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I saw this online in another site and thought I would share with everyone. It got me to thinking about ways to insure my success: 1. Not taking Vitamins and supplements. 2. Assuming you have been cured of "obesity". We have to live a healthy WLS life-style for the rest of our lives or the weight WILL come back. 3. Drinking with meals. The tool of not drinking with meals is a critical key to long term success. 4. Not eating right. In today's society it is a challenge to eat right. Make it easy on yourself. Don't skip meals, don't keep unhealthy Snacks around, feed yourself at regular intervals so you won't make poor choices about meals. Consider having some personal absolutes such as: avoid all fried foods, avoid all sugary foods, always use low-fat options, or only eat in a restaurant once per week. 5. Not Drinking enough Water. Most WLS patients are at risk for dehydration. Drinking a minimum of 64oz per day will help you to avoid this risk. Drinking water flushes out your system, helps you lose weight and avoid kidney stones. 6. Grazing. Nibbling small amounts here and there throughout the day can make your weight creep up. Make a plan for what you will do when you crave food so you will do something constructive that will not involve eating. 7. Not exercising regularly. Exercise is one of the best weapons a WLS patient has to fight regain. It boosts your spirits and keeps our metabolism running strong. When you exercise you build muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn even at rest. 8. Eating the wrong carbs (or too many). Face it, refined carbs are addictive. If you eat them you will only crave more of them. Eat complex carbs. 9. Drinking Sodas. Some people claim that drinking sodas stretched their pouches. What we know for sure is that sodas keep you from getting hydration you need after WLS. Diet soda has been connected to weight gain in the general population. Find other drinks to fall in love with. 10. Drinking Alcohol. If you drank alcohol before WLS you will probably want to drink it post surgery. Most surgeons recommend waiting one year after surgery before drinking. Be very cautious, you may get drunker quicker which can cause health problems and put you in dangerous situations. Alcohol is connected to weight gain because it has 7 calories per gram where Protein and vegetables only have 4 calories per gram. It is noted that some people develop ad addiction to alcohol after WLS so be very cautious. If you notice a problem, contact your doctor.

Too many simple carbs (sugar) can cause weight gain. Plus....gas & stool you wouldn't like.

@@LipstickLady I have to see photos of your closet. My goal reward was a closet make over. I had my hubby hang a crystal chandelier. As a normal thin person, Not changing sizes helps me stay in maintenance. I don't want to replace my clothing because of weight gain.(see me justify my shopping addiction) I'm recently fell in love with Italian clothing. Simple with a statement piece (like shoes). A bit sophisticated to sexy. Summer clothing is unbelievably fun. No more hiding and covering up.(except for my loose skin areas) I have to confess the bottom row of my closet contains compression running shirts. My favorite second hand find was a pair of Betty Rides snowboarding pants. I'm not sure when my shopping will slow down. I'm making up for lost time. My clothing options were so limited before.

I did this, gained all of my"for insurance purposes" weight loss back. I was so sick of eating and being stuffed I embraced my pre-op and flew through the two weeks quickly. I lost the weight gained and with all the drinking and mini meals I feel like I am always satisfied.

Hello my name is Kelsey and I’m new to this website/forum. I came on here to seek advice/friends to help me out. I have been struggling so so bad lately. I had weight loss surgery 11.28.2015 and I was 400 pounds when I did. After about a year and a half I had lost a lot of weight, I got down to 170 pounds. I was happy at this weight, healthy, had less back/foot/ankle/knee pain, etc, you knew the drill. Until Covid i kept most of it off. In the past 3 years I have noticed a steady incline in weight again, so much so that I got back up to 270 at one point. i went back to my surgeon, dr Scott in search of maybe a revision. What I got instead was a speech on how sncking is bad etc, things I already knew and he told me to do nothing but shakes for ten days. I did pretty well on my shakes, drinking 4-5 a day and got down to 253. Of course, when I started eating again, I’ve gained weight back and I’m back to 265. I am so unhappy, and stressed out about this and I’m not sure what to do. i did have lbs done, my thyroid is acting up and my b12 is not absorbing correctly, vit D low, etc, im thinking hypothyroidism is the main cause of my weight gain and low energy but my surgeon wants me to see a pcp about starting meds. I don’t have a pcp, so I made an appt (I made this appt one month ago) but I’m having to wait until OCTOBER 25 to see the pcp. I just don’t know what else to do. i do have history of bipolar and depression, which causes me to stress eat. I’m fighting this very hard, but I feel like I would do better if I had friends or online even pals to help me through this. Anyway. That’s me. I need help, obv, so if anyone feels inclined, reach out to me. We can exchange whatever info we need to stay in touch.

ok..this blog may be somewhat disjointed but stuff i just want to offload somewhere.........so clearly this evening is not finding me in a happy state. I find myself feeling lonely and sad this evening. I would like to blame this on anything other than what it is..... Who among us has felt at one time or another: 1. third wheel 2. the "pretty" fat girl with the great personality 3. last single one of your friends 4. etc. etc. Now, I do know (but apparently have a hard time believing) that I am a wonderful smart, successful woman, who is beautiful and who has a lot to offer- recently been told by a few people and one bandster friend- things of the sort. I look in the mirror and see who I want to be,who I can be, but why can't I see that I am me no matter what. -there is just a better/healthier me hiding in all this somewhere. It's amazing what doing all of this stuff for preperation for surgery will do to your mind too.....I think about they why's of my weight gain, why I am not in a relationship currently, - and how I blame a statement made long ago by my dad(who said it because he cares...?? misguided as it was and hurtful all the same) "no one will want to be with you if you don't lose some weight"......digging deep here/unload,unload unload....did i say this would be disjointed? (great news though- my dad is very supportive of me through all of this and I have told him how hurtful that statement was. ) Anyway- what I look forward to most is this journey, despite the things that it may dredge up, may make me acknowledge and ultimately bring me to the point of fabulousness that is truly me. I am inspired and so glad to have this forum to just share....and hopefully soon I will be able to share weight loss with you all. Ok...new day tomorrow. Going to Yoga this week, going to move ever forward. Thanks all! my rant is done

Just wanted to chime in - I think I am the post-op weight gain record holder - 20 pounds - it was awful - came back off plus more - took about 4 weeks - just stick with it!

Did anyone gain weight pre op?? I was weighed in May, and I've gained 10lbs since then. My surgery is in Sept. and I meet with my surgeon tomorrow, and I'm so nervous he will turn me down. I have been working really hard, but I still gained..help....

That's so good to hear! I have a viscious type of IBS and I'm terrified the surgery will make it worse. Even though it's hard to imagine how! It got worse with weight gain though so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will improve with loss. Sent from my Lenovo TB3-710F using BariatricPal mobile app

I have read many posts in the past about the same situation as u. Your body is adjusting.. Once it stabilizes.you will see a continuous drop..watch your salt intake. This can cause water weight gain. U may not want to weigh as much. I did have a little stall for several days ..so I just stopped weighing for several days. Then my weight loss was inching down again.

Happy Halloween! And now, to the important part: candy! More specifically, how are you going to avoid it this year? It can be staring you in the face at home as you get ready for trick-or-treaters, and at work as your coworkers bring in their leftovers. How are you going to pass up the sweet stuff this year? Are thoughts of weight gain, dumping syndrome, and guilty feelings enough to keep you away? Or do you need some more tangible strategies? Maybe you hand out a type of candy that you do not like, or arm yourself with a stash of frozen grapes to satisfy your sweet tooth during the evening. What are your plans this Halloween, and how are you going to “be good?” And, just for fun…what did a typical Halloween look like before WLS?

I have not had surgery or major weight loss but because of my weight gain I have had a major problem with yeast rashes and the "stinkys". :thumbup: I use Mitchem gel deodorant anywhere I had a problem. It protects the skin from moisture and takes care of the stinkys.

I agree with what was written already. My doctor hardly does GBP anymore. The Band seems to be preferred today. I think it has to do with the idea of eating and getting the nutrition. While I am aware the weight gain is possible with both procedures, I have seen 2 people with the GBP stop losing and regain all, plus more within 2 years of the procedure. My surgeon said I wasn't big enough to warrant the GBP. He said 10 years ago, he would have done it, but now he rarely does not do the band. I was (and still am) morbidly obese. I started at 289 and am 11 months out at 236. He is happy with my progress. So am I. The dumping syndrome w/ GBP is awful, as I have witnessed it w/ a friend who never saw the relation between what she ate and the dumping. Tells everyone she has never had it. This lie along with the others she tells herself is why she has been unsuccessful. She was out of school from June first and returned in September. She had full open surgery and was still not 100% by September. I love my band. I am a HS teacher and was out a week. Third Grade may prove more active:wink2:, so play it by ear. Good Luck and do what you feel most comfortable doing.

I was watching a program on PBS called "Depression: Out of the Shadows". Anywho, as one who has struggled with anxiety/depression and obesity for many years I have also struggled with the fact that having anxiety and depression contribute to my weight gain and vise versa and also the drugs that I take may also play a part in my weight issues. Back to the PBS show, there was a man on the show who had been profoundly depressed for a while and took a large cocktail of drugs that seemed to be working for him. He also took some medications that were to counteract some of the side effects of these drugs. He took a drug that I wasn't familiar with to counteract the weight gain side effect. Actually I'm going to try to go to the transcript of the show to see if I can find it but it was almost inaudible to me while watching. I then did a little research on the web myself and came across a drug called "zonisamide or zonegran". Has anyone ever heard of this before or have you been on them for this reason or anyone on a similar type of drug to counteract the weight gain side effects? I know there are certain antidepressants that specifically say they don't affect a person's weight but those are either drugs that haven't worked for me or not found to be true especially with the combination I take. And Wellbutrin has no affect on me whatsoever, just as an example. Thanks ahead of time anyone who has any info and would like to share, brandyII.:rolleyes2:

I was a total diet pepsi person all my life. I have read studies where diet coke and coke cause weight gain. The chemicals are horrible. So I decided to get the sleeve and to have a healthier life style. I have gone organic and basically eat the healthiest of foods. Afterall I choose to eat leas and healthier! Not enough room in my stomach for junk.

I have to say bandsters that I personally don't agree with the "it's all your fault" statement that doctors often say. I've heard it too many times from those trying to lose weight. No one has this weight loss thing down to an exact science and therefore since all of our bodies are unique in there own ways, the response to food is different. There are those whose bodies do not quickly lose, but easily gain. We should all learn our bodies and do our very best to give it what it needs to be healthier. If stress makes you gain weight easily, then research how to eliminate that in your life so that you can continue the losing. Of course your doctor deals with this daily, but individually we are all a separate case and it is very easy to tell someone it is all their fault. It is a lot more difficult to investigate where the problem lies. The important thing is not to give up even when there is weight gain. I happen to be a former athlete and I run/walk 7 miles daily, do strength training, eat small meals, eat less than 1,000 cals a day, take my Vitamins, and try to get adequate sleep. Still I have loss only a few pounds. I wish a doctor would tell me it's all my fault if I gain, which bytheway I did gain right after my surgery when only on liquids. So once again BEWARE of non encouraging comments such as the one your doctor made and one other bandster to your post. Kudos to you for getting back on track!!!!!

I'm not banded yet but I just finished my 6 month diet supervision. Last month my husband became an over the road truck driver and I gained back 12 pounds of the 48 pounds I lost within 6 months and I was sooo mad but it WAS my fault because I was more worried about if he had everything he needed and taking care of our daughter PLUS still maintaining my grades in nursing school. Well within 2 weeks after realizing what I did to myself I re-lost those 12 pounds plus 5 more pounds on top of it. I just went back to my old habits. My doctor always told me that whether I'm banded or not that any weight gain is my fault. No one forced food into my mouth or forced me to eat something bad. Just restart everything and work with ur doctor to lose the weight again u can do it especially if you've already done it once good luck

Some of the reasons for the 6 week liquids are prob the liver size, like you mentioned, and some doctors want to see if you can keep doing something you are told to for an extended amount of time. Your success will hinge on being able to follow orders for a LONG time. That includes not drinking coffee (make that caffein...) and alcahol, fizzy diet or reg sodas, beer and such. The reasoning behind not drinking sodas are that the long term studies are pointing to weight gain with regular AND diet sodas. The fizz does seem to cause some problems as well. We all know beer is full of carbs, and our little stomachs will be tender for quite a while, perhaps over a year. I am almost at 2 years, and there are still things that tummy just doesnt agree with, and i have a pretty cast iron tummy. I can just now eat hot chili after two years, and I always used to eat things HOT. We have a set of habits, some of which have gotten us into trouble... now is the time to change as many of them long term that we can... or at least part of the weight will come back on. I speak from experience, having gained 11-12 pounds. I know it is from eating habits (junk food and grazing) and a reduction in exercise (knee bone spurs... working to remedy this) Even those 12 pounds tell me the sleeve is working pretty well because my portion sizes are better than before surgery... the more changes you can willingly make in the quality of what you eat, the better for you and your kids and busy lifestyle. I have a glass of wine now and then, I stay away from caffein, I eat almost anything I want, protein first, and try and keep the portion sizes down... do the best you can. It will pay off in better weight loss and maintenance. Best of luck.

I was a slow loser too. I am soon to be 64 and have orthopedic issues that limit my activity, so I am not going to lose as quickly as someone who is able to take up an aggressive exercise program. One of my blood pressure meds causes weight gain. All of our bodies and abilities are so very different, so just relax and stick with your program. Also when I was stuck on a stall that lasted for several month I gave up dairy and the scale started moving again. Hang in there and be patient.

My name is Vanessa and I am turning 40 on December 14th. My first 40 years, it seems, I have spent trying to manage a healthy weight with a string of diets and will power. All of that has got me where? To my heaviest weight to date. My next 40 years, I want to spend traveling...reaching my goals......raising healthy children. All without my body being a hinderance. Earlier this year.....I couldn't ride a rollercoaster with my 11 yr old son. I couldn't fit in the seat. I was mortified for him...for me. That was my rock bottom. For a fat girl...I have alot of energy and am pretty athletic as I am on a softball team and a yoga student. My mind believes that my weight, in general, doesn't keep me from living life. In part that's true. But my heart and soul wonder, what could the healthy weight girl do? What could she accomplish? How much "better" could she be! I would be a rockstar....a super hero! I look forward to meeting her once I dig her out of years of weight gain and disappointment. I know she's there....I can hear her!

Hi, I was banded 6 weeks ago. I find if I am drinking and eating the it is like the band is not there. So when I am following the program I do not drink when I am eating as it defeats the purpos of the band and leads to weight gain etc. I also find this is true if I am eating very liquid foods like chile. Good luck you do get used to it.

I am a former D1 college wrestler (heavyweight). I've been big all my life, and wrestling/football kept my weight under control. I wrestled at 285 in college and now I weigh 475. While I once blame the immobilization of my two herniated discs in my lower back and the meds administered afterward for my weight increase (common med steroids) ,I think we all know that terrible eating and drinking habits are the true culprits to my excessive weight gain over 2.5 years. Im 6 ft 5 in. So how on God's earth can I go through the sleeve operation without having the extreme drooping and sagging of my skin after losing the weight so quickly?? I hope to schedule my surgery before Christmas '14, but I feel I need to get a gym membership to lift and run asap to start the process now. What are tips and workouts to follow before, during, and after my procedure to keep from having skin removal surgery? I am open to any and everything! I am getting married to the love of my life on 6-4-16, and I want to look as amazing (265) and fit as I did when Liz first met me. I also want to increase muscle mass along with the weight loss. Again, any advice is welcome. Thank you for your help, -Adam

I read this article this morning and this is why you need to stop weighing yourself every day. I copied and pasted it so that those who have phones as their source of internet can read it with no issues. Break up with your scale its hurting you more then you think. 5 Reasons to Break Up With Your Scale 1. Scale weight fluctuates wildly.It’s good to measure things to track progress – and if you weighed yourself monthly, that might help you spot a trend in your body weight (gaining, losing or maintaining). But over the course of a day (or a few hours!) your weight can fluctuate by as many as five pounds – sometimes more. food and beverage intake, time of day, dietary choices and activity levels all factor into that number on the dial. (And we won’t even mention clothes, because we’re pretty sure most of you are obsessive enough to weigh yourself naked.) You can lose two pounds just by going to the bathroom – and gain it right back by eating a big meal. Those fluctuations are not representative of body fat lost or gained. But seeing a number jump up by four pounds sure does a mental number on you, doesn’t it? Weighing yourself daily tells you nothing about your big-picture trend, and only serves to reinforce the next four points. 2. Scale weight says nothing of health.That number on a scale says nothing about whether you’re moving in the right direction with your health. You want to get skinny? We can make you skinny. Cut your daily calories in half and spend two hours a day doing low-intensity cardio. That’ll make you skinny… for about a month. Until your willpower runs out (as those behaviors aren’t at all sustainable), and your messed-up metabolism fights back. At which point, you gain all the weight back and then some. But hey, for a few weeks, you were skinny! Is gaining or losing five pounds moving you in the direction of better health? It’s impossible to say, because that number tells you very little about what’s going on with your relationship with food, hormones, digestive health or inflammatory status. And those are the factors that impact your health far more directly than body weight. 3. The scale blinds you to real results.By focusing so much of your attention on that number in the scale, you effectively miss out on observing the other, more significant, results of your efforts. You’re sleeping better, have more energy, are less moody or depressed. Your cravings have dissipated, you recover faster from exercise, your symptoms or medical condition have greatly improved. And yet, your program is a “failure,” because the number on the scale hasn’t moved enough for your liking? Re-read point #2, and tell us which factors speak more to your health – the scale weight, or everything else?Those results could be motivating you to continue with your new eating habits – but until you get your head out of the scale, you’ll never be able to see the health progress you’ve actually been making. 4. The scale keeps you stuck on on food.You associate that number on the scale with one major factor – food. Maybe exercise factors in too – after all, if you ate less (or differently) and exercised more (or differently), that number would start to move. Wouldn’t it? Not so fast. There are other health factors at play here – sleep, recovery from activity, psychological stress and health history – all of which play a major role in body composition. But no one looks at the scale and thinks, “Darn it – I need to get more sleep.” Now would be a good time to revisit the Whole9 Health Equation. If you didn’t experience the Whole30 results you were hoping to see, perhaps it’s time to look at some other factors. All of our Health Equation variables factor into weight loss and body composition – but none of them are reflected in the number on the scale. 5. The scale maintains control of your self-esteem.This is perhaps the most important reason of all to break up with your scale. It’s psychologically unhealthy to allow a number – any number – to determine your worth, your value or your self-image. And yet, that’s exactly what happens to people who are overly invested in their scale. It’s tragic that your daily weigh-in determines whether you have a good day or bad day, or whether or not you feel good about yourself. The scale results can take you from confident to self-loathing in under 5 seconds, but what the scale is telling you is not real. If this is your scenario, ditching the scale is the only way to get back to a healthy sense of self-worth. Let your actions, your intentions, your efforts and your grace influence how you feel about yourself. A $20 hunk of plastic from Target should not be the determining factor in your self-esteem. Dear Scale, It’s Not Me, It’s You.If you’ve got an unhealthy relationship with the scale, the only way to get back to a good place is to ditch it altogether. Donate it to Goodwill, recycle it or take it out back and give it a proper beat-down, Office Space-style. Because the sooner you ditch the idea that the scale is your ultimate measure of success, the healthier and happier you’ll be. Need some inspiration from someone who is using the Whole30 to become wholly healthy?

Is it normal to gain weight in the hospital after surgery? Wtf?!

I have been stressing over the 6 month weight loss program requirement from my insurance and found this explination on the Cigna website. It does make it a little easier to consider why they require it. :biggrin: But I still hope I have already met the requirement! Here is the reference: http://www.cigna.com/customer_care/healthcare_professional/coverage_positions/medical/mm_0051_coveragepositioncriteria_bariatric_surgery.pdf The benefits of a preoperative weight-loss program include all of the following: • identification of those individuals who will be committed to and compliant with the short-term, long-term and lifelong medical management follow-up, behavioral changes, lifestyle changes, and diet and physical exercise regimen required to ensure the long-term success of this surgery • reduction of operative morbidity and surgical risk • improvement in surgical access with weight loss • reduction of the severity of obesity-associated risk factors, such as blood pressure, glucose intolerance, cardiorespiratory function and pulmonary function Access to a multidisciplinary team approach, involving a physician with a special interest in obesity; a dietitian or nutritionist; a psychologist, psychiatrist or licensed mental health care provider interested in behavior modification and eating disorders; and a surgeon with extensive experience in bariatric procedures, is optimal. Realistic expectations about the degree of weight loss, the compromises required by the patient and the positive effect on associated weight-related comorbidities and quality of life should be discussed and contrasted with the potential morbidity and operative mortality of bariatric surgery. With current state-of-the-art bariatric surgery procedures, patients lose an average of 50–60% of excess body weight and have a decrease in BMI of about 10kg/m2 during the first 12–24 postoperative months. Most long-term studies show a tendency for a modest weight gain (5–7 kg) after the initial postoperative years; long-term maintenance of an overall mean weight loss of about 50% of excess body weight can be expected