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Hey Donna, welcome back. I am just coming off some problems with my band which resulted in some weight gain too. I had all my fill out for a while. I just got filled again yesterday and am starting over again, in my eyes. We just need to get ourselves motivated again.

It sounds like things are going great. Its understandable that you would be nervous, you've had some traumatic experiences in the past. I have not been banded and pregnant but I have been pregnant and lost significant weight. On purpose, with the blessing of my doctor because I was 220 odd pounds when I conceived and I had had preeclampsia twice before. I did NOT want to pile on weight, although in the ironic way these things go, that is not the way my body tends to react to pregnancy. Statistically, gaining weight during pregnancy within normal limits is associated with a healthy pregnancy. That's only a statistic. As my doc pointed out for me, the baby needs nutrition, not fat. You need to take in adequate carbs, Protein, Vitamins and minerals, you do not necessarily need to take in a lot of extra calories and gain fat. You can gain the average weight during pregnancy by eating Big Mac's or ice cream and pickles or whatever(in fact most women do!) and you have not done one single thing to increase your odds of a healthy baby whereas you can eat perfectly, not gain weight and have done brilliant things for your baby. If you are sure you're eating the recommended intakes of various foods and you are supplementing well, dont let minor weight loss worry you, if its getting a bit out of control, supplement with somethign healthy like a fruit smoothie, made with some milk, some fruit, even a bit of cream or full fat yogurt. That packs in calories AND nutrition (I wouldnt turn to artificial foods like shakes at this time, if you want to go that way go for a weight gain supplement without all the artificial ingredients). If you really cant eat enough, the unfill a bit, you'll probably get tighter and need to eventually. good luck!

You sound like me except I am down around 74-79 pounds depending on the day. i know if I was 100% I would be down more. I am very happy, it's not a weight gain like the many many years in the past. For dinner tonight I am having my 1oz of pasta with my chicken and salad. I know I can not do without everything. Last night I had a wonderful salad and salmon but ate a big ass warm crunchie roll, the insides dug out. Be happy with what you have done, lost weight!!

I saw Al Roker on another T.V. show (Not The Today show )He admitted to a weight gain of 20 pounds and he was working out with Oprah's personal trainer.....But I saw him this AM on the Today Show in a wet suit and bless his heart he looks like is struggling with more tha a 20 pound gain :-( I also noticed as he was walking he has a much more pronounced limp again. He had a hip replacement about 5 yrs ago and the extra weight is putting a real strain on that new hip ! It just proves that the Gastric Bypass is not sure proof either. I have a friend who is going to Jenny Craig again after having the G.B. and losing 120 lbs she kept it off for 4 yrs and it just started creeping back on as she was able to return to her old eating habits. She has gained about 80 lbs back and is very depressed ! She is NOW asking her surgeon for the Lap Band but he says it is not possible. Just my 2 cents, Joanne

One thing I try to be really conscious of is avoiding "dieting". I believe fad diets, eating too little, etc... can destroy your metabolism and I think that was part of my problem pre-surgery. Years of yo-yo diets meant my metabolism (aka Calories Out) was destroyed. I am really trying to not do that this time around. I did have a little weight gain over the holidays and am trying to eat around 1700 a day with working out and the little I gained is slowly coming off in what I hope is a healthy way.

Hi all, I had my VSG surgery in April. I started off at 410lbs and am currently 300.9. I just weighed in today, last week I was 296.3lbs. But I will say that for this last week it was my husbands birthday and I didn’t go to the gym so I wasn’t exercising or eating well. So I expected some weight gain. But I’m really worried about the way I gain weight back so quickly. Just one week off and I gained 4.6 lbs back. Is this normal? And will I have to deal with this the rest of my life? I’m already slightly disappointed because in the beginning I was losing so well but for this past few months I can barely lose 5lbs a month if that! I know weight loss slows over time and that I’m literally a month and a few weeks away from making my year…but somehow I feel like I’m not doing something right and should have lost way more weight by now. And that my weight gain comes back so quickly! I go back to the doctor on April 19th…my goal weight for then is 280lbs. I’m praying I can make that, if I don’t I feel like my doctor will be disappointed. Better yet I feel like I’ll be disappointed in myself.. I just hope it’s enough.

Has anyone gotten pregnant after the sleeve? I’m 10 weeks and having bad food aversions and nausea. Idk how I’m going to gain weight when I barely ate before pregnancy and now even less with pregnancy because nothing looks appetizing and I’m sick half the time (not throwing up just nausea). I’m just nervous I won’t be able to eat enough to gain the recommended weight for pregnancy. Sigh! 😞

Having the same issue with weight gain while working from home during COVID. I don't think we'll be going back to the office any time soon so I need to figure this out. I know I'm eating out of boredom and not exercising enough. I feel like there's nowhere I should be going because of COVID so trying to stay at home as much as possible. SO BORING! I'm 3 years out from VSG and up 15 pounds. Need to get it under control now.

@Jessless great work on the one pound. It all adds up over time. Additionally getting the snacks out of the house always helps! It sounds like you know what the issue is. I had a poop ton of weight gain and I am now down 13 pounds. I’m over the moon. It has been S L O W and steady but I went back to protein first, not drinking with meals, cutting out crappy food, and exercising 4 days a week. We’ve got this. Keep at it and be patient with results.

I have spent the past hour or so reading blogs and catching up on the lap band community. As I was reading it came to me that we have all been given a wonderful opportunity to have the support of thousands of people. People like us, who can over advice from first hand experience and learn from all of our successes and failures. I never introduced myself when I started blogging, I just started pounding away spilling my thoughts and feelings on the page. So her goes, my name is Diane, I am 55 almost 56 this November. I am married, have two children, a boy and a girl and 3 grand children, a dog, Lexi ( She is posted with me in my picture) and a cat, Sassey. I love animals and if I lived in the country would have many more than I do, animals love us unconditionally and don't care if we are fat or thin. How and why did I chose lap band? I have been what you call the professional diet queen. I am 5'1" and have struggled with weight gain after the birth of my first child in the late 70's. I lost the weight and just gained it back with the birth of my second child. I lost that weight and did pretty good until I went to nursing school and packed it right back on. In those early years I could keep it around 180 or 190 but still thought I was fat, but I never realized what fat was until I hit my 40's. That is when I really started to plump up, I reached a high by the time I was 50 of 260's and believe me on a 5'1" frame that is a lot of weight and my knees began to tell the story a few years ago. Three years ago my right knee went out, swollen, painful, difficult to walk, etc. I went to the doctor, they x-rayed and MRI. I had some beginning stages of osteo, thinning of the cartilage on the inner part of my knee joint. The doctor injected with steroids, last about 48 hours and then I did the weekly injections to rebuild the cartilage. It puts the cushion back between the joints. That lasted about 8 weeks. Then the dreaded conversation came up, Diane you need to drop a few pounds. I knew this already, I had two bouts of pneumonia over the past two years, my BP was out of control, and I was having sleep apnea. Oh by the way I forgot to mention I have been a nurse for almost 30 years. You would think as a health care worker we would have better health habits. But no, we probably are one of the most unhealthy group of people because we are always taking care of others and not ourselves. I am very stubborn, duh so I refused to wear a CPAP for the sleep apnea, and when I saw the metal they would put in my body as a joint, I said no way. Off to Jenny Craig I marched, I joined for 500 dollars, bought my meals at 120 plus a week and lost down to 195 lbs. Then it became too expensive and I just knew I could do this on my own, portion control and 1200 calories, a piece of cake I thought. NOT!!!!!!!!!!! I plumped back up to 248 lbs within 2 years of stopping Jenny Craig. So that is how I got to lap band. Live a life of pain and not enjoy life or get off your butt and do something about it. As for the nursing, I am a critical care nurse, so you would think I would know better and make better choices. Oh well that is the past and this is the new me. I involved my family in my journey, I made my appointment for the information meeting and took my husband with me and told all of my family. I figured if I was going to make this a life style I better include the persons in my life so they could be supportive. I thought about not telling the people at work, because sadly I was one of those people who thought weight loss surgery was a cop out. Boy have I changed my mind. so once I scheduled my surgery I told all of my peers at work I was having Lap Band surgery on the 28th of October. Now a very good friend of mine at work, Ron, looked at me shocked and said" your not fat enough to have weight loss surgery." I could have kissed him but instead, I stopped and said, "Ron, I am morbidly obese. My BMI is 47.5. I have to lose weight or I am not going to get to enjoy watching my grandchildren grow up. He looked shocked and said, I had no idea you weighed that much. Thank god for the Ron's and the Paul's(my husband) who love us whether we are skinny or fat and see us for something more than how we look. I will tell you I was scared, I think my biggest fear has been that I will fail, fail to loss and keep it off. But that very fear is my driving force, I will not gain this weight back and I will be successful. The difference for me know compared to back in the dieting days is I am choosing to change my life style with a gentle nudge from my band. I always lost weight on the planned programs I paid for, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, South Beach etc. But when I stopped paying I gained the weight back. Lap Band is a permanent solution to me because as long as i listen to my band, make healthy choices and exercise I will be successful. I know a lot of people struggle with weight loss and the band but in my opinion we fail because we fail to change our behavior. When I don't lose weight now, i sit down and look back at what I am doing. If I am honest with myself, I am snacking between meals, eating past satisfied and not exercising. I chose not to eat sweets, potato chips(which I love), I stay way from carbohydrates, pasta, rice and potato's. Not because I can't have them but because I like them to much and they make me feel over stuffed. I love pizza, can I eat pizza yes, should I eat pizza no. It is full of carbohydrates, so I look for alternatives that satisfy that void. This truly is a journey and you learn about your body and your inner self along the way. For me this journey is not about being skinny it is about learning to make the right choices, developing a healthy life style and spending quality time with my family. So now you no my story. I was banded October 28, 2010. I weighed in at 248 on surgery day and as of today I weigh 180. ( I have been stuck here for several weeks) I started in a size 24 and now wear a size 14. I have lots of shrinkels but who cares, I consider those my battle scars.

I am testing my plan.... eat some off plan stuff a few of the days of holiday.... 5:2 fast one or two days a week, and so far so good. Up two pounds over my high bounce a couple of days, at my high end of bounce the last couple of days, fasting tomorrow.... then I should be good until New Years day.... I make sure to write it all down in MFP and try and get in some walks. Today I was over plan by about 700 calories.... the most yet, but with the fast tomorrow, that should balance it out. Not burying or hiding my indulgences helps me to stay in the drivers seat... writing them down helps me to face the facts about my choices, and not get caught by surprise with an unexpected weight gain, or a run-on unconscious eating spree. I suspect I will have carb craving for a few days... but thats the price of eating some real sugar and such in higher quantities. I have enjoyed most of them.

I am having heavy bleeding during my menstrual cycle. My Obgyn said its because of the weight gain, after I lose the weight it will go back to normal. I'm looking forward to it going back to normal.

I had my 6 month medically supervised diet a couple years ago - so I haven't been "dieting" at all and as a matter of fact it's been the opposite. My surgery is Nov. 6 and I keep telling myself I have to get on track before the pre-op diet (they'll weigh me in on Oct. 24 the day of my nutritional appt. and I don't want to show a big weight gain since my appt. with the surgeon). The 2 week preop diet is really scaring me - can I do liquids for 2 whole weeks. I've seen some ppls' Liquid Protein diet actually allows them to eat one real meal a day - I'm hoping I have that but I'm not counting on it. You're not alone in your reservations. I'll be totally psyched one day and then depressed the next questioning my decision. I just know in my heart it's the right decision. I'm on YouTube and hope to post videos of my journey (I've posted 2 but don't feel like I want to post another until after my NUT appt. and start of the pre-op diet). You can find me on YouTube at cmf1267. There's a big WLS community there and they are very helpful. If you haven't already - check it out.

I had metatastic breast cancer back in 2012... I just got the bypass...being overweight and getting fatter by the day was worrying me....weight gain and obesity would cause it to reoccur and I have to lose this weight.I take anastrazole and lupron shots post breast cancer...now I am off metformin and ,chloresterol medication. Nosy relatives with too many damn opinions.Keep the em out of your business...tell them you have hiatal hernia...end of story...being overweight you just may have a hernia. Not being able to drink and eat at the same time? are you kidding me..,you will be drinking Water every second throughout the day. Being a big fatso is no fun and I am sick of being invisible...I am too good for that...I had to do something.Bypass is working...it is helping me...take control.

Post is getting a little old, but have to say this has been my experience. B-52 nailed it. All the tearing of muscle creates inflammation which, I believe, is mostly Water retention. My weight always jumps for a few days after starting a workout. I jumped 3 pounds almost overnight this last time. This initial weight gain though falls off within a week then I usually see a huge weight drop.

This post highlights the fears so many of us have on the physical and emotional side of this journey. Your surgeon and his/her office should be able to assist you with the fears of surgery (especially those with other health complications). I do not have much data on the chances of becoming anorexic. Since anorexia is an eating disorder that is not about food - it is about someone's coping with emotional problems by losing weight/increasing exercise - I think the probability of developing that is extremely low. Saying that, it is very true that people replace some bad habits with others so it is important to consider the emotional consequences before undergoing this surgery. I would encourage anyone who is considering this surgery or scheduled for surgery to ask upfront for information on coping with this new lifestyle and its challenges. That would include asking about all area support groups, online options, psychologists/counselors, mentors, etc. Putting a plan in place to assist you with this part of the journey - the emotional one - is a smart move. If you have a good support network or can build one, I encourage that for after the surgery. As many of us are finding - this surgery does not take place in a vacuum - life goes on. People face challenges and dark times - many not anticipated - following this surgery and I recommend having a plan in place in case life hands you lemons. That being said - most people are not facing their biggest fears - loss of income, job, spouse, loved one. But life happens - so being prepared to face life after is critical. Having doubts is normal and a very healthy way to approach this surgery. This process of critical thinking is a good one. If your gut instincts tell you this is not the right choice for you - then follow them. You know what is best for you. We tend to focus a great deal on the weight loss and a little less on the positives that come with the weight loss. We celebrate the pounds off - many of us with the assumption that people understand what less weight means. I encourage people who are concerned about moving forward to dig through these postigs and see the results people are getting beyond the pounds. (Not to say that the reduction in pounds is not also fun to look at). What have I seen by other posters - MORE self esteem from achieving goals - fitting in the airplane seatbelt, onederland, shopping in the regular size department, having doors opened for you, getting a family portrait taken, finally able to stand looking at yourself in a mirror...... MORE energy - Many people remark that they finally "FEEL ALIVE" again. COMPLETE recovery from co-morbidities, including Type 2 diabetes, high BP, sleep apnea to name a few MORE active lives - from exercise to just being out of the house more MORE happiness enjoying time with family and friends, getting rid of the self-hate, removing the guilt associated with their weight gain Dig deep....the results are there beyond the pounds. Have a well thought out plan for emotional support if you go forward. Trust your instincts. Deciding not to go forward with this surgery now or ever may be in your best interests. This is not for everyone. Either way - take good care of yourself.

That was the case for me, I was over 60bmi and as such my insurance did not require me to do the 6months physician weight loss plan. but despite being given the green light, I opted for the 6 physician visits, because I wanted to learn more about my body and the food I consumed and as i result i learned more about me. It was sort of strange, every one at my surgeons office from the Physician assistant to the NUT asked me why i wanted to do it this way, and my response was something like, surgery is not a silver bullet, if I don't mentally prepare I will fail.. I am glad I took the extra time.. despite the extra weight gain and pressure to get under 400lbs to even have the surgery, it was worth the battle for me.

I second @@James Marusek on the walking and caffeine. I did both and it helped immensely. I actually was so terrified of going through caffeine withdrawal after surgery that I gave up my 25+ year Diet Coke Habit before I even had my first appointment with the NUT! I did it slowly, taking a full month, weening myself off a little at a time. First I drank less, then I drank smaller containers. Until I stopped. I still had another 2 weeks of headaches, but now I am great. As far as messing up, liquids are hard. You messed up. Its good that you feel bad because it means you really are trying, but let's face it, we have lots of issues to overcome and slipping up is going to happen. The only thing you can do is acknowledge your goof, IMMEDIATELY get back up and get back on track. The longer we wait to get back on track, the harder it becomes and that's what causes weight gain after surgery. "well I've already messed up so I'll just X." Don't beat yourself up, just get back into the plan. Mistakes happen. Its how you recover that is the measure of success. Good luck, pam

My allergic reaction consists of itching of my mouth, lips, gums and for strawberries my throat swells up bt only for strawberries. Also could u imagine never being able to eat any fruit ever again?? I have a 5yr old so when im cutting his fruit i sometimes take a bite or slice and have a slight 1 minute reation. So its not that im eating a full apple or anything. Also i wasnt always allergic these allergies developed over time. It started with an orange and then everytime i ate a fruit i would discover it over the years as i went along until i realized its all fruit. I just put that in there to say pre-op my body was able to tolerate them now just smelling fruit will make me nauseous or vomit smh. Also its not only corn its mostly every vegetable its very weird to me. For example when i was pre-op i didnt like evry vegetable, but i was able to force myself to eat salads and a lot of things that didnt taste good at all to me because i knew it was healthy. Now if i would dare try to do anything like that i ruin my meal. Many times i will buy a sandwich or be out to eat and ill be okay and 5 mins later my body will reject food. And because of this i went to snacks which are no good because theyre "slider" foods which also contribued to my weight gain.

Yes poor eating habits will cause weight gain. This is the reason why everyone that decide on surgery should really think "are you ready for a life change"? this is not the so called easy way out or the fast way to lose weight. It's all up to the individual. If you eat pizza before you stop it completely or you can eat it once every 2 months a slice not a pie or a few slices. It's about mind control portion & if you are ready to change. I haven't gain any weight back even when I get TOM. I eat as healthly as I can because eating a lot & fried food is what made me fat. I want to live long & enjoy my life healthly not a fat woman not wanting to go out & have fun.

Oooh! Sorry that you had to have th eband removed, be careful of weight gain! Just my personal waring. I only had a revision in November of k]last eyar. I am just now starting to lose again since my intial weight gain while empty and it has been a battle of my own wits, not surgeon's. He is satisfied, but I am not. I am back to being overweight! Anyway, glad to hear that you are on the mend. It can happen to anyone, but it is not as common as people on this board seem to think. Mine was my 2nd slip, the 1st one was approxiamtely a year and half before, and it was easily fixed by an unfill for a month. I think the 2nd was because I sick and then let myself get dehydrated. People, take care, call your surgeon even if its Sunday, and don't do what I did, i didn't want to disturb him and flet it coudl wait for Monday! Good luck.Karen

Hi, Last week one of the pre-op doctors and I almost came to blows. First off I have an IUD and am 49 do not have a partner. But I had not taken a pregnancy test. We went back and forth and he said "do you want your date canceled"? So I went ahead and took the test. The next day I was sleeved, 6/8. They will find any little things including weight gain to make sure you are ready. So just hang in there and brace yourself for these things. And do not be like me and wait to kick caffeine. Going through recovery and having the headache from hell was not fun. So you will be able to breath and sleep better going forward after the having the study. Just do what they say and keep on track. I am so hungry right now it is crazy. Go ahead and eat something you really, really like not overboard and not same week of surgeryand follow it up with walking to burn the calories. If you gain even an ounce though they will stop you. Just be smart about it. Funny my daughter is 15 her name is also Mia, that was my screen name for along time MamaMia. Wishing you all the best, be strong! Walk, walk, walk! My start weight was 280.1 currently at 235 post-op. Still getting rid of the surgical gas that stays in your body. It is no joke it hurt my shoulders and neck but went away in a couple days. If you have any questions feel free to reach out. Good luck! Michele

@@sjidaho Drinking is discouraged for a couple of reasons. First, it allows the food to slip through your sleeve. This means you will be hungry sooner and your food will not fill you up. This leads to overeating and eventually leads to weight gain, especially after your honeymoon is over and your appetite returns. This is where you see people who have lost 100 lbs. start gaining it back in year 2 or 3. Take a look at this video that shows what happens when you drink with your meal. For me personally, when I eat my solid Protein first, the liquid piles up on top of it and comes up my esophagus. Really gross. Drinking with sliders, like Cookies, is even worse for me because the drink just liquifies the carbs and sugar so they flow right through. This is a path to the dark side I was always a big drinker with meals. 4-5 glass of Water. It's taken time but I have completely conquered the eating/drinking thing. You can get over it, just stay committed. Unfortunately, I have no tricks to offer for this particular issue. It was just willpower and a vision of the fat coming back that kept me on the straight and narrow.

I am only four weeks out, but I went to a wedding and had a small amount of salad, chicken, and potatoes, and it wasn't obvious to anyone that I had surgery. I even ate a whole cupcake later! (Special occasion exemption:-) Last night, I ate a whole Chalupa from Taco Bell. Now I know I shouldn't be eating that really because it is not that good for me, and I probably should have eaten only half of it because I was really full when I was done. The good news is that, in the past, I would have eaten two Chalupas, a taco, a apple empanada, and then chocolate later. The point is here that, instead of eating huge amounts, you will actually eat like a normal person. You should actually be looking at everyone else and the huge quantity that people eat, not the other way around where they are looking at you for the small amount you eat. You are about to eat like a normal person, and your family should want that for you, and they should want you to be healthy and not overweight. Diets don't work, and I think we all know that. You may lose weight on one more diet, but chances are really good that you will not keep it off. I have 30 years of dieting and weight gain under my belt, and so I speak from experience. I agree that watching You Tube videos are very helpful. Check out some of these ladies: GastricSleeveReviews, AmySDMOM, luvenit1979, scneaux, cecelialane, vsgtanya2011. They have all documented their journey, including what they eat now. Lastly, even though you may never eat the huge quantity of food that you may now have with your family, that doesn't mean you can't sit down with them and talk with them and enjoy them and let them enjoy you. You will adapt and eat slower. The focus shouldn't be on the food anyway; right? It should be on each other. I am sad for you that you don't have the support that you need. I would hope that your family would be behind your decision to get healthy.

Already started my journey and I meet with my surgeon on the 30th to talk all about the surgery...but today has been a bad day. Went to go get dressed for the day and I noticed that I have so many new stretch marks all over my stomach that I'm in so much pain! For gaining 100 lbs in one year I'm so uncomfortable... I've been on prednisone for 3 years and the weight gain is so bad. I have been so strong about this because I know its the medication but going to my moms today.... I broke down. I am so looking forward to the surgery. . I want to just be comfortable and have a day where I go to put on a T-shirt I bought last week and have it fit!! Feel like I'm moving in slow motion!!!!