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Hi Dee. How are you?. You and I had surgery about the same time. I remember you from our September 2019 surgery thread. My surgery date was September 16th 2019 and I have lost 90 lbs so far. I had a two week stall similar to you recently which just broke last week. I even gained 2 lbs in the second week. However in the 3rd week I lost 6 lbs. Go figure. I have read and done so much research on stalls I was not really worried when it happened. I knew it was my body adjusting. The week right before the stall I started exercising and I lost 8 lbs that week. Then came two weeks of a stall and weight gain but I just rode it out and stuck to the plan. Plus I'm sure we are losing inches though its not being reflected on the scale. So when I see a stall I will get excited cause I know a good loss is coming because I normally lose 3 lbs a week on average. Hang in there Dee. Stick with the program and be patient cause you are doing great. Congrats on your weight loss so far. HW 342.8 beg of 2 wk preop liquid diet SW 327.8 Sept 16th 2019 CW 252.2 5 months PO

Hello I recently gained a few pounds. I am shocked! I am under 600 calories a day and I exercise pretty much EVERYDAY. I did the surgery last month. Did anyone experience this ? Thanks Dani B

That's a lot of weight to lose in 6-7 months! I had my surgery in July 2019 too but am only down 53 lbs from surgery date (261-209). That's an average of 7.5 lbs per month, which I believe is a normal and healthy speed. Your body is probably just readjusting. Plus, at that lower weight, you don't need the calories you needed to maintain anything over 200 so check what your current calories needs are. Eat sensibly, exercise, and let your body work it out. And make sure you don't repeat the mistakes you made leading up to the weight gain! It's hard because it's so much a part of who we are but we have to fight temptations and rejoice in the healthier lifestyle!

Guys I am hoping someone can give me some advice to help me. I am 17 months post-op from my switch surgery and I had done great until the past few months. Around August my weight loss begin to slow down and by October, I had plateau. Due to graduate school commitments, I was not able to devote time for exercise, but I stayed strict to my diet. From November till January I would fluctuate a few pounds. Since Christmas I am slowly putting on weight, despite me doing weight loss exercise classes four times a week. Being frustrated, I contacted my surgeon's office and explained my diet and exercise regimen, all I was told is "this is a small hump, and you just need to do a diet recall." I have worked too hard to lose this weight to put it on, and I am all out of options. I am desperately seeking help from any of you guys.... thank you in advance for any help!

Having chronic insomnia forever, and tried prescription and gone through major withdrawals from the prescription sleep med in the past I take otc diphenhydramine or doxylamine succinate at varying doses. Though I’ve got a weird routine personality. Maybe it’s because I also have adhd, am on the Autism spectrum, something with my chronic illness, who knows, I need caffeine at night to help me sleep a little better. But one key thing I’ve learned is the simpler the better when it comes to what you take for sleep. I was stressed worrying about if my surgery was going to be covered because the first doctor I went to gave me such a horrible attitude, meanwhile other people loved him. I fought until I was exhausted. Until finally an endocrinologist referred me to Cleveland Clinic. And I gave it my all. And had to just let it go and hope it was happen. It was either surgery or totally give up. My endocrinologist knew my metabolic disorders were sending me into a tailspin or weight gain and nothing i was doing could stop it. thankfully it did happen and it will happen for you.

I tried it in my early 20’s but maybe I should give it another whirl. And yes! Stress is a big factor here. It seems like as of late if I’m not worried about school I’m worried about being approved for surgery. I keep telling myself what’s meant to be will be, but for me that’s easier said than done. Luckily I got a call from the bariatric center letting me know that they’ve made a note of the med change & all aware that mirtazapine causes weight gain. I’m determined to plow through this because I really want this!

I'm 10 1/2 months post-sleeve, and I've had what I KNOW is a lot of success--HW of 406 exactly one year ago, 368 on surgery date, and I'm 228 today. Though...I was 221 only five days ago, but dear friends in town equaled two days of fantastic wine and eating all day as we played tourists in my hometown...aaaand I found myself at 231 on Tuesday morning. And now I want to scream: How did I screw up my own great progress, after a January of doggedly trying to break a stall, finally succeeding...and now I have to re-lose these ten pounds before getting back to it?? What's making it so anxiety producing is, I know this "weight gain" is mostly water--I mean, I can clearly see that my wrists and my feet especially are swollen, but the water weight is being pretty stubborn these past two days in coming off. This might be a fight. Dang it! How did I set myself back like this!! I have two questions, then: First, any tips on how to shed off the excess water? I am hydrating throughout the day, since a friend said that it's good to keep flushing your system (or something, it sounded believable). Tomorrow, I'm cutting way way back on salt (though I have to have some sodium or else I get light-headed)...any other tips? Second, anyone else go off-diet and yet found themself get back into the groove?? I have had some off-days before--just a couple over almost an entire year, and never more than two days in a row, but this feels different. Scarier. Like I derailed myself and there's no correcting it--maybe because I felt SO CLOSE when I saw that 221 on Friday morning. Like I could actually do it--my surgeon set a goal of 180 which I always thought was ridiculously impossible but when I saw the 221, yeah, suddenly I thought I really COULD get to the 180, let alone the 200 I had dreamed of when I thought of a "goal weight" pre-surgery. And now I've just slid so far back. Any experiences that you've had successfully coming back on the tracks, I'd love to hear--or even just bald reassurance, because I'll take any encouragement you have!

I read a book (or finished reading it) on Nov 1st. It's 'How to stop eating bad sugar' by Allen Carr. Since I stopped I've kicked my sugar habit which was wreaking havoc in my life. Not huge weight gain, but there was a slide upwards. It was just the mental nastiness - the feeling of constantly losing a battle and it made me sick and I'd started getting really bad reactive hypoglycaemia. So since then: no sugar, potatoes, sweeteners, honey, syrups and no processed food made with sugar. I still eat a lot of fruit but mainly apples (loads of fibre) and tangerines. Bananas are a slight problem - I note they increase sweet cravings and give me muscle cramps, but I'm recently bereaved and so allowing myself to skate that one for now. Dried fruit is also a big no. I eat meat, fish, veggies (often oven roasted), small amounts of organic proper wholewheat bread - have only found one brand - Cranks- which doesn't have a load of other nonsense in. I snack on nuts and fruit as above. I've lost 6lbs of my slide up from my lowest, but I think I might be at what is a healthy weight for me. (Need to get back to the gym really). I don't log or do macros but I aim to eat whole food, lots of veg and fibrous fruit. It's working in that I've only had the reactive hypoglycaemia a couple of times since Nov 1st (I think it was banana that did it!) and the cravings are generally gone. The evening hunger is fixed by eating a big apple very slowly and I sometimes have a bed time snack of a little fruit and cheese, or nuts, but the urge to do that is passing slowly. I do occasionally use Stevia in my posh hot milk and pure cacao/ashwaganda type drinks, but I try also to not make it a regular thing. I suppose my point will be, that having taken these steps, the obsession, and the compulsion have faded and now I'm free to deal with all my other problems!!! Good luck to you - your exercise regime is awesome. I so want exercise to be my next addiction!!

Seventeen lbs in a week this far along does sound odd. Like @sillykitty weighing myself regularly is a good motivator for me too. I weigh myself almost everyday and allow for fluctuations - unexpected change of diet, water retention, constipation (lol). (Hormones aren’t an issue for me anymore but they were a b*tch for unexplained weight gain/loss.) A lot of people take regular body measurements as well & have found the measurements will change even if the scales don’t. Also keep your scales in the exact same spot. Electronic scales are sensitive to uneven floors (tiles are the worst).

I’m very pleased to meet another WFPB post-bariatric athlete here! Although I’m not as active as you, I’m somewhat athletic (active 7 days a week with hill hiking, race walking, distance cycling, squash, cardio, weights, sea kayaking, downhill skiing, etc. and currently training for a triathlon in August), and once I’m into maintenance, consuming enough (and the right types of) fuel for workouts is – and will continue to be – an ongoing experiment for me. If you, like me, were athletic at any point in your life prior to weight gain or WLS, then you’ll know that athletes need to eat more frequently than non-athletes, no matter what type of food lifestyle they’ve chosen, typically at least 6 meals per day – 3 meals and 3 snacks, depending on the intensity of training. So my best advice is to structure every meal and snack so that they support your workouts. The timing of all meals and snacks should support optimal performance and recovery, so for example, if you train after work, save one of your snacks for about 1 hour beforehand, and eat dinner within an hour after completing your training session. Obviously you’ll also have increased nutritional needs for optimal performance and health during long distance cardio training and events such as cycling. The typical recommendation is that endurance athletes get 60% of their calories from carbohydrates on training and event days. To calculate this, take your calorie intake for the day and multiply it by 0.6. Then divide that number by 4 to get the number of carbohydrate grams you need daily to support optimum performance. For example, on a 1500 calorie per day diet, that number is 225 grams. Carb needs will go above and beyond this on days with longer training sessions but you might not be able to hit such a high number due to space constraints or fear of dumping, so all you can do is increase your carbohydrate count slowly over time to see how your body reacts, making sure to use a variety of high quality complex carbohydrate sources such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. The mixed grain cereal you’ve mentioned in other posts is ideal. Immediately prior to an endurance training session or event, the typical recommendation is for an athlete to ingest 1-3 grams of easily digestible high quality carbs per kilogram of body weight (bananas, figs, etc.). Bariatric athletes won’t reach that number, so the goal would be to increase carb consumption before an event to a level at which you are physically comfortable, then note any performance improvement. Foods high in protein and fat are digested more slowly, so are usually avoided in the hour before an event. Just keep experimenting with pre-race fueling to see what works best for you. During a training session or event, endurance athletes typically take in 30-50 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Bariatric athletes will need to spread this out in smaller portions (protein bars, energy gels, dried fruit, lightweight hydration back packs with added electrolyte and carb powders, etc.). After a training session or event, endurance athletes usually consume about 15 grams of carbohydrate within 30 minutes of finishing. One to two hours later, another portion of high quality complex carb rich food with some protein mixed in is needed for muscle recovery (i.e., banana with peanut butter, a glass of Ripple milk, etc.). I have read studies that indicate that glucose ingested while exercising is less likely to lead to dumping syndrome, but this is an individual thing to be approached extremely carefully, but in general plant-based whole foods like fruit do not cause dumping syndrome as far as I’ve read and can be used in place of sports drinks and gels. To address any increase in hunger due to training, or to supplement in order to maintain weight, in the past I found that low calorie high nutrient shakes are ideal (i.e. Ripple milk, a few nuts and/or seeds, ½ c berries, a handful of raw dark green leaves, and 1-2 tbsp of blended pea/soy/rice/hemp/chia protein powder, and if needed, a handful of steel cut oats that have been soaked in water overnight to soften). Most Americans, as well as virtually all WLS-post-ops in maintenance from what I have read on these and other boards, consume too much protein, but endurance athletes actually do need a bit more protein, anywhere from are 1.0-1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight. Remember that all plants have protein in them, and to count their protein towards your daily intake. Re hydration, I monitor this closely, particularly at my early stage post-op (I use a hydration pack and will continue to). Taking a before and after workout weight on a calibrated digital scale is an excellent way to determine hydration status. If the post-workout weight is lower than the pre-workout weight, you’ll be able to track exactly how much water was lost through sweat and respiration. In terms of micronutrients, some endurance athletes may have increased needs for vits a, c, and e, as well as iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, and chloride. Get regular labs, keep taking vits, and rehydrate with electrolyte drinks or powders (I like Ultima Replenisher). Finally, investing in a WFPB bariatric nutritionist is worthwhile because calibrating nutrition for a post-bariatric athlete is both difficult and very individualized. Parts of what I’ve written here comes directly from notes I made during sessions with my own WFPB bariatric nutritionist. I will also try to put together a brief recommended reading list within the next day or two. Disclaimer: These suggestions are intended for bariatric endurance athletes in maintenance ONLY. If you are exercising at a low to moderate intensity for less than 2 hours per day for 6 to 7 days per week, you don’t need extra nutrition, calories, macronutrients, or micronutrients to support your exercise or recovery, and doing so will only hinder your weight loss or cause weight gain.

I am considering having a revision now due to weight gain during pregnancy. I didn’t gain back all my weight. 50 lbs out of the 117 I lost but I have been dieting for months and it’s just not coming off.

I agree with what everyone has said on this subject of slight weight gain. It messes with our mental health at times, and finding the correct balance is not easy. I think it is aLao a moving target depending on our current health, ability to exercise, ect... .

I had gastric sleeve 3 and a half years ago. I lost 4 and a half stone but have put 4 back on. Has anyone got any advise what to do? I am going through the menopause and finding it impossible to lose weight 😔 I paid for my surgery £8.800 and regret it now it was a waste if money.

Isn’t it crazy how our body is addicted to the very thing that’s bad for us? The only way I was able to resist carbs was because my doctor put me on naltrexone 50mg daily and for the first time in my life I was able to not only not even want carbs, I no longer wanted wine or any alcohol. I really thought I had the carb addiction beat but as soon as I stopped taking naltrexone the insane cravings returned. Add menopause to those cravings and I put back on 50 pounds in less than 6 months. The worst thing about insulin resistance is that my body couldn’t even process good carbs in fruit and eating fruit triggers my cravings for all carbs. People don’t understand that not all weight gain comes from bad eating. I gain weight even if I eat too much fruit. So glad to have someone here who understands that for some people, even good sugar is bad for us. I absolutely loved the way I felt physically on the Whole Foods diet, my body was so clean that I could actually smell the odor from meat eating people. I could smell everything!! It was as if all of my senses were heightened!! Maybe my new sleeve has changed my physiology, seeing that I can’t tolerate fat I might be able to process fruit now. I’ll definitely try again when I’m on regular foods.

I can't really chime in on the weight gain thing because I really didn't gain much at all with my last pregnancy (he's 4 months old now). I gained a total of 8lbs but it fluctuated up and down consistently. Some weeks I would gain 5-6 lbs and others I would lose it all. The baby was 7lbs 6oz at birth so technically I actually lost weight during the pregnancy when you consider water, blood and placenta weight on top of baby weight. I really wasn't able to eat a whole lot because of my sleeve and I was sick the entire way through (was similar in my first pregnancy prior to my surgery but this one was way worse). However, I can tell you that if you can breastfeed and pump, you should TOTALLY do it.... I'm still losing weight and I'm sure it's from breastfeeding because my appetite is fine now. Keep in mind that being pregnant doesn't mean you have to eat a lot more. In fact, I ate a lot less because most of what I did manage to eat... didn't stay down!

lol.. thanks, but I don't have any. If you click on that photo it will show the un-cropped image which has the granddaughter in question standing with me when she was 6- 7. So I have aged some. The reason I chose that photo is because that is how I saw myself in my head before my weight gain started. I was always the tall skinny girl. I could eat anything and never worried about my weight. Fast forward a few years and my immune system started silently attacking my thyroid and all hell broke loose. I gained 100lbs from the 145-150 I probably weighed in that photo. The metabolic dysfunction that took over ruined my health. So that photo was my inspiration post-op. It was from the last time I remembered feeling truly healthy and great. I should update it.

Hell yea I did! My surgery was Jan 14. And I had all the holidays to enjoy. I ate EVERYTHING in sight. It was fantastic. I didn’t morn the loss of food at all. But it sure was great not to worry about weight gain etc and just eat!!!! Kind of like the all in diet a lot of professional fitness people do! :)

So I started soft foods at 2 weeks post op and I still have some problems. For eggs I learned the egg whites r the only things I can handle. The yolk has too much fat and it makes me feel horrible it hurts and I feel sick. So I only do a soft scramble egg white. Tofu I can not do. I can do 1/4 of a price of tilapia sometime I will mix it with black beans for extra protein. What silverware are you using? I use my babies spoons lol so they r tiny and I can have about 4-5 bites of that size. If I was using a bigger spoon it would probably be one bite. I learned also that chewing really good helped me ALOT. I thought it was BS at first but then I tried to chew really good defiantly like meats and eggs etc and it helped ALOT!! For comstipation my surgeon and his PA recommends taking stool softener everyday ever 4 hours until you become regular. And if you don’t have a BM within 3 days then take a stimulant laxative to get things moving. They really push push push us to take a stool softener. Because it is not healthy to be backed up and can cause “weight gain” on the scale and get u upset. Due to it being waste weight. Also a lot of high protein diets will make people constipated because we are not getting enough fiber because fruits and grains are off limits. My surgeon only recommends 45-50 grams of protein a day. He said our bodies will not absorb more than that. But follow what your surgeon suggests. There are also DR V videos on protein intake that support my surgeons theory also where too much protein can be a pain with gout etc. anyways off topic lol I agree not a bowel blockage as you wouldn’t be able to keep anything down. It would come up and bile would also come up. Hope this helps

Went from a 36DD pre weight gain to 44F at my heaviest and now a 34C and still shrinking 😭. All that’s left is pretty much sagged skin with very little breast tissue. I’m only 5’1 and small framed so I’m not looking for breast implants but a lift is in my future once I hit goal. 🤦🏽‍♀️

I couldn't tolerate Lyrica or the weight gain. I basically just take Tylenol and suffer. I find though if I get enough sleep I feel a lot better.

AGREED!!! I had it many years, along with my pregnancies too!! It came and went - never big issue - then little before surgery I was getting it - put on PPI's and kept on them till after surgery - I'm still on them all these years and it just never goes away - so now I'm up to 2 RX pills per day - protonix as well as Prevacid at night time until surgery - just to try and keep it at bay.. I've tried ACV too - seemed to help a little, as a natural thing - I've tried all different things and end up back on PPIs and I just turned 52, I do not want to take 2 pills per day for another 30-40 years, God willing.. It's horrendous being on vacation and having to not go anywhere, cause my chest is killing me... I've had so many work ups and it comes back to the belly/sleeve issue - I also need a umbilical hernia repaired and they won't do it right now, but possibly do it within the revision surgery, surgeon said. They don't want to do it and repair it if I'm not getting the revision, due to weight gain, etc... so I think they're thinking to do it at one time and then I have a better chance of the hernia not coming back .... One can hope!

Hi! I'm in the waiting stage as well. Luckily only 3 months here in TN, but I'm nervous something will come back and say, nope, you gotta wait more. I am a lapband failure - surgery in 2011, only lost around 40 pounds, but was able to keep it that way for years. I started having issues with reflux and weight gain, so they removed the band November 2019. Now just waiting on the new approval for RNY.

I had a sleeve done in 2015, did well, lost 92 lbs, gained back about 25 lbs now, during the past year as I cannot get my heartburn/Gerd under control. I was given Protonix again, was on it after surgery, but now a stronger dose... I went to my surgeon, actually his colleague in the same office and she advised to up the dosage of the Protonix and get an end and some studies done. I did that -- they did some Xrays, a CT scan, endo and colonoscopy and I was told stay on the meds at this rate for at least 3 months. She said any changes or its worse, come in and see her before the 3m time and since she was ready to give birth any mind, said to see her colleague. I did just that - she's out on maternity leave and I saw another dr. in her office and he suggested upping the meds again, to 2x per day and another over the counter at night time so avoid the GERD issues. I can't keep anything down, you'd think I would be thin LOLLL it's the opposite, I'm maintaining, but I have GERD 24/7. Its horrible, even water does it. So long story short - he said he would recommend the revision, which she did too - as well as fix an umbilical hernia I have that bothers me. The surgical coordinator called, temporary scheduled for March 18 for a revision, said he will get pre auth from GHI, my insurance and if it's weight gain, don't get my hopes up of it being approved.. he's always been a non friendly guy, even years ago, it's like I'm bothering him. He must deal with horrendous people all day to act the way he does, but besides that.... He said don't get my hopes up and he'll pencil me in for March 18. He said I didn't come back to the office for years, erhmm, why should I - I was feeling fine... Gastro doc told me my GERD could be due to the sleeve and to go back to my surgeon, which I did - has nothing to do with weight gain - I'm not dealing with GERD for the rest of my life.... It's really really bad.. Anyway, GHI said they cover the procedure, just needs pre auth and it could take 7-10 days to get back... so I'll keep my fingers crossed and not listen to the surgical coordinator guy ... maybe he needs a drink LOL Anyone have any luck with GHI/Emblem Health for the revision - my husband carries City Of NY coverage of GHI. Good luck all

Well I’m still losing weight. I weighed 97.6 pounds today. I guess I’ll just blow away in the wind eventually. My doctor gave me a new medication that I started about three weeks ago called amitriptyline. I hear it’s an old-school anti depressant med that’s been around forever. I was prescribed this for sleep. For the last two years I have really struggled to stay asleep all night. I usually wake up around 2 AM in really bad pain and take a muscle relaxer. It’s an awful cycle to be in. This medication has allowed me to sleep all night. And wake up feeling much more comfortable and have less pain through the day. I also seem to be able to eat better although I am technically still losing weight according to my scale this morning. Some people have reported that it causes weight gain but for me that’s kind of a good thing. I am noticing that I’m eating larger portions now. And I just seem to be more hungry overall. So I’m expecting a turn around soon. I am OK at 97 pounds but I do NOT want to lose anymore weight. When I went to pick up the amitriptyline from the drugstore there was a lady picking up her medications and I overheard her say “is this the phentermine?”. I wanted to grab her and say no! Don’t do it! I took phentermine off and on for 20 years. I Personally think it damaged my metabolism although I may just be making that up. Oh guess what! I got invited to New York fashion week! I am going to this really cool show that’s being held at JFK airport on the runway. It’s a week from tomorrow. I haven’t bought a plane ticket or a dress or anything but I’m really going to try to make it. I’ll share some pictures if I end up going! Thanks everybody for sharing your updates. Can’t believe we are Days away from our surgaversary month! Wow!