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You'll have some water weight gain from the carbs, but it's not the end of the world. Just stick to protein and watch those carbs going forward.

No way honey!!! No way. It will stretch your pouch. Maybe not all at once but over time. Diet coke causes weight gain. Research it. There have been many studies to support it. It's terrible for you, very hard on your stomach and could give you an ulcer. It has a ton of chemicals in it which are awful for you and your new lifestyle. http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20739512,00.html Must read this. Start exploring new things. Perhaps iced decaf tea? Decaf coffee chilled with a little cream? Crystal light.

you're eating way too few calories to have any real weight gain. It's either water or intestinal contents. And yes - most of us do experience our first stall around the third week post-surgery, so that's almost certainly what's going on. Just stick to your plan and stay off the scale for a few days if you need to. It'll break and you'll be on your way again

I have had my band for a little over 5 years and I am very happy to say I have had success with very little problem. Went from 314-171. I have gained about 17 pounds since December and this is the first weight gain I've experienced since banded. I'm having a few issues. Weight gain because I can eat most anything and more of it, acid reflux, (which my reg doc recently put me on meds) and bloating and gas. I'm just wondering why I can eat greater amounts and bread and other no no foods I couldn't eat before? Can my band have lost Fluid or restriction on its own or could there be another prob? Thanks so much for any advice or words of wisdom!

Different doctors and dietitians have their individual approaches to instructing their patients...and for my surgeon, avoidance of all foods which have any added sugars is necessary for success with your weight loss. Also, I was advised to never count calories, only to measure portions carefully, and make healthy food choices with unprocessed foods. This surgery requires developing healthier eating habits, and breaking the ones which contributed to our weight gain to be successful on the weight loss journey. Continuing to give in to your craving for sweets does not break the cycle of carb cravings, only sustains it. While our brains need carbs to function, there are naturally occurring carbs in many healthy and unprocessed foods. Your choices and mileage may vary... Best wishes to you as you continue your weight loss journey!

I am just wondering if a person starts at less than 200 lbs. therefore maybe having less to lose than some others, is their rate of weight less than heavier folks? I want to appreciate my progress and know that is better than wishing for perfection. But I do get frustrated when I seem to eat so little yet lose only one pound per week. I read about so many who lose so much weight in a short time. I do feel happy that I have lost 50 lbs in less than 3 months but it isn't exactly dropping off lately, I still have huge problems with getting enough Fluid and wonder if this is affecting my lack of loss AND.. I am so constipated all the time. I have finally started exercising and expect that I am going to have to be serious about exercise to lose my last 25 lbs. It is hard to be patient and hard to read about people losing 75 lbs in the same time that I have lost 50. My nutritionist told me that I wasn't eating enough or on schedule so I am trying to ensure that I do eat Breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is hard to believe that I should eat more in order to lose weight. It sure is a challenge to adjust my thinking after having tried so many diets etc. I guess it has left me with not the most sensible approach to eating. I still have so many issues that I struggle with: - getting enough fluid - eating three meals per day especially when not necessarily hungry - finding the discipline to exercise - being patient with weight loss - feeling confident about my success thus far. Oh well, I will catch on eventually. It is difficult to be patient and I am anxious to reach my goal. I know I have to be patient. It is just hard to remain hopeful and believe that I will reach my goal, I suppose after so many years of dieting that I probably am looking for the end of a diet as they always have ended in the past. Oh, ended with eventual failure and weight gain. That's where the new thinking must kick in. That this is a life long new way of eating. I haven't been reading the forum lately and realize that it is so helpful and offers such good support. Perhaps I just need to spend some time reading through the helpful advice and experiences of others. Thanks for listening!

One of the reasons why individuals gain weight back after they reach their bottom weight and enter the maintenance stage after surgery is because of grazing. Grazing promotes expanding your pouch and that then leads to weight gain. It is very easy to graze when you are watching television.

For most of us starting a WLS journey, bariatric surgery is vast, uncharted territory, full of unknowns. We long for a happy outcome – maximum weight loss with minimum problems. We listen to stories told by other patients with a combination of hope (to be as successful as they’ve been) and fear (that we won’t experience the side effects or complications they talk about). No one wants to be haunted by the specter of anxiety and dread, but I think a little bit of fear is a good thing. I don’t want fear to dominate my life, but without it, I’m likely to become complacent about my weight loss success and/or revert to the old, all-too-comfortable ways that made me obese in the first place. In small doses, fear keeps me on my toes. Like pain tolerance, fear tolerance varies from one person to the next. Perhaps I’m able to tolerate and use fear because my childhood and adolescence were so full of fear-provoking experiences. By the time I was in my late 20’s, I actually got a little thrill out of fear, possibly because it stimulates adrenalin production. There’s nothing quite like a knife coming at you to activate your fight-or-flight system, causing a perverse fear “rush”. At the same time, prolonged exposure to fear has also taught me to respect it. I don’t play with fear the way daredevils like Evel Knievel did, risking life and limb for the brief thrill of jumping 14 buses at a time with his motorcycle. But I do like the way fear can clear my mental field, forcing me to draw a line between important and unimportant. When the choice is survival or surrender, I’d rather choose survival. I’m not a quitter. When challenged, I’m going to fight back, especially if something precious like my health is at stake. If fear tends to paralyze rather than mobilize you, you may have to use your own compass to navigate a problem, or play follow-the-leader (provided you have a trustworthy leader) instead. Whatever you do, don’t give in. Giving in turns you into a victim (click here to read an article about victim mentality: http://www.lapbandta...-of-obesity-r79), which is not a position of strength in any battle worth fighting. And your health is worth fighting for, isn’t it? So, how can you make fear a working partner in your WLS journey? Let’s take a closer look at two of the more common faces of fear. FEAR OF FAILURE Somewhere between my first, mandatory pre-op educational seminar and my pre-op liver shrink diet, I became uncomfortably aware of a shadow that followed me everywhere. It was dark and scary, and even bigger than I was. It was my fear of failure. After decades of struggle – diets, weight loss, weight gain – I felt that WLS was my absolute last chance to be healthy. And after slogging through all those pre-op tests, evaluations, consults and procedures, I danged well was not going to fail this time. Since I had to admit that my weight management skills were sadly lacking back then (as amply proven by the number on the scale and the numbers in my medical files), the only option available to me was to become the most compliant patient my surgeon ever had (click here to read an article about patient compliance: http://www.lapbandta...g-deal-abo-r112). I had to believe that he and his staff knew what they were doing and would guide me well. I’m a very curious and often mouthy person, so I asked a lot of questions and did my best to understand what was going on in me and around me, but I spent very little time trying to second-guess the instructions I was given. That approach freed up a lot of time and energy that I was then able to devote to changing my eating and other behaviors in ways that helped my weight loss. FEAR OF COMPLICATIONS Compliance served me well I this area also. I can’t claim that I was never tempted to cheat on my pre or post-op diets or to test my band’s limits. I can’t claim that I believed I’d be forever exempt from the side effects and complications I heard about from other WLS patients. But when my dietitian told me (for example) that I’d be mighty sorry if I accidentally swallowed a wad of chewing gum and had to have it scraped out of my stoma, I quickly lost my interest in chewing gum. When I observed that many bandsters experienced certain types of side effects and complications after engaging in certain types of risky behaviors, I resolved not to follow them down the road of no return. Eventually I discovered that life after WLS can deliver some unpleasant surprises, just as in every other aspect of life. I had to learn some things the hard way, like: If you swallow a large antibiotic capsule that can’t pass through your stoma and slowly dissolves into a corrosive mess, you will end up in the ER thinking you’re having a heart attack (and end up with a big unfill). And no, liquid antibiotics don’t taste good, but they taste a lot better than the weight I regained after that unfill. Most of the mistakes I made were the result of impatience or carelessness, but I did my best to learn from those mistakes and keep moving on. A handful of mistakes was about all it took for me to decide not to challenge the validity of my surgeon’s and dietitian’s instructions, and that kept me trudging along the bandwagon trail, getting ever closer to my weight goal. And once I reached that wonderful place, I was determined to stay there!

CG is right. I've been at my current weight since January and have gone down as much as two clothing sizes. Somehow the body does get smaller even if it doesn't show on the scale. In fact, the only reason I weigh myself at all is because I'm on steroids and need to watch for Water weight gain as that can indicate kidney issues.

... I think! If my scale is correct, I have lost 15 pounds this week. I really wasn't expecting that - but I'll take it! I wanted to thank all of you for participating in this forum - I have read alot and learned much that has been really helpful. Like, I was still having pain, but it was intermittent and now I know it was just gas! Now I am walking more and watching the dairy I eat and that has helped alot. I gather there was alot my doctor didn't tell me about the post op symptoms, but I've learned a great deal here. My name is RoseAnne and I live in San Diego. I am, er... was 237 pounds. Now 222. I have 72 more pounds to lose. I had my surgery on Sept 12, 2 days before my 46th birthday. (Really ruined my husbands plans for dinner at Ruth's Chris!) The first few days I didnt drink much of anything except water and chicken broth. But since the 3rd day I have a little program. I have a protein shake for breakfast, sugar free popsicles for snacks, isopure for lunch that's 40 grams of protein plus a cup of broth (it just seems to feel better if it's warm) and a cup of soup for dinner with a tlbsp of whey powder mixed in (thicker and warmer is really better!) I love pureed hot and sour soup from the chinese restaurant nearby and it's very filling, very flavorful, full of good things and low on calories. I never thought I would like pureed tofu - but there ya go! I gather I am one of the 'lucky' ones in that I haven't really been 'hungry'. I feel hunger pains, but not the hunger urge. It's uncomfortable, but I don't feel ravenous like I did before the surgery. Weird. But I just keep telling myself I'm really not hungry. I am so happy because I don't have to eat at night! I used to eat all night long - hence the 90 pound weight gain - but I just couldnt stop. If I do feel hunger pains at night I have a cup of broth and a popsicle. That's it! I am amazed and praying that it lasts! I survived dinner out with my husband and visiting cousin tonight. I had albondigas soup and gave them the meatballs. THEY had fajitas. While I couldnt resist the guacamole (just that, on a spoon - two bites) I was ok with them ooohing over their food and obviously enjoying themselves. No problems with the guacamole it's very mushy and I mushed it some more The doctor said he filled 1cc during surgery; I go back in two weeks for a followup. I had quite a bit of pain after the surgery for a few days, then the gas... reading the forum helped me to know that it was all normal and not to panic. I was beginning to doubt my decision honestly... but now I am feeling very good about it again and thank you all for that. :thumbup:

In pre-surgery counseling, I was told there would be no follow-up, BUT, if I should feel depressed, should I reach a plateau, need someone to talk to, or even ask for medication, I CAN and with open arms, but it is up to me to ASK, and to ASK was stressed about a half-a-dozen times. I wanted my surgery very badly, and I was determined not to appear depressed in any way during my counseling session. I had to pass to get to the next level. When it comes to depression, thin people are just as depressed as large or obese people. Everyone has issues and there's no magic to solve any of them. But when there's severe weight loss, and then weight gain after all that, I just can't imagine not being being even more determined to keep it off. But it does depend what kind of self-medication is used by post bypass patience. BUT correctly said, food is our (my) "drug of choice". It made me feel good, it made me feel bad. We're the opposite of those who choose to starve themselves as their drug. Those who starve themselves get the "awe" media attention and "what a pity", while large people get "they just don't have any self-control" snipers. AND not all large people are large because of over-eating. My metabolism went wonky 20 years ago, and Synthroid for hypothyroidism helped to slow my weight gain, but it could not put the brakes on weight gain altogether. I'm up to 250mcg /day dose, (doctor's say it's high), with a metabolism that's way whacked out. If it remains the same once I achieve my weight goal, I will be the perfect candidate to put all my weight back on again. So I not only have to be goal oriented being banded, I have a lifestyle to change and maintain forever and I hope my forever is at least 40 more years.

Big baby (over 10lbs at birth), but was never fat as a child. I was however positively HUGE compared to my skeletal sister and brother. So although I wasn't fat, I thought I was; an earlier poster stated it - a self-fulfilling prophecy. By the twenties, after university the weight gain started. Slowly at first but then more and more. I would diet, lose some, gain more - most of us know the result. It took my 50th birthday for me to grow up or something and say 'enough is enough'. My skeletal brother and sister still are, and not by intent or diet. They just are. But most times I forgive them this sin.

...just my dw and pastor. I have also told my older kids and plan to tell the younger ones soon. I have just had so many failures in the past. Major weight loss followed very quickly by even more major weight gain. It's so humiliating (and public). Beyond a small "inner circle" I'm going to play it by ear. One of the great things I have read about the band is that even when people are not strictly following the "rules" they are at least not gaining 5 pounds/week as I do when I am "off the wagon." They seem to maintain or gain/lose just a little.

Glycogenation is the primary reason for weight gain when starting a new exercise routine. Exercise enhances your muscle’s energy storage capacity. Active bodies require more fuel, so one adaption involves storing the carbohydrates you eat as glycogen in the muscle tissue. Therefore, you may be losing fat when you start a new exercise routine, but the progress you make has been masked by water weight gain. You could have perhaps lost a couple of pounds of fat the first week but gained a few pounds of glycogen in that time. In essence, you get on the scale and conclude you're stalling because you see water weight gain. You might have even jumped to the conclusion your exercise regimen is all for nothing. Therefore, hide the scale for several weeks. Measure your progress how loosely your clothes fit, not by some arbitrary scale number. Also, bump up your food intake. The less you eat, the more your body wants to retain water. Nourish your body with the food it needs, and it will reward you by eventually shedding its fat stores.

When was your last fill? Being too tight can lead to not only weight gain but slips. I can't tell you how many people I've seen on here who have bands too tight, don't want to have any removed despite the warnings, and end up back posting about a slip a couple months later. Tighter isn't always better, and if you're too tight, you're a ticking time bomb for complications.

I knew from the beginning that Lap band was the way for me, I have two co-workers who have the gastric done, and they tried to convince me that, that would be the way to go. When I see one of them in the bathroom all the time (getting sick) because she ate something that she wasn't supposed to, I know that I made the right choice. I love me band, because I still have control and it's up to me to make good food choices as opposed to my body rejecting something that I really want but don't want to get sick. This person actually had it done twice a (revision) because she gain all of her weight back. My director actually had it done several years ago, and she has doubled her weight gain. I know with the Lapband you can gain as well, but if you feel that your are eating too much with this you can at least have a fill. It's been 3 months since my surgery I've lost 40 pounds without having a fill. Just know whatever you decide you have to be dedicated to it. Good luck.

I had "stomach stapling" in the early '80's and after getting to my goal of losing 100 lbs. I gained all of it back over the past 15 years. I'm thinking of a bypass but wonder if anyone has the same story as I and what the result was. Thanks

Greetings everyone! I had my surger in 2009 and I dropped down to 176, size 12/14. I kept the weight off for a while, but this past year I've gained 20 pounds. In my mind I know what to do, how to eat, what exercise to do, but I just feel like the biggest failure. Believe me, I'm not one to have a pitty party for 1, but lately I've just been feeling so down. I know the VSG is a tool and I know, clearly, you can gain weight back, but I wanted to know if there was anyone else out there like that has been successful, but then gained weight. I haven't gained all of my weight back, THANK YOU JESUS and my size 14 clothes still fit (barely). Size 16 fits better and I DO NOT want to go back in the 200s. Anyone out there like me? I know its all a mental thing, but sometimes having someone to talk to helps. Thanks for reading. -Cyncha21-

First and foremost, wanted to say a huge congrats to all who have made the decision to get surgery. There's a misconception that it is the "easy way out" and given the research I've needed to do in order to even get this far, I know it is no where NEAR easy. So congrats to y'all. A little bit about me: I've been struggling with my weight ever since I was in high school but most significantly since I entered college. Of course there's the "freshman 15" but I gained about 35 pounds that year alone. Two years later my boyfriend of four years past away and that set me on a depression that lead to even more weight gain. I've been unhappy with myself and completely lost self confidence. After a frank and honest discussion with my family, we decided that more extreme measures needed to be taken as diet and exercise wasn't working. Unfortunately, my health insurance will not cover the surgery (due to the plan we have) and it's too much to pay out of pocket in the US. So I have made the decision to go forward with surgery in Mexico and have already taken the first step in submitting the questionnaire. For context, I'm 24(soon to be 25) Female Cw:332 Height: 5"6 Long term goal weight: 140 I hope to have RNY Gastric Bypass Surgery. I am excited and nervous to begin this journey, so any and all tips, words of encouragement, advice or information any of you have will be greatly appreciated!! Looking forward to being a part of the community here!

I think the Peanut Butter may be a little too much. I would reduce that for sure. I can't eat much more then 1/4 cup per meal and was told not to go above 1/2 cup. If you are on maintenance perhaps consider Snacks rather then large meals. I believe it's because you need to preserve the size of your pouch to avoid weight gain later on. food can slide right through your new tummy and you could end up gaining the weight back. I think that's why your medical team wants you to stay with a smaller portion. Also, to digest your food properly it has to stay in the pouch for an hour. If it slides through, the readily absorbed nutrients are the only ones going into your body and it also leads to gas and all sorts of intestinal issues. Good Luck

Be honest. How can they help you if you’re not. The change to your meds & the strange way in which we’re living could have contributed to your weight gain. Your dietician is there to support & guide you so take advantage of their services. I’m sure you want to get back on track. Good luck.

Yes, my doc said the pill can cause mild weight gain at first because of the hormones.

Michelle, everyone's loss is different. There is so much variability. So many different things to think about. I really would try not to compare your loss with anyone else's because it gets really hard if you don't lose as much as someone else. Or then if you lose more than someone else you get a little complacent. It's crazy the head games we all play. 40 pounds in less than a year is awesome! I tried carrying around a 5 gallon bottle of Water yesterday, which is about that heavy, and it almost killed me carrying it to the truck. And just think how much healthier you are. Awesome. As far as how you are doing, I would look at the skills you have learned this last year. Have you gotten great at getting in all your fluids? 60+ oz per day gets you hydrated enough to burn calories. It is so key and seems so unmeaningful. Have you gotten great at counting your calories without a counter? I'm pretty good at judging my calories without using my book. With that skill I can stay pretty close to 1000 cals without a lot of effort. But it took me a few months of plugging in EVERY food to the daily plate. Until I could judge my cals I was up and down too much to stay consistant. Or maybe you have done a great job of getting in exercise 4-6 times a week. That's my downfall. Honestly it's the first think I don't do....and that is always a slippery slope. The other thing I do EVERY DAY is weigh in. That way I can keep close track of any weight gain. I have a number that if I get over that any morning I work extra hard that day to follow all the rules. Usually it's just a matter of daily fluctuation but I never let it get above that set number. So look at those things and see which you have made an awesome part of your life. If this is going to work, you have to make it a natural part of every day. That way we won't get off track so easy. Celebrate the greatness you have done. Then look at one more thing you can put into your daily routine. Make it natural and then see what else you can do. You are doing great though. This is a forever thing, not a month or two thing. We will always have times when there are bad days or weeks. It is just as important to have ways to cope with those as it is to lose steadily. Keep plugging away and celebrating your losses. Way to go!!!!

Yeah, it's a pretty small amount of hormones, plus it's also local hormones, not systemic (as with a pill), so it's not likely to cause a ton of weight gain. Paragard tends to cause very heavy periods, so I don't know if you'd be happy with it. I'm on the pill, anyway.