Question:
I have gained 6 lbs in 1&1/2 weeks.
My eating habits have not changed. I'm 13 months out,lap RNY. Started out 262 now this morning I was 147. MY lowest was 141. Help why am I putting this weight on when Im still eating the same stuff. Yes at times I do eat some junk but just like yesterday I did eat 2 candy bars through the whole day but all day I only ate 1889 calories. Please help. — Carrie W. (posted on May 6, 2004)
May 6, 2004
I don't suppose anyone will believe this, but my body does not seem to work
on the "extra 3500 calories to gain a pound" principle. I could
eat the same number of calories and if they are made up of protein, I'll
lose weight, if they're made up of refined carbs, I'll gain. Maybe yours
works that way too. Also, eventually your intestines do adapt to absorb
more calories as you get farther out... so, dump the refined carbs, and
either lower your calories or up your exercise. You may just be retaining
fluid, and getting rid of the sugar will help.
— mom2jtx3
May 6, 2004
I am 15 months post and there is no way that I could get in almost 2,000
calories a day. Also, two candy bars in a day.. oy. I think the answer is
in your question. You probably need to cut back on the junk and calories.
Good luck!
— SarahC
May 6, 2004
Carrie, I think you're perfectly normal. Most people's weight fluctuates
monthly 6-8 pounds, even those who don't battle obesity. And a candy bar
here and there will not make a difference ~ It's when we start eating them
on a daily basis that we need to worry and get back to basics.
Congratulations on your terrific success!! *HUGS*
— chelle3081
May 6, 2004
Our bodies don't know what to do w/ sugar anymore. If you up your water to
80 oz or so, and eat your typical protein it'll come back off. It's
probably just fluid retention.
— mrsmyranow
May 6, 2004
First, as I trust you have discovered in your journey thus far, the human
body does not treat all calories the same--- calories derived mostly from
protein (particularly if there are few carbohyrdates in your system) are
less likely to be converted to fat. Secondly, given your great results to
date, you probably should be asking yourself why you would have one candy
bar, much less two in a day. Maybe keeping a food journal might help you
track how much junk you really are consuming. It might be worth a try to
maintain your health. good luck.
— SteveColarossi
May 6, 2004
How much wexercise are you getting? I put on weight easy when too inactive.
You can loose the weight again easily, drop the junk food altogether, get a
couple hours of some sort of exercise daily, and watch the weight peal off
fast.
— bob-haller
May 6, 2004
dump thoses candy bars,, and you will stop gaining!!!
— bikerchic
May 7, 2004
Carrie, I'm right there with you. I am over 2.5 years post op and
effortlessly maintained my goal weight of 135 for a year. Now in the last
4 months have watched myself eat my way to gaining 15lbs. I know why, and
I know how to fix it. I didn't really realize until my clothes started
getting tight. Now I have stopped with the carbs, the snacking, and have
started excersizing for the first time in my life. I actually enjoy it.
Anyhow, I don't weigh myself often so we will see what effect I have. I
suggest trying to remember what it was like when you were first pre-op.
For me, the fear of food is no longer present so I will eat the crap,
because I know I can. I am trying to change that mentality. Also,
Fitday.com has become my friend. Try it. Best of luck to you.
— RebeccaP
May 7, 2004
Unless you're exercising like crazy- that's just too many calories for how
far out you are. I assume the majority of the calories came from the candy
bars...I agree witht he other postes who talk about your body doing
different things with different types of calories. If I eat refined carbs,
I DON'T loose, in fact, if I did it long enough, I'm sure I'd gain.
Probably a good thing to keep in mind. Maybe you could just 'get back to
basics'? Take a look at your Dr's prescribed eating plan, I'm sure it's
lower in calories and that it doesn't have refined surags in the plan.
Good luck to you. We all have weak moments.
— LMCLILLY
May 7, 2004
Carrie, it may really be that you haven't changed your eating habits and
have begun to gain. Our bodies are a scientific miracle, and they adapt.
Mother Nature does all she can to try to keep us fat. So, over time, your
newly constructed digestive system adapts somewhat. We become able to
absorb more of what we eat over time (that's what explains the 12 to 18
month window of opportunity for optimum weight loss--around that point
we've adapted and become more efficient at digestion). It could be that
you need to cut back on your calories to maintain the same weight.
— Vespa R.
May 7, 2004
Vespa is right, over time our systems adjust and start absorbing more of
what we take in. I think your finding that out now. It could just be
water weight and will disappear but if it stays with you for a week or two
longer, I suggest cutting back on your daily calories by a few hundred a
day and see if that helps. As for the candy bars, I eat sugar every day
but I balance it by eating good healthy protein meals, and getting in the
exercise. You can have your candy daily but you also have to compensate in
other areas. If your not eating healthy protein meals, and not exercising,
few can indulge in two candy bars a day and still maintain. Sorry!
— Cindy R.
May 7, 2004
Six pounds in 1 1/2 weeks doesn't sound like you're suddenly reabsorbing
more calories than you were before; that's too much too fast. (I'm not a
believer in the theory that the malabsorption rate declines, as I'm darned
if I can see how that could be separated out, as a a distinct weight gain
factor, from more obvious and common causes). A change like this in 1.5
weeks sounds like at least part water weight retention; is it "that
time," or have you consumed something with a lot of salt in it?
However, part of this is also likely to be real weight gain. Like some
posters said, certain foods seem to go from our mouths straight onto the
scale (protein not being one of them for me, but sugar sure is). Be sure
you're getting all your water in, and review the candy bar consumption
situation --two in one day if you haven't had any in a week or more may not
be a big deal, but if you're eating several a week, *ding* *ding* *ding*
there may be a problem happening right there.<P>And I agree with the
poster who added that it'd be unusual to be able to eat that many calories
on a regular basis unless you are exercising a fair amount.
— Suzy C.
May 7, 2004
Addendum: Just peeked at your profile, which says your weight usually
bounces between 141 and 144. So, this is arguably just a three-pound gain
from usual your top range. Time to cut out the junk until you get back
into your comfortable range, and watch the salt. You can have this off
very quickly if you jump on it now. :-)
— Suzy C.
May 8, 2004
Dear Carrie,
You are eating too much junk. You are missing your windows of oppourtunity
for Protein. All you need to do is replace the junk food with High protein
food. Make a protein shake or have a serving of meat with High protein and
low fat. If you do this you will replace bad choices with good choices. It
is all what choices you make.
— Dee Ann A.
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