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Breast thread. I was more of a private eater like Laura-Ven. I didn't eat in public a lot other than going out wit my wife or business associates. When I was out on business meetings, I ordered conservatively and never had dessert. My wife owns a bakery and would routinely send sweets not sold to my office. I would give out most of it, but always keep some for myself which I always ate in my office with the door closed. My wife always blamed herself for my weight gain saying that she should have been more diligent in insisting that I eat better, exercise more. I told her it was not her fault but mine.we had arguments after I gained back huge amounts of weight I lost and blamed herself for enabling me. On this forum, there is a lot of enabling people to cheat. This is done mostly by the newbies who need justification for their own bad behavior. I don't want to sound "holier than thou", but I can't condone someone intentionally eating something unhealthy after wls. No one should eat garbage at this point just because they can, and try to justify by saying they're not going to deprive themselves or will exercise it away. Yes we can eat what we want in moderation. However, we need to think before we eat. Should I eat that piece of cake because I want it or need it? The answer is I don't need the food I used to eat and I am not going to derail myself this time around. I think I am much older and wiser to give into temptation now that I've been sleeved. I just wish I had this insight 30 years ago. Again great thread and good luck to us all.

Re: Protein shakes. I have been trying them and cannot stand them. I was sleeved the 24th and went for my 2 week appt yesterday. Dr put me in the hospital overnight because I was dehydrated. I assume that will mean a weight gain because now my wedding ring, which was loose, is a little tighter on me. Oh well, I feel so good today compared to the last 5 days.

Hi July, have you been given a date yet for your operation. Good luck and much success with it! Geri, hope you haven't been caught up with the flights situation. What date are you due to have the op? Keep telling yourself that you are about to do something really worthwhile and life changing! Brenners, thats great news that VHI should pay for the gastric bypass! It must be a huge relief for you. Good to know that you are healing well from the band removal. Don't be hard on yourself over weight gain. You've been through such a difficult time. When you have the bypass the extra weight will fall off! Its probably frustrating you now but keep telling yourself its only a temporary gain. Just a quick update on my progress! Really pleased with how things are going. I have lost inches right below my bust, lots gone from my thighs and bum. Friday is my last day for soft/mushy food. I've had more fish in the last 10 days than what I had in the previous 3 months. At times I'm forgetting to eat, me, who was a compulsive emotional eater. Ina way its hard to believe that its only 3 and a half weeks since the op as I've been so active that Im hardly at home now. Hence the reason why I haven't been posting here much recently. Maree

Wow I feel your pain...I’m in a stall for about 3 weeks now and don’t know what to do to break it lol. No weight gain or loss.

Hi all, just checking in on you guys. I've been having way too much fun this summer camping, surfing (yes, even in WA!!) and quilting. Suzz, congrats on your new baby. I'm sorry about his eye. My baby (97 pound yellow lab) is in an e-collar too....that's why we're getting such good tv reception right now! lol He's got hot spots and still chews on his leg....he was a kennel rescue dog, and this is common. As far as the weight gain, I think what works best for me is to get in a mental frame of mind. For me it's all in my head. Try to focus on what motivated you in the first place. Are you wearing your BB? Maybe I can commit to you to wear my BB and log my food...and we can check in with each other? I haven't been doing that or exercising. I got 4.0 put back in my band on Wednesday, after a month with a complete unfill. I'll go back in 2 weeks and get more. Still no restriction, and I did gain a bit back. But, I'm going to get back on the band wagon! lol Insub, congrats on embarking on your new trip. I'll look forward to updates on your location and activities. I'm jealous too! Mj, ahhhhhh bread! Nirvana! I've enjoyed my month of bread! Why can the french eat bread, butter, cheese, beef, wine and still be skinny? I have a friend who is filled pretty tight and she can eat bread. I know when I get my restriction back, there's no way I can eat it, or rice or pasta. Bigbaby, thanks for all your motivation. I know I can log in here and you'll have something positive to post. I printed out your plateau breaker. It reminds me of Adkins. I think I will try it...but will miss my fruit! Of course, fruit for a diabetic......I might as well eat a candy bar! Everyone else, do like Bigbaby says!! Keep on keeping on!

serisla: Every doctor seems to approach the restriction process a little differently. Some are very conservative and take it slowly. Some choose to give you as much restriction at one time as you can handle. The best answer is what works for you. Your doctor is supposed to be working for you. You need to be able to use him and your band to your best dieting/maximum-health advantage. Communication is the key. I would write down my questions and concerns and make sure that they get answered so that you understand why he is choosing to only give you a certain number of fills per year. If he is intimidating, perhaps you could spend some time with his nurse or assistant and relate your concerns and any related problems (like weight gain) to her. She can run interference for you if necessary. If he is filling you to the max every time, that would explain why he only offers a couple of opportunities for fills a year. But he may just be conserving his own time, in which case it may not be the best answer for you. You're paying for his services so you should be able to give him feedback on whether his approach is working for you - or not. :crying:

Hi everyone! I was banded Nov 08. I had great success until last summer when it was discovered that I had a dialated esophagus. I had a complete unfill and gained 25 lbs. I have been getting refilled over the last year and have lost 10 lbs of the weight gain. I am doing great, but my doctor is suggesting that I get the band removed and get a gastric sleeve. My guess is that he knows something I don't? I still love my band and will keep pushing forward with it.

I do log my food intake and I am sure it doesnt help that I take diabetes medicine that clearly states it causes weight gain. It is just frustrating that when you fix one thing another pops up. I cant possibly eat anymore than I already do. Thanks for letting me vent:tt2:

Hi Notorious Novembers! DD - glad you are doing well - like the others said, don't worry about the weight gain, it will come off and even MORE before your wonderful vacation... You have such a great attitude, and I KNOW you'll be hitting the exercise hard once you're cleared - just remember to follow Doc's orders so you don't have any interruption to your healing. Keep us informed - and have a wonderful Saturday!:thumbup:

For those whp don't mind sharing, I'd be curious what med cause the gain. I know I started gaining when I started taking Celexa. I love what its done for me, but hate the weight gain.

While I concur on cereal and applaud all the healthy suggestions (carrots, apples, etc), I think we're talking about crafting a new lifestyle as opposed to "dieting". Like most of us, I crave an occasional salty/crunchy snack. As I have told my NUT, I think most of my weight gain came from eating nuts which are full of calories. The first thing you have to do is make it a treat -- not a daily habit. My sense is a treat should be eaten no more than 1-2 times a week. Second, understand that sugar is POISON. Not only does it cause weight gain, but it also kills you! If I eat sugary food, I limit it to once a month. For the last 6 months, I have been enjoying something that I never would have eaten in my pre-VSG low carb days - JOLLY TIME POPCORN. They make a single serve 100 calorie bag that they say makes 5 cups of popcorn (it looks like less than that). Even in my pre-sleeve days, I couldn't eat more than one bag. I know popcorn is frowned upon, but in my case, it works!

August 8th - Miles: 8 CW: 165 August 15th - Miles: 7 CW: 163.8 August 22nd - Miles: 5 CW: 161.4 August 29nd - Miles: 5 CW: 160.8 Sept. 5th - Miles: 5 CW: 159.8 Sept. 12th - Miles: 5 CW: 158.2 Sept 19th - Miles: 5 CW: 157.4 Sept 26th - Miles: 5 CW: 158.6 (TOM weight added ughhhhhhh) October 1st - Miles: CW: First, I haven't been doing alot of walking because of the rain going on...I know youre saying go to the gym....but I hate the gym with a passion...but I do realize I'm going to need to do that because of this issue I have encountered this week with rain all week...I hate walking/running when its wet outside...ewwww....next sorry AA men but also weight gained this week because of TOM...but anyway...I need some motivation people...Wish i had someone to work out with me...my kids are no help...they dont wanna walk/run with me...Im not losing like I planned...my plan is kind of smaller than others...as you see in my progress I'm only losing about 5 lbs a month...i know I wasnt as heavy as others buuuuutttttttttt because of my height my bmi is high as you can see on my ticker...and about this challenge I think it has helped me a great deal to at least be accountable....i had actually started working and walking/running more because of this challenge and I thank the one who started it....you have helped me a great deal....when is the last day for this is it the 1st of Oct of the 31st

The same thing happened to me when I started running. When you first begin exercising it can cause some water weight gain in your muscles. It will come back off in week or so. Exercise stresses our bodies and that plays a roll.

I have a week left. A week until I leave for home, and a week until I also get defilled. I’m too tight, I know it, and have been for a while. When my plane lands, my parents are going to bring me to see some fill nurse I’ve never met before, and get either totally, or almost totally defilled. I have 1.3cc right now, and the clinic suggested I go down to 0.5cc, but if I felt more comfortable, I could get totally defilled. It’s nice to have that option, because I know the consequences (weight gain) will be a little less if I keep a 0.5 in my band, BUT… this is being done to try to reverse anything ‘wrong’ with me, be it a slip or stretched pouch, or maybe nothing at all, I’m doing myself a disservice by NOT going totally empty and giving myself the maximum repair time. I think I WILL go totally empty, and get refilled a bit, 3-4 weeks later. I gained 10lbs in 2 weeks last time I was defilled… this could be scary. But then again, maybe now if I CAN eat the healthier things for me, I WILL. You know? I will try my best. But for now, I don’t know if I even want to get to goal just to have to say goodbye to it again. I haven't quit my job yet. I will definitely wait until after Christmas. Don't get me wrong, it's not all about her... I don't want her to have THAT satisfaction. I don't like my job... it's not what I wanna be doing. I despise it. It just doesn't help having to work with someone who thinks that way about you, and SAYS it to other people. There's no way getting around working with her, it's gotta be that way. Dan and I had our Christmas tonight, since I'm leaving next friday, and we won't be able to have Christmas together. :huggie: I got lots of goodies, but most notably, clothes from THE GAP. Yeah, that's right. Up til now most of my stuff has come from Old Navy. That's because it's cheap, and with how quickly I've been growing out of stuff, it's just worked. I've gone into some nicer, more expensive stores to just try things on, but never bought anything. Anyways, he got me a nice, super colourful (and itchy) striped (freakin' HORIZONTALLY!) sweater, in MEDIUM, and some size 10 jeans. I looked at the sweater and said no way it would fit... but it did. The jeans... I dare to say they could probably be a size smaller?! They're very roomy in the hips. That's the latest from me. I'm going to bed now. 'Night.

I'm checking in at 193 today. I'm pretty sure I'm up a couple of pounds since this started. I honestly can't even remember if I checked in last week. I was on vacation all last week, so I'm not beating myself up about the small weight gain. I'll lose it this week. :-)

I don't know if this is common, but I see huge weight swings depending on my carb intake, even if it's higher fiber carbs (like Quest bars). I can see gains or drops of close to 10 pounds over the space of 7-10 days depending on how I'm eating. I think it's very much like the rapid drops most of us experienced on the pre-op diet, because super high protein, very low carb flushed fat out of our livers and changed the way our bodies retained fluids - you simply need more fluids on board to process carbs is what I've always read. So most of my up and down swings aren't really indicative to me of weight gained or lost, unless I've been consistently eating the same diet, more or less, as far as carb / protein / fat balance. Long term trends, yes, I'm most definitely up. (a lot, unfortunately). But day to day the scale's pretty meaningless. I think that's actually become a problem, because when I'm bingeing, and my weight starts to climb, I deceive myself into thinking it's not "real" gain. Uh huh..... Tell that to me with a straight face now that I can't wear last year's cute clothes. Sigh... Anyway, my point is, if your carb percentage is very different from day to day, I'd guess for many people that's going to mess with your scale number and you'll see swings like I do.

DAY 14: Declutter. I'm doing a "mental" declutter. I'm throwing out all of the negative thoughts I had when I had a weight gain. I thought I had prepared myself for any situation with this WLS. The gain hit me hard, because in the past I would say just forget it and keep eating. Regain all of the weight back. I'm definitely not going to fall back into that pattern again. I started over, writing down everything I put in my mouth. Got rid of the protein crisps and cookies. Not going to jump on the scale yet. I still have some more mental decluttering to do.

What a fantastic idea! I'm going to have to get myself a tape measure ASAP. My weight gain was kinda funny in that almost all of it is on my torso. My arms and legs are relatively skinny but my trunk has gotten bigger all over and I have the gut of a 8-months pregnant woman - with twins! My weight gain, like my mother's, was primarily post-menopausal (I went through menopause when I was 41) and over the last two years it has really been accelerated by one of the drugs that they have me on for depression. A friend of mine who used to be one of those little skinny flat-chested women gained over 60 lbs on a similar drug. I would quit the drug and in fact did try but it seems that I need it. I do like the idea of keeping track of my measurements and I should get into the habit of weighing myself, I guess. The truth is that I really want this band to work. I should use any and all tools that might help.

OMG...I just thought of another one...from my dad. He is not skinny though. He had always tried to express his concerns to me about losing weight as best he could. Lose weight for your health, please lose weight so that you do not have to be like me, I love you and I want you to be healthy, etc. But one day out of the blue...I guess I had been on a weight gain or something and my dad pulls me over to him. "You know i love ya right?" "yes", I reply...then he says "well I know that you like boys but as your father, I do have to tell you that guys don't like fat girls...I know this because I AM a guy...baby, you have got to lose weight!" I was like "no he did not just go there"!

Hi Cheri - first of all, congrats on the new addition to your family. Second, congratulations on the weight loss. I reached goal quickly, five months to reach my doctor's goal and a month later to reach MY personal goal, five pounds less. 145 give me that 5 pound pad! I THINK more like Lynda though. MY goal is 145, but I don't wait until I hit 150 to cut back a little, if I weigh 147 in the morning, I know I need to 'adjust' my calories, just for a day or two. I've been maintaining for 2.5 years now and although like you, it's been easy for me......I'm like Lynda, I am vigilant. The fear of regaining keeps me a "little" obsessive. I weigh every morning, and I know that I should weigh between 144 and 146. I also weigh again at night, it's kind of a game I play, then I guess what I will weigh in the morning! I do not let the scale dictate my mood though, it's more like a "dashboard" for me, it lets me know if things are 'running' right, kind of like the dashboard in my truck!! lol At night, I will weigh between 146.5 and 148. I am not a exercise guru, but I have made 'life style' changes that are second nature to me now. Like I said, I weigh every morning. I weigh or measure my food when I'm home. I log it all on line. (MFP) This is not what I just do, it isn't a chore, it isn't a choice. It just is.....it's how I stay in check. I am accountable to ME and after 30 years of dieting, I know how quickly eight or ten pounds can sneak up on us. Losing weight has never been a problem for me, keeping it off has been. Not this time and now I'm equipped with the knowledge of what works for me, I really can't imagine this 'routine' wouldn't work for everyone. I am missing 85% of my tummy, self control is much easier now, at least it is in my case. I don't feel like I have sacrificed anything. I make choices. I do not skip extra cups of coffee, there are line to draw Cheri!!! About two months ago, since fear of weight gain seems to never leave us, and I personally think that is a good thing.....I just wanted to 'test' and see if I could still lose weight if need be. I need 1300 to maintain, give or take 50 calories. I cut that back by 100 calories and in 2.5 weeks, with just one hundred less calories, I lost 2 pounds. I was happy, I know I can do it. I don't get hungry, so cutting back and/or resisting when I should or when I want to....is not difficult. You and I are lucky. I don't do what Lynda does, but I am soooooo glad to see how SHE is. I thought I might be the only one who is a bit on the obsessive side, I love it!!!! I do not have everything planned down to how much protein, veggies etc per meal. I track and plan ahead, but not quite like that. I get in between 65 and 100 grams of protein a day. During the losing phase, I had NO bread, but now, if I want my tuna fish on a piece of bread, nothing but cokes are off limits, although there are thngs I choose to avoid most times. When I did my "test" a while back, I did make sure I was getting at least 85 grams of protein a day, I know that helped. You will do fine, don't stress out, just be diligent with tracking your food, that is something I personally believe we have to do forever, track and weigh/measure. The things I do, are MY keys to success. I don't ever want to forget what it was like to shop for size 20's in the ladies dept. Been there, done that and I don't want an encore!!! It keeps me humble, and keeps me motivated. Good luck, I predict you are going to do just fine!!

Lynda, you are TINY! And you don't look 5'6" either! Your goal weight is really low and by the chart I looked at 1 lb below ideal! You go, girl! Makes me wonder if I had "stuck" to losing instead of going to "maintenance" (and I say that tongue in cheeck!) at 150 what I could have gotten down to. ha! Quote: Typically, adults tend to gain weight in their mid-twenties, and this trend further continues with increase in age, due to reduction in the metabolic rate and physical activity. In contrast, the height remains constant during this period. In fact, according to the Gerontology Research Center (National Institutes of Health), some weight gain after 35 years of age is essential for good bone health. Well, I accomplished that! ha!

I am 3 months and one week post op and i weigh everyday. i have lost 58 pounds and feel like i am a very slow loser. There are weeks i do not lose anything at all then have dropped up to 6 the next week. My doctor told me to expect this. He said when i do not lose pounds i am most likely losing inches. i thought i would be further along than i am. I keep telling myself that as long as i don't see any weight gain when i step on the scales then i am doing ok.

Hi there, I’m glad to see some posts on this hunger issue a few years after the first one. I’d like to add a few things here after years with the sleeve. If you google “hunger after the sleeve”, you’ll more than likely end up on sites talking about “mental hunger” and trying to distinguish the difference. I’m here to tell some of you that there is something else going on with a few of us sleevers that is not being researched from what I can see. Before I had the sleeve, I had mild acid reflux and was on acid reducers. After the sleeve, I thought I could come off the acid meds but I was SO hungry after the surgery that about a week post-op, I was back on them. This did help me to stop feeling hungry ALL the time. However, it didn't take away the starving feeling throughout the day. In the first post-op year, I thought nothing of the times when I’d have to get to a convenience store, supermarket... any place close that served food at times when suddenly I had hit “starvation mode”. All that time I told myself it was because I had a small stomach and I just needed to eat more often. I guess I can be slow on the uptake because it took me 4 years to figure out that I had serious issues with hunger. One day, I had eaten a pretty good breakfast, was starving by 10:30 AM so had my lunch at work, and by 1:00 I was starving again. I was ticked off because I didn’t want to leave work to get food and it suddenly hit me…after a few years post-op with the sleeve, I was able to eat a lot more food in one sitting. So, from what I had eaten that day, why was I as hungry as I was less than 3 hours after my decent-sized lunch? I am now 7 and a half years post-sleeve and realize that my weight gain and eating habits are dictated by my hunger issues. No matter what I eat (dense protein, healthy fats, light carbs, etc.), I will be starving about 3 hours later. If I don’t plan right, I have to get up out of bed to eat and it’s really frustrating. I go out to eat with friends and then a few hours later, I have to tell them I need to eat more. I am on acid reducers because I do have acid reflux and more of it since the sleeve. I am 100% convinced that the hunger is an overabundance of acid build-up in my stomach. There have even been times when I have been starving and can hear the gurgling sounds in my stomach. Coincidentally enough, a year back, I had a conversation with a colleague who had just had the gastric bypass surgery. Without sharing much about my own surgery, she told me that one of the reasons she had had the bypass was because she had had the sleeve before that and was “hangry” every two hours. I didn’t know what “hangry” meant and she explained it is when you are so hungry, you get angry. I was stunned as she described my situation perfectly…except for me it’s every 3 hours. Post-bypass, this colleague no longer feels “hangry”. She knows when she needs to eat but that gnawing feeling in her stomach is gone. I have been in touch with a few bariatric surgeons because of my acid reflux and all of them have suggested I have the RNY bypass. I will have it in the near future and am hoping that the surgery will help my hunger issues go away. After 7.5 years post-op, my sleeve is still intact and I don’t eat an enormous amount of food at one sitting. Of course the first two years post-op are considered the "Honeymood Phase" and so I do eat more than I did back then, but still, it's not crazy amounts. I’m very happy with that but what I learned is that when you end up having to eat every 3 hours, you can really take in a lot of calories during the day. My weight issues were always due to bingeing at night, but never grazing during the day. Now, I find it really frustrating having to eat during the day when I really don’t want to…because I’m starving. (And a light snack when starving doesn’t do much for me at all. I’ve played around with calories and if I don’t take in about 300+ cals at these times, I’m starving even earlier than 3 hours.) So, I’m writing this because when I asked the last bariatric specialist I went to see about whether he knew of any research done on hunger issues post-sleeve, he said no. (I’m not talking about research regarding reduction of hunger…I’m talking about those of us who end up with MORE hunger.) This post is not meant for those of us who have had bariatric surgery and aren’t sure if they are really hungry when they eat. That sounds more like head hunger to me. This posting is for those few of us with the sleeve who know we’re starving all the time. I hope I remember this site after I get the RNY. If I do, I promise I’ll leave another post to tell you if the RNY actually did relieve my hunger issues. Stay tuned!

I'm the day after you. Can't wait and also so anxious! It's going to be worth it, tho. To get off any meds you might be on and to feel healthy will be awesome! I'm also doing it for my kids. They have no idea that mom is having surgery. I just want them those what eating healthy can do. 2 of them are almost teens and starting puberty and its such a crucial time with weight gain at that point. I want to lead by example. I'm so looking forward to the future for al of us. Luckily my children are all trim and healthy, but my poor daughter is beginning to struggle and is giving in to the bad stuff behind my back hopefully watching mom make wise decisions will help her. . Good luck on your journey!

Thank you for being so honest. I'm concerned about the weight gain years down the road...it's a true reality.... Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App