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Fat is essential to health. You shouldn't aim for no fat. Probably aim for about 25% - 30% calories from healthy fats. At 200 lbs. and 1500 max daily caloric intake you shouldn't be gaining. If you aren't underestimating your calories it's probably just water weight. Salt intake, heavy exercise, switching from a low carb to higher carb diet and increased glucagon storage, can all cause water weight gain. Log your food. Stop drinking with meals as it speeds stomach emptying and makes you hungrier faster. And remember liquid calories are very fattening so stay away from juice, soda, beer, etc. I wouldn't aim for less then 1000 calories a day as I did that a couple months back and now my hair loss has started back up again. As long as you're weighing yourself and tracking your food intake so you can stay on top of things, you should be fine. Best of luck.

I am 5'2" tall and 180 lbs, looking for an advice which procedure best and safest. I spoke to my family doctor and suggested the balloon but my worry there, can I maintain my weight after taking the balloon out after 6 months or gain back? I did Keto for 4 months and lost 20 lbs but gained back when I traveled somewhere for 2 weeks as I used to do exercise and cook my keto food. Until I slowly feel that my weight gained back and can't keep my keto routine and exercise. My family doctor says Gastric Sleeve surgery is irreversible and if there is an infection and something wrong or not for me, I can't put it back. And later on, there must be a serious side effect. And now I am here, I don't know what to do. Please drop advise and opinion and encouragement here please!!!!!!!!!

Hypoglycemia is on track because I had to eat alot of fat and carbs to get it there because of low blood sugar and now a ton of weight gain. This surgery is NOT for everyone and I say that unapologetically

I agree with the previous posts. IV fluids can cause significant weight gain. Hang in there! It’ll come off.

I’m feeling a little depressed of lately and have been eating my emotions away.. I’m 1 year post gastric sleeve i only lost a total of 70lbs i was hoping to loose at least a 100 or more based on most people i know lost 100 or more. I only lost 70 but i know why because I’ve been eating off way off... In addition i gained like 6-7lbs i was 268 now I’m 274.i started at 243 I have to get back in track i got really excited that i can eat and been snacking on a lot of nuts plus i wanna work out more haven’t done it consistently since surgery.. i also wanna do the keto diet have anyone tried keto or intermittent fasting after gastric sleeve... I know i ‘m my own downfall when it comes to my diet!!!! I’ve been thru so much with surgery and complications i dont wanna gain it back i need some motivation and some inspiration... Feeling so defeated

Bread, Pasta, and sugar is what fueled my binging and weight gain, with an incessant appetite and non-stop hunger. With my calories limited at 800, I need to be diligent in using those 800 for Protein and veggies. So, there is no interest now in turning back. No more grain products for me. I do not want to open that door.

I am 25 years old 5’ 4’’ 240 ish lbs (~41 BMI) and I have been struggling with uncontrollable weight gain due to Hashimotos and PCOS for the last 7 years. I haven’t been told by any doctors that I should get a sleeve done and it won’t be covered by my insurance but I am willing to do financing. I will be talking to my endocrinologist tomorrow but I am afraid they aren’t going to want me to do it (Idk why I think I’m just nervous). I have already found a surgeon and location to do it Ive just got to make a final decision. Just looking for opinions!

My wife is adjusting her diet significantly because of my pre-op diet and, due to everything I learned over the course of that 3 month diet, my post-op diet plans, and seeing how successful it's been at dropping my weight and drastically improving other health issues associated. I've expressed my concern numerous times to her because she has PCOS, and I've told her I don't want her to experience what I went through with my weight gain. She wants us to have more children but I don't want to until she gets her weight down (she's around 205, like 80 pounds over her weight), to reduce the chances of situations like gestational diabetes, never mind the risks she runs of diabetes in general with her current weight (adding weight only making that situation potentially worse). Changing the diet helps doubly not only with her own health but with the health of any children we have (especially as a fetus).

I lost 16 lbs the first month, and I started out way heavier than you. Plus almost everyone has their first stall within the first month after surgery. There are lots of factors that influence your rate of weight loss, and the above poster is right - at 250, you're not going to lose nearly as fast as someone who starts out at 450 lbs. As long as you're seeing a general downward trend, you're fine. P.S. as far as gaining a pound, who knows. Hormones? Constipation? Water retention from some high-sodium meal? Any of those can cause a slight - and temporary - weight gain. As long as you're eating what you're supposed to be eating, your weight will drop again.

Hi guys. New to forums. Had Lap Band in 2009. First visit to surgeon was 346 lbs. 321 on day of surgery. Lowest weight was 176. Had car accident, (broken ribs, etc)... lost restriction. Steady weight gain since. Checked for band slip, checked for dilation. Currently 290+. So... Have heard positive feedback about sleeve. Wondering.... is it worth a shot in the dark to get things back in control. Should also say... cardiac surgery in 08, cardiac surgery due next week. 1) Revision surgery - does insurance still require a pre-surgery supervised diet or do they exclude that by situational circumstances? 2) Would you have done the sleeve again, as a revision, if you had to turn back time? I had a great experience with the band, while I was rockin' it. However, I feel like the doctor's office stopped supporting me when I started regaining. So now.... what do I do?

This is pretty normal. Weight gain, weight loss and surgery are the ideal recipe for messing up our schedules. Throw in the onset of menopause and I never know when I am getting a period! pre-surgery I had nothing for 9 months, post-surgery it was every two weeks but now I haven't had a period for two months.

Just wondering what you are wanting from dear old dad. You start out by saying he is supportive and you know he loves you. But you find his comments critical. Well I can imagine his seeing you slipping into the old weight gaining patterns is hard for him to watch. So he is trying to say STOP doing what you are doing while treading carefully . So I suggest you cut dad some slack and look at the person who is really responsible for you frustration.It is not his fault you have gained 50 lbs. And when you get serious about your issues he will be right there to support your efforts. Just like he was in the begining....

7 Months out and I've been hit with baby fever! My older 2 are 2.5 years apart, and if I were to conceive now, the middle and baby will be 2.5 years apart! I've lost 100lbs with another 50 to go till goal. Am I crazy for wanting a baby now? I was planning a tummy tuck for the beginning of 2016 so I'm not worried about stretching my tummy. A little worried about weight gain. Any insight? Also, does anyone have 3 kids? Is it bad having an odd number? I have 2, and would have my tubes tied after the third.

As most of you know I have been dealing with a lot of spine problems that have progressively gotten worse over the last 6 months. I had surgery 4 weeks ago to have an old non working neurostimulator removed. They believed that the surgically placed leads were somehow causing this severe nerve pain across my back and radiating into my right rib cage. Honestly this pain has been some of the worst I have ever felt in my life and having severe osteoarthritis in my spine in other places is pretty severe. This pain is even worse. Anyway, we have to wait another 4 to 6 weeks to do an MRI to ensure they don't address artifacts from the surgery I had. prior to this they did do a CT scan which showed a Schwarnoma (benign tumor) on one of my nerve roots in my thoracic spine. Today when the doc examined me we discovered that I have numbness both on my back and my right front rib cage. He believes it is this Schwarnoma on my T11 level that is causing all of this and is not wanting to order an MRI. Instead he wants me to remain on both Vicodin and now gabapentin to see if that helps. If that don't work he wants to do epidural injections and consider putting a new neurostimulator in. I will not agree to that plan. Anyway, he did say that gabapentin can cause weight gain. I have never taken this drug and I am guessing because of how I eat and my bypass tool, the weight gain should not be an issue. I am wondering if anyone is experiencing weight gain with gabapentin and if so do you have tips and tricks on the weight gain front? I have worked very hard to get nearly to my goal and I am very restricted on exercise. I have to be honest I really am nervous about this approach but I am willing to give it a try because this pain has literally stopped me in my tracks. It has been going on since June and it actually overwhelmed me. I have very good coping skills and I normally would not take narcotics but no matter what I do this particular pain has really gotten the best of me. So I am willing to try it but just wondering if anyone has experience with this drug post operative. Thanks for your help!

I live in the Richmond area. I am seriously considering the lapband. I am 5'7" and weigh 278. I've struggled my entire adult life with weight. almost two years ago my husband died after a two year battle with lung cancer (he was only 40!!) and my mother six months after him (colon cancer, after beating breast cancer!!), leaving me with a beautiful little girl who is now five years old, that we adopted from China (got her, and five mos. later he had cancer). I am trying to get my life back together but am frustrated with my weight and finding time for ME to get it off. My blood pressure, which was always excellent (even when I'm heavy) steadily rose during his illness and my weight gain. My GP said if I lose weight I can get off the meds for sure. I also take stuff for anxiety, depression, thyroid, and am wondering how much of that I can ditch once I'm in shape. I hesitate at doing any surgery because there is no one to help me take care of my daughter while I recover (much less take care of me :cry ) but it looks like the lap band has a really short recovery period. I am going to get a consult with one of the surgeons in town who do this, but was wondering if there was anyone out there in my area who can share their experience? I'm 48 now and all my docs keep telling me I need to take care of ME so I'll be around to raise my daughter. I'd like to have enough energy for her as well! Anyway, my clinical psychologist suggested lap-band to me last week and I started looking into it. I'm starting to think it makes sense for me. thanks for any input. I plan to read as much as I can in this forum. We belonged to a very similar styled forum for lung cancer and it was wonderful - really got us through a horrible thing. So I was tickled to stumble here.

I agree the cause of weight gain is not the size of your stomach, it is what you are eating and of course grazing could contribute to this.

Honestly, I'm only one month out but from reading everyone's comments on the topic, people only regain when they start eating unhealthy and pushing their intake and grazing (snacking alll day long). Also, a lot of people prevented weight gain because they noticed they gained a few lbs and quickly put themselves in check. Those who have gained did not do that from what i'm reading.

I know this is something I want to do, but I'm nervous about the long term weight gain I have heard about. Is there information to read up on? I eat pretty intuitively/healthy now after a lifetime of yoyo dieting, but I don't want to undergo major surgery just to keep yoyo'ing. Thoughts?

My former PCP was always reluctant about WLS but he'd been w/me thru years of up and down scale numbers, trying different diets, health issues, etc. When I finally approached him about it, he was happy to give me the referral to the bariatric program. About the time I was finishing up, I needed to get an okay from my PCP saying I was in good enough shape for surgery and he had just moved on to another department! My 1st appt w/my new PCP was to get the surgery okay!!! I was freaking out! I had NO clue as to who this guy was and here I'd gone thru the whole program and was only waiting for this step so I could get my date and then pre-op testing done! Well, he was happy to do that for me! He'd had WLS patients in his private practice before coming to Kaiser and he'd seen good things happen. Fast forward and I have yet another PCP and this guy is typical anti-WLS, you can do this by cutting calories and exercising, blah, blah, blah. He's good but he makes me nuts too! LOL!! Didn't help that by this time I was having weight gain issues, due to problems w/my band. I did NOT have to go thru him to get my Sleeve. Good thing b/c I don't think he would have signed off on it. My surgeon told me my band had to come out and he was offering me the Sleeve as an alternative. I don't even think my PCP knows about my surgery. I would try your PCP first. Don't be nervous, they work for you. But have a plan of action to put in to play IF he gives you grief about it. Best wishes!

Greetings everyone, Thanks for sharing your experiences with AETNA. I'm just completing my six month supervised diet and my concern is that I actually didn't lose any weight during the six months--I actually gained (I lost the six months prior to being medically supervising using Weight Watchers and attending 2-week program at Duke DFC). When I read the requirements from the AETNA website, it doesn't say that you actually have to be successful at the weight loss during the six month period, just supervised. My PCP agrees and says that there are many reasons for situations like mine and if anything, the weight gain shows that I do need the help that the LAPBAND will provide so he will provide the letter of medical necessity anyway. However the Doctor at the Bariatric program where I participated in six-month supervised diet feels that surgeon will not perform surgery because of the recent weight gain (although I'm still well within the parameters) and most importantly that AETNA will NOT even consider or approve my application for the surgery -- VERY DISCOURAGING. Has anyone had this experience? Specifically with AETNA either approving or denying the application although recording a weight gain during their six month supervised program? I do appreciate your replies, remarks and sharing! Thank you in advance for your continued generosity of spirit and support!!! Daniel in Atlanta P.S. I'm still trying to decide between a surgeon at Emory Crawford Long Hospital and DeKalb Medical -- any feedback on either?

Hiya delove--- I have no problem swallowing the Camila pill (also known as the mini pill-- I'm assuming because of its small size and lack of estrogen). You take it every day at the exact same time and there is no week of sugar pills like with the other pills. It is very small and goes down easy. I don't necessarily need to wash it down with water either...it's that small. I've been taking it for almost 2 years now with no other problems, ie: weight gain, hair loss, etc. To get a good sense of what's best for you, check with your doc, but in the meantime, check out www.bedsider.org. There is tons of information on all the different kinds of birth control available on the market today. It also compares different types and can give you a better idea of which one may work best for you. They even have appointment reminders, refill of your medicine reminder, and daily reminders to take your medicine. You can use all of those things are only one of those things, whatever works best for you. I use their daily text reminders to make sure I take my pill at the same time every day. The reminders are usually facts about sex/birth control statistics and other random things, so just be mindful if you offend easy. But I like that they are using facts so I'm okay with that. (Even my co-worker uses the text birth control reminder the help him remember to take his heart meds daily, lol!!!) Message me if you have more questions!

I am about a month and a half post-surgery and things have been going well...have had energy, losing weight at a decent pace and seeing a difference but literally all my happiness went away yesterday and struggling to find it again. Just like many of us, my weight has been up and down for many, many years and I actually have a lot of clothes (some even new) that I haven’t been able to wear in the past 2 years or so bc of weight gain (again). I’ve been as small as a size 4 in the past and I have all those clothes, plus some other sizes Even though I told myself I wouldn’t do it just yet until I lost a little more, I decided to go through my closet. I know I am not a size 4 so I didn’t touch those clothes and felt ok waiting for the near future to even look at them. But what really bothered me is that I tried on a shirt I wore in 2015 when I was literally the same weight i am today (I know bc i kept track on my Fitbit the last time I went through a major exercise and diet plan and lost a whole bunch)....and it didn’t fit!!! [emoji20][emoji20] i even went back to find a picture Back in 2015 when I had the shirt on and it looks good! I am so confused. I know bodies change and all but I really thought it would and it completely crushed me. I know it shouldn’t and I should be happy with where I am at but now I am super depressed and trying to understand why. You would think that if it fit then it should fit now right? Just needed to vent bc I hope some of you understand how I’m feeling. It’s amazing how one little thing can completely take away all the positive thoughts I had about this journey and my way forward. Btw, I have lost a total of 43 lbs.

Thank You for you words, But I had been working out everyday and was told to limit myself to 3 times a week. And yes i see a nutritionist every month for three years now. But the weight gain is driving me crazy.

Hi All, I am relatively new here but I had my band out recently in preparation for a sleeve in a few months. I found lap band talk very helpful when I lost 100+ lbs with my band before the trouble started (as it seems to). When I had my band surgery I was clear that there was no long term data on the durability of the band but I took that risk. I know that the sleeve hasn't been done for that many years as a stand alone procedure (not part of the DS) but as I look through the posts I don't see many posts from people who are more than a couple of years out. Do we think that this because they have moved on with their life and don't need the support of this board too much or is it because they have regained? Does anyone know sleeve patients in real life who are many years out? Like 5+? I know that obesity is a life-long problem and I will have to be constantly vigilant. I also feel confident that I can make the sleeve work and lose the weight I need to -- I am so concerned about regain and I was hoping I could have some input from you all about that. My body loves to gain weight as evidenced by the rapid weight gain every time my band was loosened and then removed.

So... I've been a busy new mom, so I haven't been on posting as much as I'd like, but I thought I'd update everyone on how things went. Hopefully this will be encouraging to other bandsters who want to have babies! So after several years of infertility, I do believe that my weight loss from being banded helped me get pregnant, have a healthy pregnancy, and a healthy baby. I got pregnant in July of 2011 (one month after being banded!) and had a miscarriage. Then I got my a** in gear and worked with my doc to balance out my hormones; but she said that she thought I was healthy enough to go for it! I got pregnant with my daughter in January 2012. These were my fears: 1) Nausea and vomiting would make me slip my band... Well, I'm glad to report that although I did have a fair amount of nausea, I was just really careful about keeping it under control as much as I could, and when I did throw up, to treat myself as well as possible. No slippage! 2) Weight Gain Well, I have 2cc in my band, and I still have 2cc in my band, and I still have restriction. I still don't know if I'll ever need a fill or not. I only gained about 17 pounds total for the whole pregnancy, and I've lost that and then some since she's been born (Yay breastfeeding!) 3) Other complications I had NO gestational diabetes. I think though, that this is because I was EXTREMELY picky about my diet throughout my pregnancy. I realized that everything I was eating went directly to the baby, and with the lapband, I had to make the best choices possible nutritionally so that I got enough nutrition in to help my little one grow. That being said, I did have a couple problems. I don't know if they were related to my weight or not... certainly not to the band, but here they are: Kidney stones: Yes, I had them. They HURT so bad!!! I thought I was going into early labor; but nope. Kidney stones! Fortunately, they were small enough that I just passed them. OW! Pre-Eclampsia: I developed high blood pressure at about 26 weeks. It just didn't go away... eventually it got worse and worse, and there was Protein in my urine. I got induced two days before my due date and my blood pressure was 190/110!! Fortunately, the cure for pre-eclampsia is to have a baby! Swelling: I had a lot of swelling, but I think it was due to the pre-eclampsia more than anything. I got scolded by doctors for 'doing too much.' I was told to stop exercising at 7.5 months. C-Section: This was most likely related to being induced. A lot of the time, when the body is in an unnatural state of labor, ie induction, it's just too much stress on you and the baby. I never dilated past 4cm, and the baby's heartrate was fluctuating dangerously. I tried to labor. I labored for over 30 hours, and nothing... so I got a C section. I'm actually not disappointed. The medical staff was awesome, and I really liked my doctor, and they took good care of me. My baby girl was born perfectly healthy 7lbs 8 oz with an apgar score of 9! She had no health issues whatsoever. Funny things: Doctors kept thinking that my port was the baby's foot. It poked out a lot during pregnancy. I called it my 'turkey timer.' So I hope that provides some perspective. I really hope that all of y'all who are hoping to have babies get to experience this joy. You all deserve it! If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them! Here's my little sweetheart! She's now 3 months old!