Search the Community

How did you transition your pantry and fridge? What about those of you who have family members who need weight gain? Tomorrow I'm going to the grocery store for a few things to start out with but am not sure what to pick. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using BariatricPal

I can tell you they do not like to do the band removal and the sleeve at the same time. I was fortunate because I know my surgeon personally and he knows I will run to him or call him if there are any issues. He told me before my surgery that he would do it only if it was safe to do it once he got in there. He explained that about 5% of the cases they can't do it at the same time. My advice is to possibly see if there is another surgeon that will try to do them at the same time. The other thing is that you all are not wanting to do the EGD - well, that's what provided me with the ammunition I needed for my insurance to cover the revision surgery. As long as you have something to support the need to have it done, in addition to your weight gain then you'll probably be able to get it approved. The doctors know what they need to do to get the procedure approved. The one thing I will tell you is the sleeve is very different. Be prepared to be super tired and weak for a week or more.. it may not be the same with you. I'm used to being able to bounce back fast. I haven't had real pain, the drain was a pain and it was in for 12 days.. and that made it a little difficult to do much. But.. it's not bad.

Nope no soda for me. It was a bummer and I still on occasion really want one but I don't partake. I too have read the information that diet soda does cause weight gain. More than anything I gave it up and don't want to start it back up. I have taken to drinking tea and half decaf coffee (1 in the morning) and obviously Water.

This is such a timely post for me. I am, I think, 20-30 from goal (still not sure what goal is but somewhere in there seems reasonable for a 5'7" frame). The truth is I have no idea where I'll feel comfortable and finished with losing. Meanwhile, I am so happy with what I have lost that I also stopped losing and even gained several back. But it's not complacency; it's much deeper than that. There is a "don't look at me, don't look at me" voice inside, leftover, obviously from all those years of feeling embarrassed about my weight. Since dropping weight I have received uncomfortable attention and have been trying to sort through that (my boss, so some one with financial power over me), but it's not just that. I am enjoying how much more "normal" I feel and how my introversion over the years is now shifting and I am so much more at ease out in the world. I like to dress up and have fun, talk to strangers and laugh loudly (actually despite being one of those very soft spoken people I have always had a really big laugh, which should be a clue that I was just hiding before and the real me, the laughing one, doesn't mind being out there, quirky, funny and enjoying herself). On biology, I'm adopted and when I met my birth family I immediately understood that not only was my weight gain due to personal issues in my life but clearly genetics played a big role, eeek. Lately I have thought that I may have put myself on pause because I wanted to let not only myself but the people around me and new people in my life catch up with where I am, who I am, how I look at this point in my life. Not 70 pound heavier me, and not 100 pound lighter me, the "me" now. But I am not yet where I want to be and I know that. I am enjoying being able to buy a size 12 suit off the rack and just go to Maine and out it in and look/feel fine. What? But I still have a paunch -- not the Mrs. Winnie-the-Pooh of yore but a belly. I want that gone. And I want to wear the size 10 linen pants I greedily scooped up at a sale and out in my closet as motivation (one pair in purple, one in red -- nice and long so no high waters but they are way too tight), I want to be able to stretch and bend with less stuff in the way. I have arthritis and still hold out hope that less weight on my frame will mean less pain. I wrote myself a letter to be opened at goal and I want to see what I wrote then. It was a thank-you letter. Maybe I will go back to my posts here and see what I wrote two years ago at this time while I was waiting to go to the mandatory information session and start my process. I will be two years out in November and would like to start next winter at goal. I'd like to be someone who can monitor a small gain and catch it. Right now being some one with 20-30 to lose feels like such a luxury, especially in our society where people are heavier and heavier, but I want to take it to the next stage. By now I know how to do it. My dimmed appetite allows me to have a regime which before I coukd do but it was so hard I woukd bounce right back afterward. This my third day of a fast. I'm doing it to try to clear out congestion in my joints and see if I can identify any triggers for the increased inflammation of late (probably more related to the barometer; will it ever stop raining?). But I'm also doing it to get on course. I tend to gravitate toward grazing. An ongoing wine and cheese party is not doing my waistline any favors. So a fast nips that in the bud. I like the idea of intermittent fasting -- a couple of days a week. It simplifies things for me and I think I have he right body type for it. So here I am at day three about to do the Epsom routine with olive oil and grapefruit tonight. It's hard core but I gravitate in that direction and realize I need to do that for my health. A liver cleanse, like the French (back to wine and cheese party issues). I don't know how long I will go. I have done three weeks in the past and it wasn't that long ago I was in pre-op liver shrinking mode for the surgery. I've recently increased my exercise, although mine is walking outdoors so the rain harshes that groove. Still, when I work out I am working so much harder now. My body likes/needs that. So now the brain needs to be on board. No secret folds of self-sabotage -- everything out in the open. If being thinner makes me anxious, what is that about? No longer being able to tamp down anxiety with food means that any anxiety (and there is plenty) is coming to the surface. Well that's good,I'm guess, though it can be messy. We had to pull over the car on the way home from the coast as I was so anxious. Fortunately my new remedy for that is walking it off, not eating it down. So, a therapist? Probably a good idea! I saw one to prep for the WLS surgery and for a little while after while I found my way. Maybe time for another round. But meanwhile very thankful for this place where I can tap out my thoughts freely, knowing that there are people who so get it. Thank you!

Hi. My name is Ashley. I have always been the largest person in my extended family. I was always shy and introverted because of my weight. It took me a long time to get comfortable being out in public. To this day I avoid large groups of people. I began putting on weight when I was 9 years old. My family doctor told my mom it was just "baby fat" and I would be fine, no reason for concern. As the weight continued to gain and I became the largest person in my grade every year at school, I began seeking out answers. Eventually, I diagnosed myself with "Stein-Leventhal Syndrome" and went to see a gynocologist at age 17. He confirmed the diagnosis, saying it was more commonly referred to as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS. I was told I was in a Catch-22. To lose weight would help control my symptoms, but obesity and weight gain were inevitable. I was also informed that I had a 25% chance of ever conceiving a child. This crushed me. I was about to go to college for a major in Child Development because of my love for children. I first considered Bariatric Surgery when I was about 20 years old. I knew I had to do something because I couldn't even stomach looking in the mirror anymore. I was weighing in around 240ish at this time. I started researching Gastric Bypass because Lap-Band was not as well known. I was quickly informed by anyone and everyone with an opinion that I was taking the easy way out. So once again I turned to dieting. Unsuccessfully, of course. I continued to steadily put on weight over the next few years, I couldn't even find the motivation to lose weight for our wedding in October of 2007. On New Years Day 2010, I was alone at home, feeling sluggish from the holidays. TLC was having a marathon on weight, seeing as how that's most people's New Years' resolutions. I watched these 683 lb women, one ton woman, Big Ben's story, etc...and i thought to myself- that's going to be me. The last one I watched, they gave the woman, who was 28 and had two little girls and was bedridden, Gastric. She died two weeks later. I turned it off and immediately began researching. I vowed if I could ever afford to get it done, I was never going to screw up like some of them. (One of the boys was given free Gastric surgery and two years later was overweight again.) I weighed in the next morning at 301. A normal scale wouldn't have weighed me any longer.To summarize the next few months, I attended a seminar in Reston at the end of January, waited for them to deal with insurance for 2 months (they claimed although calls to insurance proved them liars), then got pissed and moved on. I attended a seminar at RMH in Harrisonburg, VA on April 9th. On April 15th, I started the process. I went through all the steps, even the setbacks like therapy to deal with food/emotions, and was approved for surgery upon first submission to insurance on June 7th, 2010. They scheduled me for surgery on July 6th, 2010. I began my 2 week liquid Pre-Op diet on June 22nd. I still weighed 301. The day of my surgery I was down to 280. I was so proud of myself. Then for a combined total of 4 weeks I did not put one thing that wasn't on list in my mouth. After 4 weeks I was down 38 lbs. Since then I have lost half of my goal. I'm down 79 lbs with 79 to go. My BMI has dropped from 47 to 35 and its only been 4 1/2 months. I've dropped from a size 26 jeans to a size 16, with the 14's in sight!I'm looking for people to share experiences and /or questions with, since most of the people in my life don't even know about my surgery.

Omg thank you for this. I haven't had to use contraception for about 7 years since my weight gain and pcos. Well now that my cycles are back so are my of becoming preggos. With 2 teens 12 and 15, me 35 years old 3 months post op the last thing i need is to be pregnant. I'd be mortified and honestly i don't know what Id do. So I don't know if this pregnancy is good news for you but I wish you well. I'm getting contraceptives asap! Sent from my SM-G900P using the BariatricPal App

So when i checked in day of surgery,3 days ago, i weighed 245. When i left the hospital today i weighed 251...gained weight from iv fluid i guess...I'm discouraged because I'm reading other peoples posts who have already lost 10+ pounds just a few days post op....im heavier than when i went in! Anyone else go through this and how long did it take you to start seeing real results?

Congratulations! The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has revised guidelines for weight gain in women who are obese. They do not, however, recommend weight loss. Sometimes, a bit of loss is unavoidable--due to things like hyperemesis. And babies do tend to fare well in these situations. However, intentional weight loss during pregnancy is discouraged--there are increased nutrient needs. Talk with your OB about this. Some will permit weight maintenance if you are meticulous about meeting nutrient needs; I did this with my last pregnancy, with great results. (Large, healthy baby.) Good luck--what an exciting turn of events for you. (Good that it happened now--in the year after banding, it would be tricky--but now you can have your babe, then be banded!)

has anyone gone through pregnancy being banded and going to a midwife? are they ok with having the band? i've lost about 40lb since AUG and am NOT looking forward to gaining any weight. I lost 35 through morning sickness with dd but gained it all back and then some after about 6 months. can having the band help keep weight gain to an absolute minimum or do they want you to gain like everyone else? i don't even want to step on a scale anymore.

Hello! I have my final meeting with my nutritionist on January 19 and then meet with my surgeon again on January 20. Unfortunately I have recently gained about ten pounds. It happened very quickly, during the last month. Part of this was due to overeating at the Holidays and part of it is because I have been on prednisone for a pinched nerve. If I don't lose the weight, they will not go forward with the surgery. Starting today, I will do Protein shakes. Can I please have advice on how many a day, whether I should eat anything else at all, etc. Is my goal even feasible?

Caffeine can cause your blood sugars to be eratic, which can cause weight gain (the whole insulin resistance stuff!). My surgeon allows coffee whenever I want other than when on the clear liquids. I will be having surgery tommorow, wish me luck, I'm very nervous for some reason.

Weight gain ! Really !! Made it under 300 to 299 two weeks ago and weighed yesterday up to 304.. i am not eating any different except I'm eating better!! I was living on mashed potatoes and crackers now I've switched to good protein.. this makes no sense!!! What the heck!!! I want to cry.

Hello all :willy_nilly: my name is Kayla, I'm 20 years old, a junior in college, and I'm from Minnesota! I just joined this website figuring it would be good for me to have others to talk to who are going through similar situations and so far I think it's really cool! I've always been a chubby kid growing up and just became used to it. I got made fun of a little bit but not as bad as some people, I figure it was just the 'average' amount if that makes sense. Growing up I never really let my weight bother me but the few times that I heard some of the mean things that people would say it really hurt my feelings and made me hate my body. After experiencing my bullying I became the 'funny girl'. I've always been very outgoing and very social but it's like I started performing for people so that even though I was overweight people would like me because I could make them laugh. For most of my life that worked alright. I always had tons of friends, never had a problem getting boyfriends, I did all the fun high school things, so I never felt that my weight held me back much since it was something that I had for as long as I could remember. About 3 weeks before my sweet sixteen I got the news that my aunt was murdered by her husband. My aunt was like a second mother to me so it was a very traumatic experience. I think that was a big trigger for more weight gain along with being sexually abused my sophomore year in high school and being diagnosed with depression in 9th grade. I was always over weight but I didn't look fat I just didn't fit into size 2 jeans. When all of those things happened I really started packing on the pounds. I saw a therapist for all my problems and I'm very proud to say that I'm doing so much better but food was my comfort and I was just never able to really let that go which is how I got to my highest at 281 pounds. In October of 2008 I went to my first doctor appointment to learn about the weight loss surgery option and began doing all my pre-surgery requirements. After I completed like 5/6 of the requirements I changed my mind on the surgery because I began to lose weight on my own and thought it was somewhat easy. I was able to drop 25 pounds in like a month and a half. Then the weight loss haulted and I gained about 7 of the pounds back. It is very hard being on a diet and making it to the gym 4 times a week while going to college and working as well. When I realized that our insurance would pay for all of my surgery I reconsidered the surgery and have a surgery planned for Monday, January 4th, 2010. I feel so blessed for all of my family and friends who are in my life and supporting me through this time. I also feel very blessed to be given the opprotunity to have surgery in the first place! I've never felt that my life was terrible or not fun or that I've missed out on anything but as I've gotten a little older I'm starting to figure out things that I want to try but could be difficult because of my weight. Last February I was diagnosed with PolyCystic Ovary Syndrom (PCOS) and was told that it will be very hard for me to get pregnant in the future unless I lose weight and I'll most likely still need fertility drugs even after some weight is lost. Even at 20 and not desiring children anytime soon, one of my dreams is to be a mother and I want to figure out things now to make that dream possible. I also think that this surgery will give me more self confidence and overall happiness in my life that I lost about 5 years ago. I hope you all enjoyed reading my 'story' as I have enjoyed reading yours! I also look forward to getting in touch with people since the people I have talked to so far have just been wonderful! Happy holidays everyone & God bless! missKAYLA

So I know It’s only been 3 weeks after surgery had post op a week ago from surgery to post op I lost 17 lbs and in last week I lost another 5 then I weighed myself this morning and went up 2 lbs has anyone else gone through this I’ve been having a protein shake in the morning then hit the gym just treadmill no weights for an hour and then I’ll have a piece of chicken for lunch and another for dinner no veggies cause they said I had to weight till after the 4th week well if someone can help or let me know if it’s normal thank u.

I haven't made my decision which surgery is best for me. Has anyone started to regain or not lose the desired amount of weight before 1 to 2 years post- op Sent from my 5056N using the BariatricPal App

Make sure that for your supervised weight loss that you have them incorporate the mental health aspect of it as well, because if you go into surgery with a fixation that strong you can over do it! While I don't experience the same difficulties as you are facing getting a mental health plan established before and soon after support groups will really help. I am also 36 and had my share of bad things happen in my life that led me down the weight gain rabbit hole feel free to pm me anytime if need be you're welcome to my cell number!

Many of us have regain after year(s) out from surgery. Nothing wrong with experimenting with options that help you find your weight loss mojo again.(examples Weight watchers, Going back to basics, Keto, pouch rest Ect) Whatever helps to get to a comfortable weight range. I indulged and maintained fine for the first few years. My weight gain was in my third year. I became accustomed to higher calories and carbs while distance running. Life also carries on after you get in maintenance mode all my tried and true ways to get my weight down stopped working (yes, I tracked food and worked out two hours five days a week) Fourth year magically basics started working again. I'm back to my maintenance weight.

First--stay calm. Keep your self-talk positive. Celebrate your 52 lbs and tons of inches lost!!! This is a temporary setback. You REALLY do know what to do to get yourself back on track. Sometime we just get temporarily TIRED of our hard work and stumble a little. It doesn't mean disaster. It means we're human. Are you logging what you eat for the day so you know how many calories you're taking in? Are you getting in your right Protein amounts and Water amounts? Are you measuring your portions to be sure they haven't "accidently" gotten a little bigger than usual? I think one of the biggest things for a lot of us after we reach the one year mark is that we realize we have begun to eat more processed simple carbs than our bodies like and that is often the thing that is causing a weight gain (like a few too many chips, breads, muffins, candy, Cookies here and there, etc). The BEST thing is that you are here knowing you want and need to fix this and are asking for help for yourself. You will "regroup" and take charge again, and all will be well.

I went to Cleveland Clinic and spent a couple of days going through tests. The dr ( saw so many I don't remember which one ) told me the stomach is an organ. Organs malfunction or develop problems. He also said it wouldn't cure the problem but help with the side effects. ( weight gain) I can't help but believe the weight gain is the side affect to the problem, correct the problem and the weight gain might disappear. I do believe science will get there but the sleeve will do the trick until then.

Some of the most forward and promising research on weight gain/loss has to do with the gut biome/microbial system. This is just one more bit of research. I am going to move this to the research forums here. Other bits of this kind of research is posted there and I think I put some in the 5:2 info links in the Vets forum if you are interested.

I'm 11 days post op and behind what I can eat. I haven't eaten in 2 days cuz I've been severely dehydrated so I been drinking as much water and powerade zero as possible so I have no room for broth or anything.... I stepped on the scale and I'm up 4 pounds from yesterday how does this happen any advice?!!

Hi, My surgery date was 3.16.16. Pretty quickly I began losing weight and achieved my weight goal in November 2016. My weight has stayed pretty close to 166-172 lbs since then but in the late 2 months my weight has jumped to 181 lbs. I am very concerned and afraid of this. Last month I weighed myself and was 181 lbs and Tuesday it was the same. I have ramped my excercise back up and clamped back down on the foods I am eating again. Has anyone had anything like this happen? Were you just as terrified? What reasons were you given as to what is a factor of the weight gain. Any tips anyone can give me to get rid of those 10 lbs? Thanks a Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

Like I said above: Weight gain, yea, it's real! I'm 3 yrs out (next week) - band to sleeve revision. I had done a pretty good job staying focused & losing weight. My start weight was around 245 pounds & my average weight was around 138 to 140 pds. My lowest was 135, but that didn't last long. I'm about 5'2. I know, a giant. So, my struggle started slowly but surely, a few months ago. So, most sleevers can't really eat a lot, which is good, because our tool is working. HOWEVER, it's up to you to eat the right foods. Well, I'm married to a BIG snacker! Hubby eat crap all the time. We're talking things like chips, crackers, chocolate, etc... I used to be able to ignore his snacking, but due to work related stress (hey, that's my excuse), I started to munch. Then, it happened. I was laid-off mid November. Yup, right before the holidays. Guess what happens when you're searching for a job, while sitting on your butt, day in / day out, for hours & hours..... You eat anything because you're frustrated / stressed / bored.... you name it. I know these are only "excuses" but I genuinely feel over-whelmed. We've been able to sustain ourselves, and should be able to hold on for another month or so, but after that.... shits going down. I only got 5 weeks severance as I was only there for 1 1/2 yrs. Thankfully, I had around 150 hours PTO that I never used. But, I did have to cash out some 401K funds to sustain us a little longer. The stress, yea, it's real!!! OK, what's the point of my post? IDK, I guess I'm looking for support. For anyone that's several years out, how do you keep your focus going, and avoid the stress eating? Yea, I know, being fat is NOT an option... but I am. I feel it. I'm almost 150 pounds. How did I let this happen? How on Earth do I get my mojo back? I was doing so well... Now what?

In the search bar, look for the boot camp diet. It is really hard and you have to set your mind to not putting anything in your mouth in between meals, and not to snack during the evening. It's fine to have one evening snack of something, but getting up all evening long and getting something was exactly what led to my weight gain. You can also google intermitant fasting and that works really well. That's how a bunch of us here took off our regain. The links are in the veterans forum.

Uh oh.....I just had paperwork submitted to aetna and gained 4lbs during the 6 month trial. Do they automatically deny for weight gain? I thought I saw other posts indicating people were still approved with Aetna even with gain but now I can't find them.... If denied, what options are there?