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The pill doesn't necessarily make you gain weight but the hormones that are released definitely play a part in weight gain. I have Mirena IUD and the hormones stay located to that specific area. It usually does not encourage weight gain

You do realize that pre-op & post-op weight gain/loss is expected right? I see a lot of people on here concerned with their gain/loss when it is completely irrelevant. I honestly don’t know why anyone is concerned or is even keeping track at this point when the real concern should be preparing/recovering. Really the only time anyone should be paying attention to the scale is when the transition to solid food has been made & even then results shouldn’t be expected immediately. Before I had surgery I devoured all the water I could & after surgery received god knows how many bags of fluids as well as the fluids I had started drinking. I don’t have a scale at home & honestly don’t care to. I’ll leave it to doctors appointments or the gym to see what I weigh & even then there’s no rush. All that should matter really is that in the next 6 months to a year I hope to see 100 pounds less of me than a year before & everyone else should be hopeful to see the same.

Sugar is a major reason for weight gain. And has zero nutritional value. You need to focus only on foods that nourish your body after wls. That is how I approach food now. Does it provide nutrients or is it filler. If it the latter I'll take a pass. Google is your best friend on the sugar question.

Hello August Sleevers! My name is Julie & I'll be sleeved on the 9th! Anyone care to join me?? ) Just started my 10-day liquid Protein pre-op diet yesterday, so the countdown has officially begun! I can't believe it's coming up so quickly! Yesterday was pretty easy, little hunger today. Will get through it, though! Thought I'd introduce myself! ...I'm a married mother of 2 awesome teenage boys (17 & 14) from Credit River, Minnesota. I'm an interior designer by trade, but have been a full-time glass bead artist & jewelry designer for the last 5 years. I love what I do! (who wouldn't? I get to play with fire!!) If you want to check out my work, feel free to visit my website by clicking the "glass artist" link below my name in my signature. I've always been creative & am so happy being able to do what I do. I'm also very blessed to have a husband who supports his family & gives me the freedom to do what I love! I've dealt w/ weight issues my entire adult life, actually since high school. Not one to jump on the fad diet bandwagon, I've mainly done programs like Weight Watchers, having small short lived successes, but have never been able to really maintain any kind of loss for long. A few years ago my doctor brought up WLS & I didn't even consider it.... one one hand it seemed too extreme & on the other, it seemed like the easy way out (yes, I know better!) Over time, however, w/ much research & even more weight gain, I realized that I was in a never ending cycle that I seriously needed to do something about. I stopped looking @ WLS as an easy fix.... realizing that I was still going to be required to do all of the work & instead, I started looking at WLS as an amazing tool that I've never had access to before. Yeah, I know how to lose weight & yeah, I should be able to do this on my own, but for some reason, I haven't been able to. WLS is a permanent fix. Yeah, I know weight can still be gained if you aren't doing what's necessary, but the fact is that a large part of my stomach is going to be removed & I'm going to have minimum capacity there. I'm taking a huge risk to do this & I'm not about to be stupid about it. I know how important getting the right nutrition is going to be & I also know I'll need to move my butt. This is the heavy hand that I obviously need to get this job done! I'm not taking this lightly. I'm thrilled to have a local friend going through the vertical sleeve procedure w/ me... her surgery date is set for early September, so it'll be great for us to be there to support eachother.... but I'm really happy to have found you guys & this awesome message board / support system. I've already been inspired by so many success stories & I'm really looking forward to becoming part of the community... really enjoy connecting w/ & motivating/inspiring others! I've decided to blog my experience... something to help me document this new journey of mine. Oh yeah... I started this journey w/ my first appointment in January this year @ 285lbs, my heaviest ever. I'm sitting @ 272lbs, pre-post-op diet. Will be interesting to see where I am this time next week before surgery & can't wait to see where things go from here!! xoxox....

I get so much pride and joy out of the smallest things that exercise gives me - for instance, I have unfortunately beein in and out of hospitals SO much this year, exercise sure didnt stop me getting cancer (but statisticaly, it WILL minimise the chances of recurrence) but I love getting my blood pressure and pulse taken - everyone always is amazed at ninety someting on fifty something and a pulse of 44, and comments that I'm either already dead or very fit. I like knowing that at least if my digestive system is genetically doomed, I can fight it with my good health and I am sure not going to risk my cardiovascular health knowingly through laziness and inertia. I never would have recovered as quickly as I did and coped with the treatment as well as I did without being so fit - and it was pretty hard, I've got to say, but could have been SO much worse. It was my coping mechanism all through those bleak months of treatment, it really helped to keep me sane. Not that that's all good - I mean I've managed to absolutely deplete my body's Iron stores, given that I'm menopausal and dont lose blood that way, its most likely that my insane 15kms runs whilst having chemo has used up everything my body had. I'm a bit obsessive like that and its important to learn when to take it a bit easy - yes, I'm taking it a little easier now. With regard to the weight gain from exercise, I feel like you do. I just like to see an ultra low weight on the scales and I am not interested in being muscular/curvy and a bit heavier BUT I got skeletal earlier in the year and I knew how important it was to put back muscle, not fat, so I pulled my finger out, ran less and did a lot of Body Pump and got the weight to go on over a period of six months. I've gained back about 10lb but I have not gone up even an inch around my waist, all my skinny jeans fit, and I look much better but still thin, so muscle weight is good weight, it is not something to worry about. Exercise is about a lot more than just weight loss, but the person who can lose 150lb and get down to a BMI of under 25 without some pretty hard and dedicated exercise is one in a million. More often, people lose but only a bit of their excess weight and they have a lot more trouble keeping it off.

In the past two weeks I have put on 10 pounds. I panicked when the first 4 came on and decided it was time for a fill appointment the doctor was unable to locate the port. He rescheduled for next friday but in the mean time I feel like all my weight is coming back with vengeance. I eat under 1500 calories and most of it actually gets stuck what's going on?

Barirum swallow have been done twice. Everything is normal and in place...I don't have acid reflux now, since I had an unfill... By the way acid reflux is a side effect of the lapband....after a couple years of having the band, acid reflux is the number one side effect...and weight gain happens when to much is taken out of the band... So I don't see what is so abnormal!!! I see my doctor on a regular bases..

Hello everyone .. It's been awhile , however I have a little bit of bad news ... Over the last 5 months I've been gaining weight ... Just found out that my port may have a leak ... Has anyone had this problem ... What do they do for it ?? Will I lose my weight again ... Will my insurance cover it ??? So many questions ... Anything will help ...

I too am not sure if my PCP will give me a referral. I have only been seeing her for the last two years and my weight has gone up and down throughout the years due to yo-yo dieting. I switched PCPs a lot before I found one that I was comfortable with and would always go on a fad diet before scheduling my annual physicals because I was ashamed of my weight and didn't want to get lectured about the dangers of obesity. I have kept a log of most of my weight loss attempts and weight gains which I plan on bringing to my Dr.'s appointment. Hopefully that will help. Good luck with your doctor.

I have decided to get the Lap Band after many years of weight gain and loss and now am looking for a place to do it. I have had a consultation at CIBO and they can do the procedure very quickly which kind of scares me...shouldnt there be a longer wait...regardless I am looking for positive stories from CIBO patients

I can find studies to dispute anything from another study. For example... Weighing Yourself: Helpful Habit or Unhealthy Obsession? In a study that monitored the weighing practices of 1,900 young adults, Carly Pacanowski, PhD, RD, and her colleagues found that those who weighed themselves more often experienced higher levels of depression and weight concern (thinking a lot about being thinner and fear of gaining weight) and lower self-esteem and body satisfaction. Interestingly, more frequent weighing did not lead to better weight control. Weighing isn’t necessarily problematic for everyone. “There is evidence that self-weighing may be an effective strategy for some adults to prevent weight gain,” says Pacanowski. “However, that doesn’t mean that everyone should adopt this behavior.” Weighing yourself can lead to self-judgment and guilt, which can fuel a cycle of emotional eating. For some it can promote eating disorders and other unhealthy eating behaviors. With 89% of women unhappy with their weight and 39% worried about the number on the scale, millions are stuck in a counterproductive and potentially harmful cycle.

Ok, we've all been there...You go and get a fill and they give you all of these specific instructions on what to eat and what not to eat. They make you drink Water before you leave to make sure you're not completely shut off, etc etc.. But what about if you get it loosened? They don't tell you what THAT'S gonna be like!! So here's a list of the potential side effects for having an UN-fill (I wish I would've known before I had my band loosened): - Gas - Bloating, water retention - Diarrhea or constipation.. or diarrhea followed by constipation followed by diarrhea - More gas and bloating - Hunger - RAPID WEIGHT GAIN!!!!! And I mean RAPID, even if you're watching what u eat!!! So what do we Banders do?? We go back and get a fill, right???? And another fill, and another fill.. But guess what!! THERE'S NO GOING BACK!! It's that "green-zone" everyone talks about. If u get to your green-zone, then don't mess with it!! Unfortunately, I did mess w it. And after 3 more fills in my 10 yr old band, I'm up 65 pounds in about 6 months. So I gave up.. had my band removed last month and in 3 weeks I'm getting the Sleeve. Anyone else have this happen???

Over the last three years I've had multilple fills and unfills. I've never had any of those problems after an unfill. I've had more weight gain from being too tight than from having an unfill. When you post a thread like this, you make an unfill sound like a death sentence to the band. This is not an accurate representation. Sorry the band didnt work out for you, but scaring newbies about having an unfill isn't playing fair.

I have no doubts that you will likely gain after an unfill, especially if you were barely eating beforehand. But what I also believe is: You CAN get back in the green zone and you CAN slow, cease weight gain and eventually lose while unfilled if you really want to. It's harder to do than when with the help of the band but it can be done. So don't throw your hands up and give up.

My update! I had an Upper GI today at Kaiser and the bariatric surgeon emailed me with results within an hour of me leaving the office. He said "looks better" so then I ask "so what's the plan from here"? He said that it is better but my esophagus is still a little dilated, so he said give it one more month and from there he feels confident to do a fill to get me back on track without doing another UGI. When I saw the barium go right through and collect down in my lower stomach quickly compared to when they did it 7 weeks ago where even some jiggling and dancing around for 15 minutes kept the barium above the band. This almost 30lbs weight gain since my band was unfilled has been quite depressing. I had to go up a few sizes in clothes, sell my track day to my favorite track because I had no leathers to wear and just feel huge in general. I know others are struggling with more weight than that and my friends say "you look great" but I feel enormous and miss my entire wardrobe of clothes and jackets that didn't make me look frumpy! :-/ So we shall see what happens in a month. WOuld be nice to start getting some fill back. I know I wont be going back to where I was before..toooo tight. I learned my lesson to not put up with behaviors that are not "normal" and to get back to bandster portions again. I have been working hard to reduce portions, calories, working out etc. It is discouraging to STILL see the scale go up, but it seems to have slowed down. Hoping for at least a maintain for now if not tiny loss! I am just so happy to keep my band for now. It did what it was supposed to do and had been doing for years..keep my weight off. I want that back!!

Thanks for the encouragement, it is just what I need. I know I won't go back to smoking because it has been a year and I just don't want them. What I do need is help with the weight gain so I hope it will be okay to come here for that special kind of help that only people that have been through the same thing can understand.

You should be very proud of only a 2 pound weight gain on vacation. Don't be hard on yourself!! Cool on the YMCA. You will really enjoy that!! My cousin is a personal trainer, so I get a REALLY good deal on training. I just started this week. Amy

2 pounds up this morning on the 3 week anniversary of surgery. No change in diet of course... I heard about a dreaded stall, but weight gain? And how long did your stall last?

I wonder if having this type of surgery also affects the thyroid gland. One of the symptoms (major symptom for me before I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1995) of hypothyroidism is hair loss, and for me it was by the clumps! Other symptoms include being cold, weight gain, and lethargy. I had all of those, as well. Apparently there are many people out there who have hypothyroidism who don't know they have it, as the symptoms creep up slowly, and sometimes there are no symptoms at all. A simple blood test at your doctor's office will tell you if you have it. I take a tiny pill every morning that takes care of my symptoms. Worth looking into if you think you may have it. I wonder if having hypothyroidism and having the sleeve surgery may enhance hair loss. I will be asking my GP when I see her in February. I'll also ask my surgeon (if I ever see him again!). Good luck all!

Ok, so the main reason alcohol isn't generally allowed is because of addiction. Like it or not, all of us has a food addiction. When we get rid of one addiction, there is a danger of developing another addiction, in this case alcohol. The second reason is alcohol is empty calories...there really is no nutritional value in alcohol. There are health benefits that I won't deny...alcohol in moderation increases good cholesterol. It also allows certain people on our lives to continue to exist. Keeps us employed in awful jobs. But of course, I kid (sort of...The cholesterol part is true). Just be smart, be aware of the calories in what you are drinking! But I am steadfast in my refusal to believe that alcohol calories are somehow super calories...that they defy math and cause weight gain. Time to learn moderation, kids. Have a glass of wine, balance, and enjoy the one life you have.

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.

About a million times so far. Especially after losing 8lbs this first week on my liver shrink diet. Sitting here thinking "Now... I can do this on my own, and at this pace, I could hit my goal weight without surgery." Then I remember every single failed attempt from the past, and my hormonal issues that have contributed to the weight gain, and all of the other factors. Then I un-second-guess myself. [emoji4] I'm nervous, but mostly that surgery goes okay and I come home safely to my family. Everything after that is something I know I'll acclimate to in time. This is all for a healthier me for my family, so that's what I always come back around to.

Thanks so much for your reply every little bit of information i can get really helps - il have to keep every one updated on when i get my date for surgery - How are you finding the actual diet and the ammount of food you have cut back ? what sort of things can you eat now ? and finally HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LOST ??? bet its sooo exciting now your losing ? i cant wait ! do you feel like it has changed your life yet hun ? has weight always been a issue for you or has your weight gain been recent ? xxx

Today marks my 1 week post op and what a week it has been. Let me recap in a few important catagories. Physical I've experience the pain, which in all honesty isn't as bad as I would have expected. If we ignore the day of surgery and the day after, the rest of the week has been ok. I haven't needed any pain meds since the 3rd day post op. Pain has been limited to gas pain and incision site pain, both completely tolerable. The begining of the week I was a bit more tired than usual and I became tired quicker when doing simple activities like walking, each day this gets a bit better. Today I went shopping with my mother, my fitbit says I took around 3500 steps and walked 1.4 miles. My knees feel better, my back feels better, my feet feel better. I am actually sleeping better and waking up feeling as if I slept, no more waking tired. Looking forward to the next week! Emotional This has been one of the toughest things to deal with, the disappointment in not being able to enjoy the foods I love has hit me pretty hard a few times, always when out. I went to breakfast with my wife and her dad, I assumed that the resturant would have yogurt for me to eat since most do, they didn't. So I sat there with a decaf coffee and a kids sized orange juice while they ate. I don't like eggs and what not, but the smell comming off of their plates was so amazing, it took most of what I had to keep from breaking down into tears. I focused on why I'm doing this and resolved in the fact that I would be able to eat again in a few weeks. The biggest test was Thanksgiving. My family are big eaters, Italian families know how to eat. So I was dreading Thanksgiving at my parents house. The night prior I jumped the gun on my puree phase and attempted some pureed meat pie, a tiny 1/4 inch slice and some beef broth, blended it up, poured it into my 1/4 cup ramekin and heated it up. It looked so nasty, but the taste, after all the liquids and puddings and jello's was so damn amazing. And lucky for me, I didn't have any problems with eating it, I finished the serving a little quick for my liking, but I held off and sure enough, I felt the fullness coming on, but it never got painful, so I knew I hit the mark size wise. This gave me a bit of a bump for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving came and I pureed some turkey with gravy, some corn and potatos and took a 1/2 slice of cranberry sauce about a cup of food in total. We all said our thanks and got to eating. I focused on taking my time, I watched the clock and put my spoon down between "bites". About 20 mins in I knew I should stop, the fullness was just starting to kick up, so I put down my spoon and pushed the plate away. Everyone was suprised by how little I could eat. But they were all impressed. So one more big eating day left and it will be a smooth year. Weight I saved the best for last. I weighted in at 350 when I finally decided that I had had enough and that diets and yo-yo weight gain/loss had to go. My last appointment with my surgeon I weighted in at 343. The last "official" weight in at my pre-op training class was 336.8. The night before surgery I weighed myself on a medical scale at 335. Pretty good. But these next numbers are amazing. I had surgery on Friday, the following Monday I weighed in at 329, Yesterday, I weighed 324. So from 335 to 324 in 1 week! and all without feeling underfed. This is the motivation I need. I'm feeling the weight loss in my clothes, on my back and knees. It's noticable. I'm greatful to everyone here for the information and support that you are providing. All comments, both positive and critical are appreciated. I understand that to learn we need to be shown our faults. Stay Strong LBT!

I have to agree with Dolly. I'm approaching my 4 year anniversary in the bandster club and what a journey it has been! We all have our ups and downs while trying to find our way. At first, my family felt so guilty for eating certain things in front of me because I couldn't eat them. Now, they know that I always come prepared with my own food. I never put myself in the position to be without appropriate foods/portions. You have to work at this as it definitely is not a solution to the behavior that put us in the position of needing gastric surgery. This is a tool to help us. I've struggled with the mindset required to lose weight. I think we all do. Surround yourself with supportive people, stop hibernating and get out and exercise and I guarantee you'll feel better! I've had multiple spinal surgeries, which has resulted in weight gain from time to time. I'm still working on my last 30 lbs and it's tough, but I know if I eat right and exercise I'll get there. I'm an Army brat, so this has been drilled into my brain for years - Adapt and Overcome!