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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

On a scale from 1-10, how difficult are the lifestyle changes after acclimation? I think about all the time, effort and self-hate that goes into my day now (what foods I should eat, which I shouldn't, am I really hungry or just emotionally hungry?, exercise, weight gain, guilt, etc). I know it will be a lot of work post-op but I hope the self-hate and constant disappointment subside, at least a little.

I turn to food for comfort. Any major negative or stressful life event that's beyond my control causes me to binge "comfort foods". Over the past 9 years I've slowly gained 120 pounds, lost 75, and gained back 50. I can seriously narrow down the weight gain to 4 events. Of course now the damage is done, and hindsight is 20-20. I'm hoping with better coping mechanisms and self awareness I won't fall back into old habits.

Are you getting your waters in? It was a full moon the last few days and I always weigh more. I am not big into astrology, but I have always had Water retention during right before and after the full moon. I was 208.2 for a few days and yesterday I hopped on the scale and I was 211. I had 450 calories the day before and I pretty much exercised all my calories away. I got on the scale today and I'm 207.4. Could be a little constipation, could be water weight gain, too much sodium, your body holding onto calories because the meals weren't paced (6 little meals) and you may have had 2 medium/bigger meals and your body decided to hold onto the weight. Change things up a little, add some extra carbs and do a little more exercise, or revert and go two days of full liquids, 3 shakes and sugar-free popsicles etc. Sometimes these weird things happen to women for weird reasons.

I am curious how often you weigh yourself and what if you see the scale go up, what do you do? I officially weigh in on Monday's and last week I gained 1 lb. So I've been very careful with food and have been going to the gym each day and been feeling Great! SO I've been watching the scale. I went down on Tue and then up by 2lbs on Wed and back down 1lb today? I know that we shouldn't weigh everyday but it's so hard to not watch where I'm at. I'm not really understanding why I am not losing a good number again? Can it be that after not getting in enough Protein for almost a whole week and two weeks with no work outs that it will take a couple of weeks to get back on track?

tnks2ph, wish I knew what to tell you. I don't. I don't have any clue about your mental health issues, so I sure as hell would not advise you to drop your meds. Frankly, I think anyone who would say that to a stranger on the internet after reading one post...really needs to do some thinking about how dangerously unwise that is. I know that SSRI meds are infamous for causing weight gain. Some of the other ones are even worse. And shockingly...none of them is anything like pred....which sucks, too....but can't be compared. Best advice I can see that you've been given: "do not stop your meds without medical supervision if you have to choose between mental stability and being thin choose metal stability. i dont think you have to choose but if it comes down to just those 2 options choose mental health. you will take longer to get there but you have the rest of your life to finish this race." For your safety, you need some professional medical expertise on this topic. You won't find it here. Maybe try to get a referral consult with a psychiatric group who works with eating disorders? They might have more advanced knowledge on how different psychiatric meds effect diet and weight outcomes...and have strategies for overcoming the difficulties you're experiencing. There are a lot of people in your shoes. Someone reputable has good answers. Just have to find them. Wishing you the best.

Hi, I am 4 weeks post-op, feeling good, but I really wanted to update this thread ( with the advantage of hind sight of course) My surgery was in the morning, I was pretty groggy but cheerful, I rested that afternoon, but went for a short walk to a local shopping mall that night to pick up some groceries. Second day post op was quite good! I spent the whole day at the shopping mall with my wife. I walked lots, and rested at each bench just to make sure I didn't over do it. I started to break my fast with fruit juces and strain chicken noodle soup from Tim Hortons. By the end of the day, I was pretty tired. I felt so good on day 2, We were planning on going to Naigra Falls on Day 3 but my experience the night before was terrible. My stomache had finally woken up from the anestetic ( hindsight) and the gas production in my stomache was in full swing. I was taking gas-x every hour or so, and I was interpreting the stomach cramps as needing to poop. I spend a great deal of time eternally optimistic sitting on the toilet hoping for a bowel movement. Day 3's trip to Niagra Falls was cancelled. Day 4 - If I thought Day 3 was bad, day 4 was more of the same and worse. By this time, I had stopped taking the codiene because I thought I was constipated. I was into the children's liquid tylenol( sickening sweet, almost gagging), I was taking milk of magnesia, and was also trying to induce a bowel movement with glycerine suppositories. I had also noticed that I had reverted back to an almost a Water fast. Nothing but water was weakening the heck out of me, yet, I didn't feel like I could handle anything else. Anyways, I started to force down the protien shake. And, I started to feel a bit better. Day 5 - because I was starting to feel better, we tried our luck at a trip to Niagra Falls. I was pretty much comatose on the drive there, and I don't think my wife realized how miserable I felt. We walked to the falls and spent about 30-40 minutes looking at the falls. She want to check out more attractions but I had to pull the plug on our plans, and asked to go back to the car. My wife was disappointed but understood. On the way home, we stopped at the Tim Hortons, and I was able to has a tiny tiny bowel movement. The first one since the surgery 5 days earlier. There was nothing solid about it , considering that my last meal was a ceasar salad the night before the surgery. I actually started to feel better on our ride back to the hotel room, but I was tired as hell. When we reached the hotel room, I was able to have another tiny tiny bowel movement, and that made me feel even better. Still tired so I laid down for a nap. Now here's an embarassing moment that I wouldn't be sharing if you knew my full name......I woke up after 45 minutes and went to the washroom to take another dump because I woke up having wet farts. Well, when I got to the toilet, I realized that I had completely soiled my drawers and the bed while I was sleeping. The milk of magnesia has finally unplugged me, and i made one hell of a gross mess. The whole experience was very embarassing. I don't think my wife totally understood what I was going through, but she got some change and laundry detergent and we cleaned the bedding ourselves at the hotel laundry mat. At least, I didn't have to call the cleaning staff in to take care of the mess. Day 6 and 7 were bad, but not as bad as before, because I was forcing down the protien shakes and my bowel movements were happening again. I lived in fear of diarehea. And, the gas production in my stomach surfaces as my biggest problem. Since day 3, every 2-3 hours I was getting gas pressure so bad it was causing me to hic up. Gas-X would settle it down. But I was taking it twice as often as the box was recommending, and I was begining to think the gas-x wasn't doing anything other than disolve the gas back into my stomache fluids so it could create more intestinal problems for me. I flew home on Day 7, it was a long 3 1/2 hour flight. I found myself finding a nuetral position that was most comfortable for me, which was an upright position. I was worn out and needed to sleep. I have sleep apnea and I'm unable to sleep well without a CPAP but that day I was able to breath ok by extending my jaw forward before drifting off to sleep. this trick is the first time I've ever tried it, and it probably doesn't work that well but it seemed to work well at least on that plane ride. Day 8, my first day of softfoods. I really didn't start to recover from my stomach problems until I started to eat soft pureed food. This leads me to beleive that existing on an almost liquid diet just isn't good for the stomache. After, I switched to cottage cheese, and apple sauce, and tuna, and mushed vegies, I felt better. By end of day 9, I was feeling better, and my hunger has returned. Today, I'm 2 days before my first fill, and I don't feel any restriction at all. This is discouraging because I find myself eating like I used to, and my weight loss has changed to weight gain. Anyway, this must be a pretty long rant by now. Good night, All! regards Tyler

You know, any patient CAN figure out a way to cause weight gain. So, he is right in a way. You can figure out how to gain weight if you want to. I'd like to keep an eye on this thread to see if anyone has the answer to '5 years' or so. Great post!

My weight gain came from pregnancy. Looking back i now understand that I knew how to maintain a weight but not lose weight.

Also just a quick search on Scholar and found numerous research articles on the role of stress in weight gain Here's just one ( I chose this one because it was free to access and had an impressive reference section) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0306453094E00417 Endocrine_and_psychological_evaluation_o.pdf

Well, I think in some aspects the metal thing comes into play. Living in a drastically changed environment so quickly can do a number on you. Anxiety, depression, boredom, etc. 24-access to both your fridge and your TV/couch, for those with small kids, the lack of non-kid time to do anything else, wariness of going outside for walks/runs, etc... In my own personal experience, I gained 6 lbs around Feb-March. Reasons? It was probably a combination of laziness and boredom, as well as slacking on weighing and tracking food and exercising. Is it a coincidence that the weight gain coincided with the beginnings of COVID? Maybe, maybe not. I had to refocus and get back to my "regular" habits and with some dedicated effort, I got rid of those effing 6 lbs. For some, given whatever circumstances they find themselves in, it may be more difficult for them. Just like before WLS, people would question why did we gain so much weight? Why do you even need WLS? Can't you just diet and exercise? Same questioning, just different circumstances. So for all those out there who are finding themselves with the COVID-19-lbs-weight-gain, try as best as you are able to get back to what you were doing when you were successfully losing weight. You did it before, you can totally do it again. Addressing a 10-20 lbs weight gain now is alot more manageable than 50 later. Good Luck everyone, and stay safe ❤️

@BayougirlMrsS It's not just you making post's like this. We are are all entitled to an opinion or rant. It's ok to disagree. We had weight loss surgery because of after own struggles with weight, RIght? We are here for support. I hope anyone struggling with weight gain stays on the site.

Hi, I'm on Meds that I have to stay on, Ive been on them for 10 years but it resulted in me gaining 70 pounds in the first two years. I've tried many things but it doesn't budge. Would gastric sleeve help me? Thank you.

I can't remember if it was my anethesiologist or my surgeon who came into my room before my surgery and mentioned that they had just read a study the showed artificial sweetners actually contribute to weight gain. Interesting.

Ok, so I'm sure this thread has been posted before, however, I am a new sleever (Dec, 2011,) and I would like to know which foods five you battle hardened vets the most trouble. I would like to know the most dangerous of my old favorites that will cause me undue pain and suffering, and I don't mean weight gain. A couple days ago, on my 7th day post-op I was feeling pretty good and decided to have a tiny cup of Cream of Wheat..............WHHHOOOOAAAA, NELLLLIIIEE. Big Mistake....I guess I flew too close to the Sun. I was sickernadawg. I would like to follow everything to the letter now, but would like input from you guys on what foods are the mist problematic with regard to dumping. Thank you and please be specific.

No problem anytime specially when I can relate so closely to you. I can't really tell you if i gained weight because of the depo cause there were so many factors that could've contributed to my weight gain so i can't say it was the depo or the pcos or bad eating habits. Ehat i can say is that the weight gain was probably a combination of many many things. I to want to have a family as I'm 30 and haven't had children and yes i too was told that it will be easier to conceive after surgery but not safe for either of us so soon. And i was also told that we can't use birth control pills anymore after bypass as we wont absorb them properly so they won't work. Hope everything works out for you and things start to clear up. Get a blood pregnancy test just to be 100 % sure

@emleyrose https://asmbs.org/patients/bariatric-surgery-misconceptions http://www.healthline.com/health-news/bariatric-surgery-patients-see-weight-gain-after-honeymoon-period-080515#2 http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/2422341 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2174497/How-gastric-surgery-patients-ALL-weight-on.html

I was one of those who originally was going for the lapband, mainly because I am younger and didn't want something permanently done to my insides. After researching thoroughly about all the complications, weight gain, etc that comes with a lot of lapband patients, I switched to the sleeve. My reasons for not even considering gastric bypass?: Didn't want my system rerouted. A lot higher chance of dumping syndrome. Malabsorption issues, which can lead to malnutrition. The weight loss is just about the same as the sleeve. Obstruction seems to happen more often, like with the lapband. Going to support group meetings, I notice that people who had the bypass looked more sickly than ones who had the sleeve. Not everyone did, but just a trend I noticed. Right now, I only get acid reflux when I have something with bad butter (like the buttery topping on popcorn), margarine is fine though. I don't have to take a daily pill for it, I just pop a couple of Tums when I have it and it goes away pretty quickly.

Dawn: It's funny how you and I were sleeved nearly the same day, and go through so many similar things at the same time. I'm about 9 days into a stall where I fluctuate losing and gaining the same pound. I weigh myself daily, religiously, at the same time. I disagree with not weighing daily. I wrestled in college, and if I didn't weigh daily, I would have never made weight. My weight-gains always coincided with a lack of wanting to see the proof on the scale. The scale provides accountability. I think its more how you react to the information, then the fact that you gather the information. About the stall, I feel great too, and I've STILL (sadly) have not started a regular work out routine. And I must admit that this week I had a LOT of work, so it was more hours with my butt in the chair, than other weeks where I've been traveling, having to walk a lot in the field, etc. So perhaps behavior (i.e. diet and [lack of] exercise) have something to do with the stall, but alternatively, it might be a bit of our bodies playing catchup. I know that relative to 3 weeks ago, I'm thinner, because I can only wear a pair of 35 inch pants that were a bit tight just 3 weeks ago. So, I have to cut myself some slack. At the same time, I'm about 25 pounds from being somewhere where I'd be comfortable stopping and maintaining. So, let's hope that we break out of this rut soon. I'm starting a gym tomorrow, so we'll see if that helps! Matt

Doesn't for me. I feel exactly the same about myself as I did at 270. I like myself. I feel attractive. I have better than average self worth. I will concede that I feel better about my health, however. My health was a source of worry for myself and my family, and I'm happy to have taken action to correct it, and lessen the concern of those who love me. I also love being able to do more physical activities, get more projects done...I am enjoying being active:) I love that. So many things I've wanted to do....I can finally start doing. It's awesome:) I understand what the person was saying in the article. Every point they made......resonates with me as very true. To each, their own:) I dunno...I don't obsess about this ****. I like me. Whatever number the scale settles on is fine with me as long as my labs look good and I'm enjoying my life. Real changes that matter MORE to me than the number on the scale: 1. Creating and maintaining a forever diet that I genuinely like. Foods that are delicious and make me feel healthy. 2. Keeping fit. Getting my 12,000 steps every day and my 3 cardio activities every week. Doing them because they're enjoyable and fun. Keeping flexible and working my back and core to stay back-pain free. 3. Cutting out behaviors and foods that sabotage my health. Getting rid of refined foods. Getting rid of most white flour and white sugar. Getting rid of high fat foods. Eating LOTS of fruits and veggies each day. Increasing plant protein in my diet. Picking smarter cleaner fats. Keeping protein super lean. 4. I refuse to starve anymore. Starving always leads back to weight gain. I want off that merry go round. When I'm hungry, I'm gonna eat. F*ck starving. I can eat and make good choices, now. I trust myself. 5. I'm done being in a hurry. I don't "Need" to be any particular weight by any particular moment in time. What I "Need" to do is eat responsibly, exercise responsibly, not obsess, and enjoy my life.....for the rest of my life. 6. I can and do eat treats in moderation. My diet allows 75 calories a day for sweets and naughty items. I can use them daily, or I can bank them all week for a special occasion. It's workable and I never feel deprived. Life in moderation is balanced. It's a forever diet I can live with. 7. Most of all...being happy and healthy matter. Scale numbers and clothes sizes can kiss my ass. That said, I'm looking damned fine in clothes these days and it's fun to shop:) Meh...I liked the article. Rings true to me:)

whoooo..... hold up ..... I was no way looking down on anyone.... It was a question. Isn't that what this site is for.... Are is it to just nod and agree? Weight gain and reasons are a legitimate question. What does the fact that i'm a two-time WLS patient have to do with my question.....IN THE RANT AND RAVE SECTION..... very happy for both of my SX's. So what of it. If you didn't like my post.... KEEP ON Scrolling.... just like i do when i don't like something someone says.... no one is forcing you to say anything.... Been here since 2009 and i have never not once been forced to make a comment on anything i didn't want too.

After 25 years of struggling with the weight gain, I realized that I could not continue along this "path of self-detruction". I had my first child at 39, with all the complications that come with being obese and pregnant. When my son turned 5, I was diagnosed with Diabetes (after having gestational diabetes while pregnant). I continued gaining weight, yo-yo dieting, gaining more weight, and feeling like a failure after each diet attempt. I have high cholesterol, and need to take multiple meds. 1 year ago, I became insulin-dependent. I no longer have energy, and I want to be able to keep up with my very active, supportive husband, and teenage son. I want to feel "healthy" again. I want to feel attractive. My husband gives me compliments all the time, but I truly want to feel "cutely average". I don't want to be too thin - just average would suit me just fine. I want to enjoy the wonderful life I have with my new husband and my terrific son. They deserve someone who is fun and willing to be adventurous with them. My surgery is scheduled for May 23rd. A new chapter, a journey I am willing to take to finally make things right for me and my family. God has smiled down on me before, He is always there for me, always.

So I'm 23 days post op. DOS I was 241#. I weighed myself on X-Mas & was 225#. Just weighed myself today & I'm 229#. WTH?? I'm on puréed foods & am sticking to my diet & exercising.. Is anyone else having this problem? I thought I would have lost at least 5-6# over the week I didn't weigh in.. But I never thought I would have gained 4#!!! :'(

I was sleeved in 12/2012 and converted to bypass on 8/14. I went from 240-lowest 166. In July I was 166 using phentermine but have since gained 17 lbs since July. Had an upper GI don't and the area btwn small bowel and stomach has stretched. I go back in 1/25 to discuss options bc of cravings and weight gain. I feel like a failure. Who has 2 weight lose surgeries and can't maintain. I do eat fairly well and work out 5 days a week. I also had twins in oct 2015 so I'm always busy!! Any questions, comments or concerns welcome! Be nice please! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think that normally, as in, compared to other forms of hormonal birth control, the Mirena has a very low incidence of weight gain. But the way our hormones are completely out of whack for a while after surgery has got to play a part in the issues a lot of women have with hormonal birth control post op. I've read that our fat cells store hormones and as they burn off this could play a part. I have no idea. I can say that I was a slow loser the entire time I was trying to lose, but after a very brief period where I was initially happy with my Mirena, I had a very tough time losing. I'd hate for you to remove the IUD if it's working for you, only to discover that you lose no faster. That said, I'd hate to see you have the same struggle with very sluggish loss like I did. It's all a coin toss, unfortunately, with no real guarantees. Good luck whatever you decide. Here's the post I made in May 2011 after I had mine removed: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/17214-is-your-birth-control-the-culprit/page__hl__%2Bbirth+%2Bcontrol+%2Bculprit ~Cheri