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Hi friends. I have stubbed my toe a little here in the last week and I think its because I set myself up for a hit by making myself push hard to get to that -100 number by my bandiversary and then I didn't make it by March 31 and I'm still not there. I sat down and asked myself what the heck are you doing? You're sabotaging yourself because you didn't hit a specific weight loss number and in the past I got to this magic 100 lbs off thing and then I slid back down the slope and regained it back. Maybe I'm subconsciously worried that if I pass the 100 mark I will then slide backward? Weird. I have a long way to go so I made a conscious decision today to take control back again, think about better food choices. Put tempting foods away, like hide the Easter candy, put the chips away that didn't get eaten at the neighborhood party, and if the family doesn't consume them this Sunday, to throw them away. I went back and thought about when I hit my -90 lbs at Valentines Day and maybe I should be content with about -5lbs a month at a rate of loss at this point but I think I can do better if I don't keep slipping and eating things I know I shouldn't. So tonight, I thought, what kind of a snack is low calorie and filling and I tried to eat about a 1/2 cup of cantaloupe and I couldn't believe how fast that filled me up. I obviously have restriction if that can fill me up so I need to leave 'slider' foods alone that melt or dissolve on the way down. Okay, now that is off my chest, I am looking forward to tomorrow being a better day. Also I've been taking pain pills Tylenol with Codeine and antibiotics for an abscessed tooth and I noticed that my fingers are all swollen and I had a sudden Water weight gain so I'm going to stay away from the scale and just give myself a break for a week. I had my root canal surgery today and I'm sore but I hope this will settle things. Still have to go through the process to get the crown down.. Just when I thought I was paying off last year's medical things, this is an unexpected chunk to pay.

I knew things were bad; my hip hurt, my knees hurt, my feet hurt, and we were in Amsterdam with nothing but tall, gorgeous, thin women.....I was 223. Then one morning I woke up and my husband of 20 years was having a melt down of sorts (this was very rare; we never fought).....when I asked him what was wrong; he launched into a long speech about how much my weight gain had bothered him over the years but he kept thinking I would figure it out; but I kept getting fatter. We spent the rest of the day getting the monster out of the closet; talking, crying, yelling, lots of stuff came out. I knew I couldn't do it on my own and within a month I had the surgery. It was the best of times and the worst of times......but now, 9 months out and a few lbs from my goal weight, I can say it was the best decision of my life and I've had the best year of my life.

Ok folks, I would not have this surgery again. Like any other addiction food is just the conveyer. Weight gain is the result. If a person puts their mind to the fact that they should quit eating so much and exercise more, they could get the positive results they desire. I had the surgery in January of this year. Yes I am losing weight but the price of surgery, sickness from eating anything even in small amounts is not worth it. Do it on your own and save your money and health.

Welcome. You will find support, love and laughter here. A quote that helped me pre-op. I posted this everywhere i mean everywhere in the house so i would see it. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. I was pretry much bed bound for 2 years. Yes i could walk but it would exhaust me. Sister i can go to miles. Lol could probably do more but my walking buddy has little legs and he gets tired. You are fighting head hunger. The root of all weight gaining. Occupy yourself with walking or doing something without food. Drink drink drink and eat Protein it will help. Good luck. HW 255# surgerversary 04/29/13 cw 202#

Hi everyone I'm new here my name is Amy I am 37 years old have 4 children 2 girls age 20 and 10 and 2 boys age 17 and 15 and a gorgeous grandson who is 3 months old. I am married just celebrated 11 years on Saturday. As my name shows i am from Alabama I currently live in South Carolina where i have lived most of my life. I am 5'5 currently 243lbs. I was thin most of my life after my youngest was born I started gaining weight and then had to have a complete hysterectomy at age 29 then the weight really started coming on. I've done uncountable diets lost weight gained back more. I've reached the point where I can't even look Ina mirror I'm just so frustrated with myself and my weight. So finally I decided I've got to change so here I am. I cannot wait to start my new life.

While most of us knew all about the physical side of Weight Loss Surgery, many people have no idea about the emotional ride they're about to face. This article discusses all aspects of the "emotional roller coaster" from the moment you first decide on having bariatric surgery all the way up to the maintenance phase of your weight loss. It's a wild ride baby! When was the last time you were on a roller coaster? If you’re like me, it’s been a while. In fact, the last time I was on a roller coaster I was 310 lbs and could barely fit into the seat. The restraint almost didn't go around my tummy. I was squeezed in like Cinderella’s step-sister’s foot must have tried to squeeze into that tiny shoe. Yep. I was Drizella’s foot and the coaster seat was the glass slipper. I’m sure it was a comical, if not sad and pathetic site, for those around me. It was embarrassing to me, to say the very least. But I laughed it off and went on, as I tended to do. That roller coaster was a wild ride. It had huge climbs, steep drops, loop-de-loops, sharp turns, and at one point it feels like you’re lying on your side. Honestly, it’s a wonder I stayed in the coaster even with the restraint!! The end of the ride was abrupt - it felt like my insides were coming out of my mouth when it stopped short back at the beginning of the track. When it was over, I felt accomplished, in a way. I’d survived that coaster ride, wild and uncomfortable as it was. Many people don’t realize that life before, during, and after weight loss surgery becomes a roller-coaster ride of it’s own. It has the huge climbs of elation and joy and excitement, the steep drops into anxiety and depression, and the loop-de-loops, sharp turns, and lying on your side moments of uncertainty, worry, and fear. Here are some of the emotional dealings that will occur before, during, and after surgery that you might not know. 1. Pre-Surgery Elation. This happens when you are finally approved for surgery. It’s going to be a reality! You are going to get a brand new lease on life! The period of life where you are having to go through diet after diet is finally coming to an end! You might tell everyone you know or you might decide to keep your secret to yourself. Regardless, you are excited and ready to go! 2. Pre-Surgery Blues. This is when you realize that you are going to have to say good-bye to one of your best friends ... Food. You come to the realization that there are some favorites that you are just not going to be able to eat anymore. Depression sets in slightly, and you might even go on a food bender - similar to what an addict might do. At this point you might even question your decision to go through surgery. 3. Day of Surgery. You’re going to be going through a myriad of emotions during this time. You’ll feel excitement, anxiety, apprehension, and impatience all at the same time. You’ll be worried because, after all, it is a major surgery you’re about to go through. But at the same time, you’ll be excited at what’s about to happen. When you wake up from anesthesia, you might be scared, especially if you’re having a rough transition out of anesthesia. You might be a little confused, wondering where you are. When your body settles down a bit and you remember where you are and what just happened, you might feel a little concerned. "Did everything go okay?" "Is this going to work?" "Did I just make the biggest mistake in my life?" On the other hand, you might wake up beautifully, singing the praises of your surgeon and his/her team, excited to begin your new life. These feelings and emotions will likely cycle throughout the day as you’re getting used to the idea of what just happened and your body relaxes and comes out of shock from surgery. 4. Going Home. When you’re finally released to go home, you’ll either be excited or scared. Thoughts might rush your brain like “will I be able to do this on my own?” and anxiety might set in again. You might, again, question your decision to undergo surgery, especially once the monotony of the liquid diet phases set in. The first few days might be easy, and the next might be excruciating. You’ll be in some discomfort because of incisions and if the surgeon inflated your abdomen with gas prior to surgery (commonly done in laparoscopic surgeries), and this might heighten your doubts and anxieties. You might begin to worry about issues such as leaks, slippage, or staples coming loose. 5.The first few months. You will be going through a mourning period at some point, and for some that occurs during the first few months after surgery. You no longer are able to lean on food for emotional support, so you might feel sad. You might even go through a type of “withdraw” from food, similar to what an addict might be going through their first few days in rehab. You’ll be able to eat more some days than others, and that will lead you to worry if your surgery is working or if there’s something wrong. Some days you’ll be jealous of watching everyone around you eat foods that you once loved. Others, you’ll be glad you can’t/don’t eat those things anymore. By the time you've finished all of your phases and are on to real food, you’ll be relieved and excited, and likely worried and anxious as well. Whereas before, you were relying on liquids for sustenance, now you’re on your own and have to rely on figuring your food choices out for yourself. 6. The losing phase. From the moment you leave the hospital until you reach your goal you are considered to be in the losing phase of surgery. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to call the losing phase the time period from month 3 (about the time you transition into full solids) to the point where you reach your goal. There will be many frustrations, joys, and concerns in the months ahead. Some days you’ll forget everything you were taught about nutrition and make yourself sick on something you shouldn't have eaten. Other days you’ll be 100% on track. You’ll have moments of pride and joy, and moments of shame and weakness. You’ll revel in finding out you can eat something as simple as asparagus and despair over not being able to eat rice pilaf. You’ll finally reach your “groove” point sometime during month four or five, and things begin to go well. You’ll reach a stall or two (or five ...) and wonder if you’re doing something wrong or if you've messed up your new tummy. You’ll marvel over losing 10 lbs in one week. You’ll wonder why you only lost 2 lbs the next week. When your loss starts to slow down, you’ll worry that you’re not exercising enough, that you’re eating too much or too little, or worry that your surgery is beginning to fail. You’ll relax more when you are consistently losing, even if it has gone down to 1-2 lbs a week. 7. The maintenance phase. When you reach your goal weight, you will have reached what is called “maintenance”. This is the final stage that you will likely be in for the rest of your life. Here, you will change your diet slightly in order to not lose or gain any more weight. You will get frustrated a time or two - especially the first time you gain a few pounds. You will marvel at what you've lost, but are concerned with the way your body looks now. You will have loose skin, which may cause body image issues. If you’re single, you might notice more possible suitors paying more attention to you. You might fall from one addiction (food) into another (sex). You might also be tempted into other addictive substances or habits such as alcohol, cigarettes, shopping, or pornography. Alternatively, you may look back at your loss, as meaningful and inspirational. You might revel in the way your life has changed and be happier than you have ever been and be ready to branch out and help others succeed in their bariatric surgery journeys. Tips on Riding the Roller Coaster Knowing that these emotions are possible doesn't mean they will happen for everyone, and doesn't mean you can’t get through them. The following tips will help you stay on the road to success and prevent you from falling off the wagon and into an abyss of self-doubt and depression: 1. Support. This is the number one most important thing for WLS patients. Even more important than food is support. Support can be found at home, through friends and family, in a hospital or surgery center support group, or even online forums such as Bariatric Pal. 2. Stick to the plan. As tempting as it might be to veer off and eat something you’re not supposed to, stick with your doctor or nutritionist’s eating plan as closely as possible. This will ensure that you continue to lose steadily, decrease the length and amount of stalls you’ll experience, and will speed up the healing process. 3. Vitamins. It sounds very cliche, but remember to take your vitamins! Focus on Iron and B Complex vitamins especially.A vitamin deficiency can result in depression, physical weakness, and poor sleep habits. 4. Speaking of sleep ... Make sure you’re getting plenty of it! At least 8 hours a day for an adult! Lack of sleep can lead to fatigue, weight gain, and (you guessed it!) depression! 5. Remember that “this too shall pass” ... These stages of emotional turmoil certainly won’t last forever. You’ll get over them as quickly as they overcame you. And keep in mind that each stage after surgery only lasts a short time in the grand scheme of things. Most eating phases last, at most, a month. After which you’re on to the next phase. 6. Keep a plan handy. Know that you will likely feel some unpleasant emotions or feelings and plan for them. Know what you’re going to do when you get upset, depressed, feel head hunger, or even feel physical pain from surgery. Have a list of friends to call at the drop of a hat, have a bottle of water ready to sip on at all times, or have your doctor’s phone number on speed dial. Know that these feelings will likely happen at some point in time, and be ready to deal with them when they do. 7. Remember that everything you’re going through is completely normal and OKAY. It’s important and helpful to know that everyone goes through a stall at some point. Everyone has pain during the first couple of weeks after surgery. Everyone eats something they shouldn't at some point. Whatever it is you’re going through - someone else has likely gone through it! 8. Finally, DON’T GIVE UP! Remember that this is a journey. As the old saying goes, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” There will be ups and downs on this wild roller-coaster ride. There will be twists and turns and loop-de-loops and there will be many moments when you feel like you’re laying over on your side. But, in the end, it will all be worth it. Your health, your life, and YOU ARE WORTH IT!!

Look what I found on another thread! From Physicology Today Article from the author of Passing for Thin Size and Sensibility Losing half her body weight was no picnic. But living thin—and expanding her sense of self—nearly made Frances Kuffle’s world blow up I had been summoned to The Show, the Holy Grail for authors and the fulfillment of all my mother’s dreams. In a harried day of phone calls from Chicago, at the tail end of a snowstorm, the producers of Oprah decided, with 90 minutes to catch the last shuttle out of LaGuardia, that they might want me. You’d think, on the eve of what could catapult my book to national attention, that I would be too nervous to eat. I am never too nervous to eat. As I grazed the basket of goodies in my expensive suite, I had two questions. First: Would Harpo Productions’ bean counters go over my hotel tab and ask, “Isn’t that the woman who lost all that weight? What are these charges for chocolate-covered almonds and honey peanuts doing here?” Second: Why am I eating all this stuff? I might be on TV tomorrow! What with Oprah replaying 24/7, everyone in America could count the bread crumbs on my velvet dress. So much for the can-do kid, who, after 42 years of obesity and missed opportunities, had lost 188 pounds and written a book about it. Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight And Finding My Self is an account of how I used my radical change in weight to turn a small, private worlds of eating and surviving into one as big as my former size 32 dresses. I climbed mountains! I swaddled myself in cashmere and had lovers; I went to Italy. I floated out of the gym after lifting weights, I sat in restaurant booths, wore bracelets, and crossed my legs and took the middle seat in airplanes. Then I used my weight loss to do the next impossible thing: I became and author. Being thin opened the doors to experience and intimacy. National exposure, however, was an intrusion I hadn’t considered. I am not a pundit or a role model. You’re going to be pilloried, Frances, I thought with the vehemence of a Sicilian curse. And yet, there I was gobbling Oprah’s $12 Cookies. I put on my pajamas and pulled back the comforter on the king-size bed. It was littered with wrappers. My cheeks were burning with shame and calories. Tomorrow, I promised myself solemnly. And when tomorrow came, I smiled and joked, and I was gracious when I wasn’t, after all, needed for the show. I ached not from disappointment but with the hangover of sugar in my muscles, the sour gas in my gut and the heartbreak of being a liar. After a failed romance and a change of jobs, I drifted into relapse in March 2003, a year before Oprah, I had time on my hands—and time, in my case, is the enemy. I filled it by studying where and how I went wrong, at the office, in the bedroom. Intellectually, I knew that the boyfriend was emotionally frozen and that my former employer was abusive and infantilizing, but I couldn’t shake my ingrained conviction that I was responsible for everything that went wrong. I stopped going to the gym: I started eating peanuts or rice cakes between meals. A little of this, a little of that, and one morning I announced to a friend that I saw no reason why I couldn’t eat blackberry pie and ice cream, get the craving out of my system and return to my abstinence by noon. I wasn’t talking about a slice of pie a la mode. I was talking about a whole pie and a pint of ice cream. A whole pie? That summer I was reminded at every turn that I needed to be thin to promote my book. “You don’t want those cookies, honey”, my mom said as I carried off a stack I’d grabbed from the cooling rack. “Remember: You’re going to be in Oprah’s Magazine.” She was wrong. I did want those cookies, and I didn’t need reminding about Oprah. I sighed and took two more. When I asked myself what I needed, I was met with an unconsoling barrage of hungers. I needed to know I was not disposable. I needed a resting place. I needed to know I had enough stuff to carry off the rest of my life—enough talent, discipline, and intelligence—and enough sufficiency to protect myself from more heartbreak. I needed enough hope to find the friends and man I mourned the lack of. From August 1999 to August 2003, I’d gambled that losing weight would get me closer to all that, and I was told what to eat in those years. Now, after three years of maintaining my weight loss, I needed to be told what to feel when everyone but me has an opinion of who I am. I knew I—not just my body but my very self—was in trouble when I brushed aside a fleeting thought about how fat I looked with the answer “Never mind. You’ll like yourself when you get thin.” How does one live with self acceptance as a future and an always-conditional state of mind? More pragmatically, in lieu of my size 8 clothes, my career depended on self assurance. When asked, I admitted that I’d gained weight, adding that I never presented myself as the poster girl of thin. I said this with poise, which is not the same thing as confidence. Poise is teachable; confidence is one of the elements missing from the periodic table, three parts self respect to two parts experience. To get to confidence, I was going to have to listen to my self-accusations and sit with the rejections. Maybe shame had something to teach me. My next recovery period from food addiction would be based on therapy, heretofore more a matter of coaching than peeling back the layers of self. My psychiatrist’s and therapist’s offices became the places I could air my feelings about myself and the hopes I could change my self-perception. “There’s no point in getting depressed just because I’m depressed” I told my psychiatrist, who increased my morning meds anyway. That October, on a blue-and-gold afternoon, I had Indian food with Lanie, a friend visiting from my hometown, Missoula, Montana. I described how depressed I was by my weight gain until she preempted me. “You’ve been very fat, Frances, and you’ve been very thin. Welcome to where the rest of us live.” I twiddled my fork in my plate of saag panir. I think of Lanie as being very tall and very thin, but a few months earlier I’d helped her pick out a dress. Her dress size was similar to what I was wearing that day. The event we shopped for had been a gathering of Montana writers, many of them old friends, all middle-aged. One had a rounder face than I remembered; another wore layers of a truly terrible print in the style that catalogs and store clerks describe as “flattering”. Someone else was still very thin but looked drawn and brittle as age caught up with her bone structure. These were woman I’d long envied for their pretty thinness, and yet I’d been less like them when I was a size 8 than I was now. At size 8, I had to admit, I was so self-conscious (and secretly, overweening proud of it) that often that was all I was. I could have programmed my answering machine to announce, “Hi, you’ve reached a size 8. Please leave a message and either the size 8 or Frances will get back to you.” None of the women at that party, or Lanie savoring her lamb jurma across from me, claimed their identities from their weights that night. They wanted to gossip, compare stories of their kids and discuss what they were writing, tell old jokes more cleverly than thy had at the last party, and sample the Desserts weighing down the potluck buffet. I was not unlike them. Smaller by a size than Lanie, larger by a size than Laura, a little fresher looking than Diane. Of the Americans who lose weight, 95 percent gain it back within five years. I had gained a third of it back. Not all of it. To some extent, I had beaten the odds. I was stronger than the echoes of the boyfriend and boss allowed me to hear. I was determined not to repeat the mistake of being, rather than having, a thin body. I’d lived through my size all of my life, so acutely aware and ashamed of my obesity that the likable things about me—my sense of humor, my intelligence, talent, friendliness, kindness—were as illusory to me as a magician’s stacked card deck. As long as I defined myself by my body size, I would not experience those qualities for myself. As fall turned to a snowy winter, I picked through the spiral of relationships that had unglued me the year before. I didn’t blame the boyfriend or my boss for my relapse. I had been half of the problem; healthier self esteem would not have collapsed under their judgments of me. In obesity, I had clamped my arms to my sides to keep from swinging as I walked. I craned my body over armrests in theaters and airplanes, stood in the back of group photos to minimize the space I took up. I got thin and continued to hide. Whatever reasons the boyfriend had come up with for not seeing me, I met with amicability and sympathy. Had I reacted honestly, even to myself, I might have ended the relationship. Instead I’d gambled all my sweetness only to find out I was disposable. Likewise, I had not pressed my boss for an agenda of responsibilities from the start, nor had I clarified with her that her work and recreation styles frustrated and frightened me. Slowly I began to find toeholds in the avalanche of food and doubt. I worried about how fat I looked to potential readers and what I could possible wear to flatter or disguise the 40 pounds I’d gained. At the same time, however, I had become the canvas of makeup artists, stylists, photographers and publicists. They weren’t looking at my stomach. “Give me a hundred-watt smile,” commanded a photographer whose censure I thought I’d seen when I walked in. I licked my teeth and flashed a grin only somewhat longer than her camera flare. “Wow.” She straightened up at the tripod. “That really is a hundred watts. These are gonna be great.”. When I saw myself in the magazine, my smile was, in fact, the focal point. When I began dating, at the age of 45, my smile was an attribute men commented on, but I hadn’t really seen it until it was emblazoned on glossy paper. It was bigger, it seemed, than my face itself. I’d been a size 8 in my author photo, taken as my food plan was wobbling but not yet in smithereens, in June 2003. I was surprised to see I still looked like….myself, apparently. The power of my smile fueled me through more publicity, giving me a sense of authentic attractiveness that allowed me to enjoy the process. When I had a couple of days in Santa Monica between readings, I had a chance to assess and absorb at my own pace. Walking along the Palisades, I admired the sea-twisted pines and pearly mist funneling out of Malibu Canyon. I felt as lucky as I had once felt by being hired, by being loved, and I felt worthy of my luck because I appreciated the prettiness of the place, the serendipity that brought me there and my particular grateful awareness that knitted the moment together. I’d tried to rob myself of that by punishing myself for the boss and the boyfriend. You should not have treated me that way, I thought. The emphasis was on “me”, and just then I knew who that was. I looked around carefully. There was a family reunion going on, or so I assumed until I got closer and realized it was cookout hosted for the park’s lost and unfound citizens. I smiled to myself. How…California. No gritty, iron-shuttered Salvation Army outposts here, no Soup and Jell-O punishment for being a bum. No siree Bob. In California, the homeless are just one more variant on the Beach Boys. I laughed out load. I’m here, I gloated. I like my own company. I was tired of the games—with food, with hiding what I looked like under big clothes and my big smile, with waiting until I was a size 8 again to like myself. I recommitted to chipping at my food addiction, but I let go of some of the rigidity I’d had in the first years of losing and maintaining my weight loss. “I want to be praised when I do things right, and I want to be forgiven when I mess up.” I told people closest to me. “And I want milk in my coffee.” It was a small list, but significant because it allowed me to fumble as I gained my momentum of eating sanely. Esteem, kindness, patience, forgiveness: By cloaking myself in these qualities, I could build a self that was not afraid of authority figures and charming men who have one eye on the door. Maybe these attributes will curb the millions of things that make me want to eat, starting with seeing my parents or returning to Montana. I turn into the kid whose mother had to make her school uniform, whose big tummy stretched the plaid into an Etcher cartoon; I became the sad, joking fat college student who was reading The Fairy Queene while her girlfriends were soaking up the half-naked wonder of being 20 years old. I think of my parents’ kitchens, and my mouth waters for gingerbread and well-buttered toast. I regress when I let people like Lanie, whose struggle is different, comment or take chare of what I eat. “That’s two Entrees, Francis,” Lanie pointed out when I said I wanted goat cheese salad and roast chicken for our first lunch together in Paris. “Oh, Well, then, I’ll have the salad I guess,” I settled, grumpily. That’s the way I eat, that’s how I lost 188 pounds; vegetables and Protein. I was allowing her to limit me to a smidgen of cheese, or insufficient vegetables, and allowing her supervision is how I got so mad--the fatal elixir of anger and crazed desire—that I bought all the chocolate in Charles De Gaulle for my untasting delectation. I am the kid who, when told not to put Beans up her nose, heads directly to the pantry. “I have got to learn to tell people to stay out of my food,” I reported to my therapist back in new York. Then again, perhaps this is an evolutionary process rather than a one-time miracle cure. In 2003, I denned up for two months in Montana and ate. In 2004, I struggled again in Montana but I also did a lot of hiking, alone with my dog and with my niece. My slow pace didn’t frustrate either of them. I went horseback riding and got a terrific tan while swimming every afternoon. My thighs did not chafe in the August heat along the Seine, and I was thrilled to cross the Appalachian Trail later that autumn. I had spells of disappointment and fear from the way I ate, but I was living in my body, on my body’s terms. It’s a small world I’ve pulled from the wrappers, boxes and crumbs in the past two years, but a very human one. I’ve seen my family, close friends and therapists hold on to the stubborn believe that I would come through this. They loved me enough to countenance my mistakes and let me start over. Each day, I venture a little farther from the safety of food, and my courage comes from understanding that I am a lot like a lot of people—a family member, a friend, a dog owner, a recidivist, a middle aged woman, a writer who got a good rhythm going and forgot to brush her hair. There is safety in numbers. Depression and relapse would have to wait for a different excuse than my size. I am ready to hope again. Frances Kuffel is the author of Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight And Finding My Self (Broadway books, 2004). Her website is • Frances Kuffel • author of Passing For Thin - Home

Lets all share our best and worst well meaning compliments about our weight loss. My best was after returning to work after summer break: where'd you go this summer?! I mean where'd you go? Half of you is gone! Oddest (considering it came from my mother in law): look at you! You're nothing but boobs! Rudest: wow you lost all that weight and it found me. (Yes I am now responsible for others weight gain) But the nicest compliments are the simple, you look great! I know they mean my weight loss and I appreciate the subtlety. What are yours?

ok mine is going to make everyone laugh if you can see the humour in it and I cannot believe I am being this honest.... I was a former abused wife and one of the things used was force feeding....literally...I always laugh now when someone says well it isn't like someone shoved the food down your throat....I am in a better place so now I just answer umm yep they did...lol...for sure not the reason for all the weight gain but still...so for me I am looking so forward to a time when my kids are involved and I have to run into my ex.....hahahahahahahahahahahahaha see the thought makes me giddy.....I have reached the physical success that far supersedes his. Now the weight...I know what an awful goal....but whatever works....*grin*

It is hard to not want to look at the scale every day, buuuut you need to stop doing that to yourself! It is negative reinforcement and doesn't help the psyche either. Also the 1 pound weight gain could simply be due to increased water intake, I went through that a lot post-surgery two years ago. It was hard to not want to step on the scale every day and see what was happening. You should pick one or may two days out of the week and use those as the days to hop on the scale. By doing this you will be able to keep a healthy routine and not stress yourself out so much about what is or isn't happening. I wish you the best on your journey and keep up the great work, just keep active and take care of yourself and everything else will fall into place... just be as patient as you can

I have to say that it's my opinion that you are totally overreacting on this one. I HIGHLY doubt anyone is stupid enough to think you are RESPONSIBLE for their weight gain. (Well, my husband might blame me a bit because after my three bite, I put my leftovers on his plate. HA!) I think this is a way of complimenting YOU while putting themselves down. I can't imagine they think your fat particles are flying through the air and landing on them.

21 years ago wow. How much has she regained in 2 years ? Well I will tell you had I had this revision due to weight gain I would be very upset right now. It is not at all like I thought it would be. I just had breakfast and ate a whole scrambled egg with parmesan cheese no problem. Has she talked to a surgeon ?

I didn't eat huge quantities but ate very rich meals and liquid supplements(eg- copious amounts of wines and the occasional cocktails) while in business meetings and while traveling or dining out with my wife, family and or friends. My long hours and not sticking to workouts aided in my weight gain. I did the 5:30am workout for awhile and lost 60lbs. When I stopped hitting the gym, I regained 70lbs.

It's common for low thyroid to impede weight loss or cause weight gain, but it doesn't necessarily work that way. Have you been working with an endocrinologist? Has your dosage been switched around for four months at a time? My doctor told me it takes about that long to know the result of a change. After nearly 30 years taking synthroid or L-thyroxine, my numbers went wildly cuckoo a few years ago. My primary referred me to an endocrinologist who changed my dose a couple of times. I've been in the normal range for a decent time now and see him every four months for blood work. We're still tweaking slightly. It's a good thing I like the endocrinologist greatly and we have good conversations about all sorts of things. Otherwise I'd resent having to go in that often. I hope you get to a good place. It seems unreasonable to me that your medical plan might deny you for the reason you mention, especially since your doctors will submit letters in support.

Awesome thank you !! My email address is tabs1257@gmail.com I really appreciate it. I'm have spent so much money on different tests. My cholesterol levels are good and no sleep apnea. I'm just so worried because I don't have a severe comobibtity. I have arthritis, degenerative disc disease ( had surgery to fuse my c5-c6-c7 in my neck ) severe migraines due to that, dvt and varicose veins that requires vein stripping surgery....again ( Dr wrote in a recent statement that it is due to weight gain.) I had gallbladder surgery too. My bmi is only 36 Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

The report below came from John Hopkins health Alerts. Thought you all would be interested in it:faint: A revealing study published in the International Journal of Obesity (online edition, June 27, 2006) highlighted 10 reasons why Americans are fat. The study explained that too much food and a lack of exercise are not the only factors contributing to obesity. They identified 10 other possibilities: Weight gain factor 1. Less sleep. We’ve gone from an average of nine to seven hours of sleep a night; sleep deprivation is linked to a more robust appetite. Weight gain factor 2. Pesticides and other chemicals in foods. These substances can change hormonal activity, which can boost body fat Weight gain factor 3. Air conditioning and heating. We don’t sweat and shiver as much as our ancestors, so we don’t burn as many calories. Weight gain factor 4. Fewer smokers Nicotine is an appetite suppressant. Weight gain factor 5. Greater use of medications, such as antidepressants and diabetes drugs, which have weight gain as a potential side effect. Weight gain factor 6. Population changes. There are now more older people as well as more Hispanics in the United States, and these groups have higher rates of obesity.[/font] Weight gain factor 7. Older birth mothers, whose children are more prone to excess weight gain than the offspring of younger mothers. Weight gain factor 8. Genetics. Obese moms may pass the trait onto their children in utero. Weight gain factor 9. Higher body weight = greater fertility. Heavy people produce more offspring than thinner people. Weight gain factor 10. Assortative mating. Heavy people tend to mate with each other and produce heavy children.

Thanks Highland. I know I need to be patient. I am trying to make good food choice....no bread, no carbs, more protein, more veggies,but without any restriction my portions are larger, hence weight gain. I feel like I am battling myself right now....and losing (not weight but the battle).

That's my fault. The weight gain number was a ballpark based on the maximum acceptable gain to me over that time period. I didn't base the gain on the additional calories I would expect to consume. I would not be putting down 3700 calories per day for 3 weeks straight. Of the 3 weeks, there are only 7-8 days that are a concern. The other 13-14 days I will be in situations where I will definitely not have cultural/communication issues related to eating and will be able to make appropriate food choices based only on my own dietary concerns.

I was reading my medicine I've been taking for my eyes - Most people only have to take it for 1 or 2 weeks, I've been having to take it for a month now. Anyhow, one of the side effects is WEIGHT GAIN! I noticed my face is very round this morning, and so I started reading the side effects and come to find out, I'm taking steroids. I didn't realize it was steroids, I thought I was just taking antiobotics. My eyes are healing, however, I am not at a crisp clear 20/20, and I'm just one of those slow healers, not sure if its because of my diabetes or what, but I always seem to take longer to heal. Anyhow, that helps to explain my dramatic weight gain I think. I am hoping to be off the steroids at the end of this week. I go see my eye doc on March 3rd, so I'm hoping she will take me off of them. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Annie---I REALLY like your cut too! In fact – I noticed that you are looking good too (weight-wise). Fenton—I know exactly what you mean regarding the conferences. I always go with a plan of “being good.” It works for the first day or 2 and then I eat something that is off my plan. But - I also have found that I can at least try to make better off-plan choices so there isn’t any weight gain by the time I get back home. It’s important to be realistic about what we have to deal with. Last summer I was in a poor area of central Africa with nothing but potato potato, and more potato with a very small amount of meat everyday. There was just no way I could stick to low carb. I have found that it can help a lot to at least bring low carb bars with me on trips.

I am becoming more and more convinced that I am doing something wrong. I do not feel that I have lost enough weight. My sleeve was 1/20 and I have only lost 37 lbs It has been 2+ months. I see where others have lost that much in the first month! I am very stressed about this and am not sure what to do. I just hit send on an email to the NP at my surgeon's office and anxiously wait for her reply (which might take several days and before anyone says it, I know if it Sunday and she is not working). I am loosing pounds and have lost inches, but I am afraid it should be more. I am watching everything I eat and doing cardio for 30 minutes 5 times a week. I am on several medications for Lupus and Fibromyalgia and they cause weight gain (one of the many reasons I am hear now and could not loose). Could that be why I am not loosing as much? Am I doing something wrong? I know that no one can give me an exact answer to my question, but I could really use some support. Thanks y'all!

You may be in a stall ( remember you can experience several of these while you’re losing). Also your rate of weight loss slows as you near your stabilised weight. Remember too, your weightloss does not have a steady straight line down trajectory. It goes up & down, zigs & zags, lose more one week less the next. So don’t give up yet. In saying that, yes, your medication may be a contributing factor as anti depressants are known for weight gain & increasing appetite. Have a chat with your surgeon & your prescribing doctor to be sure. There may be alternatives.

Hi I am going to copy some of my story here for you. Hope it helps. I am in the process of insurance approval to have a revision from Band to RNY. I have had my band for seven years. I have been very lucky to have not had any complications, no slips ect. My band is unfilled now, because i never did get the 'sweet' spot, either to tight and things would come back up or I would revert to soft high carb foods, or too loose and I can pretty much eat anything. I had my surgery for the band in Cincinnati Ohio, (I live in Indianapolis) The surgeon Dr, Trace Curry was excellent, I do think traveling back and forth for fills ect did hinder me getting where I needed to be for my fill to be right. But no matter what the band was not going to help most of my medical issues. Since the band I have lost and gained the same 30 to 40 pounds. Now at my heaviest. And the band did not help any of my medical problems. I am hoping the RNY both with the smaller stomach and mal absorption and the actual surgery itself will help with my uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. I am so sensitive to insulin that I swell and ache all over but I have to take large amounts to keep my blood sugar down. It is like I am on a merry go round, hurt, can't exercise, can't exercise, gain weight, blood sugars out of control, more insulin, can't breath because of severe asthma and copd, need steriods about once a year, higher blood sugars, more weight gain, can't exercise, and around and around we go My hope and prayer is that this surgery will add years to my life that I can spend with my children and grandchildren. I need to GET a life, because what I am doing right now is not living seven years ago I thought the Bypass was too drastic. I didn't realize then the benefits besides weight loss that the Bypass can do. I think if you have a lot of weight to lose the Bypass would serve you better. I see so many revising from lap band to either the Sleeve or the Bypass. But even see some revise from the Sleeve to the Bypass. Read a lot here, ask questions and listen to your Doc's advice. Then make up your mind. I don't regret getting the band, but I do wish I had went all the way and had the Bypass seven years ago. Best Wishes to you.

I know I haven't posted in a while, everything is going great here. I thought I would post my 2 cents on Dr. H. I gained 12 lbs after an unfill this summer and was absolutely humilated to go in and "face the music." My bp was up and I got upset on the PA when she mentioned my weight gain. I asked to ask Dr. H to give me a couple of minutes because I was so embarassed. When he came in and we talked, I thought he was OVERLY almost hateful when lecturing me on my failuer...especially since I was noticably upset. I just sobbed until he was finished talking and got up and left. I have not seen him since. I really hope it was just a bad day on his part because I don't easily cry unless I'm ashamed of myself. I hope that if I see him again I can voice my disappointment in being scolded like a child by someone I paid $15000 to help me. I think he could have encouraged me and tell me tomorrows a new day. The last 2 times I've been my bp has been high because I worry I will have to see him again, and this time I KNOW I won't cry...I might just do some scolding myself!

Hi all, any March sleevers having a stall? I've been stalled for a full 2 months with slight weight gain. I eat everything I'm supposed to and exercise regularly. I picked up jogging and can now run a complete mile (huge milestone). I was wondering if any of you have reached a long stall and what you did to overcome it. I am putting myself back in liquids tomorrow but I dont know if it is going to help. Just looking for a few success stories to get myself believing that this is not a permanent stall!