5 weeks out from TT and up in weight - HELP!

I don't understand how it can happen that I have 8 lbs of tissue removed during my anchor tummy tuck, and here I am 5 weeks later and my weight has  ballooned up by 6 lbs in 6 days.  I am sticking to my pre-op maintenance diet and should not be gaining.  Did anyone else have this experience?  Was it due to swelling and did it resolve on its own at a later point in time? HELP!

For many of us, myself included, our metabolisms tend to be in overdrive when we are healing and we lose weight. I know for the first 3 months post-plastics I ate over 3000 calories a day and still lost. At the 3 month mark I did start to gain and had to cut back on my calories, dang it!!

Well, darn!  Why couldn't I have that problem?

Swelling.  Nothing else would account for that much of an increase over that period of time.  And, much to my dismay, no, you don't lose a whole lot (if anything) from PS.  With my LBL, my doc said that most patients will drop 10 pounds from the surgery, but it comes back over the course of the year.  I dropped about 8, and about 6 came back.  Pooh!

I've got to second a lot of the responses that were already posted. Your body is working so incredibly hard to heal that it needs a ton of extra energy right now- even at 5 weeks out. After each of my surgeries I ate enough for 3 people!! For weeks! At first it was concerning but at some point I just realized... it wasn't emotional eating, it wasn't boredom... it was legit hunger! My body needed the extra fuel to recover from the major trauma it had endured. These extra calories will not make you gain weight, they will just help you heal. Now isn't the time to be worried about the weight. When you're fully recovered then you can think about strategic eating, cutting carbs, layering in strength and cardio training, but for now just do what your body is telling you that you need to do to heal (just make sure your go to food group is protein first- this will help with the healing). Also, the swelling doesn't usually fully subside for 6-8 months. I have had 4 stages of post weight loss reconstructive plastics, and each time my weight increased for several months post-op. You'll probably be pleased to see that when all the swelling dissipates, your weight will probably drop to an all time low. It is exciting to see, but don't make this low low # your new normal, its really just your bodies response to a long fight for recovery, then a phase of normalization. However, at the end of the day its so not about the number on the scale, its about how you look and feel... and after all that swelling goes down you're going to look and feel like a million bucks!! Focus on that, and how great your clothes fit your new shape! :)

Thanks for your encouraging reply cola. I will look forward to the all time low!

I am six weeks out from my TT and my experience has been that it looked great and my weight was way down in the first week or two, and I have been swelling up more, visibly and on the scale, ever since!  LOL

Yesterday I experimented with leaving my compression garment at home when I went to work and oh my goodness!  I swelled up a LOT over the course of the day!  So back I go to wearing my garment for at least another week or two.

Turns out this is a long haul and I'm just trying to be patient and trust that things will back to normal (and much, much better than the old "normal!") in time.  As you know it takes up to a year to see final results so we have to just be relax and try not to get discouraged.

I am a month out from TT and hysterectomy.  I dropped 6 lbs so far.  I had lost a few more but regained a few.

I just had some plastics done last week. I am swollen and my surgeon said that I have not reached the worst of it yet. I recall from my tummy tuck that I got to a point where my pre surgery pants were so small that I could not even bring the button close together. They were a size 14. But at 3.5 months post op I was in size 8. The swelling plays head games with us but it does go away and you will be left with a flat body!

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate hearing the experiences that others have had. It helps me realize that I am not crazy!