Wife has gained a few pounds and totally freaked out!!

[lawdawg18 0]

My wonderful wife was banded Feb 17, 06. She is right at three weeks post-op. The first two weeks she lost 27 pounds she was sooo excited, but during this 3rd week she has put 3 pounds back on. She is eating what I would consider very good, grilled fish, protien shakes, tuna, Water etc..no breads, no red meat, no cokes, nothing fried. She has been going to the gym and walking about 3 times a week for 30-45 min.

So is this normal and what can I tell her to reasure her everything is going to be ok?

Thanks

Jason

[tilly 5]

it could be Water, or glygogen re-gain, it could be that her body has now adjusted. I wouldnt worry about 3lbs my hubby is slim, and just as an experiment, I asked him to weigh daily for a week, his weight fluctuated by as much as 5lbs day to day.

I cant resist weighing daily and I know I shouldnt, but I can regain 8lbs overnight and have to wait a few days for it to go away again, unfortunatly we overweight peeps can retain a lot of Fluid without even knowing. so if shes only eating the same amount she lost 27lbs on she will keep losing, if shes been eating more (whilst really needing a bit less as she isnt as heavy) that could be a contributing factor. however, to gain 3lbs she needs to have eaten about 10,000 calories too many for her burn off needs, and im sure shed have noticed.

so tell her not to fret, it will no doubt sort itself out, we like to see a constant downhill movement on the scales, of course we do, but it doesnt happen. hang on in there and it will start the downhill process again, if the gain doesnt stop, then its calorie counting time again *sigh

but give it a week at least

good luck

[mrycrltn 2]

It sounds like she is doing everything right. It is still to soon from her surgery date. Wait till she starts getting fills. Then your going to see a big smile on her face.

[juliek 0]

It is totally normal! She is still in the healing phase where recovery, not weight loss is really what is going on. Tell her to remember that she has probably been on a liquid/soft diet for the last 3 weeks, adding in normal food is going to change this a bit. Plus, if she has been exercising and working out, some of that could be muscle gain.

Tell her I said good luck and welcome to bandland!

[banded_for_life 2]

Yes, once you go back to solid foods, it is normal to see some weight gain back and it is OK! The band is designed to work with a fill. Just advise her to continue to eat good healthy meals like she has been doing and make sure that she is watching her calorie intake and getting enough Water. Fitday is a good free source to log those calories. Best wishes!

[HeatherGurl 0]

A lot of people can fluctuate 2-3lbs a day... So I wouldn't worry about that in a week...

I was 272lb yesterday and this morning.. 275lbs.

Tell her to not worry about it!

[gentlespirit 1]

I've been told that when you go from liquids back to mushies and/or solid foods it's very normal to gain a few pounds back. I gained about 4 pounds and while I know it's discouraging, tell her that she'll start losing again once she gets a fill.

Emily

[Dody 0]

Could just be the system a woman's body goes through...she could have a little Water weight, be PMS'ing (maybe that is why she is freaking out I sure wouldn't worry about it. It sounds perfectly normal to me.

[Wheetsin 714]

So far I've had similar stats to your wife's. I know a big part of my initial loss was dehydration. As she has started getting in more and more hydration, her weight is going to go up until the body feels it can release some of its reserves (the more Water coming in, the quicker/more likely it will release), it's nothing more than a fact of life - but it sucks on the scale!

[kimalicious 5]

Everyone else said it, when you go from taking in nothing but fluids once you start eating real food you will have to place on a few pounds. Tell her not to fret though especially since she has lost almost 30 pounds in 2 weeks. That is a lot of weight to lose very quickly, her body has to adjust to that. No one can maintain weightloss like that for very long. Tell her not to get discouraged and to keep up the healthy lifestyle and the pounds will start dropping again soon enough...

[lawdawg18 0]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have been trying to tell her these things but I can tell she is very frustrated.

I think she feels like she is trying sooooo hard yet she is gaining these pounds.

As far as eating solid foods, she really eats only 1 (what I would call a) meal a day. Usually Breakfast and lunch is fruit, maybe 1 egg, very small oatmeal, yogurt, or one of those yogurt drinks, dinner has been tuna, shrimp, baked chicken, or sometype of grilled fish, then usually sometimes after dinner I make her a protien shake.

I know she has been keeping track of her calorie intake but I do not know off the top of my head what it is.

THANKS

Jason

[Wheetsin 714]

I would bet most of what I own that she is losing fat, even if she's not losing weight. The scale represents all of the mass your body has, your skin, and everything inside of it, as well as a few things outside of it. It does not give an accurate account of the fat stored in your body.

This is why, even when you're following a good diet and exercising, etc. - the scale can mame it look like you're gaining weight... when in fact you're retaining Water, building muscle, haven't pooed in a while, etc. Hmm... everyr wonder why so many dieters get frustrated and give up just a few weeks in?

If she isn't already, encourage your wife to keep track of her measurements. I'd bet her sizes go down even if the scale doesn't. If you have access to one, forget the scale COMPLETELY and use a body fat analyzer. The fat is really what we care about losing, not the Fluid in our cells... but a scale will never show you a true loss of fat.