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I know we love to talk about man food, bar food, drinks and all the fun that comes with making food highly social. I am looking for ways that you have successfully reduced/removed soda and fried food intake. Or how you work to reduce your manly size meals to bandster size. My soda and fried food intake is increasing and so are portion sizes. I am back to about 1/2 of what I just to throw down and I am three months away from an adjustment. Still not weight gain or loss in the last month.

I'm doing better today! I burned 200 calories on the treadmill and stocked up yesterday on low calorie foods! Today I had 4oz of steak and baked zuchini for supper. I was so excited to eat steak!!! (Granted the steak is not very diet friendly, but it's lots of Protein and I haven't eaten red meat in MONTHS!) TOmorrow grilled chicken with bell peppers and a slice of cheese is on the menu for supper. I think I just needed to get over not being able to eat for so long. JLDCHESTER, PLEASE go get a little unfill. I was EXACTLY like you! I would have a good day and then two weeks of bad days. I was absolutely miserable and didn't realize how bad it was until I got the unfill. My fiance was also too tight and went for a slight unfill on Monday and he is much happier as well. He has actually lost 7lbs since Monday WITH EATING because his metabolism isn't shut down! It's not worth living with a too tight band. I think some of my weight gain is due to drinking tons of Water and its water weight. It feels so good to drink lots of water and eat solid foods without PB'ing or vomiting. A week ago I would not have been so in favor of the unfill, but after going thru it, i honestly believe it is NOT worth living with a too tight band! Sue Magoo, I can't wait to try those green beans! Thanks for the suggestions! Manda, i realize i control what i stick in my mouth but if i had that much control, i wouldn't have gotten the band in the first place. It's very hard to go from being very tight and barely eating to being unfilled a great deal and being able to eat ANYTHING.

I was banded Monday morning and have been very bloated since. I know the gas and bloat are normal at first, but was so bad last night I decided to step on the scale. It says I am up 10 pounds from Monday morning pre-op weigh in. Is this normal? Should I be concerned?

Hi Jen Well I had a long journey to getting my WLS BUT it may not be the same for you in Yorkshire. My doctor referred to an Endocrinologist to double check that there was no other reason for my weight gain and also checked me for diabetes, sleep apnoea and many other co-morbities often associated with obesity. I then had to do a monitored diet program, diet pills etc to see if I could sustain weight loss in this way. (This was carried for over a year but I think the average is 6 months). In the end I was getting so down about it all I started over eating again. My BMI shot up and I then qualified for WLS surgery.... Not the ideal situation for anyone. So in all, by the time I get into surgery (Oct 2010) I would have been on my journey for over 3 years. BUT please don’t get down hearted when you read 3 years as I don’t think that is the norm. My Health Authority are very strict about who they allow to have Bariatric Surgery. Your referral will go to your local PCT, which is where the funds for your surgery will come from. They in turn will send you a letter and advice which hospital will do your surgery and then that hospital will contact you in due course to start their procedures with you. I hope that has helped??? I don’t think my journey is typical in terms of the time it has taken. I had to go this route as I don’t have the money to go privately. I’m sure your journey will be a lot easier..... Wishing you all the best Take care Sue

For me, it was a matter of bouncing back and forth from one to the other to the third choice, then finally moving from wanting the band to wanting the sleeve. (I have yet to have my surgery.) I decided on the sleeve after weighing how I perceived the band as temporary. I wasn't seriously committed. I think a lot of folks do the same - "if I have trouble I can have it removed." My weight gain has been progressive, and consistent for a long time. Nothing about that sounds temporary. Once I got used to the idea that my commitment needed to be a permanent choice, the decision to have the sleeve made the most sense. That, and knowing I wasn't having something artificial implanted into my body. (Have you SEEN the videos of what a band looks like inside of you after a few years? Holey crap!) I'm content the sleeve will let me live the most normal life - just as a much thinner me. Dave

This is my week 7 post op. I read a lot of messages on this forum and posted a lot of questions before my surgery. So I thought I had done my research and this was the right thing for me. Boy was I wrong. If you are considering vertical sleeve surgery (or any bariatic surgery), and are not more then 100lbs over weight, please read this message. I have been a healthy person all my life (40 yrs old). The worst sickness I ever got in my whole life was the flu once in a while. I have had a history of weight gain and loss all my life. At the time I decided to go through the vertical sleeve surgery, I was 80lbs over weight, and my knees hurt when climbing stairs due to my high weight. I would have also developed diabetes if I had not lost weight. I also felt that I didn't have enough energy [i wanted to play with my kids]. I had to wait 6 months before surgery (insurance requirement). My nutrition counseling visits were a joke. I gained another 20 lbs thinking o, I am going to loose all this weight after the surgery so let me eat up for the last time. My surgeon told me that I will be out of work for 2 weeks post surgery (which I naively assumed to mean it will take me 2 weeks to get better). After the surgery, every second of my life has been hell. Now, I am constantly sick. I have non stop nausea. I have bile comming up from my stomach and living happily ever after in my mouth all day every day. My taste buds have changed so that smells from any food make me gag. I am not able to eat or drink ANYTHING to save my life or give myself energy for any length of time. Most days, I don't even have the energy to speak much less walk. I am constantly dehydrated and lethargic. I look and feel like a zombie. [Remember I wanted to play with my kids :-( ]. My back hurts so bad that I have to wake up in the middle of night and support myself with my arms instead of my back. All my follow up visits with the surgeon have been same. O' you are healing well, the incisions look good. You just need to eat more Protein and drink more Water. I recently made a list of all that I used to do with my extra weight and low energy and I am not able to do A SINGLE thing from that list anymore due to this surgery and its consequences on my body!!!! If I had used the 6 months prior and 2 months post surgery to honestly trying to loose weight, instead of opting for the surgery, I would have lost enough weight to put me in a healthier body. I didn't have to screw up my body to the point that WHATEVER IS DONE CAN'T BE UNDONE!!! I don't know if I will feel better in 3 months or 6 months or never. Imagine the guilt I feel for turning myself from a healthy person to a sick lethargic one. If you want to loose weight so you have energy to do things, THIS SURGERY IS NOT THE ANSWER. There is more. The surgeons de-emphasize or blatantly don't tell the long term consiquences. You know how they tell you that you will have to eat extra Vitamins after the surgery. The exact truth is...The part of your stomach that processes some vitamins (B for example) is mostly cut out. Your body is no longer able to process it doesn't matter how much extra vitamins you take. You will have to be monitored for Vitamin deficiencies for the rest of your life. Eventually, you will have to get Iron infusions or Vitamin B shots once you develop these deficiencies. I wish I had gotten banded instead. Atleast, I had a way to undo the damage I have done to my body and my health. If my email doesn't convince you, Please go see a gastro doctor or some other kind of specialist (other then your surgeon), who see patients who have gotten bariatric surgeries done. Ask them about long term complications. Since my surgery I have talked to two gastro specialists and both of them told me about the deficiencies and how they see patients like these all the time. And now I have to go through a ton of more procedures to make sure there is nothing wrong with my surgery. I am wasting so much time and money, this surgery has consumed my life. My goal was to be healthy, not to be screwed for the rest of my life. And I feel the later is what actually happened. Please do more research then read about the happy customers on this support group.

Hello, Well I had the gall bladder taken out and THEY SAVED MY LAP-BAND® I am so happy!!! I definitely think the vomiting from the gall bladder stones took a toll on the LAP-BAND® too! The LAP-BAND® is a piece of cake over this gall bladder. Very interesting fact for you guys. Essentially when you are on a low fat diet for along time like we all have been for the most part...the bile in the gall bladder which really is just cholesterol becomes hard hence turning into stones. In other words the liver shoots out bile when you eat a high fat meal, if it can't keep up it has the gall bladder shoot some bile to break down the fat. But if you don't eat high fat meals the gall bladder's bile turns sludgy then can turn into stones. Unlike kidney stones these stones can not be broken and must come out. So if you guys get food regurgitation into your mouth, bloating, rotten egg burps right shoulder pain and pain in your stomach check your gall bladder. I have to start all over again with Clear Liquids, full , puree, mushies, soft...I can barley remember the stages. You guys reading your posts I see you beat yourselves up over those ten lbs up and down, but the more people I see that have had the full RNY have large weight gains back, hang in there. I have had so many complications but still love my band. __________________

Hello, Well I had the gall bladder taken out and THEY SAVED MY LAPBAND I am so happy!!! I definitely think the vomiting from the gall bladder stones took a toll on the lapband too! The lapband is a piece of cake over this gall bladder. Very interesting fact for you guys. Essentially when you are on a low fat diet for along time like we all have been for the most part...the bile in the gall bladder which really is just cholesterol becomes hard hence turning into stones. In other words the liver shoots out bile when you eat a high fat meal, if it can't keep up it has the gall bladder shoot some bile to break down the fat. But if you don't eat high fat meals the gall bladder's bile turns sludgy then can turn into stones. Unlike kidney stones these stones can not be broken and must come out. So if you guys get food regurgitation into your mouth, bloating, rotten egg burps right shoulder pain and pain in your stomach check your gall bladder. I have to start all over again with Clear liquids, full , puree, mushies, soft...I can barley remember the stages. You guys reading your posts I see you beat yourselves up over those ten lbs up and down, but the more people I see that have had the full RNY have large weight gains back, hang in there. I have had so many complications but still love my band.:thumbup:

Hey Pete, I'm not sure! I'm only 10 days out so can't laugh at all yet because it hurts! But I know that when Jared Leto gained 67 pounds to play Mark Chapman in Chapter 27, he said that it changed the way he laughed. So perhaps the same can happen as you lose weight? :thumbup: Edit: And look! You've lost 67lb! Haha what a coincidence! Must be something about that exact amount of weight gain/loss that makes you laugh different. :thumbdown:

I don't really have any advice for you but to keep a hold to whatever faith that you have. I will pray for you now if you don't mind and if you do just ignore my comment about prayer. I went through the same exact thing with my mother three years ago and it was the hardest thing I have ever done! I didn't have my band at that time but I gained around 15 pounds so I know what you are going though. Going out to eat with my sister and eating seemed to help drown all my feelings I was having at that time, but it actually made things worse. On top of stressing over my mom I was embarrased over my weight gain. Keep your head up!

GEEZE..where to start.. since my last blog in July things has turned for the worse.. my husband finally returned to work after his injury (thank goodness) but my mothers health has deteriated rapidly..she is now at stage 4 cancer..its gotten to the point where hospice has stepped in and is taking care of her..it hurts to see her in pain and there's absolutely NOTHING that I can do to make it better. She use to be such a happy person and now all you see is sadness in her face..this has been a rough road for my family..back in 2001 I lost my daughter and now Im about to lose my mom.. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO..I have been very depressed and this LAPBanD is NOT going too well.. I am now back up to 221 LBS..WOW!! I cant believe it.. I have about 6 cc's in my band, I have some resrictions but not too much..Im just LOST..I know that I am not making the right food choices because of the massive weight gain..but I tend to eat what I can hold down, which of course is JUNKFOOD.. someone help me!! PLZ!!

I'm not banded but I can try and give you some advice! Your first 2 weeks is usually when you see the weight drop quickly, especially if you had to do a liquid pre-op diet. Once you start moving on to more solid foods, a weight gain is not uncommon and shouldn't get you discouraged! A ton of people experience up to 10lbs of weight gain as their bodies shift from liquids to mushies or semi-solids. And walking will help you with the gas pain. And Gas X strips are recommended by lots. I hope this helps some! And welcome!! :thumbup:

Some Dieters Are Set Up to Regain Weight Appetite Hormone Levels May Predict Dieters' Success By Denise Mann WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD Sept. 9, 2010 -- Weight regain is the bane of many a dieter's existence. Often dieters who regain weight after losing it are viewed as failures and judged for their lack of willpower, but new research may put an end to this blame game. Weight regain may not be solely a willpower issue. Some people may actually be programmed to gain weight back based on their levels of two key appetite hormones, leptin and ghrelin. The new study appears in an online version of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. "This knowledge could be used as a tool to personalize weight-loss programs that could guarantee success in keeping off the weight," says study author Ana Crujeiras, PhD, of Compejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago in Spain, in a news release. Slideshow: Simple Secrets to Portion Control and Healthy Eating Setting Dieters Up to Win, Not Fail In the new study, 104 obese or overweight men and women ate a low-calorie diet for eight weeks and were followed up with six months later. Their body weight, ghrelin, leptin, and insulin levels were measured before, during, and after the diet. Ghrelin is the "go" hormone that tells you when to eat, and leptin is the "stop" hormone that tells you when to stop eating. On average, study participants dropped about 5% of their body weight while adhering to the low-calorie diet. Six months later, 55 people maintained their weight loss, while 49 regained 10% or more of the weight they had lost. Those individuals with higher leptin and lower ghrelin levels before dieting were more prone to regain weight, the study showed. While this may seem counter-intuitive based on the actions of these hormones, the researchers suggest that it may be a matter of some people being resistant to the effects of these hormones. Their brains may not be getting the fullness or satiety messages that these hormones are delivering. You may have a lot of leptin, but your brain is resistant to its effects; much like people with type 2 diabetes become resistant to the effects of the hormone insulin. Going forward, "these hormone levels could be proposed as biomarkers for predicting obesity-treatment outcomes," the researchers conclude. "Our findings may provide endocrinology and nutrition professionals a tool to identify individuals in need of specialized weight-loss programs that first target appetite hormone levels before beginning conventional dietary treatment." Fullness Resistance Syndrome Louis Aronne, MD, founder and director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, agrees. "There is something physical going on in people who regain weight," he says. "Resistance to these hormones is a risk factor for weight regain," he says. Aronne dubs this condition "fullness resistance" and says that your brain is resistant to signals that come from your stomach and intestines telling you that you are full and to stop eating. Fullness Resistance Syndrome continued... "With leptin resistance, you don’t feel full and the more you eat, the hungrier you may get," he says. "We need to stop blaming people and start recognizing the physical basis of weight regain and manage it so people do better," he says. The new research likely applies to significant numbers of people who are finding the battle of the bulge to be an uphill one. "We are getting down to some of the final choke points of our weight regulating system, and these should apply to large numbers of people," he says. Drugs aimed at leptin resistance -- and there are some in the pipeline -- may help, he says. 'Ample Evidence' "There's no question that most people who easily gain weight, and/or quickly regain weight after losing it are different from other folks," says Scott Kahan, MD, co-director of the George Washington University Weight Management Program in Washington, D.C., in an email. "The general public tends to think of 'fat' people as lazy and as having no willpower [but] it couldn't be further from the truth." "Ample evidence, now including this study, suggests that there are physiologic reasons for weight gain, difficulty at losing weight, and rapid weight regain after a diet," he says. "There is no question that certain people are preconditioned to gain weight more easily and more quickly regain weight after dieting, just as some people are predisposed to having their blood pressure spike after eating salt whereas others can eat all the salt they want without having problems with hypertension," Kahan says. "This study is another small step toward ultimately ... [devising] new strategies for weight management and disease prevention that work with our bodies' physiologic makeup, rather than against it." When I brought up the issue of grehlin and leptin with my former surgeon he just rolled his eyes - which is one of the many reasons he is my former surgeon. I believe that I have a problem with these hormones because it has always taken a lot of food to get me to the point of satiety and that whole "wait 20 minutes" after eating to get full never worked for me. Sometimes if I ever do achieve satiety AFTER eating it can take 90 minutes or more. That's IF. To achieve a satisfied feeling while eating would take way too much food.

Hi I am new here I just wanted to know if anyone has left thier fluid in while they were pregnant and if so , how much weight was put on

I was told that when you have a stall, your body is reabsorbing all the extra veins that formed with the weight gain. It is a period of time for your body to adjust.

Tara201, consider other reasons for weight gain such as water retention. My doc told me that fluid balance fluctuates a lot during the 1st few weeks post op. Also,you may wanna put the scale away. I know it's tough and we get fixated on it. But, you don't wanna weigh yourself everyday, the normal fluctations will dry you nuts! I was weighing myself too much too so my husband hid the scale from me. (I found it, but I got the point). Good luck and try not to worry too much since you're 2 weeks post op. The 1st month is a healing period.

I just got my surgery and I don't forsee this happening to me partly because my husband and I split before my weight gain and my friends have seen me all kinds of sizes so now when I lose weight they will probably make bets on how long it will last. However, what is happening to you has happened to many people I have met in support groups. I believe it all comes from insecurities of both your friend and your husband. However, this time is all about you now. Do what is good for you, love yourself and don't play into their games and insecurities. I recommend you attend support groups and also if possible seek professional help, i.e. family therapist, psychologist... it helps

I am so sorry to hear about your issues with your friend and your spouse. As for the friend, sounds like she was once the center of your attention and now you are focusing on you and she is no longer the princess in the middle. Sometimes you just need to cut your losses. Maybe she just needs some time, but if she is hurting you, she doesnt deserve you as a friend. As for the spouse...I think I can relate. My husband is extremely jealous and I think he was the main contributor to my weight gain because I was thin my whole life until him. He didnt want me out of his sight and worried about me having any sort of life outside the house. So he fattens me up so I dont want to go out and I am only attractive to him. He was happy. When I scheduled my surgery he kept saying that now I was going to be thin and I was going to leave him and want to go out with my friends all the time. The day of my surgery, my anesthesiologist made a stupid comment of "well, watch out because once they lose the weight they all want to go out and party all the time". That was the LAST thing my husband needed to hear. He continues to make comments and say, "dont think that you are going to start going out all the time now". I dont know how to ease his jealousy. I am doing this for me and us so that I can be a better wife and mother, have confidence to make love to him and not just quickies because I dont want him to look at me because I dont feel sexy. I am a 40 year old Mom with a 7 and 9 year old. I work full time and have a mother with a terminal illness....when the heck do I have the time to go out and if I did have the time...I am going to catch up on cleaning and sleep!!! He just doesnt get it. This is the ONLY bad part of having had my surgery. Every day he makes some kind of comment. I hope it doesnt ever get to where you are, but when a guy is jealous it makes LIVING very hard. I wish you the very best of luck with everything!!!! Tyna

So I am doing my 6 month supervised diet. I went on vacation and gained some weight. I think I am still going to be up by a couple pounds by the time my next weigh in is. Is this going to be detrimental to me? I have lost like 3-4 pounds every month so far (this will be my 4th weigh in).

Is anyone doing "my last time for this" or "my last time for that" this month? LOL The very last weekend before I have to start full liquids, my honey is making me a roast with all the fixins. This coming weekend I'm going to get all my boxes of clothes from the attic and start sorting them into sizes. Lucky for me, I have a friend who lost some weight and she gave me a bunch of clothes in sizes 18 and 16. Bad thing is she has short legs, so the pants may be too short lol. I am currently in size 22. I have clothes from size 14 to size 20 in boxes, so at least I won't have to shop. Most of my weight gain has been in the last 6 years, I hpe my skin snaps back! lol I'm worried about the skin, but in the long run, I'd rather have some loose skin and feel better physically and mentally than have tight skin and feel like crap.

I don't like the term "bandster hell". It just seems like kicking your own @$$ when you're already down! Why associate this good thing in life with such a negative state of being. But again, that's just me! I've tried very hard to remain positive throughout this journey and to anticipate that there will be small failures. The battle is when it's time to pick yourself up and move on from those failures. Just keep in mind the big picture, all the things you've already done for yourself that are going to improve your lifestyle! I will admit, during these 4 weeks since my surgery, I wondered about all the pizza, ice cream, cake and buffets i'm missing out on in life! It was my husband who finally put it into perspective when he said "buffet? people aren't supposed to eat like that!" The past two weeks have been especially tricky. Work has been busy and stressful, I accepted a promotion right before surgery and returned to a heavy training schedule and being thrown in with the sharks to figure out this new job! Needless to say, before surgery, i'd cope by ordering pizza for dinner, pigging out and having some oreos. It somehow made everything feel better. It's not an option anymore! I found myself window shopping(more like walking around) for 4 hours from store to store because i didn't know how to deal with the frustration i was feeling! All i could do was walk, walk, and walk some more until i felt level headed again. My poor husband got the nasty side of this episode, but it's a lifestyle change right? Just remember, it took us all our lives up until the time of surgery to get this way! It's not going to change in just 4 weeks! It's going to take some time. A positive attitude goes a long way, and so does medication! This is not an easy journey to embark on, but it's definately a worthwhile one! Don't beat yourself up too much about the little setbacks (stalled weight, gaining a few pounds), a year from now when you're doing so great, they only be a speck on this fantastic voyage! Good luck and cheer up, you're going to be just fine

Hello everyone! This is my first challenge as well. I am just over a week post op and I am already down 17.5 pounds since post op. In addition to this, I lost 5 pounds on my pre-op diet, which gives me a total of 22.5 pounds lost since this whole process began. My starting weight was 215. My current weight is 192.5, and my goal for the October challenge is 179. Optimally, I would like to lose somewhere between 13.5-15 pounds. I know that's probably overly optimistic...but I've already lost this much so far with absolutely zero exercise, and I think that once I add that in the mix I will only continue to lose. I do have a concern, though. I am currently on the pureed/mushy phase of the post-op diet, and I was wondering if many people experience significant weight gain once returning to "regular" foods. This is one thing that I am very worried about since I have been so fortunate in my progress so far. Good luck everyone!!

Michelle-omg...I am SO worried for your weight gain. Glad to hear that you are kicking your own butt otherwise I may come do it for you. :tongue2: The good news is that you ARE aware and you ARE taking action. I am so proud! If you ever need an example of what not to do....call me. lol Seriously though. I would not wish the heartache I am going through on any one of you ladies. If I could forgive myself for regaining I may be able to completly start over. I hope that is where I am (even though I just ate a Wendys Frosty). Do you know I have gained so much that I do not even need a fill?! Go figger! You can regain contaol. I have complete faith in you! Cindy-I am so sorry that you have strep! I will say a big ole prayer that you get better ASAP! Get plenty of rest! Kat-we have a fireplace in this apartment. I have never had one. I am excited. Duraflame logs here I come. :thumbup: Debbie-I had to laugh when you poked fun at yourself. Then I felt guilty for laughing. I am demented! Have a great night everyone!