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Figure out your BMR here https://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator (Your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs just to be alive, think in a coma, alive but not moving). And don't eat more than that per day and you should be fine. My current BMR is 2047, so barring any medication that causes weight gain etc, if I laid in bed all day and didn't consume 2047 calories, I'd be at a deficit and my body would be forced to use it's energy stores. Stay under your BMR if you can't exercise and you shouldn't have a problem with weight gain.

I'm glad you got to spend the night with your babies Jessie. I know that had to feel wonderful! But I am worried about that fever! Whatever it is, and I know it's hard, go back in and get to the cause hun. I nearly died due to complications and while the separation from my child was hard, very hard, dying would have been so much harder on him! Have they done a barium swallow on you yet! It's a leak test, different than an xray or cat scan. That was what finally diagnosed mine. Keep us in the loop if you can. We all hate to see these stories, but now we are attached . We want to kow when you are out of the woods...I would bet you do too! As to the weight gain...I gained 40lbs the first six weeks. All from multiple surgeries, procedures and the IV fluids as well as the tpn feedings. That took a couple of weeks to get rid of but it does fall off. 8lbs is pretty normal and easy to get rid of. But I also understand your regrets. I still regret the risks I took. I don't know if that will ever fade.

Hi. I've been suffering from pcos since teenage, having all the symptoms like weight gain, facial hair, irregular periods etc.. I have had my gastric sleeve in november 2020 and lost 25 kg in total. I have seen improvement with my pcos symptoms, for example getting a regular period cycle, less facial hair and obviously weight loss. Now, almost after 2 years my period cycle is getting irregular again. Increasing 2-4 days every month. For example, 30 days cycle in June, 34 days in July and 36 days plus (still missing) in August, and I'm definitely bot pregnant. Has anyone else had the same problem? I'm really worried that my Pcos might kick.in again. My weight is on a stall, as I'm not doing much at the moment. Please share your experiences Thank you Sent from my SM-N960F using BariatricPal mobile app

I recently took my behavior modification class and they said there are times you won't lose the pounds because of water weight gain or muscle building and that you have to see beyond the scales. Congratulations on your inches lost......actually I think that would excite me more since people see you with their eyes and aren't walking around with a scale to put you on. The pounds will catch up.....perhaps you are building muscle and creating a higher metabolism right now. Are you drinking plenty of water? minor dehydration can lead to your body retaining water.

I have been dealing with back problems for almost 10 years -- in fact this injury is what caused my weight gain. My surgeon had me stop my celebrex prior to surgery and post surgery I have been okay with it although I can restart if I want to. I have visited with my back doc and he says I can have my epidural steriod injections whenever I need them - no problem. So far I have been able to stave them off with yoga which I practice a couple of times a week -- works wonders. Seems that one of the benefits of the weight loss is that hopefully we will eventually be able to get off these meds :biggrin: Share your concerns with your doc -- dealing with chronic pain problems is really tough and it is scary to think about not being able to take meds if you need them. Good Luck!

A nine pound weight gain in two years isn't too bad Now it's time to work it off. Remember it's a lot easier to lose nine pounds than 20. Make it your goal to lose three pounds a week. In less than a month you'll be back to 185. From there you can work off more of you want.How is your restriction after 2years? One piece of advice I get from my nutritionist and doctors is to stay away from the carbs. They slide right through your restriction and you can over eat them. Instead stay with the proteins. i know as time goes by we tend to get back into the bad eating behaviors. Now is the time to reverse your weight gain while it's still manageable.

You have captured my sentiments exactly. I had my surgery almost two weeks ago, and have been second guessing myself for the last few days. I realized that I am grieving the food I wont be able to eat again, and resenting those who can eat whatever they want ( without the weight gain.) I'm trying to stay positive and I know someday I will be thankful for the surgery, but this is one of the hardest things I've ever done.

Hi everyone, I am new here and I have finally decided to go through with doing the Gastric Sleeve. My surgeon told me that my insurance requires a 6 month medically supervised weight loss with my primary care provider. I am scheduled March 24th for my surgery, but I have gained 8 pounds within the last two months of my supervised weight loss. The nurse told me try not to gain, and insurance can deny me if I do gain. I have tried to get answers from my insurance company, but nobody has been able to answer my question. I am located in New York, and my hospital plan is city of New York Blue Cross Blue Shield ppo. I am supposed to go on 2 week liquid diet on March 10th, and I believe I'll lose the weight I gained from that. I am just really nervous of denial, and was wondering if anyone has my insurance, or has been denied for weight gain on the supervised weight loss? Thanks!

Did you surgeon give you an idea how much you may be expected to lose over the weeks/months? My surgeon didn't have any expectations (or if he didn't he didn't share them with me). I didn't set myself an amount to lose each week or month, I just kept to my post op guidelines. If I didn't lose one week I knew the scale weight would catch up. Weight loss after surgery is a bit fraught with danger, some people expect to lose a lot of weight quickly, but the reality is a lot different. There is the post op weight gain from iv fluids and inflammation, there are stalls along the way that could last from a week to many weeks, sometimes there will be temporay gains due to various reasons. Some experience a stall within weeks of the surgery....the infamous three week post op stall...it doesn't always occur at three weeks out some experience it a little quicker for others it may be delayed. Some people are fortunate enough not to experience stalls in the first few months. Generally each of the surgeries has an average weight loss after year 1, year 2 etc, but some people will have lost less than that, others will have lost more than the average.

Boo, your day is coming (the plateau break). Never you worry -- it's coming. Dawn, you're very welcome and I'm glad you liked it. Kat, no one in the history of time deserved some time away like you and Rick. I'm so glad you got out on the open road. I'm home from Texas. Too much good food, too little exercise, but great times with friends and no weight gain. Tomorrow it's back to the WL grind. Emotionally, it's very hard for me to not be at work right now. I know I'll get attached to the new job once I'm there, but for the moment, I just miss my friends and the connection I felt working there. I feel unplugged. I'm trying not to eat my way through it.

Wow--your schedule does make things difficult, it is going to be something you might have to adjust as time allows. I too love cornbread, and can eat it without issue, but it is not exactly low cal---especially when I smother it in butter!!! You might try some high Protein Snacks to take with you so you don't get soooo hungry at work. I take a cheese stick, and slice it length wise into 2 or 4 pieces, then roll a slice of the thin lunch meat around it. I can drop 3-4 of these in a zip lock, and snack when I want without worrying about them being bad for me....and they will hold me til I can get a good dinner together. Or in your case until your lunch break at work hits. Plus, they don't leave your breath horrid for dealing with your patients!! Maybe a can of raw almonds somewhere that you could grab a couple of them from time to time if you are starving at work, as well. They are high protein, and will help hold you over. If you got a few divided plastic childrens plates, you could dish you up small servings of the things you make over the weekend, and since it would be in kids plates, the real kids would know it was yours!!! I have one of Tweety Bird!!! I use it here at home, if I make a full dinner, I fix me a plate to have for lunch the next day, and it keeps me mindful of how much I am eating. I know you wouldn't want to take that to work but for eating when you get home. Do you eat when you get home, right before going to bed? I can't do that due to reflux, but I understand it is bad for weight gain too. I notice when I eat oatmeal of any kind, even the weight control kind, I get hungry really quick! I would have thought it would stay with me, but for some reason with me it works the opposite---so you might watch and see if you are reacting the same way. I know prices are so much higher for healthy foods--seems so backwards! Walmart is not my favorite place to go, but I like the ability to price match all the different stores in one place. What I do is this....our grocery store ads come in our Wed. newspaper. So Wed. morning, I sit down and look through them, make notes about what is on sale where. Then when I hit Walmart---and I try to do it at an off time so it is not so busy---if it is in an ad at another store, they will Price match it....so I get the sales from several different stores, and only have to go to one. Like I just did this....and the little baby carrots---peeled and ready to eat are on sale at several places, so I will get a couple bags of those, they are good to snack on, and my granddaughter loves them! Good Luck----you might ask your Dr. if they have a nutritionist you could consult with....they might have some great ideas for you!!! Kat

been on Zoloft since 2008 and while I had some weight gain it was not the cause of all of the gain.. I am still on it, and losing fine.. 58ish lbs in 6 weeks. If it works for you don't change it. It was very hard to find something that worked for me.. I was also on welbutrin but have stopped taking it because depression isn't an issue right now. Zoloft I take for anxiety and it takes the edge off so well for me I don't want to stop taking it just yet.

Congrats on your pregnancy!! That is awesome. Most likely from your wieght loss, that's how I became pregnant all three times. That and God. You will be amazed how much your body is going to change. You'll have pains and other things just due to being pregnant. I'm not banded yet ank no longer able to get pregnant. I think there is a thread you could seach on banded and pregnant. I think most women have an unfill. Also the medical field is changing the weight gain amount for obese patients. So you don't want to lose, but may not need to gain. I think for prego and nursing moms you need an extra 300 calories added to what you need to maintain your weight. God bless you and your baby. Nora

I've had hypothyroid since I was a skinny(ish) little thing. It's just gotten worse with the weight gain. It's a lifetime thing, but nobody was nasty to me about it when I was much thinner.

I too have a long road ahead of me. At my current weight of 330lbs, I am hoping to be back to 160lbs. It has been 17 yrs since I've seen that number on my scale. I have always struggled with weight gain, after having my son 14 yrs ago I have tried diet after diet. I run daily 3-5 miles, working with a body coach, count every calorie I take in....and to my surprise, gain weight. I have been tossing WLS back and forth for a few months now and I have finally made an appt with my surgeon, meeting him on May 27 with my 1st WL seminar that same night. I don't have many requirements with my insurance company before I can submit for approval. So I'm hoping for a smooth road and hopefully, fingers crossed, I can have my surgery scheduled sometime in August! I am ready to conquer the road ahead, and take back control of my body. It's a great feeling to know I will be able to run in marathons with my son in the near future!! Bobby Jo

I think you should be ok just stick to it as best as you can Its important and I think you will be very happy with the surgery I know I am Im at almost 90 pds lost and last summer I was feeling so lost and out of control and not having a way to stop the weight gain this was the only way for me.

Hey everyone. I'm going to write about my experience with Dr. McCloskey since the only thread written was by me 4 months ago! I finally have a surgery date, which is Friday! Dec 17th. And I'm really REALLY nervous. My experience so far with Magee hospital has really been great. The staff is very nice and comforting. I had to complete a 6 month supervised diet, and to be honest I didn't lose any weight. I actually gained, and I was really embarrassed, but the staff never mentioned my weight gain. I had my initial visit with McCloskey about 1 month into my diet, and she is an extremely nice, intelligent woman. I get ridiculously nervous at any appointment, and I think she really zoned in on that and tried to make me feel as comfortable as possible. About 4 months in they set up a visit with the Nutritionist and a Psyc eval which took place one appointment after the other at Magee. About 30 minutes each. About 5 months into my diet they set up the upper GI and chest x-ray which also took place same appointment and at Magee. The upper GI was definitely not fun, but for some people it's not a big deal, so it's just going to depend on the person. I have a bad gag reflex and swallowing the barium was really hard. Most people have to chug it, but I really only got a few small sips down and they said they got a good enough picture. Because most of my testing was done at Magee I didn't have to worry about faxing much paperwork. Most of my doctors are part of UPMC, so Magee was able to pull the results of my diet, EKG, pap and stress test (which most people don't have to get, my EKG was abnormal, but ok) right from the computer system. I had my Pre-op visit and informational class 2 weeks before surgery. It takes about 2 hours. I met with Dr. McCloskey and she took time to answer any questions that I had, was not rushed at all. And although she probably hears the same questions everyday, she really took the time and explained everything in depth. She does not require a 2 week pre-op diet unless your BMI is above 60. Just Clear liquids the day before surgery. It is 1-2 nights in the hospital, (mostly 1) and everyone has a private room, so one person is allowed to spend the night with you. They do put a cath in during surgery because they want to monitor liquids going in and out. It will be taken out when your IV comes out. (Which I'm nervous about, but told you really can't feel a thing). She said surgery takes about 45 min-1 hour. She is now doing either one cut through your belly button, or the typical 5 small incisions, which I'm pretty sure depends on the person as well. Sorry if this was long, but hope it helps all you pre-op people considering Dr. McCloskey! I'll definitely have more information after Friday. Wish me luck!

How Do You Know When You Hit a Plateau? Simply enough, a plateau is when you stop losing weight even though you want to. It’s not just a day or two without weight loss. It’s a period of a few weeks or more when you keep trying to lose weight, but the scale does not budge. You think you are doing everything you can and should be doing to lose weight, but still you do not see results. That is a plateau. It can be frustrating and discouraging and seem to be unfair. Stay Positive Plateaus can be maddening, but the absolute worst thing you can do during a plateau is to give up. If you decide that your diet is not worth the effort, you are almost certainly going to gain weight. Going back to your old, pre-surgery diet habits, taking oversized portions, and eating high-fat, high-sugary foods will not just make you gain weight. These bad habits can erase your health gains. Worse, they could cause some of the weight loss surgery complications that you already know about, such as the following: Stretching of the sleeve in vertical sleeve gastrectomy Dumping syndrome in gastric bypass Esophagitis with the adjustable gastric band (lap-band) Feeling nauseous or having diarrhea Another reason to stay positive is to keep up your motivation to continue all of the other healthy behaviors in your lifestyle. Don’t fall into the trap of “all-or-nothing,” in which you decide to give up all of your healthy efforts just because your weight loss isn’t quite what you want it to be. These include: Taking your daily vitamin and mineral supplements Getting enough protein and fluids each day Following your regularly exercise routine It Could Be Worse And it will be worse if you give up. It may sound strange, but you can stay positive by thinking about how much better your weight is now than where it could be if you gave up trying. If your careful diet is not leading to the weight loss you had hoped for, it is still preventing weight gain. If you give up, you will gain weight, and probably be pretty disappointed in yourself. Measure Success in Other Ways Another way to stay positive is to stop focusing on the scale. Find other ways to measure your progress. Tracking your body measurements, for example, can let you know that you are shrinking and building muscle even if your total weight is not decreasing right now. Tracking behaviors instead of measurements is another strategy. For example, you assess your success according to whether you eat well, such as hitting your protein goals or sticking to your planned menu. Other successful behaviors to be proud of yourself for are planning and preparing meals ahead of time and making sure you drink enough fluids at times other than meal times. Be Honest and Go Back to the Basics “Why me?” That’s a natural question when you hit a plateau, but most people don’t ask it seriously. However, if you think seriously about what is causing the plateau and how you can fix it, this question can actually help you break through the barrier and get back to losing weight. In many cases, you can figure out “why me” by asking yourself these questions. “Am I logging every single bite that goes into my mouth?” “Am I following the meal plan my nutritionist or surgeon gave me?” “Am I measuring – not eyeballing – all of the foods I eat?” “Am I exercising as much as I am supposed to be?” “Am I getting in my protein each day?” “Have I been too busy or preoccupied to plan my meals and snacks in advance?” If you answer these questions honestly, you might discover that you have slipped up and are not keeping up your good habits quite as well as you thought you had. Go back to the basics of meal planning and nutritious eating, and you are almost sure to see the scale move again within weeks. You’re in Charge! Plateaus are frustrating and nobody wants to experience them at some point, but almost everyone does. These steps can help you when you notice that you are in a plateau. Stay positive and keep up your healthy behaviors. Focus on other measures of success besides the scale. Assess your diet honestly. Make any necessary changes. You can get over your plateau, and you will be stronger for it! Just be patient and do what you know is right for your health.

Hell yea I did! My surgery was Jan 14. And I had all the holidays to enjoy. I ate EVERYTHING in sight. It was fantastic. I didn’t morn the loss of food at all. But it sure was great not to worry about weight gain etc and just eat!!!! Kind of like the all in diet a lot of professional fitness people do! :)

Hi Mellisa, I also have bipolar and am pre-op. I was diagnosed in July and put on depakote and gained 10 lbs in 2 months because of it! After informing my psychiatrist of my decision to get the band and my strong feelings that the depakote was making me gain weight AND worsen my anxiety (I was worrying about gaining weight lol), she changed my medication to trileptyl. My suggestion is to inform your psychiatrist of your plans to get the band. Mine had many patients that had it done actually and she started changing my medication right away. I haven't had any weight gain on this medication and had enough time pre-surgery to get my body adjusted to the new meds. I know changing can be a pain in the butt, but when the medication is counteracting what you're trying to do with the surgery, it's going to make it much more frustrating and stressful. I hope that helped! Good luck to you!

Thanks but don't be impressed until I can actually keep it off. I'm sure that you and everyone else reading this could lose the weight if they put their mind to it. Unfortunately, if you are like me, you run out of steam or lose your train of thought without noticing and gain it back. This is going to be my third time losing over 100 pounds and the previous 2 times I gained it back even faster than I lost it with interest. That is so much more depressing than never having lost it at all. Hopefully if the band doesn't prevent me from gaining it all back, it will at least slow down my weight gain enough so I have time to notice and I can turn things around before gaining it all back.

Firstly u wont have ruined anything by drinking tomato soup, I had never heard of clear liquids only here in the UK .. our post-op is liquids i drank my weight watchers tomato soup from day 5 i think it was .. i was on liquids 4 weeks post op, then mushies 4 weeks then normal food, just dont do any liquids that have lumps in or u couldnt drink with a straw( not literally) , thats a liquid then As for comtrolling mothers.. did u think maybe your relationship with her was responsinble for your weight gain or some of it, it might well be u have to change your contact with your mum in order to cope with making the band a success for you. If she tells your doctor about the tomato soup he would probably laugh at her so dont worry about it, but start thinking about what is best for you and what u need, u have to come first till u have lost the weight u need to

None of the following is meant to sound mean or critical (please don't read it that way - just being honest and trying to hit points you may not have considered or might be in denial about). It's great that you're exercising because it's going to make you feel better overall, but weight gain/loss is 90% food and diet related. My doc said that all people will lose even eating absolute crap for the first year, but they will regain if they don't take the time to throw out all they know about food/eating and relearn how to properly eat healthy and figure out correct (small) portion sizing. Your problem seems to be that you're eating things you shouldn't (simple carbs/sugar) and possibly eating too many calories, and that is causing you to regain (simple carbs and sugar are usually high calorie, low nutrition slider foods that make it really easy to overeat). Are you tracking every bite and sip of food/drink? You probably should be measuring and tracking all of it, especially since you're regaining. You likely are overeating and eating foods low in nutrition as well. It would give you a much better idea of whether the failure is your sleeve or more likely - a disconnect with what and how much you you actually eat. I imagine even consulting another surgeon, they'd like to see how many calories you're consuming and what those calories are made up from to make a truly honest opinion about whether another surgery is a good step for you or not. Simple carbs and sugar are known to cause you to crave them all the more once you start eating them regularly, so that would explain the feelings of hunger. (you're not really hungry if you are eating good protein/complex carbs and getting enough calories - it's cravings or head hunger) I would think the answer is counseling with a therapist familiar with food addictions, and a serious mental reset regarding your relationship with food, not more surgery. I'd suggest you go back to the beginning of a sleeve diet - do a week of Protein liquids, then mushies, then onto solids. Get your Water and protein and eat good veggies and healthy complex carbs in moderation. You need to research healthy meals and throw out the crap foods and seriously dedicate yourself to resetting your whole food relationship. That's what we are supposed to do during the honeymoon phase of the sleeve (roughly the first year). If you didn't get your diet stuff down cold, then you won't do well over the long term. It's a sad fact, but most surgeons aren't really driving that point home. The weight loss effects won't last if you regularly eat crap foods. The surgeries allow you a measure of control for you to get back to basics without the gnawing hunger and drastically reduce the portion sizes in the beginning... so you can lose weight and relearn how to eat properly. Maybe once you've got that stuff down well, you can add back in some sugar treats for very special occasions, but they should never, ever be something you eat regularly again. But maybe, if you can't control yourself, it might come down to eliminating them completely if you want to stay healthy. I know it's sucky that you aren't doing so well right now, but you can get stuff figured out if you're willing to do the hard work. It might be worth it rather than going to another surgery and hoping that it does all the work; because it won't. You have to do it, the surgery(ies) are just a tool, but they won't work if you don't commit to using them properly. Good luck!!

I thought the guidelines were pretty much the same for Cigna in general minus the fact that employer could opt out, this is the one they kept reading to me when I asked for the their policy https://cignaforhcp.cigna.com/public/content/pdf/coveragePolicies/medical/mm_0051_coveragepositioncriteria_bariatric_surgery.pdf I searched through the whole thing and I didn't see anything on weight gain or loss during the 90 day nutrition, when I called several times I asked the representative as well (although they can't be 100% trusted with exact details) but she said I should try not to gain but she didn't see anything in it that stated I had to lose. I actually already had my weigh in on Saturday and I did gain 3 lbs from my last weight from water weight for certain reasons, so I guess we'll see what they say as she was supposed to be resubmitting tomorrow or the day after.