Do people normally lose weight after surgery?

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#1 Post by **Winter2009** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:29 pm

One thing I can't afford after surgery is to lose weight.

I am around 95lbs right now.

#2 Post by **charro callado** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:35 pm

It think some weight loss is inevitable. If it's that much of an issue I'm sure your doctor will help you determine whether or not you can sustain the expected loss.

#3 Post by **charro callado** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:40 pm

Man, this no edit thing is killing me. Sorry for the typos.

#4 Post by **chicago29** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:43 pm

I would say 5 to 7 pounds is definite...I don't know what procedures you're looking at, but you won't be eating anything of substance the first 2 to 3 days if you're having bi-maxillary surgery.

I'm 9 days away from being able to chew again (YAH!!) and in the month since my surgery I have lost about 7 to 9 pounds. And, I've had no issues with the blender so I'm getting pretty full meals.

I attribute the weight loss simply due to the fact that it is now very hard to snack. There aren't any snacks that lends itself well to a no-chew diet!! Once I can chew and I can eat that cookie or scarf down a nice hamburger, I expect the weight to come right back.

If you are really worried, while you are on a no-chew, stock up on a weight gaining supplement, and get some Ensure Plus. Just keep in mind that both of those are really expensive. If you lived off of Ensure you'd probably end up in the poor house before too long

#5 Post by **megs29** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:05 pm

I just had a BSSO and Genioplasty a week ago, and I weighed about 108 pounds before you, and Im about 5'2. Granted, the first day or so after surgery you aren't too hungry, but I tried soup, juice, anything, and I managed to lose 8 pounds before I even left the hospital! So far Im at 98lbs. I figure if I used to eat about 1600-1800 calories a day (i love junk food

)..and Im now down to about 600 if im lucky..that isnt good!

Id definitely say make sure each meal you have, whatever it is..try to aim for about 300-400 calories.

#6 Post by **marycotter5678** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:25 pm

I haven't had surgery but am a pretty small person an its hard for me to gain weight. So I have looked for stuff to help in that department. If you go to Vitamin Shoppe or GNC you can ask them for "weight gainers" -- guys who train with weights and have a har time putting on body mass use those.
The good ones are Serious Mass, N-Large.. my favorite is BSN True Mass because it has a lot of nutritional content. It comes in a podwer an you can mix it with whatever - I mix with fat free milk- you can mix with water for it to be extra thin. The serving size for True Mass is 3 scoops an with fat free milk that comes to 800 calories if you get the chocolate flavor

Of course you will probably still lose a little because you're on bed rest for a little bit, you're body's beat up, etc... but this should help I think.
The BSN True Mass is the most expensive one of the ones i mentioned - for a 5lb container you pay almost $50 but if u do 3 scoops/day it will last 32 days. So for the first month, $50 is not bad IMO...

#7 Post by **charro callado** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:31 pm

marycotter5678 wrote: So for the first month, $50 is not bad IMO...

That's not bad at all if you consider that all of your usual grocery shopping will grind to halt for at least the first two weeks after surgery. And it's not like you're going to be spending money eating out, either (which is big for me, because I eat fast food around 5 times a week).

Joe

#8 Post by **starteeth** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 12:18 am

i think it really depends on your eating habits. I am about your size and its been almost 4 weeks post op and I have only lost 2 or 3 pounds. I think that if you are a big eater and have excess weight to lose then you will lose it. I on the other hand, don't ever eat huge meals. I eat little snacks all day long. After the surgery, I really didn't feel food deprived, since I have always eaten small amounts/snacks. Normally I eat soups and smoothies anyway, so it was kind of normal eating for me.

#9 Post by **ohmyjaw** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 4:56 am

This is just my two cents, but I don't think you need to be terribly worried about weight loss. If you lose any weight, trust me, it comes back very quick. Your body is amazing at sorting things out for itself.

If you think you need supplememts, go ahead, but I don't think its really necessary. You can do just fine by adding sme extra calorie content to your regular food. Add some thick cream to your soup, for example. When I had surgery, I was wired shut, really exhausted, and didn't have much of an appetite either, so I subsisted on chocolate milkshakes for a while. It was the only thing that I felt like eating, and thankfully it had some calories. All my healthy eating plans went out the window!

You will be fine. I have always been underweight (about 5'5'' and 110 lbs) and my body coped just fine.

#10 Post by **JamieMei** » Mon May 25, 2009 9:29 am

Let's put it this way...five days after surgery, my boyfriend came over and could tell that I lost weight after giving me a hug. It is amazing how fast you get sick of liquid food, and the meds make you feel like throwing up all the time. You also lose a lot of blood during surgery. I would just eat very well before surgery and see how it goes. A lot of people say that supplementing your diet with power shakes and such helps.

#11 Post by **brendan** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:25 pm

lol i went into surgery [muscular] at 5'8 and 175 lbs
Right now i weigh about 160-165 lbs

I lost a ridiculous amount of mass in my legs. My quads/calfs shrunk about 25%. I imagine thats where most of the weight was [10 lbs or so] and the other 5 lbs was fat.

#12 Post by PJ » Mon May 25, 2009 6:56 pm

I lost 10lbs--and at 5 weeks post-op none has come back. I see at it as a happy side effect, but I guess there are people who really don't want/need to lose any weight. Maybe being overweight can be a good thing--when it comes to recovering from surgery.

#13 Post by **zoeandnimo** » Wed May 27, 2009 12:29 pm

I had a BSSO in March and only lost about 4 pounds. I was drinking Ensure all the time those first few days and making my shakes with peanut butter - your body needs as many calories and protein as possible to help stay strong and heal! I'm also on the thin side and didn't need to lose any weight. About half of it came back after about 2 months, and I'm sure the rest will come back as well.

#14 Post by **Winter2009** » Wed May 27, 2009 2:53 pm

zoeandnimo wrote:I had a BSSO in March and only lost about 4 pounds. I was drinking Ensure all the time those first few days and making my shakes with peanut butter - your body needs as many calories and protein as possible to help stay strong and heal! I'm also on the thin side and didn't need to lose any weight. About half of it came back after about 2 months, and I'm sure the rest will come back as well.

I am drinking Ensure to gain weight but not sure why it's not helping at all. Havent' gained any weight. I've had 24 bottles in the past weeks already. I don't like the taste of Ensure too. I also think the bottle has too much sugar in it. So sweet. Some people told me not to drink over 3 bottles per day.

#15 Post by **HokieTay** » Wed May 27, 2009 5:32 pm

Winter2009 wrote:
zoeandnimo wrote:I had a BSSO in March and only lost about 4 pounds. I was drinking Ensure all the time those first few days and making my shakes with peanut butter - your body needs as many calories and protein as possible to help stay strong and heal! I'm also on the thin side and didn't need to lose any weight. About half of it came back after about 2 months, and I'm sure the rest will come back as well.
I am drinking Ensure to gain weight but not sure why it's not helping at all. Havent' gained any weight. I've had 24 bottles in the past weeks already. I don't like the taste of Ensure too. I also think the bottle has too much sugar in it. So sweet. Some people told me not to drink over 3 bottles per day.

Get Odwalla juice. There are tons of different flavors and it has a lot of calories per serving/bottle. It's also much healthier than Ensure. Ensure has corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, i.e. the loads of sugar you're talking about. Odwalla is made with fruits and veggies. It's sooo good. I am actually looking forward to being able to indulge in it!

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Do people normally lose weight after surgery?

Do people normally lose weight after surgery?

let's put it this way...