but no loss either. It seems I'm holding steady and can't break the 190. I've been fluctuating between 190 and 192 for the past month. I get a 5th fill tomorrow so I'm hoping that will really kick it off.

Hey Suzanne. The headaches have reduced in number since starting the Prednisone. I am gradually tapering off of them, but I have a little over two more weeks left on them. I've been having them on and off every few days. I go to the doctor tomorrow, so I'll let ya'll know what happens. Unfortunately I've blown up like a whale since starting the steroids. My face and stomach is SO swollen and fat looking. I look 7 months pregnant! It's really embarrassing because people are noticing the weight gain. I guess I'm in a rut and just praying I can get out soon! Thanks for asking about me. How is your foot doing? I hope it is better.

Well, I think we can say your surgeon was irresponsible, but your main concern is your weight gain--well DUH stop eating sweets and whatever you want to! Get on a diet. You aren't restricted. Your stomach will stretch. Normal sleeve procedure is to remove 80% or more of your stomach, leaving the relatively un-stretchy part. You are more like a regular person than a sleever, and there was no point to having your surgery. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it's the truth. Just get on an Atkins-type diet and start exercising. You aren't sleeved, you just have a small stomach which can and will stretch.

This struck such a chord with me. My mum has always had a lot of control over my life (even now at 23 years old she opens and inspects my bank statements) and ever since I can remember I had sneaked food out of the cupboards and hid the wrappers in places I didn't think she would find. She has always been very slim and really controlled everything I ate because she wanted me to be just like her. I was always bigger than average because of this but my weight didn't get so out of control until she coerced me into doing something when I was 20 that I have hated myself for ever since. I thought that my weight gain was the emotional fall out of what I did, but you have really got me thinking that maybe it was my way of rebelling against her. Definitely something to consider. Thank you (and everybody else) for sharing so much in this thread. I am very much a lurker rather than a poster but you have all helped me feel so much less alone. I think you're all amazing.

Hi Renewed: Hope this helps. I found it quite interesting (especially #2--I had the same mindset). 9 Cold, Hard Weight Loss Truths: What the Diet Industry Won't Tell You By Brie Cadman of DivineCaroline.com Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, chances are you’ve seen some ideas on how to do so: “Eat what you want and lose weight!” “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!” “Finally, a diet that really works!” “Lose one jean size every 7 days!” “Top 3 fat burners revealed” “10 minutes to a tighter tummy!” But these claims are readily rebuked by anyone who’s tried to lose five, 10, or 100 pounds. Losing weight ain’t that easy. It’s not in a pill, it doesn’t (usually) happen in 30 days, and judging from the myriad plans out there, there is no one diet that works for everyone. Looking past the outrageous claims, there are a few hard truths the diet industry isn’t going to tell you, but that just might help you take a more realistic approach to sustained weight loss. 1. You have to exercise more than you think. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week; this includes things like shoveling snow and gardening. And while this is great for improving heart health and staying active, research indicates that those looking to lose weight or maintain weight loss have to do more—about twice as much. For instance, members of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR)—a group of over 5,000 individuals who have lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for five and a half years—exercise for about an hour, every day. A study published in the July 28, 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine supports this observational finding. The researchers enrolled 200 overweight and obese women on a diet and exercise regimen and followed them for two years. Compared with those that gained some of their weight back, the women who were able to sustain a weight loss of 10 percent of their initial weight for two years exercised consistently and regularly—about 275 minutes a week, or 55 minutes of exercise at least five days a week. In other words, things like taking the stairs, walking to the store, and gardening are great ways to boost activity level, but losing serious weight means exercising regularly for an hour or so. However, this doesn’t mean you have to start running or kickboxing—the most frequently reported form of activity in the NWCR group is walking. 2. A half-hour walk doesn’t equal a brownie. I remember going out to eat with some friends after a bike ride. Someone commented on how we deserved dessert because we had just spent the day exercising; in fact, we had taken a leisurely 20-minute ride through the park. This probably burned the calories in a slice of our French bread, but definitely not those in the caramel fudge brownie dessert. Bummer. And while it’s easy to underestimate how many calories some foods contain, it’s also easy to overestimate how many calories we burn while exercising. Double bummer. Even if you exercise a fair amount, it’s not carte blanche to eat whatever you want. (Unless you exercise a ton, have the metabolism of a 16-year-old boy, and really can eat whatever you want). A report investigating the commonly-held beliefs about exercising, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, concludes that although exercise does burn calories during and after exercise, for overweight persons, “excessive caloric expenditure has limited implications for substantially reducing body weight independent of nutritional modifications.” In other words, to lose weight, you have to cut calories and increase exercise. 3. You do have time to exercise. If you have time to check email, watch a sitcom or two, surf the Internet, have drinks, coffee and dinner with friends, go clothes shopping, and on and on, then you have time to exercise. Yes, sometimes you have to sacrifice social, TV, or leisure time to fit it in. Yes, sometimes you have to prioritize your exercise time over other things. But your health and the feeling you get after working out is well worth it. 4. Eating more of something won’t help you lose weight. The food industry is keen to latch onto weight loss research and spin it for their sales purposes. A prime example is the widespread claim that eating more dairy products will help you lose weight. However, a recent review of 49 clinical trials from 1966 to 2007 showed that “neither dairy nor Calcium supplements helped people lose weight.” This idea—that eating more of a certain type of product will help you lose weight—is constantly regurgitated on supermarket shelves (think low-fat cake, low-carb crackers, whole grain Cookies, and fat-free chips), but is in direct opposition to the basic idea behind weight loss—that we have to eat less, not more. 5. Calories in = calories out? There is a fair amount of controversy over the basic question of how people gain weight. Is it simply a matter of energy intake being greater than energy expenditure? Or is there more too it; do the type of calories we eat matter and can avoiding certain types help to lose or prevent weight? The various low-fat, low-carb, and glycemic index advocates can’t seem to agree on which it is. However, most can agree, and logical sense would tell us, that drinking 500 calories of soda is not equal to eating 500 calories of fruits and vegetables. One is simply “empty” calories—those that provide no real nutritional benefit and don’t do much to combat hunger. Whether you ascribe to the simple idea of trying to burn more calories than you take in or focus on avoiding certain types of calories, you want to minimize intake of empty calories, and maximize nutrient-dense calories. 6. Your body is working against you. Most people have noticed that it’s hard to lose weight, but easy to gain it. This is a relic of harder times, when food was not as abundant as it is today. Our genetic taste buds made energy-dense food desirable because it was necessary to pack away calories so we could make it through the thin times. We feasted when we could, in preparation for the famine. But now that we live in a time of abundance, that system predisposes many of us for weight gain and retention. And for obese dieters, this system is even harder to overcome; after weight loss, they become better at storing fat, making it harder to keep weight off. However, this isn’t to say that many haven’t lost weight and kept it off successfully. It just means you have to be diligent. 7. Our cultural environment is also working against you. Let’s face it, modern society does not make it easy on those trying to eat healthfully and exercise. According to Linda Bacon, associate professor of nutrition at University of California at Davis, “We get a tremendous amount of pressure to eat for reasons other than nurturing ourselves, and over time, people lose sensitivity to hunger/fullness/appetite signals meant to keep them healthy and well nourished. It’s hard for people to come to a healthy sense of themselves given the cultural climate, and nutritious and pleasurable options for healthy food are not as easily accessible as less nutritious (ones).” That doesn’t mean this can’t be overcome, but it does require maybe putting other parts of your life on a “diet.” TV would be the biggest culprit, since many food advertisements, especially for children’s junk food, come during this time. Other areas to put on a “diet” are chain and fast food restaurants (where portion sizes are distorted), a bad-influence friend, or driving, which may help increase walking and biking. 8. Maybe you don’t need to lose weight. Some feel that the medical problems associated with excess weight are exaggerated. Gina Kolata, a New York Times science writer questions the notion that thin is a realistic or necessary objective for most. In her book, Rethinking Thin, she asserts that weight loss is an unachievable goal for many, and that losing weight isn’t so much about health as it is about money, trends, and impossible ideals. Recent research also challenges the idea that being overweight is bad. A study in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that being 25 pounds overweight did not increase the risk of heart disease and cancer, and may even help stave off infections. It’s true that people can be fit and healthy and not necessarily be thin, just as it’s true that thin people may not necessarily be healthy. Good health, rather than weight, should be our focus; too often, it’s not. Striving for an unhealthy level of thinness may be detrimental to our health, but understanding the health repercussions of obesity is also critical. 9. This is not a diet; this is your life. The diet industry would have us all think that we can lose weight fast, and that’s that. But most people who maintain their weight understand that eating and exercising are not temporary conditions, to be dumped once a pair of jeans fit. Instead, they are lifestyle choices, and ones to be made for the long haul.

@@AmyMarie79 You are on the right path. Keeping vigilant will pay off. Are you setting mini goals as you lose weight? At each goal treat yourself to something special.(non food) one of mine was toenail polish when I could easily bend over...I hope you find your honeymoon phase. I agree with @Babbs. After you reach goal, Maintenance is a whole new situation. I have had weight gains. I think that's why I keep up with the new people. Love the enthusiasm. They remind me that this is a lifestyle. The goal for me is healthy not a pant size.

Well I am not skinny yet, but I used to be, and every time I would go out to eat, the server woukd ask me if my meal was ok because I only needed a few bites to fill me up, which left most of it on the plate! That's was years ago, before my sleeve, but see? That's how skinny people are skinny and stay skinny. They eat enough to satisfy themselves and that's that. Since I got fat, I don't like leaving food on my plate. Hey, I paid for it and I was gonna get my money's worth! I also NEVER brought home doggy bags when I was skinny, which at that time in my life I believed help me stay skinny. Also, when I was skinny, I was always so cold! I used to bring little granny sweaters with me to every restaurant, department store, and casino because the air conidiotinng was just too much. I used to practically run outside into 100 degree heat from an air conditioned building and just stand there and soak it up, like a cat through a sun filled window. Now all I do is sweat. It's been a LONG time since I've been cold due to my 100 lb weight gain, even in the snow lol! Last year I took my son skiing, and I was so HOT underneath all the gear. I wanted to start stripping layers and I was drenched in sweat underneath. Not fun. Not a good feeling. That never happened to me when I was skinny.

I am sorry Gamergirl but the abuse you suffered at the hands of those boys is enough to make any person very emotionally and mentally sick... Of course in your case it was not your parents..But that played a part in your future. It had to! We have an inward conscience of what is right and wrong if we are not mass murderers and or people who are wired to cause pain and suffering to others....But it did play a part in your mind...Way back and deep it was hidden...It is amazing what the body will do to give it some ease or protect itself.... I will never say that building walls or eating until you are extremely obese is the answer. But it seems to me that there are a lot of people who suffered some tragedy in their life to assist in weight gain.... We are one screwed up world for sure and it is always children who suffer the worst and pay for it later......

I am also going back and forth on my decision. It’s a permanent surgery. But then each time I lose weight, I gain it back plus more. Been 10 years that my weight started going up due to a very stressful divorce, menopause and then losing my mom and the pandemic, so …. My surgeon said that weight gain is typically only 10%… that is reassuring. I keep picturing myself thinner again (just going for healthy weight - not ideal weight) and healthier and more energetic that seems to help me focus on the positive of the surgery.

Studies have found that artificial sweeteners create a false dependency. They stimulate your appetite, Increase carbohydrate cravings and stimulate fat storage and weight gain. In short artificial sugars prepare your body for food that often is not coming and thus confuses your system while also making your body crave more and more sweeter things.