Post op weight regain over the holidays!

[Michele 2021 25]

Hi there this is probably a common issue with weight loss surgery. I am almost 2 years post op from a bypass and really have zero complaints ..but stopped exercising over 4 months ago and became more lenient on my food choices and ended up gaining 7 lbs over the last 6 months.. The issue is once you see a slight gain it seems hard to lose an ounce of weight. I’ve downloaded a weight loss app and started monitoring my daily calories, Water intake and exercise with no luck so far. I’m curious how others out there who encountered this situation were able to restart there weight loss. What apps are you using? Did you continue using the Protein Shakes? I feel responsible here but want to stop it before the weight creeps up anymore.. I made a huge decision to get the surgery and it really helped me out but as the surgeon stated it was only a tool that we ultimately have to do the hard work to keep the weight off! I appreciate everyone’s feedback on this issue!

Michelle

[summerset 5,261]

A slight rebound is supposed to be normal. Where is your weight sitting now? So-called normal range? Overweight?

As hard as the answer to that question might be to accept: are these 7 lbs worth the additional ongoing effort?

[catwoman7 10,856]

if you're anywhere close to a normal BMI (including the "overweight" category), weight loss is going to be excruciatingly slow. I put on 10 lbs over the past year and am now trying to take it off. About 1/2 lb a week is about all I can manage. The reason is, your calorie intake now is probably MUCH lower than before you had surgery. So there are a lot fewer calories you can afford to cut. For example, when I weighed well over 300 lbs, I was probably eating over 3000 calories a day. Pretty easy to find 1000 - or even 1500 - calories in there that could be cut. That means it was theoretically possible for me to lose 2-3 lbs a week (since a pound is 3500 calories). Now, after my weight loss, my maintenance level is about 1600 calories/day. Cutting 1000 calories from that would put me at 600 cal/day. Ah...no way. You'd have to be under medical supervision to eat at that level. And deducting 1500 calories? That would put me at 100 calories a day. So....no. About the most I can cut and still maintain my health - and not be under medical supervision - is 300-400 calories a day. At a 300 kcal deficit per day, that's a 2100 calorie deficit a week - so a little over 1/2 a pound. If I dropped down to 1200 cal/day, then we're talking a 2800 calorie deficit, so maybe 3/4 of a pound a week (and of course, things like activity level, how muscular you are, etc, would also factor into this - but it probably wouldn't make a significant difference).

So I have been eating about 1300 calories a day for the last six weeks, so theoretically I would be down 3.6 lbs. I'm actually down about 5 lbs, so I'm doing very well!

if I had dieted for six weeks when I weighed over 300 lbs, I probably could have lost 15-20 lbs by now. But nope - 5.

my point of all this is, you may be losing, but at a much lower weight, it's going to be S-L-O-W. And if you're at a normal - or near-normal - BMI, we're talking ounces rather than pounds. It WILL come off - but it'll be slow.

I used to mentally roll my eyes at these barely overweight women who would moan and complain at how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. "Ha", I thought, "try losing 200 pounds!". Now I get it...

Edited January 9, 2023 by catwoman7

[Michele 2021 25]

Thanks so much for the feedback on this post! I was originally just over 200 lbs and dropped down to 137 -139 lbs by the first year postoperatively..Although I was exercising an hour a day drinking 64oz of Water daily etc. i got off track in the last 6 months and my weight is now 146 lbs. I’m trying to be more accountable and log my food water etc. I’d like to be back down to 137 pounds by this summer ... and your right it is so hard to lose the extra weight but I feel determined to do this especially since I spent a lot of money and time getting this procedure done….i need to be patient and just follow what the surgeon advised me to do!!!

[catwoman7 10,856]

12 hours ago, Michele 2021 said:

Thanks so much for the feedback on this post! I was originally just over 200 lbs and dropped down to 137 -139 lbs by the first year postoperatively..Although I was exercising an hour a day drinking 64oz of Water daily etc. i got off track in the last 6 months and my weight is now 146 lbs. I’m trying to be more accountable and log my food Water etc. I’d like to be back down to 137 pounds by this summer ... and your right it is so hard to lose the extra weight but I feel determined to do this especially since I spent a lot of money and time getting this procedure done….i need to be patient and just follow what the surgeon advised me to do!!!

the other thing is, most people do experience a 10-20 lb rebound from their lowest weight during years 2 or 3 - so your regain is normal That's not to say that you can't take it off again, but yea - it'll take work. Good luck to you!! (as I mentioned above, I'm working on that myself!)