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Here is my workout routine every week. I have been faithful for a month now, but did drop off for some months, which I know contributed to my weight gain… L Oh well. *Picks myself up and dusts myself off* Sunday: 6:30 AM – Treadmill 5K; 6 PM – Stationary Bike 7 Miles Monday: 6 PM – Calisthenics (30 Mins) & weight training Tuesday: 6 PM - Stationary Bike 7 Miles Wednesday: 4 AM – Treadmill 5K; 6 PM – Calisthenics (30 Mins) & weight training Thursday: 4 AM – Treadmill 5K; 6 PM - Stationary Bike 7 Miles Friday: 4 AM – Treadmill 5K; 6 PM – Calisthenics (30 Mins) & weight training Saturday: 6:30 AM – Treadmill 5K; 6 PM – Stationary Bike 7 Miles

I am so with you on the weight gain! I am beyond frustrated, the scale almost went flying out the window this morning. I think mine is from my evil period coming up..but I am joining curves this week and I hope that works.

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.

Weight loss? Weight gain? Pain better? Exercising?

With a long history of diets and yo-yo loss/weight gains, now BCBS wants me to do it again for 6 months by their stringent rules. Then if you succeed, and I know I will, to fall below the qualifying BMI, you do not get approval. You repeat the same cycle gaining it back later on. A person would be better off to fail at the diet for 6 months. BCBS would rather pay years and ultimately high amounts towards claims related to the serious consequences of obesity than help a customer with a courageous decision to seek a surgical weight loss alternative. That doesn’t even make good business sense. Of course it does if you die - they win.

You should be ecstatic. Pretty amazing when you hit goal, Right? Goal weight is a personal choice. Find whatever weight you feel comfortable and healthy at. How I have managed to maintain? I think it has been the members that came before me. I’ve learned from the successes and mistakes. I am realistic that anyone of us can gain weight back. I had a gain my third year. I came back to the site for support. I’m back to maintaining in the 130s How is my sleeve surgery restriction? My restriction has become less over time. ***It’s nothing like pre surgery*** My maintenance plan is adding more calories and low glycemic carbs to slow/stop weight loss. I eat dense protein and as much veggies as I like to fill the extra room in my pouch, stay satisfied, and not go over my maintaining calories/carbs. When or if you experience less restriction with the sleeve. Watch for grazing/eating around your surgery. You will not feel surgery restriction if you eat small portions all day long (healthy and unhealthy choices) that total over your weight loss calories and macros. The sensation is as if you never had surgery. It’s a major cause of weight gain with any type of surgery. Some things you may already know or to prepare for in maintenance phase: It may be hard to transition out of the ingrained six months of “bariatric weight loss rules” Maintenance is a different mindset. Fear of weight gain can be an issue. Choose a weight bounce range to maintain. (I maintain ten pounds up and down the scale.) It may take some time to learn trust yourself and relax. Find your balance. Know that you can work the bounce range and keep your weigh off. We get to indulge within reason and not feel guilty about it. If the scale moves up, get back in weight loss mode to bring it down. If you have a gain or need motivation to maintain, you always know we are here.

back to topic guys "what was your final straw" i had so many trips/falls due to my heavy weight - knee replacements femur broke twice, etc i slowly realized that all my excess weight caused these problems falling since i had problems because of my "excess" weight i was always so sad about my weight weight gain, weight loss, weight gain etc, etc realized i had so many health problems i needed help, immediately hello sleeve good by diabetes meds/high blood pressure meds, no more CPAP my big NSV one was having my epilepsy meds dosage cut in half i was taking dosage for someone that weighed 235 lbs now that my weight was going down, down etc - i was taking too taking to many meds/pills so meds were less for a smaller person life is great now that's my story and i'm sticking to it kathy

To me, willpower is a load of crap. Before the sleeve: 1) conventional dieting meant I was at constant war with my body, 2) conventional dieting wasn't making me healthier but was creating my obesity, 3) willpower only meant I was an adversary to myself, and 4) no matter how hard I worked, every diet eventually led to even more weight gain. Post-op, I am learning 1) how to work with my body and not against it; 2) how to satisfy my needs with small amounts of delicious, nutritious, food; and 3) my efforts and hard work reaps positive results. Unfortunately, it is hard to describe the difference to someone who hasn't been sleeved. Because of that, it is one of the biggest fears and concerns that people have pre-op.

Thank YOU, ladies, for the helpful comments. To answer the question: What do you eat? Truthfully, not the right things; I've fallen off the wagon. I don't do Protein first, even though I know I should. I've been eating slider foods (ice cream, crackers) and not enough veggies/protein. Cowgirljane, I think your dietician had good advice. I need to go back to the smaller portions. I need to stay away from the binge-trigger foods and start drinking more Water again. I know this; I just need to do it. Supersweetums, two years out and you're maintaining! That's awesome. I love to hear that. Your changes certainly sound livable and probably what most thin people who haven't been sleeved do. We are overfed in our society. I have no doubt that a lot of my hunger is head hunger. I just remember the first few months it was so EASY; I was rarely hungry at all. I was on that losing-weight high. And pre-sleeve I would gain weight so quickly (5 pounds a week was a real possibility), so it's true that the sleeve is keeping the weight gain in check. And I'm probably not eating as much as I was (it's hard to remember) - I just know I'm eating so much more than four or six months ago. It SEEMS like I'm eating so much, but I bet it's still not more than maybe 2400 cals/day (I was eating 1000 a couple months back, however). I am starting the 5-day pouch test tomorrow; I've done it before and it works for bringing me back on track.

I hate posting this post, but I need some help. I had my last fill at the end of September. As a result of my fill I lost 12 pounds in two months! During December I cheated like crazy. Don't pound on me, as I have beaten myself up, and continue to do so. I was able to eat, eat, and eat. I didn't seem to get full. I thought what the hell-let's just have a great time. Well to make a long story short I gained 5 pounds. OUCH. I did earn those pounds honestly. (Tip: Do not bake 50 dozen cookies, and only give away 40 dozen. Enough said.) Sometimes I was able to eat eight at a time, but even then I didn't get full. I figured it was Christmas. (Not a good excuse!) I did keep exercising, which is the only thing that saved me from gaining a lot more weight. I was recently put on medication that causes cravings for carbs, and therefore causes weight gain. (No excuse.) I have also had a extremely stressful season. FAMILY- enough said. Also I was diagnosed with epilepsy- hence the medication. I called my doctor at the beginning of December, because I could feel that I was able to eat more; but because of the holidays the earliest I could get an appointment was January 15th. My issue I have now is that I feel really bad that I cheated over the holidays. I feel guilt that I have gained 5 pounds. I am wondering if I deserve a fill. I understand that we bandsters have to be responsible with our food, and the band is a tool, and just a tool. I feel that I wasted a whole month- I feel that I didn't respect myself or my band by chowing down during Christmas. I am trying to slim down and I am using my bodybugg. My calorie count is still high. I have cut sugar, and bad-for-me carbs. I am not eating out. Having said that it is 2 in the morning and I woke up starving. In one hour I was able to eat: (I did wait 15 minutes before I ate the next meal, but I was still hungry.) 2 servings of cheerio’s and 1/4 cup of milk 1 Quaker granola bar 1 sugar free hot chocolate 10 crackers with peanut butter (So much for bad-for-me carbs, and sugars.) I am finally full. (Please don't lecture me on my food choices. I just put them out there to show you the quantity I am able to eat.) My concern is that I feel that I don't deserve the fill. I fill like a failure. I have been banded since October, 2007, and I lost 75 pounds- well now 70 pounds. My question is should I go to my doctor's on Jan 15th for a fill? Or should I try and lose the weight on my own? Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do? Would you go for a fill if you were in my shoes? (This is the first time I have gained weight with my band.)

2new, I am in your boat except I will say this stay away from the special K, and a lot of Protein drinks, they have tons of sugar which will just make you GAIN weight not lose it. Many many protein powders and drinks are designed for weight gain not weight loss. Just because it is whey isolate doesn't mean its for you. Also gummy Vitamins are almost all loaded in sugar, look more for the chewables, there are several that have the calcium in them and Iron as well, and that dissolve fast. For some taste tests you can if you wish check out my blog, I video tape all the products I am trying and ive tried many of them, and add at least 4 taste test per week, in video form. I also have a bunch of products coming from a company that saw my blog and wants me to taste test their products, I get no money at all here, I am actually making this blog into an ebook 1 year post surgery as an adjunct to help men get past the stigma of bariatric surgery. if you are interested it is at http://cuttingthefatwithaknife.blogspot.com

Like I said my psychologist is aware of how I am. And no I do not think eating a healthy homade soup everyday is a problem. You do not have to eat a ton of food to lose weight. Soup has a ton of nutrients in it including Protein. It is not canned food with tons of salt and preservative. In fact my nutritionist wrote down the recipe. I will continue to drink the 30 grams of Protein Drink as much as I can. My primary doctor will also check on me and I go to both a psychologist and a psychiatrist. So I am good. In fact it was my psychiatrist a gift for me to even get the surgery. Because she knew how much this weight gain bothered me. I am in good hands if my doctor seems any kind of life threatening issues he will make me get it reversed. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using the BariatricPal App

So many complications due to my Mirena. Weight gain is one. Hopefully it will be out come this Thursday and then onto a tubal. Amanda Rae

I'm very nervous about the weight gain too and hence the reason I am hesitant! I know there's many options, I'm aware of the pill (just not thrilled to add another one to my pile... I had a post op GI bleed and currently on soooo many meds!) I also am uncertain what I can take due to have the bleed...

I have the Nexplanon implant. I have not had children yet and my Dr said that Mirena is not recommended unless you have already had kids. I have had no weight gain with Nexplanon. It lasts for 3 years and it has also stopped my periods like the Depo shot used to. It is about the size of a match and gets implanted in the inside upper arm (near the bicep). My arm looked bruised for a week after insertion but it didn't hurt. Insertion was uncomfortable but if you have had a tattoo you can handle the pain. Now they say that it can be less effective in Obese women...but I've found it to be very effective.

Butterthebean -- I think your response to what I wrote was a gross overreaction. Did you read the original post in this thread? She said she was eating two meals a day, gaining weight, approved for surgery and her doc had drawn an absurd line saying if she gained one more pound . . . . and you took what I said out of the whole context of my comment. And she was only talking about two weeks. Do you seriously think eating three meals a day for two weeks versus continuing what she was doing for two weeks is going to make any meaningful difference in her post-op recovery and establishment of new habits? Obviously I have no criteria by which to judge this person's actual NUT. Have you met a lot of middle aged nutritionists who have devoted their lives to undertanding the nuances of how nutrition affects the human body, working to understand human metabolism, hormones, hypothyroidism, etc? I haven't. I have only met NUT's, and at some fairly prestigious institutions, who are young, poorly trained and, with a couple exceptions, fat bigots who don't believe patients can gain weight while not eating much food. Also Butterbean, you seem to give MD's a lot more power than they deserve. Has anyone reading this ever been misdiagnosed multiple times as I have? It is called the PRACTICE of medicine for a reason. People undergoing any major surgery have to trust their surgeons but let's dispense with the notion that surgeons are all knowing or that many of them know much at all about nutrition, hormones, thyroid issues. My surgeon performs surgeries five days a week. She does bariatric surgeries on Tuesdays. I don't kid myself that she knows about all aspects of my nutrition, my metabolism. And I do not trust the NUT I was required to see (fortunately only once) to be approved for surgery. Two weeks. One pound. Two meals. Three meals. For two weeks, it doesn't much matter. I don't think I crossed a line but you are entitled to your opinion. I think it is a disservice to encourge people to have blind faith in the health care system -- the system does not deserve it. Lucky for me, my primary care doc knows about my deep skepticism and distrust. My bariatric surgery office thinks I blindly trust all of them. Here is what I trust: my own very deep understanding of nutrition, my own personal biochemist-trained nutritionist independent of my bariatric clinic and my surgeon's skills. All the insurance hoops, advice popped off by mostly young and often poorly educated "nutritionists" is a lot of sound and fury signifying little. I am the one who is going to have to eat right post op, gaining or not gaining a pound before surgery has little to do with anything. I reiterate my earlier position: she needs to be honest with herself about what she is eating. For two weeks, what she does hardly matters. Being honest with herself about what she is eating matters hugely . but it is a common non-professional's fantasy that alll health care 'professionals' are knowledgeable and have state-of-the-art advice to offer. That's fantasy. Surgeons, even bariataric ones, very very rarely know anything about nutrition, metabolism, how weight can fluctuate with no changes in food. It's a common fallacy in this culture to believe weight gain and loss is about calories in, calories out. I liked the person who wrote about how they gained weight because of hypothyroidism. We all want to have the fantasy that our doctors are gods. They aren't. And I didn't tell her to lie to her doctor. I told her not to tell them. The doc was only looking at a number on a scale so give him the number he wants to see without telling him how you got it. Denying someone for surgery for one pound is absurd and I bet the doc was bluffing. I have observed that many folks involved in prep for bariatric surgery freely use manipulative techniques to bully patients. Manipulating people is not going to get them to change life patterns. and Buttertebean, since you appear to have had your surgery a long while ago and I assume it has been a success and you have kept the weight off, I also assume you know that how much a person weighs, how much a person gains and loses, is not always -- and in fact rarely is -- a simple calories in calories out calculation. Obesity is complex. Medical science is showing increasingly that much, if not most, obesity is the result of health issues and not what a person ate. You want to believe in the fantasy that medical professionals are gods, go ahead. But they are not. I told her to trust herself, be honest with herself. for two weeks. over one pound. Any doc who would actually cancel surgery over one pound is no doc I want to see. They were being maniulative, I think. I toild her to trust herself.

I PB'd and slimed a few times during the past week -- I was still on liquids at the time, and misjudging small container as well as not noticing the difference between that tightness in my throat from having too much versus the similarly-felt ache from just having the surgery a week ago. I felt like hell. It was one of the least dignified and humiliating experiences of recent memory. But I'm getting the hang of it, I think. I'm sure I'll have others along the way. But what I'm mostly concerned about is the six-inch sub. Plus the Cookies. The cookies shouldn't even be on your plate, I'd wager, but the sub? I could see the non-bread portions of the six-inch sub, maybe spread over two meals, but the bread itself isn't doing you that much good: too many calories for too little nutritive value. You have a limited budget -- physically, if nothing else -- and you need to spend it wisely. Even switching from hoagie roll to a low-carb/high-Fiber tortilla would probably be better. Switching to a lettuce wrap would be better yet (if you can manage lettuce -- this is a way I've enjoyed sandwiches in the past). Thin-sliced discs of apple? There are a variety of better choices that should be able to substitute in some measure for what the sub loaf provided, and perhaps excel in ways that loaf cannot. You have to remember that the band only helps through your efforts and good choices. I'd be concerned that if what you described is your typical pattern, that it will lead toward recklessness that'll derail you. I know for my own part that this is the sort of behavior largely responsible for getting me where I was when I started pre-op. So just because you *can* have a sub and 3 cookies doesn't mean you should, restriction or no. I know that can be difficult -- I'd love to have a rather slab-o-meat and gnaw on that for an hour right now. But even if it were fat-free, and despite all the wonderful Protein it'd provide me right when I need it to heal, it would still be a bad choice, right? Dividing it among many, appropriately-sized and -spaced meals -- good choice. Do you keep a food diary or somesuch to keep track of what your food intake is providing you? Do you have the support of a nutritionist or other qualified person to help guide your food choices post-op, and to who you can feel accountable to? I know a lot of people don't -- I do, and I have to say it's helped to have someone scold me (gently) in between praising the parts I've done well, and of whom I could ask questions about how I should approach certain foods (preparation ideas, suitability, problems noted by other patients, what I medically need at this stage, etc). Don't take this as criticism -- it's more concern. I've heard of and seen a lot of folks crowing over being able to revert to the same eating habits that led to their weight gain in the first place ("I just managed to eat a whole cheeseburger with PBing!", "I just ate an entire Hershey's bar without dumping!"), and in the same breath complain that they gained back some of the pounds they fought very hard to lose. This post (and a few others) raised warning flags. Good luck with the fills. I'm expecting my first at the end of the month, if they decide I need one.

Pre-surgery I usually had a couple glasses of wine after work. I've had a few post-op, but my main reason I don't is because of the weight gain or no loss it gets me into. When I get to my goal I'm going to (try to) continue focusing on my weight and go light on alcohol. Maybe if you focus on your goal it will help. I love my wine and miss it a lot. My friends and I belong to the "wine of the month" club.. Ugh!

When I was your age, I was a labor-delivery nurse. I was only 150lbs.{6ft tall}. I think the profession contributed to the weight gain! I discovered on this forum,that many lapbanders are nurses & teachers! Something in our "make-up", too busy taking care of others, often neglecting our own needs.

I been cleaning my closet monthly, in the past I always saved it and that's how I ended up getting in trouble again cause I would gain some weight and I would get the big clothes out. I'm hoping this time as soon as I see some change on how my clothes fit that I will take control of any weight gain.

I had lost 3 lbs. then at my last visit to set the surgery date I had gained seven. I told the doctor I had quit smoking and was trying to fight both battles. Plus my insurance was changing and they were not going to cover the operation, I had a appointment within two weeks to be banded on Dec. 30th. And they were strict also about the no weight gain. It all in how you present it.

I started out at 9'7. I was average toddler and young child and a stocky elementary age kid. I got chubby when I was about 11 and stayed that way through age 14. I slimmed down and spent most of my highschool years between 125-140ish and I was bigger than most so I did feel fat. I starting packing on pounds in college and averaged between 165-185. After I got married is when the weight gain really started and never got better. So I had brief times in my life when I was thin or at least healthy but nothing that has stuck. I can't wait to get to my goal and stay there.

I weighed between six and seven pounds at birth, but I was also about 3 weeks early. I hit puberty the week I turned 10. Before that time, I was average. I thought I was fat, but when I look at pictures, I realize that I wasn't. My weight gain was fairly slow, but I think I eventually hit a point around 7th or 8th grade where I just started piling it on. I think I've had PCOS since I first started menstruating, so I think I eventually hit the tipping point where it was concerned. I think my PCOS made me tend to gain weight a little easier, and then I eventually got to the point where the weight I was gaining caused my PCOS to worsen, which then caused me to gain more weight. It became this vicious cycle.

I have the Mirena. While it hasn't caused weight gain there are a lot of other side effects. I suffer from sever migraines which the Mirena made worse. It's been five months and I still suffer from breakthrough bleeding everyday along with horrible cramps when real period comes. I plan on getting mine removed after my surgery. If it wasn't for the Mirena rendering my migraine medication ineffective and worse I would keep it longer. Give my body more time to adjust to it.

I remember every single insult and person who felt it was their duty to " help " me with my weight problem. What they did not know is what drove me there besides putting food into my mouth. People who think that they can save the world by pointing out others obvious flaws according to them is a real turn off. Now by example a person can make a difference. It is much bigger then you need to have WLS. It is an adjustment that needs to be made from the money making food industry to diet companies to the government that do not promote good eating habits and food choices. It is many who do not have the funds to eat well a lot of folks don't have a clue how to in the first place.... Round and round we go..... Mostly it is a lesson to be learned and it is learned hard. When I think of all those people who looked at me sideways or laughed at me. Stopped their car in front of my house to stare at the fat girl gardening and so on. I wish I had kicked them right where it hurts..Like it hurt me. While they went away feeling like they had accomplished a good deed by making me cry. They were completely wrong. Giving advice freely without being asked is a whole lot of bad to deal with. Now if you are asked...Lay it out for them....Otherwise you don't have a clue what makes that person tick and what stage they are at in life. In fact I would say it would be a lot like how that Katie Hopkins of the UK comes across! This is the hardest addiction to fix. So I personally do not question anyone or judge anyone who struggles with weight as I have been there and done that and will fight the rest of my life this battle of weight gain and loss.......