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I was banded on 6/11/12, I immediately started seeing results and lost 13 in the first 3 weeks, but over the course of the last week I have very slowly started to gain some lbs back, its only 3 or 4, but I am now paranoid that I am doing something wrong. Is it normal to go up and down like this?

More and more research is showing that putting a cap on the variety of foods and tastes you experience will help you control your weight. In Dr. Oz’s book, The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management, he devotes a chapter to the Pick and Stick strategy. Although I had been eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch (dinner is the same every day except on weekends), it was validating to read that I was doing something right. At a wedding last weekend, I was excited by all the food choices at the buffet table. Instead of sticking to a serving of dense meat, vegetable, and fruit, I decided to put a few spoonfuls of different foods on my plate. I ended up with a plate with tiny piles of black eyed peas, turkey, baked fish, ambrosia, pineapple, apple slice, shrimp, and kiwi. While chatting with relatives for the next three hours, I hung on to this plate of food and dabbled in it every few minutes until it was gone. Late that night I reflected on my meal at the wedding and realized that how eating like that everyday could lead to weight gain. The following is an excerpt from the chapter that explains the strategy: Yeah, sure, variety may be the spice of life, but it also can be the death of dieting. When you have a lot of choices for a meal, it’s a lot easier to slip out of good eating habits, and into ham-induced bad ones. When you sit down at a diner and are presented with a menu that’s the size of a phone book, it’s easy to give in. One way to get away from fat bombs is to eliminate choices for at least one meal a day. Pick the one meal you rush through and automate it. For most people, it’s lunch. So find a health lunch you like—salad with grilled chicken and olive oil, turkey on whole-grain bread-and have it for lunch every day. Yes, every day. Think of your dog: Penelope stays the same weight when she has her regular food every day. But as soon as she starts gorging on variety of nightly table scraps, the puny poodle looks more like a massive mastiff. How does Pick and Stick work? It seems that when you have meals rich in flavor variety, it takes more and more calories to keep you full (think of Thanksgiving, when you eat a lot of different things, stuff yourself, and still have room for pumpkin pie). So when we experience meals with lots of diverse flavors-think Mexican or Indian cuisine, we tend to eat more to satisfy our taste buds. Now, we don’t want you to become bored with food, but if you make this a habit at least one meal a day, it’ll decrease your temptations and help you stop thinking about food so often. In fact, we usually prescribe two meals that are the same each day for our patients. It’s one of the ways to automate your brain so your habits follow. Of course, we don’t want you to stop enjoying diversity of flavors, but it will control your appetite. Automate the Process: One of the reasons why we’re a society of shotputters instead of a society of milers is that we have millions of choices about what to eat. And while our variety is a win for the food industry, it is a miserable defeat for our waists. One of the ways that you’ll be able to reboot your body is by stripping away the millions of choices to automate your actions. You’ll eat essentially the same meals for breakfast, lunch, Snacks, and change up options for dinner. By decreasing the variety of food eaten throughout the day, you’ll decrease the chance for the hedonistic rampages that can be so dangerous. Another trick: Use extra-light virgin olive oil, which has less flavor and may help control taste cravings.

I totally agree that WLS is an incredible tool to reset the metabolism and reverse co-morbidities. I do not regret having surgery for even a second. My life is so much better now. Now to throw a spanner (monkey wrench) into the works. It may be well worth your time to research Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) eating. This is an incredibly powerful way of healthy eating that can quickly reverse co-morbidities. Like WLS, it requires a dietary overhaul, and the same degree of planning and lifestyle modification. But there is abundant research and evidence to show that it is very effective and healthy for life. It would certainly work best if the spouse could also be on board. Anyway, there are a lot of resources out there about what it is, and how to do it. I think for someone with a lower BMI who would not qualify for surgery under their insurance plan, WFPB would be a very viable option. (You also have to realize that having surgery with a lower BMI means you will not lose as fast.) WFPB is very filling and satisfying. You can eat a LOT of food and feel full all the time. (That is not to say you should not also be working on "head hunger" issues, and overeating issues as well. There is a reason you are overweight, right? And you have to work on that forever.) Combined with some exercise, it is a very good alternative to consider, if done well. PS: Read "The Obesity Code" by Dr. Jason Fung. A great book that explains how weight gain/loss actually works. Its a lot more complex that simply "Eat less, move more" mantra that makes intuitive sense, but is wrong.

When I have surgery I always wake up feeling really puky! I did tell the Doctor/Nurses and everyone prior that this happens. Sure enough as soon as the nurse came to try to wake me in the recovery room, as I was coming too, I said Im gonna hurl!! I didn't but they had the stuff ready right there to go in my IV. Just let them know if you have a tendency.. they can make arrangements to have it near. They could get it anyway but I wanted to make sure!!!! You should feel much better tomorrow! hang in there... Just rest and recover.. and try to drink the fluids when you get back on them... keep in mind IF your on alot of IV at the moment, you might notice a some weight gain from the IV solution.. it will go away... So my suggestion is try to stay off the scale for a week or so...

After a whole year (2012) of no fills due to lack of insurance, and me not being able to afford $350 p/fill, I went and got my 1st of 2 INSURED fill last month, I maintained my weight for the 11months i did not have a fill, which my Dr. said was pretty darn good, as he said he expected a weight gain, as did I. So we were both pretty surprised. 1st fill was 1/10/13 - weight was 259, 2nd January fill 1/31/13 - weight was 254. Im going for my 3rd tomorrow and i cant WAIT!!!! The hardest thing I think i had to "get used to again" was the restriction. After almost a year of being able to eat more than I should, its pretty difficult to only eat 1cup of food. Mentally this is hard. Sort of like starting over again but, Im excited and ready for 2013!!! Have any of you out there had the same experience, how did you overcome the mental hunger - bc its getting more difficult each day.

Amanda, I am 5 years out from lapband and then 2 years ago converted to bypass. I have learned alot over the last 5 years and I can give some advice I wish I was told. I am 61 now and have lost 85 lbs. I had to lose 10 lbs before surgery and it was very hard. What I would do to help your future journey with WLS is to focus on exercise. The easiest time in my life to work out was when I was at home with my toddlers. When I was younger I was really into exercise and I did it at home by myself. It took so much less time and work than I expected to get in good shape. Everyone is different and what works for one doesn't work for another. Some go to gyms, some go to classes, some walk outside, some use a treadmill, etc. Anything that raises the heartrate for 15 minutes per day works. Since my bypass I knew I should exercise but I was losing weight so easily and felt so great I just didn't do it. Keeping a habit of daily workout (15 to 20 minutes per day is all I need) is crucial. Because now I am 2 years out from my surgery and I reached my low weight at one year. Beginning of this year it started going up again. I wasn't eating more. I was being a lot more sedentary. For me, lack of activity brings more lack of energy and I just feel too tired to move much. I KNOW that if I kept on working out as I lost my weight, I would not have this problem now. The more muscle mass we have, the more calories we can eat and not gain weight. As I lost the weight, I am sure my muscle mass was reducing and I was setting myself up for future weight gain. The weight loss doesn't last forever with bypass. So to get into a habit of regular aerobic movement, you would be preparing yourself to live a thin life from now on. And you would probably lose some weight too.

Since all weight loss comes from calorie deficit (burning more than eating), the key to all successful weight loss is to create a calorie deficit. There are many great tools to help track this and most of them are free. My favorites are the iPhone app, "LoseIt"; www.FitDay.com and www.Livestrong.com go to Calorie Tracker and myPlate and create an account. These programs track your deficit and help point out areas of improvement. In general, you should get about a third of your calories from each of the main food groups: proteins, fats, carbs. If you see higher percentages of fats or carbs, replace those calories with protein calories and it will really help you eat smarter instead of just less. Over the past 20 years we are eating many more calories and burning far fewer calories. The secret to weight loss is to work toward a calorie deficit whatever it takes. Most people losing weight successfully are eating about 1200 calories per day (women) and 1400 calories per day for men. Below this, your body tends to start freaking out and hanging on to everything you eat. It is also important to drink at least 64 ounces of water per day. Our bodies store environmental toxins in the fat and when you lose weight, all this stuff is coming out and your kidneys will really appreciate it if you drink plenty of water. This helps battle constipation as well. Also, take a multi-vitamin every day. The calcium and B-vitamins really help with weight loss not to mention the other minerals. Nutritional psychology is a hot new topic. Bad nutrition causes depression and low energy which makes us want to eat more to feel better and we snowball into bad weight gain. Better nutrition is required for successful weight loss and we feel better. Also, we eat way too much sugar and this raises our insulin levels which takes all that blood sugar and turns it into fat which drops the blood sugar which makes us hungry and we eat more sugar and this snowballs into weight gain. We eat way too much processed food and we have to get back to healthy foods. Brilliant food chemistry has not helped us. Cheap food sweetener (HFCS - high fructose corn syrup) is in everything now (sugary drinks, pasta sauce, ketchup) and our bodies don't know what to do with this stuff so we store it as fat. We consume massive quantities of this stuff and it doesn't help us lose weight. High tech fats such as trans fats and hydrogenated oils allow foods to have a much longer shelf-life because bacteria can't break it down but the problem is that we can't break it down either and we just store it as fat. A great rule of thumb is that if it doesn't spoil we shouldn't eat it. The classic example is an oatmeal pie that our kids drop in the mini-van and we find it a year later and it still looks good. We shouldn't be eating brilliant food chemistry. The more we preare our own meals and take our lunch instead of getting most of our meals at restaurants, the easier it is to lose weight successfully. Proteins - we should get about 45gms of protein a day (women) and about 60 grams per day for men. A 20gm protein portion (meat, chicken, fish, etc) is about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards. Protein keeps us full longer because it doesn't mess with insulin and we need protein while we're losing weight so that we lose fat and not muscle. Fats - are the highest caloric density food. Each gram of fat has twice the number of calories as proteins and carbs. Believe it or not there are actually "good" fats (unsaturated). You want to avoid saturated (bad) fats. Saturated fats raise our cholesterol and clog our arteries. Unsaturated fats actually lower our cholesterol. To lose weight, you should limit fat grams to 20 gms per day and keep saturated fats below 10gms per day. Trans fats and hydrogenated oils should be zero. All this is easier these days with nutrition labels. Examples of good (unsaturated) fats include avocados, peanuts, soybeans, olives and oils such as olive, canola, peanut, corn, safflower, sunflower. French fries from peanut or safflower oil are actually healthier than those fried in saturated oils - ask your restaurant which they use. Fats actually release a gut hormone called CCK (cholecystokinin) which causes the gallbladder to contract and it is a powerful natural appetite suppressant. If you give CCK to rat they won't eat. Therefore, if you snack on a handful of almonds or dip vegetable sticks in olive oil, you manage your hunger and it is healthier. Bison (buffalo) has a great beef flavor and it has much less saturated fat than cow beef. Bison burgers and steaks are a much healthier way to enjoy beef than the cows that predominate our diet. Carbs - when eaten shoot up the insulin levels which turn blood sugar into fat and this drops our blood sugar level which makes us hungry. If you want to lose weight you have to manage carbs (sugar, bread, potato, rice - "white foods"). I see a lot of patients who go all day without eating and then eat a huge pasta dinner before going to bed. This is a perfect way not to lose weight. Carbs are best eaten earlier in the day when you have a chance to burn off all that energy. Eating three meals per day will keep us out of intense hunger and we eat fewer calories overall. I don't like Atkins type diets simply because they are hard to sustain. Better to manage carbs - keep them below 33% of total calories and eat them earlier in the day. Ice cream is enemy number one for weight loss. A great substitute is to make your own fruit smoothies at home. It is a sweet dessert but it is fruit instead of sugar and fat. Many stores have smoothie blends so you just toss it in the blender with diet apple juice or plain yogurt and it's easy. Be careful and avoid sugar added smoothie blends. Just get plain frozen fruit or make your own from fresh fruit. Great way to spoil yourself and eat healthier. I will post topics on Fitness and Brain Stuff (I don't like terms like behavior modification) which are the other two main disciplines of successful weight loss. I put this info and much more on YouTube if you search Watkins Weight Loss Class. Weight loss surgery simply makes all this stuff much easier but knowledge plus change is where you will find success. I hope this helps. Brad Watkins MD Source: Maximizing weight loss - Nutrition

I did research on this and I think it's due to other surgeries sometimes having complications and weight gain after a few years. Most things I read said if you're part of a group (like at work) you're fine but the self insurance is hard to get. I agree about it being prejudicial for the same reasons. I wonder if we worded it "partial gastrectomy" (such as people with a large ulcer or stomach cancer might get) if that sounds better- just not saying the words WLS. Essentially that's what it is- right? partial gastrectomy (removal of part of stomach). If asked directly, legally you have to say weight loss surgery, but that might be the way around it.

I do have the PCOS, and am diabetic, in fact on double the insulin I was on prior to surgery which just adds to weight gain so thats why we just switched some meds around.. blood sugar in better control but more meds then ever and no weight loss.

I just want to post to say how thankful I am for RNY. I was able to enjoy the holiday without over eating. It was wonderful. No guilt. Did I have a taste of a few treats, yes but just a taste. I was satisfied and no holiday weight gain. I know I'm only five and a half weeks out but I can already tell my habits and mind set are starting to change. I just pray I can keep going. How was everyone else?

maybe water weight gain....I dont know much I havent had mine surgery yet. but could be

I follow the basic band rules, because aside from losing weight, I do not want to cause any damage to the surgery. It was a big and expensive step to take, and I want to protect it. When I say the "basic" rules, I mean small bites chewed well, sticking to small portions, listening closely for the signal to stop, not drinking 1/2 hour before or after a meal, no carbonation, NSAIDs (for the most part). I was told no straws or gum, but I have zero issues with either one. As for the portions, my band dictates that....which pretty much stays in the 1/2-1cup measurement. I don't actually measure, but I can eyeball it when I put whatever in the bowl or on the plate. No matter what is on the plate, I stop when signaled. The other rules....well, I guess they're more behavioral changes they try to instill. Things like keeping a food journal and tracking calories. In the beginning, I tracked calories daily. Once I got to the green zone, I stopped. The band tells me all I need to know, and as long as I'm still losing, it's working. I feel completely FREE since I stopped tracking, and no longer worry about eating to the point of weight gain.

I’m struggling with maintenance. I have exceeded my weight loss goal and am currently at the bottom of the healthy BMI scale, but I’m very wary of weight gain because four years after my surgery I had regained almost half of the weight I lost. I’m currently adhering to the dietary recommendations given to me in the first year, but it has me losing slightly every week. I don’t seem to know how to maintain. I’m either gaining or losing.

Add me to the temporary weight gain club. Almost monthly, I'll pick up a few lbs for a week or so, then I'll lose it and a lb or two more. I don't know if it is a coincidence or not, but the weight gain is greater after I've eaten fruit - like strawberries, grapes, or watermelon.

Thanks, I am glad that I'm not the only one who experiences these things! So I have many, many more years to look forward to? Missy, it does suck! About the weight gain, I have a conundrum...I gained 10 pounds OVERNIGHT! I imagined you could gain a few, but 10?

I added both of you ladies to my friend list - I'm glad to hear your stories too. I can't blame my weight gain on anything but myself - I started a company about 5 years ago which kept me sitting at a computer for so many hours a day, I ended up eating every meal at my desk. I also drank a lot too. It's part of the culture of my work environment... we are all really big drinkers. It's hard to break out of. Luckily, i kind of "grew out of it", in that i'm 31 now, and that lifestyle just isn't feasible for me anymore. Two of the things that have been bothering me the most since I reached this weight are: 1) The almost constant fatigue. I feel like I have mono all the time. All I want to do is sleep when i'm not working. I can't get motivated to do the things in my life i need to do, like running errands, or even fixing up my new apartment. I don't have a husband or kids to force me to do stuff, but honestly, i'm pretty glad because if i did, I'd be a pretty sad sack of crap. 2) Aches and pains. My hips and knees hurt all the time. Like I'm sore from exertion, but I haven't exerted myself. That puts me further down the black hole of inactivity. UGH, it's embarrassing to even type. As it gets closer to time for my surgery, i find myself trying to be more active, because I want to make the surgery go as smoothly as possible, and i figure i'll be stuck in bed long enough after i get home. Since i've been feeling bad like this 100% of the time for the last few years, it's made me really excited about the surgery. I feel like it's the exact life changing event that i need to pull me out of it. One of the guys I work with had VSG a couple of years ago, and said that very soon after, his energy level doubled, and it jump-started his life. He really enjoys working out now, and it really shows - he looks fantastic. Because I can see him with my own 2 eyes, he's been my best motivator, and ultimately *the thing* that helped me make this decision. <3

I am struggling with weight gain and it's been almost 3 years ! I was considering a re sleeve but not sure how risky it is ! And hernia's can keep happening depending on where they are located and the pressure on she weakened muscle and tissue ! What have u figured out about the weight gain ??

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!

A high TSH does explain why you could be gaining weight. The function of the thyroid is inversely proportionate to the actual result. Your result was high therefore the function of your thyroid is low. That equals weight gain, fatigue, skin and hair changes and blah blah blah. This is great for you though. Being on something like synthroid or levothyroxine should make it easier to lose weight. I'm not saying it is going to be to the point that you won't need a sleeve (I'd cry if someone told me I couldn't get mine next month) but it should make it easier for you to lose before and after your surgery. You also may get some additional energy and feel better too. It's good to get all this stuff straighted out before surgery. Your hormones will be going crazy enough after surgery you don't need anything addition to add to it. It usually only takes 2-4 weeks for the medication to be effective enough to change your labs and then they should make a decision on surgery. Good luck! I hope all works out but I am sorry for your bump in the road

Hi. I am almost a month out and I am having energy issues. By the end of the day, I am exhausted. It has, to be fair gotten better, but i just don't know how to better manage my food or Vitamins to get to somewhat normal energy levels. I have lost about 20 pounds from the day of surgery ( including post surgery weight gain ). I look different and my clothes are falling off of me. I feel like I can't enjoy the new me quite as much as I would have thought. The nutritionist told me to eat more and workout less ( which is a dream to hear ), but I don't feel right and my work is starting to suffer due to lack of interest and motivation. I feel bored, and I don't know why. I assume that it's due to lack of energy and lack of mental clarity. Any suggestions on foods that may help pick me up?

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.

snacks are important to keep from over eating at meals. And it helps from spiking blood sugars that lead to weight gain. I am at 1200 calories a day and losing about one pound a week with 30 minutes exercise per day at least. Sometime it just that your body is losing inches too. I keep track of inches too.

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!

Hey all! Another banded and pg gal here! I'm 9 wks pregnant (found out right at 4 weeks) and had planned to keep my fill until I needed it out (with the blessing of my doc.) Last week I ended up in the ER with a gall bladder attack. We managed to avoid surgery (thank goodness!) but with all the violent throwing up (about 24 hours worth) I opted for a complete unfill so that I didn't end up with a slipped band. Even the anti-nausea meds weren't doing anything. So, here I am, 9 weeks in and no fill. I've been fairly nauseated all day long (though thankfully, not to much actual throwing up outside of the gall bladder stuff.) But man, am I hungry! No weight gain yet, but I'm trying to decide if I should try to get a partial fill, or just try to get through the pregnancy and stay unfilled in case the gall bladder kicks up again. (Took several hours to find somebody who could do an unfill . . .) What would you do?

Also May 5th for me - I'm still meant to be on weight loss rather than weight gain, and I won't know until Wednesday if I'm on a pre-op liquid diet, though I've been doing the liver shrinking thing since October, and it's pretty far reduced from what it was, but still bigger than the doctor would like it. For pre-op, I've been doing Optimum Nutrition, and the flavor isn't bad, but it's kind of heavy. I discovered Premiere Protein, and it's probably my favorite shake out of the ones I've tried (a few), and I'm going to be sticking with it post-surgery if I can. I've seen a lot of different brands recommended, both around the internet and on this forum. Body Fortress, nectar, Any whey, Syntha-6, Premiere, Click, Chike, Celebrate ENS, Isopure, and a lot of posters on forum have seemed to swear by unjury. Good luck to everyone going in on May 5th!