I had gastric bypass July 2001. I lost over 170 pounds. Over the last year I have gained almost 20 pounds. I didn't worry much over 10 pounds how I would yoyo. However now I'm very concerned. Of course I snack or graze all day on all kinds of high carb, sugar foods. I know and I wonder why I'm gaining.. (not) Anyway... most of the weight has been since I had a hystorectomy about 8 weeks ago. From what I understand weight gain is common for women after the surgery. Any advise would be appreciated.

HI there!!

I decided to check on the neighborhood tonight. I came across this area of "veterans" and I just had to see what everyone was posting. Anyways.......I don't have an answer for you about gaining weight after your hysterectemy surgery but I am there with gaing weight after WLS. I do good for a few days, losing weight and then I just don't care. I have been really dumping when I eat sugar (not throwing up but all the other side effects) you would think I would quit. I do the same with chocolate. But dumb old me, I just keep shoving it into my body and then reaping the rewards!!!! I go to the gym, work out real hard and then, I am hungary. I want to get back with it then in my mind, I think oh, Thanksgiving is in a few days, I might as well wait until it is over. Then I will come up with another excuse. I hate this frame of mind that I am in. By the way, I am 5 years post op. I have gained about 30lbs back on any given day. UUGGHH!!!!

Sorry I couldn't help you with your question, but I just wnated to let you know, I am right there with you!! :(
Robin

I don't have any big advice either, since I'm only 2 years out, but I want you to know that lots of people are joining this neighborhood right now and having a lot of success with the 5 Day Pouch Test (5DPT). It was designed for veterans of wls who feel that they've "broken" the pouch and want to get back the same feelings as when they first had the surgery. Many are raving about how well it's working for them, and many lose quit a bit of weight during the process. If you've never looked into it, you might want to give it a try!

Good luck, and please, don't give up! You've been through so much and done so well, I'm sure you can turn this around...

S=)

I have gained 8 pounds and I am 3 years post op. I think that as you get further along you get so you just break the rules and since your body does not respond as bad to it you keep pushing. I keep telling my self that it was stomach surgery, not brain surgery. I am going back to the rules as well as starting the 5 day pouch diet. I have a tendency to blame different things on weight gain. Quit smoking - gained weight. Had a hysterectomy also - gained weight. Stress - gained weight. I am going to respark that energy that I had the first year of weight loss. I am sorry if I am rambling but know that there are alot of us struggling and we can do it if we hang together.

Diamond Girl

Ok I am not the one to tell you how to avoid carbs because I dont but Diamond Girl had it right it was stomach surgery not brain surgery. I too struggle with weight gain throughout the year and it changes as my training does. Ironicly the best weight loss I had post surgery after the initial first year was over the holidays two years ago. I also had my surgery in 2001 and have found it is more about the mind and how we use it to overcome the situations we find ourselves in.

More often than not we put ourselves in situations that lead us down a path that is hard to exit. With me as my training changes more often than not I have a hard time adjusting how much I eat. As an athlete we tend to get in to routines that help us meet the athletic goals we are trying to acheive. When we have accomplished that goal and we back off on training often we continue eating the same way. Mentally we have a hard time changing gears but we have to, sometimes its easier to just increase activity or change it up to kick the metabolism up by making muscle groups work that havent been used as much as those that focus on our particular sport. These muscles ask for energy and will cause a metabolism shift in some cases not all. Now if you are not exercising I recomend you do but do not ignore cardio for weights or weights for cardio
they both work together and there are plenty of threads in the neighborhood that deal with this. The simple formula is this; you must burn more calories than you take in. The problem with this is that we all know how to count calories taken in but not calories burned. I work with a sports nutritionist that helps me but I also have a heart rate monitor/cycling computer I use on every training session and event I participate in so I know. I have also been dealing with a physical issue that has really cut into my training and events this year. This has caused me some concern with weight gain and now that my final event is done(I posted this event in exrcise and fitness) I will need to look at ways to modify my eating while still being able to ride and start training for next year.

So option two is cutting the amount or types of food we are consuming. If I wasnt active the way I am the 5dpt is the first thing I would try as the stories of success are impressive but with what I do it is not an option but may be for you. The thing you have to do is look at what you have acheived and ask yourself is what I am doing to myself worth what I am about to eat? Am I willing to destroy everything I have gained? Do I want to return to where I started and basicly give up? If you can answer these questions with a resounding and positive NO then you should have no problem loosing what you have gained. If you cant then you really need to step back and take a good look at your journey, all the triumphs and pitfalls the ups and downs, you worked hard to get where you are and by gosh you need to be willing to do what ever it takes to live your life healthy and whole. If its the 5dpt (and I would recomend you try it if for no other reason than to remind yourself how the pouch works) or an all out effort to get rid of the foods that you need not consume then do it. You may need to find out what is triggering your perceived need for these foods and deal with it. It is not an excuse for what you are doing so dont blame the situation. As tough as it may sound you have made the choices to eat what you have so you are the excuse and blame yourself. If you need help identifying the problem then get it. If you have someone who can help you talk to them soon dont wait until January as this time of the year will kill any motivation you might have if you put it off. If you have the mental toughness to even maintain your weight as of today thru the holidays you have won this battle. If you can loose weight over the holidays you will win the war and you can draw on this for continued suuccess.

You have allready taken the first real step by asking for advice and many other's will give their assesment and advice and no ones will be perfectly right or wrong just different. You can take what you want from each or maybe someones will be the one that will work for you but find it and go to work. And as you find success share it with us here in the neighborhood because what you discover about yourself will be just the thing someone else might need to get over the roadblock in theyre journey. Thats how this works.

Sorry about the leangth of this reply but I didnt know how else to answer it. Hope this helps you or someone else.

Damon- Thanks for all the advice. That was terrific. I struggle every waking moment. I think that is why I like to sleep a lot. Then I am not thinking about food. I would just love to have a loss this holiday season. That would be a great motivator. I am a stress eater and I love to cook and bake. Both of these are big downfalls on my part and are so hard to overcome. I did do the 5DPT a month or so ago and it was amazing. I felt so good when I did it but then, I fell right back into the old habits..........mainly snacking and snacking on all the wrong foods. They are cheaper at the store and the don't take much thinking to. You jsut pop it in your mouth. Wow........I am so full of excuses!! I get so depressed and then it takes so long to come out of it. I just wanted to say thanks for all the advice. I wish they would have operated on my brain and stomach!!!
Robin

I just wanted to add to this thread by suggesting to those that are snacking and grazing that as well as doing the 5DPT (or again maybe for Robin) that you could journal EVERYTHING that goes in to your mouth. I know doing this can be a pain but I would imagine that if you looked back on what you'd eaten at the end of the day you might be quite horrified. Then maybe you could start taking baby steps to gaining some control of what you're doing wrong rather than drastic ones. This might be easier on you both physically and mentally.

Maybe you could reward yourself somehow (not with food of course) for reaching little goals that you set yourself. Doesn't have to be weight loss necessarily to begin with but things like not eating between meals, not eating certain "bad" foods or doing more exercise. There was a thread bumped up again in here a couple of weeks ago about a "Bite, lick or taste" reward jar that someone started many months ago. Basically get yourself a fancy container and some sort of token (eg poker chips, marbles, stones, beads, etc) and put something in the jar if you feel you have achieved something during the day. I have started this system myself. Maybe someone could find the link and post it in here as I wouldn't know where to find it now.

I'm not at this stage myself so I can't speak from experience but when you're struggling every little bit helps and some things work better for different people.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Barbara

Hi, I am 8 year out and struggle almost everyday with grazing. It has become a habit by now, and I have begun to noticed that I almost 'panic' whenever I have gone past a scheduled mealtime and did not eat. I no longer differentiate eating when hungry and eating because it is a mealtime. At work, I seem to have to have something to eat at my desk all day long. No wonder I have regained so many pounds
I have just joined the neighborhood and am reading thru the posts. It is so nice to see that I am not the only person that does these things, making me feel selfishly better about myself and my bad habits.
Thank you all for your support, I am going to need it!

Hey again JChristopherson,
Since you posted this question on November 18, I've been reading about the affect of having hysterectomy on weight gain, and you're right, it's a pretty well documented phenomenon. No one that I've read yet has been able to say why, but there is a lot of speculation that it has to do with the sudden overwhelming change in hormonal balance. Another factor to consider is whether or not you had your ovaries and cervix removed along with the uterus. I guess the ovaries regulate hormone production...

There is tons of information on the internet about this problem, and of course loads of products to try to "fix" the situation, but the overwhelming evidence is that mild to moderate exercise has been proven to help with the weight gain problem. It elevates the mood, boosts the metabolism and relieves stress. It has also been proven to have the same effect as medications for depression--which some researchers think may be an underlying causal factor in weight gain after hysterectomy.

So, you're definitely NOT nuts! As soon as you're well enough to begin walking, that sounds like the best medicine going. Hope this helps. And hope that you'll keep updating us on what's going on with you. You're not alone!

Best wishes,
Sandi

Sandi...good bit of research on your part! Thanks for bringing that forward. I'm not surprised that exercise is part of the solution. Many here will say that they are "depressed" about the gain that they are experiencing, but are not willing to take the steps to move out of that depression. Counselling, therapy, exercise...whatever it is. Coming here helps, but not if you are only reading that everyone else is in the same boat. What's that line...misery loves company? Yes, gaining back pounds happens if you let it. If you are not happy (depressed), then make a change. I know that this will take effort and that is where many will be halted. Sweet Barb recommended journaling the food, but when you are depressed and don't want to make any effort, journaling isn't going to happen...too much effort. Those of us that log what we eat are usually pretty darned motivated.

Back to exercise...it will propel you into happy for at least a few moments. Take that "high" time and take some action. It's super important for anyone that is in a "low" to get out. Get help.

You are so right. Exercise is the answer. I have had a really bad day. Headache that was terrible. Kept me sleeping most of the day and I am just now coming out of it. I think that before I go to bed I need to get on my elliptical for just a short period of time. It is so hard to make oneself exercise once you get out of the routine. Exercise = brain surgery in this case.

Diamond Girl

JChristopherson: How about an update? How are you doing now? What happened with troubles you were having with grazing, etc. Were you able to start walking? After I looked up all that stuff, I really started getting interested in the topic. I read a book called, "the Wisdom of Menopause" and it has a ton of info about how to handle the weight gain following hysterectomy and menopause. I recommend it.

Hope all is well with you!

I had my hysterectomy before my WLS. They removed my uterus only and not my ovaries. I did not gain the weight that people usually do but I gained weight at my regular pace of about 10-20 lbs a year. Since my RNY four years ago my body habit has been to lose about 10 lbs every time I have surgery. Since my RNY I have had two plastics, a broken arm, a knee scope and 15 months ago I broke my back. I finally will get my surgery to repair that in two weeks. Even though I tended to lose weight during these recovery times I always had to start all over again with the exercise. It was hard and I did resent it that there was always one more thing in my way to losing weight, maintaining it or regaining my health and exercise levels I was at pre surgery. Breaking my back was the worst. I keep aging as well. I was 52 when I had my open RNY and I am now 56. Being healthy is hard enough for us formerly morbidly obese sedentary people of age without adding surgeries and recovery. You had your surgery eight weeks ago. You didn't say if it was done abdominally or vaginally. You ability to exercise is just starting now. You have to just get back into it and regain your strength in spite of the weight gain and surgery. I'm sure I will do as I usually do and work my a$$ off to regain my strength, exercise levels and lose the 20 lbs I gained during the past six months. While I did lose the typical 10 lbs post back break the recovery has been a very long time coming and I have been unable to stand or sit for any length of time and my exercise has suffered. I also wonder what road block will be put in front of me the next time. It does seem that every thing I aspire to comes with lots of crawling and scratching for it. It never seems easy. The alternative is scary. I have enough life left in me to either regain all my weight and become sedentary and miserable again or to continue on this road to health and enjoy life as fully as I can.