Hello friends. I wanted to ask for some advice/encoragement. I had my surgery in Jan of 2010 and had lost 70 pounds! When I moved to GA in July I started gaining when I saw my new surgeon. After 4 months of complaining of hunger and weight gain(20 pounds!!!!) they finally dug deeper and found that I had a leak in the port. I had that replaced on Mon Nov 7th and at that time they also gave me a fill. I feel restricted and am back to eating my 3-4 oz portion meals 3 times per day and a protein shake in the morning between breakfast and lunch. However...my weight continues to go up!!! What gives?? I am soooo discouraged because not only was I so excited to finally start losing again, but sad because I can't exercise for 3-4 weeks. I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in February so I had to stop running and will have to start all over again when they clear me for exercise. Could I still be retaining fluid from the surgery? My site is still a teensy bit swollen but not that bad...Any suggestions? I'm at my wits end and don't know what to do or what is wrong with me:-(

Please help!!!

I have not had my surgery yet, but I really believe that when you are so physical while you where training your metabolism gets really cranked up so when you had your second surgery and you physical workouts have shrunk down so far your body is not burning as much, ie. weight gain or no weight loss...My husband is a runner and did the Marine Corps Marathon if he does not train for awhile he gains...How about walking some more and add hand weights to your routine? I live in GA, too and know you can find some really great parks with killer hills!!! You can do it just take a breath and move, move, move.....))) Stay Cool

Here's an article that help explain one reason for fit people to retain weight temporarily.

Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.

As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

I hope this helps.

Woohoo for mobilizing fat! Very interesting info, the human body is truly amazing!