Question:
Gaining weight 4 years post op

I have gained approx 15-20 lbs since my surgery, most of which has been since November. I quit Curves then, going 3 times a week, but I have been very diligent in exercising at home, 5-6 times a week. I alternate 1-3 mile walking DVD with 25 min Biggest Loser workout. My husband says I may not be eating enough calories with all the exercise I am doing. Any suggestions?? I am scared of going back to my pre surgery weight.    — Nancy M. (posted on June 5, 2008)


June 5, 2008
Your hubby might be right. You could be in starvation mode. Add a protein shake to your day...The protein will help you lose and will feed your muscles. Don't cut out complex carbs as will exercising you need them for energy and to shake things up you might actually add a banana or other fruit to that shake and see if that doesn't get your scale moving again....Raise your calories slowly buy 100-200 cals at the most. Hope that helps!
   — .Anita R.

June 5, 2008
First off, weight loss is not always a straight line loss. Some times there are plateaus. Some times there are gains. There are a few possibilities that you need to consider. The first is: Are you retaining water? The second is: Are you getting enough protein and exercise. In the FIRST scenario: the issue will probably resolve itself given time. In a few days or a week or so, you will lose the water and lose the weight. The SECOND is actually a GOOD thing if it is occurring! If the SECOND scenario is the case, what is happening is that the protein that you consume is being turned into lean muscle mass on your body by the exercise. Lean muscle weighs more than FAT per cubic inch so you can't measure your progress by the SCALE at this stage of your weight loss but you CAN with a MEASURING TAPE! If you are NOT dropping pounds but ARE dropping INCHES, you are GAINING Muscle! MORE MUSCLE means LESS FAT! The lean muscle mass will help to ACCELERATE your weight loss! There is the possibility of a THIRD option that I did NOT mention before. If one of the FIRST two are not your problem then the THIRD option is likely. The THIRD option is that your body's Metabolism SET Point could have readjusted itself to starvation mode. This IS possible. Give it some time. If things don't start working in a week or so you may want to contact your physician and get PROFESSIONAL advice and go to a nutritionist. A nutritionist will be able to set you up with a dietary lifestyle that will meet your nutritional needs and your dietary preferences so that you are likely to STICK with it. You will also be able to LOSE those last few pounds because he or she will be able to CALCULATE the calories that you need to consume to lose the weight at the maximum rate that your body will allow without triggering your body's metabolism set point. This is probably the problem you are having now. You need to eat a certain number of calories a day before your body starts holding on to all the FAT that it has stored and actually starts robbing your body of it's own PROTEIN instead. What your body takes instead of the fat is MUSCLE. You do NOT want it to do that. Muscle BURNS fat! Your body does not discriminate from WHAT muscle it robs the protein FROM either. It will take it from your HEART muscle as readily as it will from your LEG muscle. You need to eat a certain amount of both PROTEIN and CARBOHYDRATE a day and for each person that amount will be different depending upon what their GOAL is. If your goal is to lose weight and you are a SMALL WOMAN, the requirements will be different than if you were a large MAN who wants to MAINTAIN your weight. This is why you cannot use someone ELSE'S dietary program to optimize your weight loss. I hope this helps, Hugh
   — hubarlow

June 6, 2008
Go back to the basics, start over, drinking lots of water, eat lots of protien, very little carbs, they make sugar. Look back on what worked in the begining and it will work again. Stay positive.
   — Ira Sansolo

June 6, 2008
My story to the T. I need to start exercising and using self-discipline. Perhaps a co-op of WLS alumni and accountability would help. Contact me. Let's try!
   — bariatricdivalatina

June 6, 2008
You sound like me. I have gained almost 15lbs since Nov of last year but I have lost about 5 of it. but the last 10 won't move. I go to the gym 2-3x a week and walk anywhere from 30mins to and 1hr usually burning about 300 calories each time. I can't seem to explain my weight issue either except that I may not be eating enough proteins and I have starting snacking more frequently. I hope we get back on tract. I am seriously considering have a revision since I never got below 198lbs.
   — LARRISHA S.




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