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All of what your experiencing Rebecca is normal. so don't get frustrated, your body is still adapting to the foreign object inside you, your metabolisim is also adjusting , you will have flux in weight gain & loss as you start,but once you move to solid foods your stabilize and loss will come, i know we all want instant results, but your doing great , congrats to you and hang in there like you said your frustrated but refuse to give up. Slow & steady wins every time. GOOD LUCK & CONGRATS! Steve

Seems to me that getting the required protein without pushing the calorie count too high means I will always obsess over food to an extent. I don't see this negatively. I think inattention to what I eat was a big part of my weight gain, and I don't want to go back.

The first few weeks when you melt like a snowman in July are so thrilling, lol. It's a great feeling. Your sleeve is still swollen, so you won't be eating a lot. I had mashed squash, mushroom gravy, avocado, hummus, tomato Soup, strained Soups, etc. Any fruits and veggies that go in the nutribullet are fine. Don't worry about weight gain, unless you plan on living on hot fudge sauce for the next month, lol. You won't be eating a lot, and everything is going to taste soooo good. I felt like the Queen of NJ after 4 oz of tomato soup. When you go on solids, you will start to know what "full" feels like. My friend bought me some 4 oz ramekins on Amazon.com to put my food in so I would always know what enough was. I still use them.

I'm sorry. I am cracking up right now... of all the posts on this forum this one came out of left field big time!!! We used to enjoy a wonderful hookah in college... made out of an ocean spray cran-grape bottle with 4 hoses for all of us to share... and we weren't smoking flavored tobacco!!! In fact, my college hookah probably led to munchies that caused at least a 50 lb weight gain! LOL Oh, memories!!! lol

hi..I just had my first fill was so excited my weight dropped the first 2 days and now on the 3rd day its up!!! its really sad that our bodies dont respond...every one looses in the liquid diet phase...why not me.. anyone has a similar story....

Hello, I am 2.5 weeks post op and currently getting in anywhere from 45-65 grams of Protein...depending on the day I noticed on the days that I am in the 60-65 protein range I tend to get constipated. I also noticed that the days when I only get about 45 grams of protein, I don't have this problem and after a couple of days of "low protein" I will lose about 2 to 4 lbs. When I am able to get in the 60-65 grams there is no weight loss. Any ideas on whats going on?

I have a low BMI. I weigh 207 give or take. My doctor doesn't want me to lose too much beacuse I will go under the BMI. Like a lot of people I have lost weight before but then gained it back. Last year I lost 20lbs and was down to 186 and it felt so good. I even got to stop taking my blood pressure meds, and had energy to have fun, exercise and my self esteem was so high. I had surgery in fall 2007 and got a staph infection and had to go in for surgery again and then gained 25LBS!! This weight gain this time has taken a toll on my knees and I have little energy. I hate this 6 month diet and wish I had enough money to self-pay. When I am thinner I feel good, I exercise, get out and swim, etc. My insurance is bad too I have to pay HALF . I feel like I am doing okay at work, but I do have a hard time at home with the diet. I saw things on here about having to give up bread, what other things beside soda should I go ahead and give up and did anyone else have problems witht the diet. I am afraid of cutting everything out and exercising too much because of the low BMI. What do you all think, thanks and I have learned a lot on this.

Alexandra is absolutely right in that "success" is in the eyes of the person banded, and your ideas about what "success" is may have to be modified. I still have problems accepting that even if I got to "goal" weight, at 44 I am NEVER going to look like a swimsuit model - never! I probably will never look good in sleeveless outfits, shorts, or - naked, period. In my mind, however, I still cling to the fantasy of looking "someday" like some of the young beautiful people I see... lol As far as long term success - the truth is there are a lot of factors that determine this, and not all of them may be in your control. Some people return to their old habits, or inexplicably start to consume more calories via liquids/soft foods. That's something you can feel you have control over. But a reoccurring theme on the boards reserved for "experienced" bandsters is the fact that some are no longer able to tolerate the same level of restriction that got them to goal weight. So if you start having reflux problems 5 years out that are only resolved by getting an unfill - either paritially or completely - you are going to have more of a challenge on your hands, because your capacity for a higher quantity will go up, and that may allow you to exceed your caloric needs resulting in weight gain. The aging/lower metabolism beast will factor in, as well, as does certain types of medications. There is, however, NO WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY with the band - IF you are able to maintain the same level of restriction AND you continue to eat the same things in the same quantity as you did to lose your weight (or a little bit more to stop losing and maintain), then you will NOT gain your weight back due to a failure on the band's part. It cannot compensate for certain medications or the effects of aging. The best strategy in being successful is to remember that the changes you make to lose your weight are a LIFETIME COMMITMENT. This is not a diet that you "stop" when you reach goal. IF you change your eating habits and your physical activity levels to reach your goal weight, you HAVE to maintain that same lifestyle to keep it there. A reminder that muscle requires more energy to maintain than fat, so it is in everyone's interest to build and maintain muscle if at all possible - that will help combat the age/metabolism thing, but more importantly will increase your health, which really needs to be the focus in all of this. If you do not focus on HEALTH as the reason to make these changes, then once your reach "goal" you will no longer have "losing weight" as a source of motivation to continue with the changes you're making now. Good luck in your process!

deed87... I'm no expert but I think you are kinda going into this with the wrong mindset. You have to understand that this is a tough deal. Too many people call this "the easy way out" but its all but that. This is tough. The job you seek will serve as great motivation but the are many posts in here about people who don't have sucess with it. However, when you do reach your goal weight, you can stop getting fills, have some Fluid removed from the band, etc. I think once you get close it will motivate you to go further. I also get the feeling that you are like many of us that LOVE food and you are thinking that you will never be able to enjoy the good stuff again. Many people on this forum talk about how hard it is to maintain when you reach your goal. To take fluid out will only give more hunger and you will want more food which will give you more calories which will eventually lead to weight gain. Hope this helps.

In the soft foods phase, it is so easy to want to eat canned fruit, mashed potatoes, chicken noodle Soup with the noodles, Peanut Butter, pancakes, and chili with cheese, Beans, and sour cream. The calories and carbs can add up quickly. So long as you have a blender or food processor, you can take moist meats like chicken and roast beef and add some broth to make them even wetter. Your veggies need to be non-starchy, and fruit is a treat. I was allowed one serving of fruit a day. Watch out for processed foods because of the added sugar and salt. If you are doing your own food prep, learn to eat with minimal salt. I have found post-op that any time I have salt with my dinner, I will be up at least two pounds overnight. Some people can handle it; I cannot. It will take me a week to lose those two pounds. One other thing that causes me weight gain is medications. I had to go back on Lyrica in September and gained ten pounds in twelve days! That was enough for me, so I went back to the pain clinic to request different treatment. I gained twelve pounds during the two days I was in the hospital because of IV fluids. So, I had to lose that before even thinking about my post-op weight loss. One thing you will learn is how to listen to your body, and how to be a good detective. You will learn way more than you expect about health, anatomy, nutrition, and the psychology of person relationships. Just be mindful of following your program, and don't lose your momentum Hang in there.

I had my surgery in 2008 i was 415 pound i was 147 pounds when i found out i was 6 weeks pregnant. even before pregnant i had alot of restriction and was always dehydrated but rather gain back weight i just kept the restriction. when i found out i was 6 weeks pregnant i had 3 cc taken out of my band because i didnt want to chance having a misscarage or any problems with my baby, which left me with no restriction at all. I gained 20 pounds with in the first week and had swelling and i am still gaining weight at an insane rate atleast 5 pounds a week im in the gym almost 4 times a week for 35 minutes to an hour on the eliptical i and i eat alot of fruit and veggitables and i cant understand why in gaining so much weight im now 11 weeks pregnant and weigh 185 pounds. my obgyn has done test and all my brood work looks fine im just getting upset becasue im watching what im eating and exercising and cant seem to keep a steady normal weight gain. has anyone else gained alot of weight durring there pregnancy?

I have been on Lexapro for 3 years, and gained about 30 pounds within the first 6 months I was on it That tapered off then and now I have no problems with weight gain on it. My goal is to decrease the dose after taking off some of the weight and having my synthroid adjusted accordingly. Ironically, I was at my follow up visit with the surgeon today and have lost exactly 30 pounds since the start of my two week pre op diet... take that medication weight gain!

I thought that sounded a little familiar, so I pulled out my paperwork I got from the patient education seminar and saw a slide that read this: We expect weight loss prior to surgery Even a few pounds (5-10) can make a difference - Liver Do not gain weight May cx (cancel) surgery if there is weight gain ... So yeah, I need to be extra mindful about that.

My mother always blamed herself for my weight gain, even though I was out of the house & married off before it became an issue. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of my surgery because she was sad that it had "come down to that". She wished I could have found another way. She & dad drove down to the hospital to be with DH and I when I had my surgery. I didn't know this at the time, but she cried for hours the night before my surgery. Mostly tears of misplaced guilt, I believe. A few of fear. We both know sisters who were banded several years ago, and one has had some sognificant issues with her band that have lead to other problems including extreme (from size 36 to a loose 0) weightloss. And a few tears because she was afraid that it was a pure desperation move on my behalf. She never vocalized it, but she wished I wouldn't do it. Now that she sees I'm getting myself back, sees the changes in my personality, and my body... sees that I can get down & up again from the floor without any effort, and that I can rup up and down the stairs & still breathe... and most importantly that I'm still healthy, able to eat wholesome foods, and not having (yet) complications, she's thinking about the band herself. At the same time she has a lot of the issues you share about your mom. She is overweight, though I was by far the largest. She told me once, "If you do this and lose weight I'm going to be jealous." It always gave her a measure of comfort to not be the fattest one in the room, I'm sure, even if it caused her horrible guilt at the same time. We visited my parents last weekend and mom brought out all the food she had bought for me - Cookies, ice cream, chips. She meant well, but I told her I don't eat that stuff any more, and even when I do it's 1 cookie, not a box. She keeps insisting that, "With no more than what you eat, a few cookies isn't going to hurt you" or "You can use real butter, you need some more fat in your diet." She means well, but she too struggles with her proverbial demons. As does your mother. Have you tried a real heart-to-heart with her?

Jodi In KY, come to think of it my BMI was 39 and my insurance company paid for mines. I'm with Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield. All insurance companies have there own requirements. I called my insurance company and spoke with a representative, who advised the requirements that I would have to had fulfilled before the insuance company would pay for my surgery. Luck I fit those requirements. Suffered with my weight gain for the last 5 years, 6 month supervised weightloss program in the last 2 years, either 6 months straight or 2 consecutive 3 month sessions would qualify. Two health physical or health problems related to weight gain. I did not have health problems and throught because my BMI was 39, I would not qualify for the surgery, but I was approved.

I did well durning the holidays. No weight gain, I lost 6 lbs this month so far. My surgery is January 15th . I start my 14 day liquid only pre op diet on December 31. I celebrated New Years with my husband yesterday with my last glass of wine. I am not nervous at this point, but I am sure the nerves will show up eventually.

keep in mind most everyone here has years upon years of weight loss / weight gain and try and fail. This pattern is ingrained and can be our undoing if we don't recognize it and guard against it. Post op is a mental game and we are the enemy. build a plan around your doctors instructions then work out how to do this day in day out without huge effort. The key is it must work with your life or like a DIET it will fail over the long run. Everyone will have a slightly different plan that fits the life they are building. good luck and i hope you have a great week and get back on track.

@@Proud2BMe It is wrong that you assume I am sitting around eating crap. The only carbs I have eaten in the last week have been a Tablespoon of banana apple puree and 1 melon ball of honeydew, besides the carbohydrates that are in veggie broth, spinach, tofu, and other veggies (which are very minimal). I have been religiously logging my food and measuring for every meal. Fruit based carbs are the only high carb food in my home (and raw seed crackers that I can't eat at this point). That is the reason I am worried about the weight gain. When I came on this forum expected for people to be helpful and uplifting, but reading your comments is disheartening and very negative. Side note: After consulting with my doctor he said the culprit is constipation and water retention.

You are trying to argue against opinions when the article itself is an opinion. You are not the be-all of Bariatric advice. As we are all (former) fat people we should all know the ability we have to deceive ourselves as to what we are consuming and the quantity thereof. I'm not laying into this poster at all nor am I throwing blame on her. I am just stating that if the problem is weight gain then too many carbs may be to blame. It may not be. So what? You are not an expert anymore than I am. Opinions are opinions and nobody here should be claiming there's is fact while someone's else is mere opinion. They are ALL opinions. So back up and take some time to think before going on the attack.

@@Proud2BMe It is wrong that you assume I am sitting around eating crap. The only carbs I have eaten in the last week have been a Tablespoon of banana apple puree and 1 melon ball of honeydew, besides the carbohydrates that are in veggie broth, spinach, tofu, and other veggies (which are very minimal). I have been religiously logging my food and measuring for every meal. Fruit based carbs are the only high carb food in my home (and raw seed crackers that I can't eat at this point). That is the reason I am worried about the weight gain. When I came on this forum expected for people to be helpful and uplifting, but reading your comments is disheartening and very negative. Side note: After consulting with my doctor he said the culprit is constipation and Water retention. **************************************** I never said you ate crap and I do not appreciate your implying such. I have not once been negative to you. It's only naturally to bring up the subject of ingesting too many carbs on posts where people are complaining of weight gain. FYI: Fruit based carbs are no different from other carbs. Just so you know. The sugar in some fruits can be on the same level as candy and fruit juices are worse, about the same as drinking a regular soda. I'm not saying you can't eat fruit or anything like that, just keep that in mind.

1 cup Kale cut up raw with 1-2 tbspoons of Panera asian seasme dressing, sugared ginger sliced VERY thin, and 10 or so pumpkin seeds or dried cran berries. Bell pepper red, yellow or orange are filling and low calorie as are apples and you name cucumbers. Strawberries are low calorie as is cantaloupe. There is also Magic Pop large round wheat and rice tortilla looking crunchy wafer that satisfies the need to crunch. This is just my experience from an empty band to prevent weight gain- - my sleeve is thursday- these are space fillers that are low calorie though. Good luck !!

Weapon. Sound like a true plateau. And yes, they can last for months. To go off of Lisa's comment. Tricking the body is precisely what you want to do. You've been so clean for so long that the body has acclimated, metabolism has shifted etc. This is a an old bodybuilder trick. They eat clean for 6 days than eat like crap the 7th. As soon as the body starts detecting starvation, bam, it has a huge rise in cals and it calls off the plateau (or hoarding of fat reserves). Since you are well into your plateau. Forget one meal, or one day. Try a week. Truly, kick the diet for a week. Let your body 'think' it's flush w/ cals. After a week, go back on diet. Typically any weight gained flies off but you will see the scale start to go down. At that point my recommendation is to have a cheat meal or cheat day weekly to keep plateaus in check. Hope this helps. (and yes cal cycling is effective), however, your 900-1100 cal range is what Im at and Im a woman. Most banded men are a few hundred higher like 1100-1300 and that may be playing a factor. However, you won't hear from me not to weigh or track daily..that's a must in my book <wink>

Well for me is simple. During my sophomore year of high school I became depressed due to bad family situations and rape. The depression turned in to a food obsession. Ice cream never felt so sweet! Once I entered college it was all down hill from there, the drinking and eating was horrible for me. I also binged on food, kept a secret. I would eat two whole boxes of thin crust pizza and 20 buffalo wings :hurray: ouch! I also stopped exercising and that of course added to the weight gain!

@@MichiganChic Thanks, Do you have anything else you can share in terms of what the bad habits were that caused the weight gain? Also, what did you do to get rid of those pounds and why do you think it took so long? Thanks!

Ok feedback from my visit to the doctor, thank you for your support. I am now able to eat again, my surgeon was good this time and i didn't have any problems with her, but that was because my body was in starvation mode, she took out all Fluid and there was 4mls in there, i thought it was only meant to be 2.2mls so idon't know where the rest came from, she replaced 1.5mls and now i feel as though i have no restrictions, it is so good to be able to eat again and not spend my time feeling so awful, i go back in about 3 - 4 weeks to get a top up and in that time giving my body a chance to recover, i still have NO energy and i am trying to replenish the fluids. So bottom line i was overfilled and there was no way things were going through. my fear at the moment is the weight gain, but i just have to work through that and get back on top of things. So thank you from a happier me Cheers Jane