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This Says it ALL! This is from AOL Medical News Drink More Diet Soda, Gain More Weight By Daniel DeNoon WebMD Medical News June 13, 2005 -- People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows. The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego. "What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher." In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas. "There was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says. More Diet Drinks, More Weight Gain Fowler's team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese. For regular soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was: 26% for up to 1/2 can each day 30.4% for 1/2 to one can each day 32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day 47.2% for more than 2 cans each day. For diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was: 36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day 37.5% for 1/2 to one can each day 54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day 57.1% for more than 2 cans each day. For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person's risk of obesity went up 41%. Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly. "I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take more." "You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter: "It's very easy to take more than nothing." Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland There is actually a way that diet drinks could contribute to weight gain, Fowler suggests. She remembers being struck by the scene in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in which Alice is offended because she is offered tea but is given none -- even though she hadn't asked for tea in the first place. So she helps herself to tea and bread and butter. That may be just what happens when we offer our bodies the sweet taste of diet drinks, but give them no calories. Fowler points to a recent study in which feeding artificial sweeteners to rat pups made them crave more calories than animals fed real sugar. "If you offer your body something that tastes like a lot of calories, but it isn't there, your body is alerted to the possibility that there is something there and it will search for the calories promised but not delivered," Fowler says. Perhaps, Bonci says, our bodies are smarter than we think. "People think they can just fool the body. But maybe the body isn't fooled," she says. "If you are not giving your body those calories you promised it, maybe your body will retaliate by wanting more calories. Some soft drink studies do suggest that diet drinks stimulate appetite."

Now I wait. I have UPMC for You, which is medical assistance here in Pa. I had some issues with weight gain during the 6 month diet because of a severely abnormal TSH level, so I'm a little concerned about approval. Hopefully the letter from my PCP helps that. Fingers crossed. And toes. And eyes..........

I was afraid of what would happen if I didn't get banded. At 43 years old I managed to avoid a lot of health conditions that run rampant in my family. My eating and weight gain was out of control and it was starting to affect my quality of life. My mobility was at stake and I was afraid of what my life would be like at 50.

Actually there is something called starvation mode. I actually had my two week post op today and met with my surgeon and nutritionist and they brought up starvation mode when I complained about my stop in weight loss. When you workout you gain muscle so that causes the stall and possible weight gain of a couple pounds before you actually start losing weight. Don't add to or take away from your diet with consulting your team first. Trust me that's what I did and I am medical for over 15yrs. Just keep following your diet and you will get past this no problem. By the way 15lbs is awesome congrats. Remember the small victories and don't be discouraged

I am so sorry to hear about the troubles you are having. I know that a lot of medications for M.D. cause weight gain. Did they take that into consideration before you had surgery? Would there be any way you could try a different combo of medications that might not effect you in the same way? It must be so discouraging for you to have gained back that weight. Keep us all posted on how things go for you. I hope they can think of a solution for you.

Many thanks everyone for your replies and encouragement. The only meds they gave we were for pain control and antibiotics The weight gain has reversed now and is going in the opposite direction It seems that surgery has the unwanted effect of weight gain for a while Again, many thanks

The bypass and sleeve are very similar. I’ve seen you comment about people who’ve gotten back their weight, but my girlfriend and her mom did the sleeve 5 years ago and they have kept all their weight off. I have friends who’ve done the sleeve 2-3 years backs and they are still in great shape(no weight gain after 2-3 years). People who gain weight years after are people who start eating unhealthy and don’t follow the plan their Bariatric team has given them. My friend was 298 and in 9 months lost 150 pounds. She exercised and followed her diet. Simple. What is this myth you talk about? 18 month window? You’re always going to keep losing until you start eating to maintain your ideal weight. There is no window that magically stops you from losing. Who is giving you this information?

Gosh, I can't believe all the well wishes! Thanks everyone of you. Megan, the coughing did not effect the band at all except that Soup and soft foods went down much easier (thus the weight gain). I didn't feel it was tighter at all, just wasn't hungry for real heavy food. To the rest of you, I will try to write down the recipes tonite and get them out to all of you tomorrow. Made it through Thanksgiving easily (thank you Dr. McKeen for the fill last week). It made my portion sizes and desires for sweets much less, also who wants appetizers when you have all your favorites to look forward too. The only appetizer I ate was crab dip (that I made). Thanks again for all the positive thoughts and hopefully I will make it through my first full week of full time this week. Michelle -- my positive thoughts are with you at the doctors this morning. Hopefully your band is OK?

I will be honest. The first week I was a HOT AS* MESS! I cried at little things. My kids would draw me a picture and I would cry. I have never, ever been this emotional. I have been described by a few as "frosty". So all these meds and hormones coursing through my body sent me into a tailspin. PLUS a friend reminded me that my doctor had me stop my birth control pills to lessen my chances of blood clots. HELLO! RED FLAG RED FLAG! Take a deep breath and relax. Grab a box of kleenex and let it out. It gets better. Oh and remember all those bags of IV fluid hanging in the hospital? Yeah those could be the reason for the weight gain. Just take it easy and let your body heal.

OMG you are adorable and you've already done so much for yourself. I see you ran in the Susan G Komen in your area, that is AWESOME!!!! I'm running the 5k here in my area on May 7th... Firstly, welcome to VST Secondly, I am a revised lap band to sleeve person. I can tell you, regaining with the lap band is *extremely* easy once you figure it out. I could eat just as much as I ever could, thereby making my band pretty useless. I initially lost about 55 Lbs with the band, and gained it all back up to within pounds of where I started. That included with needing to go BACK on my HBP tmedications and severe joint pain (couldn't run anymore ) I decided enough was enough and I needed something PERMANENT AND REAL. Not something that I could just think that it's reversible so I chose not to take it as seriously. Besides I never ever found good restriction with it... like I was always chasing that dream that everyone else seemed to get. I felt like a total and complete failure, and thought it was me. It wasn't!!! I know this now because since I've been sleeved the weight is just melting off. I'm off ALL HBP medications and I CAN RUN AGAIN!!!!! :D I'm also the furthest from perfection, and yet I'm still losing really well. I know this will work for you. If you were able to make your band work so well, this is going to blow your mind. Can you imagine having perfect restriction every single day AND NEVER, NOT EVER NEEDING A BLASTED FILL???? Yeah it's as incredible as it sounds. I don't miss my band what so ever. I have it in my hat box at the top of my closet even. It's in a ziploc bag so at least its not collecting dust... lmao!! Once it was out, there was no need for it again. Believe me when I tell you, I now have a restored faith in the WLS world all due to my sleeve. I was skeptical even though I took over a year to finally take the plunge to revision. I wondered, well if I couldn't make my band work, what makes me think I can make this work? It's so easy though, it's working amazingly. Yes, it's not all the sleeve either, it is but a TOOL... but if you do what you're supposed to you are going to lose, and lose fast. I have total faith in it. I also have no more worries on whether I'll make goal. I'm more concerned I'll lose too much!!! Can you imagine??? I set my goal higher in case it takes me awhile to get used to maintenance mode, as I just don't think my body structure was meant to be on the thinner side. I'm also not worried I'll be able to hang on to my weight loss, because since the beginning of the newer smaller and thinner sleeve, the weight gain AND the making it to goal stats are pretty outstanding. Again, I'm no angel, but I'd say on any given month I'm at about a 95%. That alone will keep me losing and maintaining when I get there. Blessings to you, and keep in touch. We all love to support, and there are a lot of us revisioners just waiting to tell the GOOD NEWS!!

Weight gain ! Really !! Made it under 300 to 299 two weeks ago and weighed yesterday up to 304.. i am not eating any different except I'm eating better!! I was living on mashed potatoes and crackers now I've switched to good protein.. this makes no sense!!! What the heck!!! I want to cry.

Well I told myself that I wouldn't gain my weight back but guess what I am now 24 pounds heavier than I was on December 8th. Today I went to the doctors, I am disgusted with myself, I am in menopause, I have been going to ZUMBA 3 days a week and ZUMBA toning 3 days a week, with walking each day and no change on the scale and its all because I can’t control myself around food- all the work it took me to lose the weight with the band and I’m putting it back on. The doctor said you did it once without the band you can lose again, you have to change your mind set he is right so starting tonight I’ll go shopping for some healthy food, no more fast food, no more crap fat laden meals. I have 50 pounds to lose and I’ll be damn if not having my lap band is going to make me not lose that to hell with MENOPAUSE- its time to take control of my life! And get to hell out of these fat clothes OMG summer is here and I can’t stand myself in shorts.. I have let the past 3.5 months of food control me, no more!

I recently had my first nutrition class (pre-op) and the conversation was steered to artificial sweeteners. According to my nutritionist, all artifical sweeteners lead to weight gain except for one derivitive of Stevia which you can get at Whole Foods. At first this seemed perfectly do-able, however the more I think about it, the more outlandish that sounds. Does anyone have any experience with this or have any other advice?

I gained 60 lbs throughout my entire pregnancy but most of the weight gain in the beginning was Water weight/swelling. I was SO PUFFY almost as soon as I found out I was pregnant! It was crazy. YAY hormones changes!

It is wonderful on the other side!!! I am 10 months post op and feel better everyday. I have lost 110 and went from a size 22 to a 6. I now play soccer 5 nights a week on 6 teams. Next month I will take my police entrance exam and I have a whole new outlook on life. I can eat anything I want, but have learned how to control myself better. My reason for having the surgery was to reduce my dependence on prednisone. I have rheumatoid arthritis and have been on the nasty weight gaining drug for 6 years. I am getting real close to coming off of it. My joints feel better without all the weight. The best part of the journey has been my relationship with my hubby. We Celebrate 10 years next month and we are like newlyweds again. As long as you talk about fears and problems relationships can work after rny.

So beautifully said. Perfectly said. It’s a part of weight loss that isn’t much talked about and integral to losing the fear of regain. I have mirrored your journey. But I have also decided to completely move beyond valuing myself based on a number. I found that in order to be truly happy I had to accept that all “me” was a valid loveable person. The bigger me, the me now. My worth isn’t determined by my weight. This allowed me to let go of the fear of regain and also let go of any dieting behavior. I now eat freely and intuitively and it’s been such a wonderful transition. I’ve embraced my body weighing whatever it needs to to be healthy. That’s when I was really able to find happiness. My weight gain came about from self hatred and shame, feeling like a failure for not being model thin. If I kept holding myself to that standard I would have put myself right back where i started. Thank you for your post, it’s a really important thing to talk about.

Topamax is an anti-seizure drug that is also used for migraines and drug-induced weight gain. One of the major side effects is the complete inability to taste carbonation. You can't even feel the bubbles in your mouth. The soda tastes very acidic and outright disgusting.

How did you transition your pantry and fridge? What about those of you who have family members who need weight gain? Tomorrow I'm going to the grocery store for a few things to start out with but am not sure what to pick. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using BariatricPal

How to Be a Good Ally to Fat People Who Appear to Have Lost Weight November 14, 2013 | by Bevin Branlandingham Source: Flickr Originally published on Queer Fat Femme and cross-posted here with their permission. Our culture normalizes talking about bodies all the time. There is especially a lot of value placed on weight gain or loss. Turn on a television and just listen to diet chatter. It’s pervasive, obnoxious, and well-meaning individuals perpetuate it in our personal lives all the time. I like to create an environment in my life that is about substance over small talk, where compliments are genuine and weight is value-neutral. “Oh, but Bevin,” you may be saying. “I really mean it as a compliment when I notice you’ve lost weight!” But, well-intentioned friend, just because you’re well-intentioned doesn’t mean what you say doesn’t have a harmful impact. Weight loss doesn’t mean I look good. I believe I look good at all of my weights – all bodies are good bodies. And I know your perception of me might have changed because you are socialized to believe smaller is better, but I would like to gently invite you to do something different with your non-pliments of “You look so good!” when someone has lost weight. It’s also important to remember that the well-intentioned friends come in all shapes and sizes, fat, thin, and in-between. 1. How About Don’t Talk About It?I strongly subscribe to the philosophy that my body is nobody’s business but my own. If I want to talk about it with someone, I will and I do. I completely understand the inclination to ask questions about an obvious change. I am a naturally inquisitive person. My friends call me the Queer Oprah because of my tendency to really like to get into the meat of people’s stories. But as I’ve learned how to become a more sensitive and compassionate person, I have had to learn that sometimes you just don’t ask and you stay in the dark. It feels kind of impossible not to be nosy about it, but I do it anyway because it’s not my business. Also, what if you’re wrong? A friend of mine just said she gets asked all the time if she lost weight when she puts her hair down! Being nosy and being inquisitive are natural things that I am still working on curtailing. But I think it’s worth it to do the work to be sensitive because I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. I want my friends to feel like they can be their most vibrant and awesome selves around me. 2. Wait for the Person to Bring It UpHave you ever noticed that lots of straight people will out themselves to you within about ten minutes of conversation? Sometimes as short as two. Straight people in a heteropatriarchy are reaffirmed all the time about how great, normal, and important their straightness is. Therefore, they have likely not had the experience of having to hide or code their sexuality to people. They don’t really play the “pronoun” game and affirm their heterosexuality without thinking about it. The same is true for lots of people who have lost weight. In a diet-obsessed culture, it is super normalized that weight loss is a good thing. People who are excited about their weight loss will probably bring it up because it is normalized to talk about people’s bodies whether that is right or wrong. So let it happen if it will organically. People don’t stop to think about whether or not weight loss might be a sign of someone’s increased health or not. I know many people who have had cancer that lost a lot of weight rapidly. Candye Kane (an amazing blues singer) said on stage once, “I don’t recommend the cancer diet.” Maybe just ask them what’s going on in their life and talk to them organically. The core questions you have about them may just come to light. But, again, their body is none of your business unless they bring it up. If they do bring up their weight loss in a positive manner, you can do the work of someone working in solidarity with fat people by saying, “I think you look great at any weight, but I’m really glad you feel good in your body right now.” 3. Mention a General Compliment That Is More NeutralIf you really want to compliment someone because you genuinely think they look good, there are lots of things about someone’s appearance you can go for. Instead of mentioning weight loss thing, if you want to compliment someone, you can go for something else. “Your hair looks great!” Or maybe: “I love this outfit!” There are a bunch of different ways to express positivity to someone that don’t take into account weight loss and reinforce that weight loss is the only way to look good. I can see friends who come at me when I’ve lost weight sort of looking for a way to talk about my appearance without going down the wrong road because they know I loved myself X number of pounds ago and they don’t want to bury themselves in the wrong kind of compliment. 4. Comment on the Self“You seem particularly present tonight. I don’t know what it is, but you just seem extra YOU today. I love it!” If you must say something to the person, I suggest the foregoing. Kris Ford gave me this quote. I think it’s really great! What a remarkable way to get to the essence of what your weight loss compliment is really about. When we stop to think about what we really mean when we’re talking to people, we might be able to clearly communicate without hurting them. 5. Absolutely Don’t Ask Someone What They’re DoingOh my God, my family is so into this discussion. I zone out when I start to hear diet talk, Weight Watchers, walking the track, whatever new thing they’re doing. I truly believe in health at every size and will totally pipe into discussions of fitness, feeling good in your body, and other things from an “All Bodies Are Good Bodies” perspective. But I have heard “What are you doing?” question so many times, and I just absolutely hate it. Again, often folks will offer it if they want to. But in general, the “what you’re doing” question is such a standard thing people think is okay to ask, but it’s actually really personal! I have a super close friend I asked this question of because I genuinely had no idea how she had lost weight and wondered. But I’m close enough to her that when she dropped that it was an eating disorder, it was a safe® space to talk about it. I also learned from that moment to tread even a little more lightly with that stuff, to open those kinds of conversations with gentle warnings, or to open slowly. Because people who are just hanging out or going about their life maybe don’t want to just talk about their traumas out of the blue because you want to comment on their bodies. *** I struggle with what to say to people when they comment about changes to my weight. True fact about me: I tend to be an emotional non-eater. If I am going through a rough time, I will likely lose some weight. I lost sixty pounds when my fiance left me. And every time someone commented on my weight, I would say, “Bad break-up.” I would kind of grumpily respond to a nonpliment with snark. I don’t always want to do that, but I really leave it up to how I am feeling in that moment. Sometimes I go with, “I think I look great at any size.” Often, especially if it is a friend or loved one, I go with a very long explanation of what lead to my recent weight loss so that they understand what I’m going through, that it’s been a real struggle, and that the weight loss is a byproduct of a larger initiative to resolve a chronic condition I have. Sometimes, I just respond to weight loss nonpliments graciously because it’s not worth the fight. I learned to respond to compliments I didn’t agree with back when I was still self-hating. I would do things like respond to compliments with, “Oh, I don’t look good. I still have xyz wrong with me.” And I replaced that with a simple “thank you” until I was ready to really hear and absorb good things about myself. A friend told me once, “Hi skinny,” in response to weight loss. My response was, “Um, I don’t identify as skinny.” Because anytime I’ve ever lost weight in my life (as someone who has a lifetime of fat experience), I have always been fat. And, in the case of my beloved Grandmother, I accept her compliments graciously and deeply appreciate when my mom pipes in with, “But we love you at any size.” Because sometimes it’s not worth the fight. But it is amazing to have my mom acting in solidarity with my politics and values around all bodies being good bodies at any size. This was not always the case, but working with her in love, respect and compassion through the last twelve years of my participation in body liberation activism, has actually been really rewarding.

I agree with southernsoul above, I don't think you should worry about weight loss while sick at all. Also, I bet you are actually losing weight, but due to being sick are holding on to water weight. Your weight "going up a few ounces" every day is NOT real weight gain and you need to learn to not be affected emotionally by the daily fluctuations of your body.

I personally am the queen of yo yo weight gain/loss. Although it is more weight than I have lost in the past, it is not unusual for me to lose and then balloon. I have kept a weight log since 2004 and I have quantifiably yoyo'ed 30 or more lbs every 18 to 24 months for the last 10 years. They just might question when I don't gain this time. dde0b. That is so me! Always up and down, I didn't tell anyone at work, and they haven't said anything yet about my weightloss I'm pretty sure it's because of my yoyo dieting in the past, and that's fine with me. I'm only 5 weeks out.

I'm sorry but your "husband " is a coward! Who does that?! I believe when someone leaves you because of physical reasons (lost weight/ gained weight) that person never really loved you. But the good side of it is you have so much to look forward to! Sometimes it takes extreme measures for us to see the true colors of people. You will overcome this. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm sorry but your "husband " is a coward! Who does that?! I believe when someone leaves you because of physical reasons (lost weight/ gained weight) that person never really loved you. But the good side of it is you have so much to look forward to! Sometimes it takes extreme measures for us to see the true colors of people. You will overcome this. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I have no doubt that my husband did love me and in a way still does. There is no excuse for what he has done or how he has treated me but the demons he was battling simply won out sadly. Thank you for the encouragement at the end of your post. I am trying each day to overcome.

I gained 8 pounds! I was mad! Lol. Nobody warned me about the IV fluid weight gain and I had so much on my mind I didn't even consider that happening. But it comes off fast. Rest assured!