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There are only a few things that most of us have total control of.....total decision making ability. One of those is what goes into our mouths. It is a simple truth. Simple doesn't always translate to easy, though. Examine the why's behind your weight gain. Why are your behaviors not in line with your desires to lose weight? Why haven't you exerted control ? What will it take to reach the point where you are in control ? The surgery is not the prime mover. It is simply an aid.....a tool. It can be defeated if you allow it. Once you truly gather your resolve to lose the weight you will employ whatever tools that are available for you now.....pre-op...and the weight will begin to fall off. The surgery + your resolve will amplify the results.

Well...I just started my soft food diet. It's only day 3 and already I think I am doing things very wrong. My diet (given by my NUT) explains very little. It doesn't say how I should eat, when I should eat. And that's what I'm having trouble with. I still don't feel hunger so I don't know when to stop eating once I start! Because I'm deathly afraid of getting sick or throwing up, I take only 3 or 4 bites at a time. Then I'll take a nother few bites 10 or 20 mins. later. This is bad b/c it takes me hours to eat a meal (I still don't finish many of them although they are small portions). I feel like that's bad b/c 1, I need to get my nutrients and protien. and 2, it's like I'm grazing which I know I shouldn't do b/c it can cause weight gain. In addition, its hard for me to get all my fluids in b/c it takes me so long to finish eating and I we're not supposed to drink w/in 30 mins. of eating. I'm so bass ackwards right now I really feel like I don't know what I"m doing or what I should be doing to correct it. Someone, anyone please chime in and give your thoughts and suggestions!

Ok had to ask because i dont want to drink a protein that is for weight gain or building mass/muscle. I need to lose like 30-50 more pounds and im 8months out

Hi nursejen. take a breath and think for a minute how you will deal with plateaus and even weight gains. If this will discourage you, no need to broadcast it and make it worse. I see too many people on this forum focus on the scale and the number. If you can deal with it, great. If you think this tactic will keep you accountable, then go for it girl. Just remember it's only a number and there are so many other successes that have nothing to do with the scale. For me, there was nothing better than the first time in years that I could sit in a plane seat and not request the seatbelt extenter, and I could put the armrest and tray down without any issues. If I could have, I'd have told everyone on that darm plane about it, I was so excited. Don't get me wrong, do whatever works for you...just remember it's alot more than a number on the scale. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

I had my mid band surgery in 2004. I successfully lost 87 lbs. Over the past 6 months I have gained 38 lbs! I have gone in for many Fills and can't maintain restriction. After a couple of days my restriction disappears. I have had the barium test and last week in day surgery had the port checked. It is fine. My surgeon is at a loss. There was 6cc in my band. I have always needed a larger fill than his other patients. I am hungry all the time, eat healthy, organic foods but due to Polycystic Ovarian Disease compounded with genetic obesity I have to eat next to nothing to maintain weight loss. I eat about 1200 - 1500 calories a day keeping carbs low. The band gave me the restriction I needed. I am at a loss as is my surgeon. Please, any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. I am depressed and ashamed of the weight gain after so many years of success. I do not know where to turn for help.

So, TMI question, but is it your time of the month? That can often lead to not only additional Fluid, but also fluid retention. Also I find that if I eat Soup, popcorn, or something extra salty, it has a lot of sodium which inevitably causes me to gain at least a pound or two the day after. Also, if I do a heavy lifting session, my muscles are swollen and I gain weight the next day purely from Water, as opposed to having actually gained any muscle weight. This is why I weigh myself every single day because I know exactly where my weight should be and if for some reason I gain, I can immediately start on the path to fixing it. I also can look back (I have written my weight down everyday) and I can see that, ok I gained 3 pounds one day, but it was gone a few days later, or ooh that was a long stall but not nearly as long as I thought. Don't freak out over a weight gain if it only lasts a day or two- sometimes our bodies inexplicably retain water and naturally process it out.

Hello everyone, here's where my story begins.... 1994 is when my weight started becoming a problem for me. I already had both of my children, one in 1990 and the other in 1991. I was about 189lbs after I had my second son and things were pretty much stable at that weight for me. I wanted to lose weight but it didn't become a serious problem until about three years later. I put on about 30lbs from 1991-1994, and it just continued to increase from there. Of course I decided to begin taking weight lost pills (phentramine/and the other phen). I both pills for about two months and quickly lost 50lbs. I thought the battle was over at that point until I gained the weight back about 6 months later (as I stopped taking the pills). I tried some of my own remedies like exercise and all types of diets. I walked and did lots of activities with my children but the weight just wouldn't go anywhere. Looking back at my weight lost journey there were a total of 11 years that I have been trying to lose weight with all types of attempts. I've taken so many diet pills and shakes that I can't even count. My husband and I attended a seminar for day one surgery in Chicago Illinois in March of 2008. In April of 2008 @ 232lbs, I decided to start working on a supervised diet plan with my doctor, I told her that I wanted to attempt a lap band procedure and she let me know that most insurance companies require that you have at least a 6 month history of a medically supervised diet. In addition to that my doctor had just started seeing a patient of hers that had the procedure done, she called her and let me speak to her to see how she felt about the surgery. I decided to go with the same doctor (Dr. Klem out of Central Dupage Hospital, in Winfield IL.) that she has since here experience was so positive. So the 6 month program began. That included Phentramine, water pill and a 1200 calorie diet plan. I lost about 10-15lbs over the 6 month time frame, which wasn't very sugnificant to me. Once I stopped taking the pills I was right back at square one.... back to 230. In September of 08' I began seeing Dr. Klem, he has been performing this type of surgery for the last 17 years, he gave me all of the pro's and con's of the procedure and told me I was a candidate for either surgery, the bypass or the lap band. My husband and I decided that the lapband was the best choice for me since I didn't have any pre-morbid conditions. The process began the next week after being catagorized as morbidly obese. By the way when I started seeing Dr. Klem I was up to 242lbs, this was barely enough to be considered for insurance (why I'm not sure...). By the time my scheduled appointment for nutritionist came I was a all time high of 247.6lbs. That was a depressing time for me, I cried when I left the office and spoke with my husband about the weight gain that I was experiencing. We decided the I should try Weight Watchers to try and work on the problem immididately, as I had developed high blood pressure by this time and my doctor decided to put me on blood preasure medicine. I began Weight Watchers which I started doing very well with and dropped about 15lbs. Unfortunately I put the procedure off because I thought maybe this would be the fix that I was truly looking for. That did not last for more than a couple of months because of the high amount of sodium that was in so many of the meals. By now it's December and I'm right back in the same visocus circle that I've been in and now my weight has really gotten out of hand. by January I was a whopping 252lbs and had a very low self esteme. I didn't want to go to any social settings and couldn't fit any of my clothes. I was up to a size 18/20...I'd never wore this size clothes even when I was 9mo pregnant with either of my children. Life seemed very glomy for me. In January I decided to get back to business with Dr. Klems office and get the show on the road. As most of you know this can be a very long process because of all of the steps you have to take to be qualified for surgery. By March of this year I was finally finished with all of the steps that I needed (so I thought). My Information was submitted to my insurance company and I thought it was complete but of course my insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois denied my case. They claimed that I didn't have enough previous documented diet attempts for at least 5 years. When I submitted 7 years straight of failed diet attempts with one diet (Dr. Greenspon) doctor. My case was taken on by the Attorney that handles lap band denied cases, which took almost two months to get resolved. Finally got approved (this was a very stressful time needless to say).:tongue_smilie:As I was waiting for the approval I decided to try another dietary option, Weight Watchers (This was so costly, but my husband wanted to make sure I tried absolutly everything.....) by June of 09, I was finally approved... Now to set the date...July was full for my doctor so I opted to take August 12th. I'm now scheduled....:thumbup:... Kept doing Weight Watchers for a minute until I ran out of thier food and I'm now at 239.5. My liquid diet starts July 29th, which does consist of some food. I am to have a protein shake for breakfast, a morning snack (which will be a fat free yogart without fruit), Protein shake for lunch, mid lunch snack (which will be sugar free jello), and then a dinner (I've opted to use a Smart One's meal which is approved by my nutrutionist as long as it has meat in it.) and I can have up to two sugar free popcicles or fudgecicles. This doesn't seem like a liquid diet but the doctor knows best and it's ment to be 1000 calories. My nutritionist said it was good that I've been on the Weight Watchers diet because it's comparable to what I will be doing except it's 200 calories less. I will continue to post after my procedure but I can say that I'm happy that it's all most time for me to get this part over with....It's been a long time coming. Start Weight: 252lbs Pre Op Weight: 239lbs Pre Surgery Weight: ??? Goal Weight: 145

Its been 6 yrs since my bypass I got pregnant 5 1/2 yrs out its been 8 mnths since I had my baby and cant loose the weight regain ive failed I need help @@sweethonesty261 Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

Currently experiencing the same thing. I hear this is very common at the time. My doctor advised I up my activity (I'm only clear to walk until week 6) and increase water intake, but that this stall is normal. Weight gain could potentially be bloating, water, hormones, a whole slew of things. As someone who militantly believed in CICO and that hormones were a cop out, this has been a tough pill to swallow but following my doctors advice has been yielding more results than my previous beliefs and efforts.

I am on the way to the pot of gold. I am so excited that I could sing, wait a minute I am singing. :redface: I am scheduled for my surgery on 12/8/09 at 5:00 am. I am told I should be on my way home by 2:00. I start my liquid diet on the 24th. I am working on getting us to that diet. I am finding it hard to eat only a dime size bite as well as chewing that piece 30 times. I have always drank something with every meal and now that too has been hard. I know I shouldn't complain after reading pages and pages of stuff on this site. I have nothing but to forge on. I will do that. I am not sure where to get protein drinks from. My son said that you can get it just about anywhere but that a lot of them are nasty tasting. If there is anyone out there that can fill me in on the do's and dont's of protein shakes. That would be wonderful. I am 48 years old and am about 180 lbs over weight. That is a terrifying weight gain when you think about how toxic fat cells can be to your body. I am so ashamed of myself for getting this size.:confused: I truly didn't think about the weight until I became diabetic then took a long look at myself (I think that was the scaryest of all so far) and here I am. After the blood pressure was going up and up. I began this process. I would be lying if I said that it is all overwhelming right now. I have information swimming around my head like a over crowded fish bowl. This to shall pass I have to doubt. :confused: So as the journey is underway. Lay back and enjoy the ride. TaTa For Now:smile2:

Call your surgeon. Have you lifted anything, or twisted weird, is the pain by an incision? Do you have a fever? The weight gain could be Water weight so don't fret over that aspect.

That's so coincidental that you should post this--I just posted that I think I see a better weight loss when I get enough rest/sleep (I have some stressful issues going on right now that have prevented me from sleeping well but I've been taking something to help me sleep the past few days). There are a lot of studies in the medical literature right now about the importance of getting enough sleep for disease prevention and to prevent weight gain--so I think it would follow that it's needed for weight loss too. It sounds like you have a really busy schedule and there's not much you can do about it now--but I would say just get the most rest/sleep you can whenever you can. It sounds like you are being very good with your meal planning. Does this leave you any time to exercise?

Repeat after me "The first 6 weeks are about healing. Not about losing weight". (at least according to my surgeon). You probably had IV liquids put in you during surgery, and that is part of the weight gain.

I'm not banded yet, but I've always experienced either no weight loss or a little weight gain around my period. I don't weigh myself for a few days before until after my period. Your body retains a lot of water and is bloated. It'll go back down, and probably lower than pre period.

It took time for the weight to go on; it will take time for the weight to come off. You just had surgery, and you most likely won't start losing weight until you get on more solid foods. Each transition to a food stage usually means a weight gain. If you start getting it in your head now that you're going to fail, then you will fail. Weight loss with the lap band is a marathon, not a sprint. Have patience and realize it's going to be a journey. If you can't get yourself in the right frame of mind, you need to find a support group in your area. These forums are great, but they aren't a replacement for face-to-face support. You're only two weeks out. With the way your posts sound, i think it'd be a good idea to go to a support group.

I had my surgery yesterday and when I weighed myself today, I gained 5 lbs. Is this just water weight or weight from being bloated? I haven't had any "food" since Monday, so I can't imagine that it's actual weight gain. But, I have a heart condition and have to also watch my fluid retention, so I'm wondering if I should take a water pill or just let it run it's course over the next few days and give it a chance to leave on it's own. Also, when does the bloated stomach go down? The top of my stomach area is bigger than my bottom and I'm assuming it's just from the gas and swelling. I'm looking through my paperwork, but there is nothing there listed about looking bloated. I haven't had any pain in my shoulder, just around my port and getting in and out of bed has been a struggle. I'm finding that sitting in a chair is easier for me.

UGH. I am so sorry. Definitely contact your surgeon back in Lebanon, and make sure you get copies of your files AND XRAYS. I don't think anyone is going to want to un-fill you without knowing exactly where your port is, and no-one is going to give you X-rays when you are pregnant (as they shouldn't). how do you feel, and how is your current weight gain? As long as that is on track and you can eat healthy foods, I don't think it is 100% the case all the time that you get unfilled for a pregnancy. If you aren't throwing up, and can use healthy slider foods to gain the right amount of weight, you might be OK! Anyway, if you can get a copy of your file/xrays that might really help regarding getting someone to help you, and if your surgeon knows anyone in the US, maybe that person could help?

Hi losefor life, I can relate to your physical condition. My BMI was only 32 when I was banded, but I had a lot of the other conditions. I had high blood pressure, high blood choloestrol and type 2 diabetes. I got immediate insurance approval (BCBS). The proceedure was a breeze but the waiting for it was long and the waiting afterward for the fills to kick in was tough. I was banded June 23 and I didn't lose any weight until just this last month (6 lbs). When you don't have a lot to lose like you it takes longer and LOTS of patience. I think it is good for your family because it aleviates you and them of the constant worry that something bad could happen to you. This is something that you can control when it seemed for so long that you couldn't control the weight gain no matter how hard you tried. I am not sorry at all that I did this. Good luck to you!!!

When I gained weight, I noticed my height went from a solid 5' 2.5" to 5' 1.75" which was sad but I knew that as we age our vertebral discs loose elasticity and we get shorter. Sun of a gun, I've been in two doctor's offices this week and both measured me at 5' 2.5" again! I had no idea my weight gain had put that much pressure on my spine. Also, I've gone back to my normal shoe size of 7.5. I was an 8 at my heaviest!

deed87... I'm no expert but I think you are kinda going into this with the wrong mindset. You have to understand that this is a tough deal. Too many people call this "the easy way out" but its all but that. This is tough. The job you seek will serve as great motivation but the are many posts in here about people who don't have sucess with it. However, when you do reach your goal weight, you can stop getting fills, have some Fluid removed from the band, etc. I think once you get close it will motivate you to go further. I also get the feeling that you are like many of us that LOVE food and you are thinking that you will never be able to enjoy the good stuff again. Many people on this forum talk about how hard it is to maintain when you reach your goal. To take fluid out will only give more hunger and you will want more food which will give you more calories which will eventually lead to weight gain. Hope this helps.

Good for you! I remember feeling the same exact way when I was at my heaviest as well. I was literally letting life pass me by. I remember avoiding people that I had went to school with (I mean ducking into aisles at stores) just so that I wouldn't have to be embarrassed by my weight gain. Now, even though I know that I still weigh more than what I did back in school, I can look those people right in the eyes with confidence in who and what I am, and not be ashamed of ME! Kuddos to you, because that was a very huge step in moving on with your life. It's awesome when we come to the realization that we really are worth something, and we really do matter!!! Good for you!

46 pounds in 6 weeks is very good. I would not compare my weight loss to others, we are all different. I would watch the sugar until you lose much of your weight. It might not be very many calories (you do log your food don't you to keep track?) but sugar has a tendency to make you hungry... the more you eat, the more you want.... Some foods are "sliders" and just mush up and slide right down... perhaps salad is that for you. LIke PDXman said, eat your protein first to make sure you get the restriction and your requirements, then if you want a treat later, how about surgar free pudding cup, a SF hard candy or jello.... I would stay away from cookies or cupcakes... I know they are yum, but you are here for a lifestyle change, and follow your Docs plan as close as you can so you will have not regrets or slower weight loss than you can..... the honeymoon phase does not last forever. It gets harder to lose and slower later on....At 11 months I had quiet a few sugar treats this christmas and had a weight gain... Im back on the streight and narrow for a week, to shake that sugar craving and lose those extra pounds! Jump back on girl, you are doing great with the weight loss!

Thanks for keeping it real. I've been doing so well since surgery, but the past few days have had trouble getting my butt on the treadmill. That's how it starts. I commend you for asking for encouragement, so here it is. I decided months ago that since nothing changes if nothing changes, I wasn't going to go into this life change with the same behaviors I did in the past. Namely, let how I feel rule what I do. "I don't want to exercise" isn't a conscious decision not to exercise. It's a fleeting feeling of today. I choose to make the conscious decision to override that feeling. Every single stinking time I do this, and choose the thought-through, smart decision over the fleeting feeling, I'm making progress and working those habit muscles. Eating, exercise, social interaction, you name it. I am NOT a slave to my feelings. Where the head goes, the body will follow. Fake it til you make it. Do it anyway. Pick a slogan. Any of them that work! Thank you for reminding me that I was slipping into "feelings rule" mode this week, and that's a dangerous, slippery slope for me. Matter of fact, that slope is about a 150-lb weight gain slope. Been there, done that, bought the size 4XL t-shirt. Good luck and stay connected!

Thank you guys! I'm just upset because going onto my 4th year, I just wanted to live like a normal person and not always just watch what I eat. . . guess not. I'm back on the wagon. I've been following the Atkins plan for nearly 1 year. It works well and when I went off and added some carbs which i wasn't supposed to yet, i guess my body retaliated and i did feel badly. Nausea, bloaty, swelling, weight gain. . etc. But I'm back on it now and won't be coming off it. Protein good, carbs bad. . . water good, soda bad! lol. . . . thanks again, i really feel better knowing that you all understood. . . blessings and pleasant journey (it's a damn long one)

It sounds like you're kicking butt following the plan, but your body just doesn't wanna cooperate! Weight loss wise sounds like you're doing well - You're averaging about 3.8 pounds a week lost, which seems like more than if you just put it in a whole number lost (At least imo - I wanna pay attention to the biggest number to keep me going =p). That sounds like a really good pace to me. As far as stalling, I wish I could offer you concrete advice, but nothing seemed to make a difference for mine except sheer determination. My hormones went wack and I ranted a bit on my blog, which helped with the crazies. Now that I'm finally seeing a little movement, I feel much better about having survived the 3 weeks of stall. Anyway, because during this time I read hundreds of posts on stalls I will give you the advice I tried that worked for other people: - Increasing calories by a few hundred for a few days to a week and then coming back down on calories (I found this easier by adding some calorie rich foods rather than adding more volume because I couldn't eat a lot either) - Decreasing carbs - I try and keep mine below 40 because that's what my PCP said would help put me in ketosis - Increasing Water - Many blogs I read talk about how you should divide your weight in half and that's how many ounces you should get. That makes like 150 ounces for me which is not realistically happening so I aimed for an extra 16oz glass per day - Increasing exercise - it sounds like you're already doing this, but maybe doing a different type of exercise or at a different time of day - I know from other diets I've done that my body loves to get in a set routine and stop dropping weight, I gotta keep it guessing to keep losing - Decreasing processed foods - Increasing Protein - I got up to around 100g/day for a few days but nothing seemed to happen and I had a hard time getting that much in so I started just aiming for my target of 70 again - Adding interval training and strength training - I did this by adding 5 1 minute jogging intervals to my walks, not allowed to lift weights yet so did a few isometric things and some wall push-ups - Having a rich high fat/calorie sweet - I didn't end up really trying this. I wanted to, because it sounded tasty, but I was too worried about ending up binging on something, my self control has yet to be really tested and I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible! A lot of people seemed to swear by this though - Going back to basics - liquid diet for a few days and working back up (not fun!) None of these worked for me, but they worked for a lot of other people! I hope that helps any =) Feel free to rant if you're feeling stressed though, keeping stress in and being upset raises your cortisol and can help lead to weight gain/retention. Every time I vented I feel like I got it off my chest and could worry about other stuff for the day. Hang in there, it will break eventually.