Weight Gain Normal?

[KiraCat 4]

I was sleeved 12/10 I ended up staying in the hospital 2 extra days because my heart rate was so unbelievably high.

The first week I lost 10lbs and my doctor sped up my diet because I wasn't getting enough Calories. He told me to start soft foods over the weekend because I couldn't keep down purees. I have been religious about getting all my fluids (between 69-78 oz a day) and have been struggling to meet my protien goal. I have been walking and working out as much as I can stand but get EXTREMELY worn out very quickly.

I have gained back 6 lbs of the 10 I lost the first week.

I never get full or stuck/sick feeling. I feel like I am constantly hungry. It is really bumming me out and making me think the surgery didn't work. Is this weight gain normal? Is there something I am doing wrong or need to do better?

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Weight gain and stalls can happen, even this early out. Don't panic! Give your body time to adjust and adapt to all of the trauma it has been through. As for not feeling full, that is also common. The surgery can seriously damage your nerves and therefore mess up all the signals from your stomach to your brain. It is VERY VERY important to measure your food and eat on a schedule. DO NOT rely on signals from your body right now. Also, while it is good to be walking short distances frequently throughout the day, don't overdo it. You are still healing and recovering from major surgery. You shouldn't be worrying about calorie burn right now. You should be focusing on healing and getting all of your Water and Protein in.

[Proud2BMe 1,016]

No, that's not normal. Weight can fluctuate a couple of pounds from day to day but to gain 6 pounds back when you only have lost 10 lbs means you are consuming too many calories. I'm betting it's carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss and they can really sneak up on you. Log everything you eat. Talk to your doctor because this is not normal.

***EDIT: It's normal to gain some weight back when you are 2+ years out but not just a couple of weeks out of surgery. You should not be gaining weight this soon after surgery. You have just entered your rapid weight loss phase and the pounds should be flying off. If you consume too many calories they won't though.

Edited December 21, 2015 by Proud2BMe

[Miss Mac 6,262]

In the soft foods phase, it is so easy to want to eat canned fruit, mashed potatoes, chicken noodle Soup with the noodles, Peanut Butter, pancakes, and chili with cheese, Beans, and sour cream. The calories and carbs can add up quickly.

So long as you have a blender or food processor, you can take moist meats like chicken and roast beef and add some broth to make them even wetter. Your veggies need to be non-starchy, and fruit is a treat. I was allowed one serving of fruit a day. Watch out for processed foods because of the added sugar and salt.

If you are doing your own food prep, learn to eat with minimal salt. I have found post-op that any time I have salt with my dinner, I will be up at least two pounds overnight. Some people can handle it; I cannot. It will take me a week to lose those two pounds.

One other thing that causes me weight gain is medications. I had to go back on Lyrica in September and gained ten pounds in twelve days! That was enough for me, so I went back to the pain clinic to request different treatment.

I gained twelve pounds during the two days I was in the hospital because of IV fluids. So, I had to lose that before even thinking about my post-op weight loss.

One thing you will learn is how to listen to your body, and how to be a good detective. You will learn way more than you expect about health, anatomy, nutrition, and the psychology of person relationships. Just be mindful of following your program, and don't lose your momentum Hang in there.

[KiraCat 4]

The hardest thing is that I have very strict dietary restrictions due to food allergies. I am also vegan. I am allergic to wheat, dairy, and eggs. So most of what I consume is vegetables, tofu, and veggie Soups. I have been trying to do protien smoothies but it has been really rough to keep it down. The veggie protien just doesn't do well with my stomach. So I am really at a loss of what else to eat. :/

[MsCyrus 90]

KiraCat, I hope you are posting on multiple forums! There has to be others out there like you. Also, did your surgeons office nutritionist create a plan for you?

I wish you the best!

[Babbs 14,681]

No, that's not normal. Weight can fluctuate a couple of pounds from day to day but to gain 6 pounds back when you only have lost 10 lbs means you are consuming too many calories. I'm betting it's carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss and they can really sneak up on you. Log everything you eat. Talk to your doctor because this is not normal.

***EDIT: It's normal to gain some weight back when you are 2+ years out but not just a couple of weeks out of surgery. You should not be gaining weight this soon after surgery. You have just entered your rapid weight loss phase and the pounds should be flying off. If you consume too many calories they won't though.

With all due respect, no. Just...no.

Gaining weight this early out is COMPLETELY normal. It's not possible to gain 6 pounds of fat by overeating as early out as she is. You could be eating McDonald's shakes at this stage with chocolate chip Cookies and still lose weight. You are dead wrong.

It's part of the 3 week stall. She is just one of the lucky ones that gains while the body adjusts. She will start losing weight again once it passes.

You just stay the course and let your body do its thing. Don't get discouraged! You're doing great!

[Babbs 14,681]

Here is why this happens at around 3 weeks post surgery:

http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.php

[Proud2BMe 1,016]

No, that's not normal. Weight can fluctuate a couple of pounds from day to day but to gain 6 pounds back when you only have lost 10 lbs means you are consuming too many calories. I'm betting it's carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss and they can really sneak up on you. Log everything you eat. Talk to your doctor because this is not normal.

***EDIT: It's normal to gain some weight back when you are 2+ years out but not just a couple of weeks out of surgery. You should not be gaining weight this soon after surgery. You have just entered your rapid weight loss phase and the pounds should be flying off. If you consume too many calories they won't though.

With all due respect, no. Just...no.

Gaining weight this early out is COMPLETELY normal. It's not possible to gain 6 pounds of fat by overeating as early out as she is. You could be eating McDonald's shakes at this stage with chocolate chip Cookies and still lose weight. You are dead wrong.

It's part of the 3 week stall. She is just one of the lucky ones that gains while the body adjusts. She will start losing weight again once it passes.

You just stay the course and let your body do its thing. Don't get discouraged! You're doing great!

i completely disagree with your statements. You are entitled to your opinion but the surgery itself does not cause fat to melt. It's the severe restriction of calories. The truth is the scale doesn't lie but we can lie to ourselves. It takes like 3,000 extra calories to gain a pound (not including Water weight). So if someone is gaining weight they must be sneaking in extra calories and most likely through carbs. The poster in question has admitted she is a vegan and on top of that is not even able to eat vegan Protein. So I'm guessing her diet is mostly carbs at this stage. These are my opinions, of course, take them or leave them as anyone seems fit.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

No, that's not normal. Weight can fluctuate a couple of pounds from day to day but to gain 6 pounds back when you only have lost 10 lbs means you are consuming too many calories. I'm betting it's carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss and they can really sneak up on you. Log everything you eat. Talk to your doctor because this is not normal.

***EDIT: It's normal to gain some weight back when you are 2+ years out but not just a couple of weeks out of surgery. You should not be gaining weight this soon after surgery. You have just entered your rapid weight loss phase and the pounds should be flying off. If you consume too many calories they won't though.

With all due respect, no. Just...no.

Gaining weight this early out is COMPLETELY normal. It's not possible to gain 6 pounds of fat by overeating as early out as she is. You could be eating McDonald's shakes at this stage with chocolate chip Cookies and still lose weight. You are dead wrong.

It's part of the 3 week stall. She is just one of the lucky ones that gains while the body adjusts. She will start losing weight again once it passes.

You just stay the course and let your body do its thing. Don't get discouraged! You're doing great!

i completely disagree with your statements. You are entitled to your opinion but the surgery itself does not cause fat to melt. It's the severe restriction of calories. The truth is the scale doesn't lie but we can lie to ourselves. It takes like 3,000 extra calories to gain a pound (not including Water weight). So if someone is gaining weight they must be sneaking in extra calories and most likely through carbs. The poster in question has admitted she is a vegan and on top of that is not even able to eat vegan Protein. So I'm guessing her diet is mostly carbs at this stage. These are my opinions, of course, take them or leave them as anyone seems fit.

The flaw in your logic is that you aren't accounting for Water weight. We are advised to drink a minimum of 64 oz. of water a day. That's four POUNDS of water a day. Retaining any amount of that can cause large fluctuations on the scale that have nothing to do with calories or gaining fat. To gain 6 pounds of actual fat, the original poster would have had to ingest 21000 EXCESS calories in 4 days (PS: it takes 3500 excess calories to gain a pound, not 3000 as you said in your post). That's an average of over 5200 EXTRA calories a day at only a week post op. I don't know about you, but I was struggling to get in over 400 calories a day at 7 days post-op. There is no way the original poster is physically capable of consuming something like 7000 calories a day this early out. Unless she's hooked up to a milk shake IV or something. This is clearly her body responding to the trauma of surgery and retaining water.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Fluid fluctuations are completely normal right after post-op. Between IV fluids, swelling, Water retention, dehydration, the scale is measuring everything. The best thing to do is to stay off the scale and only weigh at your doctors appointments.

[KiraCat 4]

@@Proud2BMe It is wrong that you assume I am sitting around eating crap. The only carbs I have eaten in the last week have been a Tablespoon of banana apple puree and 1 melon ball of honeydew, besides the carbohydrates that are in veggie broth, spinach, tofu, and other veggies (which are very minimal).

I have been religiously logging my food and measuring for every meal. fruit based carbs are the only high carb food in my home (and raw seed crackers that I can't eat at this point). That is the reason I am worried about the weight gain. When I came on this forum expected for people to be helpful and uplifting, but reading your comments is disheartening and very negative.

Side note: After consulting with my doctor he said the culprit is Constipation and Water retention.

[Proud2BMe 1,016]

No, that's not normal. Weight can fluctuate a couple of pounds from day to day but to gain 6 pounds back when you only have lost 10 lbs means you are consuming too many calories. I'm betting it's carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss and they can really sneak up on you. Log everything you eat. Talk to your doctor because this is not normal.

***EDIT: It's normal to gain some weight back when you are 2+ years out but not just a couple of weeks out of surgery. You should not be gaining weight this soon after surgery. You have just entered your rapid weight loss phase and the pounds should be flying off. If you consume too many calories they won't though.

With all due respect, no. Just...no.

Gaining weight this early out is COMPLETELY normal. It's not possible to gain 6 pounds of fat by overeating as early out as she is. You could be eating McDonald's shakes at this stage with chocolate chip Cookies and still lose weight. You are dead wrong.

It's part of the 3 week stall. She is just one of the lucky ones that gains while the body adjusts. She will start losing weight again once it passes.

You just stay the course and let your body do its thing. Don't get discouraged! You're doing great!

i completely disagree with your statements. You are entitled to your opinion but the surgery itself does not cause fat to melt. It's the severe restriction of calories. The truth is the scale doesn't lie but we can lie to ourselves. It takes like 3,000 extra calories to gain a pound (not including Water weight). So if someone is gaining weight they must be sneaking in extra calories and most likely through carbs. The poster in question has admitted she is a vegan and on top of that is not even able to eat vegan Protein. So I'm guessing her diet is mostly carbs at this stage. These are my opinions, of course, take them or leave them as anyone seems fit.

The flaw in your logic is that you aren't accounting for Water weight. We are advised to drink a minimum of 64 oz. of water a day. That's four POUNDS of water a day. Retaining any amount of that can cause large fluctuations on the scale that have nothing to do with calories or gaining fat. To gain 6 pounds of actual fat, the original poster would have had to ingest 21000 EXCESS calories in 4 days (PS: it takes 3500 excess calories to gain a pound, not 3000 as you said in your post). That's an average of over 5200 EXTRA calories a day at only a week post op. I don't know about you, but I was struggling to get in over 400 calories a day at 7 days post-op. There is no way the original poster is physically capable of consuming something like 7000 calories a day this early out. Unless she's hooked up to a milk shake IV or something. This is clearly her body responding to the trauma of surgery and retaining water.

No, I actually addressed water weight. Drinking 4 lbs of water a day is nothing because most of it goes right out. Hint: You know you are fully hydrated when your urine is clear.

I know what you are trying to communicate and I fully know about stalls as well. It's just that a stall means no movement, not regain.

If the poster had edema or heart and circulation issues then this may factor in to the excess water weight. However, the poster has already admitted to her diet habits.

In the long run 6 lbs is no big deal. However, if it is from consuming too much then it's better to catch it at the beginning.

[Proud2BMe 1,016]

@@Proud2BMe It is wrong that you assume I am sitting around eating crap. The only carbs I have eaten in the last week have been a Tablespoon of banana apple puree and 1 melon ball of honeydew, besides the carbohydrates that are in veggie broth, spinach, tofu, and other veggies (which are very minimal).
I have been religiously logging my food and measuring for every meal. fruit based carbs are the only high carb food in my home (and raw seed crackers that I can't eat at this point). That is the reason I am worried about the weight gain. When I came on this forum expected for people to be helpful and uplifting, but reading your comments is disheartening and very negative.
Side note: After consulting with my doctor he said the culprit is Constipation and Water retention.

****************************************

I never said you ate crap and I do not appreciate your implying such. I have not once been negative to you. It's only naturally to bring up the subject of ingesting too many carbs on posts where people are complaining of weight gain.

FYI: Fruit based carbs are no different from other carbs. Just so you know. The sugar in some fruits can be on the same level as candy and fruit juices are worse, about the same as drinking a regular soda. I'm not saying you can't eat fruit or anything like that, just keep that in mind.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Proud2BMe

[Babbs 14,681]

@@Proud2BMe

Did you even read the article I posted? Educate yourself. You are completely incorrect in saying that someone can actually gain weight by eating carbs at 3 weeks out.

Opinion and fact are two different things. What I posted are scientific facts. You telling someone that it's her fault she put on 6 pounds at 3 weeks out is not only your opinion, but a dangerous and ludicrous one at that.

If she was 6 or 7 months out, your opinion may be a little more valid. But not this time.

So please stop acting like an expert when you're clearly a newbie and do not, in fact, know what you're talking about.