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I found this link. It addresses whole fresh fruit, fruit juices, and dried fruit. https://www.nationalbariatriclink.org/bariatric-blog/eating-fruits-gastric-bypass-surgery/ "After Gastric Bypass Surgery, there will be things you have enjoyed your entire life that your body will no longer be able to digest without discomfort. You will also have to give up some things that may seem healthy such as fruit juices, which are actually high in sugar content. About half of all Bariatric surgery patients can dilute fruit juices such as apple and orange juice and enjoy a glass now and then. Keep a close eye on your goal weight though, as these juices can quickly send you backwards on the scale. Your stomach may not be able to handle dried fruits after Gastric Bypass or other weight loss surgeries, most particularly dried cranberries, apricots and raisins. Again, this is due to the high amounts of sugar used to cure these dried fruits. After some time has passed after your Bariatric surgery, you may be able to indulge in and tolerate dried fruits again but use caution, watching for sudden weight gain."

Thank you both for your replies. So sad to see so many veterans, myself included have left these forums. Everything is dated from so long ago. The weird thing is throughout my 2 year weight gain I regularly e exercised which proves to me that diet is much more important than exercise. The points of not keeping bad foods in the house is a good one for me. I researched macro nutritional goals (which I had forgotten) and set up my fitness pal again. Went to the grocery store and only bought ice cream flavor and snacks I don't like for the rest of my family. Carried my water around all day and sipped all day. Thank you for the advice. Love to hear more if any other veterans want to participate.

Thanks Kim. I'm definitely going to stay between 950-1200 calories because that's what my doctor wants. I honestly wasn't beat up about the weight gain I just thought it was weird. Because I feel healed, ya know? But I realize my body is just adjusting. Plus, i got on the scale this morning and had lost the 6-7 lbs I had gained in the past week. So back to 269 I am and hopefully it's the last time I see that number :-) You guys are great! It's nice to know I'm not alone in this journey :-)

Well please be patient, I don't know if it's typical (probably not) but i'm a super slow loser and I eat less than my 3 year old daughter! I just weighed today and I lost a pound but it's been 2 months since my last pound was lost!!!! I completely blame my PCOS and hormone imbalance because I know MOST people doing the same routine as me would show more results. I've been alot more active since summer is here too and I may be putting on more muscle but I thought muscle was supposed to HELP weight loss not JUST add weight gain (not that i've put any weight on) but on the plus side, my waist is smaller and the scale tells me i'm 1% less body fat than I was since May! I've been trying something new these past couple week (I eat a couple of almonds after each meal, only 2-4 nuts - not many as they have alot of calories) I read that the good fat is supposed to help weight loss and apparently it works as I lost a pound!!!!! Lets see if it continues to work....I also am trying to eat more (which for those of you with bands are aware is such a hassle) so what I do is when I feed my 3 year old I try to take a bite of her food and with that and MY meals i'm eating more often.

I took Lexapro for 2 years. One of those years was when I was first banded. It helped a lot but after 2 years I switched back to Zoloft as it seems to work better for me. It (lexapro) did not cause any weight gain. But the Zoloft at a high dose causes really bad carb cravings. The only antidepressant I have been on that made me gain weight was Paxil I put on 40 lbs with it. Cheri

Are you a compliant patient? All the time, some of the time, or none of the time? This is a practice that matters to me…does it matter to you? What’s the big deal about it, anyway? WHAT DOES PATIENT COMPLIANCE MEAN? The term “patient compliance” is a funny one for someone like me, who in some areas of her life doesn’t have the patience required for compliance. Maybe that’s just my funny little brain playing with words again. What does patient compliance mean? A compliant patient is one who follows or completes with their physician’s diagnostic, treatment, or preventive procedure(s). For example, John Doe’s blood work shows high LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (diagnosis: hyperlipidemia). He’s a compliant patient because he faithfully takes the medication his doctor prescribed, avoids eating saturated fats, and increases his exercise in order to lose some weight. His mother-in-law has high blood pressure (hypertension) and is recovering from a stroke, so in order to prevent the medical problems that challenge her mom, John’s wife Jane follows her doctor’s recommendation to reduce her own salt intake and join John for a daily walk. Their obese son Mark, who is scheduled to have bariatric surgery in two weeks, is compliant as he carefully follows his surgeon’s pre-op liver shrink diet to prepare for the surgery. Their sun-worshipping daughter Mary just had a suspicious mole removed and complies with her dermatologist’s recommendation to use sunscreen every day and give up the tanning bed. A highly commendable family, aren’t they? What about you? Are you a compliant patient? All the time, some of the time, or none of the time? Compliance is a practice that matters to me…does it matter to you? BARIATRIC PATIENT COMPLIANCE Most bariatric surgeons agree that the #1 cause of disappointing weight loss or other WLS “failure” is patient non-compliance with the surgeon’s protocol. In contrast, many adjustable gastric band patients (the disappointed ones, anyway) agree that the #1 cause of band “failure” (however they experience it) is that the band doesn’t work, no matter what (if any) protocol you follow. How can we reconcile such opposite views of WLS failure? What can surgeons do better or differently to improve patient outcomes? We already know what patient compliance means, so let’s take a look at the term “protocol.” In a general sense, protocol is a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on the members of a particular group, be it professional, social, or political. It’s also the formal etiquette and code of behavior, precedence, and procedure for state and diplomatic ceremonies. Protocol is a big deal to the British Royal Family, as witnessed by the flutter over the Queen’s order that Kate, the Dutchess of Cambridge must, as a former commoner, show reverence to the ‘blood princesses’. She is expected to curtsey to those born royal, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – both in public and in private. Although the media did a lot of speculating about Kate’s putative humiliation over this order, the importance of royal protocol can hardly be a surprise to a British citizen who marries into the Royal Family. In the medical world, the term protocol refers to the plan for a course of treatment – a physician’s diagnostic, treatment, or preventive procedure(s) like those followed by John Doe and his family. And like Kate Middleton, a bariatric patient can hardly be surprised over their surgeon’s insistence that they follow that protocol. Any surgeon worth his/her scalpel educates patients about that protocol from the time of an informational seminar to the day of a band patient’s first fill, with updates as time goes on. That’s why I feel impatient when I hear (very, very often) that new bandsters are shocked and vexed over the requirement that they follow a liquid diet immediately before and after their surgery, as well as after fills. “How can that possibly be a shock?” I ask myself. Did the patient sleep through their pre-op education, or were they so focused on the vision of themselves in a size 0 that they forgot the work that must be done to arrive at that size? Or (please say it ain’t so!) did the surgeon or other medical professionals in that bariatric program not spell out the details of their protocol when the patient was preparing for surgery? And then there’s the whole “Why does my surgeon say eat only ½ cup of food when my friend’s surgeon says eat 1 cup of food at a time?” dilemma. As I explained in Bandwagon, surgeons establish (and fine tune) patient protocols based on their own experience with their own patient population. If band manufacturers hired teams of auditors to ensure that every bariatric surgeon in North America used the exact same protocol, no one would be able to afford a gastric band, and very few surgeons would bother using the band for their patients. And a brand-new gastric band sitting in its package is completely useless until a trained and experienced surgeon implants it in a patient. Allergan and Ethicon Endo aren’t surgeons; they’re manufacturers of medical devices. So while speculating about the great variation in WLS protocols might be mildly entertaining, it’s not going to do a whole lot to get you closer to that size 0. If you choose a surgeon you trust and respect, you also choose to abide by their protocol, and enjoying that protocol is beside the point. I spent decades enjoying my own weight loss and weight gain “protocols” so much that by the time I was 54, I needed weight loss surgery. So whose protocol is healthier or more effective, mine or my surgeon’s? I lost 92 pounds by following a surgeon’s protocol. Is there a problem with that? I think not. OK, hang on a second while I climb off my soap-box. Ah, that’s better. Here I am again, standing on the ground, surrounded by living, breathing (if distant) WLS patients. It’s not fair to generalize about any of us, is it? But generalize I must in order to make a few more points. THE DOUBTING THOMAS I think some of us are by nature more likely to ignore, question, or defy authority figures, while others accept authority without voicing or even thinking a question. In the former case, we need to cultivate trust in the doctors who want to help us, while in the latter case, we need to cultivate enough trust in ourselves to dare to ask those authority figures for better or more detailed explanations of their instructions. I’m more on the defiant, or Doubting Thomas, end of the patient spectrum, but a few years ago I read a statement that struck me (out of the blue) as very true: SOME THINGS MUST BE BELIEVED TO BE SEEN I extrapolated that statement from a religious context into the context of my WLS journey (at that point in my life, I could extrapolate almost anything into the context of my WLS journey). When I had Lap-Band® surgery, I was convinced that I was a total failure at weight loss. Going into that operating room, I had to believe something I’d never seen myself do: that with the help of my band, I could succeed at weight loss and maintenance. And I did. Because truth can take a while to reveal itself, I think people like me need to ask ourselves, “What possible harm could befall me if I do follow an instruction whose proof of efficacy I can’t see right now?” Let’s go back to a previous example: your doctor tells you not to eat more than 1 cup of food at a time. You know you can easily eat 2 cups, so if you really want (or think you need) to eat all that, and no immediate negative consequences result from doing that, why shouldn’t you just go ahead and do it? Why should you blindly follow your doctor’s seemingly arbitrary and unreasonable instruction to stop eating after you’ve consumed 1 cup of food? It’s your doctor’s job to explain the “why” behind that instruction, but if she/he hasn’t done that to your satisfaction, and he/she isn’t sitting at the table with you and that plate of delicious food, I suggest that you consider what terrible thing would happen if you put away the extra cup of food for now. Will you starve to death? Really? What else might happen? Will you surrender your liberty, be forced to vote for your doctor’s favorite presidential candidate, or (worse) be compelled to clean his toilet every Saturday for the next 20 years? Oh, no. No, no, no. He’s your doctor, not your teenaged son, so let’s consider another, quite serious consequence of following his instruction. Maybe, just maybe, nothing bad will happen at all. Maybe even something good will happen. Just because your compliance doesn’t yield an instant reward doesn’t mean it won’t yield a future reward. What might that reward be? How about weight loss and the avoidance of side effects or complications? Doesn’t that sound good to you? Sure sounds good to me. I do much better at following instructions if I understand them, but I’m here to tell you that in almost 5 years of banded living, I didn’t truly begin understand my surgeon’s and dietitian’s protocol until I’d been following it for 6 or so months, and the scope of my comprehension expanded more over the next few years. In the meantime, I lost those 92 pounds I mentioned earlier. The lesson there is that you don’t have to completely understand or believe in a protocol for it to work, as long as you follow it as best you can. THE BELIEVER Now I want to talk to the folks at the other end of the patient spectrum, the obedient ones who wouldn’t even think of defying the advice of an authority figure. Their WLS journey can be bumpy too, even when they slavishly follow their doctor’s protocol, and here’s why. One of the problems with blindly following instructions that you don’t understand is that sooner or later you’re going to find yourself in a situation no one thought to warn you about. You won’t instantly know what to do, and you may waste precious time on unnecessary blood, sweat and tears. You may even end up doing something harmful. Without at least an inkling of the principles behind your doctor’s protocol, you’ll have a hard time coming up with a stopgap measure to help you survive a surprising and stressful situation. If you worry that any decision you make on your own will be the wrong one, ask yourself: “What’s the worst that could happen if I do nothing right now? What will happen if I do the ‘wrong’ thing?” Will you die? Surely not. If you’re able to breathe, ambulate, drink water, state your name and what year it is, and blood isn’t pooling in your shoes, you’re going to survive at least long enough to call your surgeon, leave a message, and wait for a call back. So unless the decision requires someone to dial 911 to speed you to the emergency room (if you can’t breathe, move, swallow, talk, remember your name or the year, stop the bleeding, or if something else life-threatening is happening), take a deep breath! And another one, and another one. Ah, that’s better! People on the Believer end of the patient spectrum are often reluctant to ask questions of their doctors because they’re afraid they’ll look stupid or make the doctor angry. I can only repeat the old saying that the only stupid question is the one you think but don’t ask. It’s extremely unlikely that your doctor is going to spank you if you ask (again), “Why can’t I take ibuprofen for my headache?” If your doctor seems irritated by a question like that, it may be because you’re trying their patience, or it could be because they’re having a bad day (worried or annoyed about something completely unrelated to you or their job, wishing they hadn’t eaten the whole pastrami sandwich for lunch, didn’t sleep well last night, etc.). It could also be because their bedside manner needs work. If that’s the case, you can set out in search of another surgeon, put up with the original surgeon’s rudeness, or do your part to lead that doctor towards kindness. If the answer to your question starts looking like a time-consuming project that your doctor doesn’t have time for right now, it’s perfectly okay to say something like, “Is there someone else in the office who could work with me on that?” or “Would it be better to make another appointment to talk about this?” THE DOCTOR Doctors, like other people, come in all shapes, sizes, and temperaments, and with varying communication skills. They’re not all made from the eternally patient, smiling, avuncular Marcus Welby mold, and not all of them are motivated solely by the desire to help other people. They’re often just as fascinated by science as by altruism. Like you and me, they work to earn money, and if their pay seems ridiculously high, just ask one of them how much money they borrowed to get through medical school, and how much they pay each year just for medical malpractice insurance. In many ways, I’m a “you get what you pay for” kinda gal. If 3 doctors quoted band surgery at a total of $13,000 to $15,000, and a 4th doctor quoted only $4,000, I’m not sure I’d feel safe with a bargain basement surgeon (nor would I assume that the $15,000 surgeon was the best). Last I heard, no courses in Bedside Manner or patient communication are required of, or even offered to medical students. Doctors must exchange important information with patients whose own communication skills vary greatly, and they must take a patient’s measure, choose a treatment plan, and explain it to the patient using a minimum of enigmatic medical terms, all within a matter of minutes before they rush off to the next patient or task. Doctors must rely on support staff to do hundreds of things to keep the doctor’s boat afloat, and it’s entirely possible that they have no idea how rude or careless or wonderful some of those people are because so much of that goes on in a way that’s invisible to the doctor. And which would you rather your surgeon focus on: the ink cartridge for the Xerox machine, or the pain in your abdomen? In medical folklore, surgeons are infamous for possessing a God complex, with big egos, enormous self-confidence, and an excess of superiority. When you think about it, it does take a lot of chutzpah to cut into another human’s flesh and fiddle with their innards in the effort to fix a problem., so it doesn’t surprise or bother me much that some surgeons have a hard time coming down to the lowly level (perceived or real) where their patients trudge through the mud of ordinary human existence. In many types of surgery, that’s not a big problem because the surgeon sees the patient maybe 3 or 4 times: the initial consult, the surgery, and 1 or 2 post-op follow-ups. Then the patient goes on their merry (we hope) way and the surgeon scrubs up and dashes into the operating room to cut into someone else’s medical problem. General surgery is usually a fix-it-and-go thing. If your diseased gall bladder gets tossed away and forgotten, do you really care if that also means your abdominal pain is also a thing of the past? But bariatric surgery, which treats a chronic and incurable disease that’s a highly complex tangle of physical, behavioral, and emotional problems, is a different matter. Successful bariatric surgery is not a fix-it-and-go proposition (and that’s reason #99 that I would hesitate to ever have surgery outside the United States, knowing that I have no local surgical back-up or support). Bariatric patients need far more education, aftercare and support than most other types of patients. I’m convinced that one of the causes of WLS failure (however you define failure) is inadequate patient education, aftercare and support. And on top of that, adjustable gastric band patients need even more education, aftercare, and support than most other bariatric patients. While I believe that too many general surgeons have been jumping on the gastric band-wagon without fully understanding the needs of those patients, it’s not fair to say that they’re all being careless or negligent when they fail to give patients what they really need. Unless they’ve had bariatric surgery themselves, they just don’t know what it is to walk in our shoes. They might consider the implanting of a gastric band to be an interesting and possibly lucrative addition to their practice without realizing that surgical expertise is only part of what the band patient needs. Doctors and other people with very high self-esteem can be hard for us ordinary mortals to deal with, but it’s a mistake to assume that they’re looking down on us. They may not be looking at or thinking about us at all, not because they don’t care about us but because their minds are so enthralled by and preoccupied with medical science. My father was a brilliant scientist whose head was so far up in the clouds that I often wondered what planet he was on. At the same time, I know he loved me when he noticed me (and I know now that nothing I could do would change that). In a sense, doctors who get heavily involved with their patients are doing those patients a disservice. The Hippocratic Oath exhorts doctors to “do no harm,” not to mop up your tears or hug you when things go wrong. If that seems harsh, consider this: doctors actually need to keep some emotional distance from their patients in order to treat them well medically. Without that distance, it would be very hard for them to make rational decisions about patient care. That’s why it’s considered poor practice for doctors to treat themselves or their loved ones. I’m not saying that it’s okay for doctors to be cold and heartless and should be excused for bad behavior. None of them are perfect (and neither are we, the patients) and you won’t find me worshipping at the altar of the AMA or the ASMBS. I’ve encountered some wonderful doctors and surgeons in my lifetime, and some bad ones too. The average American bandster might see 3-4 doctors on a regular basis (a few times a year): a primary care physician, a gynecologist (if you’re of that persuasion), a dentist, and maybe a chiropractor or a specialist like an eye doctor. The average American bariatric surgeon probably sees 20-30 patients a day (perhaps a few thousand per year). Since I’m not a mind-reader, and no one cares as much about my weight loss journey as much as I do, I figure it’s my responsibility to refresh my doctors’ memories each time I see them. I might wish that I didn’t have to repeat over and over again that (for example) I’m hearing impaired and need my doctor to look at me when he speaks, but that’s a minor issue compared to some of the bigger ones I face as a mature adult.

My NUT has me on some restrictions until i get my weight off. Then it's management and enjoy food w/in reason. If you can handle food in moderation, then go ahead and enjoy small things. I CANNOT. Carbs affect me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. From inflammation to weight gain and everything in between. I "allowed" myself high carb 'healthy' Protein bars 2 weeks ago and wow have i paid for it. I think I finally have my cravings back under control. So for me, for now, I do have dietary restrictions. Again, This new life isn't a one fits all.

Not only can PCOS cause weight gain it can make it nearly impossible to lose weight ,, hence why we are all here ! Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Symptoms this is just one site but google PCOS and read the symptoms , treatments, ect about it I bet you have more symptoms than you realize. Just an FYI never take one docs "answer" or Opinon about anything. docs are like everyone else , they have their own Opinions , beliefs and ideas on everything including diseases and treatments. at the very least If i find out something about my health I will go home and verify it on the net some how. I NEVER take a docs word along . Mindy

Wow. Thanks for all your advice. I had no idea that PCOS can cause a lot of weight gain, and cause all these things. I just thought it was a chronic growth of cysts. I know a good female doctor, but she is not on my insurance group. I'll have to see what I can do. I'm now very concerned and confused about my doctor's response to my inquiries. What an A-hole. He didn't even bother to explain any of it to me. I guess I should have known when I had a uterus the size of a 5 month pregnancy for two years..... DUH!!!

I believe I've been on Actos and Met for about 6 months. There's been a marked improvement when it comes to my glucose levels. When testing my sugar, I'm usually in the range of 90-115, which is wonderful for me. I'd been testing at 200ish for such a long time that my PCP almost jumped for joy when they did my first A1C after taking the Actos for 3 months. As far as the PCOS and its symptoms - there's been no real change that I can see. My cycle is still incredibly irregular and my cravings and PMS are insane. I have to admit that I've been apprehensive about Actos since it is a relative of Avandia. I read recently that it "may be less effective than other drugs for diabetes and cause liver damage, weight gain, anemia and heart failure". Fortunately, it has worked for me as far as the blood sugars go...but my weight is still a problem. PS Thank you all for the warm welcome. I really appreciate it!

I asked my doctor about spironolactone, and he said that is is contraindicated during pregnancy and since I choose not to use birth control, he is not comfortable prescribing it to me. I tried laser hair removal and epilation, but it scarred my face and was so expensive. I wax my lip, chin, and sideburns once a week. Facial and arm hair are probably the two things, next to weight gain, that I hate the most about PCOS. Amy

I'm about five months out. In the past month, I lose two pounds and then gain it back. I've lost 40lbs same as you. The one major change I've made is I haven't been to the gym since the week before Christmas due to a sprained knee. I am cleared to go back to the gym next week. I'm sure that the exercise component is the thing stalling my weight loss. I still eat the same, proteins first, get my water in etc. If you cant go to the gym try any activity and see if that helps to jump start your weight loss. You are right there will be a weight gain but the gain can be minimal as long as we stay on top of it. Trust the process and trust yourself.

Dear Jim and carolinagirl, you both are such inspirations! I lost 100 lbs, and have had troubles maintaining it. Both of you have had amazing weightlosses, and I am so impressed! I have had a recent fill, and am trying to lose the weight gained over the last 2 years after losing my 100 lbs and having a revision. I lost momentum, but now feeling back on track. I have a snacking problem, folks reading this, beware for sliders, they will take over and catch up to you! Congrats to you newbies, and my two heroes!

I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem....I went for my first fill on Thursday, 2/5, and I weighed in at the doctors at 274, but today I got on the scale and I weigh 280. I don't know what happen, I hardly consumed anything the last couple of days cause I don't feel hungry at all, I have all I can do right now to drink my shakes. :thumbdown::confused: I don't know what is wrong.

I also didn't do any kind of a pre-op diet, I could eat up until 8 hours before surgery. My surgeon told me I didn't need to take the magnesium citrate that the surgical service automatically prescribed, which thrilled the heck out of me! When the surgery was approved my surgeon sent me a very sternly worded letter, stating that if i had any weight gain between then and the surgical day, the procedure would be delayed. Since I had to get through Thanksgiving I tried to be a very good girl, and ate lightly the last few days before the procedure (Cereal & milk, Protein bars, etc). I was told later that my liver did look like it had some evidence of Fatty Liver Disease and he took a biopsy while he was doing the surgery to rule out anything else. Losing weight is the best treatment for FLD, he said. I haven't gotten any more phone calls from the hospital so I'm assuming all is well. I'm kind of glad that I didn't have to do a pre-op diet because I think those that did seem to be getting sick of liquids and Protein shakes pretty quickly, and might be tempted to advance their diet too fast. I actually like the way my Protein shake tastes. :tongue2:

My biggest scar is where the lapband port was inserted and removed (used same scar line). It is faded quite white and barely noticable, especially compared to the stretch marks from childbirth and a liftetime of weight gain and loss and regain even more.... Scars from lap surgery are NOTHING compared to the stretch marks and wrinkly skin. One of these days I will have to post a photo of that hot mess...LOL

So, my 4 weeks is officially today. I've lost 26lbs. I should be thrilled, right? Nope. I have this total mental derp happening that makes me feel like I will somehow be the only person in gastric bypass history to ONLY lose 26lbs and that's it. I'm done. No more weight loss. lol! I think because I've had so many failures in the past, I just anticipate this being another one of them... even though I am following everything the best I can (in light of my ulcer, I am low on protein - working on it!) I also have a mental derp against protein shakes. Aside from my whey allergy and getting super nauseous... back in 2009 I had liposuction when I was a mere 140lbs. After surgery I drank TONSSSS of muscle-building/weight-gaining protein shakes because the plastic surgeon said I needed them for muscle recovery. Welp, I gained 40lbs doing that! I had no guidance and was an idiot, basically. But that's where the weight gain started - so I have a creeper lurking in my brain that protein shakes = weight gain = super morbid obesity. I am trying to get over it; I have a sweet home gym and was just told yesterday I am not allowed to exercise because my protein is currently too low. So, that has motivated me more and I started a soy shake last night. Gunna keep it up. I feel like I have conquered so many of my cravings-issues, though. I read just a few chapters in Never Binge Again and it is so helpful. I highly recommend that book. I feel very in control, and did have one mishap the other day when I got very stressed (I overate, but not a "banned food")... we're all human, though. Why are our brains so self-defeating?! I know I am championing through this in light of the complication and there is NO reason I will fail... unless I set myself up for it. So, nipping it in the bud now, for sure. But it sure is hard to overcome some of those mental blocks. If it wasn't, I'm sure most of us wouldn't be here. Just my random blurb o' the day.

That's a good plan:) I know I made myself crazy with the scale in the beginning. Right now you want to focus on recovering from surgery and your nutrition/hydration. If you do that, the weight loss will happen. At 3 years out, I weigh a few times per week. That may be too much for some, but I use to just ignore my weight and the scale. So if I'm not weighing often, it's a slippery slope for me. Once I got to my goal weight, I gave myself a 5-7 pound "buffer" that I wouldn't worry too much, but I don't allow myself to get beyond that. That way I'm catching any weight gain before it because overwhelming to me.

I am due to have my sleeve on 8/18. I am getting nervous. I was just on the veterans forum and I saw many people posting about weight gains, and struggling to maintain their weight using intermittent fasting. I used intermittent fasting, also a 500 calorie diet to lose 75 pounds several years ago....and it came back despite my struggling with excercise, sticking to a low carb, then moderate carb paleo diet. So, when I see people years post op talking about using weight loss techniques that I have tried and over time failed to stop regaining weight with....well it makes me wonder whether the surgery has lasting value. Will the sleeve help me lose weight? No doubt. Heck, I can lose weight on my own ( we all can) But what I am wondering if it will make it easier for me to maintain! I was hoping that after losing the weight, the sleeve would allow me to eat my normal healthy paleo way of eating ( Protein and vegetables and healthy fats) without always having to go hungry in order to keep from gaining weight. I am quite an easy gainer. Does the sleeve allow you to eat less food ( healthy food) and still feel full when you are greater than 1 year out? What benefits have you continued to notice after a year or more post op?

Oh this makes me soooo excited! I am a 40DD, and would LOVE to be back to a B. I hate the weight of them and how much bigger I look with them too. I did lose a ton of weight twice before after 2 of my kids and I don't remember losing much up there...I was smaller before the weight gain too.

That is a good tip. The eating late has really done a job on me and contributed to my weight gain. Thanks for the reminder.

I had a very similar issue (10lb weight gain at 6 weeks). It turns out that I gained 14lbs of water weight, 1lb of muscle and lost 5lbs of fat. IMO, there's no need to do any adjustments diet-wise. You might consider investing in a scale that measures water and fat mass separately. They run for ~$40 on Amazon.

A desk job and an outrageous schedule led to my weight gain more so than a love of food. I say this because I would frequently go a day or more without really eating because I would be too busy to eat. When I did eat, I would eat the wrong things and at the wrong times. My job hasn't changed. I still spend hours at a computer, but I've changed how I do my job. I converted my desk to a standing desk, so I can stand while working instead of sitting. I've also looked into treadmill desks. I feel the standing desk works better for me. I am standing in front of my desk in the profile picture, and I blogged about it when I created it:: http://www.lindasherwood.com/2012/12/06/dream-it-and-it-happens/

2yrs, weight coming back, help

Hi all! I found out yesterday that my surgery date is Dec. 21. Now this is strange because I just submitted the final bit of documentation that was needed to submit to insurance. So as far as I know, they hadn't submitted anything to the insurance company for approval yet. I was in seeing my hematologist yesterday, and she happened so tell me that they had contacted her about the availability of a date for me (I'm going through some not fun, non-obesity related heal nonsense). This struck me as weird, since, as I've said they had JUST received the required documents for submission... My pre-op is Dec. 8th and the surgery is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 21. Did this happen to anyone else? Were you given a slot before everything was submitted? Also, I'm a little nervous. I was in the hospital for about a month this past summer. I lost about 30 pounds, but since I've been out I've slowly gained some back. My weight was pretty stable for a while, and in these last weeks I've gained about 4 pounds. It may not sound like much, but I'm nervous they may delay my surgery due to this weight gain. I hadn't been eating really since I was sick, and have had a good appetite for a while now. Should I be nervous?