Search the Community

My soda substitute has been Vitamin Water Zero and the occasional diet Snapple. Three months ago I was addicted to Coke Zero and soda in general. I don't feel that way now, and I don't want to risk a relapse. I did however look up carbonation (I would like an occasional beer) and it's been discussed in much length on this board and others. One of the best responses I've seen is from a competing website: "Great question! The conventional wisdom is that carbonated beverages should be avoided after gastric bypass and vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Reasons stated include potential stretching of the pouch or sleeve and uncomfortable bloating caused by the expanding gas. These reasons make common sense, but to the best of my knowledge have never been tested in an objective manner. I suppose one would have to have half of a randomized group drink sodas for five or ten years and the other not. So you can see that that's just not going to happen. The question "do sodas stretch the pouch" will remain unanswered. Another reason that surgeons advise against sodas is the possibility that drinking calorie free sodas will pave the way to drinking sugary sodas. Again, I don't know if that's likely or not, but drinking sugar sodas is the kiss of death to successful weight loss maintenance after bariatric surgery. Really drinking any calorie containing beverages including juice bar drinks, vegetable juice, sodas, sports drinks, kids sugar drinks, ice tea containing sugar, coffee with milk, and beer will lead to intake than more calories than needed and weight gain. Now does that mean No Milk, No Juice.....? Well not really. It just means that if you drink liquid calories, you have to figure it into your daily calorie allotment and eat less of other foods. Since many calorie containing liquids have little nourishment other than sugar, that means eating less healthy stuff. A bad trade off. To summarize, if you do drink calorie containing liquids, make sure they are nutritious and include the calories in your daily calorie allotment. If they are of little nutritious value, make them small, occasional, a real treat. So have that glass of orange juice or glass of milk or glass of wine, but remember that they contain about 100 - 120 calories so skip something else and keep your calorie budget intact. Drink your calories responsibly." Dr. Charles Callery

Hello! Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm KatjaE and I just got my surgery date of August 27 -- about six weeks away. I'm a complete beginner here, but I think I'm ready. I'm more excited than nervous. I've already made a LOT of behavioral changes over the last year: -- In March 2009, I started exercising 6 days a week (33 minutes on a recumbent stationary bike). This did not lead to weight loss, but it made me feel stronger and healthier. -- In the summer of 2009, I stopped eating ice cream and started eating big salads almost every day. (This was a MAJOR change for me and my family.) This did not lead to weight loss either. -- In January and February of 2010, I had some brief but severe health issues caused by a drug interaction. This led me to change my diet in a couple of ways: ------ I started eating lots of plain yogurt and other dairy products with good bacteria (probiotics) to control some serious digestive issues caused by massive quantities of antibiotics during the hospitalizations. ------ I also cut way back on carbs because I learned (while in the hospital) that my blood sugar was a bit high -- not at the level of diabetes, but not good, either. I have lost about 20 pounds since February. I attribute the weight loss partly to the low-carb diet but also partly to the fact that I've stopped taking the medications that made me so sick in January and February. I believe that they might have caused part of my weight gain over the last few years. I am pursuing the lap band surgery because I want to control several lingering health issues: elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea (I use a CPAP machine). These issues do not affect my quality of life a great deal right now (at age 43), but I think they will cause problems as I get older. So I want to fix them now. I'm curious to hear from folks about how they decided whom to tell about their surgery. My own preference would be to tell my husband and children, and no one else. I'm not sure why I feel this way. I don't feel ashamed of needing the surgery, but for some reason -- I just don't want to tell anyone, not even my parents, who I'm sure would be supportive. Maybe I just don't want people to be asking me afterwards "so how much weight have you lost?" I'm not really interested in discussing my weight with anyone other than my doctor. Well, I'm looking forward to hearing from some of you and to reading all of the threads on this board! Thanks for listening! KatjaE :grouphug:

Sorry to hear that. I wish I could offer some help based on real experience but I cannot. I will say that I believe if you think about it you will realize that the weight gain is A) temporary and related to the medication, not over eating. Therefore you should not kick yourself about it. This weight gain will certainly not undo all your hard work thus far. I bet that no one, even you, would have any idea that 7 pounds is there without an evil scale. So don't let that 7 pounds make your situation worse. Once you find the proper medication that's right for you, then you can deal with those 7 pounds. Btw....when I started adding propel to my Water to increase sodium I gained 6 pounds almost over night. Cut back on the propel and those 6 pounds went away.

My doctor is very aware, and I do know that many antidepressants can cause weight gain. The one I actually started (the 4th I have tried, so I am not new to this game) is known to be weight neutral, but not in my case, of course. I am hoping to find people that can relate to the weight gain and how they handled it because right now the weight gain is making me feel worse than anything

I have bcbs of mississippi. I started my documented weight with my surgeon at 272. In December I weighed I at 258. Today I weighed in at 261. My doctor is submitting my information to bcbs of mississippi tbis week. I am worried that the 3 lb weight gain will cause a denial. Should I be worried? If I am approved how long will it take? Worried. ... VSG Ready

I weighed in today with a 3 lb weight gain for the last month. Prior to this I lost 6 lbs over 2 weeks. I am naturally disappointed but I was not perfect. How do you regroup after a disappointing weigh in? Me? Imam having wine tonight and will regroup for the next 6week weigh in.

Could I have avoided years of weight gain and the pain of surgery by eating a little moo-moo? I realized not only do I not get enough Protein in my current diet on WLS, I never ate protein! My food intake was Pasta, pizza, and smoothie \ in that order. And maybe popcorn daily 100 calorie pop. I always stayed under my calorie count and I walk 3 times a week, but the scale was broke, it would only increase!! Now that I'm forcing myself to eat these (sorry not to offend) yucky animals snd chalky shakes, the scale seems to be fixed?? Ok I had to vent realizing I hate protein and miss my love of carbs, but they no longer taste the same. Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Has anyone heard of or tried Sclerotheraphy to help with the regain??

My doctor told me it is really hard to stretch out your stomach. He said it will stretch out but usually not a huge amount. He said the weight gain is usually what you are eating and how often you are eating. Go back to the basics. There is a "5 day pouch test" you can do, it is supposed to kick start you again. Good Luck! You can do this!

It sounds like you really have a lust to pursue your goals based on the things you said about your education. That's a boon in your favor when it comes to deciding how to address your health too. Shows you have guts to see difficult things through and WLS will be a difficult thing. No one can tell you to do surgery, or don't do surgery. In the end, that is entirely YOUR personal decision, but it's completely natural to feel apprehensive and unsure. Try not to let the unfortunate stumbling blocks you had in the past influence your decision now. It wasn't a supernatural force trying to save you from a bad decision, just coincidence and happen chance. Things to consider when making your decision: How much over weight are you? How many times have you tried to get things right and failed? How long have you been over weight? How much is your physical activity hindered by it? Do you have any other weight-related health issues? The surgery doesn't just help you with losing weight from where you are now, but it will help you avoid future weight gain. The older you are, the sicker you are, the heavier you are, will make this procedure more risky. I waited until I had high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and my body was in a physically terrible place. So was my mind. I wish wish wish, I had pursued help sooner! My body will always bear the scars of the heavy, unhappy person I used to be. I'm not vain, but there is something of a disappointment in seeing excesses of skin draping from my shrinking body. Not only that, but I resigned myself to only have one child who is now eighteen. My unchecked obesity completely interfered with anymore babies and now at 43 and a son in college, I don't feel it would be responsible to risk more babies even though I would have loved to try for a girl. It is what it is. Both my mother and father are super morbidly obese. This was another factor I took into consideration. The same genetics and poor eating habits they suffer from are likely the same things I'm contending with. My job security was in jeopardy. I was having trouble doing all the things I needed to be doing in a timely manner and I was beginning to see signs this was wearing on the patience of my superiors. Likewise, obesity can interfere with job pursuit. You will NEVER know if it was your weight that put them off to select a different candidate for the job but it will be on your mind when you get rejections. I know I've painted a picture that shows more favor to having the surgery than choosing a different path to success. That's because I'm terribly biased in favor of surgery from my own personal experience, but I do believe it's not an appropriate choice for everyone. I had complication from my initial sleeve that put me back in the hospital twice since then for a total of three surgeries and hospital stays in less than a year. All seems to be right now, but it hasn't been easy. I want to punch anyone who tries to suggest I took the easy way out. Despite how hard it all was, I wouldn't take it back. If I could go back in time for a redo, I would do it all over again. Good luck making your decision. Be brave and make a plan weather you do surgery or not.

I actually gained weight after my first fill and can still eat normal portion foods. I was banded on the 18 Sept and had my first fill 26 Oct. feeling horrible about the weight gain

Did any one else gain weight right after surgery? While recovering? Sent from my LGLS991 using the BariatricPal App

Choose one day of the week for weigh day and stick to it. You are stressing over .2 and .4 weight gain. Think about it, is it really that significant? Unless you are weighing naked the weight difference could be your clothing. If you weigh after your shower it could be wet hair. It could be your scale. I hope you can stop stressing. Stress makes you make poor choices that leads to weight gain.

Hi everyone, As a few of you know I'm recovering from an abdominoplasty and breast correction with implants. I'm 21 days post op and am healing greatly. One of the things I've noticed is my increase in appetite. While I've been told this is normal, my psychologist told me it may be physiological (mental) hunger. I do struggle with mental hunger, and have had some instances of it recently; but I can't say that my extra hunger is all mental. On top of my hunger I just feel so out of routine and find myself going for carbs and grazing. I guess I can say I'm lacking The usual structure of my diet regimen. Last week I weighed 146.4 pounds, this week I'm at about 150. I feel awful. I know I'm not supposed to focus on the number, especially during recovery, but I can't help it. I have an obsession with numbers, it was to the point of obsessing over the ounces of food I was eating and or the number in my clothing size. I've backed off a little and have been trying to find a happy medium, but the scale went up and I'm not happy. I don't know what to do with this whole recovery thing. I know lack of exercise has contributed to weight gain also. I'm all over the place right now trying to stay on track with my healthy eating, finishing up my last month of college, and healing. It's too much. I need guidance. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

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!

Yesterday, one of my co-workers, a sweet man really, told me "don't lose too much weight." I'm kind of flabbergasted. So I know he meant well, but I don't want the weight police on me now any more than I did when I was heavy. I am about 10 lbs from a healthy BMI but was considering lowering my goal weight a bit (10 more lbs?) to give me some wiggle room since some weight gain is common in years 2-5. Now I feel like I'll need to wear bulky clothes to hide me weight loss. Sheesh. I know people mean to be supportive but I don't really like them critiqing my size.

I'm 16 months out. I started maintenance at about eight months and experimented with different levels of calories and carbs to stop losing weight but avoid gaining. I noticed a direct correlation between more carbs and weight gain, more than calories. When I got about seven pounds above my goal, I started limiting carbs to the extent possible. Since then, I've stayed at my goal weight for about six months. The bottom line: 20g of carbs is great during weight loss but very unrealistic during maintenance. I avoid carbs where possible, but I probably get about 40g per day, which has enabled me to stay at my goal weight. It would be difficult to go much lower than that while trying to eat "normally." (I'm at about 1,600-1,800 calories per day as well.)

My surgery is on Monday! Here are tips I have learned from the pre-op experience. - if you smoke, quit now! Most surgeons won't even admit you into the program unless you quit, and will test your blood to make sure you haven't smoked for at least 6 weeks prior to surgery. After surgery, smoking can be very dangerous for a whole list of reasons. - if you drink soda, quit now! I would also recommend trying to cut back on your caffeine levels in general, because caffeine withdrawal after surgery is going to be just one more thing that makes you feel terrible. - if you eat white bread, Pasta, rice, etc, I would highly recommend reducing the amount you eat as much as you can and switching to a whole grain version. It's a bit more expensive but the doctor or nutritionist you're going to be seeing before surgery is going to tell you to do that anyway. Plus, it helps to cut back on grains in general, as your post-op diet is going to be Protein, protein, and more protein for a long time. - try to be patient. I know what it's like to be super excited and hopeful about this great change in your life, but taking things slow and doing them the right way, and making your body as ready and healthy as possible before surgery greatly increase your chances of long-term success in terms of keeping the weight off and your general health. - my last tip is to spend some time thinking about why you are overweight in the first place. The surgery is amazing, and extremely helpful, and an overall incredible experience, but in the end, it's just a tool that you have to help you lose weight and keep it off. The problems that you have before going into surgery are still going to be there when you come out of surgery, and even though you will lose a lot of weight in the beginning, long-term success is absolutely dependent on your good habits and healthy coping skills. Personally, I had to address a problem I didn't really think I had (emotionally speaking) as a lot of my weight gain came from pre-existing medical issues and just down-spiraled from there. The fact is, we all got heavy for a lot of reasons, and addressing the psychological issues, like emotional overeating, is essential to this entire process and your happiness and health for the rest of your life. Good luck! It's an incredible journey. Utilizing ALL the tools you have, including forums like this, food journaling, therapy, the support of your loved ones, etc, will go a long way towards making this time and the rest of your life amazing! Feel free to message me anytime if you want to talk, rant, ask questions, anything.

Any update on this??? I have this insurance and was wondering something similiar about weight gain due to medication.. My dr noted it, but still a concern of mine.

I cannot warn you away from Mirena fast enough. Great for 18 months, no period at all, just 30 lbs of weight gain IMMEDIATELY. Nothing else changed. Then the spotting started and continued constantly for two years. Yes ladies years. And to top it off even though insurance covered putting it in I had to pay $300 to get it out. I realized within minutes of having it removed that the horrible abdominal pressure i had been living with was gone. It is great birth control though because you sure never want to have sex!

I've actually done some studying on this. Regardless of gastric surgery or not soda's even diet soda can lead to weight gain indirectly. The super sweet taste awakens the desire for sweets. And MAY lead to other indulgences. The sweet taste can over power your taste buds and make otherwise perfectly normal sweet tasting things to be less sweet, which MAY lead to adding sweetener and may loop around and make cause #1 more plausible. CAFFEINE can be a diuretic and cause you to dump more Water than you take in, which MAY lead to further soda intake - etc. If you're not getting enough water anyhow it may actually cause dehydration. While a can once in a while may be a treat the fact may be that since you already have needed surgical help to loose weight you may not be strong willed enough and allow something as "innocent" as a sweet diet soda to put you back into the bad eating habits that caused your obesity in the first place. WATER is the best liquid. Personally, I still have a tough time choking down tap water but I force myself to stay hydrated. Personally I don't want a (former) favorite treat to lead me back down a wrong path. WARNING: IANAD - the opinions and theories expressed here are my own.

Hello everyone. I got sleeved on Dec 21 and in about 10 days lost over 20 pounds. But now stalling and gained 8 lbs. So from 264 I went down to 242 and am now at 251. Am on very low carbs, 80 gms protien, about 800 calories per day. Walk for over a mile a day. Am feeling very depressed since the weight gain. Hope the stall is normal. I do want to lose weight !

Hello, I am thinking that this may be normal; I had my lap band procedure done 12/21/09 and had been losing until I returned to work and was given the clearance to eat 3 small meals daily. I have started to gain weight:mad: Has any one else experienced this? I have been stopping eating when I feel full and am trying to make good food choices.

I admit I lost focus over the summer and even had a weight gain, amazing how easy it was to slip back into bad habits! I had a .75cc fill earlier this month and am mentally & physically back in the groove and it feels so good. Truthfully it is a huge success for me to stumble but then get back up and continue. Anytime I have lost weight prior to being banded as soon as I stumbled I gave up. So that is probably what I am most proud of!

I’ve been making myself a little crazy and losing sleep worrying, so I’m hoping I can get some of your thoughts on this. I’ve completed my six months of medically supervised weight loss appointments. I’ve had the sleep study, EGD, psych eval and all of that jazz. I called my doctor last week to ask how long it should take to hear back regarding scheduling my surgery, they said that they have to submit everything to my insurance company and then it will take 2 weeks to hear back after that. Okay, that’s all good, but then I did a google search for my insurance company, “McClaren” and “Weight Loss Surgery.” And I found a website for a hospital here in Michigan that does weight loss surgery (not one I’m going through, just a random one that my Google search found), they listed requirements of a bunch of different companies, including mine. For my insurance company it says that they require a “Medically Supervised Diet for 6 Consecutive Months. food & Exercise Journal, Showing a consistent weight loss with no weight gain.” Here’s the thing, the last month of my supervised diet, I gained weight. I’m not sure why. I’d had the flu for a couple of weeks that month. I wasn’t eating much, I really expected to lose but didn’t. So, has anyone ever been denied coverage because they didn’t do well during their MS diet? If so, what happens? Do you have to do it again? The whole six months over again? Is there an appeals process? My insurance coordinator at the doctor’s office isn’t very familiar with my insurance company, in fact she said that this is the first time she’s worked with them. She’d told me that they want to see you “lose a few pounds, here and there.” I’m totally freaked out about this. Could I have totally blown everything in one bad month? What do you think?