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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.

Pete, You are right, some of your weight gain may be from stoping the lasix. (furosemide) Are you noticing swelling especially in your lower extremities. If you are making good food choices and still gaining weight like that you need to let the doctor know. You don't want to put on a lot of fluid. It wouldn't be good for you. Keep up the great work. You will get there!

I was loosing too much weight and got sickly (ER visit where had potassium infusion and fluids) [band was too tight, too] I vowed to eat more. So I've had juices, cheeses, fruits and some Peanut Butter and 2 weight watchers meals. From 125.9 to 129.9 in just two days. My plan is to lay off the juices and go to Water next week but I really need nutrition. I think my body is just in emergency mode and trying to store all my foods for energy. Anyone have this happen- rapid weight gain when eating low sugar/low fat foods? What should I be eating instead of fruits and dairy and Protein?

I think we all have different reasons for being here. Some people have eating issues. Some people, no matter what they do they gain weight or can't get it off. Some people have medical conditions that cause them to gain weight, or they are on certain meds that caused them to gain weight and they can't get it off. I think that it is important to not assume that everyone has eating issues. It is important to not assume everyone has a medical condition. For people who have eating issues, I have a friend going through this, the battle with food is constant and it's hard. It isn't anything that is easy and a surgery like this isn't going to solve the problem alone. Therapy and other follow up care is usually needed. My poor girlfriend who is struggling with eating issues is working hard to correct her relationship with food and decided that she is going to get surgery to help with the weight loss now. Her relationship is starting to turn around thanks to therapy and so she is planning on the surgery. I constantly offer her support and sometimes she lets me know what her food plans are for the day. For me, one of my guiltiest things is eating out. I put on most of my weight when I was in my 20's. I had money to burn and instead of cooking I ate out a lot. I had a gym membership when I had a good job and I lost a great deal of weight that I put on. I got pregnant with my son and things went down hill. The company I worked for closed, money became tight, I was a single mother so we were living off of Hot Dogs, Macaroni and cheese, corn and green beans. I had to make do with what I had. I began to put on a pound a week. My 130 frame ballooned with in a year. While I was working I started falling asleep at the wheel driving. Finally found out my thyroid was a mess, and that I needed meds. I took meds for a six months when an Endocronologist said, "stop the meds, you are soo young and it isn't that bad." Hoshimotos took over my body for the next 7 years, putting on weight, more and more, no matter how I ate I gained. I became pregnant with my daughter and was rushed over to a new Endo and they were concerned. The put me on meds right away for the babies health. I started to regulate again and lost 15lbs during pregnancy. I gave birth to my daughter and became depressed. I probably ate some things I shouldn't have. I put back on the 15lbs and decided enough is enough. I went back to the gym and altered my diet again, to meat and veggies. I had a personal trainer and I kept a strict food diary. I counted calories, fat, carbs and sugars. I worked hard at the gym 5 days a week and on saturday and Sunday would walk. I went back to the gym and was measured after a week I gained half a pound and my trainer assured me that I am probably just gaining muscle faster than loosing fat. I worked my muscles and cardio for 5 weeks. I went from 220 to 230. In my frustration I decided it didn't matter anymore and for six months fetl sorry for myself. I ate brownies and cookies and only put on 4lbs. I went to my OBGYN sobbing, sobbing my eyes out and said, "I just can't live like this anymore, what are my options." He was very sympathetic and he believed me, seeing other women fight with weight loss. "Once you put it on you can't get it off and sometimes it isn't even anything specific you do to put it on. You don't have to do one thing wrong to create this weight issue, you could do everything right." He suggested the band and I followed up with my primary, who also suggested the band. So here I am, finally loosing weight and feeling great. I have no desire to eat brownies anymore. My biggest love is chocolate and I only give myself two days that I can treat myself, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I haven't had a fill up to this point so the hunger was making me crazy. We have chips, chocolate, cookies, etc in the house. The kids get cookies every couple of days as a snack so I thought, "what if I allow myself that same kind of limit." My kids are tall and thin, my son is ten and weighs 91 lbs and is all muscle, my daughter, tall, thin muscular girl. They are beautiful and people never think they are my kids. People assume if you are fat it is what you eat, that kills me. If it was just our dining habits I would have round kids too. My husband is heavy and admits his problem is with food. He loves food, loves the taste of food, I on the other hand could careless about food. I eat because I have to. I watch his family fill there plates to the brim, two or three times. It is crazy and it makes me sick to think about eating that much food. Anyway, that is all. I guess I am just tired of the assumptions of how people gain their weight. I am so tired of people judging us based on our weight. "Oh that person is over weight so they must be binging, or that person is over weight so they must be trying to heal themselves with food, that person is over weight so they must eat out all the time." It is funny, if you go out to eat when you are overweight people assume you must do this a lot. One of the things I do when I go out to eat is get a take out container right away and cut out just a small portion of the meal to eat. I have done this forever, a lady looked at me weird when I said, "it helps to reduce the calories I take in, out of site out of mind." Then she looked at me like I must eat it all on the way home or something. I then cut that 2/3s of the meal in half again and eat that at home as seperate meals, or my hubby eats it. I am not fat because I don't know how to eat or how to count calories. I don't use dressings, I have always used low fat mayo and less then the "amount" of the serving listed on the label. I could not do anything more than I had already done to loose this weight. I thought, fought and cried myself to sleep because I did not want to die in a few years because I am fat. I wanted to be able to chase my kids around on the beach or play in the yard. I did not want surgery, I wanted surgery even less than I wanted to be fat. I was sure I should be able to do this on my own and when I couldn't I was crushed. Before my thyroid and PCOS was really bad, Weight watchers worked. Now it didn't, before the gym and diet worked, now it didn't. Now it was time to find a solution that did and this is working. I just wish the world would stop judging, even those who suffer from obesity. We need to not only stop judging others and their journey, but we need to stop being so harsh on ourselves. So what if we only loose half a pound one week, it means we get back on track the next week, don't let guilt take you over. We all have off days, off weeks, but it doesn't mean we can't bring ourselves back around. I have studied addiction, I study psychology, I understand the process when the mind becomes our worst enemy, be it chemical or circumstantial. We must remember to love ourselves in order to heal our souls and forgive ourselves. Even if medical conditions got us here, at some point we gave up on ourselves and just started living life and not worrying about it. Like the problem would resolve itself. I am glad I waited this long, as I wasn't obese enough for surgery until about four years ago and then I ended up pregnant and back on hypothyroid meds. I thought that, coupled with excercise I would start loosing. When I didn't, this time, I didnt hit ground zero depression, I went to my doctors and asked what there was to help me. I am being proactive, and to me that is the best gift I can give myself and my family. My son said to me the other day, "Mom, pretty soon I will be able to wrap my arms tight around you, you are loosing weight and looking great." I looked at him and smiled he then said, "and even better you are feeling better, you are doing more and you smile a lot more. I am so happy you are my Mom." He is ten and he is one of the blessings I am fighting this fight for. My two and a half year old needs a Mommy for the next 16 years and I want to do my best to be here.

I have made a huge discovery today and I mean huge. I am now currently 50 pounds heavier then I was in 2004. 50 freaking pounds - that is more then my 3 year old daughter that I had in 2004. I have gained more weight then she has in these past 3 years. A lot has happened. I have been diagnosed with Bi-Polar and depression and I am insomniac. I am also an emotional eater. Not a good combination.:svengo: I saw my psychiatrist on April 18th. The medications I am on cause weight gain and he and I both knew that. I didn’t figure in the 50 pound part. He actually suggested the lap band. And so I begin the new journey and working on the new me. :crying: I called my insurance company BCBS Blue Care of NC. They did cover the surgery. I just need to meet some requirements, which I believed I did. I contacted Dr. Enochs office (that is who my psychiatrist) recommended. I went to a seminar Thursday, April 24 and learned about the Lap band. I was told that I need a 5 year weight history and they need to verify my insurance. That is where I am today. I will keep posted.:thumbup:

I have made a huge discovery today and I mean huge. I am now currently 50 pounds heavier then I was in 2004. 50 freaking pounds - that is more then my 3 year old daughter that I had in 2004. I have gained more weight then she has in these past 3 years. A lot has happened. I have been diagnosed with Bi-Polar and depression and I am insomniac. I am also an emotional eater. Not a good combination.:biggrin: I saw my psychiatrist on April 18th. The medications I am on cause weight gain and he and I both knew that. I didn’t figure in the 50 pound part. He actually suggested the lap band. And so I begin the new journey and working on the new me. :rolleyes2: I called my insurance company BCBS Blue Care of NC. They did cover the surgery. I just need to meet some requirements, which I believed I did. I contacted Dr. Enochs office (that is who my psychiatrist) recommended. I went to a seminar Thursday, April 24 and learned about the Lap band. I was told that I need a 5 year weight history and they need to verify my insurance. That is where I am today. I will keep posted.:blushing:

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: . How can you beat that

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?

We love sharing good news. This morning Staten Island Live did a feature story on NYC Marathoner and LAP-BAND Patient, Michelle Stiglitz. Click here to view the article. Michelle has lost 130 lbs. since her LAP-BAND procedure and states, “My weight loss journey has truly changed my life and I am so proud to now call myself a runner. Soon to be a marathoner!” Like so many WLS patients, Michelle is paying it forward by running with the Leukemia and Lymphoma's Team in Training. She has also become a personal trainer and fitness instructor "in hopes to help others live a more healthy life." Her story has appeared countless times over the past year in major news outlets like these below: http://abc7ny.com/553678/ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3015117/Woman-gained-120lbs-hormonal-disorder-drops-HALF-body-weight-completes-two-half-marathons.html http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a50113/the-extreme-thing-i-never-thought-id-do-after-i-gained-back-120-pounds/ http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/news/a37670/how-this-woman-lost-135-pounds/ http://www.glamourpage.com/youll-never-guess-how-this-woman-lost-135-pounds/ http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a31849/extreme-weight-gain/?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1443_161265505 Please join us in congratulating her on her accomplishments!

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!

Only 7 days post op and was dropping the pounds nicely. About 15lbs at day 6. So it surprised me a lot that today GAINED .80 LBS ! How can that happen on liquid diet? I figured about 540 calories daily from protein shakes and broth comes in very cheap @ no more than 10 calories per serving in using bouillon!

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.