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Hi Bright- It makes sence that when we eat ALOT of food that we haven't been eating regularly it stays in our intestins longer to break down & process. It may take several days for this "food" to be expelled & therefore you weight gain will be high until its all gone. That added with too much Salt- is the culprit. But once you get back on track you will see progress. I think alot of newbies & Those yet to be banded(myself) choose the band kinda for that reason. You know that we CAN eat the SAME stuff as before- we truely are not willing to give it up for a LIFETIME> At least I think its one of the componets for the band choice. With RNY- most wouldn't be able to do sweets & other things(dumping syndrome). But even they gain weight back. I saw my GYN 2 days ago & she had had the RNY-lost 90 pd in 1 yr & gained 40 pds back. How sad? She thinks her tummy stretched. I may switch Docs & tonight go to a new seminar w/this new Doc who does both types of surgery. I hope to be even more convinced of the band but RNY does have pluses as well. But as to gaining & plateus they are with BOTH surgeries & Both have pitfalls & most importantly BOTH will not work unless we follow them to a tee!!! Which means when we have fun- we will need a little mending period. I guess I wrote this for you as much for myself-because I am very scared of failure. You think I would be so used to it by now-lol Keep your chin up Bright- & yes maybe go get a "tiny" bit more of a fill. Than do your thing- I know we will be hearing weight loss stories from you in no time!

Let me get this straight, you have all the pre-op stuff on April 5, so what is your surgery date when you have surgery at 12:30? Or was that in another post and I missed it? And, this Friday is the 25th, so you have a week and a half after your provera to get over your "monthly monster" this go-round...is that enough time? I'm thinking no diuretics, not a good idea before surgery, not unless you Dr says it's okay. Nope, don't do the Water pills. That could mess you up better than weight gain will. And as far as not going home the first night, well, the insurance may not go for that. What's the possibility of a sister, mom, or good friend whisking you away to an inexpensive hotel for a night of recovery? No dogs, no distracted and overly concerned, unnecessarily worried DH, warm heating pads, lots of pillows (create a recliner of sorts on the bed) and long halls to walk every few hours. Is that a possibility? Forget the scale, what's five or so pounds when you are over 300? I don't mean that ugly, but I'm 220 and I can fluctuate 5 pounds in a day, it would seem your Dr. would be much more concerned about your overall weight than a few pounds gained which could easily be water retention. Ya know? Plus, you will have just had this PCOS treatment (which I am not at all familiar with but have seen others posts about it) so that would have to be taken into consideration with your band Dr. Does he/she know about this treatment you are having? Plus you say your clothes are no looser or tighter, that's probably a good indicator you are fine. And you start a new job in May. You and Crystal/Vinesqueen need to hole up together and sing the stressed out blues! Aww Katie, I hope this all works out okay for you. It really sounds like it will, you just need to see it from the other side, and the other side is comin like a freight train...wooohooo!!! You are gonna do great, and feel tons better when you get some weight off, even just getting below 300 will make a huge difference in how you feel about everything!! Looking for updates...take care, I'll be thinking of you!

Hi all, My name is Nicole and i posted a few times last year (in fact i had talked with Alexandria a few times and recently i talked with De Larla, about paralegal stuff) I have been to see my Dr. recently and I have complained about weight gain (i am taking Effexor for depression, and i have these 3 torn disks in my neck which i can never have surgery for, so instead of working out at the gym 5 days a week as i used to, due to pain i can barely go to Water aerobics 3 times a week) Oh and i am on the work comp nightmare for my injury. Okay so my doc sugessted Gastric Bypass, i DO NOT want this surgery i am more intersested in the Lap Band, so my ? to you is how did you get your Dr to get the insurance to approve LB and NOT GB??? I have Health Net HMO. At this time the dietican wants me to write a list of all the diets i have tried and failed. I am 4ft 9in and now weigh 205lbs (according to the dreaded Dr. scale. Thanks all, i always read this site and i will be around alot more. Nicole

Jenna: The smoking issue is coming along nicely. You are cutting down which in my mind is easier on the system than cold turkey. I did it cold turkey and it was such a shock to my system. IT still hates me hence the weight gain. LOL! Doggie stuffs: My heart absolutely bleeds for you and what Jeter is going through. Keeping you and the family in my prayers.

Oh, so that's where the big ass photo came from! Cool. But, DeLarla, I don't see that weight gain you talked about. You look way skinny.

Zoe, I'm sorry to hear about your back trouble. I really hope that the steroids help you asap so that you can feel better and not have to worry about those things causing any weight gain. I'm struggling a little also with weight gain, but mine seems to be attributed to lack of finding the oh so ever sweet fill spot A little background... I have the Swedish band that holds 10-11cc's, so it's the larger band... I flew back to Monterrey for my first fill. I was filled to 5.0cc's (no significant restriction felt) A month after that, I had my second fill with Dr. Houston. He filled me to 6.4cc's. (perfect restriction, a little too tight at first, but I hung in there and it loosened up) On February 19, I was in Monterrey with a couple of ladies who were getting lapband surgery, and Dr. Rodriguez said that he would give me a fill if I wanted/needed one. Since I was already planning on getting another fill soon, I took him up on his offer. (No restriction at all after this fill, as a matter of fact, I felt wide open again) A week ago Friday I went back to Dr. Houston for another fill. (Still no restriction) He said that I only had 4.5cc's in my band. I knew that my restriction had disappeared, not sure what happened in Mexico. Dr. Houston filled me to 6.2cc's using flouro. He said that he didn't want to go any tighter than that based on what he saw on the screen. Last Friday I went in to Dr. Houston for yet another fill, this time he filled me to 7.8cc's! I thought for sure this would do the trick, but to no avail, I still have very little restriction. I'm kind of giving up (for now) on fills....I'm going to see how I do over the next 4 weeks. I keep gaining a couple pounds, then putting myself on a stricter diet and it taking a couple weeks for me to lose those two pounds. Hopefully I will reach that "sweet spot" again with my fill level and start the losing ways again. For now, I'm just kind of frustrated, but have worked too hard to start gaining weight again so I'm going to be extra careful about what I eat and start moving (ugh) a little more. At least the weather is starting to get nicer, maybe I'll be more enthusiastic about riding my bike again. Hang in there! Hopefully you can discontinue the steroids soon~

Hey, if the steroids work, at least I can start walking again. The orthopedic guy has me on a five-day steroid burst; with luck, I can stop ASAP. Anyone else have weight-gain issues this week?

I would appreciate if we could keep this thread from being hijacked to a "weight gain challenge". This thread is for weight loss and those who are serious about the challenge. I'm sure all of those in this challenge will agree. -- La Madam on Weight Loss Challenge thread. I replied, "the mini-hijack was just for a few cheap laughs for those of us anticipating a rough week. To avoid offending the serious, we will move these comments to a new thread." So here it is. This is intended to be a thread where anyone can freely vent (I hope) about the challenges to weight loss. Disclaimer: If you do not want to read about people who are gaining weight, people who are worried about gaining weight, or people who may make jokes about gaining weight, do not read further. My vent: I've been losing weight steadily since my last fill, but after three weeks of immobility I'm starting a course of steroids for disc trouble. The steroids make me feel better, but I gain weight.

I would appreciate if we could keep this thread from being hijacked to a "weight gain challenge". This thread is for weight loss and those who are serious about the challenge I'm sure all of those in this challenge will agree. Thanks!

Thank you, Zoe, but do I accept your weight gain challenge even though you have the steroid advantage? Sometimes ya just gotta laugh!

Love the new avatar, DeLarla! I am on a chocolate tear today, and I'm starting a week of steroids, so I might take you up on the weight-gain challenge this coming week. My ass is bigger than yours, nyah-nyah!

I don't suppose anyone would think a weight gain challenge would be very funny? Cause that's one I know I could win.

Hey Sharon, I'm sorry, but this doesn't sound right to me either. My DH doesn't think this sounds right either. Here is my DH's advice: The surgeon should be available at the time of the seminar. If he isn't available now, will he be available when you need him? Run, don't walk. You will have much better results from a good experienced laproscopic sergeon than one who is primarily a bariatric surgeon. (DH has lost about 185 pounds with his band so far.) Oh, and one more thing. About the whole "being commited" thing. I have gained weight since my original weigh in. I'd been on steroids for my asthma for most of January, and now I'm on them again. When I went for my final round of tests two weeks ago, they noted my weight gain. But they weren't judemental about it. No "Bad Crystal, no surgery!" They were more concerned that I was able to breathe than gaining weight. They also know I'm on steroids again for my asthma, and know I will likely gain more weight between now and Monday. Again, there is no thought of "Bad Crystal, no surgery!" just, let's get you lthis surgey so you can loose weight so you can breathe better.

I know that was funny about what LaMadam said & its true I have lost my humor over this quandry.(sorry LaMadam) I wish I could do both. But I am just really searching for answers & am scared of making the wrong choice. I do need you to know that I am not that excited at about the show- I am more concerned that God is trying to tell me something. Why the call now? Right after I spoke w/the doc's office saying they'd tell me next week. I am set for surgery in 3 weeks, if the insurance says yes.. I just thought I was all set in my mind-you know?? Prepared & ready..I am sorry I'm not explaining myself well. I am going to take a sleeping pill & hopefully be more coherant tomorrow. Thank you all- forevery thing [/quote-Kathy]The Bad Side: get famous, meet mean, competitive, back-stabbing people, don't win a dime, put your life on hold for months just to be embarrassed to see yourself on TV grunting and groaning, and knowing your Ex and former co-workers will see every bit of it, be at the mercy of the producers editing the show to make you look like a B**ch from hell if that's what they want to do...lose weight, gain it back months after you get home and are released from the program, be back at square one and you could have gotten the Band two years ago and kept the weight off and kept your private life to yourself.This is what I am most afraid of.

Don't do the show for the weight loss, do it for the money and the exposure and the potential money from that! Then you won't have to wait for insurance to pay, you can afford to pay cash! And you could be on Oprah or something! You have the guts for something like that...I think you would be great on the show...I really enjoyed it last go-round. The Good Side: get famous for a few months, win money, have a chef and a trainer, meet lots of nice people, see your beautiful face on TV, take a "vacation" from "real" life and live in TVLand for a few months, and lose weight!!! The Bad Side: get famous, meet mean, competitive, back-stabbing people, don't win a dime, put your life on hold for months just to be embarrassed to see yourself on TV grunting and groaning, and knowing your Ex and former co-workers will see every bit of it, be at the mercy of the producers editing the show to make you look like a B**ch from hell if that's what they want to do...lose weight, gain it back months after you get home and are released from the program, be back at square one and you could have gotten the Band two years ago and kept the weight off and kept your private life to yourself. Wow, no matter how you look at it, there is a good side and a bad side!!! And after all that...I just don't know what you should do. But you would do great on the TV show, I know it!

Gcravener, I have to say that if you're having reflux and PBing all the time you probably are too tight. It's accepted wisdom that being too tight can lead to weight gain just as easily as weight loss, because the patient stays away from the healthier (harder to eat) foods and gravitates toward softer foods. Finding the right spot with the band is not necessarily an easy thing. You've only been banded for three months and many, many people don't get to the "sweet spot" right off the bat. I'd suggest an unfill immediately and that you then take a careful look at what you are eating. Fitday.com is a great tool to help you track your actual calories in and out, which might be enlightening all by itself. Being too tight is NOT the way to banding success. Please consider having an unfill and getting a fresh start. Banding can't possibly work if you're fighting with it all the time, and you may even do yourself some damage along the way. You may want to start a new thread with your experience and see what other bandsters have to offer. I'm sure there are other people in your shoes who can benefit from a discussion about it. Welcome to LBT!!

Congratulations to all you losers -- especially Ladiebird, that seven lb. loss is amazing! Penni, you probably put on lots of muscle at the marathon & training for it; your scale is not showing your hard work yet. Kim, maybe you're on a cyclical weight gain. Me, I'm at 208 this morning. That's down four from last week. But I can't take credit for a four-pound loss, because my body inflated my weight last Monday with monthly bloat. Add in my stats from two weeks ago, before the challenge, and you get a more realistic picture: 2/21: 211 lbs. 2/28: 212 3/7: 208 So really I've lost three pounds in two weeks! Still, I'll take it.

Denise, something you should also be aware is that there is currently research on stress and weight gain. Some of the stress hormones that we generate actually cause us to gain weight. Not a fun thing. Something about "flight or fight." One of the companies I worked for went out of business and I wasn't able to find a job that paid even close to what I was making. I finally took at job at about 2/3 of what I had been making. After talking things over with my son and DH, I went back to school to get my university degree. It will take me to the next level. Good luck on your decision.

Hi Caroline - I was pretty darn successful while I was banded, but since my unbanding... not so much... :cry But heck, I'll give you advice anyhow!! lol Okay, the trick when you're not as tight as you'd like to be, for whatever reason, is to maximize what your pouch CAN do for you. So you have to think, "How can I get my pouch to get full and stay full for the maximum amount of time?" Common knowledge: 1. Cold drinks generally tighten restriction 2. Hot Drinks generally loosen restriction 3. Water-loading gives an early pouch stretch, the sensation of which can last for some time, even after the pouch empties 4. Foods that do not "dissolve" with chewing tend to pass more slowly through the pouch - i.e. meats, raw veggies, fibrous things 5. Drinking sooner than 1 hour after eating washes food through the pouch faster, minimizing the amount of time to feel full, leading to return of hunger sooner 6. Exercise is a natural appetite suppressant 7. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger - most people are slightly dehydrated 8. sleep deprivation increases stress, which can result in weight gain Based on the above knowledge, this would be my suggestion to you to try: 1. Make sure you're drinking all of your Water every day - .5 oz per pound of body weight. Water and Fat Loss The levels of oxygen in the bloodstream are greater when the body is well hydrated. The more oxygen the body has readily available the more fat it will burn for energy. Without the presence of oxygen the body cannot utilize stored fat for energy efficiently. Not only will the body burn more fat when well hydrated but because of the increased oxygen levels you will also have more energy. http://www.tbfinc.com/water.htm 2. Get a good night's sleep - go to bed earlier than you're used to. 3. Do a brisk, 30 minute walk each day. 4. Water load before meals. Try to drink a quart of water in the hour before you eat, and then drink as much icy-cold water as you can, as quickly as you can, 15 minutes before your meal. 5. Eat solid Proteins and lots of raw/cooked veggies. 6. NO liquids for an hour after meals! 7. Plan, plan, plan. Plan your meals beforehand, so you know already what you're going to eat. Make your lunch and take it with you to work. PLAN on having Snacks, and plan what you're going to use as a snack, and make sure you have it with you so you have a better chance of sticking to your plan. Good luck, and I hope some of this helps!! I need to do this myself... lol

I have been watching this site alot. and posting occasionally, My husband and I both hope to be banded in the future. We both have seen our PCP who whole heartly agreed to put together a referral letter for both of us. We have both been under his care for 14 years. Yeah we have weight loss history (and weight gain :ermm ) He has faxed them to Dr Boutt and Bhesnia in Port Huron Mi. Dh had his psych consult yesterday and mine is Friday. We both have a consult with the banding Dr March 28th. So far everything is going smooth I just hope BCBS says yes to the preauthorization. We hope we can be banded in the summer. It makes no difference to me when. I am a RN want work contingent (when I want) But my dh is self employed and our 17 yr old will be out of school for the summer and ride in the truck and do the physical part. So he hopefully only has to take a week off staying home. Just thought I would update everyone. I weight 280 5'4" and dh 360 6'0. I enjoy this site. And have hopes it continues an its present positive path.

Hi All ive tried to think about when i became fat. what was it linked to? what caused it? well i didnt have a great childhood. had an very abusive relationship with father of my kids (who i dumped years ago) and have a kid with adhd which is very stressful...am i stress eater? After giving it a lot of thought i have to be honest and say..... The reason i am fat is because i ate too much and didnt exercise enough..... cant blame anything other than myself for loving food so much and in big portions.... However even though i am brutally honest about my own obesity i do understand that for many people there is a trigger to their weight gain and this post is in no way meant to upset anyone who have a very real trigger i just trutfully cant blame anyone for the size of my hips other than myself.. love tracey

Hi , I can think of lots of reasons why I got fat. I was born a preemie and weighed about 4lbs. That was pretty small in the 1960's. I was thin until I was about 10 or so. I was always forced to eat everything on my plate. I came from a very dysfunctional family and I had low self esteem problems because of an abusive mistrustful father. I remember weighing about 120 at age 10/11 and then I remember 160 at age 15 and the last recollection I have of being under 200 was when I was 19. Then I started drinking heavily and of course with hangovers I would have the urge to eat whoppers or chicken wings at 12:00 midnight. I also drank and ate a lot in my 20's. I remember weighing about 247 at age 23. Then I moved to Holland and my weight stabilized for a while because of smaller portions and less processed foods in Europe. I stayed in the range of 250 - 260 for a while and went to a dietician to see if I could lose some weight with a well balanced diet. This did not work very well. After my first child, I got up to about 300 lbs, stayed there for lots of years. Ballooned up to 327 and went on Atkins and got my weight down to 279 over an 8 month period. Then I got pregnant again in 2002, went back up to 320 and after my baby was born I dropped back down to the 290's. I was nursing my son for a year and did not gain or lose any weight. ONce I stopped, I ballooned up to 334 about 3 days before lapband surgery. THere is some obesity in my family on my fathers side, mostly the women. None really on my mothers side. My mother was anorexic at one point when she was married to my father. She weighed 82 pounds at her lowest and did not go above 100 until she left my father. She is 5 ' 2 " , so she is much shorter than me and my brothers and sisters. My sisters and my brother do not have a weight problem. I did not try to diet often. I think I made two serious attempts to get the pounds off. I was always so hungry all the time and I loved junk food. I was never a sweets eater, but I loved bread, cheese butter and Pasta. So I would say in my case, there were a lot of causes for my weight gain. Babs in TX 334/180 -154 New goal: 170

I most closely relate to the reason Jack said hewas fat. It is about control for me. I first started gaining weight consistently since 1997 when I moved in with my now husband. It is the first time I was away from home, and away from a controlling and abusive family. When I moved into my new place I had ULTIMATE control. I could eat when I want, what I wanted, and as much as I wanted. That is exactly what I did. Also, my husband is a huge eater. I would sit with him and think that he would eat everything if I didn't take it first. So, I ended up eating more than I wanted or needed. All that plus little exercise=weight gain.

Hi Betty, Good post. I don't know if I would neccessarily call my obesity an illness but in my case it is obviously hereditary. I am the spitting image of my grandmother and great great grandmother. Heaviness runs in my family everywhere. I also know people who are very thin and can eat whatever they want. It seems obvious there is something different in my metabolism when I see people like that. I was thin till I was about 3 years old and then I started getting heavy. My parents were dealing with emotional stuff at the time so I don't know if that changed their meals or what but I also have always eaten too big of portions and I think being on the depo shot for the last 9 years has played a role in my adult obesity. One clinic had quit giving me the shot because of my huge weight gain but I continued getting it elsewhere. New evidence shows that shot definitely causes bone loss, so just recently I switched off of it to a lower dose pill. I think many factors have played a role in my weight problem and they have all compounded it. I think insurance companies should be more willing to treat it as a disease and treat it as such. If I even mention weight when I see my family practitioner my insurance refuses to pay and sends me the bill for the entire visit regardless of what the appointment was actually for. That is very wrong in my books. Best wishes, Teresa

I agree, we are all different, and we all gain or lose weight different. I don't have the chatter in my head, I don't wake up in the middle of the night to get something to eat. And I don't agree that I am sick because of my weight. When I was five years old, we were on our way to a Sunday outing, my Dad, Mom, and my three brothers. A car crossed the line and came over and hit us head on. My father broke one leg into 50 pieces. He was in a cast from his chest to his toes for over a year. My mother broke her kneecap and hit her mouth and lost all her teeth. One of my brothers hit his mouth, knocked out his teeth, and two of his teeth went down in his lungs. He also hurt his knee and broke his jaw, and had pins in it. One of the other brothers lost his front teeth, and my other brother and I was just bruised up. We had no money coming in our house at all for a very long time. My Mother was a great cook, but everything she cooks was southern and very fattening. We lived on pots of Beans, stews, and every Sunday we had fried chicken. Most of all, almost every meal we had was based around what kind of potatoes we were having. Potatoes was the base of all our meals, and most were fried or mashed with gravy. food was hard to come by since money was so scarce, so we had to finish our plates of food, and couldn't waste any. I learned to cook exactly like my Mother, and once I got married and had children, I started gaining weight. I didn't lose the weight between my children, which started me off on a huge weight gain. I didn't exercise like I should have, or eat the right foods. The only way I knew to cook was how my Mother taught me. Just like the old saying "You can't teach old dogs new tricks" I just didn't realize the way I was cooking was causing me to gain so much weight. Losing weight has been extremely hard for me because of the way I cook, and because of lack of exercise. I am learning I can fix meals without the potatoes or the other starches. I am learning just because I fix my DH those things, that I don't have to eat them. I am learning I can fix some veggies and fill up just as good on them as the starches. I am learning I have to exercise to get this weight off. I am learning that no one except me can do this, and I am also learning that I have to want it bad enough to do all of that. Do I think I am sick because I have gained this weight and have problems getting it off? NO! I just think I have to learn the right foods to eat and the right way to cook without all the grease/oils. My dear Mother, bless her heart, didn't even realize that cooking with lard was bad for her. She cooked with it right up until a couple of years before she died at the age of 83, and she was in such bad health I finally told her it would be best if she didn't use it anymore. She grew up eating lard sandwiches because of the depression, so using lard to cook with was a natural thing for her. I followed her footsteps using lard and cooking just like she had, so now I have habits to break too. I think almost everyone on these boards has a reason why they gained weight if they go back and really think about it. And yes, I do believe it can be a sickness for some people, but not everyone. It took me a long time to realize it's my problem, and I am the one that has to work at getting the weight off. If I sit on my lazy butt and don't do anything about it, then it's my fault. I have chosen to get this band to use as a tool, to move my butt and to eat the right foods, and guess what? It's working, and I feel great! I am lovin life again for the first time in a long time.