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So two weeks ago I had brachioplasty, I had a substantial unfil per my lb doctors suggestion to decrease risk for aspiration. Prior to this I was super tight & hit 120 weight loss bringing me 14 lbs from my goal weight. Immediatly after surgery I weighed myself & had a 13 lb weight gain. I know it was all fluid. So I decided to have my husband hide my scale & just let myself focus on healing noy my weight. So 2 weeks later & I'm up 23 lbs!!!!! Ahhhh!!!! I realize my eating has not been the greatest. I have indulged a bit to much. Pizza, steak, bread... things I haven't ate in about 10 months. I'm disappointed in myself:( I feel like a failure & that I haven't overcome my battle with food in the slightest. A combination of being able to eat anything & not being able to exercise has taken a hefty toll & quick! So my plastic surgeon has cleared me for light exercise as long as I don't work up a heavy sweat, my incision in my armpit is gaping & needs resutured. Tonight I did go for a mile walk & tomorrow I'm checking my eating habits. Tracking my calories & staying away from fast food! So I asked my husband tonight to unhide my scale...t hey refused & told me he doesn't want me obsessing over it. I'm kinda pissed @ him & am half tempted to go buy a new one!

I truly can’t pin point one thing, but growing up as a child, it was any & everything for me: sweets (ice cream/cake), carbs (bread/potatoes) & soda (the infamous Mountain Dew & root beer) my weight gain began as a very young child, my family didn’t have a lot, but we always had food. And cheap food was/is the worst food. Our Friday’s/Saturday’s were always for eating out for dinner & looked forward to my happy meal’s. I don’t blame my parents really because they did what they had to do. I blame myself as a young adult because I could have changed my mindset

How is it that one can go from being skinny and seeing herself as fat to being fat and still see the skinny person inside? When I was a teenager/20-something year old, I was thin and thought I was fat. It makes me sad to realize just how warped my view of myself was. How could I not hear my friends when they called me "Barbie"? They even tried to explain to me, sincerely, why they called me that... How could I not hear the company commanders in boot camp when they called me "Miss America"? I always thought to myself - they are doing something like calling a huge man (tall AND wide) 'tiny'. I was the opposite of what they called me in my eye. How could I not understand and realize and see for myself what my mom always told me. When I walked around a mall - I'd leave men turning their heads. She always thought it was pretty neat walking around with me - because I didn't know I was even doing that. All I REALLY heard was the rest of my family. My uncle told me at the age of 15 I "was getting too pudgy". My aunt slapped him. Harm was done, nonetheless. My dad called me "thunderthighs" because he "thought it was funny". Maybe it was a "joke" but harm was done, nonetheless. My grandmother told me "I would never be able to attract a man if I continued to look like I did" (at 132 pounds which was technically underweight for my height.) Apparently she wanted me to be a waif - which I consider unhealthy. I was smart enough to know then that waifs are unhealthy. I was not smart enough, if you will, to know that I was being pressured into "society's norms". I was an athlete. I swam for miles. I was also in drill team. So when I wasn't swimming, I was marching for miles or dancing on football fields. Between the two activities, I had something going "all year long". And in my spare time I was in choir and drama. And in my "leftover" spare time, I was never sitting down. I look back NOW and I KNOW I was healthy and fit and JUST FINE! Is it wrong of me to just be mad mad mad at this family of mine? Because somewhere in this weight gain journey I began to realize EXACTLY how off base they all were. But. BUT. NOW....I look in the mirror...and I still see my skinny self. I look at pictures and I cannot be deceived in those cases. So I don't take pictures - and if they are taken for some horrendous reason - I DO NOT LOOK AT THEM. Who wants to see a puffed out hideous puff ball when in the minds eye, there is still a waist line? In the minds eye there are still muscular legs? In the minds eye there are still curves where curves are supposed to be. I can still see who I used to be. Don't get me wrong - I'm not entirely delusional. I AM fat! I DO need to lose weight? I DO have fat sitting on top of muscles that used to show through easily. I DO have curves where curves should not exist. I just know NOW that once upon a time - I WAS ok. I'm ok, you're ok, right? :smile2: I don't want to forget that this thinking has evolved like this. I want to remember when I am at a healthy weight that HEALTHY is what looks best. I want to remember when I am at a healthy weight that I must follow my own heart. Forget my grandmother who worked in the fashion industry. Forget my uncle who thinks that women cannot be athletes and who considered muscle "pudge". Forget my dad who just didn't know better. Forget them all. It's what I think about myself that matters.

How is it that one can go from being skinny and seeing herself as fat to being fat and still see the skinny person inside? When I was a teenager/20-something year old, I was thin and thought I was fat. It makes me sad to realize just how warped my view of myself was. How could I not hear my friends when they called me "Barbie"? They even tried to explain to me, sincerely, why they called me that... How could I not hear the company commanders in boot camp when they called me "Miss America"? I always thought to myself - they are doing something like calling a huge man (tall AND wide) 'tiny'. I was the opposite of what they called me in my eye. How could I not understand and realize and see for myself what my mom always told me. When I walked around a mall - I'd leave men turning their heads. She always thought it was pretty neat walking around with me - because I didn't know I was even doing that. All I REALLY heard was the rest of my family. My uncle told me at the age of 15 I "was getting too pudgy". My aunt slapped him. Harm was done, nonetheless. My dad called me "thunderthighs" because he "thought it was funny". Maybe it was a "joke" but harm was done, nonetheless. My grandmother told me "I would never be able to attract a man if I continued to look like I did" (at 132 pounds which was technically underweight for my height.) Apparently she wanted me to be a waif - which I consider unhealthy. I was smart enough to know then that waifs are unhealthy. I was not smart enough, if you will, to know that I was being pressured into "society's norms". I was an athlete. I swam for miles. I was also in drill team. So when I wasn't swimming, I was marching for miles or dancing on football fields. Between the two activities, I had something going "all year long". And in my spare time I was in choir and drama. And in my "leftover" spare time, I was never sitting down. I look back NOW and I KNOW I was healthy and fit and JUST FINE! Is it wrong of me to just be mad mad mad at this family of mine? Because somewhere in this weight gain journey I began to realize EXACTLY how off base they all were. But. BUT. NOW....I look in the mirror...and I still see my skinny self. I look at pictures and I cannot be deceived in those cases. So I don't take pictures - and if they are taken for some horrendous reason - I DO NOT LOOK AT THEM. Who wants to see a puffed out hideous puff ball when in the minds eye, there is still a waist line? In the minds eye there are still muscular legs? In the minds eye there are still curves where curves are supposed to be. I can still see who I used to be. Don't get me wrong - I'm not entirely delusional. I AM fat! I DO need to lose weight? I DO have fat sitting on top of muscles that used to show through easily. I DO have curves where curves should not exist. I just know NOW that once upon a time - I WAS ok. I'm ok, you're ok, right? I don't want to forget that this thinking has evolved like this. I want to remember when I am at a healthy weight that HEALTHY is what looks best. I want to remember when I am at a healthy weight that I must follow my own heart. Forget my grandmother who worked in the fashion industry. Forget my uncle who thinks that women cannot be athletes and who considered muscle "pudge". Forget my dad who just didn't know better. Forget them all. It's what I think about myself that matters.

Hi. I've been lurking for months, but this is my first post. I've come to an abrupt end of my pre-surgical rigamarole, and am just waiting for the bariatric clinic to call me in order to schedule an appointment with my surgeon for the final consultation before scheduling surgery - I wasn't expecting it to be so soon, as I only started the process on April 11th. My insurance - Excellus BCBS - requires a 6 month stretch of supervised weight loss only if they don't feel that your previous attempts at weight loss were serious enough. I guess 25+ years of constant struggle was adequate, because after my 2nd nutritionist follow-up (a group seminar and 2 follow-ups scheduled a month apart are my clinic's required minimum) I was handed my post-surgical diet info and was told to expect a call within a week. Yikes! Anyway. My name is Amanda, I'll be 38 in a month (sigh) and am 5'7" and currently about 282 (and an increasingly snug size 22.) I'm married and I have a 5 year old daughter and I live in Rochester, NY. I'm an MFA grad student and work (incongruously to the MFA) in inpatient pharmacy compounding services at the big hospital in town. I have been fat since I was about 6 years old. When I was a teenager, I was about 170-180 and thought I was the fattest thing on two legs. I look back at pictures of myself and my heart breaks for all that self-hatred, sadness, and lost time - not only because I realize now that I wasn't fat at all (you wanna see fat, 16 year old Amanda?? I'll show you FAT!! flubflabflub) but also because I realize how much it never mattered to my friends and family. This is stuff I still struggle with, though. I started gaining rapidly around 18, and have more or less hit peak mass. I was abut 245 when I met my husband 11 years ago, 270ish after having my daughter 5 years ago, and was 291 when I was weighed at the beginning of the bariatric surgery process. I've attributed my weight gain over the last decade to the insidious "domestic spread" - both husband and I have gotten fatter in that time. But that doesn't explain away all the years before that. I have a progressive, hereditary autoimmune connective tissue disease that is treated sort of like cancer - I get infusions at the cancer center every month through a port in my chest and take a low dose of oral chemo at home every week. Women with autoimmune diseases sometimes see a worsening in disease progression after pregnancy, and this was certainly my experience. I've been having to treat my disease aggressively over the past 5 years, and I've recently reached a really stupid cyclical point where the more I weigh, the less effective my treatments are, the more immobile and depressed I become, the more weight I gain, the less effective my treatments are, and so on. This decline in my health and quality of life is what pushed me to reserve a spot in a bariatric seminar in April. As the reality of surgery looms on the horizon, I've begun to worry about some stuff. Somehow I managed to avoid that certain heartbreak that is endemic to fat kids - I was never bullied for my weight (I was popular in my high school, even as a weird kid with green hair and combat boots,) I have never been (obviously, anyways) discriminated against because of my weight, I've always been lucky in love and never had a problem with finding romantic companionship, and so on. The only person that has ever had a problem with my fatness is me. It's been the thing that I've blamed for every disappointment or unhappiness in my life, even though, intellectually, I know that's total nonsense. I worry about what will occupy my thoughts once the fat is gone. What will it be like to thoughtlessly sit in a chair without anxious thoughts of weight limits and chair-smashing public humiliation? What will it be like to not have to obsessively strategize my wardrobe for maximum chub-concealment? What will it be like to simply take up less space? I feel as though I have never not been fat, and I have no idea what to expect. So, Hi!

I am so frustrated. Right after surgery I lost about 15 lbs. Now, 15 days post op, I weigh myself and I'm back up 4. I just started mushies so I am having some foods with more sodium, but I'm not hardly eating. How could I have possibly gained weight? Does anyone know the reasoning for this or has this happened to anyone? I'm incredibly discouraged.

Sooo i need some help! My preop is July 27 surgery date is august 25th. My Bariatric coordinator keeps telling me that if I’m over my original weight my insurance will deny me. She keeps saying Aetna is strict but i don’t have Aetna i have Medicaid but it’s called Aetna better health Maryland. I even called my insurance company and they said weight gain is not something that will deny me that’s not something they look at. Help please!

I've had a pretty major flare-up of my ulcerative colitis which resulted in me getting severely dehydrated on Wednesday and ending up in the ER for an EKG, fluids and bloodwork. All was OK except the dehydration, so I was sent home with strict orders for gatorade, a potassium drink supplement for 10 days (YUCK) and my gastroenterologist prescribed me a 5-week course of prednisone. I'm hoping the prednisone works quickly because the flare-up is pretty miserable and has kept me from working out for close to a month. My weight loss has stayed pretty consistent but I expect that the pred will cause some temporary water-weight gain and facial swelling, so I'm preparing myself for looking like the "old me" for a bit. I know any weight gain will drop right off when I taper down from the pred, but I reserve the right to be whiny for a while about this. Carry on!

Re the weight gain, you've added some healthy muscle. Congratulations. Chances are, your clothes are not any tighter and maybe even a little looser? Re the acne -- any chance you started taking B12 recently? That can suddenly create acne problems for some people. (Google it.) Re the hair -- so many possible reasons, including thyroid (which you've already been tested for). Iron deficiency is another possibility.

Our u weighing yourself daily or once a week on same day? Weight gain can happen daily but over course of weeks should be losing.

My doctor recommend not drinking Becuse the alcohol is now digested in the small intestines which will absorb the alcohol much faster thus giving you a buzz faster then normal. That and the fact that alcohol is a bad habit that will lead to other bad habits that will lead to weight gain and then frailer at WLS. For me that scares the hell out of me I don't want to be FAT ever again. So if it means giving up beer,soda,candy,fatting foods I'm ok with that. I love the way I'm looking and haven't been this light in 40 years. Surgery Anniversary 7/30/12

Ughh. I've gained three pounds from the Prednisone I'm on right now. And I've got about 6-7 days left on this medicine. Please let this just be because of the medicine and not let me gain that much more. Hopefully will lose it once the medicine is done, but I'd been doing so good, so it's disappointing for the time being.

I am feeling very grateful this morning, toward my medical team, this community and most of all, toward my amazing husband, who has been so supportive of my journey. I am just over five months out, and the scale showed 146 pounds this morning. I'm planning on wearing a pair of 29-inch waist jeans today. Yes, jeans (!) - something I never allowed myself before. For the most part, I am wearing size 8 clothing, down from a 16/18. Sometimes a 6 and occasionally a 10. Best of all, in my mid-50's, I like myself and am proud of myself. I no longer avoid being seen in public, as I have in the past. While I would not mind losing another 10 pounds, I think it more important that I stay at a weight that I can hopefully maintain for the long-term - for me, the point of the surgery was to stop struggling and being on a perpetual yo-yo of weight gain and loss, as I have been for my entire life. So, what are your BEST maintenance tips? I have been weak on exercise, but excellent at staying away from grains, sugar and carbs that don't come in the form of fresh fruit and vegetables. Please help me to succeed by sharing what is working for you. Thank you!

A little over a year ago I took my hubby to his GP for a check up. While I waited.... in the waiting area (of all places, funny enough) I was looking over a board of pamplets... pamflets.... nope thats not it either.... info board:thumbup1: and saw some....info on banding. I had them in the top draw of my desk and would always look at them thinking 'there is no way I'm going to be able to afford this treatment' I would sigh and put them back. It wasn't till I was going through the info and found the part about being over 40 BMI (my BMI was up to 60 with only a 3 kg weight gain in late pregnancy, and is now at 50 7 and and a half mts later....swallows hard) that I booked an appt. with my GP to see if there was any way around it. I built a case of *yo yo proof* with photos at all stages of my life, none of which were "skinny", but you could see that this battle was going on for manyyyyy years (50kg here 30kg there) and never even come close to winning. My lovely GP looked at me and said that I was a perfect candidate and don't worry about the money as you should be able to access your superanuation to pay for it. I felt the biggest wash of releif/anxiety/fear/excitement/jelly legs/upside down belly like a child on xmas eve. ohhh did I mention anxiety??? I was then put on a public waiting list at catagory 2 waiting list which translates to, ohhhh about 3 to 6 months waiting list... adn thats only for an interview to be re catagorised again!!! (another 1 year waiting list so I'm told) *slumps in chair* Scratching around in all the sites I find a seminar for banding. gung ho on getting a band I went along and was amazed to learn of this sleeve. Instantly i was.....:thumbup1:. thank god I found this out before signing up for a band where I was prepared to take all the jackpots that come with it. Soooo back to the drawing board, and another mountain of hours looking into sleeve pros and cons. I haven't been able to find many long term sleevers but also haven't heard of many complaints for those who have had it. I am totally happy with my decision to have a sleeve. I was prepared to do a band with all the associated posibilities/disruptions, BUT now am all warm and fuzzy thinking that I beleive I saved myself a bucket load of heartache by choosing a little sleeve. I can't wait to see my doc next week and see what he has to say and what my next move is. Until then I will keep trying to loose weight on my own, wishing the days away.:001_rolleyes: roll on 19th!!! ****off with the fairies for the minute****

I'm 3 weeks out and I'm hitting 350-400 calories. I don't think you are going to mess up at your metabolism at this point. I spent my six month pre-approval doing 800 calories a day and hitting 80 grams of Protein and staying about 45 -60 grams of carbs a day and I lost weight, gained muscle tone during that time. That's pre-surgery with a regular sized stomach. I think you would be pushing it to try to get in more calories. I'm still on liquids. The body will use up the carbs you are using for energy and there are plenty of fat stores for the body to have to burn through before you start messing up your metabolism and blowing through your protein stores. This should not even be a concern at this time. ps I think most people stay at about 800 calories a day until they are in maintenance and those that are extremely athletic may go up 1200, but on a whole, maintenance is about 1100.

I'm up 4 pounds this week and I've been more active than ever, burning around 3500 cals on the 3 days I worked out. Because I weigh daily, I noticed a spike in my weight the day after an intense workout ( cardio+strength training). Is this normal?

Hi There,, I recently had to have my band (and port) removed due to slippage. I was throwing up, had major heartburn all the time, and could hardly eat anything that wasn't "slippery". I was freaked out, too. I had lost 65 pounds and did NOT want to gain any of it back. I decided to have the gastric sleeve done right after the band was removed, but when I woke up, they said they were unable to do so because of the damage done from a hiatal hernia repair that was done when my band was put in 5 years ago. (something about some mesh that was used and it looking like "hamburger" by the time they removed it all) Anyway... I am steadily gaining weight and NEVER feel full. The scale is going back up and up and I"m trying really hard not to get depressed. I love that I don't have heartburn though. I am scheduled for the gastric sleeve in 4 weeks, and I can't wait!!! (meanwhile, I've had to purchase a bigger bra, underwear and stretch pants. NOT WHAT I PLANNED 5 years ago!!) Deep breath. This weight gain in only temporary, right? If you remove your band, replace it with another form of weight loss is my suggestion.

Hi MarilynJ6354! I've always equated any liquid diet to a kind of Jenny-Craig-Syndrome. It's all fine and dandy while you're on it, but humans are not made to survive on Clear Liquids (or prepackaged meals) alone! As soon as you come off of the diet, your body has to reregulate and adjust to not being starved anymore. Your body is just figuring things out right now. While the pre-op diet is essential, truth be told, it's main function is not to make you lose weight. They put you on liquids in an effort to reduce the fat around your liver, making for an easier surgery (and less chance of complications). Some of your liquid diet weightloss was Water weight, and with your exercising now and increased food options, the water weight has just returned. I know it's hard because your band is so new and exciting, but try not to stress about your weight too much right now. Let your body heal, follow your doctor's instructions, and your big weightloss will happen when you're back to real foods and have restriction. For what it's worth, I think going back to liquids would be a HUGE mistake. The only way for us to loose weight long term is to change our daily habits to something healthy and sustainable. A liquid diet is neither healthly nor sustainable. And you will experience the same weight gain everytime you go back to other foods. Hang in there! You're on the right path :-) Just try to focus on making good food choices and keep hitting the gym. The rest will fall into place.

Needing some inspiration today! I feel horrible, I've gained 5lbs... I've been in physio for the last month as I was in a work accident before my weight loss journey began.. I've been here for a month doing physio 5 days a week and only get to get home on the weekends! They only thing I've noticed besides the weight gain is I have bicep that I've never seen before! I live in a hotel for the week and go home the weekends, I try and eat as healthy as I can I buy a roasted chicken and the bagged salad, I know not the greatest but at least it's better then restaurant food! I also have a smoothie for Breakfast everyday I'm here, 1 cup frozen mixed berries, 100 calorie single serving of Greek yogurt, a scoop of body by vi and a scoop whey Protein powder and water! I indulge in some chocolate everyone and then nothing over the top now, and just recently started drinking tea and hot chocolate for a sweet fix! I don't eat potatoes, Pasta or bread! I do how ever eat long grain rice 2 tbs at the most very rare though! Is Water seriously the issue here? I think I've answered my own question I think I only get about 1800 mls a day and obviously that is not enough! Any advice any help would be appreciated as I don't want this to be it the 250"s my goal is too loses anywhere to 80-110 more pounds! Thanks guys... I go home Friday for good and start slowly back to work as a nurse, agh so stressed????

Just curious, if anyone tried anything like Optifast before opting for surgery?If so what was your deal breaker that caused you to go ahead with the surgery instead? I'm on the fence my BMI is 32, I can't find anyone docs in my area that will do the surgery with my BMI, however I'm an insulin dependent diabetic, just was put on an insulin pump, which I fear will cause me more weight gain, I've looked into Optifast, wasn't sure I could do all liquids, but after reading on here, looks like for a time after surgery you are on liquids anyway. Any input would be appreciated.

I am donell1000 and I have alcohol and "dry goods" free for 22 years. I sleeved 6_10_2016. What is interesting about getting sleeved is that it feels somewhat like doing a 28 day detox/rehab. Each day I learn something new about myself and I have to work my weight-loss program the same way I work my recovery. What I am trying to wrap my mind around is how someone can loose weight and then gain it back. Is it just going back to eating the wrong foods? Does the smaller sleeved stomach grow back in size? Please let me know your thoughts... How to Prevent Weight Gain After Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery

Preferences § 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = Backspace Tab q w e r t y u i o p [ ] Return capslock a s d f g h j k l ; ' \ shift ` z x c v b n m , . / shift English Deutsch Español Français Italiano Português Русский alt alt Preferences Hi, I'm 2 years post op and have 2 issues. First my doctor has me taking 1 Prilosec daily. I recently read that taking Prilosec regularly over the age of 50 yrs, causes "bone mass loss"... makes you more susceptible to fractures.... And on top of that another side effect is weight gain! I was never told that. And I initially lost approx. 25 lbs. but now have gained most of it back. I feel like I never should have had this surgery. I had one fill of my band approx. 10 months ago. A few months later I went back and was told that I didn't need another fill as they were afraid I wouldn't be able to eat without vomiting. I guess my biggest concern now is the Prilosec. Is there any alternative? Do other doctors regularly order this? What should I do? Thanks, Sue Preferences § 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = Backspace Tab q w e r t y u i o p [ ] Return capslock a s d f g h j k l ; ' \ shift ` z x c v b n m , . / shift English Deutsch Español Français Italiano Português Русский alt alt Preferences

Has anyone gained weight during nutrition visits? I think I effed up. I gained 10lbs between my consult with the surgeon and second nutrition visit. I explained to her the very devastating loss of a family member... and also how I wanted to kinda .. "eat my last junk foods". since then, I have lost 6lbs. I plan on being down even more when we meet again in 2 weeks. Basically I'm terrified the insurance will deny me because of the 10lb gain- even though I lost it back and more. Has anyone been through this or heard of this? What happened? thanks!

Hi All! I have noticed that over the past 5 days or so, I have been gaining weight. This goes along with the beginning of weight training as well as an increase intake in salt. I must say that I have probably had more carbs than I should in the beginning but I am back on track. Do you think I should attribute this to muscle mass or the retention of Water due to the increased salt intake. Oh yeah, I am also 44 and could be starting menopause. I am just so frustrated. Any words of advice or motivation would definitely be appreciated.

If you are having trouble pooping, that could easily account for your "weight gain." Poop weighs more than you might think. Or it could be water weight or some weird bodily fluctuation or your scale malfunctioning. If you are following your surgeon's plan, consider it just a meaningless fluctuation unless it keeps going on this trajectory for three weeks or so.