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Hello all.... I have my last appointment (friday) before my paperwork gets submitted for approval. I had a recent doctors appointment and I could not believe the scale. I gained 10 pounds since my last month bariatric weigh in. I believe the weight gain came from self sabotage knowing that my last appointment was coming up. I found it very hard to stay on track. My weight has fluctuated during this whole 6 month process but the 10 pound weight gain would put me right at what I started at 6 months ago. Im Thinking about cancelling my appointment and giving myself a week or two to really push myself and see how much weight I can loose before I do my last weigh in for my 6 month requirement. Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions? FYI my insurance doesn't say anything about weight gain, but the doctor suggested that I be under my starting weight for insurance purposes and showing active participation in the program. I'm very upset with myself to get to this point and now this. Thanks Sent from my SM-G935T using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello... thanks for the advice... this would have been my first missed appointment out of the entire 6 months I guess that's why I am upset because I had 6 months and now a 10 pound weight gain at the end, nonetheless I will go to my appointment. Sent from my SM-G935T using BariatricPal mobile app

Im with u but I think im gonna do depo for one round the weight gain I will watch but my friend just became pregnant on the nuvaring plus I dnt want to be inserting things lol I really need b/c asap Mzshay35 RNYTalk

I agree. Also, based on observation and some things she has said, it sounds like a lot of her weight gain is due to alcohol and other liquid calories.

Julie, you are absolutely right. No one should compare themselves to others. What we do to lose the weight is what we do. If someone wishes to piggy back off of it and does it in the most healthy and health conscious way, then go for it. If you are referring to me as far as the 3x per day exercise..then your facts are right. I was told by a few trainers that cramming all of the workouts in at one single time is ok and good but if you spread it out ..morning, noon and night then you are making your body burn continuously all day long. Yes I am losing weight and losing it very fast. But I am losing it on my own terms. I refuse to have a fill for the simple fact that I am really trying to train my brain to manually stop overeating. I have overeaten several times and I didn't stop. I am working on that. Prior to all of the weight gain I was an athlete. I swam 5 - 10 miles per day, ran 1 - 2 hours per day and ate very well. I swam for my college, so what I am doing now is basically what I did then. So again, please don't compare yourselves to me. I am the exception to the rule (per Tricia's words). I do not use a thread to boast my stenuous exercise.. I have a thread that allows you to see what I do and what several other very active members do. Tricia_k for instance. She does hundreds, literally hundreds of leg lifts per day. She runs, does weight training at home and has lost alot of weight and she's very toned. I personally cannot do 500 leg lifts, but I can bike 35 miles. I can't compare myself to her. Her leg endurance with weights compared to mine is unparalled. DOC - swims miles upon miles per day. Niche - puts in nice hours at the gym several days per week, alternating upper body and lower body Jachut - Cardio queen ..she can put in 4 - 6 miles daily and there are several others I have not mentioned that do great things... but you get my point. I do find it offensive that you indirectly accuse me or whomever else of boasting a 3x's per day or a 3 hour a day exercise regimine. The tone is sarcastic and offensive to me. There is nothing wrong with working out 3 hours per day. Practical to everyone?? No, but then again, don't compare yourself to anyone else on here. And yes, I will stand by the fact that if I can do it, so can you attitude. It's all attitude and not fact stating. It's just gung-ho attitude that keeps me going.

You are going to drive yourself crazy if you track your weight to the gram daily. Weight gain or loss is not linear. Think about it: if you drink 16 ounces of water, that is zero calories, but until you excrete it through urine, sweat, etc., you will have gained a pound. Obviously, that is not the same thing as gaining a pound of fat from eating more calories than you’re burning. A lot of people only weigh themselves once per week (or less often), and you might want to consider that if seeing a temporary weight gain is going to upset you. If you can’t help checking more frequently than that, you could just record it once per week (no matter how many times you step on the scale) so you can see your long-term progress without the day-to-day fluctuations.

There are two places your body stores sugar as fuel: your liver, and your muscles. Stored sugar is called glycogen. Glycogen molecules are attached to Water molecules at a ratio of 1:4, so for every ounce of glycogen you've got in your liver, you've got another 4 ounces of water. Much of the weight loss on a preop diet or other low-carb diet initially is the glycogen and the water. Once you deplete glycogen (by limiting carbs), eating carbs again causes you to restore glycogen and water - so the "weight gain" from going off a low carb regimen is actually lean mass and water, not fat. Hope this helps!

That's wonderful news! I met my bf on POF and I love him to death but he can eat whatever he wants and it's hard to have him in my life sometimes. I've gained back 15 lbs that I am trying desperately to lose. He eats sweets in front of me all the time. I wanted love in my life so it's worth whatever weight gain! I'm trying hard and I've been sleeved 4 years now. Life goes on! I hope you two are really happy and please post a wedding picture!

I was just thinking this morning that if some of the posters were so stupid to post the comment they did then they were just too much of an idiot to undertake major surgery. Basics such as how many calories it takes to actually gain/lose a pound of fat and the realization that if you're eating <1000 calories a day your 1 or 2 lb weight gain isn't fat. And, another of my favorite comment made prior to surgery "I know I can lose the weight with WLS because I don't make poor food choices today. It's just quantity." Yeah, right.

Weight gain after surgery is normal from all that sailine they pump you full of. Drink lots of water and it will be gone in no time

Alex, I have always had an ALL-OR-NOTHING mentality throughout my life..... only where weight loss, dieting, and exercise was concerned. Thus, I had never been able to MAINTAIN a weight loss. As soon as I would lose, and hit my first plateau, I would start to gain. But, my decision to give up daily and weekly weigh-ins has changed me. I don't see the stalls or plateaus as much, so I don't throw in the towel, so to speak. It was very liberating for ME. Plateaus in the past, would put me over the edge, and in the end, always resulted in weight GAIN, because I couldn't handle them. Enjoyed your article. It made me realize again that the road to weight loss and getting fit is NOT a straight path, but a road with twists, turns, and even plateaus along the way!

I am so glad all of you had such a WONDERFUL experience w/ FEP BCBS. Here's my story: I had a lap band in 2005 that I paid cash for here in the US. I LOST a 132 pounds I kept my wait off even after my port broke. I had some weight gain and had my port repaired in 2012. It has not been right since that time and last April I suffered my first slip....So in April of last year my doc scoped me and unfilled my band. In a month my band returned to position and a way I went. I haven't felt well since April and in November I went and saw my surgeon and decided to go for a sleeve as I am now having on going issues w/my band. When I feel I slip I go back on Clear liquids and my band calms down(I am 3 hours from surgeon and am a nurse), So they submitted everything to my primary Insurance the end of November and I was approved on 12/5....However here is the catch My doctor was approved but not the hospital. So now here I sit 2 doctors later and a surgery date coming up on March 1st about 5.5 hours away from home. So now please realize I have 2 insurance and BCBS is not my primary. So I literally saw the doctor on the 2/2/15 and was approved on 2/3/15 by my primary. So when they went to submit it to FEPBCBS. Which most offices and Insurance companies here is the 21st century accept electronic records or faxes. FEP BCBS said...OH NO HUH-UH, you have to go to the post office and mail those records to us.(Ya know????SNAIL MAIL). People, the government if fining hospitals who are not getting on board with ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS and FEP BCBS won't accept a PRE-DETERMINATION electronically or fax??????????? Wouldn't you think this would be important as I AM having a serious complication from my device???????? REALIZE the codes for bariatric surgery are all ELECTIVE procedures no matter WTH is going on with a person. So the representative asked when my surgery date was and she assured my coordinator that they would NOT get to my approval that soon since it is a PREDETERMINATION and they don't have to give a time frame since it is a PRE DETERMINATION! Plus, she wanted to make sure the coordinator is familiar with the FEP BCBS guidelines and that they more than likely would want to meet all of FEPBCBS criteria again. THERE GUIDELINES ARE BS. They have no clause in there GUIDELINES for complications of a bariatric surgery....SO I have to meet the same criteria of someone who is either a failed Bariatric surgery(even though I lost 132 pounds) or a new Bariatric surgery....My BMI is 35 - 39 this year. They don't consider my comps complications(plantar fasciitis) or I would have to have a BMI over 40!(FORGET THAT!) In my H&P due to my intermittent lap band slippage I am at risk for necrosis and other life threatening issues. I feel like CRAP! My primary insurance recognizes this and approved me, ( I walked out of the office at 3:30 and got an email the next morning at 7:00 that I was approved) within 14 hours! I am really glad you all feel really supported by the FEP BCBS because the gals answering the phones won't do anything but quote the damn manual and I don't fall into any of there categories and they won't put a RUSH on anything or for anyone. So my primary insurance is covering it but I have a 5000/copay. So hopefully I will be feeling better in a couple of weeks....if you are curious or care Medicare, VA and multiple other insurances have a provision in there GUIDES for complications arising from a prior surgery. God forbid any of you experience a complication and need a revision of your bariatric surgery! Because when the office calls to get pre-auth they are going to be quoted the manual and you will be expected to meet all of that criteria again(Seems ludicrous to me) then they will have to MAIL your records for your pre determination!......Good LUCK everyone and GOD BLESS! Sorry for the NOVEL but I am angry! I know I know at least I have insurance!

Hello fellow banders, Heaviest -330 Day of surgery - 283 Most lost- 250 Today- 278 I was banded back in Sept 2010. I was so excited to get banned and knew all the things i had to do. eat slow, chew chew chew, eat right, and exerciser. I was ready! Fast forward to today's date and I have no idea what happened. I feel so embarrassed to see people I know that knew I had the surgery. I have been on this odd funk emotional that I'm not used to (not depressed) maybe ashamed. This started about 1-2 weeks ago. I guess I must have realized I failed my band. So this was how I found this web link. I'm glad I'm not alone. I have not returned to get a fill or a follow up with my doctor since about Nov. 2011. I had to go through Facebook pictures to look at my weight loss and weight gain photos. Looks to me that for about 1 year kept it off, but it has slowly came back. Im just about the same weight I was at my surgery date. So now im embarrassed to pick up the phone and call my doctor. Im sure they will be supportive, but I dont know if Im ready to sit in the "hot seat" to tell them I failed. I know I need to get back on track! Im glad I found this forum. Im happy to hear other suggestion on what you did to get back on the wagon. Thanks, Juan

I was banded in April of 08 and it took many several months (probably 6 or more) to get good restriction. I have the Realize Band and was honestly worried as I neared "max capacity" and still had no restriction. My doctor assured me that I would get it - and I did. I had to get more than the max (can't remember if it's 9.4 or 9.6cc) before I was at my sweet spot. By the way, the Dr. called the manufacturer to make sure this was ok and they assured him there is some leeway there because the tube and port hold some, so the band itself really doesn't have more than the maximum amount in it. Bottom line - it WILL come- keep the faith. I know how you feel as I was in the same situation, but keep the faith. The problem is in eating right until you get it. Because you CAN eat anything doesn't mean that you SHOULD. It really is about doing your absolute best to stick to a "diet" (bad word, I know) until you get restriction. The beauty of the band is this - you will eventually get that restriction, so if you can just stick it out, you will never have that rebound weight gain from going "off the diet". The band will help you immensely to do what you are now doing all alone. But it's SO worth it - hang in there! And feel free to ask for the support you need- that's what this site is all about. Good luck! Lisa

Same thing with me i finally hv a period i really dnt want bc but i know i may need something i dnthv kids yet but want to wait a while but scared of implants &weight gain

Hi everybody! After finally getting enough of my still increasing weight I found this site and decided to take the leap and join. Well, where to start?! Having been BIG all my life and having to endure everyone's pitiful looks and hurtful comments for too long, plus the immense difficulty of trying to find clothes in my size that look half way decent (like, not from the 40's or my grandma's closet) yet not having to save up money to just buy a simple shirt for almost $100 (yes, Europe is expensive and different that way!) I decided, not only for convenience and my own comfort and health reasons, to get RNY surgery. At that time my weight was 335 pounds and a clothes size of 28/30. I was on the waiting list for a bit over a year before the military hospital in NC asked for volunteers to have the surgery done laproscopically, so I did and my surgery was in the beginning of May 2005. At first everything was good, the weight dropped left and right and my excitement rose with each smaller clothing size. I did NOT turn out to become lactose intolerant (thank God! since milk is my coffee!) but red meats and rice still to this day give me trouble. I hit a small bump bout 6 months in, tossing my Cookies a lot, feeling dizzy and sick whenever I moved. That time wasn't fun, but a little later they removed my gallbladder and everything was fine and dandy again. The weight kept coming off, with me surfing a small plateau in 2007 just around 240/250 pounds, but I was still happy and not too concerned since everything was going fine otherwise. Then, about 6 months later, I started losing again, but at a much slower rate. I crept down to my lowest weight of 196 pounds in September 2008 at a great size 16!!! Gosh was I happy, feeling good, sexy as heck and couldn't wait to show off my wonderful new me in nicely fitting clothes that were purchased at a regular store in the "normal people" section. The first time I was able to do that, I had a high that lasted for a few weeks!!! Anyways, then all hell broke lose around me, my personal life fell apart, then merging to become an emotional rollercoaster with extreme highs and lows that plummeted into the loss of a child in my second trimester after being told all those years before that I wasn't able to have/carry a child of my own, yet a miracle had happened! Obviously I was devastated and am still dealing today with depression and the loss I suffered. With the pregnancy I only slightly gained a few pounds (about 10) before all hell broke lose. I lost my child and my uncle on the same day, my mother had nothing better to do than to blame me for all of it, telling me how ungrateful I am and that it is all my fault. Yes, that surely didn't help me then (or now even) so I did what I did best all those years ago: I started eating. Right around Christmas 2012 I got my act together, moved back stateside, got my meds in order but my weight kept increasing, although I went back to pretty much everything as I did before I became pregnant. Yet to this day, every month I gain about another 2-5 pounds, am back in clothes size 24 and am absolutely NOT happy, healthy or otherwise enthused about it! So, if you have bared with me this far (and I gotta apologize for my lengthy introduction), I am just putting out the question to all of you, who have had RNY successfully also, lost the weight, just to gain it back. My eating habits are the same as they were after the surgery, my thyroid levels checked out normal, yes I'm aenemic ever since the surgery but OTC meds are still the same too, and otherwise nothing else is wrong physically. So WHY am I still gaining weight back slowly but surely?!?!?!? I don't wanna go back to where I was/came from and I was perfectly fine and good in my new body sized 16/18. Does anyone have any ideas what could cause this? Any ideas on what I could do to reverse the direction again? Please let me know about your experiences, since I'm running out of ideas and clues on what's going on with me... any comments are greatly appreciated!

I'm like you, I told everyone who would listen or was interested. I've droped alot of weight and I get tons of support and encouragement from co-workers and friends. Plus my GF is the total best in all ways. I've had a few people I've told or heard me talking about it ask me in private about it cause they were thinking about having it done. They said they would see how I did before getting the lapband done. The question I've gotten the most, when people know, is do I miss any kinds of food, how many meals do I eat per day, have I ever been concerned about getting all my Vitamins and nutrients in. It is all a personal thing and yes, before the band I hated saying anything about my weight loss, because it was always followed by weight gain and dissappointment.

Hey, Don't feel sorry for me. I am happy with the way things are going for me. I have the money right now, I am happy with my choice in doctor, and will let the cards play out the way they are supposed to. I don't think your weight gain has anything to do with the time of year. I too have gained weight, and I think it is more psychological than anything. Every meal has been my last time to have this type of thing, you know. I was thinking these thoughts three months ago, LOL. I wish I could have had the surgery three months ago but travel plans wouldn't let me. My time is coming, and your's is too. Bill

Believe it or not, this is normal. Your body is simply rehydrating. The next 4-6 weeks will be the hardest. You have to let your body heal, and you need nutrition for that. Don't worry about minor weight gain during this time. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. After your restriction (which may take several fills to get right) things get better. One thing I've found really useful is to use a weighted rolling average to keep track of my weight trend. There's a useful tool at https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/HackDiet/ that keeps track of your weight and generates charts that show your true trend, rather than the instantaneous point. That's useful, especially when Water weight and other variables make the daily/weekly weigh-in unreliable.

Its GREAT to hear from everyone. It makes me feel a little more 'normal' hearing everyone update where they are and how they feel. I too am having trouble eating too fast or large of mouthfulls. I realize I need to pre-plan my meals better and really focus on what I'm doing. I'm frustrated by my lack of pounds lost. So many of you are really doing awesome in that department! Congrats to you all! I'll be there soon with you! I did some searching online and enjoyed some 'refresher' info from Dr. Connie Stapleton of MindBody.com. on youtube. I'm also going to purchase a book from Judith Beck "THE COMPLETE BECK DIET FOR LIFE : The Lifetime Solution for Permanent Weight Loss" which I think will help me personally with training myself to eat/think like a thin person. I've observed the differences between my 'normal sized' sister and I. I realize that I need to think and act more like her which involves more planning of my meals so that my hunger is no longer the 'emergency' that I normally feel that it is. Beck refers to planning as being important for many things but one that struck a chord with me was that planning helps b/c you can withstand hunger b/c you know exactly when you will eat next and what you will eat. So mentally it becomes more bearable and less of an 'emergency' to eat now! I also am going to try a tip given by Dr. Stapleton which is to create a tip jar. You cut up 50 (or 100 or as many as you want) of small slips of paper. On each you write down things you can do INSTEAD of eating. When you feel the urge to eat outside of your plan, you go get a slip of paper from the tip jar and do whatever it is that you pulled. It can be as simple as 'go pull 5 weeds from the flower bed' - the idea is that it should be a distraction to go do something else. By the time you're done with the distraction - you may be past your moment of weakness and you're re-training yourself to deal with the urge to eat vs. feeding yourself and your emotion/issue/craving with food. The other major difference between my fit sister and I is that she exercises daily. I swear I have it in my mind that beautiful men and women who look fit - just are - without working out everyday. I'm learning that just isn't the case. So if I want to act like a thin/fit person - I have to exercise daily. At the Harvard conference on Obesity, according to Dr. Stapleton, exercising 60 min per day: prevents weight gain. What do you know, that's what she does - about 5x per week. I mean, we all know this right? Its not earth shattering - I've just got to get wtih it!! I'm also going to post this top 9 list for myself fr Dr. Stapleton. I'm sorry for the long post but wanted to share in case it helps any of you: 1. Make consistently healthy food choices. With the band, we're eating less - 60g Protein per day is important to us. So making the consistent choice to eat the right food source to provide 60g of protien is something I'm going to have to do. Protein, then Vitamin rich & antioxidant rich vegetables and fruit! That means - don't eat food from white flour/white sugar. Don't knock myself down if I screw up and eat some chocolate - in fact plan into my eating to enjoy some of those 'forbidden things' just eat really well 90% of the time! 2. Maintain portion control: for me, no more than 1 cup of food, 3x per day. 3. Have to exercise on a daily basis - I'm a busy working mom - so I really don't have the time. That means I'm going to have to steal 60 mins from somewhere else - some other thing I'm doing - I'm going to have to give it up. Maybe that's watching tv, sleeping in, or some other activity that's going to just have to give way to get replaced by exercise b/c I really DON'T have the time to exercise. I just have to figure out what 60 mins I'm going to have to replace with exercise. 4. Drink Water all day long. I won't drink 30min before or 30 min after. And this is the only way I'm going to stay hydrated. 5. Plan your meals. On Sun, I'm going to cook some ckn breats in a crock pot and portion it out for the upcoming week. I'm going to have cottage cheese, Soup, tuna, etc. on hand and planned for the week. -No grazing. (I do this and I know its where extra calories are coming in) -No sliding (I do this too b/c its comforting. I'm leaning toward mashed potatos, refried Beans, all the easy stuff) 6. Keep a food diary. I'm using calorie-count.com, but there is the daily plate, and so many others. I even read about an iphone app someone is using. Writing it down keeps me accountable but more importantly - when my weight is stalling, I have a clear picture of what may be contributing to it- and I'll also have a history to track what breaks my plateaus so I can use the same strategy later when I need it. 7. Keep an Exercise Log. This is going to allow me to give myself rewards for accomplishing what I dislike the most. I may also purchase a pedometer -studies have some shown people who wear pedometers tend to meet their planned steps per day and end up exercising more b/c they have that 'accountability' and tracker right there on their waist. 8. Get adequate sleep. Its good for my brain, my skin, and for my metabolism. 9. Utilize a healthy support system. That's what this forum and you Lucky Losers are to me! What an amazing group of people you all are - and we need to continue to fully support each other when we're down and when we're up! Sorry again for the long post! Keep up the great work everyone!

Belle's Progress: Weight, gain/loss: None. Maybe next week. Goals met: Worked out 4 times last week! Still snacking though. Other Issues: Being banded for almost a year, I am finding it extremely difficult to lose weight. It just flew off the first 9 months and all I was doing was jogging 3-4 times a week. Now, it is SO slow and I'm doing major cardio and weight lifting. I want to scream, but I will be okay. I haven't come this far to fail.

@@globetrotter You've lost about a pound a week. Good for you. I think you've established you have a slow metabolism, and now I think you've established you know what to do to lose weight, and that you can lose it. That's good news for you! My advice is to stop stewing in the fact that it's slower than you want, and a lot of hard work, because when you are fighting yourself, that just makes the weight loss battle that much worse. If you were my daughter (and I have 3 of them whom I love more than anything) I would tell you to stop wallowing in your own self pity because you are making yourself miserable. I always remind them not to be a victim. We choose our happiness. But since you are not my daughter, I won't tell you that. Having said all that, I do understand where you are coming from. Most of us got dealt a bad hand when it comes to weight management. Whether it's a genetic predisposition to weight gain, a lifetime of bad habits, or something else resulting in weight gain, there is not one WLS person who doesn't have to battle. The realization that it's going to be a lifetime of rigid dieting and there is no wiggle room is a little disheartening. It's probably our worst nightmare on so many levels to experience regain. Staying thin is not as simple as "a new way of life" for me. It is a full time job for me, and I consider it job one, all day, everyday. I wish that weren't true, but it's my reality. I've learned to be happy anyway.

@@jenn1, I LOOOOVE that meme! LMAO!!! I LOVE a great leg day...usually takes me two hours to get through my leg workout, and I know it was good when I can barely walk out of that gym! I got back into weight lifting two years ago. I lift 5-6 days a week, breaking up my workouts in various ways. Legs days are always stand alone, the other muscle groups are usually paired with a push and pull exercise, combining bi's and tri's, or chest and bi's, back and shoulders, etc. If I am targeting a specific muscle for growth, I will do stand alone workouts for that muscle as well, working it twice a week/or every 3-4 days. Like some of the others, I do not care about weight gain, as long as it is muscle mass that is packing on. I have actually added about 15 pounds of mass since hitting my lowest post surgery weight. I still wear the same size despite the added weight, I am just a lot leaner and packing extra mass. I have also added a lot of strength since starting this venture. When I first started, I couldn't even squat 95 pounds! Last leg day I got in 6 reps 205 (I haven't maxed out in a while, but after that session I know its increased)! I love lifting, I consider myself an officially addicted bonafide gym rat!!! It just sucks that is so much harder for females to add mass . It's taken me these two years to finally get to point that you can tell I'm packing some mass without having to lift the weight or flex. Anyway, loved the topic...thanks for posting!

I finally found an article about food addiction written in a way that is easily understood by all. Below you will find the normal behavior versus the addictive behavior. Here's an excerpt from that section: Dependence on food will be habitual, while addiction to food will be somewhat unpredictable (e.g., a morning cup of coffee versus the sudden, inexplicable drive to eat four servings of cheesecake) Dependence on food will have few, if any, emotional causes, but addiction to food is provoked by emotions and circumstances that cause feelings of powerlessness (e.g., a treat to get through a trying day at work versus a binge to avoid focusing on painful thoughts Dependence on food will have few, if any, emotional effects, whereas addiction to food will cause great anxiety if not properly attended to (e.g., being cranky due to caffeine deprivation versus feeling panicked because a planned binge is interrupted) Dependence on food will cause minimal interference in other areas of a person’s life, but addiction to food will disturb every aspect (e.g., a love for red wine with dinner versus preferring to eat alone for the sake of overeating) Dependence on food can be controlled at will, but food addiction appears as an unstoppable force in the person’s life (e.g., giving up pizza after noticing slight weight gain versus trying to stick to a healthy eating plan but derailing constantly; having a divided mind that seems to want opposite things) Dependence on food is pleasurable, but food addiction is a torment (e.g., traditional Christmas cookies versus the horror one has that one has eaten the whole box of cookies, coupled with the knowledge that one isn’t done yet) Dependence on food is casual, whereas food addiction appears to the addicted person to be closely tied to his or her identity (e.g., the guilty pleasure of Cheetos versus the shame and feelings of inadequacy that often accompany a binge) Perhaps one of the most important paragraphs is below: (helpful to read the entire article) What happened in this scenario demonstrates what, for many people, is the central issue of food addiction. Bingeing allows the food-addicted person to avoid dealing with threatening emotions (such as his or her perceived failure, powerlessness, or inferiority) by replacing them with guilt and shame, which are also threatening, but in a familiar, almost comfortable way. In the mind of the food-addicted person, the pivotal issue is lack of willpower. But in truth, they are using food to defend themselves against the pain in their life. By facilitating this transfer and avoidance of emotions, food has become a drug, and it is at this point that the food-addicted person needs to seek help. Bingeing has a different meaning for most people. When I was obese I thought it meant that you ate in the closet in the dark with a whole package of Oreos and a gallon of milk. Of course I didn't do that so I didn't think it applied to my behavior. (umm...denial) Finally I realized that my weekend routine of buying a huge Bucket 'O Chicken and locking myself in my apartment from Friday evening until going to work on Monday morning was certainly a form of bingeing. The same thing applied to my Quarter Pounder with Cheese obsession. I'm sure the Dallas quarterly earnings dropped significantly around the time I woke up to my dependence on this junk food. Most importantly please, please, please....do not walk the path of shame. From that same paragraph the very important part of the article... "In the mind of the food-addicted person, the pivotal issue is lack of willpower. But in truth, they are using food to defend themselves against the pain in their life." How sad it is that we are just trying to avoid the pain of life by using food. The problem is that it never works without paying a great price. Ask for help, educate yourself, and know that freedom from this disease is truly possible.

hi all. proudgrammy, thats 20 lbs post-op. Maybe I am being too hard on myself. I think, staying off the scales is a good idea. My mom, who is a great inspiration to me agrees. I probably am not getting enough Protein or fluids because I can't keep from being nauseous. It feels like it is "right there" and it wont go anywhere, up or down. So I end up throwing up a lot of spit. I was 239 when I started and would LOVE to get down to 130. That would exceed my expectations. I feel like I wish I could have had the bypass but there are some medications that I will never get off of, like my psych meds. And, I know one of them does cause weight gain so I know I am fighting upstream with that one. But with all this being said, I do feel better already. There are some things that most people take for granted that I couldn't do 3 weeks ago that I can do now. I have severe RA but am determined to walk as much as I can. I am embracing my treadmill because I know if I just cant go any further, I can just step off of it and I am home near a seat. I have had a total left knee and my right one needs to be replaced. I really felt it yesterday when I was on the treadmill, but am determined not to have it replaced until one year post-op. I am so glad I found this site. I live out in the middle of nowhere where the nearest support group is 60 miles away. Even then, I plan on attending as many as I can. Thanks all for your wise thoughts.