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Ive told no one but my fiancee,my 2 best friends and 1 sister who is my biggest confidant-she never tells anything-lol.My 17 year old daughter doesnt even know...and she lives in the house!!!!Im a very private person and never tell people anything and the 2 friends have no ties to my employment so no one will ever know-works for me.I have hated the comments people make about my weight gain-I gained 80 pounds in 10 years and people who hadnt seen me would freak out.I have my 20 yr high school reunion next year and Im totally gonna be there since I didnt go to other ones because of the weight gain.

Thats wonderful news I am so pleased for you. I know how you feel about the weight gain but try and relax and not worry to much. (I am a fine one to talk!) Anyway October will be here before you know it. :clap2::clap2:

well, it looks like i have to wait til october. october 4th to be exact. my doc wont do surgery before then, she says my stomach needs to heal completely before the next surgery. so, i have 3 months to wait. i guess at least there is a pot at the end of my rainbow, its just the weight gain in between that im afraid of.

I can see both points of view here. Firstly, I thought ick, why? Because I agree with Jodie, that's not what the band is for. But then, if you're that tight (which is really too tight) and you'd rather do Medifast for a period of a few weeks and lose a bit and loosen up, rather than have an unfill, why on earth not? Why muck around with your band filling and unfilling. At least you will have some reasonable nourishment and a bit of fast weight loss. Believe me, I've thought of going REALLY tight and doing this just to get that last 10lb off but I suspect that when I finished, unfilled and began to eat again, I'd regain EVEN with a band. Because the trouble with Medifast and Optifast is that it's not healthy weight loss. Those super low carb diets cause a LOT of Water weight loss as your body depletes itself of glycogen and you DO lose muscle as well on them. When you eat again and rehydrate you're quite likely to see rebound weight gain on the scale. Its arguable that you'd lose just as much fat by doing a more moderate diet of solid food, but avoiding the huge water loss factor. Heck, this is even why people fail to lose in the first few weeks after surgery - they come off this diet. The fact that they're on a liquid post op diet is enough to prevent great regain, but for many people they think why arent I losing? Reason being, you've already depleted your body entirely by the pre op diet and once you start putting carbs back in - as you do with the varied liquids you can have post op, bang, weight loss stops or goes in the opposite direction. Fat loss is probably continuing but the fake readings the scale was giving you are evening out. And I think this ooh good I'm tight I'll starve myself and loose tons of weight attitude is best left in our old pre band lives. This is a lifestyle, for keeps now. But really, nothing is going to hurt you for a short period of time. And Im not bashing because I can understand exactly why you would think of it. I did to, what I've just said is more the reasons why I talked myself out of it, not that I dont think you should do it.

Sunsett Usually the weight gain is in patients that are on long term steroid use. In your case the doctor is treating you with predisone because it will decrease the inflammation caused by your asthma and respiratory infection hence allow you to cough up all the mucus in your lungs and prevent pneumonia from forming and let you breath easier. Predisone also will increase your blood sugar drasticly if you are diabetic. There are other options avaliable instead of taking the predisone but this usually works the best. 5 days of predisone is nothing, I would suggest to take it and feel better before Christmas arrives. Good Luck! and Good Health!

I had lap band surgery 11 days ago (7/10/2008). I was on a liquid diet for 4 days prior to my surgery. Between the liquid diet and the recovery after my surgery I lost 23 pounds. I have now gained 5 pounds back?? Has anyone else experienced weight gain prior to their first fill. I guess I am just confused and maybe even a little discouraged because I feel like I am not hardly eating yet gained weight. Can someone please tell me, is this normal, has anyone else experienced this? Does this mean I am going to fail? Prior to Sugery: 304 lbs :seeya: Today: 285 lbs :ihih:

Beckiet - I get clothes on a regular basis. I didn't include it in my incentives because I have to have them. That's why I don't have more "mini" goals on there. I'm going to raid mom's closet today - she has clothes from 8 - 18; I'm down to 14 and they are already getting baggy (woohoo!! what a problem to have!) Menopause has really caused her a lot of weight gain. I had to promise not to get rid of them when they don't fit me anymore Anyone else need to resize their jewelry yet?

How many of us have been "on a diet" for most of our lives? Too many, in my opinion. Not just because it's bad for our health or because diets don't work. It's bad for our mental health too. It leads to something I call "Dieter's Mentality." If you have Dieter's Mentality, you need to cut it out because it's going to sabotage your success. This is true whether or not you have had Weight Loss Surgery, are on your pre-op diet or are doing it the traditional way through diet and exercise. Diet Mentality is evil and it puts you in a bad place! What is Diet Mentality? It has four major components: 1) Putting food into Good and Bad buckets First of all, food is not Bad or Good -- it's just food. Some food is a better choice than others, but even then it's really just all food. If you are getting in enough of the essential nutrients and you account for your calories each day, you are doing good no matter if you have a bite of dessert once in a while or not. All food is bad food if you eat too much of it or only eat one kind. It's just as unhealthy to eat nothing but Protein as it is to eat nothing but birthday cake. A healthy diet is balanced and can even include a certain amount of junk food as long as it's a small amount and it doesn't trigger you into bad behavior. 2) Judging your worth by what you eat Making bad food choices does not make you a bad person. Your self-worth shouldn't be tied up in what you eat. Good people make bad choices all the time. Instead of beating yourself up when you make a bad choice, hating yourself, seeing yourself as a failure and otherwise engaging in destructive behavior, just figure out how to make a better choice next time. It's not easy to be dispassionate about your own behavior, but telling yourself that you made a bad choice and next time you'll make a better one is a good start and much healthier than telling yourself you are a bad person and you'll never lose the weight and you hate yourself. 3) Judging your worth by how much you weigh/how much you've lost this week The scale is just part of the picture. If you get too tied up in the scale, you get a distorted view of the world. Weeks where you lose are good weeks even if someone close to you died. Weeks where you don't lose are bad weeks even if you got a big promotion at work and did everything "right" in terms of diet and exercise. One of the dangers of measuring everything by your weight on the scale is that you can convince yourself that making bad choices is okay because sometimes you can make bad choices and still lose/maintain. You can also convince yourself that making good choices is pointless because some weeks you make all good choices and the scale doesn't move. But clearly making more bad choices than good will lead to weight gain in the long run. Anything thinking that leads you to conclude otherwise is destructive thinking. 4) Waiting until you are thin(ner) to start living Stop waiting until you get to goal to start living or loving yourself. Love yourself now. Live your life now. It's easy to fall into "when I lose 25 pounds, I will start..." type of thinking. It's a fine line between thinking about how you will reward yourself when you meet certain goals and putting your life on hold until you meet certain goals. Many of us have had the experience of thinking we were so fat back when we were in HS or college or a young adult and not being happy. But then we got even fatter and we look at those pictures from back then and we realize that we were actually pretty hot. In fact, we'd give anything to be "that fat" right now. Why not love yourself now while you're living your life instead of waiting until 10 years later to tell yourself how good you had it back then? What happens when we stop "dieting"? One of the best things I ever did for myself was to decide I was never going to diet again. It really allowed me to examine my relationship with food and to start listening to my body and figuring out why I eat what I eat. That would never have happened when I was caught up in "Dieter's Mentality". One of the things I found is that my approach to food was that of a child. I wanted people to make me or bring me food because I associate being fed with being loved. So I got myself to a point where all my meals were either quick things that require no cooking or can be zapped in a microwave or are made by my husband -- who does all the cooking -- or were purchased. In other words, other people had complete control over what kind of food I ate and how it was prepared! I never saw anything wrong with this until I decided to grow up about food. I realized that by approaching food this way, I was giving up tons of control over what I ate. Someone else buys the groceries so it's not my fault that there aren't healthy Snacks in the house. It's not my fault that I had that ice cream cone -- there was nothing else to eat and I was HUNGRY. Once I saw this pattern, I vowed to change it and start being an adult about food. I now plan out what I'm going to eat before I go to work. If I'm going to work late, I bring extra food so I'm not eating out of the vending machine. I don't eat lunch at the Cafeteria every day so my food choices aren't limited to what they want to make for me. I have healthy snacks in my drawers at work so if I do end up working late without having planned ahead, I'm eating a Protein Bar instead of a Snickers bar. This change in attitude and behavior has made a big difference. Which is not to say I haven't got much farther to go ... I still don't cook and I still eat way too much prepared food (because I don't cook). But I'm much better than I used to be and it's great to feel like a grown up! You may relate to what I said about having a child's approach to food or you may not. Not everyone gets fat the same way or has the same issues to work through. But one thing I can guarantee is that once you throw off the shackles of Dieter's Mentality, you will have the brain cycles available to see your relationship with food more clearly. You will be on the road to having a healthy relationship with food.

I'm on the first day of my liquid diet.. i started a day early bc my surgeon said no more weight gain, whatsoever.. so im hoping that the diet & walking will get me down enough for her to cont with surgery on the day of. im sooo terrified that she'll cancel the morning of and ill get extra disappointed/depressed & won't wanna do the program anymore.. if anyone has any liquid diet tips, pls let me know!!!

Thank for replying... In my case the low levels have caused weight gain.

I got sleeved July 7th and I get off liquids tomorrow(yay eggs!!) So far my sleeve is total steel, but I've noticed my pallet has done a 180. I used to be able to drink 500 calories of milk a day (easy) and now.. I don't like the taste. Same with all my juices. Now, the only liquid I like is water. What a huge blessing! Especially considering milk probably contributed to a majority of my weight gain.

I have been advised due to bleeding that need to have the mirena (intrauterine levonorgestrel device inserted), or otherwise have a hysterectomy. I put on weight when i take the pill, get bad cellulite on my thighs. Has anyone got any feed back re weight gain - re mirena, also if you had a hysterectomy, many thanks.

I had lap band on March 5th 2014 upon release from the hospital I felt like I was about to live the life I was meant too with weight loss. Then the weight loss wall hit and hit hard I was 349 to 275 and have been there for 2 months. My diet is very minimal bad food but I am not without sin. I exercise regularly and very intense. I do not know what to do. I used to look foreword to weighing in now I stay away from the scale in fear of weight gain. I have had 3 fills and have some restriction based on the meal and the day. I know what some will say " look at what you have accomplished" but to me I am no where ear where I should or want to be. What do I do what am I doing wrong is this normal am I doomed.

Hi Judy, I completely understand. My Dr. didn't require any special diet before the surgery and Boy did I have a party. I tried to eat all the foods I thought I wouldn't ever be able to eat again. Steaks, fries, pizza, subs, fried chicken, Hardees biscuit's and more. I guess it was my way of saying good by to a lifestyle that I loved -- being able to eat what when I wanted (spoiled that way ) but, the weight gain I hated! By the time of my surgery I had gained almost 15 pounds and I remember thinking "man it sure wasn't worth it, because now I have to lose more weight than I had planned." We've all struggled with food that's why were here. So, know this -- you are not alone and it does get better -- much better! I wish you much success.

I am in the same private little boat. I have only told my husband and my twin- even then I had to make it clear it was not negotiable, I was sharing the information for support and because it would be too much not to tell with this dynamic. I have no intention of offering the information to anyone else, though I don't know yet what I would say if asked. Time will tell. For me, there is some shame in not being able to lose weight, but more than that I don't want to have to explain myself to people at my age. I had a trial run a while back while I was just "thinking" about it. At that time I spoke freely about it and sure enough - everyone becomes a dietitian and health guru. I had people telling me they will get me in shape. I was athletic when I was younger and have had my weight gain for almost 10 years (around 8-10 pounds a year) and most people just tell me I just have to do what I was doing before. It's just too much to explain to them how the weight gain happened. I lost a son, and then a couple years after my mom and sister to cancer, and during this time I lost control of exercise and weight management. Theres more to the story usually, and I really just want to move on with my life and avoid the lengthy retelling to everyone as I explain my personal health decision. So for now, I will tell them the TRUTH... I have lost weight by drastically cutting my calories. Maybe after the fact, I will say something, but for now - TMI.

Admittedly I freak out everytime that this happens, and I guess its not an extreme amount or anything, but still I haven't been losing weight in a little while and now I'm starting to put it back on! I was down to 188, which was great considering I started at 277. This week I'm 196. I haven't changed my diet significantly, so its a bit confusing for me. I work out constantly, and recently I've started doing some more intense lifting. Mainly squats, which I can feel reaking havoc on my leg muscles this morning. My question is, could some of the weight gain be related to liquids being retained in the damaged muscles from lifting? Or am i just getting plain fatter and should schedule another adjustment. I've only had 2 so far. thanks, Brendan

I feel 100% normal and I enjoy food everyday!! I feel in control cause I cannot eat big portions-- I do however eat reasonable portions and what ever I want! I can eat a 6in sub from subway with just the bottom bread for example. or 1 small slice of pizza and a buffalo wing. Perfect, no pain, no nausea, no weight gain!

I think you should be ok just stick to it as best as you can Its important and I think you will be very happy with the surgery I know I am Im at almost 90 pds lost and last summer I was feeling so lost and out of control and not having a way to stop the weight gain this was the only way for me.

Take your scale out back and smash it with a sledge hammer. You are sabotaging yourself. Seriously I never weighed myself throughout my losing process. I never had a stall or a gain. Always happy with the progress because I only got weighed at my doctors office. As long as you are following your doctors plan you will make it. You also have to remember you are still healing. Your body is under attack and it is trying to adjust. You are still flushing out the meds they gave you and your body is also starting to flush out the toxins you stored up. That does not happen over night. That will happen a long the way as well. But you are not in a place right now to worry about a stall or weight gain. As long as you are looking straight ahead and doing what you are suppose to do. You will be who you want to be. Okay hun!

I weigh every day. It keeps me focused. and acts as a gentle daily reminder to file in the back of my head for the rest of the day. I found in past dieting that when I weighed daily, I did better....no kidding myself that having that piece of cake won't make that much difference....and most of the time, it is a positive reinforcer. The thing is, occasional weight gain is inevitable-- Water retention, body chemistry changes, whatever. I have had times when I am eating and taking in liquids perfectly (I keep daily track of all that), and I stay the same weight for days--then all of a sudden, I lose 2 lbs overnight! So please don't get discouraged about occasional weight gain...it's just that if it's on-going, that may take some re-evaluating. Please don't worry about the weight gain right after surgery. My doc said almost everyone does. Your body went through so much, including lots of gas, water retention, etc. You'll feel so much better about everything in a week or two. AND, if you are taking any pain meds, that means constipation! Best of luck to you! I think you will do great!

Oh man, that sounds frustrating. It's so easy to beat ourselves up about weight gains. Yes, parts of it are within our control but so much of weight loss is a biological and psychological mind field. In other words - it's tough. Kudos to you for staring over and not giving up. Break your goals down into small chunks to help them become more attainable. Be kind to yourself and take your time losing weight the right way. The band should help you feel full with less food, rather than physically restrict you from eating. Good luck as you continue your journey!

I have been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism. A symptom of hypothyroidism is weight gain and difficulty losing weight. I have gained significant weight recently that I can attribute to this disorder and have had more trouble taking it off than in the past. However, I have always been heavy and was only diagnosed about a 2 months ago so I would not begin to blame this entirely for my weight issues. I have learned of this in the midst of scheduling my surgery and I have a fear that this disorder will hinder my weight loss after surgery. I am curious if anyone on the forum has hypothyroidism and if it effected their success. I would think at least one person might as it is a fairly common disorder. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.:thumbup1:

Kooaburra, Have you every watched the show called "Ruby". It's a reality show following Ruby through her weight loss journey. It's a great show. She weighed over 700 lbs. at one time. I think she is down in the 300's right now. It's similar to your story. She has blocked out years of memory because of something most likely traumatic happening to her when she was young. She is seeling a psychologist and delving into the idea that her weight gain is acting as a barrier. You have gotten some great advise here! :thumbup:

I was banded on 11/15/10 and have lost 45 lbs with 35 left to go. We will be taking a 7 day cruise May 7 and I admit I am alittle nervous about the food. I have a signifigant about of restriction which always keeps me alert yet as my Dad used to say sometimes " my eyes are bigger than my stomach." I am hoping to replace that with the joy of being on a nice trip with my 92 year old Dad and my sister. We just lost Mother 2 months ago and decided we needed some good times together. The Lap Band was the one good thing I had going for me when Mother was dying. It made me feel I atleast had control over some aspect of my life and the weight loss rather than weight gain kept me positive in a very trying time.

It was good to read everyone's posts. I had been on a roller coaster with fills and unfills. My band has slipped twice due to my own negligence. The last time I had to be emptied completely for 6 weeks. That was a very critical time because I had NO restriction at all so I did gain weight. Afterwards I didn't recover well from the weight gain, so I gained even more. I am just now getting back on track and my PA has been adjusting my fills up and down until I get back to the right place. I know that I cannot eat dry chicken, breads, or asparagus without problems. Today, I found out that pork neckbones don't sit well with me either, Up-chucked it all! I find that sometimes it's trial and error. Other times, I just know better to not eat certain things like breads. After 4 years, I've only lost 52lbs, then gained back almost half of it. I am refocused and plan to get support here for encouragement to continue in the right direction until I get to my goal weight. I hope to have significant weight loss before the spring. I haven't posted here in a very, very long time and miss it. It helps to share with those who have gone through the same things and understand this Lapband journey.