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Welcome back! Don't beat yourself up -- this has been a rough year for everyone and A LOT of people have had weight gain during the pandemic. It's not too late to get back on track. There are a lot of options for working out at home. I have no desire to go to a gym (plus, I live in a rural area and it would be a long drive to get to a gym), so I would rather work out at home. I do a YouTube video for cardio every day. There are so many free workout videos available (my favorite is Leslie Sansone). And you can do strength training with an inexpensive set of resistance bands. Maybe you could try cutting out snacks completely. For me, snacking was a big part of my weight problems in the first place, so I am now sticking to three meals per day and not snacking at all between meals, other than protein drinks (and the occasional sugar-free hard candy). I'm only 6 months out from surgery, so I'm sure it's easier for me than it is for you, but I find that a warm beverage fills me up for a while. I think tracking your food intake is really important. I love MyFitnessPal, and something that helps me is to enter my food BEFORE I eat it. If you're not up to that detailed tracking, you could try an app like Ate Food Diary. All you have to do with that is take a picture of what you eat and say whether it's on path or off path.

Hi all, New here I got surgery around 1 year and 3 months ago. Lost 59 pounds. Starting weight was 240. Current weight was 180 I gained 4 pounds and have been stalled for 3 months. It’s been a rough three months especially with this weight gain I’ve felt so unmotivated and was hoping joining this forum would help get me back on track. Hoping to break the stall and just feel motivated again. Thanks !

AT 5+ years, I am still a work in progress. I still maintain at 55% EWL. I gained over 35 pounds in the last year+. Easy as pie. Literally. I can eat anything, and in large amounts if spread over time. I still do not drink with meals unless I have Breakfast out which is not often. I reach for food when emotional or stressful situations come up. I know it... I watch it, I work on it. I mostly write down what I eat, and watch Protein, but those weeks that I don't, I gain. It is not easy to get off. Yes the sleeve still works. I eat less at any sitting... protein first really makes me feel full faster. I continue exercise, and recommitted again.... just finished the 5 day "pouch" test with a 5 pound loss and a lowering of the Carb addiction. One step at a time. The head has to be in the game, just like before weight loss surgery. The sleeve helps... it is a tool, just like they say, and has helped me to maintain at least 50 pound loss for 5 years. I had a weight gain at 2+ years and worked to get to goal after that... so I know I can do it. I think for me, this is something I need to watch and plan every day.... when I don't I gain. I am very happy I got the sleeve though.... VERY HAPPY. Kindle, so true! I didn't see that.

Im very similar. I had the band for 10 years, maintained my weightloss through vomiting every day all day. Unfilled for 2 years, gained 35 pounds. Have had the sleeve since July 9. Only down 13 pounds, 10 of which was the first 2 weeks. I go to the gym alot, mostly cardio, starting with some boot camp now. My nut says 80-100grms Protein and 50-80 carb. I never go over 50 unless I did alot at the gym. She says dont worry about calories. I do use my fitness pal and stay around 1000. I think my first couple months I was actually grazing and eating more carbs. I have no problems eating anything, even raw vegetables. There is no way in hell I could eat 1/4 cup and be satisfied. with exercising you have to consume more food otherwise your body goes into starvation mode. Now after my last appt I use mfp religiously and have lost 2 pounds. Im a very slow loser and dont have that much to lose to get to my original band weight. I have 25 pounds to lose and I dont care if it takes me 6 months. If I lose a pound a week its better than a 35 pound weight gain. Your diet I think looks like you arent eating enough carbs and calories for 4 days in the gym. I know its hard to believe it.

Understandable! I would follow the meal plan and the doctors orders, post back when you hear from them, I am interested in what they think the reason for the weight gain is. Hopefully they will allow you to increase activity [emoji1] Sent from my Nexus 6 using BariatricPal mobile app

Recent research (sorry no citation) suggests that ghrelin producing cells located all over our digestive tract may beef up production to re-establish our ghrelin level. The good news is that if we have had post-VSG memory loss mediated by ghrelin levels, we should get those faculties back. The bad news is increased ghrelin = increased hunger and potentially weight gain. Rats. As far as memory loss due to dimished ghrelin production is concerned, I think we should bear in mind that high blood sugar levels can lead to memory loss too. I was pre-diabetic before so my brain cells were already in the cross hairs, so to speak.

I had a tummy tuck and my abs were sewn together in the process. It doesn't really add to the pain at all- I really had minimal recovery time, and the resulting look is certainly worth it. I couldn't immediately tell the difference, but people have commented how small my waiste has become (haha, if they only knew why!) and now in pictures I can see that my waiste is certainly smaller, which gives a nice final look. My doctor didn't really discuss it beforehand and after he said he sews everyone's abs shut just because it makes them much happier with the final look, doesn't really take much more time since they're already in there, and for most people is needed anyway since their abs are separate from weight gain or pregnancy. I say go for it.

Please remember portion control and working out or some type of exercise will help with the weight gaining Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had my Lapband January, 2011 - it was nothing but problems the entire time. I had too much restriction the entire time and the weight gain. The last three, or so, years of that torture device, I was unable to eat and in doubled over pain most of the time. I also developed severe GERD. My gastro referred me to a different Bariatric doctor. Long story short - the Lapband caused multiple problems and I had to have an emergency revision to gastric bypass. Dr. Did not recommend the sleeve for me because a high percentage of patients that already have GERD, it makes it worse. Please see another doctor before your situation gets worse like mine did. I don’t think you will be sorry with a revision to sleeve or bypass. It was a wonderful decision for me - not constantly sick anymore!

I don't have kids but I can share what I went through. I was thin until high school and then I was only 15 - 20 pounds over weight. My mother wanted me to lose weight. I wanted to lose it too but it wasn't killing me. She actually put me on diet pills. By the time I graduated from high school I was 105 pounds. At 5'1" I was right on target and felt great. Of course, I started gaining again in college and I gained even more back. College didn't work out for me so I was back at home. My father died when I was 19 and we had a hard time with it. She was always on my case about what I was eating and always offered to pay for another diet plan. I lived with her and didn't want to here her telling me how bad the food was I was eating so I hid it. I would be angry with her and eat just to spite her. I wanted to be thin and I would try different diet plans and lose some weight but would always gain it back plus some. Her constant harping about my weight really bothered me and I am not blaming her for my weight gain because it was my choice to eat. I know she wanted what was best for me. However, I got to the point where I would drive through some where on my way home from work and get a small cheeseburger so that when I ate my small meal I with her I would be full and not suffer. We've discussed this in the last few years and she finally learned that the person has to want to lose weight and change or it won't happen. She gained about 20 pounds a few years ago and it bothered her so I told her to join WW. She did and lost the weight and now works for them. She loves her job and is much more understanding. She sees people that lose weight and some that just can't succeed. She has been super supportive of my LB journey. I don't know if anything would have kept me from reaching 221 pounds but I feel it definitely didn't help. I was 15 pounds over weight but that wasn't good enough, I had to perfect. That attitude is not healthy. Be sure to let her be a part of the decision making in her weight loss journey. It sounds like you are doing the right thing and I wish you all the best.

Good morning everyone, I had my surgery done Sept 20,2012..I have gained 20 lbs since and I don't know where to start to get it off. I have to admit that I don't exercise. I used to walk at the park but lately I have just been going with the flow eating whatever. I also notice that I can eat more now than before over the last 2 years. Any suggestions on Protein rich foods that can help me stay full longer so that I won't snack as much. Please help!

I used to be a size 8 then with weight gain I went up to a 9 1/2 and now back to an 8

I got pregnant two years post sleeve. We did a FET because we had five frozen embryos in storage we wanted to use. That means I was on daily hormone injections for several weeks before conceiving and carried on with them through the first few months. I gained 3 pounds from hormones before the transfer and I gained 32 pounds during my pregnancy. Capacity-wise, eating was not a challenge. Since you'll be more than a year out before you even consider a baby, that should not be an issue. It was roughly around 14-17 months that my ability to eat settled at a nice amount that's about what I can hold now. That said, I was afflicted with food aversions and morning sickness. My lactose intolerance flared up to the point where I couldn't put butter on toast or scramble an egg in it. I couldn't stand meat for several months - I'd sick it up immediately. This meant that most of my calories came from carbs, which in and of itself isn't a huge issue but it did cause me to be concerned about weight gain. If I hadn't been diligent about my choices I could have easily packed on more weight than I did. I also needed additional Iron supplements during pregnancy and had to find a different way to get my prenatal Vitamin in because mine made me sick. Within just a few weeks of delivery I was within ten pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight and wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans (albeit the roomier ones) though it has taken me the last several months to shed those few pounds. My daughter is now three months old and I only just got back under my pre-pregnancy weight. And my unsolicited advice is that you wait a few years after getting married to have kids. I have five stepchildren but they did not live with us. Those four years (three before conceiving) that we had with just the two of us were amazing and incredibly rewarding. Unless you've already been with your fiancee for several years, enjoy learning to be married before becoming parents. Once we had our children life changed - for the better, sure - but it was so nice to have that freedom of daily life without kids for a while before choosing to have them once we really wanted them. Good luck, and congrats on your engagement. I'd say that it's entirely possible to have a child and get back to goal it just takes work and getting back to those same principles you used to lose in the first place. ~Cheri

Losing weight with the band is not fast. Some do lose fast in the beginning but that is rare. Normal weight loss is 1 to 2lbs a week. There isn't any sense in getting upset, discouraged, or want to give up because you are a month post op or a few weeks and you haven't lost 70lbs. You didn't gain weight over night. It was a period of years of bad eating habits that caused you to gain 100 to 200lbs so getting it off in a short amount of time unless you are starving yourself is not going to happen. If there are those who lost weight quickly then good for them but it took me 3 years and of absolutely no cheating to get all my weight off. If you are a smoker and quit smoking it is even going to take you longer. Yes I know that from personal experience. You can't drop weight rapidly with the band unless you are some circus freak that lost 200lbs in a month. It's not a fast process but it works if you just allow it. 52lbs weight loss in a year is better then 52lbs of weight gain. A loss is a loss no matter how you lose it or how long it takes you to lose it. Be patient it will come. Rome wasn't built over night and neither is the road work here in Jacksonville done over night. More like a period of years. Stop weighing yourself everyday. If you can't wrap your head around the scale that your weight can fluctuate up to 9lbs because of Water weight then stop being a scale monger. Weigh yourself at your doctors office. The more you weigh yourself and get discouraged the more likely you are setting yourself up for failure. It's not a race and you don't have to be the first one to the finish line. Stop letting the scale wreck your day or month. Just do what you are supposed to and it will happen.

A single pound of fat is roughly 3500kcal. So unless you ate 10,500kcal OVER your baseline intake, there is absolutely no way that is true weight gain. It could be water weight, hormonal changes, bowel movement issues, etc. There are dozens of factors that impact weight and might be reflected on the scale. Additionally, the more you lose and closer you get to a healthy weight, the more likely you are to see those fluctuations as the week to week loss slows down. Keep sticking to your plan and doing exactly what you're doing and you absolutely will see the scale move again. And congrats, 90lbs is amazing!

Ok, the last week has been kinda stressful and I know it's only going to get worse. My job is changing greatly over the next few months and I am having learn a lot of new things and work extra to keep up with my job while I learn a new system. So maybe I am just stressed, but I need to rant for a min...... WLS is Easy WTH. I saw someone this weekend who hadn't seen me for a while and told me I looked great. Of course the next thing out of her mouth was how did you lose so much weight? I said that I was really watching what I ate, eating healthier and moving more, and that I had lapband surgery. Her comment was, oh well you are lucky then you can't gain weight. I wanted to expload at that moment. The thing is with lapband or ANY WLS you can gain weight. Gaining weight is EASY, not losing it. I can gain by eating more than I expend- calorie layden thing (milkshakes, chips, ice cream, cake, ect). I can gain just like anyone else. It really bothers me that people still have this misconception that WLS makes it so much easier. Does it help, YES, does it make it easy HELL NO. BMI vs Size Ok so here is another thing that is buggin me. My entire life doctors have complained about my weight. I have been over weight since I was 5. Over 200 since middle school (now 190's). Now that I am losing and I have studied info, I congnitivly know that the scale isn't totally accurate when it comes to my health. I have lost 50+ lbs, while my weight is in the 190's I am far smaller than I thought I would be in the 190's. Why, because of my muscle to fat ratio. It is often said that muscle weighs more than fat, not exactly true. A pound of muscle takes up far less room than a pound of fat. A stick of butter and a ball bearing may weigh the same, but that ball bearing is much smaller. So my muscle mass has increased, and my shape has decreased, but the scale isn't moving these days. Yet when I go to the doctors they look at the scale and calculate my BMI and tisk tisk tisk. WTH- Doc please look at the whole pic instead of one fasit. I am a work in progress not a completed project. Fear factor I will be the first to say that I am scared, paranoid, terrified of gaining weight back. I have tried way to long to lose, now that it has begun I do not want to revert. So yes I am almost obsessive over it. Is this good, not really, but it's me. I look at what I eat, I weigh daily, I move more. Being a scientific person I like to see cause and effect. How does what I put in effect measurment and weight. I chart every thing so I can take it to my doctor. Judgements Ok, so maybe I am paranoid that people judge me when they aren't, but I think that comes from my years of low self esteem. I often see people state, Oh you are doing what your suppose to so don't worry about the scale, don't weigh it just drives you crazy, don't worry the weight will come off. Yes, I know all the data- about the scale doesn't show the whole picture, that we should keep on doing what we are suppose to when the scales stops and in time weight will come off. But, gee am I the only human on here that while I know this, it still doesn't make me happy that the scale isn't going down. Ok, so maybe I am judging others here, but here it goes.... some people post and make statements on here that make them appear that they are perfect. They are losing, they are doing what the doctor says, they aren't weighing daily- happy, happy, joy, joy. It's like they never get frustrated or impatient ever. I honestly wonder sometimes are they really like that, or are they just putting on a front on this sight. Because while this journey hasn't been the tooth and nail climb that diets have been in the past, it has not been all hunky dory and perfect. So my thought for them is be human, I have flaws I get stressed, and I know you do to, no matter if you want to admit it or not. I think newbies need to know and see the entire picture. Yes, you do what your doc and NUT say. Will this be easy - no. Will you hit plateaus- yes. Will you get frustrated at times- hell yes. Will what works for me work for you- maybe/maybe not. Okay so enough of my ranting. If I offended anyone sorry, chalk it up to me having a bee in my bonnett to day and had one straw to many put on my pile. Thanks for letting me rant!!

I have been thinking about getting banded for a while now. Went to the info session back in July and got a little freaked out so decided to go to the nutritionist on my own to see if there was anything I could do to change my diet... found out I’m doing what I’m supposed to with food and exercise. Went to the Dr and got tested for just about everything that could cause weight gain (I have always been heavy but gained like 50lbs in 4 months... odd). From that I found out that I may be diabetic (second test is still being run). The whole reason I wanted to get banded and lose weight was to do it BEFORE I became 'unhealthy' (i.e. diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, ect). So Monday I decided I’m sending in my application. At 5'4 and 250lbs I know I’m a candidate... and looks like my current insurance covers surgery so I should be all good Of course Monday I also found out we have to change insurance coverage which means I have to pay WAY more out of pocket and I don’t even know if the new plan covers it:thumbdown: Hope all go well in the end though... I’m ready to live again!!!!

Chips are a slider food, a.k.a. slurry food. Other sliders include crackers, pretzels, biscuits, mashed potatoes, cookies, and other snacky carb treats. You can eat an unlimited amount of sliders. Sliders turn into a liquid slurry once you chew/swallow and don't stay in your stomach for more than a few seconds, so they'll never challenge your sleeve in a way that produces fullness or satiety. You can eat a 1-pound bag of chips and never feel full. Sliders also promote rapid weight gain because they 'slide' right through the stomach into the small intestine where the calories are readily absorbed and stored as fat. You have an amazing tool in the form of your sleeve. If you continue to sabotage your body's weight loss efforts by eating junk foods and high-glycemic fruits so early in the game, then getting a sleeve may have been an ultimate exercise in futility. Don't waste your tool. You can do this. Good luck to you.

Feeling glum when you have been brave enough to put yourself through SURGERY in order to try and manage your weight and health better, and you have strived hard to follow your diet plan, and you have been admonished by your doctor (!!!! how dare s/he!!!!) for your pre-op weight loss, and you are being deprived of all the ways you soothed your moods with food previously, well feeling glum sounds absolutely normal and acceptable to me! And so you reached out and asked for support....well done. What all this says to me is that you are being human, normal, acting in your best interest, are persevering, are trying to cope with temporary disappointment, and are going to be ok, because you have the self-caring to ask for support. Well done, but not because of the seven pounds but because of your honesty and dedication. You now need to look at yourself and glow with pride at your courage and tenacity mixed with vulnerability and authenticity. Time.....healing.....getting there....and you will, I am sure. Thanks for sharing. I for one have felt glum, angry, despondent, wondered why on earth I submitted my otherwise healthy body to surgery, why I can't just get on with it without all this, felt helpless, bordering on hopeless....then elated, proud, happy, energised....and then bored, forced to look at my weight gaining behaviour, forced to be brutally honest with myself....and accepting that a body is a body and has its own means of rebelling, doing things its own way, being complex and difficult to comprehend...and still having faith that in the LONG TERM it is going to be ok and it will work. It has been 23 days since surgery and I have stagnated, but this WILL change because this is how I have previously given up on dieting, and with a lap band implanted in me, well it is drastic, and I can't give up....so I won't...and that is why I had it put in me, because KEEPING GOING is what has always defeated me. Thank you so much for your honesty. Lynda

I am considering having a revision now due to weight gain during pregnancy. I didn’t gain back all my weight. 50 lbs out of the 117 I lost but I have been dieting for months and it’s just not coming off.

It is my third day and everything went according to plan. Just got home from the hospital and weighed myself for the first time. I was shocked to see that i actually have gained 8 pounds since the day of surgery. How is that possible? Is it the gas, is it the fluids, or is there something else?

What a nightmare. Every additional factor complicates the recovery, and you have had quite the run of unexpected issues. It was good to read the update, that you've lost weight. That's got to be a bit of encouragement. I wanted to say that everyone is different in how we respond to the "insult" of surgery, and in your case, the complications from surgery itself are not to be taken lightly. But in the overall scheme of things, you're going in the right direction, and that's all that matters. Research in reputable, peer reviewed journals (not just anecdotal/experiential postings on the internet) suggest that it takes 4 - 6 weeks for the swelling and trauma from surgery to completely disappear. In that time, depending on the former eating habits of the individual, the body may compensate for the sudden lack of food by becoming super efficient - squeezing the life out of every single calorie and hanging on to the fat stores. This equals weight gain and/or no net weight loss in the early days. This is not everyone's experience, but it isn't uncommon. The average healthy sustainable weight loss is 8-10 pounds/month. Again, individually this varies, but this is considered the optimum. If you lose more, great. If you lose less, the average over time generally works out to... you guessed it, 8 - 10 pounds per month. And lastly, those individuals who do not keep a scale at home do better overall both physically and emotionally than those who weigh daily/weekly. One study found that individuals who had a regular monthly weigh in with an objective source had better levels of emotional and psychological health than those who kept scales at home. And, those who kept scales at home had a harder time breaking emotional eating habits because their moods rose/fell depending on what the scale said. They experienced more mood instability, which is a common trigger for emotional eating. As a former "weigh everyday" person, I can tell you personally that getting rid of the scale at home was the hardest and the best thing I ever did. Now, I don't think about my weight like that at all. I go to the doctor for my monthly check up, weigh in, and see whether my guess (of total pounds lost) is close. I usually aim for 5 - 8 pounds, and so far, every weigh in has been at least that if not more. Keep at it Sarabee323 - as long as you're headed in the right direction, the time it takes to get there is irrelevant. It will certainly take less time to lose the weight than how long you have lived with it. This is a good thing. Be encouraged - it gets better. CE

same thing happened to me. no appetite for 6-7 days then all of a sudden you are out of the haze of pain meds, pain, resting, and beginning to get back to work. and of a sudden... oh, hmmm. this mushie is good. and it went down. hmm. no problem. mass in colon. weight gain. it all makes sense.

Thanks for the posts. I had surgery July 11th and lost pretty good the first week and a little the second week. By the third week, my period came on and I had water weight gain. My surgeon totally freaked me out. He berated me and made me feel like such a failure. I have followed all the recommendations and even went down a size. Now that my period is off, my weight has dropped a few pounds. I am doing drinking protein shakes, water, and taking about 6000 steps about five times a week. I know this is a process but I am literally scared to death to go back to my surgeon and not lost like he wants me to. You all have confirm that these things happen, but I am so afraid to return to his office in three weeks without a huge amount of weight loss.

I am having a revision from VSG to RNY on 9/15 due to severe GERD....can anyone share their experience on weight loss post revision? A little history: I had my sleeve done in 2015 and loved it. Easy recovery and great results. For the past year, I developed severe ACID reflux and Gerd with a hiatal hernia. Unfortunately, I gained 40 lbs back. So much of this was due to the fact that if my sleeve was empty the acid was so much worse. So I started eating tons of carbs to keep the acid soaked up. I didn't catch it soon enough so the weight gain continued. I am very excited to get rid of the GERD, but also want to get a realistic weight loss goal in my plan. How much did you lose after your revision?