Question:
why am i gaining weight!?!?!?!??!

I am 9 months post op from RNY and have been doing extremely well. I have lost 175 lbs so far. as of last week the scale read 294, but this week I have gained back up to 302. I am not eating any differently, getting in my protien, vitamins, water, excersing 3-4 times a week. What is the deal??? I am getting so discourgaed. I feel like I am failing at this weight loss thing yet again. Does anyone else have any similar experinces, and did the weight start to come off again? I had lost 8 lbs in November, and t hen in December I lost 17, which i know is quite a bit for 9 months post op, but now I have gained 8 of that back. Please help!!!!    — shellyjoel (posted on January 13, 2005)

January 12, 2005
Failing?????? 175 lost in 9 months is failing? Yeah, whatever. How about PMS and water retention accounting for the 8 pound gain?
   — Yolanda J.

January 13, 2005
Shelly: You are doing great, don't worry!! I gained 6-7 lbs easy when I had PMS time. Add a salty meal, and even more!! You are not failing!! Try drinking extra water, up your protein, and exercise, and you'll see that weight disappear!! I weigh everyday, which I know is bad, but I have to see!! I do see ups and downs depending on water and salt consumption, and I too feel a little panicky if the numbers move up!! We can do it!!! Hang in there!! DeeAnn R
   — DeeAnn

January 13, 2005
Two things, for what they're worth:<P> (1)I think perhaps the answer to your question is found within it. You dropped 8 pounds in November, then 17 pounds in December ("woo HOO!!" moment), then had 8 of that seemingly return. Bummer! Apparently, as it turns out, the price for December's "woo HOO!" result -- which was anomolously, grandly, fantastically favorable -- was your body saying, upon reflection, "WTF?! Why did I let so much weight go at once, let's be reasonable here." The net result is *still* a steady 8-lbs.-a-month average loss, which is right smack-dab down the middle of what you'd expect at 9 months post-op (many folks struggle with lower numbers than that). Considering that you've managed to "hoover" off a total of 175 pounds in only nine months so far -- which is staggering -- you are going to have to gird your self for the reality that things are going to slow down to a dull The explanation could also be as simple as water retention, "that time," maybe a sodium thing, I dunno, could be nothing more than your body adjusting. Let it do what it needs to do, remembering what it's been put through in the last 9 months. <P>(2)Regardless of what caused this, you know it isn't your failure to maintain food control or to exercise. So, that makes this a "brain" challenge. You need to change not only your eating and exercise habits as a post-op, but also your reactions to weight stalls and even gains. Importing all those old-diet-failure feelings and habits into this scenario, when you *know* you've done nothing to cause it by overeating/underexercising, makes no sense. You gotta remind yourself of that. Right along with retraining eating and exercise habits, take this as an opportunity to retrain your brain. This won't be the last weird thing you see on the scale. If you run for cover with the "everything fails, why do I bother" type of thinking, you'll have a devil of a time down the road when things truly do get rough. Some of us with weight issues get irrationally angry, fearful, overreactive over scale issues, and then it becomes an excuse for not sticking with harder choices down the road. It's tough to retrain the brain, but it's the most necessary part of the WLS "journey," IMHO anyway. Take this little "burp" as an opportunity to do just that and try to keep this in perspective, no matter how difficult it may be to do. Put another way, "This too shall pass."
   — Suzy C.