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restless monkey - yes i have that problem - lose then gain plus another 20. I am now 240 or 235 - i had been bouncing up and down from 222 to 196 for the last 6 years. If i can eat 1000 cals a day i can lose weight. that is why I am ok w/ trying lapband. I don't want to do something drastic until lapband is proven to not work. My docs had said that lapband had cured a lot of diabetics. So I'm hopeful. And the other thing is that the rebound weight gains won't happen (the rebound weightgains are due to volume eating when i get carb 'reactions' low blood sugar and becoming a bottomless pit) - this cannot occur w/ lap band. I do tend to do a lot of research - but in the case of bypass i am not right now at the point of believing that is my best option - in 2 years maybe i would change my mind but i have to try the tamer option first. one is reversible the other isn't. one requires a lot more time off the other doesn't.. so at this point i know enough to not pursue it. Don't mean to be defensive. It just took me years to get to accepting the lap band. I think I will lose on it. I just may not lose more than 30 lbs in 1 year (40 if i am lucky) but that is fine. The following year I can lose another 30.

@@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.

Indeed. And some groups are more at risk. It's not only chronically ill people, but also medical staff and e. g. the cashiers in grocery stores etc. etc. etc. - there simply are people who can't just stay home and hide. When anxiety strikes, "distraction" indeed doesn't tend to work. Plus, with all the hysteria one doesn't need a diagnosed anxiety disorder to freak out. Be exposed long enough and you're good to go. And honestly: "weight gain" is the least of my concerns now. I was like WTH?? when I read that post and just like... wow.

Myths and Facts of Gastric Bypass Myth 1 Gastric Bypass patients end up streching their stomachs back to the size they started with. Fact 1 Unfortunately it is true that some weight loss surgery (WLS) patients do regain their weight after losing it. What isn’t true is that they stretch their stomachs back to pre-surgical size. At best, a post gastric bypass stomach will expand from a capacity of 2 tablespoons to one-cup capacity. This is expected and part of the reason gastric bypass is successful. In the phase of rapid weight loss the patient cannot eat more than once ounce of food at a time. As the stomach heals and the weight loss stabilizes the stomach can eventually hold up to a cup of food at a time. Myth 2 Gastric Bypass Patients regain all their weight and then some! Fact 2 The reason that some patients regain their weight after surgery is they return to snacking which is contradictory to the directions given by their bariatric center. Snacking is forbidden by most centers. Eating little quantities of the wrong foods throughout the day causes WLS patients to stop losing weight, or worse, this behavior results in weight gain. Snacking is one of the behaviors that caused morbid obesity in the first place Myth 3 Gastric Bypass surgery makes people sick all the time. Fact 3 Weight loss surgery patients who have gastric bypass can suffer from what is called dumping syndrome. Dumping syndrome is described as a shock-like state when small, easily absorbed food particles rapidly dump into the digestive system. This results in a very unpleasant feeling with symptoms such as a cold clammy sweat, pallor, butterflies in the stomach and a pounding pulse. These symptoms may be followed by cramps and diarrhea. This state can last for 30-60 minutes and is quite uncomfortable. Foods that typically cause dumping are sweets, fats and processed carbohydrates. If a person is dehydrated the symptoms of dumping will be exaggerated. The most efficient way to avoid dumping is to maintain the strict regimen practiced during bariatric infancy: follow the four rules. Eat Protein first making sure it comprises one-half of every meal. Avoid snacking. Avoid all sources of simple sugar; and yes, this includes Cookies, cakes, candy, sodas, ice cream and sorbet. Sip Water throughout the day. When you practice this eating behavior your blood sugar will not fluctuate and you will not dump. Most patients, who crave a taste of something sweet, have learned they can tolerate a bite of fruit at the end of the meal. Each person must proceed with caution and discover what works for their body. I personally have never had any compications and I have never experienced dumping syndrome. But I do not use that as an excuse to eat thing that I know made me overweight in the first place. I have been given a tool to help me lose weight, not a magic cure to my poor eating habits. It is up to each individual to take this tool and use it to it's fullest. It is also up to each individual to decide how successful they will be by making the right choices now or 2 years from now. If you do that, you will not gain the weight back. I think people have come to use these "myths" as excuses. There is no excuse. So if you know someone that has regained all their weight after surgery, it is their choice. My advice is before making the final decision on what type of surgery to have, do your homework on all options. Their are pros and cons to both Banding and Gastric Bypass. We are very lucky to have options, we're Americans! lol I think what is truely the important is no matter what procedure we have done, we are all in the same battle. We have all been the fat one that people point and stare at. So reguardless of our individual decisions, we need to stick together and support each other no matter what. Good luck to all of you in your journey down the road to weight lose! :banana Megan 332/242/150 GBS 04/27/05 90 pounds gone forever! You're not responsible for being knocked down. However, you are responsible for picking yourself back up!

4x 3 x shrine to 1x and large ( want go any smaller then that bc of my breast but I can not fit in all my shirts I wore before my weight gain) Pants I went from a 24/26 to a 16/18 now All mine before ranged from 11-14 50 lbs more to lose , march 9 th ill be 5 months post op

When I was pregnant three years ago my doc was really big on weight gain. He insisted that I should, at most, gain 10 pounds through the whole pregnancy. He recommended I not gain any. When I questioned the idea that I "diet" while pregnant and how that would be healthy for a baby growing inside me he told me "Stephanie, during WWII there were plenty of women pregnant in concentration camps. They certainly didn't gain weight there and there were plenty of healthy babies born." I'll never forget it. I went home and cried. This is also the man who told me that the "correct" way to lose weight would be to cut my diet by 100 calories a day. That would give me a weight loss of 1 pound a month and I would have a better chance of keeping it off if I lost slowly like that. I would have been "dieting" for 10 years to get close to my goal. The kicker, I hear 10 years ago, he was a fatty too!

Sleeved 1/29/2013 Pre-Op diet weight: 193 Surgery weight: 186 Day after: 192 (damn water weight gain) 1.5 weeks out: 181.8 I am 1.5 weeks out from Surgery and things have been smooth. -- No major pain after surgery, other than my wrist arm swelling from the vein they blew -- still hurts -- No major gas pain -- No nausea -- No close calls with throwing up -- Able to drink fluids relatively easily, albeit slowly -- Moved to full liquids per my Dr's plan easily -- I am getting 60+ grams of protein, and close to the 64 oz of fluid (remembering to sip water and waiting the 30+ minutes after is annoying) -- Since moving to full liquids, I am been getting 600 to 700 calories in, is that too much? -- Finally lost the water weight gain plus, and an additional 4.2 lbs since the surgery for a total of nearly 12 lbs -- Traveled to my client site and worked pretty much my same routine of super fulls days, i.e, 10+ hours (yes, I did crash as soon as I got back to the hotel) Now, for the minor complaint, when will my wrist along the vein stop hurting? It hurts to stretch the arm out and to touch it. OK, I know I will hit a stall, I am thinking moving to more solid foods might present a problem, I just know I will hit a road bump at some point and will be on here asking for help. But, until then, pre-op patients, please know that the ride can be smooth. I know so far I have been one of the lucky ones. Thank you to who ever is watching out for me, I really appreciate it. Mary

You sound just like me. This foot pain is such a hinderance in my life. I know it has exacerbated my already out of control weight gain. I want my life back. I have tried to continue walking and just put the pain behind me, but it is sooooo painful. So far my new dr appears to have hit the sweet spot with his cortisone shot. It has actually dulled the pain. That with my orthaheel tennys seem to be doing the trick. Keeping my fingers crossed. :-)

For most people in a work setting if they don't comment about weight gain they aren't going to comment on loss either. I saw a former co worker after losing about 100 lbs. He didn't say a word!

I finally borke down and told my mom. She is normally against WLS becuase we've had a couple of relatives that have had Gastic By- pass Surgery...2 were unsuccessful and 1 (unfortunately) just recently passed away due to Cancer , not necessarily related to Gastric Bypass. So, I knew she would probaly not agree with me doing this. I started the process with only my AMAZING hubby's support. He has been so good to me throughout this whole ordeal. Anyway, just last Monday I was talking with mom on the phone. She was on her way out to do some Christmas shopping. She mentioned she was going to pick me up something from Dillard's. I mentioned to her that I really didn't want her to buy me any clothes right now becuase I " had somethings going on?" She immediately pannicked and thought I was ill and made me tell her what was going on. So, I just told her ,explained about the PCOS and all of my weight gain and defeated efforts to lose weight. Well, to my surprise, momma was estatic !!!! She was so happy and excited for me. She even said she was going to take off from work and help us with the boys so, my husband can stay with me at the hospital . She said she had recently noticed that I had been gaining weight but, wasn't sure how to mention it to me without hurting my feelings. I am so glad she knows. Now , I have one more cheerleader in my corner.

Kat, congratulations on finishing the challenge! Woohoo! Way to go! As for the December challenge, I think we should leave it exactly the same -- 17 workouts for 35 minutes. We'll kick it up a notch in January, but I think the holidays throw enough of a wrench into our lives that to ask for more or longer sessions in December would be a disincentive. If I'm underestimating our group, just give a yell and we'll change it up for sure. I'm up for anything. Susan, I'm so excited that you've got less than 100 to lose. That's AMAZING. Just think -- some docs use the 100 lb mark as showing that you're eligible for WLS. So by that standard, you're not even eligible for the band by your current weight! What a great milestone. My personal goal is not 100 lbs away, but by the medical charts, I could still lose 100 or even more (I'm only 5'2), so that milestone is still a way off for me. To all those who are sick this November, heal up and we'll be looking forward to you blowing us away in December. Boo, I'm really impressed that you're still trying to meet the challenge even though you're sick. That's AMAZING. Don't feel like you have to run though, if you're not up to it. A 35 minute walk counts too. Eficka, I'm off to read your thread.... France was glorious. Too much wine, too much cheese, too much chocolate, but no weight gain. I weighed exactly the same this morning (to the tenth of a pound) as I did when I left. I guess that's the power of the band. And I went to the gym this morning and will be 100% back on the diet tomorrow (when the cheese that I brought to work to share with my colleagues is gone). Take care all,

Hi Ann, I am 58 years old, had my lap band surgery on 12-18-08 and have lost 45 lbs without any weight gained back. I have lost very slowly, I am sure because of my age and that I have learned how to work around my band but I can sincerely tell you that I would have the surgery many times over because of Dr. Francis, Orange Coast Memorial Hospital and Staff and the results I have had with the band. Most people lose faster than me but that is because they follow the diet and exercise plan exactly and I admittedly do not.:tt1:

My surgeon told my DH that he put in a smaller band (I didn't know there was such a thing!) and that I could expect more rapid weight loss more quickly. When I got home I got on the scale and expected to see a weight gain because of the IV fluids, which I did. I was up 5 lbs. Today I got on the scale and not only were those 5 lbs gone but so were another 4.5! I am following my liquid diet to a "T". I am on clear liquids this week and thicker liquids next week. Then I go to pureed foods, then eventually soft meats and then "normal" food. It is a 6 week process to get back to regular food.

..oh and as for losing the weight, gaining it back, then not being able to lose it again...i would say that most of us are in the same boat...that is why we have surgery. we cannot beat ourselves up over it, or we will never free ourselves from the fat or the fat mentality.

Hi, I am 1 yr post op and have 6 mls in my band. In August I started a new job and during my orientation I have been switching between day shift and night shift every few days. My eating habits are crazy trying to eat at night and then eat during the day. And now I'm just hungry all the time and I've gained 15 lbs. Does anyone have any advice on how to get back on track and to not feel hungry at all hours of night and day? I will be permanent night shift when my orientation ends.

I start my preop diet friday. I stopped smoking years ago, but recently realized how comforting I feel from food. My marriage is not good, I have no one to tell about my surgery, by choice in some ways, as I don't want to. I've isolated myself drastically since this last weight gain. I avoid going home for years...bc I don't want anyone to judge me! I will not smoke or drink after surgery...I want to but it's something I have up. It's hard not having any crutch. What's going to happen when I lose food? I'm scared and emotional over this, although READY....just struggling. I don't know what to do when I get emotional or angry about not being able to eat. How do I handle this right???

If someone has had a clot in the past, the mirena IUD can still be use (they don't recommend putting it in someone with an active DVT).. It's progesterone. Estrogen is contraindicated for people with DVT's. The progesterone is mostly local, in the uterus but there is minute amounts in the blood stream. The weight gain is minimal or none. The paraguard (10 yr iud) has no hormone so if hormone is a concern, it's a great choice. It's amazing to me that there are surgeons who requires removal of the IUD before surgery because to me if you get pregnant for whatever reason you will GAIN A WHOLE LOT MORE WEIGHT. Just my opinion, I'm an ob/gyn

Mary (anyone actually - this is a general question), IF you had WLS by having your stomach stapled so many years ago, why cant you go back in for a revision and have it restapled? *My MIL had this sugery 20 years ago - lost a ton of weight. Gained some of it back, then became bulemic to 'keep it off'. Ive always wondered why she didnt just go back and have her tummy restapled.*

It's a good thing you decided to get an unfill. The damage an overfill can cause to an esophagus might not be temporary. As you discovered, an overfill doesn't allow for the ingestion of solid proteins and can actually lead to weight gain. I hope you're feeling better.

20 lbs since February?? Um.. is this not great??? How much were you losing BEFORE being banded?? The AVERAGE is 5-10lbs PER MONTH - after having restriction. I'd say you have done better than average and you can tell those inquiring minds that the band is slow weight loss, not unhealthy super fast weight-loss and that you'll report to them on a monthly basis or quarterly, but minute by minute is just unreasonable.. lol. You probably ARE compacting and gaining muscle OR your itty bitty 2lbs is water weight gain. I fluctuate this much IN A DAY... Give yourself a break, girl, this is not a race and you're right on track! Keep up the good work and try to relax, this is for life. Even your doctors goal is ONLY 50-100 lbs PER YEAR. It all works out over time...

that weight gain you get from weight training is temporary. Or temporary as long as you don't increase your eating. It's just muscle development (and as you know, muscle weighs more than fat). Having more muscle increases your metabolism, so if your calories stay the same, you'll eventually start LOSING weight. Or so they say...

I have literally 50 pounds to lose (BMI 31) and "only 50lbs" is not ONLY to people with that much to lose. Although I don't have the medical necessity, I have a lot in common with my fellow sleevers when it comes to my history with weight loss, etc. The decision was not taken lightly either. I'm scheduled on Nov 30th and even though I'm nervous, I've been living with a steady weight gain and failed experiences in the past, I want to live a more fulfilling life without some of the lifestyle limitations and medical issues that could potentially be down the road.

Danal, I eat about 600 cal with no,carbs other than veggies. I still need to exercise though. I weigh 300 lbs and should be dropping fast bit I,am not. My doc and nutritionist think it is because I take a lot of 3 different antipsychotics that are known for weight gain. I haven't given up though. Besides,,I can't eat much anyway.

Hi! I have tried switching but it did’nt work out for me. But indeed, . Paxil is the worst when it comes to weight gain, and the hardest to taper off. but I hope someone has an answer to my intitial question

Alot of nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine. The reason for not drinking fluids with the meal is so that the food isn't flushed down to the small intestine where your stomach isn't giving a full signal, therefore, we eat more. That could add to increased weight gain or no weight loss at all.