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For many years I gained weight strictly due to being lazy and eating poorly. But for the last several years, I have been driving myself crazy because I feel like I have been doing everything I should be doing in terms of eating the right foods (Whole30 and Paleo) and exercising intensely (Obstacle Course Racing and Weight Training) and nothing worked for weight loss. I have often felt like my body and brain were working against my heart and preventing me from achieving what I wanted. In my ongoing research, I recently found another Bariatric Surgeon that post his bariatric videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DrMatthewWeiner I found his Informational Seminar video to be much more informative than any other I attended during my search for a local surgeon. One point in particular is the slide I've attached to this post. The stats he shows in this slide are my exact stats. His explanation here is that to gain 100lbs over a 20-year period, a woman only has to eat an average of 50 additional calories per day. Which is basically nothing. This takes into consideration pregnancy weight gain, weight loss, and weight regain over this time period. He affirms that significant weight gain from such a low number of additional calories means that there is actually something else going on besides just eating more calories than you burn. And as many of us suspect, it is due to hormonal and metabolic changes because of both age and changes that occur from diets you go on. This alone lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. Because I am not crazy after all, my brain and body were working against me. And surgery can help me get back to where I want to be. It further confirms my decision to have this surgery and use it merely as one tool in my arsenal to regain my health! I wanted to share this for anyone else has felt like they were crazy and wondered endlessly why diet and exercised worked from everyone else but you...

I was sleeved 1/14 and steadily lost until this week, the dreaded 3rd week stall. I went from my start weight if 287 to 234 and I've stopped. Hoping it's just my turn at the stall!

Hi all! I am new to this website, i have managed to finally book my lap band surgery for november 2011 after fighting with myself for so many years! I am 176 cms tall and weigh almost 139kgs.. sigh... i never thought it would be that hard letting that out..... i have a high high cholesterol of almost 9.0, and although i am getting this done because i want a healthier and longer life in the future, i am looking forward to being able to feel like a normal "young" person like i should be feeling at my age! i turn 21 in a couple of weeks and do wish all my weight loss methods would have worked till now, because i have literally tried everything under the face of the sun, terry white, weight watchers, jenny craig, personal trainers, xenical, naturopathy... this was my last and final option! im so scared of the operation because i have been researching all the bad things that could come out of it but i am concentrating on the positive for now and cannot wait to have it done! the one thing i am scared of is failure.. so far all the weight loss methods i have tried have failed and ended up with me gaining triple of what i lost... i started dieting at 12 and have not been able to buy normal clothes for many years now.... i just hope it all works out well! anyone else getting it done anytime soon?

Just wanted to share my progress so far. 41 pounds gone. Exercising 5x a week. The left photo was taken the first day of school this year in August 2013. I weighed 369. The right photo was taken last week because I felt "skinny" for some reason at work. I am now 328. My surgery was 10/2/13. I still have a lot of work to do, but: 1.) my clothes fit better 2.) I'm rediscovering old clothes I haven't worn in 4-5 years 3.) my shoes fit better! 4.) I'm not tired all the time 5.) people notice my weight loss now

I had my first fill yesterday. I had contemplated not having one because I have not felt any hunger between meals and have to remind myself to eat. That is until this week! I had been walking on my own and the weight loss had slowed down once I went back onto regular foods. However, slow and steady was fine. This week, I started with a personal trainer and I noticed a HUGE difference in getting hungry around meal times. I went from struggling to get in 700 calories a day. My doctor actually told me I would have to increase my calories due to the amount of exercise. Got to give the body some fuel! So I gladly chose to take my first fill. Back on liquids for a couple of days, but I am anxious to see if I can balance out this fill with my new exercise regime.

I agree wait a few days. A lot of it is water weight, and also bloating and other fluid build up that packs the extra weight. So don't worry or get discouraged, just work out and relax and then you'll be happy to see the scale looking "normal" again. And congrats on your loss so far!

Hi my name is Kathy I live in Spokane wash. I had gastric bypass on July18 2017. So far I 85lbs . My Dr wants me to lose about 40 more. My family. And friends are all very supportive. I also weight watchers. And the whole group are very supportive I just don't count points. My only problem I run in to My husband and his mother live here I do about 99 % of the cooking I just have watch. How many bits I take while it's at things. the time I eat I all most full. Would like buddy's that I can share with. Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

I haven't had BOB (band over bypass) but know a few folks who did that. It didn't help one of them, another did fabulously well and lost all the weight she'd regained plus another 10 or so pounds and has been maintaining fine. I've lost track of the other BOBsters. I would urge anyone who's considering revision to think carefully about exactly how their original surgery "failed". Did your original surgical tool stop working, or did you stop working it, or a combination of both? You really need to have that clear in your head before you have more surgery. Every bariatric procedure requires some degree of hard work on the patient's part. If your regain after RNY has been medically shown to be due to a stretched pouch or dilated stoma, you also need to talk to your surgeon about how to avoid those conditions once you're banded. Good luck, and congrats on the baby!

It's been a while since I was here... needed a break... I was on the dreadful stall mine lasted about 29 days.. i was freaking out big time! I went in crying to my awesome and incredible doctor and he told me "You're tracking too much STOP"... I use FatSecret.com and have it on my iphone cause I can barcode scan whatever I eat and not have to search... so I'm worried about Fat and Carbs and he said this and maybe it'll help others... Stop worrying about the Fat and the Carbs.. your main concern right now is staying between 800-900 calories and over 80g of Protein a day. If one day a week you go over 900 that is ok its a shock value to your metabolism but stop worrying so much about the fat and carb! I was trying to so hard to stay in the low fat and carb that I wasn't getting enough calories or I was getting too much and I have always done good on my protein that's never an issue for me... so when I stopped trying the fat/carb route and I went to just the calories and protein the stall broke and I started losing. He also suggested I try alternating my foods.. I am only eating the foods that "I" KNOW work for ME and I'm comfortable in those.. so I alternate between scrambled eggs for Breakfast and the day I'll have a Clif Builder Bar chocolate Mint that is so YUMMY and keep alternating... for lunch I'll alternate with the Chunk Swanson 2oz can with some cottage cheese and the next day maybe I'll have the tuna salad ready packet.. dinner is the same one day it'll be shaved mesquite turkey and ritz bits 100 calorie packets and the next might be the spam packet or the chunk chicken again.. In doing this I've lost and he also gave me some really good advise "You WILL lose weight no matter what, you have 1/3 of a stomach, you might NOT lose as fast as others and you might just kick butt.. but if you exercise you'll do better, if you aren't a exercise person you'll go slow, but either way the weight will come off it'll be only in the process you take" Now my biggest thing... is losing my hair.. it's like I went from thick and alot of hair like the width of a cucumber to now it's maybe 3 pencils.. UGH.. I've been on the Biotin 7500mg for 4 months and was using Nioxin shampoo and it still comes out in the brush about 30 strands or if i'm sitting on the couch it'll come out just freaks me the hell out! So I'm using Head & Shoulders with Zinc believe it or not its slowing it down ... amazing... So anyhow.. I've missed everyone.. hope y'all are doing great..

Hi Rhonda, yes. I was a slow loser. It took me two and a half years to lose my weight. Don't be in a hurry nor rush. There is no competition going on. Follow your doctor's orders and all will be well. You will get there and you will be so happy that you followed the rules. Good luck on your journey.

I am almost two months out from my sleeve, and I have to admit that I am both elated and confused. In all of my previous weight loss programs, the scale generally would reflect weight loss. But not this time. For example, right now I'm in an almost one-month stall at around 195 pounds. However, I continue to shrink, and yesterday put on some size 14 pants that fit like a glove. This does not seem physically possible. In the past, I had to get down to around 175 before I was a size 14, but 195?! Weird. I'm not complaining, mind you. The skin on my face, upper arms, and belly is shrinking during this stall, and I even see the rear of my cheekbones near my ears. (Long time no see, old friends!) So, this is not a bad thing. But does anyone know what is going on here? I exercise, eat carefully, drink lots of Water, yadda yadda yadda. Is it water retention? Have I entered a parallel universe? Anybody out there who has experienced the same thing?

Hi everyone! I'm 4 months post op (RNY) and I'm a little concerned regarding my weight loss journey in the upcoming months. The loss has started to slow down while I'm still very overweight and I'm worried about how to maintain a "normal" metabolism to be successful in long term maintenance. Would love to get your feedback as my nutritionist has not been very helpful in this sense. Some stats and specific concerns (sorry for the long post but I want to be thorough): Age: 28 yo female Height: 5'3 Starting weight: 297 lbs. Starting BMI: 52 Surgery weight (Dec '19): 259 lbs Current weight (4 months out): 191lbs. Current BMI: 34. Food: My daily average intake is of about 500 calories (450-650 range) and I get about 60 grams of protein (eat mostly protein and still use protein supplements). I follow my plan which is based on portion size and not weight or calories, but I weigh and track my intake because "eyeballing" doesn't really work for me. While I'm good in that range of food intake in terms of hunger, I could definitely eat more if "needed". I've been able to stick to my plan during coronavirus lockdown no problem. Exercise: Desk job. I do very light weight training about 3-4x a week and short walks on the treadmill 2x a week. I used to swim more often but now that's not a possibility. Other: I'm trying to up my water intake but it's about 40 - 65 oz a day. I take all my vitamins and supplements. I don't have diabetes or any hormonal issues that I'm aware of. While I have been consistently losing weight (60 pounds in 4 months), I'm starting to notice a slow down and have hit a couple stalls (one lasting 3 weeks). I want to make sure that I keep a good rate so naturally I thought about increasing exercise and maintaining my current diet (reducing is not a possibility) but I'm also concerned that: If I start exercising a lot now to try to speed it up, then as time progresses and I hit more stalls, they will be very hard to break as the exercise would have to be incremental and there is only so much time/energy/will power that I have. So do you recommend adding more exercise at this stage to maximize loss in the first months or should I "wait" until I need the extra kick? Same thing with food, by eating 500 calories a day, am I sabotaging future weight loss? It will be impossible for me to cut down on calories if I hit a stall. I'm also worried that as soon as I start increasing the calorie count I will gain a lot of it back or completely stop my weight loss. I know that 500 kcal a day is not sustainable in the long run. I have read so many threads trying to find an answer but there doesn't seem to be a right one. My nutritionist just tells me to "stick to portion size and allowed meals" and not look at calories when I ask these questions. My surgical team has told me to just follow her instructions and keep the focus on weight training. Any personal experiences, words of advise, etc would be highly appreciated. I'm starting to obsess over these concerns of balancing maximizing weight loss in the first months (which I understand are were biggest loss is achieved) and mid/long term success. I know comparing journeys is not ideal (it has definitely been a source of frustration as I see people with lower BMIs losing faster than me) Thanks!

Had lapband to rny on May 21,2014. Lost 20 and then bam I have been stalled!!! I go up and down 2 pounds for the past week. It's so frustrating, makes me think I am doing something wrong. I know it's a stall but I worry I won't lose anymore.. It's messing with my head major! I really expected to continue losing like I was. I know it's not reality though. When I was banded in 2008 I was 300 pounds lost 120 in 9 months. Had to gain some to get the revision to rny so day of surgery I was 245. Now I am 225 and stuck. I wish I had the power to not weigh daily but I am so OCD I need to know lol. Any veteran revisioners to through this at the beginning??

Although adequate water intake is important regardless of your weight, water is more essential after surgery and while you are rapidly losing weight. There's a lot of chemistry that goes on in your cells and organs, without enough water some of these by products will crystalize so you are prone to gall stones and kidney stones. You are also going through lots of changes as you lose weight, your body is making adjustments and needs plenty of water to keep up, flush out toxins, protect you from constipation, healthy skin, keep proteins soluable, and I'm sure many more good reasons. I think the doctors realize it's going to be difficult, at least in the early stages, to drink enough water so they emphasize it to encourage good hydration for healing from surgery and reduce the chances of complications. Sounds like your doing well though, keep it up.

Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately the pain is nothing new and it waxes and wains at its own schedule. I have no discs left that low in my back to herniate. All of them have been destroyed and I am now working with bone on bone and my spine has started fusing itself. As more bone builds around my lumbar spine nerves sometimes get trapped or flared and becomes miserably painful. I am so so sorry your back did not get better with weight loss. I am hoping weight loss will bring some pain relief. Even if it doesn't, I know I at least tried it. If nothing else, the weight loss will help me feel better about myself than I have in a long, long time. I win no matter what, even if I don't hit a home run! I hope you get some relief soon.

I am feeling down today. I have severe chronic back pain and have had this for over 15 years. The pain finally got bad enough 3 years ago that I haven't been able to work since then. I have had the lowest pain levels in 4 years since my VSG surgery and I thought for sure I was finally on my way to getting my life back in all aspects. The weight loss helped immensely and I have been able to exercise, walk, and just live more of life that I have in a long time. My world crashed around me 3 days ago and my pain has come roaring back. I barely survived walking around an aquarium for 3 hours with my son's class and had to lay flat since I got home. I am back to maxing out my pain meds and they are only bringing the pain down a little bit. I am going to schedule a follow up visit with my pain clinic to see if we can mess with my meds to give me a bit more pain control. I guess I just need to vent a bit. I am afraid the sudden stop to my physical activity will halt my weight loss efforts. I am so afraid to lose all of the muscle mass I have worked so hard to build along with all of the physical conditioning. I am afraid the pain is back to stay again for years. I don't want to lose what little I have gained in the last 4 months. It would have been tolerable if I didn't have a taste of what life could be. Grrr, sorry for the downer everyone. I just am trying to sort the emotional changes from surgery and pain together and reconcile it. I may contact the shrink and see if they can maybe help me with the emotions, fears, and stress.

@@Luvin_Life125 If this is a new, different or worse pain from what you have experienced before then you might need an MRI to see what is going on. You could have a herniated disk. If so, it can be surgically repaired rather than suffering until it heals on its own. I have multiple and chronic back issues and when I lost weight with the lap band my back problems not only didn't improve - they got worse. It can happen. Hope you get the help you need and feel better soon.

I was banded 2 weeks ago today - and as I'm reading these forums, I'm starting to get a tad worried. I see some posts where people aren't losing weight or have gained weight back. How and why does this happen? Thanks - I'd just hate to think that I had surgery for nothing!

I also have gained 4lbs since my surgery on FEb. 11th. I was shocked and disappointed. My doctor said it's b/c our bodies have gone into starvation mode and are clinging to every last drop of liquid we are putting in our bodies. As soon as I am permitted to eat some foods high in protein she said the weight will start to come off.

Congrats on finishing two out of the six months of pre op diet!! I had to do 3 months and tried to lose as much weight as I could... didn't really work very well, school is a big stress for me! As for the being off of work, I cant help you with that, because my date isnt until 5/17, but I did only take a week off, a lot of people say thats enough but it all depends! Anyways! Good luck with your journey, you will do great!

I actually gained 7 lbs while in the hospital overnight!!! I am hoping it's just Water weight do to the IV. Did this happen to anyone else?

I think my surgeon must have checked with my insurance company prior to having done all the prerequisites for approval and they told them it was a covered procedure. I had to go on a 6 month medically supervised diet, see a nutritionist, and have a psych eval(its easy). Through that whole time I worried about getting approved. I had a BMI of 38 with no diabetes, high cholesterol,etc. The only thing I can think of that I had was bad knees( due to the weight). After I finished my prerequisites and had all my info sent in I was a nervous wreck. After a couple of weeks the bariatric program called and told me I had been denied because it wasn't a covered procedure which they did not understand because they had been told that it was covered. The bariatric program told me not to give up and they told me some things I could try to get approval. I was DEVASTATED for 3 days. They called me back on the 3rd day and told me the insurance company had called back and said it was a covered procedure. So I went from having a covered procedure to a not covered procedure back to a covered procedure. The story gets even stranger: A lady I work with has a BMI of >40 and has the comorbities(diabetes, cholesterol etc) has gone to 2 separate bariatric programs(1 was the one I used) and they have told her its not a covered procedure under her insurance. We have the same insurance company (through work). The only difference we can figure out is that I bought the more expensive plan and she didn't. We don't know if that would really make the difference or not or its some arbitrary thing the insurance company came up with. Good luck to you and I hope you get your band.

I am 10 weeks post-op (surgery date: October 3rd) and am struggling with staying focused. Now that I am able to eat restriction free I have been trying lots of things. I'm not indulging in foods that are bad for me (i.e. junk); however, I really am not measuring the quantity. I just eat until I am full and stop. I have only seen a 34 pound weight loss on the scale, which I know averages out to be 3.4 pounds a week but I have always been a slow loser when it comes to weight loss. Any tips from the veterans to navigate this journey we call being sleeved?

I was sleved Oct 10th and have the same weight loss and am doing what you are. However I am 65 and expect to loose slower- Im loosing inches and do water exercises 3x a week. I struggle with drinking all that water- I know its important. Did you know that instead of the fat flushing out of your body that it is being reabsorbed in your blood and organs if you dont drink all that water?

I've been reading and obsessing over these forums trying to find the right doctor in Mexico, but I'm having a hard time finding anyone that has had their surgery in Mexico and has reached or is close to their goal weight.