Help...I was banded on November 21st. Dropped 26 pounds in the first month and was super happy with that result. Went for my first fill two days before Christmas and it was piece of cake (maybe I shouldnt use those terms). Made it through Christmas without falling off due to temptations, only ate half a Christmas cookie off my normal "diet". My clothes feel a bit loose and people seem to be noticing a bit. HOWEVER, the past 5 days, I have gained 2 and a half pounds and have no idea what is going on?! I have not increased my diet or decreased my exercise...I havent done anything "bad". How can you possibly gain weight when you are barely eating enough to keep a small child alive? Has anyone else had this experience? I dont know what to do, I am starting to panic. Of course my first thought is "oh my gosh, maybe this isnt going to work for me". I am scared...any thoughts?

:help:

You are probably retaining water. Are you pre menstraul? Are you drinking 64 oz a day? Are you getting at least 60 gm of protien? Be sure you aren't eating too few cal. You are not going to fail! The band works! Hang in there!

I am doing everything "by the book". I am getting all my water and protein in. My "time of the month" just ended. Is there a certain amount of calories we should be eating? The only thing I can figure is I dont eat any fruits and veggies because when I am done with my protein, I dont want anything else.

I want this to work...when I got discouraged on diets before, I would eat eat eat, at least I cant do that now. Thanks for your post...I hope this is just a minor set back. If it continues, I will call the Dr

Please don't get discouraged. For many a big wieght loss will be followed by no loss or even a gain. The body is adjusting to the new food intake, new level of exercise....a lot of new stuff is happening in our bodies. And remember that if you're exercising consistently you're building muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat so while a weight loss may not show up on the scale your body is physically getting smaller.

I've been banded for about 15 months and had many times where I haven't lost an ounce for several months....but then the weight loss will start up again. I still haven't figured out what triggers a plateau.

So, keep doing what you're doing and be sure to count those NSVs (non-scale victories)!....Good luck on your journey

Tanya, are you counting your caloric intake?

Are you logging what you eat and weighing often? I weigh every day...not expecting the pounds to fall off, but to compare the weight flux to what I am ingesting. It helps a lot and logging your food makes you hypersensitive to what you are eating. If you log accurately (and I mean, every cookie, etc.) you will see exactly what you have to do. I log whether I am good or bad and believe me, the little changes can make a difference. Also, are you eating things high in sodium? Holidays tend to bring that. I have been out of town at my brother's for Christmas and even though I could not eat a LOT, I definitely ate a lot of the WRONG things (though really small portions), and had a lot of things like ham (HIGH sodium), so when I get back in the sddle and start getting things in order again tomorrow (got home today), I know that ol scale will have jumped up several pounds, but that is OKAY considering what I have been doing.

Did you eat some salty Protein? Have you had a BM ( bowel movement) in the past five days?

Once I started thick liquids, one of my choices was tomato Soup and after having only Clear Liquids for a week previous, I found I gained just from the salt in the soup. It eventually came off. Also, I find that if I go a few days without a BM, which happens more often now, with consuming more protein and more liquids, that I don;t lose anything for about five days. Once I "go" the scale goes down and stays down.

It's normal to go up and down a pound or two, but trust me, I have to convince myself of that when it happens to me, too.

If you're getting protein and not overeating, it will come off.