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I think the fact that you are trying to address any weight gain is the most important part. You will be fine with your positive attitude. Much respect for tackling cancer and the weight at the same time.

First of all great news on beating cancer! Were you are are you currently on steroids or any meds that can contribute to weight gain? I had surgery 6 years post cancer, so it’s different than your experience. I went from 150 lbs at breast cancer diagnosis to 225 Lbs, 5 years later. I gained at a quick pace and while the (hardcore) treatment saved my life it zapped me for quite sometime. I’m only mentioning this so you can ask your Doctor, it’s frustrating and it helps to know what you’re up against. Here is what I would do. Talk to my Doctor Take vitamins Research any current meds and talk with your Doctor about any concerns. subscribe to a fitness routine or app at home Journal everything you eat in My fitness pal. Limit your calories wear a Fitbit or a comparable device Drink water until it’s coming out of your ears stock up on lean meats, fruits, yogurt and veggies. Acorn squash is my go to when I want something starchy. Keep yourself accountable. Congratulations again, You’ve proven your tough, you’ve done this before and you can do it again. It will probably take longer since you have less to lose but you’ll get there. Im rooting for you!

First of all, you still look great--I can't see much of a difference between April 2018 and December 2019. However, the more important issue is your health. I'm sure that cancer had a huge physical and emotional impact on you, and right now you should focus on your recovery from cancer more than on your weight issues. (I say this as a cancer survivor myself.) You can deal with your weight once you are clearly on the other side of the cancer. Please don't beat yourself up about your relatively small weight gain. You have been through a lot!

Hey everyone! I'm looking for advice and encouragement. I had my weight loss surgery in December 2016, so I'm 3.5 years out now. I dropped around 160 pounds, from my biggest being 360 and my smallest being 187. I was so blessed to lose so much in about 14 months. Maintenance was relatively easy at first. I purposefully gained 15 pounds because being 6'2 with a large build, 187 started getting me questions about being sick. 200-205 is my personal goal and sweet spot, where I feel the best and think I look the best. Fast forward to September 2019. I was having my first endoscopy since my surgery, as a follows up to Barrett's esophagus that was found when I had my bypass. What I thought would be routine, turned worst case scenario when I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Apparently I'm in that 2% that has Barrett's that actually progresses to cancer. Luckily we caught it very early stage and I have been able to have ablation therapy treatment versus the typical chemo and radiation. I've developed recurrent esophageal stricture due to scar tissue from ablation therapy, causing me to choke frequently. Needless to say, it's all been very scary, and my eating got out of whack for a while. I've quickly gained weight and I'm at 220.2 today. I need to lose 20 pounds ASAP. The current COVID-19 situation and working from home, having access to food 24/7 coupled with stress eating is proving difficult to overcome. I thought I'd post here to see if anyone has words of encouragement or advice to help me get back on track quickly. 3.5 years and I was very proud to be maintaining at my goal weight of around 200, and now I'm scared the scale will continue to creep up on me.

I currently have 3.5ccs in a 10cc band. I was up to 7ccs at one time but lost a little too much weight so we removed quite a bit and I’ve been sitting at the 3.5ccs for 2 yrs now. Minimal weight gain but mostly my own foolish eating habits. I’ve been banded for 12 yrs now with zero problems.

Hey everyone! I’m new here, but have come to this site because I’m getting scared and am trying to find some help. I had a gastric bypass over 2 years ago going on 3 and had been doing really well with keeping my weight off. Then I became pregnant and had my beautiful baby boy this December, but I just cannot seem to lose my baby weight. Has anyone else had this issue? Is the pouch reset something to consider and does it really work? Any thoughts on how I can start gaining control back of my gastric bypass and lose this weight? Thanks! 🤗

Hi !! so its been a while !! my story is like this - i had gastric sleeve surgery in dec 2017 and i lost about 30kg in the first year . since then i have stalled but haven't gained which i guess is good . I do have an additional 12kg to lose and and i don't know how to go about it - ive tried everything . About a year ago i started having abdominal pain sometimes which recently got much worse so i went to check it out and was diagnosed with gallstones . I'm having my gallbladder removed in two days and obviously i've been googling how this effects your weight , some people say it causes weight loss but many also claim it causes weight gain and i'm really freaking out because i cannot put back on any weight i've just worked too hard . Any advice ???

I had a gastric sleeve over 10 years ago. I weighed 320 and was 5'2" and 54 years old. I also have asthma - life long and I needed a surgery that would allow me to take oral steroids and other life sustaining medications that also cause weight gain... but breathing is an important concept. I could not have a bypass surgery, as my pulmonary docs said that the surgery would make the use of oral steroids impossible and I am prone to pneumonia from years of impaired airways. (And yes, I am working from home right now !!!) I went from 320 pounds to 180 pounds. I unfortunately gained 40 pounds back in the last few years, mostly due to not being able to exercise much and well.... life. I got pissed off at myself last July and went back to high protein, and low carb and more veggies and cut out the slider foods... and I have lost 25 pounds. Yes, I am still obese, but for me, who weighed 320 pounds, I now weight 193. (27 pounds down actually) since this July. At 64 years old I will probably stick around the 180s to 190. Yes - it could and should be less, but my doctors are pleased and I have been pretty darn healthy for me. I take care of my critters, keep up a house, a career as a social work supervisor, I garden and am active. For me, I have kept off over 100 pounds and now am back to having lost 137 pounds and holding. I highly recommend it. Oh, I was in the hospital 2 nights after surgery. Mostly to stabilize my lungs. And I had surgery at 54 years old

My suggestion to you is to start the process yourself. Call your insurance provider and ask what the requirements for WLS if any. This can help get you in the right direction. My old insurance required a 35bmi w/2 comorbidities or a 40bmi. I didn't have any co's so i had to have a 40.... which i was just shy of back then. So before i even went to the seminar, i put on 10lbs. (gained 10 to lose 89... hell yes). I knew i would be approved.... My Dr. arranged all the appts. to heart, lung, phyc., sleep test, NUT... etc. After he got ALL the results back he submitted as one packet WITH a SX date. I was approved in three days. I had already researched the band for months before, but from the day i went to the dr and SX day it was around three months. I got my GYN to submit info on my health and weight gain over the years and i also has my logs from WW to show my dieting attempt.

I take sedating medicine, and stopped smoking around 14 years now. I believe that this has made it harder for me to move forward with my weight loss, with the Gastric Lap Band, which I've had 16 years ago now. I wont change the banding, cause I know if I get it removed, bye bye to the weight loss, bring on the weight gain. So far I've lost the ideal weight, then I stopped the smoking and it increased. I have 50 lbs to go now, I can do it. Can anyone related to this at all?

Grace,It's good to see your post. One thing you have to remember is that we who are older and I am 73 will not lose as fast as those who are younger and a bit more active. Other things that affect weight loss are the medications that you are on and a lower metbolism. I had my surgery about a week before you and I have only lost 15 lbs. While it is frustrating I am okay with that and will be patient. It is a process. I do I'm eating between 6 and 700 calories a day which is where my doctors want me to be. I make sure that I get the prescribed amount of protein as well as fluids. My stomach definitely tells me when it's full and that's when I stop.So that is the advantage of your tool.Although you and your sister are both losing weight right now here's what's going to be different for you. You have a lifelong tool now a smaller stomach that's gonna help you maintain proper portions to lose your weight and to maintain your ideal weight. We have all experienced the ups and downs of weight loss and weight gain because the body tries to throw everything at us to regaining that weight (Hunger changing metabolism at cetera) And that's what your sister may go through again and you won't if you follow The rules. The surgery Lowers your setpoint For your body weight. Hang in there and try not to get too discouraged. And stay safe through the corona virus.

So basically, it's normal for me to see weight gain with doing muscle work out?

that weight gain you get from weight training is temporary. Or temporary as long as you don't increase your eating. It's just muscle development (and as you know, muscle weighs more than fat). Having more muscle increases your metabolism, so if your calories stay the same, you'll eventually start LOSING weight. Or so they say...

I had RNY in 2015. I had great results - i started at 254 and had been holding steady at around 128 . I was very pleased where I was. Last fall, I became very ill, not holding anything down. I dropped to 117 and was in and out of hospital and they couldn’t find anything wrong with me. I called my RNY surgeon and asked her to look through my recent test results to see if she could find something other doctors were missing. She said all test looked good, but, suggested i see a digestive disorder specialist who they share a clinic with. I saw the digestive disorder dr and through some test, found that I had a bought with gastroparesis. Finally, a diagnosis and because of diagnosis, they were able to begin treatment. They have some meds that worked and i was, finally, able to start holding food down. As I started holding food down, I started rapidly gaining weight. So, the 10- 12 pounds I lost from being sick was gained back in less than a week. A little startling, but, figure it must’ve been water weight and I’m right back to the weight I started at. But, I continued to gain and gain. In 2 months, I gained atleast 30 pounds. I’m afraid to get on scale to see exactly how much I gained. But, I did stop gaining and have been holding steady for about 2 months. But, I am very unhappy at the weight I’ve gained. I hardly have any clothes that fit me now and I don’t want to buy new ones because I don’t wasn’t to be this weight. So, my question pertains to gastroparesis AFTER RNY. I know Rny is recommended to treat gastroparesis, but, has anyone heard of it after Rny - I never had any symptoms of gastroparesis in my life. Then with the rapid weight gain. Do you think it’s possible that all the vomiting I did, stretched my stomach or the food sitting in my stomach stretched it or some other side affects? I just don’t know what to think. I do know that I can eat a lot more than I had before the gastroparesis. I can’t make an appointment with my surgeon until all this coronavirus stuff passes since this is not life sustaining, at this point. Any feedback would be appreciated. I am afraid I’m falling into depression over this weight gain. I’m very unhappy and embarrassed.

No, not intending to lose more weight @Sophie7713 just trying to stabilise & work out that fine line between weight gain & weight loss. For me it’s very narrow. Going back to work as been a bit of a challenge. In retail, you can’t say to a customer sorry have to have my snack & walk away. Bones everywhere. The house we rented had rustic timber bench seats at the dining table. I had to sit on a cushion & have one at my back to protect my bony butt & spine. One of my 6yr old nieces asked why I was so skinny. I said so she could give me really good hugs ... so she did. I’d be ok if I put on a kg or 2 to get me back to a BMI of 20. Love the glorious pxts of flowering plants. Spring is such a wonderful time. BTW you’re looking fabulous, Sophie. Your achievement is so inspiring. Chores done, now relaxing. Think I’ll watch the last episode of Hunters.

that wouldn't be a true weight gain. Could be constipation, water retention, or hormones. It'll probably be gone in a day or two.

I had surgery (bypass) on Mar 5. I have steadily lost .8lb each day. I have written down every calorie and every gram of protein. My question is On Thurs I ate 400 calories and 75g of protein walked for 25min. On Fri I copied everything to a tee from the day before except 1 sugar free popcisle at night and my exercise was doubled but I gained 3.8lbs. Anyone explain the abrupt weight gain? Sat I went down 1.5lb (same) food intake but less exercise only 45min. I know alot of ppl stall at 3wks but this wasnt a stall it was a gain....

The dramatic changes in our daily lives caused by the COVID-19 virus is likely the greatest crisis of our lifetime. Hopefully, you and your family are safe at home and can avoid harm. It would be easy to focus on all of the negativity and be glued to the news 24/7 but that would be a mistake. As someone working to lose weight or maintain your weight loss, this crisis presents a number of challenges but also several opportunities. First the challenges: Many of us are either working from home or are not working, but still at home. Being home presents a bunch of food and eating challenges. You may be more sedentary than usual, without your commute to work, and possibly unable to be out and about or go to the gym. Being home means that the refrigerator and the kitchen are only a few feet away. Your schedule is probably different. Without a regular schedule, unplanned eating and more frequent trips to the kitchen may occur. For those unaccustomed to working from home, it may be harder to focus on your work, and possibly wandering around the house and once again, back in the kitchen. The emotional toll this situation is taking on all of us is significant. If you have a tendency to eat in response to anxiety or loneliness, this can be a very difficult time. The challenges are clear. What about the opportunities? Before this crisis, many people were so busy with their jobs that they did not have time to make better food choices. Too much fast food. Too much take out. Too many dinners at 10 pm. Now there may be more time to buy and prepare healthy food and eat at a healthier time. Many restaurants are closed so you need to go to the supermarket where more fresh foods and healthier choices are available. Learn to cook! If you have more time, you can break out some of those cookbooks you’ve been meaning to read or find simple recipes online to try. While you’re in the supermarket, this could be a good time to experiment with new foods. Some of your favorites may be out of stock. This is a good time to explore different and potentially healthier alternatives to your old, less healthy favorites. While you are home, you may have more time to exercise. If you are restricted from going to the gym, you can still go out for a walk or a bike ride. Even if you walk with one or two friends, it is possible to practice safe social distancing while exercising. Learning to change your emotional relationship with food. It’s certainly tempting to make trips into the kitchen to manage your anxiety and other emotions, but this is a great time to learn and practice alternatives to emotional eating. Here are some ideas to try to implement in the coming weeks: Try to create and maintain a schedule including setting aside times for meals and snacks. If you already have an eating routine that was working, try to maintain it. If you don’t yet have a routine, examine your upcoming schedule and create one. If you are not used to working from home, it is important to structure your day to avoid working in an erratic “when I’m in the mood” manner. The latter is not very productive and will also lead you to wander around the house more often...and we know what room you’re likely to wind up visiting. If you are able to get out to the supermarket, buy healthy and smart! Make a commitment to using this time for positive change. If you continue to buy chips and cookies, this is going to cause weight gain. However, if you make healthier food choices in the supermarket, you can use this period at home to your advantage. If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to help your family start eating healthier, this is a perfect opportunity! Many restaurants are closed, so if you stock the house with healthy choices, you’re more likely to stick to your plan. It’s probably not advisable to go to the supermarket every day as we try to keep our social distance, so try to make a list and do a weekly shopping. Think about meal prepping. What could you buy for a few breakfasts, lunches, and dinners? Make the healthiest choices you can. Experiment in the supermarket. Some of your old favorites might be unavailable. Even if they are there, check out other alternatives. Have you ever wondered if riced cauliflower was a good alternative to white rice? Now’s the time to give it a try. What about that all-natural, lower sodium and low-sugar spaghetti sauce? Maybe bring home a jar or two. We are all wired to buy what we’ve always bought. They’re probably the same items you grew up with in your parents’ home, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Use this opportunity to experiment with healthier and maybe even tastier choices. Get outside and walk or bike a few times per week if possible. Many gyms are closing down so if you have a home gym you have an advantage. However, even without a home gym there’s always the great outdoors. Walking and biking are excellent forms of exercise. It’s more important to try to build a habit of getting out there a few times per week than it is to walk a specific number of steps or burn a specific number of calories. In fact, it is possible that you make this a habit that endures long after this crisis ends. Learn to manage your emotions in ways that don’t involve going to the kitchen. It is completely understandable that you are feeling more anxious these days, but neither the current situation nor your anxiety is going to be helped by eating. Instead, use this time to learn mindfulness skills to manage your anxiety. These skills actually help reduce anxiety and don’t contribute to weight gain. Research demonstrates that learning mindfulness skills helps reduce compulsive eating. There are a number of great apps available like headspace or calm where you can get started. Similarly, if you did a quick search for “mindfulness techniques,” the internet has 100’s of free modules available. Just experiment until you find a few that work for you. Limit the amount of time you watch television and spend watching the news on your computer and phone. You know the news isn’t great, and more importantly, it can be emotionally harmful. The purpose of the news is to provide information, but many people watch news programs as a form of entertainment. However, today’s news is not at all entertaining, it’s quite upsetting. Worst of all, some news programs focus on how things can get worse. While you may need an update or two per day, you don’t need to watch any more than that. It’s very likely to upset you and may trigger emotional eating. Even if you don’t have a tendency to eat in response to anxiety and emotional upset, who wants to experience emotional upset more than necessary?! Instead, use this time to be closer to loved ones within your home or via facetime, teleconferencing or the good old telephone. If you are among loved ones or can use facetime or video conferencing to be with them “virtually,” break out those board games, color in a coloring book, create art projects or do other things that put a more positive spin on what is certainly a challenging time. To be sure, there is nothing good about this crisis and how it is affecting our daily lives. However, it is possible to take advantage of the opportunity that being at home provides. If you make some changes in your behavior, you can use this time to stay on track with your weight loss or weight maintenance goals, and maybe even develop some new healthy habits that provide benefits that last long after this crisis is over. May you all be safe and well during this difficult time. Warren L. Huberman, PhD. Is a Clinical Psychologist licensed in New York and New Jersey. • Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine. • Affiliate Psychologist at the Langone/NYU Medical Center • Consulting Psychologist to the NYU/Langone Health Weight Management Program • Affiliate Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Northwell-Lenox Hill Hospital. • Maintains a private practice in Clinical Psychology in Manhattan and Rockland County, NY. Author of the book 'Through Thick and Thin: The Emotional Journey of Weight Loss Surgery.' Dr. Huberman can be reached at 212- 983-6225 or at wh@warrenhuberman.com.

Yes. SARS-COV-2 puts "gaining weight" into a new perspective. A rather unimportant one compared to many other things. I can see though that people are focussing on the possible weight gain problem as in the end it provokes less anxiety than the virus. However, no one is automatically doomed to gain weight while staying at home. Not you, not me - NO ONE. And I was supposed to know that because...? You said in your first post you're "prone to anxiety" - that's what many people are these days, including myself. I can see that you're obviously mad at me. I'm sorry you are. But lashing out at me will most likely not help.

Really?? I'm in California and I'm on lockdown. I am stuck in my house the majority of the day. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder. But somehow you think weight gain is a trivial issue? You dont see a connection between gaining weight and depression? You dont see how going backwards after I've worked SO HARD could cause depression? OK. This is not a vanity issue. I want to be HEALTHY! If you cant understand that then I'm sorry.

As stated above, square inch for square inch Muscle weighs more than fat. So as you reduce fat stores and increase muscle mass, you can see weight gains. That's why I've pushed so hard for people to stop tracking weight as a specific number and start looking at the trend. I've tracked weight and body fat my whole process, not really caring about the numbers exactly, but what I was doing and which direction those numbers moved. The more I work out for muscle, my body fat drops and my weight gains. When I focus on cardio, my weight drops, sometimes body fat does as well, but not as fast as when working out for muscle gain. This is because larger muscle mass requires more energy in rest than smaller muscles do, so, bigger muscle mass, larger fuel requirements, faster fat breakdown. Plus,our bodies get used to what's going on and start to level off. Check into Intermittent Fasting if you haven't yet, really get me through some serious stalls.

Stressing about the "what if" scenarios concerning CORVID-19 in itself may cause weight gain, certain people such as myself stress-eat so situations that increase stress levels should be avoided at all costs For me, keeping myself busy helps reduce my stress. However some busy items also induce eating. For example, if I am watching TV for an extended amount of time I tend to desire food, something to munch on while I binge watch a Netflix show so I avoid any long periods of time in front of the TV screen. Since this CORVID-19 stuff is forcing us to stay home and avoid contact with others, I am gong to use the extra "at home" time to complete some on-line technical courses that are reverent to my profession. I also received a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone as a gift this past Christmas so maybe I will also start to lean a 2nd language just for fun. Figure if your keeping your brain active perhaps it will be too occupied to think about food or other items we have no control over that induce unneeded stress. Edited just now by VIN_IN_AL

@IAmGrace; I don't really get "full" either in the way that I used to; but after I eat a surprisingly small amount I start to get the hiccups or get a feeling in my chest that I am starting to recognize as "full". I am now eating between 600 and 700 a day; I was over 700 today. I find I have to be very rigid; I have breakfast, lunch, dinner and 1 or 2 "snacks" depending on where I am for protein that day. Otherwise I could eat (but certainly don't need to) 1/2 hour after I last ate. My nutritionist warned about "grazing". Certainly at 700 or 800 calories a day you will still lose weight, but once we can ingest more the grazing will lead to weight gain. I'm getting a bit more adventurous with food; I had a small amount of corned beef and cabbage, and today I had the ground beef part of some Shepard's Pie. But I do find 2 or 2.5 ounces are plenty. I am using very small plates, and I stop eating when the food is gone, and I realize I am not hungry! I hope your cold is just a cold; I hope mine is, too. I am a bit worried because I feel like my immune system is not very robust right now; I had the actual flu right before my surgery (in fact it delayed my surgery for one week), then back to back colds, and with such low calories I feel like I don't have much to fight off any virus. And I am 61, so in that respect I am "high risk", too. My work is doing 5 days out of every 10; so there are very few people in my office. I hope you are in a comfortable situation to ride this out! Wishing you health and happiness!

Indeed. And some groups are more at risk. It's not only chronically ill people, but also medical staff and e. g. the cashiers in grocery stores etc. etc. etc. - there simply are people who can't just stay home and hide. When anxiety strikes, "distraction" indeed doesn't tend to work. Plus, with all the hysteria one doesn't need a diagnosed anxiety disorder to freak out. Be exposed long enough and you're good to go. And honestly: "weight gain" is the least of my concerns now. I was like WTH?? when I read that post and just like... wow.

@msteinman weight gain is completely normal. I posted about same thing 3 days after surgery as I had gained weight too. The IV fluids and being bloated and full of gas makes you gain weight. It will take a few days for all that to get out of your system. Several people are going to tell you to stay off the scale. I kept looking every day and finally lost my first couple of pounds around day 5 or 6. I’m 11 days post op and down 10 lbs now: it’s okay. Just breathe, keep sipping you water and protein. Walk and walk some more. It all works out. You’re right on track!