Question:
Six months postop and starting to gain weight?

Hi All...I don't get it. I was zooming down the weight loss highway, then came to some serious road bumps. I've lost only five pounds in almost four weeks - but the worst part is a couple of a days ago, I gained a half a pound. Then a few more days go by and I gain another half a pound. I am scared, becasue I am working as hard as ever - which is pretty darn hard and am still quite a bit from goal (down 106 pounds). I know it's not a huge amount, but should I be gaining at all? I am not even near my period. I also have what feels like a semi-permanent gas pain on my left side. I sent my surgeon an email and he said it could be normal, but would like to see me anyway. I feel horrible. Can anyone provide me with some insight? Thanks.    — PaulaM (posted on August 12, 2002)

August 12, 2002
Hi, I, too, am 6 months post-op. Congrats on your fantastic weight loss-106 pounds in six months is really awesome. It is not unusual for you to only lose 5 pounds in a month-I did that in month 5 and then picked up the pace again in month 6, although not by much. I have even had weeks where I have gained 2 pounds (and stare at the scale in disbelief), only to lose that 2 and 1 or 2 more within a week. It happens. Our bodies have gone thru alot and plateaus and weight gains are it's way of trying to slow down things. Don't worry about it-stay the course and you will be back on the losing track in no time.
   — Cindy R.

August 12, 2002
I just posted this on the message board but in case you dont see it...I am at about 6 months post op and I was on a nasty plateau. I would even go up and down a lb inbetween those nasty 4 weeks. Well someone told me to try increasing what I was eating and it worked. I tried adding an extra protein snack/meal later in the evening. Also due to some energy problems I had to slow down on my exercising...I was literally feeling like I was passing out (low B12). I had a shot last week but have not stepped up my exercise...and low and behold between the last 2 weeks somewhere 9 lbs have come off. Our bodies shut down because they think we are in starvation mode, even though we aren't really starving literally and they try to conserve and hold on to every bit of calories we put into them and then some. Sounds unorthodox but it really worked for me.
   — SARose61

August 12, 2002
I'm not at 6 months yet (somewhere between 3-4 months) but what I find is that I'll gain 1/2 pound to 1 pound when I'm doing everything I'm supposed to and I'm shocked as well. It could be water weight, it could be that as I exercise, muscle weighs more than fat. But what I do is alternate the amount of calories I intake (I usually range from 500-800 per day) and add more calories (around 900) and then decrease my calories the next day (around 450) and I drop 2-3 pounds! This just happened to me yesterday. I was stuck at 238 for 4 days and I alternated my calorie intake and this morning I had dropped 3.2 pounds just since yesterday morning! Your body is playing catch-up, as it does with all of us. Be happy that you've lost so much! Remember how much more we're losing now vs. how little we would have lost on any other "diet". I'm looking forward to reaching the AMOS Century Club!
   — Jennifer A.