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Don't care. Surgery is going to give me an extra 0-50 years and I sure as hell am not going to waste them staring at the idiot box. Besides, I'm sure a huge portion of the people here can blame a good part of their weight gain on a sedentary idiot-box-watching lifestyle in the first place.

1.5 pounds is not too shabby for a weeklong vacation. Just think of how much u would've gained had u not been sleeved. I have found that little weight gains come off quickly once I focus on eating right, getting my Water, and working out. It'll come off don't worry. Please don't let a 1.5 gain cloud over the greatness of a cruise. Sent from my iPhone using VST

Here's what you can expect. You're going to be asked a serious of questions from either the HAMD or MADRS test for depression. You can look up samples online. A lot of people that suffer from obesity and have a BMI that qualifies them for surgery also suffer from depression. Many also have addictive personalities and abused food, drugs and/or alcohol in the past (or may be presently abusing). Having a history of depression or addiction does not disqualify you from surgery, but the psychologist need to show that you are being treated and that you can handle this procedure. They need to know that you have a support system in place to help you with this transition. Having this surgery is not going to cure all your problems--it's just going to make you thinner and PHYSICALLY healthier. If you gained weight because you have underlying issues, those issues need to be addressed (and you need to show that you are continuing to addressing them). That covers you for mood disorders, but they are also screening for other issues including personality disorders (borderline personality for example). People with borderline personality disorder (and other personality disorders) don't do very well with surgery or the changes that occur after surgery. If you are suffering schizophrenia, you may also have issues post-op. This will likely show up in your medical history, but you'll be screened anyway. If you have bi-polar depression, you can have problem coping with this surgery and many of the anti-psych drugs used to treat bi-polar depression cause weight gain, and that would need to be taken into consideration. I am not sure that any of these issues alone will disqualify you from surgery, but you're going to need to show that you're conditions (if you have one) is well controlled for at least a year and that your treating physician believes you are psychological prepared to handle the stress of surgery and the changes that it may bring. Aside from questions that are probing for the above issues, you'll be asked specific questions to determine whether you have considered the consequences of having this surgery and how it may effect your life. I would just answer these honestly. This is what I said in my interview (paraphrasing) 1. Why do want weight loss surgery? (asking to make sure you have realistic expectations and have a healthy outlook on this process) I don't want to have weight loss surgery. I wish I didn't need it, but I do need this surgery to become a healthier person. The cosmetic benefits are secondary. If the surgery just made me a healthy person, but I stayed just as fat as I am now, that would be fine too. However, that's not the way it works and I need to lose this weight to be healthy. Being fat is one thing, being sick and dead is another entirely. 2. If that's the case, Have you Tried Dieting and Exercise to lose the Weight? Absolutely, I have been dieting most of my adult life (or was between diets). i can lose weight, but keeping it off has been a problem. Most recently I went on a strict doctor supervised diet where I lost 40 pounds, but could never get below a certain point. I did everything by the book but just hit a plateau. After two months, it became frustrating and I started to slip. Within another 6 months, I gained back the 40 pounds I lost and then some. That's been the story of my life. Dieting and exercise just doesn't work for me or almost anyone that has more than 70 pounds to lose. That's not my opinion, that's what virtually every study shows. 3. Why do you think you gained this weight? Everyone is going to have a different answer, but in my case I gained the weight a little at a time. I was thin as a kid. Even in my early 20's, I worked out every day and watched what I ate. I even had a six pack for a while. Once I started working, that disappeared. I started gaining a few pounds every year. Then I would diet to lose the weight and it would creep back on quickly after I fell off the diet horse (with a few extra for good luck!). I am now 44, so if you take a normal person my height with a normal weight at 24 and add 4 pounds a year on average you end up being me. It wasn't noticeable at first, but it sneaks up on you and suddenly you realize you're the fattest guy in the room. (obviously, this doesn't apply to everyone--but that's how it happened for me). 4. Can you commit to changing your lifestyle after this surgery? Absolutely. It's not going to be easy. Nothing about this process is easy, but I either commit to change or I am going to have a very short life. I have two little girls and they need their daddy to walk them down the aisle when their time comes. I also need to do this for myself. I love being alive and I want to feel healthy again. 5. How does your family feel about you having this surgery? My wife is nervous, but supportive. My mom is behind this 100% and my dad is very nervous about it, but he supports me too. I have told anyone else in my family. I think they would support me, but I just don't feel like they need to know at that point in time. 6. This type of surgery can change the way you feel about yourself and the people around you. How do you think it will effect your relationship with your wife? I believe it will improve our relationship. My wife is a thin person, who watches what she eats. I know she loves me, but she's not happy that I am heavy and she is scared about the effects that being a diabetic may have for me. Being heavy (and diabetic) also can, in my case, cause sexual side effects for men and I think that losing the weight can only help me in that regard. I think you get the picture. Don't lie, but they want to know that you understand what you're getting into and will be able to handle the difficulties and changes that come from surgery. Good luck!

Anyone else struggle at the 2 year mark with the yoyo weight gain??

Honestly, I think we all compare with each other's results on this journey and I think it can be a bit emotionally damaging especially when we see those large numbers other people are putting out there (congrats to them btw). The problem I have is that I'm not losing 1 or 2lbs per week at all (I wish it were that steady). I'm on this weird stair step trend where I drop a couple pounds, gain a couple, lose some again and then stall for a few weeks. It makes me feel like I'm not doing my personal best and that's the psychological part I've hated about this journey. The diets I'd been on since 2012 had been more of a steady loss so I ended up getting used to that type of weight loss cycle. But this one is taking quite a bit of getting used to for me. Maybe I have some Fluid retention which causes the crazy fluctuations...IDK All in all I'm very happy I got the surgery and wouldn't change a thing. I know that in the long run VSG will help me stay the course and give me the opportunity to bounce back from any future weight gain I may have. I absolutely know for a fact I wouldn't be able to do it on my own if I hadn't gone this route so I'm extremely thankful I could afford to pay for this. Good luck to everyone who's working hard to stay the course and I'm happy to be on this journey with you all!

Not to be alarmist, but are you sure it is real weight gain and not something causing you to gain water? I had this happen a number of years ago, where I was legitimately NOT eating enough to gain fat, but the scale was increasing. I was dealing with a heart issue at the time, and the weight gain was from that. I had to get on diuretics until my heart was in a better place. Again, not trying to be alarmist in any way, just throwing out that maybe something else is going on and it's not the PCOS. Perhaps you've become more salt sensitive? During the timeframe I noted above, I really had to become aggressive about cutting salt. Not so much anymore, but at that time it was like pouring gasoline onto a fire. It's just usually weight gain of that kind is water weight, unless you are gorging on food day in and day out.

The surgeons look at those of us who have excellent insurance as 'cash cows'! They can bill highest fee on scale (I'm sure what ins. pays surgeons is a lot more than self-pay!) Send us for a kazillion tests, etc. I'm glad I have great ins. and had all the tests. With self-pay I don't know that my apnea would have been discovered and treated! My oxygen level dropped to 85% when sleeping-a big reason for my recent rapid weight gain and constant fatigue. I do have to save up for the inevitable tummy-tuck I'm going to need after losing 100 lbs. I don't think my ins. covers this. Maybe by the time I'm ready it will be- who knows! (throw in breast augmentation and I'll be good as new! Ha ha!) Good luck!

Ugghhh I am 18 months out and have gained back 12 lbs since May… help!!!

Congrats on your pregancy btw!!!! 130lb weight loss is AMAZING!!!!!!!! So you are due at the end of March I take it? Do you know what your having? I'm having another boy! I have a 6 year old daughter and a 3.5 year old boy. Both I had before I was banded! This is my first band baby. I feel you on the weight gain jitters.....Seeing every week the numbers go up is so hard for me. I haven't been eating a ton but I have a major sweet tooth Its killing me.....lol......Started out at 116ish and I'm now 135.5......My due date is March 10th but I'm sure my OBGYN will induce me a week early as my husband works out west and will have to make arrangements to be home....

A lot has to do with economics... What can you afford to do?! I found I skipped sizes..like I went from 18-12 boom. Not much in between. I managed to live in the 18's for a while, but since exercise was my main focus, I did spend money on yoga pants and jogging pants that fit regularly. I also purchased some really cute skirts -not cheap- with fabric that had some stretch-- and would go down with me. It was certainly worth it to have 4 or 5 skirts to wear that were pretty, flattering, and fit well. I'm not a second hand clothing shopper, but others are and have done well. I would suggest purchasing some cute tops you can pair with a couple pairs of different pants, and don't be afraid to try a size or two lower than you think fits. How you shed weight now may be different than in the past. For me, weight gain was always in my legs when I was younger if I put on 10 pounds or so and always the last to go. This time, it was really pretty evenly spread, but the legs went faster. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

"My 600 Pound Life" on TLC is my current guilty pleasure. I think I have watched parts of the show before in the past but now that I am getting ready for my sleeve surgery the show makes much more sense now. I am nowhere near 600 pounds, halfway there so I'm proactively stopping the weight gain madness. I've tried to watch as many episodes as I could find on Netflix and the Internet, I still have not seen any with guys at this point. I did find on Netflix, "The World's Fattest Man" which was a little disappointing because they dragged out the pre-surgery process to the very end and basically with only a few minutes left he has the surgery. I was thinking were they actually going to show this guy die. Fortunately he survived and he is doing well according to the Internet. Another show I have found recently was on HBO called "The Weight of the Nation". That show is more geared towards the entire weight loss industry and obesity crisis in America. It's a little long-winded but informative. I find watching these shows are therapeutic and help make this process a little more real as I complete my required steps to surgery.

Sleeved on May 7 so I'm almost 2 months out and have gained 6 pounds in the last week. I'm freaking out!! Is this normal?

Thanks Patch.. I have a simon too,, he needs to get some exercise with me!! I'm hoping to get in better shape this summer, swim, walk etc. and get more strenghth back in my leg and ankle so when and if I do go through with the surgery I will be well on my way to better health. Its very frustrating because I had such high hopes for the same outcome after my hyst! I don't regret it at all because I was very ill at the time, but the weight gain has been horrid. I think I would lose my mind if I didn't lose anything even after this!

Casey, From my understanding they do not ask many questions. I have never gone through a therapist for approval but I heard they whip you through there. Personally, I wish I would have gone through therapy because I truly believe once you have made it to your goal, the mind, MY MIND changed dramatically and I thought that I needed it then. I don't doubt that I still need it now. In fact, it wouldn't even hurt my husband to go through therapy as I consisently hear, EVER SINCE YOU LOST YOUR WEIGHT, and EVER SINCE YOU QUIT SMOKING......... He is having a tough time. What he doesn't realize, in which I have told him was, you will never understand throughout my life what I have gone through and you will also never understand how much I love you for putting up with me and how lucky I am to still have you since I went through weight gain and weight loss with him. All the time that I bought clothes and then threw them out because they couldn't fit me anymore. Skinny, fat, skinny, fat..........and, he never had a weight problem in his life. He needs therapy as well as I do, still because I still have tough times trying to accept and be happy with who I am. Big huge life change is headed your way as long as you commit yourself. Just remember the most important outcome of this whole process and that is to become healthy and live a more happy life. You can get through this and we are all here for moral support. Josephine

I am becoming more and more convinced that I am doing something wrong. I do not feel that I have lost enough weight. My sleeve was 1/20 and I have only lost 37 lbs It has been 2+ months. I see where others have lost that much in the first month! I am very stressed about this and am not sure what to do. I just hit send on an email to the NP at my surgeon's office and anxiously wait for her reply (which might take several days and before anyone says it, I know if it Sunday and she is not working). I am loosing pounds and have lost inches, but I am afraid it should be more. I am watching everything I eat and doing cardio for 30 minutes 5 times a week. I am on several medications for Lupus and Fibromyalgia and they cause weight gain (one of the many reasons I am hear now and could not loose). Could that be why I am not loosing as much? Am I doing something wrong? I know that no one can give me an exact answer to my question, but I could really use some support. Thanks y'all!

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!

I am exactly two years post-op since I was sleeved in April 2015. Losing a regain after undergoing bariatric surgery involves no special insider secrets or magical sorcery. My personal mantra is this: "The road to regain with a sleeve or bypass is often paved with snacky slider foods such as Lays, Pringles, Fritos, Ruffles, Doritos, popcorn, pretzels, crackers, breads, Oreos, Fig Newtons, and ice cream." Sliders (a.k.a. slurry foods) do not produce that important feeling of satiety or fullness in the sleeved stomach or bypass pouch, so we can eat unlimited amounts of them. They slide rapidly out of the stomach and into the intestine, promoting fast weight gain. If you eat sliders, I suggest you cut them out your life cold turkey ASAP. Revert to what you did during those first post-op months. Eat abundant lean protein such as chicken, fish, and beef. If you are still hungry, eat non-starchy veggies until full. Due to its high thermic effect, protein cranks up your metabolic rate because it requires more calories and energy to for your body to digest than slurry carbohydrates. Consider this: after eating 10 yeast dinner rolls you will never feel full. However, you cannot eat 10 tilapia fillets or 10 chicken drumsticks. You will be stuffed with one or two servings or fish or chicken. The 10 yeast rolls had 1200 calories and you are still hungry for more. The one tilapia fillet or chicken drumstick had 110 calories and you are feeling full in relatively short order.

Hello, everyone! I'm new here & was glad to find this group. I'm still pre-op, but almost finished with all the requirements. My surgeon won't even submit my file for insurance approval til next month, but I already made his nurse pencil me in on June 19. I'm in school right now, so I had a very narrow window to squeeze in the surgery between my summer classes. Coco, good luck to you today! Please let us know how it goes when you can. I am not in a wheelchair (yet), but I have very limited mobility. I blew out my left knee when I was 17, and the weight gain over the years has caused my poor knees to deteriorate badly. I can't walk without limping & I'm in pain every day. I was facing double knee replacement surgery, but I decided that sleeve surgery would be the better option. Not only will losing weight make me healthier overall, but my ortho surgeon told me that for every 10 lbs of weight I lose, I'll take 40 lbs of pressure off my knees! I will probably still have to have knee replacement some day, but I'm hoping to hold it off for as many years as I can.

since my december 3 surgery. i was doing great. lost almost 30 lbs including the weightloss from the pre-op diet. then...the holidays hit. i was finally able to eat normal food but it had to be on the softer side. anyways, i have gained almost 6 lbs. i don't feel the full feeling like i did a few weeks ago after surgery. i know its because my stomach isn't swollen from surgery anymore and that i transitioned out of a liquid diet but i just need assurance that it will not be like this after i get my fills. it scares me that i can eat so much without feeling "like i just ate a thanksgiving dinner"..as my clinic told me how i would feel after eating. anyways, this small weight gain has really put a damper on my journey and i feel completely guilty for it. any input helps. thanks!

Monday, September 14, 2009 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years Talked with my 7th grade girls group about the 10,10,10 principle, which is a way of helping you make decisions. We make decisions just about every moment and we need to ask ourselves what would the results be, good and bad, 10 minutes from now, 10 months from now, and 10 years from now. I thought about how that applied to food and how something that looks good right now and would satisfy our craving right now (or maybe not) ends up cumulatively as weight gain 10 months down the road which 10 years down the road puts us on the path of high blood pressure, high, cholesterol, high blood sugar, and prone to heart disease, strokes, Alzheimers, breast and colon cancer, Dr.s' bills, food bills, wardrobe bills, loss of income from not being able to work as well or at all, shame, etc.,etc., etc. Of course, for my kids, the consequences of bad decisions now, like just going outside and walking around at night in high risk neighborhoods, can be fatal. Told them I didn't want to be visiting their graves, or their jail cells, or them struggling to raise 3 babies from 3 different fathers. None of them thinks any of that could ever happen to them, but they were almost all telling about dangerous situations with kids showing them guns, bangers trying to sweet talk them, predators trying to talk them into their vehicles, and they find it very exciting. The part of their brain that foresees the potential consequences of their actions is not fully developed until the mid-20s, but stupid actions we all took when we were young didn't usually have the severe consequences that my 7th graders are more likely to experience. Some of these consequences for bad choices didn't exist. HIV, getting shot, crack cocaine, meth--its not like there weren't drugs available but they weren't so instantly addictive. Teenage pregnancy existed but it wasn't as widespread, nor was it an accepted way of life. I'm hoping to give these kids a tool, 10-10-10 to get these kids to think beyond immediate gratification. 10 minutes from now, 10 months from now, 10 years from now. Puts things in perspective. For me, for them.

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 wish I knew . . . . . . some Protein shakes can taste horrible. I should have gotten a sample before I bought a very expensive barrel sized canister of Protein shake that has been gathering dust in my kitchen closet for six months now. . . . ready to drink Isopure clear shakes were tolerable to drink and helpful for protein intake directly after surgery since they fit in as a clear protein. . . . I did not realize logging all calories and protein on fitday.com would be so helpful during the early days. . . . I thought the journey really started when I was banded, but the help did not really come until after my second fill. I did not have realistic expectations of the unfilled portion in the early days where you are soooo hungry but can not eat anything much. I also did not realize that so many people had weightloss stalls (or some even gain)at this point. . . . I did not realize that weight loss comes in fits and starts. It was only easy and steady directly after surgery during the liquid phases. In general for me it looked more like this 202, 202, 201, 198, 202, 199, 202, 200, 199, 199, 198, 200, 198. I now have a rule that I don't change a ticker value unless I maintain a maximum weight for at least three days. . . . I didn't realize that plateaus can be easily broken if you know what to do, so I suffered a little more in the beginning than necessary. . . . I didn't realize that my TOM means an automatic weight gain(3-5 pounds in the beginning and 1-3 pounds now) that comes and goes in about a week. . . . I did not know that losing weight rapidly floods your body with hormones so that your TOM can be drastically worse than normal (not to mention that you can be verrrryyyy moody as well). However, six months out and I think I have stabilized somewhat. Perhaps the general tone sounds like complaints, but it is not. All of the good far, far, far outweighs the bad. If I listed all the good, I could go on for pages and pages. I love my band and I can not tell you how much better I look and feel at this stage of the game. Congratulations on selecting a most interesting journey and change in lifestyle.

First thing - you may want to change your user name - having your email address as a user name will likely result in a lot more spam due to the email bot finders. So to the advice from people around you - I am assuming they are not medical or health specialists? They may be well meaning and while some family members may be concerned about possible medical complications are more likely to be concerned about the change in the status quo. You are likely to lose the weight that is required for health and maintain that loss long term? If so, you may not need the surgery. But if like most of us, you can lose some weight (not likely all that was needed) and are not able to maintain that weight loss beyond the short term, you will greatly benefit from weight loss surgery. Your medical team believes you are a good fit for the surgery and believes there is a need for it, you had reasons for looking at weight loss surgery - are those still valid? If you don't do the surgery where will you be a year from now? More weight gain - more medical issues?

No weight gain...no weight loss. I wish this wasn't my story. Posted by AngieB, Jun 11 2009, 02:34 PM Admin/Owner Options Make This Entry A Draft

Yes, I am on Tricare. I have been put on things like child-safe weight loss supplements and such all during my childhood and teen years (My weight gain all started by a doctor's misdiagnosis and mistreatment when I was about 6/7 so I have been trying to lose weight since that all started). But living overseas my whole life I was never "old enough" to go to the gyms on base or able to drive to a gym or anything. Even now, I currently live 10 miles out of my town, and was in an almost fatal car accident where my car flipped and turned over about 4 months ago. So the concept of getting to a gym is impossible (my father also commutes 50 miles to the base). I have been a yo-yo dieter in the past, I've tried many fads, bought countless books, etc. I really do worry about my health. I'm about to be put on blood pressure medication before I even turn 19. All of my attempts at a life style change have failed and I think it's time to get REALLY serious about it.