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Tmrrw makes 1 week postop for me. I gained 4.2lbs while being in the hospital for surgery. I’m down those extra pounds & 2.6lbs on top of that. I know that the extra weight came from IV & probably also water retention. I woke up out of anesthesia burping & the following day, started to pass gas. I was finally able to poop this morning with the help of milk of magnesia. I’m able to get down 2 protein shakes a day, crystal light & other fluids. Can’t wait til I see the true weight come off. I’m big on taking measurements & celebrating NSVs, but it was a shocker to see the weight gain after surgery. You can keep up with my journey on IG @CurlyGirl_GetsFit

Good morning - I am at the hospital now waiting for 5:30am check-in (boyfriend picked me up super early). I lost weight on my own in 2012 - 2016 (lowest weight 132 pounds). I struggled to maintain this weight due to being clueless about food choices (protein vs Carbs/fat) & 2017 I had a slip/fall accident (weigh at time 160 pounds) and this totally took me over board through the nextt 2.5 years to 215 pounds. Going through therapy, steroid shots and daily back pain due to weight gain, my Primary care doctor put in referral for me to start WLS program in March and I'm having surgery today!!! My weight as of Saturday was 197 - will see this morning what my final weight will be day of surgery! I feel this program will assist you in making better food choices long term through working with a nutritionist & your WLS team, something I didn't have before. I would definitely do it if I were you and follow your plan to the T. Listen to the veterans in this group which have tons of advice and experience with this (most thankful to them). Best of luck to you and follow me to see my journey!!!! Hope to post something later after surgery if I'm feeling up to it. Surgery at 730am!!!

I'm combining this, with your comment on the IF thread (I missed it in my reply on there, but I think it fits here better anyway) "My 5lb window will be set between 130-135lbs. I know that sounds like it's only a "reframe" of goal 130lbs. But it's baby steps. I may later decide to make my 5 lb window be 135-140. I just know I feel better under 135. (Yes, I can feel those extra 3 lbs lol.)" I think your maintenance window is too low. You are at 133.4 now and got there at least partially as a result of your twisted bowels and subsequent "reset" type diet. I REALLY REALLY don't think you should set window so low it will be a constant struggle. It will be far too easy for you to go over 135, and then you'll feel like you've failed. You want to stay below 135, but your body doesn't seem to agree. I think the only place you feel those extra 3 lbs is in your dysphoric head Why fight your body, your MD & RD, to get to this mythical weight that you will finally feel like a success at? Another reason why I think you need to raise that upper maintenance limit is gaining and losing a couple of lbs overnight is completely normal and expected, as you well know. It isn't real weight gain, as you also know. I'm afraid you're going to drive yourself crazy fighting false gains. You need some room to play with your diet, upping your cals etc.. I think there is a good possibility your body doesn't want to get to 130, and is fighting it tooth & nail. So even if you dropped down to 400 cals/day, you'll still maintain. The other side of that coin is you very well may be able to increase your calories far above what you think you can. But you need some room at the top of your range. You're going to bounce up, and you need to be ok with that. The test will be if it bounces up and sticks around. To me, it then becomes quality of life issue. Do you want to fight your body everyday to stay under "goal". Or can you be happy, and feel like the rock star you are, at a slightly higher weight, that you know is a healthy BMI? We've established you need a goal & and challenge. How about a goal of shattering that dysmorphic fun house mirror. I guarantee you that everyone now sees you as a thin person. Can it be your goal to see yourself that way? Tough love I know, but still love! ❤️ 😘

Good luck! I had my surgery on Aug. 20. 5’6 age 56 1st. Surgical consult 374# April 2019 preop 328# August 20, 2019 Weight 346# on August 22, 2019 (post op at home) 2 days later The weight GAIN was a surprise as I thought I would have lost at least a couple of pounds, however, I was pumped full of fluids due to dehydration. Current weight 343# You’ll do great!!!!

ryguy - are you tracking your food? You cant fix anything you dont measure. track every bit of food for 7 days and then look at those macros. will you see carbs leading the way. The desire to eat after eating is driven by your insulin rising quickly after carbs and sugar and when it drops 2-3 hours later you will feel hunger again. this up down cycle of your insulin is the driver of the weight gain train. after you track your food for a week try this- Zero sugar for 1 week - none of the fake sugars this week no bread no flour for this whole week no starches this week no fruit this week get your carbs from veggies No snacking - eat 3 meals and take at least 20 minutes to eat your meal - if you eat to fast then try eating 1/2 the plate of food then stepping away for 15 minutes then return and eat the other half good luck and dont give up

I had my surgery when I was 58, so I doubt that's it. Do you take any medications that cause weight gain?

((hugs)) You are right on time for the "Sophomore Slump". Come join us in the Sophomores thread! Honestly, it's a tough time. And your tool is maturing allowing less restriction. It's part of why it's so important not to believe the myth of restriction/malabsorption. At some point, everything in moderation will have a different meaning volumetrically and that could be enough to either derail losses entirely, cause stalls, or rebound weight gain. The things that helped me: 1. Planning, weighing, measuring and logging my food daily--good and bad 2. Following my surgeon's basic guidelines for the forever-diet including the 1cup max per meal; 3 meals + 1-2 VERY small snacks a day if necessary, protein first then veg then fruit and a tiny bit of fat. 3. Mixing things up to make them fun again--I added IF/EF to my plan. 4. Find fun peeps to hang out with who have shared goals/paths. Hope that helps!

Congrats girlie!!!! Wooohoooooo!!! I think you look so healthy and vital and agreed! Weight gain after cancer is not so good for us! (psst-he's adorbs!)

Hello Dee2938, if it's any consolation, I went through a similar pattern of "food funerals" prior to my surgery and I sincerely wish I could say I regret it. I also had about a 10lbs to 13lbs weight gain within the span of 3 months due it. You are very lucky you only have 2 weeks more of crazy indulgence. My advice is that you focus on your absolutely favorites that you won't be able to have immediately OP or EVER and be mindful of portions.....ie don't go hog wild on every food you see, just your top favorites! Now the caveat for me doing this was the commitment I had with myself to follow my surgery team's plan to a T post OP and use this tool to lose 100% of my excess weight regardless of the expected weight loss of the surgery. I hope this helps center you some. Another alternative is to start a food journal and have your nutritionist keep you accountable if that's a possibility. Good luck🧡 Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m loosing it, and not in the good way. I have a little less than a month before my surgery and exactly two weeks before my liquid diet and right now I just want to eat everything in sight. I feel hungrier than ever and I keep thinking if I don’t enjoy it now I won’t be able to for a very long time. I’m worried I’m going to gain even more weight and weight gained is weight that needs to be lost. I want to get down to 130 and as most patients loose about 70% of their excess weight I won’t end up anywhere near my goal weight if I keep this up. How can I get out of this mentality? How do I keep it together. I have two more weeks before liquid diet and I cannot keep eating like this.

whey protein, cream-based soup, anything with flour in it, the majority of meat, including ground beef, fish, meatballs, sometimes chicken, sometimes steak. i haven't tried anything on my "no" list or my "you should probably be able to eat this now" list, because my stomach is so sensitive. i get very very hot/flushed and nauseous and a little dizzy and sometimes vomit. melted cheese (like in french onion soup) also gets a "stuck" feeling. i didn't know sleeve patients get dumping? TIL. my friend with sleeve can eat anything without consequence (except rebound weight gain, of course).

Alrighty. So am back from vacay. This was my first real "indulgent" vacation since going into maintenance. I've been on a couple road trips since deciding to stop weight loss, but those were weekend trips and not all-inclusive ones, nor was I surrounded with endless food and drink. So how did it go? Well, the lead up to the trip had a little fear-of-the-unknown going on. I worried that I would have nothing healthy-ish to eat and I'd strave, or, that I would eat everything I see like I did pre-wls. Turns out there was nothing to worry about. Was there a lack of healthy-ish choices? No. There were always choices everywhere I went that fit into my normal eating (salad, grilled chicken or some protein), whether it was on the resort or off it. So I didn't have to pack all those packages of beef jerky, chicharron and protein powder, lol. The kids ended up eating my jerky and chicharron and I gave the protein powders to a bartender. Did I eat everything I saw? Yes and No. I did sample many things that I normally would not eat (I'm talking to you sugary desserts, fruits and some bread-like products), but only bites, not full portions. My restriction took care of that. Also thanks to my restriction, I learned after the first day that I need to pick and choose what I want to sample, because I literally have no room to try everything (I had to hurl twice the first day due to eating too fast and too much). So I only tried the stuff I really wanted to, and if after sampling it, it was only OK tasting, I'd put it aside. Only really yummy stuff got a second or third bite. It's sobering to realize that a lot of stuff really only looks good, and just tastes meh. However. I drank alot of alcohol. I did limit myself to maybe 5-6 mixed drinks of the super sugary kind (I'm talking to you pina coladas and margaritas) for the entire trip, but I was basically a bottomless pit for skinny mojitos and tequila shots. Also, I formed an addiction to these mini chocolate chip cookies that they served in the coffee bar. They were like a version of a not-so-sweet, not-so-buttery shortbread-type cookie with chocolate chips in them. They were about the size of poker chip and I swear I must have eaten at lest 10 of them a day. Along with 4-5 Americanos a day.... I did log everything I ate (to be best of my ability...I had to eyeball everything), and according to the stats, I averaged about 3000 calories a day over the last 8 days. And roughly half those average daily calories came from my cookie and alcohol consumption, yikes. In all, despite the record-breaking calorie intake, I managed to weigh in exactly a mere 1 lb more than before I left. Which means I've at least found my upper calorie level, of sorts* *Though I did run way more than usual though, as well as generally burn more cals what with all the walking/water sports/dancing/heat-enduring, so need to take that into account... So what was the lesson learned? Well, that I'm not going to suddenly explode with massive weight gain if I indulge. But I WILL slowly gain weight back if the indulgence continues beyond a short period of time. 1lb a week over a year is 52 lbs. And that is not acceptable to me. So back to figuring out my sweet spot...

I don’t know if this will make sense to you but it worked for me. I was not eating enough to gain weight on 600 calories a day, that is impossible. There were times I would step on the scale and the number would be a few pounds higher. Logically I knew I had not gained weight. I changed my thinking and told myself, “I weigh more today for some unknown reason” I stopped thinking in terms of weight gain it was just fluctuations. I started weighing myself less frequently and only on mornings when I felt “lighter “. It really helped me and kept me sane. Best of luck to you!

A family member had WLS a month and a half ago. He as well as others (me included) stepped on the scale only to find a weight gain. Then when told not to step on the scale every day and weigh only weekly did he find his weight loss to return. In a nutshell, nothing to worry about and if weighing everyday STOP and weigh weekly.

Sorry for a late response. On the trip, I brought protein bars. In farm country, Creighton Nebraska, eggs, protein shakes, long walks. Avoided eating corn, pasta,; I had cottage cheese, string cheese. No aerobic exercise. no weight gain, only lost two pounds.

Welcome back! The veteran’s forum is not very active because many veterans don't stick around. Life goes on after goal. My surgeon told me a 15 to 20-pound bounce is normal. It was easy to maintain for my first two years. I freaked out with a weight gain my third year. I came back to the site and had great support. It took work to get it back down. Years out, I gain quickly, and I lose at a snail’s pace.

Hello all, Queen of Crop here....almost 8 years out and have a 18 lb weight gain. Haven't been on the site in quite some time but am freaking out about the gain. And yes, it is carbs and sugar and wine and a complicated life. I never thought I would gain it back...I guess we all thought that. Will read the head work...and find a program and start logging. Oh how I wish I could go back to that first year....it all seemed so easy (hard in some ways of course) but at least the weight came off. For me 83 lbs. And when I think about it, when I was at my goal weight I was SO HAPPY AND FELT SO FREE. And now I feel like crap. So time to get a grip. Will check in weekly to let you all know how I do. So interesting that the Veterans Forum doesn't have more of us here. Thanks for the encouraging words and good luck to all of us. I wrote a book called Queen of Crop...maybe I should right a Queen of Crop 10 years after to give me a new goal..hmmmmm...BUT NO I WILL NOT GO BACK!

Got admitted to hospital tonight. They are running CT scans tomorrow. I just finally got off last 'water weight gain' from last week's IV treatments. I just really need to STAY off the scale when this happens

I take opioids too. I have 5 bulging discs and have had back pain my whole adult life. I literally can not bend even a little without holding on to something. It's very debilitating. I thought it would get better with weightloss and I could get off the pain meds but no such luck. In my experience I think they contributed to my weight gain. Right now I'm dealing with struggling to stay on track. I've dabbled a little in forbidden foods, but not excessively. Last night for the first time I ate 4 cookies and it had 280 calories. I don't know what I was thinking. I have 85 pounds to lose and it is such a struggle now that I can eat more. Wishing you the best!

Most sites and the medical PDR will say it causes weight gain. I don’t know when they changed it to weight loss. I worked in the medical field over 20 years too and never seen anyone lose weight on it. I know I sure didn’t either when I took it.

What source did you use that said weight gain is a side effect of Zoloft? I've been on Zoloft for years before surgery and have continued since surgery one year ago, and have not noticed weight gain because of it. This screenshot actually mentions weight *loss* as a possible side effect. Source: https://www.rxlist.com/zoloft-side-effects-drug-center.htm

Yes! Zoloft is a medication that can cause weight gain. I have been on about all of them and I look them up to make sure that is not a side effect. But Zoloft is the worst! So talk to your doctor. We surely don’t need any thing making it harder!

I just got the lapband done a week ago. My surgeon who is very well respected has discontinued sleeve operations because of newly released research showing weight gain over time. He truely believes in lapband, and so should we. It gets a bad rap because it places greater responsibility on patients to work with the surgical team in adjusting the band over time. If you look at those having issues.. common complaints are that they couldn't keep food down for months on end.. I mean okay, but why didn't they get the band adjusted? You can't blame lapband for that. I am only one week post op, but I would take lapband over sleeve or bypass anyday of the week.

Hey siblings, I'm a bit bummed right now. My weight is actually up 1.5 lbs from my current 'profile weight'. I had RNY on 7/25. I've stuck to liquids like a madwoman. I've tracked intake on various days of ea week. I've averaged anywhere from 100 calories a day to 340. Ironically the 1st week after surgery I was closer to 300 calorie mark and then I had issues with nausea, feeling tight restriction even when only drinking few oz's, etc. so I dropped down to 100 calories or less for about 4 days. Ended up getting 2 bags of IV fluids last Thurs Wasn't on an IV for 24 hours, etc. I knew I'd have some 'water weight' gain from 2 bags of IV fluids but scale has not budged from current gain (Waited 3 days to weigh hoping I'd get some water off). So am almost 3 wks out with only a 10 lb loss to show. Was SO looking forward to pureed foods as I've been on liquids FOREVER, but now am terrified I'll eat pureed foods and start gaining. I plan to keep pureed (plus any shake supplementation) down to a bare minimum of calories/fat/carbs (of course protein is my main focus). Weird, while I was typing this my dr called!! Said he wants me to start taking some bites of food tomorrow. He said avocado, eggs, etc. I was like..um...puree stuff. he said 'no, real bites'. LOL..I told him I'd do whatever he asked lol...as I"m staring at HIS list for the pureed phase which I was supposed to start this Thursday. GAH! I just realized I'm posting as I'm so nervous about what will happen when I add purees (and I know tracking is crucial, at least it is to me..it gives me comfort)..and now he said 'start tomorrow'. Oh sweet baby Jesus... I am seriously so happy that my siblings are doing so well but I must admit I'm becoming very sad and bewildered.