Search the Community

From an article on www.mayoclinic.com: A few studies indicate that large amounts of caffeine — the equivalent of six cups of coffee a day — may slightly enhance weight loss in people who exercise and maintain a low-fat diet. But no studies indicate that weight loss from large amounts of caffeine is significant or permanent. There's also no evidence that increasing caffeine intake alone has any effect on weight loss. Is caffeine an appetite suppressant? Yes, but this effect lasts only a very brief period — not long enough to lead to significant weight loss. Does caffeine increase your body's ability to burn calories? Maybe, but again, probably not enough to result in significant weight loss. Caffeine does act as a diuretic, which means it causes an increase in the amount of urine you excrete. This Water loss may decrease your body weight. But it doesn't decrease body fat. Also, keep in mind that caffeine is a stimulant that can increase your heart rate and blood pressure, interrupt your sleep, and cause nervousness and irritability. Also, many caffeinated beverages are high in calories, which can contribute to unwanted weight gain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also, I recommend this article to everyone. It explains why water is so important and it discussed caffeine as well. http://www.inch-aweigh.com/water.html

Hi Digg, Yes, I experienced weight gain from the surgery,... but I could see it in my swollen hands and feet ... from the IV they had me on to keep me hydrated. It took a few days for the swelling to leave, and to show the weight loss again.

I was told it's not good for you as it can cause acid to build up. There's also certain schools of thought that believe the fake sugars in gum may actually cause greater weight gain than sugar by stimulating your appetite. Either way I don't chew gum.

I'm so sorry you're having to face this for a second time. Its such a huge emotional hurdle to get over the first time, and my fear was always living with the shadow of cancer for the rest of my life. I havent had breast cancer but last August was diagnosed with rectal cancer. It seems nuts, but my hugest fears were to do with losing control of my healthy lifestyle - my eating and my running and exercise. I thought I was going to lose all I had worked so hard for. As it turned out, my excellent fitness has made a surgery possible that the next person would not be able to have. I was able to have my entire rectum and about 1/3 of my colon removed - laparascopically if you can believe it!! - with a few teeny scars, my caesar scar was the main access and I already had that. I've got a stoma for now so there'll be a scar there when that's reversed. The surgery was easy, thorough and with good margins because I have not got a pelvis full of fat. There was absolutely NO live cells left at surgery after the chemo and radiation I had and the radiation oncologist told me again, its a much easier job to target the tumour exactly in a thin person. Because of that, I didnt have the side effects normally seen with pelvic radiation - diarrhoea and skin issues - but it did put an end to my childbearing days. As it turned out, I first went for a run a mere 10 days after a super low anterior resection, so I have pretty much maintained my fitness regime seamlessly. I've butted heads with the stoma nurse and nutrionist regarding the appropriate diet for an ostomate, I refuse point blank to eat a stodgy white carb diet liek they want me to so I pretty much live with constant diarrhoea and this may have to changhe if I want any success with the rve4rsal, something that is making me extremely anxious. I was devastated at 6the thought of wearing a bag, but you know, if this was for life, it wouldnt phase me now, I dont even think about it, until I fart loudly in public - something I cant control because it now comes out of an opening with no muscles! Chemo for me has been 5FU which does not cause weight gain, so I've got the problem of having lost a lot of weight i never needed to lose. That avatar pic of me up there, that's now a "fat" picture. I'm extremely glad I've got a band that could be unfilled, so I can eventually gain some back and truth be told, I'm having so little trouble sticking to a healthy lifestyle that I dont know that I wever WILL fill it again. Why live that resdtricted lifestyle if you dont need to? My nutrition is way better and I need that for now. I've just started chemo again, 20 weeks of it as a mop up, ust in case and this time I feel like crap. But I am still running! I knw how you feel about going back to square one, but although its taken courage an determination, and not a little willpower on my worst days, I have maintained what I worked so hard for - my healthy lifestyle. Everyone, surgeon, oncolo9gist, friends, family, tell me to take it easy but keeping up with my routines makes me feel normal andl ike this horrible disease will not get one second more of my life that it has had. I believe that whilst we cannot control cancer, we do have some say in what it does to our lives. I wish you the very best.

Through my surgeons program you have to lose 5% of your body weight before he will submit to insurance. On sunday I was so nervous because on my scale I only showed I was 1 pound more than his goal. On Monday my appt was at 9am, I ate nothing, drank nothing before appt and came in 2 lbs under Talk about relief!!! Now just in the waiting game. My surgeon will not submit because if you cant lose 5% them he said it shows you are not making any changes and this surgery is a complete lifestyle change. Throughout all this I also quit smoking, which on the past wouldve added 20 lbs, so excited the small changes Ive made helped with the weight gain associated with quitting smoking.

It is amazing for fertility. The question I would like to ask is did you have a sex drive before weight gain?

I did lean meat (chicken or fish) and vegetables, mainly broccoli and brussel sprouts in my case. I would give myself a few mild cheat days, but I stuck to the diet hard on weeks I had to go weigh in with the surgeon or nutritionist. You *do not* want to show weight gain during those twice/month weigh-ins. I lost about 35 pounds without too much difficulty. Now I'm on the pre-op liquid diet. That really sucks.

My name is Amy. I was Renewed Hope on the old lapbandtalk forum... I was banded in 2oo6. I was VERY dedicated to my weight loss journey and lost 85 pounds in the first year. I felt alive!! I trained for and ran a half marathon in 2011.. I kept this 85 pounds off for over 7 years, and then the weight started to creep back up. I haven't had saline in my band in over 2 years. At first the weight gain was very slow, but in the last 6 months I have gained 50 POUNDS!!! I am now back to my original weight and so discouraged. I have an appointment next week to begin this lap band journey again... I need support... I need accountability... I need suggestions.. Do I need to do anything to prepare for my first visit?? What's the best plan after my first fill????

Hi Michelle! I'm also new to the blogging and Banding! I'm going to the seminar tonight. My insurance has been pretty cut and dry about the approval requirements, and I fit them, so I'm hoping for a smooth process (but doubt I will get it!). I just wanted to say - I noticed not only a weight gain but also a resistance in losing weight after my hysterectomy. I did well with my immediate post-op HRT but had to switch 6 months after surgery and literally gained 15 lbs in a month! I insisted I switch back to the original HRT (Vivelle Dot) after a few months. Good luck with the insurance piece! I'm nervous and excited for the seminar tonight. I've been looking forward to it for a week!

I'm really happy to hear that you don't require his support to proceed with the surgery. Wellbutrin is an ok antidepressant and weight gain isn't a side effect like many other antidepressants but if you have been managing since your father's death with therapy alone that is great. It's so hard to get off antidepressants once you start, trust me I know! And congratulations on quitting smoking since that would definitely get in the way of getting the lap band. I know what a struggle that is too! Congratulations on taking control of your life and proceed without the Wellbutrin. It sounds like you may need a new PCP, but in the end you will be happy with your decision. Good luck!

Had you already been on antidepressants? And was he just changing your meds? Reason I am asking is because wellbutrin is not suppose have the weight gain side effect that most antidepres. do. And if you could lose the weight by switching meds without going thru surgery, awesome. Or he may feel you gained due to depression and that is why he prescribed them. I have gained 50lbs in 15 yrs due to my meds. That is why I am thinking this way. My doc agreed after I had no alternative(wellbutrin didn't help my anxiety). Good luck.

I, too, have breast cancer. I was diagnosed with stage 1 (9mm tumor) N0, M0, T1 in 2002. I had a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy. The nodes were clear. I had radiation (no chemo) and started on tamoxifen until my hysterectomy in 2003 when I was switched to femara. I have been on it since and my yearly mammograms have been fine so far. But being a glass half empty kind of person, I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am so sorry that you have to go through with this all over again. Although we don't wish this on anyone, don't you feel like saying. Not me again - isn't it someone else's turn? What was the stage of your original breast cancer? Was it ER+/PR+? Were you on tamoxifen, arimidex or femara? Do you have a family history of breast cancer? I was not tested for BRC1 or BRC2. I do not have a family history of it. I was treated at a leading women's hospital and state of the art cancer treatment center. They weren't doing genetic testing on a routine basis then. I believe my 100+ lb. weight gain in adulthood contributed to my breast cancer. No one who hasn't gone through this process can know how enormously stressful it all is - starting with the yearly mammograms and waiting for all the subsequent test results - not to mention all the pain of surgery and the side effects of radiation and chemo. Just know that there are others out here who have been through it and I wish you the best in terms of diagnosis, surgery, recovery and the rest of your life. Good luck to you.

I am amazed at the fact that people can survive these pre op liquid diets and thankful it wasn't required of me ! As for the weekend, it's over now and time to get back on your program. I sAy this after two days of eating my daughter's Halloween candy( and subsequent 2 pound weight gain this morning) I have put on my walking shoes, ignoring the candy and starting over You've got this Susan

I too have a lap band. My band slipped last year and I am having it removed and converted to a sleeve. I have never regretted having my band even though I am having problems with it now. My only regret is I didn't make myself maintain my weight loss when all the saline had to be removed from my band so next week I begin this journey all over again. I am so afraid of weight gain again once I get the weight back off with the sleeve. I am wondering should I have went for the bypass?

hey lana, pcos is polly systic overian syndrom- basically the body cant break down sugars and there are many little systs on the ovaries which look very similar to fertilized eggs so the body thinks your preg. so you get cravings and weight gain like a preg person. some other common side effects are iregular period and exessive hair growth. its not fun. the doc give you a med (usually metformin or glucafoge) wich helps the body break down the glucose and then when you diet you should lose weight like a regular person but she told me thats not the case for me at all.....

Yes a weekly accountable weigh in would be great... I must admit I suffer from Scale Addiction... just stepped off mine less than 20 minutes ago and got a frown on my face from a weight gain of 2 ounces.........AWEEEEEEEEE I am addicted.

@lark60 It’s great to talk with people years out. Sorry to hear about all the personal stress. Sounds like you have found what puts your body back into weight loss mode. Eight pounds down is fantastic. You can also inspire others struggling with weight gain. Welcome back, Jenn

So I am 5 years post sleeve. I managed to get within 5 lbs of my goal and slowly slipped back into bad habits. When I went for my annual PCP appointment and saw the scales were reading 175, I almost cried. I hadn't been weighing myself over this past year due to my house flooding and all my stuff was in storage for 6 months. I realized that I had been wearing stretchy leggings and hadn't tried on a pair of jeans in a year (again everything was in storage and I bought a few comfy outfits to tide me over till the home repairs were complete) I went through my kitchen and pulled all processed foods, bread, flour, sugars, root veggies, fruits, cereals, pasta and rice. I gave these things away to my neighbors. I researched diets and weight gain after sleeve procedure. I have started following a modified Keto diet. I say modified because I try to keep my protein at 80 grams a day. So basically I have replaced carbs with healthy fats. My next step back on track was to come back to this site and read the different topics. It has been 2 weeks on my version of Keto and have lost 8 lbs! I still have problems eating enough calories and know my metabolism is slow so I eat what I can and spread a meal to be a 1/2 cup meal and 1/2 cup snack 2-3 hours later. I have found some great recipes online and have bought a few books about Keto diet. I have read up on resistant starches because I have not taken beans out of my diet. They are my source of Fiber and some protein. Since I only eat a couple tablespoon full of beans, I am testing the theory about resistant starches by eating the beans cold. Apparently when certain foods are cooked and then cooled, the carbs crystalize and become resistant to digestion (but are great food for gut flora). I bought a new scale (my old one was lost in the flood) and have started keeping track of what I eat. Coming back to this site and writing my story will help me keep on track to getting back to my goal weight.

thanks everyone!!! mimi - weight gain oh my why?????

The thing is, I was once a mildly overweight person with a BMI of 28 for years and years and years. I was miserable about my appearance, I coudlnt wear what I wanted, I was fat. Not as fat as I got, but I was still fat. I was always going to get fatter and that's precisely what I did once I started having babies. I think its a real shame that the very bare minimum is 30, but you have to draw the line somewhere and many people with a BMI of 28 ARE capable of losing the weight and keeping it off. Its down to personality types and the cause of weight gain. Arguably, when you've just had a baby six months ago, you're yet to normalise and resettle, and you've had big changes to your lifestyle that gradually can be overcome. But if you KNOW that you really have eating problems and its almost certain that you WILL become obese in the future, then a lapband would certainly be as beneficial for someone with a BMI of 28 as it would for someone with a BMI of 38. I always ate well, but I always ate too much. But if you've gained a lot during pregnancy and its taking a bit longer than you want for it to come off, but you basically eat normally then its probably too drastic a step. If you could find a surgeon that is, Australia generally is more liberal than the US but you couldnt get it done at that BMI here.

Megestrol acetate has another independent use in cancer treatment. In high doses, it is used to counteract weight loss that does not occur for any other treatable reason. Megestrol acetate appears to bring about weight gain through increased fat storage. ---Found this while figuring out what this stuff is suppose to be for. That doesn't sound promising either!!

The foods that you mention nuts , butters and avocados, but also dried and fresh fruits, whole grain breads, potatoes (sweet and white), oatmeal, full fat dairy, I have ate from day one. Except pasta , high carb food. Are you saying to eat pasta , high carb foods? Of course I have since trying to put weight on. Healthy dense calorie food does not help with weight gain. But that’s for me. Everyone is different. I do need to mention my stomach feels more restricted. I was up to two cups of food 1 year out. Now being 2 plus years I’m down to 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. Any ideas anyone.

Glad to hear it was just a question that your husband asked. There are too many stories on this board of people not doing what their Dr advised and then ending up in real trouble. Don't worry about the weight gain after surgery as that is very common due to Water retention. If you follow the plan it will disapear just like the rest of you. Many people don't even begin to lose weight until after their first fill. I managed to stay steady for the first month and got huge congradulations from my Dr. Good luck to you.

yes, too bad they couldn't get their facts right about the procedures. But as to whether someone has WLS as a preventative measure opens a whole other line of thinking. I am not sure if it is much different from a "starlet" having WLS so she doesn't have to face any weight gain, than one of our low BMI folks having the band because the need to stop before they do get as big as I am, or bigger. I think that says something about our socity when someone who is tiny under goes something as drastic as WLS so they don't become a fat cow at size 6.

Listen I know the thought of weight gain is scary! Prozac can do the same! But it's a balancing act. Because you are depressed now you are eating things you shouldn't trust me the weight gain is worse with the untreated depression than it is with the medicines! I eat to stuff the feelings. I eat to comfort myself. I eat to the point of pain to ease the pain. I guess what I'm saying is I know what you are going through. Please seek help again.