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I DID IT ! I hit MY weight goal. NOT my surgeon's goal 10 years ago when I started this advent....that was to weigh145 pounds. Then he agreed that having started at 320, (and then 5'3" ) that a more logical goal would be in the area of 160 to 170. The lowest I ever got was 175. And I did not maintain that for even a moment. The the next 8 years of losing my only sibling to the Flu at the age of 49 (please get your flu shot) and then my surviving parent a few years later... personal illness and drama.... and creeping weight gain.... 14 months ago at 220 pounds and 63 years old I got my act back together. I went back to eating protein - first and foremost - protein, healthy vegetables and fruit, and a smattering of healthy whole grain carbs and healthy fats. I ate mindfully - and intentionally to fuel my mind and body. I ate a treat daily I slowly changed HOW I eat, what I eat, and when I eat it. I did not announce it, I did not talk about it. I just did it. I lost 45 pounds in the past 14 months. Not fast weight loss, but steady And I may decide to lose a bit more. Or not. Thank you for being my sounding board. Thank you for being here for support. Today I am thankful for my sleeve, for saggy baggy hanging skin and not caring. And for being healthy !

One of the issues with rice is it swells in your small tummy filling you up. Rightrice still contains some rice so that would be a concern for me. I notice it has 25g of carbs in 1/3 cup which is a lot for a single serve. The same amount of rice has 15g. I always enjoyed rice before surgery but I haven’t eaten it since & don’t miss it. Same with bread & pasta. I know others can successfully eat it again in maintenance, but I believe consuming carbs from bread, rice & pasta mean weight gain for me. I feel way less bloated. Nor do I feel weighted down after a meal without them. But this is what I’ve found is working for me. You have to discover what works for you. I’d go down the cauliflower rice path if you want a similar texture. You can even use it to make a pizza base.

First thing - you may want to change your user name - having your email address as a user name will likely result in a lot more spam due to the email bot finders. So to the advice from people around you - I am assuming they are not medical or health specialists? They may be well meaning and while some family members may be concerned about possible medical complications are more likely to be concerned about the change in the status quo. You are likely to lose the weight that is required for health and maintain that loss long term? If so, you may not need the surgery. But if like most of us, you can lose some weight (not likely all that was needed) and are not able to maintain that weight loss beyond the short term, you will greatly benefit from weight loss surgery. Your medical team believes you are a good fit for the surgery and believes there is a need for it, you had reasons for looking at weight loss surgery - are those still valid? If you don't do the surgery where will you be a year from now? More weight gain - more medical issues?

Hi all, I had my sleeve revised to bypass on Monday, 8/31. I am 4 days in and weigh more than I did on surgery day. Is this still surgical fluids? I’m following my Stage 1 plan to the letter and frustrated.

I've heard/read a lot of people say that "you have to get your head right" if you want to succeed in WLS. I'm not really into counseling; I guess I just don't believe in trying to change my thoughts and I find the idea of therapy kind of... contrived? (I really don't mean to offend people who do find counseling helpful; if it helps you, awesome! I'm just skeptical that it would do me any good.) I also had a bad experience in the past with being forced into counseling with an unethical therapist, which soured my view of counseling. I really want to succeed at WLS, though, so I'm willing to give counseling a shot if there's a chance it could help. I never thought I'd willingly eat mashed cauliflower, either, but I've opened my mind to things I wouldn't have tried before surgery. Plus, I've reached my out-of-pocket maximum on my health insurance, so any counseling I get before the end of the year would be fully paid by my insurance. So, does anyone who has gotten counseling specifically related to WLS have any advice, or can you share how it has helped you? What should I look for in a therapist? I've done a cursory search of nearby therapists in my insurance network, and I haven't seen any of them specifically mention things like WLS, food issues, or eating disorders. I don't think I have an eating disorder (like binge eating disorder) and I don't think I am really an "emotional eater," but I do think I have some food issues and some baggage relating to eating and weight that have contributed to my weight gain. Would someone who deals with "mood disorders" cover that, or should I look for someone with specific expertise in eating disorders or WLS patients?

Gabapentin is a seizure medication and they also use it for nerve pain as stated. It needs to be in your system for a few weeks to even work and can in some people cause weight gain. I was prescribed this for my lumbar stenosis and it didnt work at all for me.

I shouldn't just say today-in general I dislike this train of thought: I'd be lying if I said that years and years, the better part of a lifetime, of social constructs has affected both how I feel about myself and the way people have treated me. I sometimes have the train of thought, that I shouldn't lose weight because I'd just be giving in to "societal pressures". That if I lose the weight, I'm not going to be able to tell who my real friends are, what someone's inner soul is like, or if men are really interested in me, or would have been if I was heavier. The last time I was involved with someone, I weighed 150 lbs. (I got REALLY sick for about 6 months, this is not a normal weight for me). I looked darn good, despite being horribly unhappy in all ever venues, which would eventually lead to a 100lb weight gain. I wore a size 8 and wasn't skinny by any means, but fairly normal, not "fat" and nice curves. The guy I was involved with seemed to be really into super skinny women. and would add all these anime convention "models" or super tiny skinny chicks dressed up for comicon conventions. He also showed me his "favorite p**n star"-an incredibly skinny, rib showing bleach blonde woman. (The mere fact that he had this weird idealizations about fantasies and stereotypes should have been a red flag but I was dealing with other issues.) I finally asked him if he would find someone else more attractive simply because they were thinner. His response: "Not necessarily. I mean, maybe if you could lose 10lbs." For frame of reference, here's a photo from me from that time period (in fact, was about 160 in this photo). I think I look fine (well, despite the goofy face), and I guess I just don't get why that's not enough? Or not considered thin enough or even fat. Thank god-he's gone. But words like that haunt me because it reaffirms the concept that men will only want anorexic, fake looking women...and I will never be that. I don't want to. And I also don't want to lose weight because of comments like that. I want to be sure I'm doing this for myself, and I want to know I'll be able to cherry pick the true people from the bad when/if I start getting more attention. *Sigh*

If you have GERD and take a PPI. I dont know of other reasons. I do know some people are able to get a revision for weight gain, but you even have to be more diligent if you are doing it for weight loss. It is not like your original surgery where you had lots of restriction and the weight came off. Personally I liked the sleeve better I had way more restriction with it. I rarely feel anything with this bypass.

Later this week It will be three years since my sleeve surgery and this is what I've learned. The surgery gave me hope and a jump start to rapid weight loss and better health. That's it. Nothing magical to it, you lose a good portion of your stomach therefore you eat less and you lose weight. I learned that without any work on my part the weight came off rapidly and in eight months I was at my goal weight. Now, here is the most important lesson out of this whole process, ( need to capitalize this) THE HARD WORK IS MAINTAINING THE WEIGHT LOSS. Since April of 2018 I have been struggling daily to maintain that weight loss and to stay at my goal weight. For those of you who have had long term success you are truly the best and you should be proud of your accomplishment. Early July I saw that I had a weight gain of eight pounds. I redoubled my efforts and was able to lose 4 1/2 pounds in three weeks. I am still struggling to lose the other 4 1/2 lbs. So, to date I am 4 1/2 lbs above my goal weight. I don't consider that a good thing. For the first time since my surgery three years ago I am forced to work twice as hard to lose weight rather and to maintain my goal weight . I'm still ahead of the game being so much healthier. To those who have recently experienced the euphoria of weight loss and better health after surgery. Enjoy it, embrace it and most of all keep in mind that it can be lost if you are not vigilant in your maintenance. I wish everyone the best of health and the best of success in your weight loss journey.

@meggie 111 You are not alone in having a gain. Your team is there to help. Give them a call. They will decide if a revision is right for you. A weight gain can be worked back down. I agree with @catwoman7 Get temptation food out of the house. Buy groceries that fit your eating plan, Log your food (stay within your weight loss calories, protein, carb, and fat goals) Find a way to manage stress/emotions without food. Keep healthy options for sweet and salty cravings on hand. Years out, I miss tight stomach restriction. Some things that help manage my hunger. I fill my extra sleeve space with low calories foods at each meal. I detox off real sugar and extra carbs. ( I'm not a carb aphobic) For my body to drop weight I stay in a carb range. low glycemic carbs work for me. Be consistent not perfect. Healthy is the goal, right? Many people on this site will help you get back on track.😀

Cross post OMG please help! I had a VSG 18 months ago and successfully lost about 80lbs. When the pandemic hit my anxiety went through the roof and I have gained back 30lbs. I still feel full after small servings but it’s SUGAR that is doing me in. Oddly I can easily eat a pint of ice cream in a sitting but cannot eat more than half a serving of “regular food”. Have I killed my sleeve? Do I need a second surgery. I’m so embarrassed to call my surgeon

OMG please help! I had a VSG 18 months ago and successfully lost about 80lbs. When the pandemic hit my anxiety went through the roof and I have gained back 30lbs. I still feel full after small servings but it’s SUGAR that is doing me in. Oddly I can easily eat a pint of ice cream in a sitting but cannot eat more than half a serving of “regular food”. Have I killed my sleeve? Do I need a second surgery. I’m so embarrassed to call my surgeon.

Pckeys, you’ve touched on a real concern I’ve had...”Preserving BMR”. All of my life I’ve heard that weight gain is often a result of repeated very low calorie dieting that translates into a permanently lowered BMR, thus we pack on weight even easier each time. Will this extended sprint of 800 cal months create the same? If so, are we better off consuming 1,000 daily even if we perhaps lose at a slower rate? A question I keep intending to ask surgeon or NUT but have not. Hmmmm.

I started this journey in January 2019 after a visit to Joslin for a type 2 diabetes check-in. I knew I was very overweight, but had never been recommended for Bariatric surgery! I thought that was for the “other fat people”, you know, 500+ pounds. I was kidding myself. I took the recommendation seriously and went to a meeting for those interested in Bariatric surgery. I decided I wanted to try some lifestyle and food changes myself before I made such a big decision. It was my teenage son telling me he was worried about me not living through my fifties that kept me moving in the right direction. This is probably the time to tell you that I have always enjoyed healthy eating and usually made pretty good choices with food, except for the times that I didn’t🙄. For me, eating is only a part of the extra pounds. I am the main character in a genetic horror film! The film stars me, before major weight gain, starting off with Metabolic syndrome (that includes Hyperlipidemia (crappy HDL), High blood pressure and high blood sugar), Arthritis (2 surgeries, 1 procedure, cervical and lumbar radiculopathy and stenosis- for almost 2 years, unable to work or even stand for more than 15 mins before excruciating pain set in), PCOS (hormones, fertility drugs, hysterectomy), and finally the cherry on top of the extra pounds? Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea. So, after I changed some of my behaviors, food choices and had an RFA of L4, L5 and SA, I was ready for help to move into the next phase. This phase began on December 30, 2019 at 204lbs. I am now 1 week away from my VSG surgery and feel ready and excited about feeling better, eating better, moving better and ultimately being here, not only for myself, but my son. Today is the 7th day of my pre-op diet and I weigh 180.2 lbs. I feel proud and know that this surgery will be an amazingly powerful tool to have on my journey.

We’re all (or were) fatties so there’s no bluffing here, but typical weight gain w steroid is nill. I happen to be an educated fatty with a masters degree. You chose the calories you put in your face, same as the lady who had a death. It is a food problem if you are putting too much food in your mouth. All of us did. Denial is rampant on internet.. i am the third person to agree with the posters above saying you have a food problem. Hope it helps for your reality check to help you be more healthy otherwise i wouldnt have commented. Hope you have lots of success denial can get in the way of that 🧸

Hello! Next week Thursday is my final appointment with my surgeon before he submits to my insurance company for approval. The problem is, my insurance specifically says that I cannot have any net weight gain. Well, after COVID and my gym being closed, I am 5 pounds heavier than I was 6 months ago. Does anyone have any tips to drop 5 pounds quickly that I could do in the days leading up to my next appointment? Thanks!

Below is an edited version from 3 weeks ago when I was conceivably talking about getting a bypass with the medical group. Now the Doctor Thinks a Sleeve Would be Better Then a Bypass. With battling weight most of my life 10 years ago I got a lap band put in. I am now 57 years old, 15 years ago I was diagnosed with type two diabetes At the time my Lap Band was put in my weight was 230 pounds. That might not sound like a lot of weight but for a male 5’8 it was a lot for me. In addition to having type two diabetes I have also had two neck surgeries and three back surgeries over the years. The Lap Band gave me significant weight loss. I got down from 230 to 160-165. I also lowered my Metformin from 1000 mg to 500 mg. I lost approximately 70 pounds of weight and maintained this weight for about nine years. To say that it was an easy road for me would be lying, I was constantly having the band loosened tightened loose and tightened like being on a roller coaster. I had problems with the Lap Band being so tight that I was having major acid reflux problems. In addition to that I had some small ulcers around my esophagus next to my Lap Band. Last year I decided I had enough of this and had a lot of Fluid taken out of my band. The major acid reflex went away immediately however, I still have some ongoing small minor heartburn and a small cough because the Lap Band is still in place but a lot of the fluid has been taken out. Because of that removal of fluid I have gained back for the first time in 10 years 35 pounds. Now I am back up to taking the same amount of diabetic medicine Metformin 1000 mg because of the 35 pound weight gain. The bariatric center in Los Angeles is now recommending that I conceivably switch to a Sleeve. This decision is not completely final yet and the acid reflex problems I’ve had for so many years which only really developed soon after getting the Lap Band 10 years ago. As in all surgeries there are risk concerns for changing the body anatomy, any advice or opinions from anyone that has been down this same kind of road would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time and concern. Hopefully one day I can help someone else.

Small but significant thing to ponder: stress and anxiety is linked to weight gain/retention. Stress >> increased cortisol >> body’s resistance to insulin >> weight gain and/or weight loss resistance.

I had a sleeve 7 years ago and lost 85 pounds over 6 months. I had no loose skin whatsoever, but I have regained the weight and I'm due to have a revision to a Mini Gastric Bypass in a few weeks. I'm curious to know if you are more likely to have loose skin after a revision for weight gain? I am also now 7 years older 🙂

We're in the same boat, so we can encourage each other. I had vsg in 2012, followed by a baby, along with weight gain in 2014...followed by another baby, and even MORE weight gain in 2016. Just started a diet reset 2 days ago, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'm 80 pounds away from my goal weight with vsg...so this won't happen overnight. How are things going for you?

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I lost 20 pounds during the 6-month weight loss program, which was at a different hospital--it was not connected with my surgeon's office. I first met with my surgeon about three months later, and during that time I had gained back those 20 pounds. However, I did not gain weight between the time I first saw the surgeon and my surgery date. Nonetheless, I don't think your weight gain would be enough to delay your surgery. However, you should discuss it with your surgeon. Just tell the truth and don't try to "cheat" by starving yourself before your next appointment.

Hey all, So I got my insurance approval and have surgery this Thursday, August 13 and my doctor is not requiring me to do the liquid diet. I had one last get together, plus my time of the month, somehow gained like 10 pounds from my original weight. I’m so upset about it. But my pre-op appointment is at the hospital this Tuesday and worried about my weight gain. I’m doing the liquid diet on my own starting tomorrow. When I called my doctors office they said it should be fine. But I’m still nervous, has anyone day of surgery denied? Thank you!

I'm New York, and within the past few months - bleh. The lockdown didn't bother me so much as a concept, weight wasn't a problem for the first two months. I was VERY involved in a virus-related contact tracing effort that has basically consumed all of my time, and obviously the status of healthcare in America means that I've spent since mid-Feb bashing my head against a wall to try and make things happen and hitting political and insurance roadblocks and let's just go ahead and agree that being 20 feet away from the kitchen during 13-hour days when you can't leave home without wearing a mask is... not ideal for maintaining weight loss? Long story short, I am a whopping 30lbs up on my lowest weight right now. It's reversible, and in fact with some of the virus-related work finally getting traction (Americans finally stop living in denial, hopefully?) and being parceled off to other teams I'm actually seeing work hours go back down to a normal schedule, but I'm rebooting starting this week through Orgain protein shakes twice a day and one carefully planned meal, plus coffee, water and a cheese stick. I've deliberately and proactively sectioned off my calendar to make sure I don't keep working until 8pm every damn night anymore. I have done terrifying things in Salesforce so now all of my spinning plates are in view at all times. How did I get here? Well... Stocked up in late-Feb when I realized that this was going to be a pandemic. Then tried to order once or twice a week from restaurants when it was clear they'd otherwise shut down, which meant a single dinner lasted three nights. Two months in, I started going to the store occasionally for simple human contact, usually ended up buying stuff I didn't need as an excuse to make the trip. By the end of the spring, the stocked-up stuff started to reach the end of its expiry date, which meant I had to eat it... You see how this spirals. I hate summer. Hate it. Seasonal depression (yes, it does exist for summer). Oh, and then this year it turned out I developed a sun allergy. So even if I did go out to exercise, I risked days of an itchy, poison ivy-like rash. Pool closed, obviously. Work stress. Firstly, trying to make sure I kept my team employed and occupied and engaged as they ended up stranded in apartments and parents' spare rooms in rural towns and assure them that layoffs aren't coming to get them. Secondly, all the virus work. Work happy hours at the start of the lockdown. I had maybe 3-4 drinks every MONTH before lockdown. But then everyone started having happy hours to stay connected, and about three weeks in I think the cocktail started representing the time you officially stopped work so we were all starting making it more of a daily ritual. And once you're having a drink every afternoon when you shut your laptop, you start having two on the days things are particularly rough, and now it's August and I have consumed a remarkable amount of calories via gin, tonic and cider and definitely need to change that pattern. Pandemic stress and constant, haunting thoughts about why I didn't get New Zealand citizenship when I lived there and could do it, dammit. Stopped wearing proper clothing. I vowed to keep wearing my jeans and nice work tops, and stuck to it for about two months. Then I realized that wrap dresses worked great on calls and were cooler. Then started wearing yoga pants (but not doing actual yoga!) and a nice top on calls. Over the last three or four weeks, I've worn zip-up hoodies on internal calls. So it was easy to ignore the weight gain. My wireless scale broke and it took me three months to buy a new one. Anyhow. The pandemic sucks, so many things about living in the US reality distortion field suck right now, but one thing I very much can control is my food intake so it's back to basics on that count. The grocery supply chain is just fine, I've bought a projector TV so I can lock my dog out of the room and do yoga with an image projected on a wall instead of trying to contort myself to do yoga via computer while battling weak wifi, and IT'S GOING TO BE AUTUMN!!! Also I'm taking a week off. Also one of my NZ friends is now living in Sweden, so we spend a lot of time WTF-ing at each other about our situation compared to our friends' situations. How are all of you doing? Working parents, I am not one of your number but know that as one of your colleagues, I do not mind seeing your kids onscreen, totally understand you can't make that deadline, and basically just want to make sure you can make it through the week with 50% or more of your sanity intact. This pandemic has not fallen equally across all shoulders by a long shot, and anyone who's trying to make you stick to a Before Times schedule or gets ratty about "unprofessional" childcare complications can go stuff themselves. **definitely not looking for any advice or encouragement here, and am in fact allergic to both unless expressly requested - just figured since this is a check-in I’d update on current state of play for anyone interested in comparison.

I completely understand the regain of weight after hitting our low weight or our goal. The biggest problem is that we graze and I am seeing grazing on a daily basis in my practice. I am a Family Medicine doctor and have been working on my own regain of 30#s in the last 2 years. I started with logging every morsel of food along with a rating of how hungry I am when I am eating it. Also assigning an emotion to the process. Day in and Day out I saw that I was eating out of good and bad emotions, but nothing having to do with hunger. So I started back at day 1 and went back to Protein shakes and am in the process of getting my act back together. What I have noticed with my patients is that we are all struggling with the lack of control we have in our lives. I think we have to embrace that and accept that we can only control our own actions and we need to be our own best friend first. The average weight gain among my patients in the last 3 months (since lockdown started in NV) has been 9-11 lbs. I finally had a couple of people last week who had lost weight with a great deal of effort on their part. The comment I loved the best was from Bev, who is 93 -- She said she wished her refrigerator had never learned English because it practices it all night! I completely agree, so now I am ignoring my refrigerator and planning out every day. The one think I know is accountability. That is really important so find someone you trust and can be honest with and ask for their help.

commenting on someone's weight gain/loss is plain rude imho. although, I have noticed that there are many people who are more easily able to spot a 5-10lb weight gain than a 50lb weight loss. go figure. saying "you look great" or something along those Iines is fine and about as much of a compliment as I would give anyone regarding their weight, but when I am on the receiving end, the cynic in me wonders how much of a beast you thought I looked like before. that said, I have noticed that for me at my highest weight, it does take about 50 lbs to get any comment at all. The heavier you are, the more subtle a 50+ lb weight loss is. I have learned to celebrate my own victories instead of relying on others to encourage me. congrats to everyone! you all must look great! lol. but seriously, the compliments and encouragement I get from people on these boards is more meaningful than most of the reactions I have gotten from people in my day-to-day life thus far. it's a mixed bag of genuine happiness, surprise, scrutiny, jealousy, etc....