Weight Gain After Bariatric Surgery
Weight gain after bariatric surgery is, unfortunately, more common than is usually mentioned. Why do people gain the weight back again after their weight loss surgery?
Diet After Weight Loss Surgery
Yes, you still need to diet after weight loss surgery. Or at the very least be on a special diet. Weight loss surgery is not a license to still eat all the sweets and fast food that might be a staple of your “before” diet.
In any of the types of weight loss surgeries — gastric bypass, lap band, vertical sleeve gastrectomy, duodenal switch — you need to alter the way you eat. In some cases, you’ll find that you can no longer eat certain foods; for example, the dumping syndrome common to gastric bypass.
Smaller, frequent meals are what helps to make weight loss possible. So why do some people gain weight?
Cheating After Surgery
Sad to say, but many people find ways to cheat after having the surgery. This means that they’ve had very expensive, life-altering surgery with nothing to show for it.
For example, instead of following the proper diet after weight loss surgery, some people decide that they can sip down milkshakes and full-calorie sodas. Or, they eat a little more past full at most meals and their stomach pouch eventually stretches. Which means more calories. And the circle begins again.
Weight Gain After Bariatric Surgery
No one goes into weight loss surgery with the intention of gaining weight. And indeed, the vast majority of people do lose at least 80% of their target weight loss. But as with any and every weight loss plan, you have to commit to the new eating plan to keep the weight off.
Its not to say that you can’t have little “cheats” now and again — a small slice of cake at a birthday celebration, eating a bit more than normal at Thanksgiving dinner. What matters is that these “cheats” are rare, and don’t become an everyday occurrence.
But gaining weight back after bariatric surgery is not a foregone conclusion. Its a matter of your committment to doing what you need to keep the weight off.
Ultimately, the weight loss surgeries are tools to help you lose weight, when everything else you’ve tried has failed. They are not license to follow the lifestyle that led to the weight gain in the first place.