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This right here! I am the same, I can lose significant weight doing low carb, but I can't live the rest of my life like that. Or should I say, I don't want to live the rest of my life like that. I have taken the same approach of "smart-carbs" and limiting simple and highly processed carbs. I want my body to learn that no food is off limits and respond with huge weight gains. Overall trying about to be smarter about food choices, focusing on protein first. I'm learning that carbs aren't the enemy. But high carbs + high fat can go wrong fast.

I have used Depo and it made me soooooo depressed. It also tends to make you crave carbs, hence the weight gain. If neither is an issue for you, it was effective. I currently have Mirena, and it is great!

Mert and Endocollector, Welcome to you both. I drank all the liquids I wanted my first and second week out.My doctor admitted he made a mistake when he put boost and ensure on our list because they are for weight gaining. He also had slim fast but I changed to Atkins Advantage because of less calories and less sugar, still do one every morning. Endocollector why did they not take you off plavix and asprin a little before surgery. I take an asprin a day and they told me to quit one week before surgery.Good luck to you both and it will def. get so much better.

So, after months and months of misery and dollars spent, I have FINALLY found a doctor who was honest and thorough. He performed a flouroscope diagnostic and it turns out my band has been drastically overfilled which has caused all of my problems. Reflux, GERD, vomiting, and now pouch dilatation and weight gain. He removed .5cc and still the barium was back washing up my esophagus and not even trickling through the band. He wound up removing 1 full cc and now the fluid trickles through like it is supposed to but now my pouch is stretched and I have probably gotten all the weight loss I am going to get from it. Which totally SUCKS! Thousands of dollars, pain, discomfort, frustration, etc. etc. for a 60lb weight loss. I can warn those considering Lab Band enough, that just because you can eat doesn't mean you need a fill. Fill centers and "certified" doctors will take your $$ and just keep filling and filling. If your having reflux and gurgling etc, it's TOO TIGHT. Also, I don't know how many doctors are telling the truth about the expected weight loss, but 60% of your starting weight is on the high end of what the expect and as little as 10% is considered success. I have posted elsewhere on here about my health issues and weight gain and frustrations, only to have most of those on here blamed me for overeating and not "taking care" of my band. Why doesn't anyone ever look at the doctors who are supposed to know what they are doing?!?!?!? I wonder if I can repair the damage done to the pouch and get anymore benefit form having this thing in my body.

Last week, I was so close to the double century mark... just 1.5 lbs away and then, bam! I went on vacation. I went with my amazing BF to Georgia to visit family and to see the eclipse in totality. We drove, and on the way down, we stopped at all the wonderful (but terrible) fast food places that the South is so famous, and while we were there, we ate and drank things that I normally wouldn't have while home. And guess what? I gained 3 lbs. Am I sad about it? NOPE. I realized while I was there that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I'm 10 weeks past my surgery, and I've lost 46 lbs. I will continue to follow the plan, exercise and drop more weight. But I can't live my life without, every once in a while, enjoying the rare cheat meal or day. Did I go overboard? No. It was 3 lbs of mostly water weight gain from driving and not hydrating the way I should. And, let's face it, it's damn hard to overeat. I enjoyed half of a biscuit from Bojangles. 2 bites of hash browns with my egg at the Waffle House. A little bit of crust with my chicken pie that I made homemade for my kids. I drank more sweet tea than I should have.. but at the end of the day, I had fun. This surgery helped me see that food is NOT LIFE. It's nourishment. I don't eat my feelings anymore and I don't eat out of boredom. I eat to live and I eat sparingly at that. I struggle to eat 600-800 calories most of the time, and once, just once, I did it with gusto (as much gusto as I can muster). I've been home for 3 days now, and I'm back at the gym, drinking all the water I am supposed to drink, and getting my daily dose of protein and guess what? I'm back where I started before the vacation. I had fun. Don't be scared to have fun, but come back to reality and get back on the plan. A little fun won't kill you.. but only a little!

Best thing to do is reevaluate what caused the weight gain, immediately structure your diet around the good and bad stuff. Seeing a NUT again is a great place to help establish a visual end goal, they can cater to your dietary or health restrictions. Surrounding yourself with the right people will make a difference on your mental outcome, toxic relationships with people, intimate or not, won't help your situation. Depression is a contributing factor to weight gain, unfortunately, so focus on making yourself happy and finding some inner peace. Congrats on getting married, I hope your spouse is supportive of your desire to improve your health, that will be a big motivator to staying on top of your regimen. Just remember what you did to get to that point, cleanse, start up those shakes and count those calories; resorting to a secondary surgery (if that is even a possibility) would be horribly unhealthy.

Im Chloe Im 18 from Australia and overweight. My Mum got a lapband 10years ago and has now lost 30kilos. I've always been big but I've now realised there is no non-surgical solution for me other than more weight gain and trust me i have tried! So on July the 30th I am booked in for the lap band.I cant wait. FIFTY SIX DAYS!! :nervous The thought gives me hope and a real release from alot of sadness that being a young overweight person has caused. i hope to meet other young people in my situation or who have had the lap band.:clap2:

Seroquel isn't an old drug and it isn't rarely prescribed, it's used all the time. I totally agree about the weight gain, lots of people complain about that. It does make weight loss more than a challenge.

I know, people for some odd reason don't like to comment about weight loss, weight gain yes, loss no. . . I remember I had lost 100 lbs about 4-5 years ago, my mom, who hadn't seen me in over 2 years came to visit and didn't say a thing. . then just before she left from her visit she turned to me and said "don't lose too much, it's not healthy" . . . thanks mom. . .

The good news? You caught it!!! That's the beauty of the band - it's still there and it works when you get yourself back on track. My story is identical to yours! A few different circumstances, but to make it short: pres-surgery weight 306 - 7 years ago. Got down to 165. Quit paying attention and quit having regular doctor appointments = 60 pound weight gain. When I went back to the doctor I weighed in at 220 and was devastated. ' Then I remembered how excited I was to be at 220 at one point. And I also realized that if I don't get right back up, I'll end up easily back where I started before surgery and then some. SO - I got a fill in May and have started having monthly appointments with the doctor for accountability. I'm following the most important rules for me: ABSOLUTELY no drink with food Lean Protein first (yeah, but if I do that, I can't eat as much... EXACTLY!) Log every calorie on MyFitnessPal and stop ignoring what/how much I am consuming (It's soooo much easier to not know!) Exercise daily (UGGGHHH!!!) I was so defeated and depressed when I started back. I felt like such a failure! I have fought my weight all my life and I thought that I had conquered the problem. Nope - I will never be finished with this battle - no matter whether I get to my goal or not! It's just another one of those hard lessons - we will never be able to do what other people can do without consequences. I can't eat like my skinny sister without gaining weight. I have to exercise daily, even though other people don't have to. It's not fair and it sucks, but it's my reality. Once I accept that, the rest is easier. I was so used to failure that I had convinced myself that the band would no longer work for me. I was afraid that I was too far gone. I am my own worst enemy. Once I learned how to defeat the band I could (and did) eat anything I wanted to - and as much of it as I wanted. I thought maybe I had just tricked myself into losing the weight the first time but that now the real me was back and it was all over. I thought that maybe I would never be able to do it again. More good news - I was wrong!!! Like I said - the acceptance piece was the key for me. Once I accepted that the band wasn't magical and that I have to do my part, miraculously, it started "working" again. So I follow the rules, workout, and I'm losing again. Because the scale messes with my head, I'm not allowing myself to step on the scale until July 31. But this morning I went shopping in the back of my closet and I'm wearing a dress today I haven't worn in over a year! You can do this! Start with regular doctor appointments. I need to have to look him in the eye. I know, I know - I should be doing it for me, blah, blah, blah. Don't care - those external controls are important for me. Maybe someday I'll be able to do it just for myself. But for now - I need to be accountable and not be able to hide or make excuses. My family loves me and accepts me whether I'm fat or not, and quite frankly - I can pretty easily justify or excuse just about anything to them and they accept that. Not the doctor. He knows BS when he hears it and he will call me on it. After getting back to the doctor, start logging your intake (brutally) and start walking every day. Once you get rolling - the momentum builds quickly. Don't give up!!!! Shelly

I still weigh daily. I too think weighing daily helps identify patterns. I would not weigh daily if it discouraged me by seeing a weight gain. To each his/her own.

Hello everyone I'm posting this because I'm starting to feel really alone. I'm one month away from hitting my first year and I'm feel like I did nothing. Let me explain.. I have depression and I have to take meds for it everyday for the rest of my life. I feel like mentally i'm doing so much better. The one thing that is making me have big set backs is the meds and what they are doing to me. At this point in the game the meds have taken over and I can stop eating. I eat non stop even when I tell myself NO!! I have been up and down (mostly up) with my weight. I eat so much that it isn't even funny. I know my sleeve still works because at some point I stop and i'm full. Also the stuff i'm eating is sooo bad ( soda, candy, chips) . I try everyday to move forward and not fall back down the same road. I'm starting to take one day at a time and not be so down but it's so hard when you work so hard to get something and now you're messing it up. My partner and I are starting to count calories in hopes that will help me get back on track. I want to fix it. If I can fix my mental I can fix my physical . Please if anyone is having the sam issues as me let's talk being it suck having to feel alone in a place where there are so many of us.

I changed to a Nuvaring. I was told the pills may not absorb right. The shot may contribute to weight gain. I had surgery so I could have a baby after the 18 month wait so I did not want something that lasted as long as an IUD/Mirena.

I weigh myself daily. Always when I first wake up, after I've used the bathroom, and always in my birthday suit. I don't beat myself up over small fluctuations in my weight each day. I've actually found it very interesting because I've learned what my patterns are for my monthly cycle with regards to water weight gain and loss and how my hormones affect this. I've been able to track when in any given month I'm going to stall and what week I typically lose. It's helped me to understand my stalls because now I know the pattern. I'm sure I won't be a daily weigh-er the rest of my life but I will probably weigh weekly and then monthly as I figure out my maintenance phase as my 1 year mark gets closer. I DO NOT recommend weighing daily for those that are going to let the number effect them emotionally. If the number is going to negatively impact your day, then don't do it.

Good Morning Fellow Canadians !! I am so very glad this thread was started. I am from Edmonton. My surgery is booked for September 10th. Flying into San Diego on the 9th and back home on the 14th. I am then taking the rest of the month off for a full recovery. I have applied for short term disability through my insurance company so I can at least get paid while I am off for 3 weeks. I look forward to chatting with everyone soon ! Robin. My BMI is 34.1 on a bad day. I know its not SUPER SUPER high, but its way too high for me. I suffer from bulemia nervousa and I feel that this is going to be the remedy to kick it. My doctor is super supportive of my decision as he knows how hard I have tried to change my lifestyle and battle with weight gain and loss. I see my dietitian (NOT a nutritionist) next month. I am very excited to get some extra information and a pre-op diet ready for August. As well as a diet plan for post op. I have been doing alot of research on post bariatric Vitamins and not sure with brands, online vs. a health food store. So much information out there.

I understand your concern!! Speaking for myself, I was much bigger 5 years ago. 250lbs with a BMI of 40. I lost 80lbs and kept it off for 4 years. I quit smoking to be a better example for my kids 1.5 years ago and now I can't seem to lose the weight I gained when I quit which has put me back into the "obese" category. Having been through pretty substantial weightloss before, I'm fairly prepared for the changes I have to make. I have ZERO plans to drink sweet tea (which I don't like) or pizza. In prep for the changes I have given up sodas, most all sweets, and am transitioning back to healthier life style. This isn't a magic wand It's forced portion control and help with hunger hormones. I also am not doing this just to lose weight I have a degenerative disc in my back that has hurts regularly now that I have gained some weight back. I'm not sleeping well, and I actually deal with the hernia symptoms on a regular basis. When I lost the weight I had in the past I worked with a therapist to sort though the issues that had caused my weight gain originally. Thank you for your concern!! Sometimes tough love is needed I get that. But this is more than being thin for me.

I was banded on February 7, 2012, ten months ago. So what has changed? Ten Months Ago Today Weight 250lbs Weight 175lbs BMI 37 BMI 25 Pant size 22 Pant size 10 3 different meds for high blood pressure Don’t take any meds for high blood pressure Diagnosed pre-diabetic All blood work is NORMAL Hated myself, depressed Very happy with myself! Isolated myself, no friends Love all my new friends (especially the Banded Bs) Couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath Walk up 8 floors of stairs to my office every morning When I started this journey I knew I would have to change a lot of things (food I ate, volume I ate, exercise, etc…), I knew it would be a long hard journey and I hoped I would have the strength to be successful. Now here I am ten months later, at goal and starting the next chapter of my journey (maintaining). I make it sound easy, but I have to say IT’S NOT! I struggled many times. I got frustrated and wished I didn’t have to follow the rules. I had weight gains and plateaus. BUT, I didn’t give up. I kept plugging along and it worked. Here I am happier than I have been in 30 years. Now, I am focused on maintaining my weight and hopefully saving enough money for a tummy tuck next year. Lol To all the newly banded or about to be banded, success is a wonderful thing. It takes hard work, dedication and wantpower (CG I love your term). I love my band!!!!

By the way, Wow you have done fantastic at this program. You deserve all the credit for your hard work. The weight loss is fast. It's going to take your mind time to catch up to your physical changes. If you feel a counselor might help you work through this..I say go for it. Yes, I've had the same experience not seeing myself correctly. People that haven't had a drastic drop in weight won't be able to understand how this messes with your mind. I still have the fear of weight gain. I keep it as a reminder to stay on track. The work never stops after goal.

Like this - after rapid weight gain when ill I never lost it. Looking back all my diets were carb heavy. Food fell into a treat - Who knew that many cookies had between two and 500 cal! At times I ate out of boredom and other times it was what my palls and I did. Now we may hike or paddle rather then meet for dinner, happy hour or coffee and a scone. The Why.. too many diets and a trashed metabolic situation plus carbs ignorance.

Fills are done based on the individual's experience with the band. If your weight loss has slowed, you feel little to no restriction, and you can eat solids with no problem in good sized portions, you're due for a fill. Some people "like" to be overfilled thinking it will make the weight loss faster. In effect, NOT being able to eat solids usually results in weight gain. As for the place, I would go where they are the best priced as long as they have a proven track record.

You won't gain weight from lifting weights if you do it right. People who gain weight from lifting are generally lifting heavy weight with low repetition which builds their muscle mass. They generally also take supplements to aid in the weight gain. That type of weight lifting (you know when they're grunting and screaming while they're struggling for one more rep) is anaerobic, they're not absorbing oxygen. If you lift low weights with high repetition you will not only burn more weight than straight cardio, you will also get defined and lean "ripped" muscles. The reason weightlifting this way burns more fat than straight cardio is that using your muscles requires your body to burn more fat than just exerting yourself. I recommend finding a circuit of exercises that work your major muscle groups, and pick a weight that you can do 12-15 reps of with some discomfort, 3 sets each. Good luck!

I have recently been told by my doctor after an upper gi that I have an asymmetrical pouch and a small slip. He showed me an example, which when I googled it later, it looks just like pouch dilation. Wouldn't this qualify for a revision? I should have asked more questions but it didn't sink in until I started reading posts on here. I didn't think I had much to worry about because the doctor seemed like it wasn't a big deal. He said we would "keep an eye on it" and if we get to the point it gets worse then he would recommend the sleeve. I have been living uncomfortably the past few years with horrible heartburn, port pain, waking up choking on acid, vomiting, some days I can eat a lot some days I get stuck and vomit.. And now weight gain. I feel so fat and like a failure. I have gained so much weight in the last few months. My dad told me that I have "really packed on the pounds!" And I need to get my "belly tightened". I feel like at any moment I am going to split my pants. I just bought a bunch of new clothes too last year for winter and they are so small compared to how big I am now that I literally sat in my closet and cried. I had an adjustment at my last appointment, even though he said I have what is considered a small slip and that my pouch is enlarged, but I don't feel any restriction. My band was previously too tight and I suffered thru it for two years thinking it was normal and my husband lost his job so we lost our insurance. Now we have Medicaid and although they cover visits to the doctor, I don't know if they cover the revision surgery. I am also scared to death of surgery because I went to the complication forum and read a few horror stories. ????????☹ that really scared the heck out of me!! ️My doctor also said my bmi may not be high enough but I'm 5'4 and weigh 203 pounds...and I think I'm still gaining. This time last year I was 165. What should I do?!?! I called another bariatric doctor but my family doctor won't write me another referral. Help!!?

Well...T minus 8 hours. I'm surprisingly calm. I've kept myself so busy today that I've barely noticed I've only had Clear liquids. I weighed myself tonight and I'm 6 pounds heavier than this morning. I hope its just all of those fluids. I'll flip out if they cancel surgery because of Water weight gain. I just got my shower and used the Hibiclens antiseptic as instructed by my doctor. I've had a moment with all of my kids telling them how much I love them. I'm ok with this. I just pray everything goes well. I have 5 kids that I want to be around for. I'm waking up at 5 to do another Hibiclens scrub and take my prilosec. We leave for the hospital at 6...its not quite an hour away. I was told that I have to do my hugs and kisses in the lobby and family isn't allowed in the pre-op area. That makes me very anxious. I should mention my husband and my parents are going to be there for me. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful support system. I feel like this is so surreal. Like I can't believe its really happening. I hope I stay strong and not flip out once I get there. I'm having the majority of my stomach removed...wow. Tonight, when I took my pre-surgery pics it reaffirmed for the 1000th time that I'm doing the right thing. I wish I would of done a video blog. Maybe once I'm home I'll do that. If you are up at around 730 central time, please say a prayer for me or send good thoughts. I really appreciate it. I do plan on taking my laptop though I may not use it at all. Depends on how I'm feeling. I can't thank everyone enough for the support I've recieved here. I'll report back as soon as I can.

I feel great! I just finished up 5 days in Disney World doing 8-12 hour days at tha parks, pushing 75 pound stroller. Lol. I did most rides except I pushed it a bit with the Big thunder Mountain, comes to an abrupt stop and I was a tiny bit sore. Day one after surgery I felt crappy. I had to be up by 5am for my surgery so I was definilty tired later in the day. I thought I would be up and walkin laps around the place (bc a few people I knew had been just after surgery). I was 2 hours post op and like I'm ready to go, let's walk!! And then 1/2 way down the hall I was like, ok let's go back. 😂 But every 2 hours (even overnight) I got up and walked, each time going further and more steady. I passed my swallow test with no problem and tolerated the water, protein shake and jello, so I wasn't out by 1:00 the next day. They said to catch up on my sleep on my first day home and then I could go to the gym and they wanted as much moving as possible. I don't go to the gym, but I used my eliptical every couple of hours for 5-15 minutes day one and then every couple of hours for 10-20 the next. That helped so much with the gas pain. My gas pain wasn't that bad and was totally gone by day 3. I did use a few gasX strips each day, but I'm not sure if it helped, but it couldn't hurt. I was driving by day 3, but sore and tired. Since I have kids I couldn't take the narcotics too much (driving, etc) but I took Tylenol during the day and the oxy at night for the first 2 nights home. I went back to work day 4, but my work pants hurt my incisions (yoga pants we so comfy that I didn't factor in a belt and sitting at a desk) so I only made it 3-4 hours. But day 7 I was back normally with no problems. My only complication so far was a wicked rash that formed on my abdomen. I took benedryl each night (again can't get doped up on meds when you've got kids depending on you). They weren't sure what was causing it, because it wasn't really around the incisions, lightly all over but heavy on my sides. But it started to get super itchy near the incisions and the glue was coming off (after 8-9 days) so I peeled it off and the next day the rash improved and after that nearly gone. So I'm thinking it was an allergic reaction to the glue they used OR from the stitches. Either way, if that's my worst complication I'll be blessed. It WAS hard to get my protein and water in those first 2 days, but I make it my business to get it in. I over pack stuff for work and travel just to be safe and I track EVERTHING on baritastic (app). That's the most user friendly app for me personally and has been a very valuable tool. As far as weight loss, I'm hopeful. I'm away now, and I have. Even perfect on my diet. I ordered shakes and had them delivered to the hotel along with some foods I can have (yogurt, cheese) but I will see tomorrow when I weigh in at my mother in laws house. One big thing I WAS NOT prepared for was the weight gain after surgery. I was UP about 6-8 pounds on my home scale the day I came home. This apparently is common bc they have you on IV from an hour or so before surgery until a few minutes before discharge (which for me, was about 30 hours straight. I lost that over the first 4-5 days and now I'm about 10 pounds down from surgery. Since pre-op (about 4 weeks ago) I'm down 20 But I FEEL good. I have energy. I already look visibly better in clothes. I'm starting to see my old shape I'm not sure if they work, but I take biotin pills (COSTCO) and vitamin patches (patchmd.com) calcium/Vit D, B-12 and multi vitamin, and biotin plus. I told my PA at the office and she said other patients had good results, so I'm hopeful and I think they are helping with my energy. I'm praying they keep my hair fro falling out, but I've read that it says futile lol Don't overpack for the hospital. Just comfy clothes to walk in (I'm not a fan of the gown. And comfy clothes for the car ride home (and a pillow to hold over your stomach for the ride home). Someone posted about dry mouth here and it was helpful. It's NO JOKE. I packed a dry mouth spray and that was good. You can't swallow, but 2 sprays was soaked up immediately in my dry mouth- yuk. I'm typing on my phone half asleep- so sorry if there are typos

Well you know they say what opinions are like... a$$holes... We all have them and most stink... But WTH, I'll opine anyway... There are some things you may wish to consider before running out and stocking up on a supply of chocolate milk... Before jumping on the bandwagon of the study, we should know more about the study... Who financially sponsored it and why? What about the participants? Were they obese people trying to lose weight - or competitive athletes? Was the nutritional content of the chocolate milk consistant across the study group (and what was the nutritional content anyway). You can go to the grocery store and find all sorts of different brands of chocolate milk - with nutritional content all across the spectrum. The people in the study may be very different from us - with very different goals than us. It appears they were simply looking at this from the perspective of endurance and muscle recovery. Very few of us are competitive athletes burning 4000+ calories a day In fact, most of us are trying to LOSE fat, are people prone to weight gain, and likely a bit more sensitive to carbohydrates than most - especially simple carbs. The chocolate milk controversy isn't new - it's been around awhile. I tried it as a post workout drink for awhile back in Nov. and it adversely effected my weight loss. I attributed that likely to the high sugar content. So I began mixing a commercial Protein mix with skim milk - and that did the trick. Tasted just like chocolate milk - and still had the milk - but not the simple carbs. Protein intake is a whole other debate. Personally, I'm of the opinion that people who exercise significantly can benefit from a higher protein intake. It just depends on how you want to achieve that intake. I think whole foods is best, but I supplement with commercial products as well. Even though it is a buyer-beware market. The fitness supplement industry is one of the most deceptive and cut-throat markets there is! Thats my two cents and a whole lot more.... Brad