Possibility of Weight Gain after Surgery

[Ekaterina 0]

Hello!

My case is bit unusual from those I read here. I made a gastric sleeve surgery back in October 2023 (20 months ago) when I was 23 y.o., my weight was 300 lbs back then. In a month after surgery there was another surgery (my surgeon made a mistake which caused an abscess) and another surgery then too. They also cut 10cm of my intestines.

It turns out that in 4 months after the first surgery, I got pregnant with long-awaited child. It is important to note that I made a surgery just to have an opportunity of having a baby, I was comfortable with my previous high weight. Pregnancy went good, without any complications and we born a healthy child who is 8 months now.

I've lost 165 lbs over these 20 months (surgeries + pregnancy + breastfeeding). Unfortunately, I feel very uncomfortable in this weight and aiming to gain at least some of my weight back, ideally up to 260 lbs. Is it ever possible, or not? May be some people over there have stories about gaining weight back after the surgery? Or some tips?

Will be grateful for any answer 🙏

[ms.sss 15,861]

clarification: do you mean to say ur goal is 260lbs? or did you mean 160lbs?

[Ekaterina 0]

9 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

clarification: do you mean to say ur goal is 260lbs? or did you mean 160lbs?

260 is my ideal goal of gaining back.

I was 300 before, 130 now and want to gain up to 260 lbs. I know it might sound weird, but I was really comfortable at that weight and want to get it back as now I have a child (could not get pregnant before the surgery because of the excess weight).

[kristieshannon 1,685]

How tall are you? Unless you are very tall 260 is unlikely to be within a healthy range. Check with your doctor about a healthy goal.

That being said, eating frequent high calorie meals and Snacks will result in weight gain.

[GreenTealael 25,624]

Don’t do it.

[learn2cook 643]

Are you a bot? Your old 300lb body was telling you something about your health. Here’s the truth. Don’t follow any recommendations for health and fitness. There, you will gain the weight back exponentially. The next time you try to be healthy again, it will be near impossible, even with surgery and medication.

I thought you wanted a child? Isn’t modeling for that child healthy habits good parenting? You can do hard things. Ask for a therapist, dietitian, medical reports, take child care classes, marriage counseling, run away from abuse, get post partum care. Do it for your kid if you won’t do it for yourself.

[WendyJane 102]

Why would someone go through all that, that the surgery requires just to gain it back? I guess I just can't see how you would not be more comfortable being on the floor playing with your child, Running and playing with your child. Being there for your child.

Why are you more comfortable at a higher weight? What makes you think you can't be happy with the weight you are at now, or less? What makes you want to be large again?

[ms.sss 15,861]

9 hours ago, Ekaterina said:

260 is my ideal goal of gaining back.

I was 300 before, 130 now and want to gain up to 260 lbs. I know it might sound weird, but I was really comfortable at that weight and want to get it back as now I have a child (could not get pregnant before the surgery because of the excess weight).

ok.

well if that is what u want, then so be it. we all have our reasons for what we want, which may or mat not be understood by others. that's life, as they say!

with that said, to gain 130lbs (from ur current weight of 130 to your goal of 260) will likely take a considerable amount of effort to gain HEALTHILY. i would suggest working with a professional to form a plan to gain this amount of weight while maintaining a relatively good level of "health".

there is also the "easy" way to gain weight, by just eating low-volume, high-calorie foods. think: all thinks considered "junk": fast food, candy, dessert, fatty foods, liquid calories (pop, juice, alcohol) etc.

you may be compromising your health and longevity, but i mean if a higher weight is what YOU want, then go for it. you know yourself best.

good luck!

[Arabesque 7,623]

I wonder if your feeling uncomfortable at this lower weight is to do with body dysmorphia or a similar disorder. It takes time for our head to catch up with reality and see ourselves as we really are after surgery. Our sense of who we are in ourselves and in society has changed. We’re not the big girl anymore but we may not see ourselves as a slim girl yet. We lose what we think is our identity. Our understanding of our actual physical size is different and hard to come to terms with. And so on.

These feelings are not uncommon after weight loss. They seem to manifest in different ways but common seems to be feeling uncomfortable in your self and that you don’t know or can’t see yourself anymore.

A lot of your head space during your weight loss has been filled with a second surgery, pregnancy and now caring for a baby. How much has been directed to you yourself?

Before embarking on trying to regain your weight, it may be helpful to look into therapy. It can’t hurt & many here have found it useful when dealing with these and similar issues.

[Ekaterina 0]

5 hours ago, ms.sss said:

ok.

well if that is what u want, then so be it. we all have our reasons for what we want, which may or mat not be understood by others. that's life, as they say!

with that said, to gain 130lbs (from ur current weight of 130 to your goal of 260) will likely take a considerable amount of effort to gain HEALTHILY. i would suggest working with a professional to form a plan to gain this amount of weight while maintaining a relatively good level of "health".

there is also the "easy" way to gain weight, by just eating low-volume, high-calorie foods. think: all thinks considered "junk": fast food, candy, dessert, fatty foods, liquid calories (pop, juice, alcohol) etc.

you may be compromising your health and longevity, but i mean if a higher weight is what YOU want, then go for it. you know yourself best.

good luck!

Thank you for your reply!

But do you think this is even possible to gain such an amount of weight taking into account my stomach capacity was greatly reduced + dumping syndrome? For now I am struggling to gain even 2-4 lbs while more than 20 months since the surgery passed already.

[ms.sss 15,861]

6 hours ago, Ekaterina said:

Thank you for your reply!

But do you think this is even possible to gain such an amount of weight taking into account my stomach capacity was greatly reduced + dumping syndrome? For now I am struggling to gain even 2-4 lbs while more than 20 months since the surgery passed already.

anything is possible. i mean a one of those double chocolate frappacino cremes from starbucks are like 520 calories each. one 100g bag of Pork rinds is like 650 calories. neither of which take up a lot of room in your stomach. and thats just 2 things...there a whole day to pack in more.

just ask the multitude of folks on here who report most (if not all) of their weight loss regain.

trust me, its not hard to regain weight. especially if you actually really want to (the majority of those who regain dont actually want to, but do anyway...so imagine what can be accomplished if you put effort into it)

i would ask you to reconsider your position, but does't sound like that is what you want here? or maybe it is? im not sure.

in any case, speak with a professional to help you achieve your goals as safely and "healthily" as you can.

[BigSue 1,434]

If this is for real, you need to seek psychiatric help. It is understandable that you may have conflicting emotions about the changes in your body, but to go through the process of a major surgery that has the purpose of long-term weight loss and subsequently seek strategies to sabotage the surgery is very unhealthy (mentally and physically).

I also think it’s pretty disrespectful to post this in a forum for people who have worked very hard to lose weight with the intent of maintaining the weight loss.

[AmberFL 1,122]

I wasn’t going to say anything, but honestly… I feel a little hurt by this post. At one point, I was 325 pounds. I wanted a baby more than anything, so I worked hard, lost 100 pounds through diet, and was finally able to get pregnant with my first child.

After I had my second, my weight climbed back up to 297. I wasn’t the mom I knew I could be. I couldn’t play with my kids like I wanted to, I didn’t have the energy to care for them the way they deserved, and I knew I was setting a bad example with the way we ate.

So I made a change. I got the surgery, fixed my eating habits, and got my butt in the gym. And now? I can do it all — and then some. My daughter tells me almost every day how happy she is that I lost the weight and can play with her and her brother. That hits me right in the heart.

I didn’t just do this for me — I did it for them. And I’m so proud of that!

Edited July 7 by AmberFL