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Hi Shelley - With the exception of the Gourmet Chef Husband... we could be twins! :biggrin2: My weight gain started in my teens, I was 5'6 and 140-160. Then in college.. another 50 or so pounds. Finally I decided to get into shape and join the Army. Which I did great and my low was 123lbs. When I got out, I went right back to my old bad eating habits. I only knew two food groups.. Fast-Food and Happy-Hour! I also have very bad genetics. Everyone in my family, at one point or another, has been 75lbs overweight or more. I'm talking Aunts, Uncles, Cousins.. everyone! I was raised with my Mommas down-home-country cooking so of course those are the foods that I crave. I use to never eat Breakfast, had fast-food for lunch and a big ol' comfort dinner with all the fixin's. :biggrin: I didn't need to snack in between because I always had that over-stuffed feeling, or right on the verge of.. :drool:. Finally, as I've aged and moved away from Momma :sad:, I eat much smaller meals. My heaviest was 340lbs, I'm now 280. But it's too late, the damage has been done. I have high blood pressure, sleep apnea, a hiatal hernia, and had reconstructive surgery on my left foot/ankle because my weight was forcing my ankle to turn inward. So, if I don't loose weight.. I'll be having surgery on my right foot/ankle, and my last recovery took over a year! So, weight lose surgery is not an option for me.. it will keep me on my feet and save my life!! :smile: Thanks for letting me share my story! Tina

Hi all! I am new here and not yet banded. Just attended my first seminar on Saturday, although doing research for several months now. I am also a PCOS sufferer, although my uterus was removed 2 years ago. I still have the dreaded ovaries and their cystic friends. Doc thought I was too young to be on HMR for the rest of my life, so he left them. I still have weight gain and failed weight loss, the excess hair, mood swings (think I have PMS worse now than I did before!) and the whole list of effects. SO - I am so very happy to see you here discussing PCOS. I am looking forward to losing the weight, losing the effects of PCOS and starting to enjoy my life again!

Kat, I keep my calories ,which I am fairly faithful with writing down, between 1000 and 1200. I did weight watchers a couple years ago and it took me ten months to lose thirty pounds. Half of it came back real quick and I fought to keep the other half off while waiting to get the band in. That almost one year I was on WW, was very helpful in learning portion control and making good food choices. I weigh and measure my Protein at most meals at home. My downfall when I was on WW were the weekends. (*paragraph below) Now post band, I have a treat once in a while, but mostly I eat salad, meat like beef, (more often chicken), fish ( tuna, salmon, shrimp, sole or flounder) with a veggie. A lean cuisine for lunch, a yogurt, apple or a Protein Bar for a snack, maybe a 100 calorie pack. I dont eat much bread but I will have a piece of whole grain bread or a Fiber one bar for the fiber once or twice a week and my morning Cereal is a high fiber one b/c the high protein diets can be low in fiber. I'm great at not drinking with eating and waiting the hour but that is b/c I never drank much when i ate, so that rule was kind of easy for me. It seems to be more of an issue when I go out to eat, b/c the drink is in front of me. I wait one hour after a meal and I have a bottle of flavored Water. I actually find myself checking the clock when I finish eating, so I'll know when the hour is up. I get about three or four bottles of water in an average day and exercise with all the trips to the bathroom! I'm trying to make all these things a habit. I figure bodies like routine. If I used to eat b'fast everyday at a certain time, then my body and stomach expected that meal at that time every day. So if I subsitute a smaller portion and a higher protein, lower carb cereal at the same time every day, my body will get used to that and expect that and be happy with it. Same with lunch and dinner and the band is definitely helping my stomach to say, yeah this is OK. The message the band sends is a little weak, (I have to really pay attention) but with more restriction is should get stronger. Looks like you were recently banded. What food stage are you on? Is there a band rule you're finding more difficult than another? One that's easy for you? I see you went to Mexico. Many people on the forum have and loved the experience. Was that how it was for you? do you have a local Dr for fills or are you close enough to go back to mexico for them? Oops, this paragraph was supposed to be in a different place* A long Ct. winter meant not much walking (after surgery) which I was doing before surgery, just to prevent weight gain before banding. I have begun to start walking again, but not as regularly as I was last fall, but managed to walk three miles in just under an hour three times last week. I want to make it closer to five days.

have a 72% decrease in the risk of dying over people who don't. Pretty dramatic, huh? http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,228703.shtml First off, no one should have surgery that isn't comfortable with it. It's not likely to go well if you're having serious misgivings. But there are a few relevant facts that you need to add to your decision making process. First of all, losing weight is something most obese people can do. What most people can't do is keep the weight off and over 95% who lose weight gain it back and then gain more after two years. The reasons for that are pretty simple and have nothing to do with eating well, exercise or employing self-discipline. Once you lose a certain amount of weight - somewhere around 10% of excess weight - your body begins cranking down your metabolism so that it becomes harder for you to lose weight. At the same time, it begins flooding you with chemicals that make you hungrier than you would normally be. If you can eat a big Mac with medium fries and be happy before you diet, you're gonna super size it to feel full after a dieting. And your metabolism will stay cranked down until you put the weight back on. Taht's what the yoyo syndrome is all about and the danger with the yoyo syndrome is that your body begins packing weight on at a lower and lower calorie level. http://lovemylapband.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/more-on-genetics-and-obesity/ The beauty of weight loss surgery is that it's the first thing we've discovered that allows the human body to reset it's set point - meaning that, once you start losing weight, your body doesn't crank down your metabolism and flood you with hunger signals. Your body continues to function normally. When you lose weight through diet and exercise, your body, counter-intuitively, ceases to function normally. http://lovemylapband.wordpress.com/2008/02/08/set-points-and-weight-loss-surgery/ That's the big picture. Good luck with your decision.

I started in 6th grade, so was probably around 12. I attribute my weight gain to having to be put on birth control pills less than a year later due to a hormone imbalance. Once I started, I would have extended and very heavy bleeding for an average of 4 weeks every 3 months. I battled that until I finally had a hysterectomy in the summer of 2006. Wish they had a magic pill the worked as effectively at getting that weight back off!

This is a common misconception. The difference is not that dramatic. First of all, half a century ago is about 1958. In 1963, the average age of menarche was between 12.9 and 12.75 depending on what study you quote. Now it's about 12.5 to 12.8, again depending on the study you quote. The average hasn't been 16 for well over a century and we have a ways to go until it's 11 because there has been a leveling off in the drop. From reading the stories on LBT, I get the impression that entering puberty does start obesity in some women and for others having a baby does it. That doesn't cover everyone, of course, but those two themes seem to be the most common. Also, there is a correlation between weight and onset of menarche. But it's not that menarche causes weight gain. It's that you have to have a certain percentage of body fat in order to have menarche. This is one reason why the age has gone down -- nutrition has improved and there are a lot less starving kids with low body fat percentages in the world.

Well, I've crossed that bridge a thousand times on previous diets. Struggle very hard to lose some weight, gain it back, over and over. Oh yes, I would get a band again anyday. We all want to lose our weight fast, like yesterday, please, BUT this is THE fastest I have ever lost this amount of weight and I have to say it's been so much easier than dieting without the band. It's still hard some days, but overall better than no band. I was told to expect one to pounds a week, so I believed that and it has been true. Do I expect the last 15 pounds to be slower than that rate? YUP? After you lose 50 to 60 pounds, it will take fewer calories to maintain that new lower weight, so it will take even fewer to continue to lose, so the rate at which we lose will slow down or we have to increase our exercise to compensate. None of that is news to me, so I won't be surprised. I think if we look at our weight loss, from week to week it seems slow, but if you look at your weight loss over the past six months, then it's impressive really. You've lost over 7 pounds every month on average! Keep it up and one day, you'll wake up, get on the scale and be at goal!

I think you are doing great on your own with your weight loss. Everyone has a problem with "portion" size. Since you have "mentally" figured that one out, you are one step ahead of the game. And remember, the more weight that comes off, the better you feel and the more you do. As for the hospital, that is not professional at all...but in their defense, hospitals see thousands of patients, have YOU contacted the hospital to find out what was taking so long. I hate to admit it, but sometimes you just fall through the cracks. I wish you all the best luck in the world about what you ultimately decide. Weight gain/loss is a very hard road for everyone.

I just thought that I would check in, and say HELLO!!! I went to my surgeon. I was starving, weight gain, and I could eat anything. "not a good sign" So he flipped out and said untill you get your ass together, i'm not gonna see you. I told him he emptied my band. "he forgot to wright it in his notes" No!! can't be! your full. So get it together. he left. So I to left p****d off, and called a FILL CENTER U.S.A. they put in almost 2cc's and I was bone dry. So now, i'm back to loseing weight. Waite till I go back to see this Dr.. I am really gonna raise the roof. He is gonna find out he is not GOD!!! I tried to tell him to stick a needle in it to check, but he wouldn't listen. O Well!!! Anyway now it's back to loseing weight. Thats cool. How is every one???

Stressing out about your boo boo is only going to make it worse. Stress causes weight gain (I have a huge tummy to show for that!), so forgive yourself and move on. Drink a lot of Water, go for a walk, just have some broth for your meals until your appointment and you should be fine. You can do this!!

I just hit my 2nd trimester and still have the same fill I did a year ago. Just saw the OB yesterday, and he's not worried about weightloss (very slow, nothing dramatic for me anymore, too far out from surgery) until my 20th week, at which point I'm no longer allowed to lose, and if I do, I will need to get some fill taken out. Of course if I have problems between now and then, I would get an unfill. Around week 8 I had a period of a week or so where I was really tight, but I compensated for it with liquids. He wants to see me gain a total of 20 - 25 lbs, which makes sense when you look at the weight gain distribution.

Big baby (over 10lbs at birth), but was never fat as a child. I was however positively HUGE compared to my skeletal sister and brother. So although I wasn't fat, I thought I was; an earlier poster stated it - a self-fulfilling prophecy. By the twenties, after university the weight gain started. Slowly at first but then more and more. I would diet, lose some, gain more - most of us know the result. It took my 50th birthday for me to grow up or something and say 'enough is enough'. My skeletal brother and sister still are, and not by intent or diet. They just are. But most times I forgive them this sin.

Okay. First off. Congrats on losing 14 pounds in a week! WOW! As for gaining weight (1 lb!), it might be your body's way of keeping itself in check. You lost 14 pounds in a week - a one pound weight gain isn't bad. When I've lost a lot of weight quickly sometimes my body has to regain its composure. Maybe it's that time of the month? A little water weight gain? Just a thought. I'm still floored by a 14 pound weight loss in a week. Rock on.

1000 calories is good. I try to get between 1000 and 1200. If you haven't tracked in a few months, could be a few extra Snacks are sneaking in and writing it all down and adding it up will help you to see where it's sneaking in. Try varying the calories from day to day, like one day 1000 and another day 1200. I find it can help to confuse our body on what to expect. Yes, on shorties the weight lost shows quickly and so does the weight gained. Yikes!

I can understand the opening poster's frustration. She is a young working woman with a very, very high BMI. Because she is seriously obese she feels that her health issues should be fixed and that this should be covered by her health insurance plan. Because she is supporting herself by working and is also paying into a health plan she feels that she is behaving in a responsible and adult manner and should be able to benefit from this health plan. I agree with her. I paid for my own Lap Band surgery (up here where I live our provincial plan does not cover band surgery) and I was 200 lbs when I arranged to have it done. I am 5'6" and so didn't look all that big compared to some of the other women who were sharing the waiting room with me. This made me feel a little bit embarrassed initially but my weight gain, however, had been a steady post-menopausal gain and I was on a one-way street if I didn't have the surgery. This is a fact that perhaps the opening poster did not understand until she had it explained to her. I think that the other lower BMI folks who have posted on this thread have done a fine job of providing explanations as to why they, too, needed the surgery. I also think that the opening poster has indicated that she understands this and thus it is time to stop flaming her for her initial remarks. It's time to show her the sympathy and support that we all deserve.

i was banded on 4/8 and weighed 289 that day yesterday i weighed 275 and today i gained a pound. i am still on all liquid diet and i am sticking to it i only have protein shakes, water cream of chicken soup and sugar and fat free jello and pudding. does anyone know why i have gained i am just a little bit concerned:confused2:

For me, I substituted snacking for lack of smoking (since I normally use smoking to keep from snacking), and that caused my weight gain. The only side effect I got from Chantix was the weird nightmares. I had them every night. It wasn't enough to make me stop taking it, but the weight gain was. When I get to goal, I'll dedicate myself to exercising to counter act it. Right now, I'm exercising to lose weight, not counteract food.

There is not a specific test. It is diagnosed according to symptoms. Here is some info that I pulled from this website. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) I hope it helps to answer some of your questions. PCOS effects so many areas in your life. It is about so much more than fertility. As I am learning to manage my symptoms, I am only now realizing the effect this has had on many aspects of my life. Best wishes to you. I hope this helps. What tests are used to diagnose polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? There is no single test to diagnose PCOS. Your doctor will take a medical history, perform a physical exam, and possibly take some tests to rule out other causes of your symptoms. During the physical exam the doctor will want to measure your blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and waist size. He or she also will check out the areas of increased hair growth, so try to allow the natural hair growth for a few days before the visit. Your doctor might want to do a pelvic exam to see if your ovaries are enlarged or swollen by the increased number of small cysts. A vaginal ultrasound also might be used to examine the ovaries for cysts and check out the endometrium, the lining of the uterus. The uterine lining may become thicker if your periods are not regular. You also might have blood taken to check your hormone levels and to measure glucose (sugar) levels What are the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? Not all women with PCOS share the same symptoms. These are some of the symptoms of PCOS: infrequent menstrual periods, no menstrual periods, and/or irregular bleeding infertility (not able to get pregnant) because of not ovulating increased hair growth on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes—a condition called hirsutism (HER-suh-tiz-um) ovarian cysts acne, oily skin, or dandruff weight gain or obesity, usually carrying extra weight around the waist insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes high cholesterol high blood pressure male-pattern baldness or thinning hair Patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs skin tags, or tiny excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck area pelvic pain anxiety or depression due to appearance and/or infertility sleep apnea—excessive snoring and times when breathing stops while asleep

Not going to look into attempting to get preg until I'm banded and have lost a considerable about of weight (currently doing 90 pre-approval diet for insurance). My symptoms included, adult acne, facial hair, horrid weight gain, HEAVY periods, depression and lack of energy. I guess I'll tell my PCP im interested in looking into being tested for it. Just wasn't sure if it was done with a PAP or a blood test or ultrasound.. Thanks for the reply :biggrin:

So do I! I thought I was the only one this anal (I mean no disrespect either). I really like to see the progression. I also have my measurements on a sheet all it's own along with other sheets of information. Back to the thread topic: I think I lost about 15/16 lbs. I lost the weight, but I never gained it back, which I was grateful for. When I went from clears to fulls I noticed a few pounds of weight gain, but it fell off quickly and I started to lose again. Same thing for mushies, and then solids. I was just fortunate I guess. Everyone is different.

I've never smoked but I heard those pills can cause some crazy nightmares, but I know lots of people that they worked for. But is it the pill causing weight gain or substituting food in place of cig?

My DH took it and it worked wonderfully! He was smoking 2 packs a day, then had surgery in May 2007. He decided it wasn't worth it to loose weight to be healthy, yet keep smoking. He has been smoke free since Aug 2007 and has no regrets. As for weight gain, he didn't have any, but he did start it after being banded.

Ruby - LOVE IT !!!! :thumbup: ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT !!! HAND ON HIPS :Dancing_sorry: OK I WILL drink all my water today - I promise :biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2: Cuz I have to have my snacks - last night strawberries - and I am going to jinks this cuz I am talking about it - but my little angel has not woken me at all during the middle of the night to go potty for the last 2 nights that means I have slept 2 nights straight thru - you gotta know even without the dogs I rarely sleep all night - usually up once or twice during the night.. Not always to eat but just wake up. Karri - Yep Ruby put me in my place - but even us Food Cops need some policing too :Dancing_angry: Congrats on the Exercise - You are doing so good. I am proud of you... Your bday is the same day as my Mom's :thumbup: I am not worried about you being unfilled at all - I have read the PS thread too and heck those women are as dedicated as you and some of that weight gain is from the surgery - water retention swelling - so you can not get on the scale after the TT for 2 weeks .. I gotta say I might splurge before surgery - not so much junk - cuz that goes down OK now - but I would love to eat a big juice bloody steak (I am a cannibal ladies ) I can eat steak but not a lot... So something like that - not the sweets. well maybe a little:redface: the sweets..:thumbup: -------------------------------------------------------------- Steph That's FANTASTIC !!! That 12 lbs a month - GOOD JOB!!! ------------------------------------------------------------- Peaches You might not really feel the restriction until you get to real food. Hold on - I know it's hard - but we are cheering you on... ----------------------------------------------------------- Jackie - GF what's up ??? ----------------------------------------------------------- I made this great dinner last night - a new one pot wonder ground white turkey meat (about 8 oz) onion - bell pepper- 1/2 c corn - 1/4 c rice - 1 can of tomato bisque soup. it makes enough for 3 or 4 nights - I had one full cup - guesstimate the calories to be about 210 - 250 max - It was really good. -------------------------------------------------------------- Well, I am drinking my water - and will report in when I have this 16.9 ozs done - I have to drink 4 of them for 67.60 oz of water - I think I need it cuz I have been having tmi stopped up issues :thumbup: Ok off to work (well I am at work) but you know what I mean TTYL

Hi Everyone, I realize that the menstruation issue was posted last month but I thought I would add to it anyway for anyone else out there who looks this thread up. My lap-band surgery date is scheduled for April 30th 08 - a little over 2 weeks away! I am currently showing signs of a period coming on, some spotting right now, but I too was told that should I have a period it will not stop the surgery. I have never been regular since I developed hypothyroidism 5 1/2 years ago. But the beginning of last year I started having extremely heavy periods, to the point where I could not get up from the couch. OBGYN placed me on various types of birth control where it would slow it down and I would bleed for weeks, or it would stop for a week or two and start heavy again, but none of the birth controls controlled the cycles. Labs were done and no signs of PCOS. It went like that for 5 months and then it was decided to have NovaSure done (Uterine Ablation) in July 07. That surgery made a HUGE difference for me as I really do not have periods. Stats show that women who had NovaSure done experience little to no periods. So in my case, I am having some spotting but this could be my only period. Last Summer I learned that insulin resistance/high sugar level, and/or obesity contributes to HEAVY and irregular periods, which was probably what caused all my problems last year. Only I didn't learn about this until I switch to a new endocrinologist after the surgery. She did a ton of lab work on me and explained the whole insulin resistance and how it affected my cycles before the NovaSure. See, my previous endo of 4 years never bothered to check my glucose levels and I had continued to gain weight while under his care. So in August of last year I decided to change endos because he wasn't doing anything to find out why I was gaining weight. Anyway, the new endo explained insulin resistance to me and it was learned that that was causing my weight gain and menstrual problems. So if anyone out there is experiencing heavy menstrual issues like this, speak to your OBGYN about the NovaSure. Its does improve the quality of life.

hi As a sleep tech I do have to let you know that using the CPAP will help in more ways than you realize. Using your CPAP will help you loose weight by letting you sleep correctly thus, allowing your body to heal itself and lower stress hormones that cause weight gain. These are just things that will help in the short term. Long term is so much more. I know it's hard to get used to, like anything thats good for us, you have to sacrifice. Most people that have problems with CPAP is because of a incorrect mask fit. Call your lab or Medical equipment company and see about different masks. If you have any questions feel free to ask. :huh2: