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Hi Ladies, I am sorry to hear about the struggles and weight gain. I am right there with you! Mostly, I have been at the same weight for the last two months. I'll gain a few pounds and then struggle to lose it. I'm headed in for a fill soon. But I am looking at all the tickers showing all the weight loss. And I think about what that means in clothes size! I bet most everyone has lost 3 clothes sizes! And I think about where I was at last year and will take the slow progress. Hang in there. I am trying to up my exercise. i am registered for the SF half marathon in October. I'd hoped to loose more weight before then. I'll walk a lot of it but its a good goal for now! xoxo Melissa

I think insurance varies from company to company and plan to plan. The doctor's office should be able to tell you if you qualify. My doctor basically said if I had X or Y insurance, I would probably not be approved, but since I had Anthem, she said she was almost certain that with my health issues, I would be approved. The only thing that annoyed me about the whole process was my meeting with the nutritionist! I was very honest with her, I tend to skip meals and don't pay too much attention to what I eat. I don't buy junk food, so I'd go without eating and then be starving later in the day and eat whatever I wanted because I thought I didn't eat...I could eat everything! She made me wait another month and document my eating. I also gained 1.3 lbs (which I had a heart surgery on Tuesday and was weighed by her on Friday so it could have just been water) and she made me lose that weight before she would let me go forward. The office has a policy of no weight gain, but for insurance, I couldn't lose either...it was hard! I would ask a lot of insurance questions when you go in! Good luck! I'm not on a liquid diet, just a preop, I can have 2 frozen meals each day in addition to 3 shakes and all the veggies I want!

I do not drink thru a straw, I take my prilosec without fail and I was doing so so so good up until now! I hope this is just really bad gas? I hope someone else has had something similar and I'm just worrying for no reason. I am using the restroom fine, drinking fine, not dealing with hunger issues, have even felt more energy. I just don't understand what this is and how I can fix it. Maybe I just needed to vent, maybe I'm pmsing really bad as I'm due to start this week and this is my first period since surgery? I'm on the pill, and I'm very regulated. I'm just really uncomfortable and trying not to work myself up. I had the lapband since 2007 until my revision and this past year was horrible for me with weight gain and vomiting and even constant nausea the three months prior to my revision. I have been so happy to be rid of the nausea, now this. What can I do to try to alleviate gas, so I can see if that's what this is? It just doesn't feel like gas would, at least before. I am just so dang bloated up.

Hi There, Haven't posted this thread in ages! I got banded in manchester in April 2007. here is my story so far.. Lindsey, I feel l this is important to know, as the past year I have heard mosly successful band stories, with people loosing their weight from the get go. Firstly..Five years ago I weighed 10 st 8lbs.. had a personal trainer and a body fat of 20%!!! Seven years ago I weighed 17 stone 3 lbs. I white knuckled over six stone off my frame and went from size 22-24 to a size 12 who could run up stairs 3 at a time! This lasted until I got engaged 4 years ago and then the weight started to creep on. I gained 7lbs the week I got engaged because I 'let my hair down' and I FREAKED out!! NOT FAIR NOT FAIR!! Was my mantra, and I became Very Very angry. I just wanted it gone, I wanted it to be fixed and never look back. It was only a 7lb gain but it drove me to distraction and 18months later on m wedding day I was up an additional stone. In hindsight it wasn't such a disaster, but I was just FED up that my sweat and tears didn't shake that F***ing monkey off my back. In saying that I was BEE-AUTIFUL on my wedding day, and I cherish those photos!! I gained about a stone on my honey moon, bringing me close to 13 stone. I tried getting back on track and tackling the demon again with weight watchers, Motivation weight loss clinics, hypnotherapy and counselling but I was totally defeated!! Fast forward 2 years and I'm at my lapband consultation weighing 17stone 10!!! So,I weighed 17stone 10lbs last year at my initial consultation, followed by a 10 day liquid pre-op diet which got me to 17stone at my surgery date. In the following 4 weeks I lost another stone, bringing my total weight loss to 24lbs in 5-6 weeks. That was it..I did the 2 weeks liquid post op and 2 weeks mushies after that and then went back on solid food. To my horror, I felt I was eating without restriction, BUT as I had not had a fill I knew it wasn't anything to panic about. So, because I fly to manchester to get my fills, I didn't make it over until June for my first fill. I was maintaining at 16 stone but hadn't lost a pound since starting back on solid food. After that fill, once again to my horror I felt no restriction and started to feel quite down that this band was all a cod and I had spent my money on what? This feeling continued and I said nothing to anyone but it was obvious there was no restriction as I could eat anything, and my mam sister & husband were kinda saying.."what's the story?" And i was feeling mortified, but "dieting" to maintain at 16 stone. This continues until September when I finally made it over again for my 2nd fill. At this point I was up 4lbs and embarrassed that I wasn't doing as well as 1..I thought and 2...as well as other peoples tickers were showing on this site. That fill made me feel no different either and I was able to eat Steak, Crisps (my worst weakness) Anything really. WITH THE EXCEPTION of McDonlds or any french fries/ nuggets/chicken gougons.. they were painful and would come back up as a PB.. So hey...I was getting somewhere. But Nope.. Depression..this band wasn't the magic wand I had told myself it was, I was putting too much faith in it, I didn't want to do ANY work loosing this F***ing weight AGAIN..I just wanted to EAT and LIVE LESS LIKE A "NORMAL PERSON" There was my problem, I wanted the band to magically transform me while accepting no personal responsibility for my actions either. After all, all I wanted was not to think about this weight loss thing anymore and for it to just happen to me! So I gave up AGAIN and said..waste of money, waste of time..once again defeated and this is how it is and always will be. My mental attitude was all wrong, I just couldn't face it anymore. So since Sept of last year, with Chips McDonalds Gougons etc being my only restrictions I started binge eating again, and binge drinking and could see my face getting puffier and puffier right before my eyes. In Jan this year my first Nephew was born and it made me face everything again and I decided to come out of my hibernation and contact the clinic again to tell them that I was failing miserably. To my surprise they were saddened for me and that I had gone MIA on them and wanted my over straight away to help me get back on track. So I joined Weight watchers again..weighing in at 18 stone 3lbs (Jesus!!) And went to Manchester that week for another fill. This one was aggressive. For almost two weeks I struggled to get anything but soup down. I am tight. I have hope again and I am doing my damndest to get focused and loose this weight realistically and the band IS Helping me this time. I can't eat much, but I still drink too much, and twice in the last 3 weeks I have somehow managed to scoff 8 bags of crisps in one sitting (but it takes hours instead of minutes) why and how did I manage this when I couldn't even get porridge or scrambled egg down? I just don't know, It was total after drink binge eating. But twice in 3 weeks instead of daily, and suffered the consequences of mush crisps in my neck as a result. I have lost 3.5 lbs in 2 weeks still (Oh wow..big swing..only 90 more to go) But I can't allow myself to think like that. I am now geting water back into my daily routine, cutting down on the alcohol and I am STAYING with weight watchers, and If it means ONE pound a week that's what I will take. I am too long doing this to expect starvation and horrible extreme dieting to be the answer to my prayers. I Have to LEARN to do things differently. For anyone who drives, here is an analogy that describes exactly how hard it is to change being a subconscious/ emotional/ habitual eater. If you drive, that is something you had to learn to do. At first it was difficult, you had to concentrate, you had to be conscious of looking in your mirrors, changing gears and steering. In the beginning you couldn't talk on the phone or scratch your head while concentrating on driving. 15 years later (for me) I can drive, talk (even on the phone), scratch anything that's itchy, change radio stations/cd's all while I'm driving because it has become subconscious. All the driving manuevers have become second nature and I don't need to instruct my self anymore what to do coz I just do it. Now, Imagine UNLEARNING how to drive a car? How can that be done? That is is tantamount to the challenge I have at hand now. I have to unlearn how to do what has always been second nature to me, I have to unlearn how to do what has put me in this situation at the age of 32 and that is not going to happen today, tomorrow or even this year. BUT...IT WILL BE DONE..however slowly, it will be done. I will never white knuckle it again. I will never loose 7 stone again only to gain it back, my will won't let me which is why my will has given me this whole past year of struggling to learn this lesson. What have I learned? I have learned to begin UNLEARNING. THAT is my weapon and that is what I will do. SO, I won't be slim for my nephew's christening in May, or for my birthday or for Christmas..But I will be UNLEARNING. AND I WILL BE MY OWN TEACHER, I will stumble and fall, but I will learn to get up and walk on. I will never be perfect but I will be smarter, wiser and happier. There is my experience. The Band IS great, but it is not plain sailing for someone like me. It is helping me definately, no doubt about that now, but it is not as strong as whatever it is inside me that has been yelling for the last year to get my attention about how to do this once and for all. That is my epic, my story, and I apologise for the MASSIVE post but it was to show that not everyone has the same experience with the band and that ultimately the issue is MUCH MUCH bigger than a pice of plastic or food a diet. This is coming from someone who's communion dress was let out because of weight gain at the age of 6.

Jeni, glad your feeling better. Don't worry to much about a little weight gain right now, you need good nutrition for proper healing. Just get a walk that will help with those extra calories. Keep us posted. Carol

Weight loss and weight gain is simple. It's calories in vs calories burned...we all know that. Sure, metabolism has some influence on that equation but every human still has a resting basal metabolic rate. Based on age and height/weight and activity level, it's a mathematical configuration that will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. If you eat more, you gain weight. I don't understand how a human being can eat at such a restrictive level, calorically speaking, and become morbidly obese. It's not that complicated and even if you had extremely poor metabolism, you still need at least 1,000 per day to pump blood through your heart and oxygenate your lungs, etc. Your situation is very interesting and suprising to learn about. Best of luck!

I agree with sleevesk about the therapist. A lot of people swear that they help so much. I wish I could find someone near me who specializes in disordered eating. I am 16 months post op and got down to my easy goal but not my dream goal. I am on medications that can cause some weight gain so they warned me that may happen. I would’ve been happy enough to maintain there but now I am dealing with some life stress and a medication change and my weight is already starting to creep back up. Not trying to scare you but I am an emotional eater and I know that this would’ve been easier if I had the tools that are learned in therapy. I say you have come this far, may as well do whatever you can to set yourself up for long term success.

Honey, no worries. Ur doing amazing n its showing:). U have 5 months to reach your 100# loss in 6 mths, don't stress, cuz it causes weight gain. Just relax n let whatever happens happen. Remember its been many years since our bodies showed a loss such as is, so b patient and ur doing gr8, congrats!!! Now, when I'm impatient, u have to tell me the same, we are human, lol;)

Karen and I have the same Dr. and I was told by him that if you can not eat solid Protein all the time, you may be too tight. With this new fill I do not eat until around 11:00 am but it is all solid protein. Since yoou can not get liquids in until the afternoon..are you drinking enough Water? By what you described it doesnt look like 60 grams of protein a day? Not trying to be negative but most you described in the part of the day are either mushy foods or liquid calories . Losing two lbs a week is great but with the low ammount of protein you are eating you are most likely losing lean muscle mass which in the end will make you flabby.( according the the 2 nutritionalists and my Dr. I have seen since being banded) This is another reason the 60 grams of protein are so important to not lose lean muscle mass and to help curb your appetite and cravings. Here is an excerpt from the Inamed handbook that is valuable to your situation With the Lap Band system in place, you should be able to eat only small ammount so the food you eat should be as healthy as possible. Do not fill your stomach pouch with :junk: food that lacks Vitamins and other important nutrients. Your meals should be high in protein and vitamins and low in carbs. solid food is more important then liquid food or soft food. The lap Band system will have little or no effect if you only eat liquid or soft food. It passes through the stomach outlet very quickly and does not make you feel full. Here is another excerpt form the book If the adjustment (fill) results in too tight of a stomach opening you could have a hard time eating most foods, sometimes this causes people to avoid solid foods. They may drink liquid meals or soft food meals and this may result in weight gain. A band that is too tight may cause reflux symptoms and can also cause frequent vomiting. I hope this info helps you

Sounds like you are exactly on the right track to me. We have to learn not to be afraid of feeling a little hungry for a little while. The band is not supposed to mean that you don't feel hungry EVER. It is perfectly normal and perfectly ok to feel a little hungry as meal times approach. What the band is supposed to do is to stop you eating a meal sized for 3 people (as I used to do every night) and to stop you feeling like you're starving in between meals. By the time you tighten it up to the point that you feel no hunger at all, you are almost certain to be too tight and won't be able to eat properly, leading to dependence on generally high fat/high carb/high suger slider foods and weight gain. It's meant to be a tool, not a miracle cure, so it does require a little work on our part. I think you are doing exactly the right thing - controlling mild hunger before meals. When it starts to get to raging hunger or the meal sizes start getting large again, that's the time to tighten the band in another notch.

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

Pinenut - Thanks band buddy! I got on the scale this morning and there was no weight gain from last nights splurge . . . . no loss but . . . I am back on the plan and running the race to win! my plan is to reach my goal in a year. Keeping my eye on the prize and with Gods help it will happen!!

Depends on the goal weight you're talking about. The one I tell my team to prove that I have a realistic understanding of what my surgical outcome is likely to be? I punched in my numbers to an online outcome calculator, rounded down so that they had the opportunity to gently adjust my expectations. I don't remember what this number is, because I could not care less about it. The one I use for my usual calculations and plans at this stage? I used an ideal body weight calculator (there are a number of different equations) and picked the highest version to be realistic. The secret one that I rarely admit or factor into planning? It's the one above, minus 10% of the amount of weight I would have lost at that body weight to buffer against expected weight gain. I doubt I'll reach this one, it depends on how I feel and whether plastic surgeons have a minimum weight requirement. I dunno, it doesn't really matter all that much at this point. I have no idea how much weight will come off from plastics and top surgery, how much weight I'm stuck with because it's extra bone or organ tissue that supported my fat body, and how my transition would realistically affect those calculations anyway.

Sorry for the late post! I have gained 2 pounds on the scale but do not think it is real. Not possible LOL. So technically I am 228 but I think without water weight gain I am still 226.

My NUT was exactly the same way. I was stressing about every little bite and she told me to stop killing myself over a spoonful of food. She said it's too stressful and ultimately that would lead to more weight gain! Sent from my SM-G900T using the BariatricPal App

I am curious the process people went through for Sleeve to Bypass? I've been seeing a gastroenterologist for pain, nausea, vomiting. I have had 2 EGD's, both show chronic inflammation and gastritis, due to reflux. My surgeon is sounding very reluctant to do this surgery. I did get down to 115 lbs and have put on 50 lbs since my lowest. He is blaming the reflux on the weight gain, but I was at my lowest, when the first EGD showed inflammation due to reflux. He just ordered a barium swallow, and all came back normal. I am seeing the nutritionist, she said she spoke with the surgeon, and we would be going over the new pre-op diet, since it is different than the sleeve and has changed since I had the sleeve in 2019. I am afraid he will refuse to do the surgery and I will be left with this pain, nausea and vomiting; I have been battling for almost 3 years, with no relief. My gastroenterologist is at his wits end and doesn't want to continue seeing me go through this. I wake up choking on acid, had tests run by my pulmonologist and cardiologist. My asthma had gone away but returned. The surgeon also blames that on the weight gain. Pre-sleeve, I had walked 27,000 steps in a year. This year, I am at 1.7 million steps and ride a stationary bike 10-15 miles a day. This is huge for me, I have something called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Pre-sleeve, I was knocking on deaths door. I only found this "terminal" illness, from my pre-op tests for the sleeve. Since the weight loss, I went from 6 months to live, to medication that has me at "normal/high" levels vs "high". My specialist is afraid the weight gain is spiraling and illness progressing. What changed for me, the medication I take for PAH, you have to consume 250-300 calories per dose with 30-50% fat content. Otherwise, you get violently ill. I take 3 doses a day. When I was diagnosed and first 2 years, I was on a CADD pump and that medication didn't have dietary requirements. Sorry for the long story........I just can't take the reflux (even though the barium swallow does not show but EGD definitely does and has, in 3 different tests) and the weight gain is scaring me to death. What was your process with your surgeons, going from sleeve to bypass? Is this a long process? Did you have a difficult time with insurance approval? Any suggestions on getting this done? Your experience and help, is greatly appreciated!

I think I would have to 'take out' anyway who criticized the band. Jerks!!! Mandi, your journey threw weight gain did'nt start at 25, but you ended it at 25. My son is 15 and already struggles. I would'nt advise it now, but when he's an adult and if he decided to get banded, I would support him 100%,

Brookelany, I hear you! I also had a little weight gain with the cream Soups, but I switched to Gardennay which are very creamy and no cream. Much healthier. I have to say that I have barely cooked for my family. They eat what I can take out of the freezer and go into the microwave then I get out of there pronto! When do you start muchies? I start Thursday and I hear that it is easier. Hang in there, girl!

I tried the 8th Continent Soy milk Light Vanilla flavored...tastes great but as it turns out I am allergic to it. It almost jepordized my surgery. I was adding the soy to my protein shakes to up my protein intake and ended up in the ER with my throat nearly swollen shut.:devious They gave me a dose of prednisone to clear the swelling. I went to see the Doc the day before my surgery was scheduled for to be sure my throat was in good enought shape to handle the anesthesia and was almost denied my surgery due to the weight gain from the prednisone and the mere fact that prednisone is a steriod and compromises your immune system. I was left in the exam room waiting for 40 minutes to hear whether my surgery for the next day was still a go or not. The nurse prectioner came back in to find me a balling mess of tears and snot. :cry She asked me what was wrong and I looked at her as if to shoot her dead in her shoes. :dead I said well, you left me in here for 40 min. not knowing whether or not I am going to have my surgery tomorrow. I have jumped through a lot of hoops to get here -even jumped through a few hoops you guys forgot to tell me about and now here I sit wondering if I just paid for a surgery that I may not get to have. she laughed and said oh honey you're ok. the doc said he will see you tomorrow in the hospital. hugged me and left the room. :speechles all that being said...just be careful if you have a tendancy towards allergies and you are still waiting to be banded.

Hi I had my gastric bypass in 2011 i had lost 120 pounds. i have gained 60 pounds back. I am totally disapointed in my self. I have tried everything to get it back off.i was a slow loser to start with but it came off. also i had a transfer addiction with alcohol i have been sober 17 months i know it was between that and the over eating again as to why i gained the weight back. i just need some good support and disiplin i can get back on track. My name is Tammy I"m 56 from Michigan.i was excited when i found this sight hopefully this is a new tool i can use to get my body moving again lol Thank you

Thank you for your post vickiebc! I just found this group today. I am 61 and have been to the seminar, the consultation and have my first meeting with nutritionist tomorrow. I was beginning to think there were no other people my age going through this. I I am very excited but also very nervous!! Please, keep posting. Sent from my QTAIR7 using the BariatricPal App Hi! Excited to see some of us "older but wiser" peeps on here! I am a 66 yr. young female going on 67 (in July) and had my surgery at 59. I went from "my" high weight of 241 to 127 in 8 months and was told to put on 5 lbs. Well I've done that, AND more, 23 lbs! I share this because it's a well known fact that if we do not stay plugged in to a support group and think our "pouch" is going to do all the work, we are fooling ourselves. I know because that's what I've done.....Im depressed about my weight gain, I cannot afford any type of cosmetic procedures and find myself slipping into the same habits that got me heavily obese in the first place! I'm not crying the blues or feeling sorry for myself folks, just asking if anyone out there has been, or is, there and what you did. For those of you who've just had the surgery, or are scheduled, I applaud you....I still believe it is the best thing I've ever done for myself Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using the BariatricPal App

Yeah, when you start eating regular stuff again you won't keep on losing because you'll be getting more than minimal calories and you won't be cleaning out your intestines. If you REALLY want to do this kind of insane crap, here's another....though think I'd rather just take some of the stuff they give you before a good old colon exam....or good old enemas..... If all of this nonsense was worthwhile we wouldn't need or want bands, would we. And the WHOLE IDEA IS TO GET AWAY FROM THE DAMN DIET MENTALITY AND LEARN TO EAT LIE NORMAL PEOPLE> This is the "Master Cleanse", and this is from New York Times a couple days ago: WHEN Teron Beal, a songwriter and aspiring actor in Manhattan, was looking to drop weight quickly for a photo shoot, he didn’t double up on gym visits, gulp metabolic boosting pills or limit his diet to leafy greens and lean protein. Instead, he took a more drastic approach: he tried the “master cleanse,” a fast that requires subsisting for 10 or more days solely on an elixir of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup and Water. “I had only three weeks and I needed the difference to be noticeable,” said Mr. Beal, adding that he lost nearly 10 pounds during his 12-day fast in July. “The first few days were horrible, but by the fifth day I woke up and looked in the mirror and saw two ab muscles that had eluded me for years. I was grumpy no longer.” While popular diets and fasts come and go, master cleanse remains a perennial favorite, a kind of folk regimen that owes its popularity to word of mouth and the Internet. Created in the 1940’s by a nutrition guru, Stanley Burroughs, to treat ulcers and other internal ailments, the fast enjoyed a vogue in the late ’70s after the publication of his book “The Master Cleanser.” Its fans then were health-conscious types, interested in purging their bodies of impurities and toxins like pesticides and food additives. But in recent years master cleanse has enjoyed yet another vogue among people seeking to shed pounds in a short time. Celebrities, of course, are in the vanguard. On Oprah Winfrey’s show, the singer and actress Beyoncé Knowles announced that she had lost 20 pounds on the fast to prepare for her starring role in the new film “Dreamgirls.” Robin Quivers, Howard Stern’s long-suffering sidekick, told People magazine that she did the fast on three separate occasions in 2004 and shrunk to 145 pounds from a peak of 218. (She heard about it from the magician David Blaine, no stranger to challenging his body.) And on a recent episode of “30 Rock,” the NBC comedy, Tina Fey’s character is asked: “What are you doing? South Beach? Master cleanse?” She did look skinnier. The Internet teems with testimonials to the cleanse, also known as the lemonade diet, claiming that it fights disease, clears the mind as well as acne, and increases energy. Bloggers chronicle their daily fasting. Master cleanse video diaries can be found on YouTube, and a cottage industry has developed with various companies peddling cleansing kits including all ingredients for the beverage except lemons. Never mind that most nutrition and diet experts advise against multiday fasting. “I cannot believe how this thing has had a total revival,” said Joy Bauer, a nutritionist and the author of “The 90/10 Weight-Loss Plan.” “People want a quick fix and they want to be thin so badly that they’re vulnerable and open to almost anything.” Ms. Bauer estimated that fasters who drink six glasses of the lemony potion a day — the low end of the recommended amount — are consuming about 650 calories, far less than the 1,600-plus calories the average woman needs to maintain her weight or the roughly 2,400 calories a man requires. “Of course you’re going to lose weight,” she said. “You’re starving yourself.” Seldom do the pounds stay off, she added, and people have a tendency to binge once they begin eating again. Still, many are willing to disregard the word of nutritionists, seduced by the notion that the only things standing between them and a slimmer body are a citrus-flavored drink and several days of discomfort. Last week at Amoy’s Beauty, the hair salon of Amoy Pitters in the East Village, a brunette complained about her holiday weight gain. “Girl,” Ms. Pitters said, “you need to do master cleanse.” Ms. Pitters, who first tried the fast four years ago at the prompting of one of her clients, Kacy Duke, a personal trainer to several celebrities, said she was skeptical at first. But 10 days and dozens of lemons later, she was eight pounds lighter, and elated. “I fit into my ultraskinny jeans and I couldn’t believe it,” Ms. Pitters, a petite clotheshorse, said. “I was so proud of myself for sticking with it, because it wasn’t easy.” Ms. Pitters estimated that 85 percent of her more than 200 clients have tried the cleanse after hearing her rave. She uses it after the holiday season and before trips to bikini-friendly locales. “I know it works,” she said. “And you’d be surprised how many models I know who do it, too.” Kristina Wong, a performance artist in Los Angeles, lasted on the fast for only five days, but she also saw results. “I looked great,” said Ms. Wong, who uploaded a video diary of her fasting experience on YouTube in September. “No more stomach rolls. I was such a skinny mini.” Ms. Duke, who puts herself on the lemonade diet four times a year for a week to 12 days, pointed to other supposed benefits. “My eyes are clearer, my skin has a different glow and some of my best running times have been while I’m on master cleanse,” she said. She introduced it to her client Denzel Washington and “he loved it,” she said. The enduring popularity of the cleanse may have as much to do with its instant results as with the drink’s relatively inoffensive taste (think lemon Gatorade with a spicy kick) and simple recipe: 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons Grade-B maple syrup, 1/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 8 ounces of spring or purified water. According to “The Master Cleanser,” Burroughs’s book, the lemon acts as a purifier and provides potassium, the cayenne pepper adds B and C Vitamins and aids in circulation, and maple syrup, a sugar, provides energy and minerals. Burroughs suggested that fasters drink anywhere from 6 to 12 glasses of the stuff a day as well as a mixture of water and sea salt in the morning and an herbal laxative tea in the evening, to help aid in waste removal. On message boards at Web sites like CureZone.com, writers warn that it’s best to stay close to a restroom. “One day it was just two hours of me running back and forth to the bathroom,” Ms. Wong said. All that time in the loo can adversely affect one’s social life. Many fasters also say so long to the business lunch, the after-work cocktail and dinner at the latest restaurant, for fear of temptation. Samuel Klein, the director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis, is leery of master-cleanse-like regimens because there is no data that prove they provide any medical benefit and no evidence that fasting helps rid the body of toxins, which happens naturally, he said. While fasting for a few days is not dangerous, Dr. Klein said, “Fasting for too long can deplete muscle tissue, including your heart muscle, and it can reduce the size and functioning of organs like the kidney and liver.” He is just one of many nutritionists who caution that fasting can be counterproductive. Some say it can even slow down the metabolism, making it even more difficult to lose weight in the future. Try telling that to the converts. Peter Glickman, the author of “Lose Weight, Have More Energy and Be Happier in 10 Days,” is among them. Mr. Glickman, who at 6-2 once weighed more than 230 pounds, had already made over his lifestyle, going on a vegan diet and losing 42 pounds, when he came across the fast three years ago online. He lost 23 pounds in 20 days, he said. He sold his software company and went into the business of promoting the diet. It has proved lucrative. On his Web site, themastercleanse.com, he sells Burroughs’s original book ($8.95), his updated version and an accompanying CD ($31.95), and a master cleanse kit ($49.95; just add lemons). He wouldn’t give specifics, but said his book is in its fourth printing. “I just put in an order for 10,000 more the other day,” he said. Adaora Udoji, an anchor at Court TV, grew up watching her father use the fast. “We all just thought he was a weirdo,” she said. But after quitting smoking last year, she fasted for 14 days, and now she is a believer. “It’s almost like a religious experience,” she said. “The first few days you’re obsessing about food and by the fourth or fifth day, you get this inexplicable burst of energy and you feel like you can run laps around the world.” Ms. Bauer, the nutritionist, is not convinced. “I really think this chanting about people feeling so invigorated by this really comes from the happiness that people feel about losing weight,” she said. Running laps was the furthest thing from Ms. Wong’s mind during her fast. She found herself staring longingly at takeout menus and scouring food blogs. “I drive a car that runs on vegetable oil so it smells kind of like a fast-food restaurant, and there were times when I was so hungry I just wanted to pull over and put my mouth around the exhaust pipe,” she said.

Because of the age of your daughter, her activity level, and her mood swings. I would seriously take a look into what one of the earlier posters mentioned...PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). Unless your doctor is aware of this, and most are not, it's a condition that is best diagnosed by an Endocrinologist. The problem with this condition, is that many doctors don't look for it until a woman is ready to begin a family, and is having some problems. While the condition actually begins with the start of puberty and gets worse with time. Catching it early and properly managing it can help prevent some of the later problems that it can lead to. Here are a few symptoms, either by themselves can be a sign of PCOS or other conditions. The more that a woman has, the more likely she could have PCOS. Some of these are hard to tell, because of her age. Many teenagers experience them just because that's the stage in life they are at. There are some, that I'm not going to list, that are based upon blood work. Ranges can be high normal to slightly above normal, but be too much for your body to handle. Which is why I strongly suggest an endocrinologist (someone who specializes in this, versus a regular family doctor who would just over look a slightly elevated result). Puberty beginning early: menstruation at 9 or 10, early physical development. Extreme emotional highs and lows Weight gain (especially if concentrated around the middle/stomach area) Painful or irregular menstruation Dark/rough Patches of skin (neck, elbows, underarms, inner thighs) Depression (leads back to hormonal imbalance) Poor memory Male pattern hair growth/loss Adult acne (for those besides OP that may be reading this) ...and more. There are several web sites that discuss this, and some contradicting theories. One that I know of that is fairly informative is Soulcysters.com, and they do have a teen section. You can do a search on PCOS or Stein-Leventhal Syndrome to learn more. I will admit, though, that from the moment you started discussing your daughter, this is what I thought. ___________ Chris

Joan, this morning i was still steaming over the weight gain but because of you and your motivation i got out of bed and went to the gym !!! I felt sooo much better and my inches are down ( i take my inches every sunday morning) so thank you all for the support here !!!! Amy

*WARNING* LONG REPLY *WARNING* First of all, i have a new non-scale victory to share with everyone because i literally can't stop smiling from ear to ear:biggrin:. I wen shopping today for last min. things for my vegas trip. And me and my friend were at JCPenny's, i was looking for some bottoms to wear and she pulled a pair of capris' off the rack and said hey Jen these would look nice.. And i looked at her like she was nuts:glare: because they looked like they would be small; and when i looked at the size (15) i thought she was even more crazy. She said they will fit and to got try them.. So i figured prove her wrong.. But instead proved myself wrong!!! THEY FIT!!!:tt2: I was shocked, not only did they fit but they look great!!! (i got the problem now of getting my mind to majorly catch up with the body change, because i got myself still in size 20 mind set...) Juli, thank you some much for your words of encouragment, I really need that as i register for classes. You always know the right thing to say!!!:thumbup: And still completly jealous about the disney world trip!!! LoL Janine, i wish you all the very best of luck on getting re-banded.. I know you will get it!!! I was so happy to see your going to do it again.. And dont be discouraged by the weight gain because it is gonna come back off .. I believe in you, You are a strong person and from previous posts of yours that i have read you always are so optimistic and determined. So i nave complete faith that you will get the band and be even more successful this time around!!!:cool2: As far as what group to be in, I would love for you to stay with the Marchies because you bring a lot of input into our group and you fit in perfectly.. And like juli said, ONCE A MARCHIE, ALWAY A MARCHIE!!! We will continue to help each other out!! Lastly, I am going for my Adjustment on monday (yay!!):w00t:. And i wanted to do something for my surgeon to show him how grateful i am for all that he has done for me.. I got him a thank you card but want to do something more... Any suggestions???? I was thinking maybe a good bottle of wine, or since im polish a nice bottle of vodka??? But i dont want to come off as being weird.. HELP!!!:thumbup: I feel and have a need to give something to someone who has done so much for me DO you think that this is a good idea?!?!?! Sorry all for the long post i had a lot to say, and at least i warned you!!:tt2: At least I made sure to keep it fun and colorful !!!:biggrin2: I know im a Dork!!