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I was going to post the same thing!!! However, instead of your o1 lb, try 2 lbs. I know that I have no one to blame but me but I am just sick with myself. I did not work out last week because I was sick and then I did not eat like I normally eat nor did I drink all of my liquids like I was suppose to. I am also taking some meds so I don't know if has anything to do with the weight gain also. I am just going to push myself this week and to try and get back to where I was at. I am hoping that it is just a fluke and that I did not actually gain the 2 lbs.

I read this in a support group online and loved it :-D thought I'd share. What newbies need to know before/after surgery 1. Do your own research! You are responsible for your own health! Ask questions and do lots of research! 2. Be clear about why you want this surgery. If you are having the surgery to weigh a certain number on the scale, wear a certain pant size, to make your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend happy, or to fit in or to stand out, then realize now that none of these have anything to do with the reality or success of this surgery. 3. Do this for you and for your health. This isn’t the easy way out. WLS will fail you if you fail to live the WLS life. Be diligent, be mindful, be aware, and be present with the journey. 4. This program is for life. It is a wonderful tool for health. It is only a tool. You still have to do all the work. There is no finish line. Just day after day choices. 5. This is NOT a diet. This is healthy eating for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! If you think of this or treat this as another diet you are setting yourself up for failure. This is a new way of life, for the REST of your life. Keep that in mind and you WILL succeed! 6. If you are looking for happiness and fulfillment from everyone around you, you won't find it. No one can MAKE you happy. Happiness comes from within! 7. In the end, you are your own best support person. Don’t expect everyone to understand or be supportive. Tell only those who are supportive or tell everyone. 8. This procedure doesn't fix you or your life, just your guts. You are responsible for working on your emotional and mental issues along the way. There WILL be emotional and mental challenges. If you haven’t already started doing the mental and emotional work, START NOW! 9. Some people, NOT ALL, experience buyers remorse if you are not mentally or emotionally prepared. Just because you've had your guts rearranged does NOT mean you don't still have A LOT of work to do emotionally. The successful people ALL do their emotional work. Positive people have a much easier time on this journey than the whiners, complainers and poor me's. This is your chance to change your life for the better! 10. You have the choice of how you want your roller coaster journey to be. Kicking and screaming, or screaming with joy! 11. Your life and your relationships WILL change. You are developing a new relationship with food, yourself, and life. 12. Having a goal or prize or image will help keep you focused and moving forward. 13. You WILL have pain and it will take time to feel like yourself again. The pain WILL go away. You will heal. Focus on Protein and Water. Protein melts fat, and water flushes it. Some days you will have energy, and some days you won’t. Rest when you need to. 14. You WILL have temporary post op weight gain as your body processes the fluids and inflammation from surgery. 15. Your whole belly MAY turn purple from blood thinners after the surgery. 16. If you have a problem, CALL your doctor! Don't mess around! 17. You may or may not have temporary moments of insanity. They will pass faster if you just let them go and not fight them. 18. The more you walk the less gas you will have. Sip while you walk. That way you will get more water in. The more water you sip the faster the drugs will flush through your system and the better you will feel. 19. Don't drink 30-45 minutes before or after meals. Drinking before makes you too full to get the food you need. Drinking during or too soon after flushes the food. Drinking in between helps keep you feeling satisfied. 20. Eat one food at a time to find out which foods give you gas. DONT EAT THOSE FOODS! You won't be able to get much food down at first, or many calories, so don't worry about that. Always eat protein first. 21. It's not how much food, but what food. PROTEIN! You may not be able to handle meat protein for several months. Shelly has great protein recipes of all kinds, heavenly protein smoothies, and even protein ice cream. Check out The World According to Eggface. 22. Taste, texture, and smell preferences change after surgery. 23. Fiber + water = no constipation. Diarrhea is common immediately post op until your body stabilizes. Keeping your water up helps prevent dehydration. As your bowels stabilize your still need to keep your water up to lubricate and stay regular. Many people need a regular fiber supplement. You SHOULD be daily regular. If not, get your fiber and water intake up. Smooth Moves Tea works wonders! 24. Your stomach does NOT get hungry at 1 week out. The hunger is all in your head. At one week, your stomach is still inflamed, swollen and healing and needs very little coming into it. Hunger, at least the first month, and often for many months, is head and emotional hunger. You are used to turning to food and are going through mental withdrawal. Gurgling noises are normal functioning noises. The glands that line your stomach go into action every three to four hours whether you eat anything or not. SMELLING FOOD, SEEING IMAGES OF IT OR EVEN JUST THINKING OF can start the release of gastric juices. The movement of your stomach walls and the juices being excreted creates growling and gurgling noises. So when you are obsessively thinking about or drooling over something that sounds good you are actually activating the hunger signals. Hence it being called head hunger! 25. Hormones, periods and therefore emotions can be affected for a while post op but will stabilize in time. 26. Your weight WILL fluctuate up and down from day to day plus/minus 1-3 pounds. 27. Don’t be a slave to numbers. If you obsessively weigh you WILL make yourself crazy! DON'T! Obsessive weighing = insanity. 28. Everyone sheds at a different pace. Comparing only makes you needlessly crazy. 29. You WILL have LOTS of plateaus/pauses! Get used to it! The first plateau usually happens around 3-4 weeks. Protein first thing in the morning!!! Water, protein, adequate sleep, less stress, addressing emotional number memories, and exercise will help them to pass. The weight will shed whether you drive yourself crazy along the way or not. 30. As you backtrack through time, weighty memories surface, usually during plateaus. Working through them helps to move through the plateaus, and the whole journey, faster. When you hit a pause, look at what was going on in your life when you were at this weight before. You are releasing more than fat. You are releasing years of weighty emotions, memories and pain that you have stuffed or eaten: worry, anger, resentment, grief, sadness, guilt, fear, drama, victimhood, self- punishment, fears of the future, what if’s, old patterns, old beliefs, and attitudes that no longer serve you, etc., etc. 31. Questions to ask yourself during plateaus: What am I afraid to let go of? What am I hanging on to? What was going on in my life when I weighed ___, that I don’t want to address or look at? What old attitudes, beliefs, or thought patterns am I resisting releasing? What is it about succeeding with this that scares me? What emotions do I want to “stuff” my face with? 32. If you eat too much or too fast you WILL get sick. Chew your food to mush. One bite at a time. One food at a time. Eat with presence so that you can pay attention to your pouches signals. 33. Listen for the subtle cues of your new pouch. If you listen, your pouch will treat you well. If you don't, you will regret it. Pouch signals range from runny nose, stuffy nose, gurgling, subtle fluttering, sneezing, hiccups, etc. Learn your pouch signals. 34. Measure everything until you know what 1/4 or 1/2 cup looks like. 35. Track everything! Great Iphone apps are, Target Weight, Water Tracker and Food Scanner. Or use a document chart. 36. Protein, Vitamins and water are important for the rest of your life! Get your protein first. It helps with wound healing, muscle mass, and hair loss. Water keeps you hydrated. Vitamins provide the nutrition to help keep you healthy. Get blood tests regularly. 37. You WILL lose hair between months 3-7. If you have thick hair you are lucky. If you have thin hair you may need to cut it short, wear a hat, a scarf, or just don’t concern yourself with it. Biotin, Nioxin hair products, and protein help but it still comes out. Shampooing less often, refraining from coloring, perms, and heating appliances helps as well. Your hair will grow back. 38. You will have body aches and pains along the way as your body posture adjusts to not having to carry such a load all of time. There are a myriad of ways to help with aches and pains. 39. You are going to have loose skin, bat wings, saggy belly, legs, arms, breasts. That’s a fact. Many people who never cared how they looked being fat, all of a sudden care when they are flat out skinny. Either accept the loose skin or start saving! 40. Relax! The harder you hang on, the longer it will take to meet your goal. Instead of refusing to "not" meet your goal, try affirming that you WILL reach your goal. 41. You WILL have A LOT of non-scale victories. 42. The people who focus on daily non-scale victories have an easier time on this journey. 43. You WILL be happier, healthier and have a more fulfilling life than you could have ever imagined! 44. Enjoy the ride of your life! Posted on 11/06/11, 01:48 pm

Just keep saying, "I can't have that (food item) now, but I will have it next year." It also helps to think of all the negative outcomes from cheating. Add them all up. List them. Convince yourself of how bad they are for you right now and how they will derail your progress. Then when tempted, tell yourself, "It's just not worth it!" And it isn't. The shame, guilt, physical illness, weight gain/stall are NOT worth it!

I asked my surgeon. I don't know if I was lucky that he knew someone good, but it's a place to start I imagine. My weight gain was a result of more physical than psychological reasons. And once my physical problems were solved, I was still fat and was going to stay fat unless I did something about it. I'm not saying that someone put a gun to my head and told me to eat more than I should, but counseling helped me sort out the differences.

Long story short, I have been going to my doctors since November of last year when I was 255 with concerns about unexplained rapid weight gain. Now, its is August, I have been working with the weight and wellness center since March , but I have gone up to 284 and I am just getting zero support from any medical professional. They keep telling me to cut my calories, exercise, etc etc. I am already at 800-1000 calories a day, and swimming for an hour 6 days a week. I have met my insurance requirement of 6 months but the doctors at the weight and wellness center will not even see me until I've lost 10% of my weight. I have followed everything they wanted me to do, and done all the tests. Yet I leave every appointment crying because I am not meeting their weight loss expectations. Feeling completely discouraged and unsupported.

Unexplained weight gain as in.. You were just eating salads and the weight piled on ? Did they find a reason for this unexplained weight gain? After wls you eat about 800+ calories. If you are 100% only eating 800 calories and not losing a lb what do you feel weight loss surgery will help with? ...Unless....Your possibly eating more than 800 calories...Sometimes.. And admittedly need help with portion control like the rest of us. For Me the first step was being honest with myself. Yes I ate low calorie all day. Higher than I needed other times. It adds up. But only you know the truth. If you have a medical condition causing you to gain when you are eating in a deficit that needs to be addressed before WLS. No judgment just trying to help. Sent from my Swift 2 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi, Isn't is frustrating sometimes how fills vary? I personally think, both before and after my banding, that those dreaded female hormones play a significant role in appetite and in all kinds of swelling and water retention. Does your recent weight gain coincide with a hormonal fluctuation perhaps? I have heard from others here that sometimes fills do take a while to kick in, and that the restriction does tend to fluctuate (for hormonal or WHATEVER reasons). I think it is positively SEXIST that the two gentlemen who I have seen post here (Leo and ??) have lost tons of weight with no fills!!! Guys, really, I am happy for you!! Please keep how ever many chins you may have UP Alexandra, and thanks for sharing. Frustation needs empathy!

Hello Sleevers, I have a dilemma. I went to a physician I've only been to one time in the past 24 months. She had my bmi at 39.7 (ridiculous) and I have no co-morbidities. Can I get a referral from another physician and send in only that information to the sleeve surgeon. I really did not do anything with this physician, I sat with her for about 15 minutes. I have scheduled myself to meet with another physician before my surgeon iniitial visit on July 29th where I plan to get a referral. Does anyone know if that is okay, I just want to make sure I am able to do that. I know some of you said you gained weight in order to be covered, did anyone have to go back to their physician with weight gain, and were you successful? I so want this surgery and I'm so close, I don't want a BMI of 39.7 to mess this up. Help me please!!

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 hadn't heard that Byetta would erode the band! I need to talk to my surgeon b4 I go to my diabetic doctor. I walk daily, sometimes in the morning and sometimes after work. It all depends on how I feel in the morning, I have never been a morning person and usually get up in time to get ready for work. But I always get my walk in. Once my doctor says I can lift I am going to start using my weight bench 3 times a week as well, I think he said 4-6 weeks after surgery, which means I have 2-3 weeks to go! I am hoping that I won't have to go back on the meds, it is so nice not to have to take them at all! I have some female problems so I have had the Depo shots every 3 months and that also promotes weight gain. GRRRRR. but as of this morning I am 23 pounds down. Hopefully things will work out.

amazon, its a know fact that when you eat smaill meals through out the day every 2-3hrs you get hungry right at the 2-3 hrs versus eating 1-2meals a day and not feeling hungry. the body and brain are wierd like that. our bodies are meant to hold on to food when it thinks its not getting anymore hence weight gain. once you feed it 2-3 hrs small meals it says i can burn this up because somemore is coming. hence weight loss. if you like you can ask your nut or dr or google eating 5 small meals benefits. im no dr or nut but i do a lot of research and reading (not saying you dont). just research it. and i agree we are not suppost to feel hungry but everyone is not all of the gherlin was removed like with rny.

Aww Penni We all can relate..seems we all are sturggling this Hoilday Season with weight gain or no weight loss, the stress of doing all the shopping, wrapping, cooking, decorating..Like I toild lisa when she told me she gained 6 lbs, that if just "fluff " weight. Don't sweat the small stuff. Soon this time of year will behind you and all of us and we can then focus on ourselves and bands again. Oh and Beautiful Tree!

I have the same problems, was banded on the 7th. I called the nurse regarding the pain, and breath shortness and I also have nausea. She said it was mostly from gas and bloating and that my weight gain. Almost 20 lbs. was due to the fluids and the gas I received during the surgery. Today a bit better, I think it's mostly gas and now my stomach is very empty and making loud noises. I walk around and that helps. But I'm still really tired. I have my 1 week appointment after surgery tomorrow. Hope I can get something for the nausea. I also got on the scale and I am down to 207.5 even though my stomach is bloated, you an see it, my arms and legs are thinner, looks very strange believe me. I look like a pumpkin on sticks LOL. I hope that boating goes away soon had to wear my ugly pants when I went out to the store today. UGGGGG. Also I have had a bit of diarrhea, it's horrible and smells even worse, have a metalic smell and my mouth tastes that way, I wonder if that's from the Protein shakes. It's pretty disgusting. Just hope I feel better soon. This is a bit rougher than I thought it would be. But since I am older than a lot of people here I chalk it up to being old LOL. Take care Pati

Thanks ya'll... As far as the eating, I'm thinking I'll be okay... since I had the band and learned to eat slowly, small portions and stay busy... I will say, that I know part of the reason for the weight gain since having the band Fluid taken out... (other than the fact that it's like not having a restriction at all) is, I am eating a whole lot more and the "grazing" is back... Just can't seem to stop the never ending "hunt" for something to put into my mouth. That was really NOT the case after the lap band... I was able to feel much more satisfied... So... I'm hoping I'll be one of those folks who can get back on trac with the weight loss...

I had my surgery 3 years ago and it took a good year to lose 100 lbs. Recently seeing weight gain and am getting depressed and scared. Need to excercise and watch my fat, calorie intake. Have trouble swallowing now and do not want to get filled so much that I am constantly vomiting. Any low fat foods that you are having luck with? Am not a big fan of yogurt. Am basically asking for ideas on what to eat that is low in fat, has vitamins, minerals, fiber and will stay down. Any input appreciated. Thanks.

Congrats, HagerTeresa: I know you are so relieved. Good for you! :clap2: Model Bandster, there is such a thing? QUICK! Get this strange and rare animal right in this chat room immediately. It's like a unicorn - if they exist, where are they? :eek: I've been banded for what seems like forever, have met a zillion other Bandsters and have never seen a model Bandster, in captivity or in the wild. Believe me, there might not be such a thing - so no beating yourself up. If occasional chocolate and the odd latte meant Band failure then no one would be posting the incredible success stories that we do see daily, with the band. And luckily, smoking is one vice I don't have (I'm more of a wine and cheese girl :nervous ), but when I go out to nightclubs with my Banded pals I'm continually amazed and how many of them light up regularly. (Three of my most successful banded patients - who have lost 380# between the three of them - now work for Band surgeons and they smoke. They are in brochures, at seminars, and in all the ads. And then they sheepishly light in up public and are embarrassed when people remember them from the seminars or the newspaper ads.Oy, vey! ) So if you quit for your own health, hooray, but so far it hasn't stopped my friends from losing 100# or more pounds with their band. In fact, I have two other banded pals who quit without any significant weight gain - and the band probably stopped them from the weight gain that a lot of patients fear when they are contemplating giving up smoking. So that's just something for you to think about. One thing at a time, eh? Absolutely, I agree 100%. I've honestly seen most band issues rear their heads around the 2-to-3 year mark, and nothing beats a good offense like a good defense. So a peremptory check to make sure everything is where is should be, is a great idea coming close to the 2-year Band anniversary. I highly recommend it to all Bandsters. Happy Band Journeys To All...

A lot of people are anti-artificial sweeteners because they are "chemicals" and therefore must be "bad". Well, a banana is made up of chemicals. Everything on earth is made up of chemical elements. Also, arsenic is "natural". Doesn't make it good for you. There were a few small studies at one point that looked like they suggested what Dr. Weiner states in his video (that artificial sweeteners lead to weight gain, by one mechanism or another). However, that does not seem to be the case based on better, newer, larger studies. I think for some people, eating artificial sugar can make them "crave" real sugar, but I find I have the opposite reaction. I add some artificially sweetened flavor packets to my water (I actually dilute them more than instructed) and that satisfies my sweet tooth. I do find that if I have real sugar (other than fruit) or even bread, I crave sugar. Personally, I don't like stevia. It doesn't have the sharp, clean sugar taste that other sweeteners have. It just tastes metallic and flat to me, so all those fake ice creams are icky. But any other fake sugar is a-okay in my book. I know some people have tummy troubles from certain ones, so they should definitely not use that one, but I don't seem to have issues.

Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disease that contributes to obesity because the thyroid regulates the rate of our metabolism...( how we burn calories...etc). The symptoms you listed are typical but don't think you didn't need the surgery. Taking thyroid medication will help you regulate your metabolism but in the morbidly obese this rarely contributes to much weight loss. In fact those on thyroid medication most often still have the weight gain and yearly creep as they age. Getting thinner however will help your Hypothyroidism and all other body systems ! Hope this helps!!

I find it creeps back in periodically for me too, and a fill is not always the answer. I always manage to get on top of it again, before weight gain gets out of control and exercise helps a LOT to avoid putting on weight when you eat a bit more than normal. This is what maintenance is for me. Keeping on top of my bad habits, not anything as negative as a constant struggle but to think that I'm cured and never have to think about my diet or exercise is complete fantasy. In reality I have to work on it every single day and will have to do so for the rest of my life. If I let myself just go, I will eat when I'm not hungry, I will choose poor foods much more often etc. I will never be "fixed" but with my band I can manage my situation. Recommitting is necessary periodically, definitely.

What are you eating? Are you compensating for the PBing by eating liquid everything? That often promotes weight gain cause you are never full... I'd follow a liquid diet for 2 days or so to make sure your pouch is not stretched... Then make sure you're eating carefully, chewing everything... and if you don't have enough restriction, eat a bit bulkier foods if you can tolerate them. You may have to go back to get filled a couple times to get tweaked to the right spot. My doc told me not being able to eat much in the AM is a big sign I am there... and I agree... but everyone's experience is different. It took me 6 months to get a sweet spot, and I was very patient. My last fill, my doc told me that according to Inamed, their recommendation was 1 cc for the feeling I was looking for... he thought, but he recommended 1/2 cc since I was not able to eat much in the am. I told him to split it down the middle and do 3/4 cc. It was magic... BTW.. I have the VG band, a 10 cc band, so the fill amount is higher than with a 4 cc band... I am now at like 6.75 in a 10 cc band and perfect... for now!

It's day 4 for me now and I've realized that the discomfort I've been having is definitely gas. I wake up in the morning and feel fine, then as soon as I have something to sip, the pain starts and lasts for a couple of hours. The pain is to the left of the port site and radiates to my left shoulder. So trying to sip less and sip slower.. As for the weight gain, I too have put on 3 pounds since the surgery. But have been told to expect that because of all the fluids that have been pumped into me. So I'm trying to be strong and not look at the scales for a week or so!

Enjoy your holidays and just make your first appt Jan 2nd....And enjoy the BMI 40! Just kidding... Sort of?? Well I remember getting so frustrated with what seemed to be an unstoppable gain about 2 1/2 years ago. PCOS and hypothyroidism were taking a toll. Tried a dr supervised plan, WW several times and medifast. Each time I lost and re-gained. I Remember wishing I was heavy enough for lapband (remember the hungry lion Commercials). I wasn't. Fast forward prob another year the local bariatric office had a new dr/nut supervised plan. No surgery and no Phentermine (another failed attempt I didn't want to repeat) and I was pretty sure my insurance would pay. So I go for the introduction and get weighed and the coordinator asked, "so are you interested in surgical or non surgical?" I said non surgical I am not heavy enough for WLS. Oh your a BMI 42 and with bcbs it would be covered. Whoa I did a double take. I was totally disgusted with getting that big and shocked I was even considering it. But I had really tried HARD since I had my son 5 years ago and was just getting bigger. Fast forward I had the sleeve 9 Months ago and I am at my personal goal and a Normal BMI. My point is you are so close... Just normal progression of weight gain you eventually qualify without doing anything to qualify on purpose. That is just how obesity goes.

((((globetrotter))))) Sorry youre going thru this. I know you track your food intake, go back and look if there is something you may have added since your weight gain. I have read someone was tracking everything except coffee creamer and that was the culprit for her. She thought because it wasnt much-she didnt track it daily- but it was enough, when she stopped it, the wt loss started again. Another thought- could it be related to menstration? Just a thought...

@@SWEETTEA No, don't worry about it. I struggle with depression, and my mom was bi-polar, so I can recognize it pretty easily. I'm glad you're in therapy, as it sounds like you have a lot you have to cope with right now. Just be aware that you're walking a fine line with the fear of weight gain. Make sure your therapist knows about your fear and treats you accordingly.

OH my God! SaraMoss, That Pre-operative list is frightenning. Seriously bandster, YOU DO NOT NEED them at all. At the end of the day, it really is down to common sense and it really is NOT that difficult to follow. Just like anyohe going for any operations, you just have to take it easy for a couple of days. After the op, there WOULD NOT BE a great deal of restriction as yr doc wud hv just insert the ring band around yr stomach. U will need a few FILLS before you will feel any restriction, and that would be in the duration of a least 6months before you will feel your weight seriously going down. The doc did say it will be a duration of 1-2yrs before we will lose 80% of our overweight weights. Just be careful because you just had an operation. Stay off solid food as instructed, stock up on liquid low calory drinks, non-fat yogurts, light clear soup for the 1st couple of weeks. Stay off cabonated drinks. By week 2, I was already on pureed food and creamy soup. The hosp you going to should be giving you some chewable pain killers when you check out of the hosp anyway. Yr wound should heal in a week's time. It's more scarry than it is painful, truthfully. Good luck to those going for the op. And to answer yr question Sara Moss, I have lose 24pounds since Sept. I suffer from my underactive thyroid which means I should celebrate even if I lose 1 pound cos I have a non existence metabolism and weight gain are usually associated with this disfuntional thyroid problem. I went underactive 3yrs ago and put on 3stones, which wont buldge despite all my exercise & diets. Thats why I finally seek the banding option.