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I’m about 3 weeks shy of my 2-year surgiversary. My husband and I are expecting our 2nd child, 1st one after WLS. My surgeon’s goal weight loss was 100 lbs. I lost 90 lbs prior to this pregnancy. I still track my daily intake on MFP and make support group meeting when possible. Prior to this pregnancy I consumed about 150 less calories/day. My OB/GYN says she thinks I can make it through this pregnancy with only a 10lb weight gain. Unfortunately, any amount of weight gain terrifies me[emoji30]. At 18 weeks visit I was up 3 lbs [emoji1430]. Baby is healthy, we are expecting a girl & hoping I can make it with very little weight gain and reach goal weight ASAP after our baby girl is born. [emoji120]

Pre surgery I had a BMI of around 36. This week marks 6 months post surgery for me. It has been a truly wonderful experience. I have lost 53 lbs so far. My whole life until surgery I felt like I was battling against weight gain. I fought to stay at the weight I was at...I'd hate to think where I would be had I given up the fight. The surgery was just part of my journey to be healthy. Best of luck to you!!

I have my VSG booked for next month; from the general research I've done and from what my surgeon says, WLS is a good solution for the uncontrolled weight gain, even though it's hormonal. I know everyone's journey is different, but are there any women with PCOS who have WLS success stories you'd be willing to share? I'm very nervous that I will do this serious surgery and it won't work, even if I do everything right. I'm so tired of gaining weight, though, and I need to get ahead of it before it gets totally out of control. Thanks in advance for sharing your stories with me!

Indeed I am a father again and it FREAKS me out. Just kidding, it has been hard having a newborn again but it’s cool. I think some of my weight gain might have been stress related. At any rate, I am down 5 pounds and sticking to a plan. I have cut out diet soda as my psychiatrist told me that apartame is really bad for you. It’s highly addictive and it causes mood issues. I noticed it makes my anxiety worse and my depression worse.

I'm pretty nervous as well. Both scare me, but I'm more worried that they will delay my surgery when I get weighed during pre-op on Monday. I've had 9 months to lose as much weight as I can, and I've lost weight, gained weight and I believe right now I am only 3 pounds lighter than I was at my last weigh in this past April.

I had my operation on 12/17 and stalled this past week where I would lose a pound one day, then gain a half pound the next etc. I got on the scale yesterday and it dropped 2 pounds and today I lost another 1.5 pounds. Go figure??? Weight loss has never been linear for anyone (neither has weight gain). It's all about trends and, for once, it's finally "trending" in the right direction. Today is my first day back to work since the surgery and it's been very strange. It seems like everyone in my office knows, but they have been very supportive (at least as far as I can tell). Still, I am suffering from a little brain fog that I didn't notice since my brain power wasn't an issue when I wasn't in the office. It was nice being home and being able to focus 100% on recovery. Now, I am back in the real world and it's not all about me and my weight loss efforts anymore. Anyone else struggling to adjust to getting back to work and the "real world"?

Weight loss that stalls, plateaus or ends in a person gaining back more weight than they originally lost are all forms of yo-yo dieting. This see-saw pattern of weight loss versus weight gain can go on for years. It is never about being greedy, and never about a lack of willpower. It is, however, a repetitive cycle of behavior of the emotional eater who self-sabotages their weight loss success due to a number of key habitual, responses many of which exist below conscious awareness. There are many examples of when self-sabotaging behavior around food continues after WLS. It seems that the more people who commit to surgery without fully resolving their emotional reasons for bingeing, compulsive sugar cravings, zoned out or mindless grazing, and disordered eating in general then the more people who post-WLS will continue to struggle with emotional eating. Therapists Sally Baker and Liz Hogon specialize in resolving emotional eating. They see a growing number of clients post-WLS in their individual practices in London, England and Melbourne, Australia. Endless over thinking about food, and a whole range of compulsive behaviors can continue after surgery. Even the feelings of dissatisfaction about amount of weight lost post-WLS is just an aspect of the negative self-belief that can dominate the thought processes and feelings of someone in the grip of emotional eating. Changes can take place, and belief systems that no longer serve a person can be released and replaced with a more positive, and helpful framework. Sally and Liz have found from their work that as many of the emotional drivers, and reasons for carrying excess weight in the first place are below conscious awareness then that is where the therapy work needs to happen for change to really embed and be sustained.

I didn't really set a goal either. I just decided to set one. I'm down to 180 now and thought, I should set one. I haven't been 180 in years (8 actually). after I had the twins, I lost the weight rather quickly. But the with the depression of losing one I gained and continued to. Back then I refused to get mental help. I'm so glad I am now. It has changed me for the better. I wished years ago I had started going. So that is weight gain story. Depression :-( it's a bugar and has bad side effects. Although one med they put me on I swear I gained so much weight within the 3 months I was on it. It actually took me to my highest weight ever, 271. I gained about 15lbs a month on it and I even gave up sugary products like Dr recommended but still had the horrible gain. I'm still getting only between 500-700 calories a day though. What about you Nicole? My Nut said it is fine for me. Gen :-) 12/15/12

My cheating ways can get me in trouble quickly. I’m years out. It’s crazy that a few days/weekends in a row of indulging can bring weight gain on fast. Then its painfully sloooooow to come off. I’m maintaining a ten-pound weight gain up and down the scale. This is my cheating life after goal.

I'm actually up 1.8 lbs. I've been jogging 12 miles a week for the past few weeks (after finishing the C25K program), and I've definitely put on some muscle, but the weight gain makes me crazy! Went shopping yesterday, and I've gone down two dress sizes, so I am more toned at least. But the scale needs to start going in the other direction again!! I think I might be approaching a plateau, because I've kept my calorie intake under 800 cals per day. Maybe I shoud add a couple hundred calories of protein and see what happens...

you are being way too hard on yourself. Im sure your weight didnt come on overnight... it took a long time, as it did with me. Along with the weight gain we had wrong food choices and portion sizes. ...and to make things worse, we ate for emotional comfort. When you think about it, you didnt just have a surgery to put a band in, you also were put on the road for changes in every area that Ive mentioned above. This takes time... if you have a day where you slipped... just put it behind you and move on. AS for your dr... im sure he will understand completely what you are going through.. after all, he sees so many patients and knows the issues that come with lap banding. I agree that you shouldnt change the drs appointment. If you do that, it could open the door to the wrong approach even further. You dont want to do that. I tell you... you are NOT ALONE IN THIS. Every issue youve mentioned here im sure everyone of us has been there. i know i have. ive eaten more sugar the last month or two than ever before... so its an issue that cropped up with me and i have to deal with it. I can see on various emotional levels and physical levels, more than ever, what needs to change. i had no idea before hand. i think if someone had tried to explain everything in this area to me i wouldnt have completely understood. i had to go through it myself . Despite have issues with sugary confectionary... im still so happy with the band... and know that ive made the right decision. if my weight loss isnt up to scratch... too bad. it will come off eventually. Meantime im busy learning more about my psyche.... and dealing with it. Good luck, and like i said , dont be so hard on yourself.

hf2havefun, I live in Central Texas. I live in the Killeen / Harker Heights area and work in the Temple / Belton area. If anyone does have recommendations for a doctor, I'm all ears! My primary care physician of the last year hasn't listened to anything I've said. She recommended I try Weight Watchers (again). I'm only 23, but I also have been diagnosed with PCOS, one of the major symptoms of which is massive weight gain at a rapid pace. I had my son almost 3 years ago and since then have packed on the weight no matter what I do. I used to be very healthy, I worked at different local gyms for years before my pregnancy and loved working out and eating healthy, but at the weight I am now it's so frustrating to try and lose anything. I just don't have the will power to do it alone, yet I refuse to let it control my life like it has been. Sheesh, you gotta love the anonymity of the internet huh? I haven't said half this stuff to my closest friends! Thanks so much for the well wishes and advice!

Thank you for responding I did do the post fill protocal Liguids purees and soft foods. back to really watching my Protein and measuring my food intake along with a food diary. I am glad I found this site and am looking forward to seeing your blog. I don't feel so alone! I needed to clarify that I didn't have the "prolapes" just the dialation of my esophogus. I blaim myself for not watching the signs and eating wrong. the band was too tight I have an appointment on 21 Feb to see where I am at . Although the Doctor said I may see a slight weight gain, stay away from or watch the carbs and not go crazy! I had to get my head wrapped around that! My biggest fear is having the band removed but now that I know what I need to do I will be okay! I haven't gotten sick since some of the Fluid was removed and I still feel a slight restriction which is good. I have lost to date 75 pounds and since the defill have gained 3 pounds. anyway thank you again! Elce

Hi gals Well, there was so much real cheese in that pie, but everyone loved it... of course I knew i was not going to be able to eat it so it has real cheese in there, and way too much due to the little accident....lol We had a nice day, my sister is really starting to become the person she use to be. I went to PA today and we had a long talk, I told her about the big weight gain with the lexapro and then loosing it except the last 5lbs, because of course i'm super pms this morning ... she gave me a fill, my biggest one, i'm up to 1.5cc, she was going to put me to 1.75 but i told her i wanted to do baby steps, I then asked her for the post surgery pages of the diet so i could get back on track of what i should be eating. That was a bonus. So I am on Clear liquids for 2-5 days, the min is 2 days but left it up to me... but no more than 5, then mushie food for the same amount of time. I also have an appointment with the nutritionist on mondy, so I hope to get a swift kick in the butt to get this going again. I'm sipping chicken broth right now. Pamela, I think you still have my aol email address, I'm going to look there, but glad you are doing well already! Judy, you getting some nice weather to send my way? I'm tired of all the cool temps and rain. Well, today was a hit, so i'm happy. never walked this morning so going out in a bit.

It is not a good idea to "snack all day". That is considered grazing and is one of the ways around this surgery to cause weight gain. At the stage you are now at, I was eating (and still am) 3 meals a day and 1 snack. Around 1000 calories a day. You need to write down every single thing you are putting in your mouth and figure out how many calories you are getting a day and if you are getting in the correct amount of protein. Exercise is also very important and can knock your metabolism into high gear. You might want to think about talking with your nutritionist to get her advice as well. Good luck and let us know how you are doing. Lina12 - I know it is frustrating but I would give the same advice to you as to Canadianchick. Sometimes just because we have the surgery we think it should fall off, (I'm including myself in that ) but it still takes work and good habits, tracking, and exercising. Praying for you!

I asked for a female therapist that deals w issues that contributed to my weight gain. I have been seeing her for these inner emotions for a few months now. plus as a therapist its advised that u have a therapist of your own.... But overall their Job is to delve into the why with u and help u process and create new ways of thinking, reacting to the issues that are bigger than the food.... It also helps if u ask for a list of contacts of licensed counselors & then call them and ask. U can speak to the majority of them directly.

Ditto to much of what you guys said except I don' have diabetes. Weight gain after 40. I had 2 hip resurfacings and wouldn't know they were not my hips but I didn't want to outlive them so decided on WLS. Wanted the lap band but my Dr's explained why there wasn't a high success rate on them. Also when I went through the pre classes there were quite a few band revisions to sleeve. My loss is slow but sure. 30 lbs down and I feel so much better. Arthritis pain is way down, BP normal, people compliment me on looking good and psychologically and emotionally I feel great. I did this for ME and it's the best decision I could of made for my health. I'm 1/2 way to my goal of size 10. I'm down to a 14 and loving it. The saying I'm not getting older I'm getting better is so true for me now. Good luck you'll do fine as long as you put your mind to it.

Judych: I have confidence in you! I was told that I am too fat for the band, that there was no way this would work on me. I am determined to make it work. IF in 2 yrs and the weight is not off, I can at least say I did everything I was suppose to do and I didn't create the roadblocks for myself. It won't be b/c of me that I fail. Maybe those people are right, I might fail but I am going to give it 110% .. I have been up and down with diets all my life, I have lost weight, gained weight, maintained, gained again. But this weight issue, isn't going to get me! (now ask me in a week and I might be on a low and regret it stage but for now I'm up and going to keep going)

hi there sleeping beauty. this might be my second post in reply. lol.. who cares?? lol. I didnt have any fill either when i had the band put in. it was strange because it sure does feel like its got some. i did ask my dr about it and he said no. but, it feels like restriction. im wondering how much swelling would be still in my stomach after just over four weeks?? i had a nasty episode this morning which i posted about earlier so i cant take anything for granted at all. i certainly cant fool myself that i can eat anything anyways.. it just doesnt happen for me. Im pleased about that though. having said that... im wondering about my first fill. im assuming that i will have some fill put in on the 7th when i go back to the dr. Have you been very hungry these last couple of weeks?? what do you think your hunger has been for?? ive found out it was for red meat. last night i had my first plain hamburger... and it was just sooooo good. lol. im having another one tonight. just mixed in with some sloppy veges and some gravy. I never ate a lot of read meat... but obviously my body was missing it a lot. i have had some chicken now for the last week... it was the red meat that really did the trick. ... i havent lost anything in at least a week. not since my food has been more substantial anyway. how many others experienced a loss of weight gain when their diet was changed from liquid?

The more I dieted the more I put on. The constant struggle of deprivation and disappointment as my scales kept rising. Numerous visits to Dr's who would shrug their shoulders suggesting I "eat healthy, do more exercise". I've been on and off a diet since I was 9 and climb mountains but the scales had a mind of their own. Chronic back pain started, skin issues, unable to sleep comfortably, buying clothes every 2 weeks, pressure from people I do business with asking me all the time about the weight gain, not wearing high heels, feeling tired. Final straw watching myself walk in my underwear on a video for an Ostepath and not recognising that person on the screen carrying all that extra weight.

I'm not sure how much direct help I can be, as our metabolisms are likely quite different (between a 5'10 man and a 5' woman) but I'm stable at around 2000 calories per day, give or take depending upon how routinely active I am, typically split up between about five meals per day. I do about an hour of dedicated exercise per day, usually split between a half hour or so of running the dogs woods or canyon in the morning (they run, I hike) and a half hour or so of swimming or strength training in the afternoon. I don't keep track of the fluids anymore, but it is at or above the typical 64 oz recommendation (I down a 1.5 liter bottle of water per day, plus ice and whatever other incidental fluids I have - iced tea or milk products; more if I am doing something specifically dehydrating during the day. There is a series of videos from one doc that has some relevance - I'm not entirely up with everything in his program, but he is one of the few that I have seen that discusses the increasing meal volume that we typically see over time, and offers a way to handle it. I do something similar in that I have a fairly vegetable rich diet, and do more of his "veg first" approach rather than the traditional protein first that we see in the bariatric world. It does make some sense in that veg is typically high bulk, high nutrition and low calorie, so does a good job of filling that extra capacity that we develop over time in a way that minimizes the caloric load that leads to regain. The more typical low carb (and worse, low carb, high fat) diets that are all the rage today have some weight gain built into them as they are typically higher caloric density which can lead to regain if one doesn't keep on top of the overall caloric load. So, that is something to consider if that can fit with your dietary personality (something that you can stick with long term.) He has some other vids on related topics that may also be useful. He seems fairly down on revisions as a solution, which fits my experience as there seems little that can be done to a bypass that isn't just a short term fix; a revision to a DS seems to offer the best results but is a very complex procedure that few surgeons can perform, so that tends to be a last resort.

30 min after a meal, most certainly; 30 min before meals, maybe (depends on specific program instructions.) You don't want to drink after meals to keep the food in the stomach as long as possible; drinking too soon can help empty the stomach sooner leading to more inter-meal hunger and is associated with weight gain or poor loss. Drinking before meals can be a problem for some for a while immediately after surgery as with the potential for inflammation in the stomach, fluids may still be in the stomach at meal time, impeding getting the food in. As the inflammation resolves - a few days to a few weeks, the fluids move through the stomach easily and quickly and drain out in just a couple of minutes, so the pre-meal limitation is no longer needed. Some programs mention this last detail and open up pre-meal drinking at some point, but many don't bother and leave their patients hanging. (Similar problem as to how long does one need to sip, sip, sip their water before one can drink normally - many programs don't bother saying.)

I think finding a hobby/activities to change your focus away from food is very useful. Some years ago I recognized this about my horse world - yes, I rode even when I was huge. Anyway, I could be out all day with friends doing a long ride, and all the logistics that go with it and as long as I had enough water, I was fine. We might take small snacks along, but food just wasn't important. If i were home that same day - trying to go say 6-8 hours without eating, I would have hunger headaches, shakey lowblood sugar, growling tummy and general feeling of low energy misery. It would trigger an overeating when i did finally eat. Anyway, I use this basic approach now - I try to do things that keep me outside of the "foodie" world. I simply don't hang around with people or put myself in situations that are so food oriented. When i did the VSG, I lived with my ex Sig Other, and my two grown sons - I didn't expect any of them to change their junky food habits because I was obese and they are in the range of trim to a few extra pounds. anyway, what i discovered is that I was the source of most of that bad eating and they have all taken it further and really don't bring junk home. They use my approach for treats and temptations - have something you want but don't bring it home. Once you bring it home you have to "resist" every minute of every day that it is sitting on that shelf. Globe - I got really constipated to the point that miralax and all didn't work since i had basically a blockage. I had to use those glycerin suppositories which was gross, but worked. Cheri - I guess for many of us there are multiple dimensions to the whole obesity story. I know that being molested as a child was a major thing that set off my weight gain. You know what, i looked at pictures of myself at 4 or 5 and I was slightly plump, cute as a bug, long shirley temple like curls. My first grade school picture shows a girl with the shortest hair cut you can imagine (I wacked it off to the scalp with scissors myself) and decidedly obese. I remember how much I was teased for both the fat and the haircut... but I have reframed that whole event to thinking about how I was able to make the molesting stop - I made myself unattractive - and it worked. I had something else really bad happen in my late teens (again when I was not so heavy) and sure enough, my response to it was to gain weight. It is a shame that something in our past may have made us feel the need to put on a fatsuit for self protection. I think that I generally worked through all that baggage a long time ago, but by then the fatsuit became very well ingrained and it was time for a physical change (the sleeve) to help me lose weight. What gives me hope about long term maintenance is that I no longer feel afraid of the world, even when I am thin.

I feel for all of you who have ailing parents. I remember that time as being the hardest times of my life. Even when my husband died from an accident at age 36, watching my parents fade every time I saw them, just broke my heart so much. I kept their house in Arizona for 3 years even though I live in Oregon because I could not bear to part with their things and their house. All of us are dealing with the same thing, weight gain. We are all veterans though. It drives me nuts that I was 139 this morning and my clothes don't fit. How is 135 all that different from 139? It just makes no sense to me that I can barely button my jeans with a 4 lb. difference. I have a very large friend who is contemplating either gastric bypass or sleeve now that Medicare is finally paying for the sleeve. I am telling her of all the complications I know gastric bypass people face down the road. I know so many people who have gained all of their weight back, and deal with iron infusions, and hypoglycemia , who have had gastric bypass. You can definitely eat around the sleeve, but at least we are all healthy! I have to drive 3 hours next week to see a malpractice attorney. I really hope he can convince my first surgeon's insurance company that they need to pay my medical bills. He said he has gone against every malpractice insurance company any doctor can have. I really hope he can help me. I deleted a couple people from the group who have never posted. wish Brown and Sarsar and Kelly from Seattle would would check in!

I'm only two and a half weeks out, so I haven't gained any, but I don't think you're gonna find anyone who has gained more than 5lbs on here. I have a feeling that most people who have gained their weight back post-op gained it because they didn't have a support system or anything to stay on track, hence the weight gain.