I'm now almost 2 months out from the ESG, and the scale has jumped up to 240 and refused to move after going so far as 225.

I really think I'm supposed to be between 220 and 230, probably closer to 220. I've been losing inches. I've kept very meticulous track of my food and eat around 1000 calories a day still. This has to be a water thing, but am I really carrying 15-20 pounds of water weight? Can I flush this out somehow? I want a more accurate reading and also would like my weight to decrease for some activities that require a lower weight: horseback riding, kayaking, etc.

It’s unlikely to be fluid retention but it would be your best interests to have your kidney function checked before looking at taking diuretics.

Have you spoken with your surgeon or your dietician? Ask your dietician to review your diet & activity. 1000 calories seems a lot at 2 months but every plan is different & if you’re more active you can consume more calories.

Stalls are common through out the weight loss phase where we don’t lose but weight gain like you’ve identified isn’t. Have you continued to lose inches even though the scale has gone up? Are you weighing yourself on the same set of scales, in the same place, at about the same time? Are you weighing & logging everything you eat & drink each day to ensure you’re not accidentally consuming more?

I encourage you to go back to your medical team.

Good luck.

I agree with Arabesque. Normal fluid retention would be two or three lbs. With fifteen, there's something going on here. I'd follow up with your medical team.

Crap, so I *have* failed in some catastrophic way, and all this is a wash.

But there's no way to gain weight on 1000 cal/day. I very much do track *everything.* And yes, I've continued to lose inches despite the scale going up. There is literally no way I can physically consume enough food (since I'm not eating sweets/lots of carbs) to gain weight with how much I can eat. I've logged it all.

My instructions are to eat 1000-1200 calories a day. That's from my doctor.

Edited May 20, 20215 yr by Miratia

13 minutes ago, Miratia said:

Crap, so I *have* failed in some catastrophic way, and all this is a wash.

But there's no way to gain weight on 1000 cal/day. I very much do track *everything.* And yes, I've continued to lose inches despite the scale going up. There is literally no way I can physically consume enough food (since I'm not eating sweets/lots of carbs) to gain weight with how much I can eat. I've logged it all.

My instructions are to eat 1000-1200 calories a day. That's from my doctor.

Arabesque and I weren't implying it's you - it could be some issue with the kidneys - or heart issues can also cause massive fluid retention. We were just saying that 15 lbs of fluid retention isn't normal fluid retention - the latter is usually more like 2 or 3 lbs. If you're following your plan to a "T", then there's something going on - I'd have a doctor check it out.

I don’t think you’re failing & certainly didn’t mean for you to think that either. I was just suggesting other things to consider as a contributing factor besides a medical issue. It’s easy to misjudge a portion size if we just eyeball it, or misread a nutrition label - I certainly have (damn small font on labels). If these are all on point, you have to consider there is something else going on.

I hope you find an answer soon.

After thinking a long time, I believe the issue is this:

I came off a liquid diet, and then two weeks later I had fully reintroduced solids (which was around the time this happened). I also therefore was able to put some carbs in, so I came off ketosis. (The protein drinks I was on had ~no carbs.) Also, I've been eating probably a bit more salt than I should.

From previous experience, keto makes me lose about 10 lbs of glycogen weight in the starting "whoosh." 10 lbs + solid food in various parts of digestion + some water retention from salt = 15-20 lbs depending on the water retention.

So it's probable that I just haven't lost nearly as much actual fat as I think I have, which is extremely depressing, but at least there's an explanation. That said, I'm about 4 inches off both my waist and my hips, so clearly something happened. Though given my consistent weight for the past 2 weeks or so, I'm probably stalled right now. I did just start up a 3x/week strenuous weightlifting program, so hopefully that puts a dent in it.

My doctor is horrible at getting back to me on any kind of schedule, so I had to attack this myself.

The awful part is that 240 lbs is my normal weight pre-pandemic. All that work to return to the status quo.

Edited May 23, 20215 yr by Miratia

Miratia, that’s awesome that you’ve added weight training but remember that muscle weighs more than fat. So if you’re building muscle the scale could go up but you’re burning more fat at the same time. Are your clothes fitting better? I use the fit of my jeans vs a scale. ?

My clothes fit a bit better, but IIRC it's very hard to gain muscle mass? Like people bust butt in the gym for it, and I haven't been working *that* hard.