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If I can stop shoveling the food in, I loose weight quickly. But historically, I also loose in spurts. I just found it interesting that this is also happening with the band, though it makes sense. The band isn't going to change how we loose weight, as far as I can figure it, it helps with the "shoveling food in" part. The real fun for me will come in a couple of months when it is warm enough to start cycling again, as I start training to do a Century in the fall, my weight will bounce all over the place as I spend more and more time on my bike. When I train heavily, I put on muscle, retain Water and see weight gains for weeks at a time to see 10 pounds drop in a week. It is a real "E" ticket ride.

It's my 5 month bandiversary, and I have lost almost 52 pounds so far !!! I'm feeling good about my weight loss thus far, and look forward to losing more. It's been quite the journey & learning experience. I'm making better choices, and defnitely eating less. More importantly, I'm actually making time to work out (exercise bike). I'm looking forward to the Summer where I might actually be able to go on hikes without losing my breath, and enjoying the outdoors! I feel that my weight gain kept me in hybernation for way too long. Well, it's time to get out & enjoy life again! Congrats to all of you that have lost & continue to lose. Every day you become a healthier you!

Cheri, that is great that you had some bounce back in your skin. I can tell by your picture and the fact that you are pregnant that you are much, much younger than some of us. And that probably helped with your skin bouncing back. And some folks just have more elasticity in their skin than others. I've never had any! I carried twins, not even to full term, when I was just a teenager, and my tummy skin never recovered, although I very quickly returned to my former weight, and was quite fit back in those days. And I was large breasted and the boobs were just ruined from no elasticity in the skin envelope. I later had a breast lift/reduction to fix that mess, and the boobs have somehow survived the weight loss fairly intact for an old girl. I can remember being in my early 30s and working out with weights, just fit and firm all over, except for my loose skin. And of course, the later weight gain made it worse. I'll probably get the tummy fixed because I can see it clothed. To heck with the rest.

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?

Question: should we be limiting our carb intake at all after surgery? Has anyone noticed problems with eating carbs after? Just wondering if that's the culprit of my weight gain last week. I do know that I get very full very fast when I do consume carbs, and do get a sickly feeling. It may just be me. We're all different.

If you can't est 3 oz solid Protein you are too tight. Being to tight is 1. Bad for the band may slip and 2. Leads to eating sliders which can lead to weight gain.

low estrogen will cause weight gain for sure. I know from have hysterectomy and never taking estrogen or any hormones I was referring to Patrick's post about the soy I quoted it but i dont see that part

I wouldn't worry to much.. I was 39. Something and thought oh crap and gained a few pounds... They approved my at my original weight! Gained for nothing and had an extra 7 pounds to deal with 0_o

Thanks Cheri. I know from prior posts that you were a slow looser and that slow does not mean unsuccessful. I understand the frustration of hearing people complain that they have only lost 30 pounds in the first three weeks after surgery LOL! I am 5'1" and shooting for 130. Like I said, I suspect I have 10+ pounds of skin. Right now I wear a size 6 comfortably. I was trying on pants last week and noticed that if it weren't for the panni, I could easily wear a size 4. I forgot that I have no hips. I am constantly having to pull my pasts up as they slide over the non-existent hips and get stopped by the lower stomach skin. My surgeon's goal for me is 110. I think he's nuts. I would be a size 0 or less. No thanks! I will try the strength training. I have equipment at home for that. All I need to do is pick it up. No extra money for a gym. It's funny, but when I do exercise there is a weight gain that accompanies it at first no matter what the calorie deficit is. Connie and Aussie: One week? Nahhh. Two weeks is a little more frustrating, but they can last 1-2 months despite the fact that you are doing the same thing you had been doing when you were losing. Both Cheri and ButtertheBean and others have posted detailed explanations on stalls. The simplistic explanation is that your body needs time to readjust after a weight loss both in chemical terms and physical inches. I sometimes think that the body is actually redistributing flesh. If you are doing everything right and not losing pounds, do not over-worry. Keep with it and you will lose. There are some that say changing up or playing with the numbers (protein, fat, carbs, exercise, etc.) will shock your body, but my experience up to now has been to wait it out. This may have changed for me since I'm close to goal. Cheri knows what she is talking about. I am with a few pounds of what I was just before Christmas. This morning I tried on a pair of pants that were super tight that I have not worn since then and I am swimming in them. The lose skin that I did not think was so bad a couple months ago is more noticeable now. I mentioned in another post that I actually have loose skin on my fingers. Don't let that scare you BTW. I'm 47 and had a 46 or 47 BMI when I started. It's so much better than the fat. Cheri - Keep us posted on that baby of yours! Named yet? I named my daughter when she was 3 weeks old - I mean 3 weeks from conception I was calling her by name. Yes, I'm weird, but she was long wanted and I have to plan EVERYTHING is advance :-P

I've had my 1st fill last month and am currently 35% of my fill capacity (1.4 cc's in a 4cc band] and I'm getting about another .6 cc's next week to bring me to 50% fill capacity. More cardiovascular as I love playing basketball with the kids [4 on 1 with 14-17 year olds ...haha...it makes exercising fun]. I also ride the bike and use the elliptical machine. Just recently, I started lifting weights again. Used to lift a lot in college but stopped lifting because I was getting to big [not big as in fat...but big in terms of muscular]. My 85lb weight gain has all been in the last 8 years of my life due to life events and stress and getting older. So I'm pretty comfortable working out [and believe it or not] I was a body builder type back in college. Love working out actually Thoughts/Opinions?

I am losing a lot slower than most of you guys (which can be frustrating). I am following my doctor's orders thoroughly. It might be that I am older than some (I'm 55). I'm on several medications that cause weight gain and they may be causing me to lose slower. I did water aerobics before surgery and have continued with that so I know it's not from lack of exercise. I can't up my exercising much without causing a fibromyalgia flare up but I can try to increase it slowly over many months. I use myfitnesspal to record what I'm eating to make sure I'm on track. I'm down 31 pounds and I'm happy with that until I come to this site and read where everyone else is.

Just want to check in with Sleevers that are more than a year out. How is it going? have you gained weight back? How is your restriction? How is your skin? I am feeling like all the Sleevers that were active on this site have disappeared .. and I am hoping just because there is a lot of repeat info for the newbies... which is totally fine! Personally I am 19 months out, and within 6-7 pounds of my lowest weight.... gained the 6-7 back from Halloween until new years. I am taking care of those pounds now. I can still feel restriction, some days more than others but I definitely can eat a lot more than a year ago! I admit I have not been working out and I am finally back at the gym starting today. Really excited to lose the 6 pounds and 4 more if I am lucky! I love this site it keeps me accountable. How is everyone else?

I seen a lot of people on this forum not receiving family Support and getting called weak well i have a confession to make i didnt get any support i was laughed at and made fun of called weak called will less was told its all in my mind and was told several time I will fail most of the people were so called friends and family who themselves are not in perfect shape but have a lot to say . I feel it is your strength that you are taking this step also all you are getting is a tool to help you win this battle. I went to hospital with one of of my friends cause family wouldn't support me and thought i am wasting time.Guess what Surgery weight height 6 ft wt 287.5 in 5 days ( my surgery was on 8th of this month) today weight 264.... With ought this tool it's a very hard battle something I read at New York Times..... Shows Why It’s Hard to Keep Weight Off For years, studies of obesity have found that soon after fat people lost weight, their metabolism slowed and they experienced hormonal changes that increased their appetites. Scientists hypothesized that these biological changes could explain why most obese dieters quickly gained back much of what they had so painfully lost. GETTY IMAGES But now a group of Australian researchers have taken those investigations a step further to see if the changes persist over a longer time frame. They recruited healthy people who were either overweight or obese and put them on a highly restricted diet that led them to lose at least 10 percent of their body weight. They then kept them on a diet to maintain that weight loss. A year later, the researchers found that the participants’ metabolism and hormone levels had not returned to the levels before the study started. The study, being published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, is small and far from perfect, but confirms their convictions about why it is so hard to lose weight and keep it off, say obesity researchers who were not involved the study. They cautioned that the study had only 50 subjects, and 16 of them quit or did not lose the required 10 percent of body weight. And while the hormones studied have a logical connection with weight gain, the researchers did not show that the hormones were causing the subjects to gain back their weight. Nonetheless, said Dr. Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at Columbia, while it is no surprise that hormone levels changed shortly after the participants lost weight, “what is impressive is that these changes don’t go away.” Dr. Stephen Bloom, an obesity researcher at Hammersmith Hospital in London, said the study needed to be repeated under more rigorous conditions, but added, “It is showing something I believe in deeply — it is very hard to lose weight.” And the reason, he said, is that “your hormones work against you.” In the study, Joseph Proietto and his colleagues at the University of Melbourne recruited people who weighed an average of 209 pounds. At the start of the study, his team measured the participants’ hormone levels and assessed their hunger and appetites after they ate a boiled egg, toast, margarine, orange juice and crackers for Breakfast. The dieters then spent 10 weeks on a very low calorie regimen of 500 to 550 calories a day intended to makes them lose 10 percent of their body weight. In fact, their weight loss averaged 14 percent, or 29 pounds. As expected, their hormone levels changed in a way that increased their appetites, and indeed they were hungrier than when they started the study. They were then given diets intended to maintain their weight loss. A year after the subjects had lost the weight, the researchers repeated their measurements. The subjects were gaining the weight back despite the maintenance diet — on average, gaining back half of what they had lost — and the hormone levels offered a possible explanation. One hormone, leptin, which tells the brain how much body fat is present, fell by two-thirds immediately after the subjects lost weight. When leptin falls, appetite increases and metabolism slows. A year after the weight loss diet, leptin levels were still one-third lower than they were at the start of the study, and leptin levels increased as subjects regained their weight. Other hormones that stimulate hunger, in particular ghrelin, whose levels increased, and peptide YY, whose levels decreased, were also changed a year later in a way that made the subjects’ appetites stronger than at the start of the study. The results show, once again, Dr. Leibel said, that losing weight “is not a neutral event,” and that it is no accident that more than 90 percent of people who lose a lot of weight gain it back. “You are putting your body into a circumstance it will resist,” he said. “You are, in a sense, more metabolically normal when you are at a higher body weight.” A solution might be to restore hormones to normal levels by giving drugs after dieters lose weight. But it is also possible, said Dr. Jules Hirsch of Rockefeller University, that researchers just do not know enough about obesity to prescribe solutions. One thing is clear, he said: “A vast effort to persuade the public to change its habits just hasn’t prevented or cured obesity.” “We need more knowledge,” Dr. Hirsch said. “Condemning the public for their uncontrollable hedonism and the food industry for its inequities just doesn’t seem to be turning the tide.”

Study Shows Why It’s Hard to Keep Weight Off By GINA KOLATA Published: October 26, 2011 RECOMMEND TWITTER LINKEDIN SIGN IN TO E-MAIL PRINT REPRINTS SHARE For years, studies of obesity have found that soon after fat people lost weight, their metabolism slowed and they experienced hormonal changes that increased their appetites. Scientists hypothesized that these biological changes could explain why most obese dieters quickly gained back much of what they had so painfully lost. GETTY IMAGES But now a group of Australian researchers have taken those investigations a step further to see if the changes persist over a longer time frame. They recruited healthy people who were either overweight or obese and put them on a highly restricted diet that led them to lose at least 10 percent of their body weight. They then kept them on a diet to maintain that weight loss. A year later, the researchers found that the participants’ metabolism and hormone levels had not returned to the levels before the study started. The study, being published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, is small and far from perfect, but confirms their convictions about why it is so hard to lose weight and keep it off, say obesity researchers who were not involved the study. They cautioned that the study had only 50 subjects, and 16 of them quit or did not lose the required 10 percent of body weight. And while the hormones studied have a logical connection with weight gain, the researchers did not show that the hormones were causing the subjects to gain back their weight. Nonetheless, said Dr. Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at Columbia, while it is no surprise that hormone levels changed shortly after the participants lost weight, “what is impressive is that these changes don’t go away.” Dr. Stephen Bloom, an obesity researcher at Hammersmith Hospital in London, said the study needed to be repeated under more rigorous conditions, but added, “It is showing something I believe in deeply — it is very hard to lose weight.” And the reason, he said, is that “your hormones work against you.” In the study, Joseph Proietto and his colleagues at the University of Melbourne recruited people who weighed an average of 209 pounds. At the start of the study, his team measured the participants’ hormone levels and assessed their hunger and appetites after they ate a boiled egg, toast, margarine, orange juice and crackers for breakfast. The dieters then spent 10 weeks on a very low calorie regimen of 500 to 550 calories a day intended to makes them lose 10 percent of their body weight. In fact, their weight loss averaged 14 percent, or 29 pounds. As expected, their hormone levels changed in a way that increased their appetites, and indeed they were hungrier than when they started the study. They were then given diets intended to maintain their weight loss. A year after the subjects had lost the weight, the researchers repeated their measurements. The subjects were gaining the weight back despite the maintenance diet — on average, gaining back half of what they had lost — and the hormone levels offered a possible explanation. One hormone, leptin, which tells the brain how much body fat is present, fell by two-thirds immediately after the subjects lost weight. When leptin falls, appetite increases and metabolism slows. A year after the weight loss diet, leptin levels were still one-third lower than they were at the start of the study, and leptin levels increased as subjects regained their weight. Other hormones that stimulate hunger, in particular ghrelin, whose levels increased, and peptide YY, whose levels decreased, were also changed a year later in a way that made the subjects’ appetites stronger than at the start of the study. The results show, once again, Dr. Leibel said, that losing weight “is not a neutral event,” and that it is no accident that more than 90 percent of people who lose a lot of weight gain it back. “You are putting your body into a circumstance it will resist,” he said. “You are, in a sense, more metabolically normal when you are at a higher body weight.” A solution might be to restore hormones to normal levels by giving drugs after dieters lose weight. But it is also possible, said Dr. Jules Hirsch of Rockefeller University, that researchers just do not know enough about obesity to prescribe solutions. One thing is clear, he said: “A vast effort to persuade the public to change its habits just hasn’t prevented or cured obesity.” “We need more knowledge,” Dr. Hirsch said. “Condemning the public for their uncontrollable hedonism and the food industry for its inequities just doesn’t seem to be turning the tide.”

That's what I was thinking as well. I think my best friend and I have discovered something that could cause this and that's the good old menopause! The weight gain as only been in the last month but scary I must admit! Back to the basics I go

Most are new on here... or at least what I have seen. I hit my year mark on Feb 21st but have no experienced and yoyo weight gain. Maybe going back to basics and writing everything down??? Good luck and welcome to the boards

Hello everyone, I'm also going through Kaiser for surgery. I'm in the Fremont Bariatric program and so far so good. I've met with my surgeon on 12/19/12 and I need to lose 26 pounds. 6wks before at the orientation I had weighed in at 306 and by the time I went in for my appt. I gained 10lbs. So with that being said, its tough, I've also stopped smoking now for 9wks that's where some of my weight gain came from and a lot of it is emotional eating but I'm not giving up. Good luck to the both of you.

Anyone else struggle at the 2 year mark with the yoyo weight gain??

I'm the same as Missy and Floridays. I get on in ghe morning and at night. I just want to stay on top of it because God forbid I don't realize I'm eating something I shouldn't...weight gain on the scale is going to make me stop and reevaluate what I'm doing. However if you are the type that will get discouraged if you don't see a five pound drop then it probably wouldn't be a wise thing to do. :-)

Yep still get periods - it's pretty unhealthy in my books not to get them!! Might be a reason for weight gain ... I have always had no problem periods and they (for me) are lighter with the IUD in place. This isn't the case for everyone though.

As a OB/GYN health care provider, I can tell you that the Implanon that you are using is fine if you are happy with it. It does have a small risk of weight gain, about 10 lbs over a 3 yr period. The only method I would NOT recommend would be the DEPO. It alters the way carbs are metabolized and can really put weight on. Increases appetite as well. The NuvaRing is excellent and would be a great choice as well Does not matter if you are obese. If you know you are not a reliable pill taker, then don't even consider. You do need to find a new PCP.

I have the Paraguard IUD and have had it for over 6 years. I love it. Set it and forget it. I don't have strings (they think they went up past my cervix right after I had it inserted) so I have no clue if anything has changed. You're supposed to check once a month to make sure all is well. Yes, it is possible for the IUD to shift with BOTH weight gain and loss. I get ultrasounds every once in a while to make sure mine is still in the correct position. So I would say, if you want another one, make sure to be responsible and check! I can't take bc cuz they make me extremely nauseous and I can never remember to take them so I always worried.

I've always been overweight, I have also been on NuvaRing for 10 years, not once has a doc or wls doc said its a cause for my weight. They also say I should continue to use it after surgery! I had the lapband with it and with revision I will continue to use it! I love and swear by it! Almost every method has to list "weight gain" as a side effect because they have hormones which can effect a woman's weight. But check it out, keep an open mind and find a new supportive pcp! There are a lot out there!

Newgrandmother.. You're lookin awesome! I had to do a double take on your pic because I thought it was two different people! Hang in there and stay positive. My situation is a bit differnt because all my weight gain was in the last year since my band removal so I still have all my old jeans and just shop in my closet. If it wasn't for that I swear I'd go insane if I had to physically try to find pants that fit. I HATE shopping for pants! Clothing sizes makes no sense to me

I had to do 6 month diet and was told I had to show weight loss and no weight gain