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The stall is normal. We all have them. The weight gain could be a simple as water. So hang in there and press forward. Keep up the good work. You will break through it!

I am 5 weeks post op and have been going up and down a few ounces to a pound..because of a stall...this morning I weighed in and gained 3 pounds... wth is this???? Anyone else have this happen???

Weight gain is possible with ALL of the surgeries. The bypass has a 12-18 month honeymoon period, where the weight starts melting off. But after that, if the person doesn't "do the work", they can end up back where they started. And now with a rewired system, that doesn't function the way God intended. I think with the band, if someone is truly motivated, and in it for the long haul, they will have long term success. As bandsters, our work starts the minute we wake up from surgery. There is no free ride with this, which for me, is just fine. At some point they all become work, and I'm totally fine starting my work right out of the gate. Congrats on your great success with the band. THESE stories are the ones I come here for

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

Yeah I don't really see the problem either. As long as you are holding yourself accountable throughout the whole day calorie and protein wise by keeping track of everything you put in your mouth. Right now we cannot eat very much so the snacking will not add on the calories. If it is a habit a year out, then your snacking might add more calories than you expected which could cause weight gain. I keep track of my calories etc. on myfitnesspal. If I don't reach my protein by late afternoon I usually drink one of my protein shakes to up the numbers.

Hi everyone, I'm not pregnant I'm on birth control. I'm being careful because they said wait 18 months. I'm worried about weight gained and post pregnancy weight loss. If you could educate me on your experiences (I'm a total planner). I am trying to swallow the thought of gaining weight. Both previous pregnancies were about 40lbs but I had gestational diabetes with both. And could not get pregnant because of fertility issues after my last, I have pcos, but I'm cycling every 28 days even without bc. Can you breast feed after? I did with my son and would love to do it again. Thanks for all your information and advice before hand. Sent from my EVO using VST

So I totally let the excitement of seeing the surgeon on Thursday and just nearing the end of the pre-op process get the best of me. I've gained 3.2 lbs since my last weight check at home. I'm not discouraged just mad I allow myself to eat emotionally still. Grrrr.. Back to the grind today tho.. Chocolate protein shake for breakfast here I come! Have a good day my sleeve friends! Monnica

I have PCOS and it was the reason for my weight gain, I tried everything including eating air and I still couldn't lose weight, I am coming In to my ninth month post surgery and I am 4 kilos to goal weight yay, I still don't get my period though only had it once since surgery, but planning on baby number two hopefully it doesn't take 7 years to fall this time with the added help of the weight loss. Lilly

Hi all.... New to the site officially though I've been stalking for a few months....so tarted the official process back in jan... So things are moving along partly because of my outshines. I had been stalking my doctors office for a while ad tthis past Friday (2 weeks and one day since my last visit) got ge call I've even waiting for _ insurance approved surgery. I was having an awful day at work and just knew that this hone call would turn things around. Much to my chagrin it didn't. I didn't even tell my husband right away ... Instead I began stressing about coverage at work and scheduling. That quickly turned into worry about my latest eating patterns... I am theeaviest iI've ever been....246ish and have been eating everything not nailed down. This weekend alone I've consumed more than anyone should. I'm scared now that the moment I've been waiting for is so close and I'm possibly not ready. Past few weeks was stressful at work and that has contributed to the senseless eating. Which turned into crazy weight gain. I can't fit into any of my clothes and that only adds t my sadness. So it's here right, it's time for me to channel and refocus my energy to maximizing my upcoming tool.... Right ?JUST To ve u a glimpse of what's going on in my head. Eating but can't say I'm truly enjoying anything. I've read a few self help books regarding identifying what drives my relationship with food,... And the logic is all there and yet I'm still just spiraling out of control. I'm looking forward to surgery physically stopping me from eating, BUT I've heard so many horror stories of ppl gaining post surgery. To top it off I'm not ready to share with anyone only mom, hubby and my manager know what's coming. I want to transfer my food blessing with exercise but I've never loved exercise ... I want to and even broke y own record with an 8 month regular exercise regime. Didn't lose but wasn't gaining like I have since I stopped right before thanksgiving. Has anyone else experienced ths? Is something going to click for me soon to help me turn around? Has anyone else experienced any of this during their journey ? Would love some feedback/advice.

Debbie, thank you for the validation. I'm also off work for 6 weeks and I'm so glad too. It's good to know that you felt the exhaustion too. It makes sense with the "hibernation syndrome". I was so cold forever and just plain exhausted. No other word to describe it. But, honestly, over the last few days, I feel like I've turned the corner. I have more energy, I'm not nearly as cold and I feel like I'm living some again. I'm on the upswing!!! Jackie, the weight gain is very normal. I gained in the first week too. They flood you with IV fluids in the hospital and then your body goes in to a sort of shock and holds on to everything it has as a survival mode type thing. Then when you body realizes things are ok, it starts to let it go. As far as getting your fluids in, I took a water bottle to bed with me. I woke up already a lot because I was uncomfortable, so when I woke up, I would take a sip of water. It really helped get my fluids in. I constantly have some sort of beverage at my side. I'm even able to wait the time before and after meals to drink. Remember that your shakes count for fluid too. I will tell you that I use the app MyFitnessPal that keeps track of all my fluids, proteins, and everything. It has been such a helpful tool for me. Let me know if you need ANYTHING and I'd be happy to help! Stay strong, you made a very hard decision and you're through the hardest part. You can do this!!!!

I was told that I was "underweight" as well. I gained 10 pounds. I have an appt with my surgeon on the 19th. With the weight gain I am hoping I will be approved with no issues. Self pay is not an option for me.

Nicolanz beat me to it...but I was going to bring up caffiene and tobacco. Many people are addicted to one or both of those substances, but I doubt all of those addicts steal, cheat and lie to get their fix. Some may lie to their spouses about not smoking, but who lies about coffee? If you do, you've got bigger problems than just being addicted. But the point is, addiction can certainly exist without these behaviors. I know more than one functioning alcoholic. They don't think they have a problem because they've never missed a day of work, or had a DWI, or wrecked their car. But they can't leave the house without a beer or 2. Where ever they go, they are drinking. They may never admit to "needing" it, but you won't catch them without it. Is that an addiction? I think it is but I'm no doctor. As for eating, here's what my life looked like for over 20 years. First of all, I never hid food or sneaked around eating food behind anyone's back. I never lied or cheated. But I ate all the wrong stuff. Basically, I ate fast food for every meal. I never cooked. If I bought groceries, it was cereal, cookies, chips, peanut butter and bread...not much else. The oven was for pizza box storage, not for cooking. I nearly set my apartment on fire once because I attempted to preheat the oven too cook a frozen dinner, but I forgot it was full of old pizza boxes. When I bought my meals at whatever drive thru I went to, I bought way too much. It was extremely carb heavy. My blood sugar must have been through the roof, and after a few years, I was on my way to being insulin resistant. If I tried to restrict my calories, I had massive blood sugar drops every 3 hours like clockwork. Anyone who has ever bonked knows exactly how that feels. That negative reinforcement trained me to eat before that happened...and specifically to eat carbs (sugar) because that was the surest way to avoid that awful feeling. I know now that eating those carbs caused the rise and fall of blood sugar, which caused my feelings of temporary satisfaction, followed by increased insulin production which lead to the inevitable crash...unless I ate again before it happened (which I trained myself to do). It was a self inforcing pattern that lead to massive weight gain and overall poor health. I made some poor decisions, in part because I didn't know any better...which is my fault, nobody else's. As the weight piled on, it became ever more difficult to give a crap about my health. After a while, you get to the point that you feel you're too far gone so why try? Again...I don't know if this was an addiction. It certainly fits the description of damaging behavior that I couldn't stop. Even when I made up my mind to have VSG I was still in the dark about this stuff. I thought I could have surgery and it would only allow me to eat half a whataburger per day. That 6 months with the nutritionist really paid off for me, she opened my eyes and lit a fire in me to educate myself on food and the damage certain foods caused. Now....if I could only have one....the knowledge or the sleeve, I'd take the knowledge. But there is no denying that the sleeve gave me a push over that insurmountable hump that I couldn't see around before surgery...a push that I continue to ride into a better way of living.

Compulsive overeating, also sometimes called FOOD ADDICTION is characterized by an obsessive/compulsive relationship to food. An individual suffering from compulsive overeating disorder engages in frequent episodes of uncontrolled eating, or binge eating, during which they may feel frenzied or out of control, often consuming food past the point of being comfortably full. Bingeing in this way is generally followed by feelings of guilt and depression. Unlike individuals with bulimia, compulsive overeaters do not attempt to compensate for their bingeing with purging behaviors such as fasting, laxative use or vomiting. Compulsive overeaters will typically eat when they are not hungry. Their obsession is demonstrated in that they spend excessive amounts of time and thought devoted to food, and secretly plan or fantasize about eating alone. Compulsive overeating usually leads to weight gain and obesity, but not everyone who is obese is also a compulsive overeater. While compulsive overeaters tend to be overweight or obese, persons of normal or average weight can also be affected. In addition to binge eating, compulsive overeaters can also engage in grazing behavior, during which they return to pick at food throughout the day. These things result in a large overall number of calories consumed even if the quantities eaten at any one time may be small. When a compulsive eater overeats primarily through bingeing, he or she can be said to have binge eating disorder. Left untreated, compulsive overeating can lead to serious medical conditions including high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, sleep apnea, and major depression. Additional long-term side effects of the condition also include kidney disease, arthritis, bone deterioration and stroke. Other negative effects may include the amount of money that is wasted on food and the feelings of low self-esteem that comes as a result of bingeing. Signs and symptoms Binge eating, or eating uncontrollably even when not physically hungry Eating much more rapidly than normal Eating alone due to shame and embarrassment Feelings of guilt due to overeating Preoccupation with body weight Depression or mood swings Awareness that eating patterns are abnormal Rapid weight gain or sudden onset of obesity Significantly decreased mobility due to weight gain History of weight fluctuations Withdrawal from activities because of embarrassment about weight History of many different unsuccessful diets Eating little in public, but maintaining a high body weight Very low self-esteem and feeling need to eat greater and greater amounts. Addiction During binges, compulsive overeaters may consume from 5000 to 15,000 food calories daily, resulting in a temporary release from psychological stress through an addictive high not unlike that experienced through drug abuse. In bulimics, this high may be intensified by the act of purging. Researchers have speculated there is an abnormality of endorphin metabolism in the brain of binge eaters that triggers the addictive process. This is in line with other theories of addiction that attribute it not to avoidance of withdrawal symptoms, but to a primary problem in the reward centers of the brain. For the Compulsive Overeater, the ingestion of trigger foods causes release of the neurotransmitter, serotonin. This could be another sign of neurobiological factors contributing to the addictive process. Abstinence from addictive food and food eating processes causes withdrawal symptoms in those with eating disorders. There may be higher levels of depression and anxiety due to the decreased levels of serotonin in the individual. There are complexities with the biology of compulsive eating that separate it from a pure substance abuse analogy. Food is a complex mixture of chemicals that can affect the body in multiple ways, which is magnified by stomach-brain communication. In some ways, it may be much more difficult for compulsive overeaters to recover than drug addicts. There is an anecdotal saying among Overeaters Anonymous members that "when you are addicted to drugs you put the tiger in the cage to recover; when you are addicted to food you put the tiger in the cage, but take it out three times a day for a walk. The physical explanation of compulsive overeating may be attributed to an overeaters' increased tendency to secrete insulin at the sight and smell of food, though medical evidence supporting this is controversial. Research has found a link between the sugar and fat content of foods and binging behaviors.

Yes it's all about the TRUTH...the truth sets us free, sometimes hard to face :-( but ultimately is best. That's why I came back and am sharing my story, not to be judged but hopefully it will help someone else. We all need encouragement and support. That's why I started this post as well, so others would know the TRUTH about weight gain post wls. I am encouraged to see you dancing, lifting weights, and that you keep keeping on, YOU GO GIRL :-), so awesome! Hugs!!!!!!!!!

I just want to thank NGM for starting this thread, being a S-L-O-W loser can be very frustrating. It took me ten days post up just to lose my weight gain from surgery. The irony of going through the surgery and my weight being up was heartbreaking. But now the scale is starting to move and I know I've done the right thing for myself. This a life changing decision and its not so important to get there first but to get there and stay there. God bless you all and it is nice to know that I'm not alone and sharing my struggle with all of you.

Pre-surgery I usually had a couple glasses of wine after work. I've had a few post-op, but my main reason I don't is because of the weight gain or no loss it gets me into. When I get to my goal I'm going to (try to) continue focusing on my weight and go light on alcohol. Maybe if you focus on your goal it will help. I love my wine and miss it a lot. My friends and I belong to the "wine of the month" club.. Ugh!

Well I can honestly say I've never had a food addiction or emotional eating issue. But I did have a huge problem that led to weight gain. There was a time when my diabetes was seriously out of control and anyone who is diabetic can tell you that one of the symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes is thirst. Well from the time I would get off work till late night I would drink anything with sugar cause I was so damn thirsty. Root Beer was my best friend and I miss him so much but it's been over a year since I've tasted anything carbonated. Anyway after pretty much starving myself all day about 2 hours before bed, I'd smoke a phatty and then eat a huge dinner. Dinner pretty much consisted of whatever was the quickest. Weekends were different in that sometimes I would eat healthier meals. That's pretty much what my routine was like for about 15 years. Now that I've had surgery I've had to trick myself into eating 5 small portions a day and it's been rough. Yea I've missed some meals mainly because I'm not hungry but I'm sure I will get the hang of this new lifestyle. Thanks for the thread

Are you still trying to lose weight or are you at goal? I saw a side shot picture of you a couple days ago... you were wearing a red shirt. You look very thin but a fit type of thin, not skinny thin lol. You have your own goals on what you want to look like but with my goals of getting big and bulky muscle, now would be the time I would be playing with my diet. I would be adding a few more carbs to my diets pre and post workouts and see how my weight responds. Your at the point now were you should know if your weight gain is muscle or fat. If you gain a pound or two over time and doing everything right diet and exercise wise, the majority of the weight could be muscle. The more you challenge your physical daily activity the higher your BMR will clime. I am not sure how eating at a caloric deficit for a long period of time effects this though... I believe it has a negative effect on your BMR though. Again, I am not sure and its a good questions to find a definite answer for. If you do find out please let me know. I know that when I get to your weight I am going to eat at a caloric surplus to try gain muscle mass. During this 8-12 week bulk I am going to play around with my diet and try to eat about 500cal above my BMR everyday. I also plan to eat around 150carbs daily. My end goal during this bulk is to gain mass, play with my cal/pro/carbs and see how my body react and get my diet to a place that is somewhat normal. I would love to be eating 2500cal, 180g Protein and 150g carbs daily... eating that and exercising at that rate will raise my BMR to a normal level over time.

A lot of threads recently on telling/not telling friends and family about our surgeries. I posted a lengthy article several weeks ago by Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Mitchell Roslin. He makes some excellent points about how we as a society view this disease so I've excerpted two paragraphs that help me see the issue clearly: "Besides surgery, there is absolutely no documented or successful treatment option. Laymen watch popular television shows like the Biggest Loser or daytime talk shows and think that weight loss is easy. Unfortunately, the majority of people that lose large sums of weight – regardless of whatever method – suffer cataclysmic recidivism. Intuitively, most believe that we can be trained or be taught to change our behavior and maintain weight loss. However, science contradicts these widely-held beliefs. The body resists weight loss. When caloric intake is curtailed, we respond by becoming more efficient and reducing our metabolic rate. A registry is kept of people that have lost substantial sums of weight and maintained the weight loss for five or more years. On average, to preserve their weight, at the new loss state, they eat less than 1200 calories and exercise more than an hour per day. We must realize that behavioral modification techniques that have not even succeeded in halting the rise in the prevalence of obesity are unlikely to be successful as a treatment for morbid obesity. Stated succinctly, prevention and treatment are different. We prevent bacterial infections by washing hands and avoiding contact with infected sources. We treat people, de rigeur, with surgical debridement and medications such as antibiotics. It is possible that if Vice President Cheney never smoked, he would not have had a heart attack at 37 years of age. However, no one would treat his heart disease by only having him stop smoking and change his diet. While an important component, such efforts would be combined with medications. Yet, in obesity, we still want to believe that the same techniques that are used to prevent weight gain will result in successful treatment."

thank you for your input. as I said, I live with someone who just had this surgery. what I've seen is that he would go on a diet, and if he didn't get these super results of 10 lbs a week, which is unrealistic, he'd just quit. right now, he's only 2.5 weeks out, and in a stall. I guess I can see that if this happened with "just" a regular diet, he'd quit and just eat. but right now he can't do that. Having never had this huge weight problem as he does, I guess I'm trying to understand. for me, I would have never let myself get to the point he is at. for me, my "omg I weigh that much???" number is far far lower then his. I struggle daily with losing 30 lbs. but that's all I've ever let myself go. and yes, being female who BEARS the kids, I've always felt that female who have had children have a slightly different disadvantage on weight gain then those who haven't had kids. be it male or female. I'm hoping desperately that this time he succeeds, but whenever I try to talk to him about this, he just snaps at me. I'm hoping he'd never see this post because he hates Oprah. I do know that if he were on a regular good ole fashioned diet, and not lost weight for 5 days, he'd say heck with it, and just binge on food. I live with him, I've SEEN this. right now, he's not losing, but unable to do any binge type eating. I tell him, don't be ridiculous, you will lose weight, how can you not on 800 calories a day? I believe that in 6 months or so, he'll have that huge WL that he seems to need, and be able to go forth and succeed when he's past this "honeymoon" period. no, to be blunt and completely honest, I don't think anyone "needs" WLS, I think people want instant gratification with huge WL's whenever they diet. so this was the point of my question. does this huge wl within such a short time, change your way of thinking so much that you do succeed? listen, I don't mean to criticize, please don't take it that way. but I myself have found, that it's super easy, and quite enjoyable, to eat whatever you want and gain weight seemingly overnight; but way hard to lose it. but let's face it, most of us are just not built in such a way, that we can indulge in Cheeto's every night of the week, and be thin. what makes you change you bad habits after surgery? what is it that does this, that regular dieting doesn't do for you?

I’ve been lurking around these forums for over 2 yrs and decided it was finally time to post something. This coming July will make two years for me and I’m down 78 pounds, 8 pounds under my original goal. The last time I felt that I was losing control was when I made the decision to see a doctor about weight loss surgery. I had always been an extremely active (hyperactive) skinny kid and adult through my 20s and most of my 30s. My mother called me “Skinny Malink” when I was a kid. Then in my late 30s I suffered a serious knee injury from a soccer accident that led to gradual weight gain to 245lbs!!! (I’m 5’10”). As soon as I was able to start eating solid foods (14 days), I began tracking every morsel of food that enters my mouth on MyFitnessPal.com. I mean I track everything, from the 6 grams of coffee creamer I put in my morning coffee every day to the half serving of hash browns and ¾ portion of the Sausage McMuffin I have once a week at McDonald’s with the guys (a 10 year tradition for us that I wasn’t about to break). (I used to eat 2 orders of Sausage McMuffins without egg, 2 orders with egg, and 2 orders of hash browns in one sitting.) If my wife asks me to try a sample of a cake batter she is about to put in the oven, I figure out a way of entering that too. Everything. Strict monitoring is the key to successful weight loss and weight loss maintenance. I wear one of those body monitors that they use on The Biggest Loser. I track every calorie I burn 23 hours a day. Everyday my goal is to eat just under or around the calories I expend, which for me is around 2200 to 2400 calories a day. That’s with some light exercise meaning a 30 to 40 minute slow walk every day (I had corrective knee surgery about a year ago and today I can walk slowly, like 2mph). For the past six months I have also been following that British “Fast Diet” by Dr. Mosley. Basically you eat 600 calories of mostly Protein for two days out of the week (500 for women) and then anything you want on non-fasting days. This a very easy way to maintain weight loss for sleevers and the health benefits are truly amazing. Intermittent fasting lowers your chances of getting cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. I have a lot more energy now since fasting than I ever did. (I do track my food intake on non-fasting days even though you’re not supposed to). You can look up the Fast Diet on the internet or on Amazon.com. There is a U.S. version of the book and it’s available for Kindle. Because I’ve been using intermittent fasting for half a year, I guarantee that the hunger I feel is not just “head hunger” (if by head hunger you mean purely psychological). It is true that the docs remove a part of the stomach that produces the majority of one of the hunger hormones, ghrelin, but there are many chemicals in the body that cause the sensation of hunger, not just one. Besides, not all the ghrelin is eliminated from your system because 15% of it is produced in other parts of the body. When you have some free time, look up a protein called neuropeptide-Y. It plays a major role in hunger sensation and regulation and it increases during periods of stress. It is true that the hunger pangs I feel today are different in intensity and quality from what I used to feel before the surgery but not all sensations of hunger that I feel are in my head. Even after a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, there is a chemical basis for hunger, it’s just that the chemical composition is different for VSG patients. I eat exactly the same foods today that I ate before the surgery except just a lot less of them. That includes pizza, my famous homemade Texas chili, Red Lobster’s lobster bisque, and spaghetti with meat sauce. I don’t think of any food as “bad”, not even candy bars like Baby Ruth, my favorite. I just monitor everything I eat on MyFitnessPal.com and force myself to stay within my daily maintenance calorie intake of 2200 to 2400 calories. What is different for me today than from two years ago is that because I am tracking all my food, I am aware of how many carbs, Proteins, and fats I am eating for the first time in my life. I follow the nutritional guidelines recommended by MyFitnessPal.com (just select "guided" goals). If you’re in a stall or having trouble losing those few extra pounds, I encourage you to try the Fast Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley. It’s also called the 5:2 Diet. Especially for people who have had 75 to 80% of their stomachs removed, it’s a very easy way to lose and maintain weight and the long-term health benefits from intermittent fasting are awesome. IMHO, stick with the counseling and try to allow yourself to enjoy your comfort foods in moderation without guilt. The more you beat yourself up for eating foods you enjoy, the more stress you feel, the more your hunger proteins will surge, and the more you will crave those foods you are trying to avoid. That’s why will power alone never works over the long haul. I have more will power than anyone I know and I still got uncomfortably fat. Instead of seeing yourself as losing control whenever you eat comfort foods, try to turn that around so that you are gaining control. What I do is I take out one portion of candy or cake or whatever it is I feel like eating for that day and then deliberately plan on eating it at my usual snack time. For me, I take out my Baby Ruth bar and leave it on the end table for when I am watching TV at night. Every time I pass it, I smile in anticipation. I also make allowances during the day for that snack by monitoring everything I eat and by exercising so I know I have enough calories to “spend”. This way, I am gaining full control over these food choices instead of feeling like I am losing control every time I eat them. Anyway, this approach has worked beautifully for me. Everyone has a different history with weight and health issues so I don’t know if this method will work for everyone. I’ve been able to comfortably stay under goal for over eight straight months by using this system of intermittent fasting combined with strict monitoring of all the calories I eat and use. I wanted to share my experience with it in case others can benefit too. Best of luck.

Hello my peeps! It feels like FOOOOOREVER since I've posted here. I haven't weighed in a looooooong time :-(...the last time I weighed myself I was 147 which would be a 3 lb. gain from my lowest of 144. I fear I may be at least 155 now, but not sure. I'm still wearing 6-8 however some of the 6's feel snug and I FEEL BLOATED :-(...I have not been eating the way I should and not drinking enough Water (water has always been a problem for me). I really need to up my exercise back to 5x a week. I have been going to 1 hour Zumba classes Tues, Wed, but I just bought Zumba Fitness Rush for Xbox Kinect and I really LOVE IT! I can do it at home YAY! SOOOOO with that said I have decided to join weight watchers TOMORROW...I have always loved their program and want to learn about the new 360. I heard fruit is 0 points now LOL! And I really really really need to be accountable to a weekly weigh in. I know I'm gonna get what the heck is this girl doing here looks... but I gotta do, what I gotta do I will probably have to change my weight gain vote from 1-5 lbs to more :-( ....but praying I can get back to that level, I CAN DO IT...Stay tuned...

Im happy for all of you, but remember this thread is: Weight Gained Since Having Gastric Sleeve Surgery. Thanks gals!

I can say that mine started off as a medical problem. I have PCOS and I KNOW ppl will think I blame that a lot. BUT I've had it since I started my period. If you look up the side effects of PCOS I have every single one of them. Most importantly is easy weight gain and it's really hard to get the weight off. I'm not like some of the posters who have done weight watchers and lost a hundred pounds and then gained it back. I would kill myself eating very few calories and going to the gym doing cardio for an hour at a time sometimes twice a day and would only see a pound gone in a month. It was extremely frustrating. I've battled weight my entire life without even trying. Ok that being said, I think a part if me gave up and just embraced food as a friend and gave in. I was one of those who said "but I don't eat very much" well after surgery, I'm seeing how much I really did eat and it makes me ill! I am so thankful for this surgery! For the first time in my life going to the gym and eating healthy is paying off! I've lost 60lbs!! I've never been able to do that on my own! I see and realize now that I'm a total food addict! But i am working on it! Every day! My name is Michelle and I am a food addict!

What great pics. And what a special journey to take together. I have a thin hubby who has never said a negative thing about my weight gain during 46 years together. Having surgery in July. He is so supportive. Has attended all appointments and support group meetings with me. He's the best!