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If you really think about it, having your gallbladder out and then gaining weight doesn't make sense. Everything pretty much works the same it's just you don't have the storage compartment anymore. Plus if you eat fatty foods, you get dirrahea (I assume because the fat isn't digested efficiently and runs right through). A lot of the information that I have researched says you can eat like you did before the surgery. So how would that contribute to weight gain?? Good questions for the doctor!!

Beckiet - I get clothes on a regular basis. I didn't include it in my incentives because I have to have them. That's why I don't have more "mini" goals on there. I'm going to raid mom's closet today - she has clothes from 8 - 18; I'm down to 14 and they are already getting baggy (woohoo!! what a problem to have!) Menopause has really caused her a lot of weight gain. I had to promise not to get rid of them when they don't fit me anymore Anyone else need to resize their jewelry yet?

I hate when my e-mail notify goes screwy and I don't know there are new posts here. :eek: Please bear with me while I make some lengthy posts to catch up on what's been said. Indio - on the will power rant; I know I have plenty of will power. It's usually kicked up a notch if someone makes a comment like "Oh you can't do that..." I've been quite successful with weight loss in my 40+ years. However, I've been even more successful with weight gain. I don't know what it is about this food addiction as opposed to other addictions. I gave up smoking cold turkey and it was (relatively) easy. But food...? Just can't keep at it for any length of time. I have a long list of reasons why I'm overweight, but no real excuses at all. Even when my health started to become an issue I just couldn't shake the extra weight. But I don't believe it is just a lack of will power at certain times. There have been times when I've become addicted to eating right and exercising like mad and nothing changed. Then I discovered I had insulin resistance and PCOS and those issues were working against me in the battle against the bulge. It just made things so much harder. EVERYTHING had sugar in it. It wasn't just the added sugars that were bad for me, it was the natural sugars in fruits also that my body couldn't deal with. Things like soy milk, fruit juice, cereals, yoghurt.... all "healthy" choices I thought I was making were working against me. So any will power I had just wasn't enough. I needed something to seriously restrict any and all intake of food. And that's where my band comes in. Then add into the equation the change in metabolism as we get older....... No, I don't see any of these as excuses. They're reasons. But at times I know I will use them as an excuse to be lazy or to allow myself to eat things I know I shouldn't. I've said it before, I'm a big fat liar. And if I can find a way to lie about eating something I shouldn't, you better believe that I will. :cry I need my band and I need this thread to keep me in check.

:sick :preggers: You forgot my favorites: Hormones AND WATER RETENTION!! I still do that!! Retain water AND blame any weight gain on that!! :funscale: :opps2: :pop2: :beer: :pizza: :cake:

HI all, I'm just starting my six months of supervised diet/exercise program. I've been on Jenny Craig for a couple months, but nothing very documented. My policy info (BC/BS of IL ) specifically says that that BMI at the BEGINNING of the weight loss program is the qualifying number, and even has a paragraph that states that most people can manage to lose some weight and stick to a program for six months but after that point, it generally tapers off and/or weight gain starts. So, the policy certainly doesn't read like they're trying to "trick" people into losing too much weight to qualify. I couldn't find any info online in the patient section, but once you go to the health care provider section, it's pretty easy to find policy info. For those of you who knew of the 6 month requirement, how did you handle it? Did you just start the six month program and try to get surgery at the end, or did you check with the insurance company at the beginning and meet with the surgeon immediately, then start on the six months?

I'm 5 days out from surgery and can honestly say it wasn't as bad as I thought. The gas pains SUCKED the incisions were/are sore. By day 5 it's the port incision that bothers me the most. Be carefull getting up and down from a sitting position - I tore an internal stich and it hurt like all get out. The gas pain is worse than anything else and it's finally letting up - just mostly what felt like heartburn and pains in my left shoulder. Get up and move frequently. On the weight gain/loss side. My doctor - and many other sites really try to emphasis NOT to focus on weight gain/loss in the first month or two. Hard, I know, but we have to let our stomachs heal. We have to learn how to eat - Remember - the band is permanent. We have to learn how to eat and deal with it. I'm trying to focus on where I want to be 6, 9 months from now - not 6 or 9 weeks from now. Yes, it's surgery. Yes, it will hurt. Plan on taking at least a week of total down time. You may go faster than that (I'm working from home today and moving much better).

BMAN....soooo sorry to hear about the court thing and the weight gain. Have you had your thyroid checked lately?? the tiredness and the weight gain despite lack of calories sounds a lot like a hypothyroid issue! Either that or maybe as someone mentioned before, you really do need to UP your calories b/c you are exercising so much?? It's worth a shot at this point, right?? NAT...congrats on the 2 teens girl!! That's my goal for the end of the year...i have about 20 pounds to go to get there, but once I get there, that will be the lowest i've been since college! Nik...my best friend actually lost weight w/both her babies in her first trimester, so I wouldn't worry too much about it! Steph...I think next week I'm going to try a 3 day liquid/high protein diet and see if I can't kick start the weight loss again. i'm also in a 'challenge' w/my best friend to do exercise at least 3x a week. There is a guy I"m interested in who is into hiking and doing 5ks, so I'm doing a 5k walk w/him on Saturday and we're going hiking w/a group on the 4th in the mtns. so I figure in the process of getting to spend more time w/him I'll also get to work out! it's win win! Now if he'd just make a move I'd be all set! LMAO!

I don't mean to sound like a bummer, but I am curious now.. if you have your thyroid taken out, does it affect your weight? Isn't thyroid problems what causes some people to be overweight? So does this mean you'll lose MORE weight, gain weight, or it doesn't really affect it? (HUGS!)

brandi ..so good to hear from you and so sorry you having to deal with this crap right now as for weight gain you probably up because no period and you probably had no period because of this stress ...take a breath ...it will work out ok and worrying for six months wont change outcome just make you ill hang in sweetie if you never lost another single pound you would still have transformed and we love you girl and believe me you rock ..just as you are ..try to be happy with yourself and then maybe it wont feel like such a battle and you will win ! there is no-one or nothing than can upset you as much as yourself ..why do women beat themselves up so much ??? dont we take enough crap from men...lol big big big hug being sent to you

Thanks to everyone who responded on my weight gain question. It sounds like it varies so much from person to person and that 5 lbs. isn't something to be concerned with. I go tomorrow and I am interested to see what his scale and he has to say. I should have known that picking a doctor who is rail thin wasn't a good idea. I needed a jolly, old, fat guy! :heh:

hiya girls jumped on scales this morning and weight i gained now lost again ...where is this baby ?can you believe im complaining about weight loss...lol..think some weight gain due to constipation which has now passed...eww...tmi think it also might be stress weight loss i gave up childminding job and girl who is minding baby now stressed out as baby bumped her head yesterday and she called me to go see her and check her over she was fine but i was dreading her parents reaction later when she saw her poor big purple bruise on forehead..shes crawling and headbutting anything in her way !! then i went to collect my boys from school and saw man accidently run over his own sons foot with his car and he was caught under the tyre screaming and i ran over to help and dozey buggar was about to reverse back arggggggggh i managed to free him but i reckon it was broken ...i spent rest of day feeling so dizzy and sick . thanks for kind comments on pics ...must put up some clothed ones though im a trollop..i do feel really well "glowing"but i get tired so easily and want to lay down and sleep alot unfortunately i dont get opportunity,well im off to do mount everest sized ironing pile....see i got tired just thinking about it !!

hiya girls dooney... big hugs sweetie ..i wish i could be more comort on reliabily of downs test but i really dont know but have faith and we will all pray you and baby be fine. raynie.....dont worry about the nits ..lol..i you or anyone else has caught them use a whole bottle of conditioner and lice comb and comb like mad thing or a few days and they will go,i have four sons who go to nursery and school and have caught them before ........lol...i did freak out though as the word nits makes you itch!!!!!! lay of them cookies....you will only regret it ...they sound good but they BAD BAD BAD....LOL...IM HUNGRY NOW . <!-- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -->niecyrenee....i think that we will initially gain weight as calorie intake goes up as we have been eating so low in cals but im hoping that it will settle down ..or maybe im just being an optimist,as for doctor i think he shouldnt be getting his knickers in twist about 5lb gain its not alot and he would be more concerned if you losing weight ..ive lost weight since my 8 week check and i dont think they will be pleased at all with me and im so worried for baby as i was so preoccupied with myself i was still eating too little as i feared weight gain i was exhausted...i must add eating well now and totally unfilled.<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_597146", true); </SCRIPT> oh and about weight gain every single person different and all pregnancy different..a normal heathy gain is between 24-28lbs total but it depends on weight at beginning and size of baby etc and even sex of baby apparently carrying a girl = more weight so not looking good or me as the 4 lb i gained came back off....i think it was caused by constipation..how embarassing but remember this my fifth so my body not going through quite as a dramatic change it done it b4 and you never really quite go back to the way you were i wish i had some signs a lump at front as is just my deflated tyre looking at me .

When I was stuck on a plateau, I went back on the liquid diet. The Protein powder that I used has 120 calories in it. I drank 3-4 of those per day and I started losing again. I am still not a fast loser. I have lost 10lbs since August. I see some weight gain coming this week. Thurs. is my birthday. Going out to dinner with friends thurs fri and sat nights. I am sure there will also be some birthday cake involved too. If I gain 5 lbs in one weekend, it will probably take me a month to lose it. :mad: I will do Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch those days so I can save my calories for dinner and make sure I do a lot of cardio on those days too. I will try to avoid it, but it seems to happen anyway if I go out to eat.

Hello, Im 17 weeks now and have gained 4lbs. I didnt really start gaining until I was about 13 weeks. Keep in mind though I also didnt lose as much weight as you did, I was banded february 21, 07 and had only lost 50lbs before I became pregnant. So Im probably still carrying more weight than you are, which means I could afford to avoid the drastic weight gain. My doctor says that the baby is fine growth wise, and that I'd probably not need to gain any weight as long as im taking my vitamins. We're taking it month by month though. I'm going to schedule an appointment with my surgeon for a defill of at least 0.5cc, Ive never had one and Im currently at 3.1cc, but im still able to eat lots of goodies:)

When I first started my band journey I had a hard time setting a goal weight (OK I STILL have a hard time setting one) at the time I was trying to weigh what the BMI chart was saying was right for my height with doctor saying that the current research was showing most successful band patients were only losing around 50% of their excess weight. I NEVER wanted to consider a weight loss of only 50% of my excess to be a success but it made me give pause in setting a goal of the full 100% for Fear (yes fear) that it was just setting me up for more failure and depression leading to sabatoge and weight gain. While trying to figure it out I found the following website very insightful. Better Ideal Weight Body Calculations It shows a variety of methods for determining your ideal weight from the frequently used MetLife Charts, to BMI and others, including one that takes into account what other current peers, in age, current weight and sex, think (emphasize THINK) would be their ideal weight. At least in my case I found it surprisingly accurate. My only hope is that the accuracy doesn't hold as I found that at my height and age my "peers" won't think I'm at an ideal weight until I hit 115 which is a BMI of 20 barely a point above the LOWEST BMI considered in the healthy range! I really want to believe I will be satisfied at the higher end of the healthy BMI, like maybe a 23-24. Another even more interesting point perhaps is that it claims that many of the charts for women are misleading. Such as the Met Life Chart which is the leading industry standard chart that Stacy is quoting from. It says this chart was developed for use on women ages ages 25-59 and based on lowest mortality rates. In addition it was assumed that the women were wearing 3 pounds of clothes and wearing 1" heels. Not all of us fall into this age category and I would dare say most if not all of us didn't know we were suppose to add 1" to our height when reading the table. A minor side note to this table would be that according to the website Met Life introduced this chart in 1943. and it was only revised slightly in 1983. They were called "desirable" weights, which would indicate those persons with the lowest mortality rates. However, the phrase "ideal weight" gradually became associated with these tables in common usage, even though the word "ideal" was not specifically published with the tables. PS - Stacy - Please understand I am NOT flaming your post in any way. I just was shocked when I found that I was suppose to add an inch to my height when looking at that chart I still refer to it myself but thought others might find it usefull to know.

All my life i struggled with my weight. My father made me feel like i was less of a person because of it. As i got older it is still stuck with me as to being a failure. i have tried every weight loss pill, diet and program there ever was. i finally lost weight down to 210 and was a nice size 14 for i am tall. i got married and pregnant and then my husband made me feel like i was nothing for 3 years because of my weight gain. when i got my band and starting losing weight, my self esteem came back and i stopped letting him treat me as if i had a problem with my weight when he was the one with the problem. He wouldn`t even take me places. so i vowed to lose weight and then leave him. if you can`t be with me on the journey down i don`t need you on my way up. but he`s probably smiling because i`m not loosing maybe gaining. I decided to get the band after 2 months of research and did it self pay. I was banded july 30th and have only lost 20 pounds. i suck. what is wrong with me. food has been my comfort for so long its hard to kick the habit. i am tired of sayin tomorrow and just want to do it. I always slip up and look back at bein a failure like my dad said and how my husband used to treat me. I need motivation and help. i read other threads and get upset and sometimes motivated because i need to know what will kick my drive off to success, why do i always feel the need to have something in my mouth. i stayed a size 14 for 8 years and once i got married the weight piled on. the band may not be for me. i have had two fills and yet i feel restriction sometimes but i can eat more then a half of cup. so is any one having the same problems. i also will start counting calories again tomorrow. i am challenging myself to weight lost of at least 25 to 30 pounds by christmas and i hope you all will join. i got the band to feel better about myself and i`m tired of cryin over spilled milk or maybe i was just meant to be fat. so any motivation, help or encouragement will do me good.:help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help:

sanadramae - I am sorry for your loss and other issues, I know how hard these things can be.. But I am going to tell you right now STOP STOP EATING THAT CRAP.... It really doesn't make you feel any better - no it makes you feel guility... Quit eating right this very second..... Go back to eating healthy you can do it - you did it before In our lives we allow for a margin of error – which we should also do when trying to eat healthy – if you are eating 1000-1200 calories a day – allow for some of those calories to be used for a little bit of something you really want (chocolate - have a healthy choice fudgecicle - it's s/f & 80 calories)- you need wiggle room in your diet to make it work (I save my morning and afternoon snacks for night time which is my worst time) – the all or nothing practices has to be thrown our of your mind. You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop over thinking you’ll stop over eating.. Good Luck to you...<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

A big hello from Brisbane!! Your doctor is right, your fill will have settled, allowing you to eat more than you could when you were first filled. You will find that your next fill (depending on how much more your doc adds) will make a big difference in your restriction. Your weight loss will be a bit up and down at first. The weight we lose on fluids is a one time deal. We typically never lose weight that fast again. And sometimes, when people go from fluids to solids, there is even a slight weight gain. The trick is to not freak out, and keep eating right and exercising. Congrats! Sam.

B-man- Big hugs girl. I don't know why this shit is coming down on you! I swear it is like a big cosmic test. I am bummed for you. Hang in there and vent away! Sweet-wtg on the size 12 skirt. AWESOME! I am so happy for you. I hear you on the natural vs. low waist. I am with you on that. I have a big difference in mine too. I am hoping that will change with time. Ugh. Good job on getting through the weekend. I look forward to seeing a weight drop tomorrow. Nikki-glad you stopped by. Good luck on your scan this week. As soon as you start getting that baby bump, you will feel different about the weight gain. It is all worth it. Make the healthiest choices you can thru the pregnancy, and the weight will melt off after. I wish I heeded that advice but I used both my pregnancies as license to CHOW! I am really happy for you and I hope the head cold goes away soon. Nat-how did the cookie making go? What a good mommy. I used to be that good. You remind me I need to take some time to do that with my kids. Girls-I went out and danced my butt off last night. I was feeling so good in my size 16 jeans. The cut was really fitted and boot at the ankle. They were super long so I wore them with some red heels and a fitted top. I felt really hot. (i know hard to imagine at size 16 but I was rocking it!). I had a few drinks (maybe one or two too many) and was convinced I was the sexiest dancer there...hahahahahahha. Regardless, it was a blast, my legs and butt are killing me today and I am TIRED. I got in at 2:30am (wth was I thinking). I am off to recuperate the rest of the day. If you are interested in weighing in tomorrow, post your start/current/goal/change this week and I will compile it. Later~

In pre-surgery counseling, I was told there would be no follow-up, BUT, if I should feel depressed, should I reach a plateau, need someone to talk to, or even ask for medication, I CAN and with open arms, but it is up to me to ASK, and to ASK was stressed about a half-a-dozen times. I wanted my surgery very badly, and I was determined not to appear depressed in any way during my counseling session. I had to pass to get to the next level. When it comes to depression, thin people are just as depressed as large or obese people. Everyone has issues and there's no magic to solve any of them. But when there's severe weight loss, and then weight gain after all that, I just can't imagine not being being even more determined to keep it off. But it does depend what kind of self-medication is used by post bypass patience. BUT correctly said, food is our (my) "drug of choice". It made me feel good, it made me feel bad. We're the opposite of those who choose to starve themselves as their drug. Those who starve themselves get the "awe" media attention and "what a pity", while large people get "they just don't have any self-control" snipers. AND not all large people are large because of over-eating. My metabolism went wonky 20 years ago, and Synthroid for hypothyroidism helped to slow my weight gain, but it could not put the brakes on weight gain altogether. I'm up to 250mcg /day dose, (doctor's say it's high), with a metabolism that's way whacked out. If it remains the same once I achieve my weight goal, I will be the perfect candidate to put all my weight back on again. So I not only have to be goal oriented being banded, I have a lifestyle to change and maintain forever and I hope my forever is at least 40 more years.

Ralheit - You lost 60 lbs that is no small feat - it you did it then you can continue to do it and get the rest of the weight off - you just have become complacent You know that you struggle with emotional issues of confidence & esteem that comes with being fat. But you may not know that you could be what are called as an avoider. This is due to the turmoil that comes with public & private dislike for obesity and you avoid confronting your situation at because of the fear of not being able to beat it. Here is how an avoider thinks – once you deviate even slightly from a diet or healthy eating you figure you might as we drop the whole thing – this stars a cycle that avoider can’t find a way out of – We are fat we try to lose weight we deviate just a little we feel rejection for the perceived failure we isolate ourselves from people we stop talking about it, we stop the diet we eat a pound of candy – we get fat then we try to lose weight and the cycle continues Instead of avoiding bad foods avoider tend to want to avoid other things like the people who want to help them and the disciple of trying to eat healthy. Avoiders try to separate themselves from these 2 strong emotion associated with dieting. The minute you ban any food from your diet you are setting yourself up for failure. If you eat half a cookie or a couple of fires from that banned food list – the diet is dead and that’s where the guilt sets in and now you feel that you lack the strength to succeed. This shame spins you back into the cycle of avoidance When you reach an obstacle you decide that instead of trying to find a way around it you might a well turn around and go back to the beginning – four fry’s leads to a handful then the whole bag. One way to handling emotional eating is you live & eat in the now – not being upset about what you are in the past and not obsessing about what you will eat in the future. The very thing that’s designed to help people lose weight is the very thing that promotes this heavier – diets promote the all or nothing mentality. In our lives we allow for a margin of error – which we should also do when trying to eat healthy – if you are eating 1000-1200 calories a day – allow for some of those calories to be used for a little bit of something you really want - you need wiggle room in your diet to make it work – the all or nothing practices has to be thrown our of your mind. You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop overthinking you’ll stop over eating.. Go back to making healthy food choices – low fat – sugar free – I personally love WW style of eating – you get everything but it’s all about portion control – see your doc about your band – why are you pbing – eating too fast?? Not Chewing?? Trying to eat the wrong food?? Sweetie you can do this !!! You have proven you can by the 60 lbs loss – you took a little vacation and now it’s time to get back to work…

Bexleygal-Halfway!!! I know my next ultrasound is about 2-3 weeks away and that's when we will learn the sex (if the baby is coorperating) and I can hardly stand the wait. I can't imagine how long your weekend is going to be waiting to hear your news on Monday! Be sure and let us know how it goes. Raynie-A boy! How exciting! I can't wait until our next ultrasound to learn the sex. I too have that feeling that I am having a girl, don't know why really, but we are kinda hoping for a boy. We will be ecstatic with either though! Ok, I have to ask this question as my next doctor's appointment is next week and I am already worrying myself about the scale....How much weight is everyone gaining and at what point in your pregnancy are you? I am 16 weeks and the last time I saw my doctor (at 13 weeks), I had gained a total of 5 lbs. and he said we needed to watch that. I was really proud that I had only gained 5 but he wasn't overly thrilled with it. I am just wondering if that is normal, not normal? I have no idea seeings how I have never been pregnant before. I know from my scale at home that I have put on a little more weight and I just dread that part of the appt. I really can't help but wonder if my weight gain is due not only to the baby and placenta growing but to the totally different lifestyle I have. I mean, before I got pregnant, I exercised a whole lot more than I do now and I was so strict on my eating. All I am accomplishing now as far as exercise is walking and I hate to admit, I'm not as faithful as I should be. And I know they say you only need 300 more calories when you are pregnant, but can that be true based on how little we bandsters ate before? I was STRICT! I lost over 125 in 8 months, I was a fanatic about it. Now, I am not focused on that and am eating more because I know that my baby needs it. I guess what I am asking is, could our weight gain not be "textbook" because we are adding more than just 300 calories because our intake before was so low? I can't help but wonder if that's the case. What's your opinions?

Just a bit off topic, but as a newly banded - still sipping fluids all day long- member of this forum, I have a question. Those of you who are eating too much because you haven't had your first fill yet, do you mean you are actually able to eat like you did before the band? I'm just curious because just the idea of chewing something and swallowing it and not feeling like someone put a golfball in my chest sounds so great right now.... I'm all for the GOALS idea too! I just don't know yet what's realistic since I'm still dragging around my hospital weight gain! What's UP with that anyway ?? Good morning .. and TGIF! Judy

I will be banded 3 weeks from today, 11/8. I have always prepared healthy meals, but my 18 y/o daughter has gained a lot of weight in the past year from eating junk that she gets at school, stopping at McD's and DQ for ice cream and eating snacks that are really a meal. It started happening when her dad and I separated. She has asked me for help and I have shown her how to weigh, measure, keep a food diary, etc. It's getting her to continue that is difficult. She's angry with me because, in her words, now she'll be the only fat one in the house. Has anyone had the experience that others in the family are more motivated to lose weight after someone in the household has been banded? She has refused counseling to talk about her anger, which I know plays a huge part in her weight gain. I am so afraid that she'll end up as large and unhappy as I have been.

And if it takes off we can sticky it as another quick reference. So I'll start, then you add. 1. Starvation mode. If our bodies could really just "stop" breaking down & metabolizing fat and muscle when it is not getting adequate nourishment (aka starvation mode), then no one would ever starve to death. This one doesn't even make sense to me. Even if there was some way by which our bodies could do this, we'd have to be down to such a ridiculously low percentage of body fat that we wouldn't have the energy, state of mind, or - hell - enough eyesight or musclular control to post a question about it. So in other words, if you're here, you're not in starvation mode! 2. You have to remove carbs from your diet to lose weight. You can remove any singular nutritional component from your diet and lose weight. It doesn't have to be carbs. Remove fat from your diet, you'll lose weight. Remove Protein from your diet, you'll lose weight. But come on, are you really going to eat 2gm fat a day for the rest of your life? You're much better off finding an all-around approach that you can really live with. Most of the time, this is a caloric reduction. Then if you want to reduce something else, do it to supplement, but not as its own means of weightloss. No one here is interested in temporarily losing weight, and then gaining it back as soon as old habits are resumed. 3. Eating late at night causes weight gain. If you're eating more than your body requires to function during the day, you will gain weight. It doesn't matter if you're eating in the morning or at night. If you eat a 10,000 calorie Breakfast, and have a sedintary lifestyle, you will gain weight. If you eat nothing throughout an extremely active day, and then have a 4000 calorie dinner, you will not automatically gain weight just because you ate the calories at night. 4. The scale shows how much fat you have, or fat and weight are the same thing The scale shows nothing more than how much you weigh at any given point in time. Think about your weight for a second. There's a lot more to it than fat. There's your hair, your clothes, your body, and everything in or on your body. Weighing 200 lbs Monday night and 205 lbs Tuesday morning DOES NOT mean you gained fat overnight, just that you weigh 5 lbs more. I see people freaking out -- "omg I ate chocolate lastnight and now I weight 10 pounds more I'm never eating chocolate again!" Yeah, maybe you weigh 10 pounds more, but it's physically impossible for a chocolate bar (one you can carry, anyway!) to convert to 10 pounds of fat. For that matter, assuming you're (a normal) human, it's pretty much impossible. You'd have to eat about 35,000 calories on top of your BMR. That's like eating 50 sticks of butter on top of whatever number of calories you needed to function that day. Not gonna happen! If you see a quick change to the scale, it's most likely a function of Fluid retention. This is why the scale should not be looked at daily. Some people can see upwards of 20 lbs daily fluctuation. And this is why the scale should not be used, at all, if you want an accurate way to see how your body is changing.