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Weight Gain After Back Surgery

Princey82
Princey82 Posts: 4 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone,

I wanted to ask if anyone knew or could help me with something. For most of my life I have struggled with my weight since early teens (medical reasons) but even so it impacted on myself tremendously both physically and mentally. I am 38 now and even now those demons still creep in... I did every diet under the sun, went to the gym but nothing in those early days / years / more years, (it was very debilitating) the last 5 years I’ve managed to change things medical wise and it’s really helped a bit , and the last 12 months I’ve worked twice as hard and tried to keep strong, January 16th weighed 18st 8 and beginning of October I weighed 14st. (Found a system that works well for me, nutrition mainly as hurt my back so couldn’t exercise from Jan onwards ). I’ve been over the moon.. however I had to have decompression surgery beginning of the month on my back and a broken disc/bits removed .. since the op (2 weeks ago) I’ve put on 8-10llbs .. I still have some swelling around my back, so my question is would this affect the scales .. it may not mean much to others but after years trying to finally get almost where I want to be, it’s hard not to think the worst! Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks
Nick

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Yes swelling means you are retaining water while your body heals and that water has weight which shows up on your bathroom scales.

    It's at times like this you have to trust the process and the mathematics.
    8 - 10lbs of fat gain would be an enormous 28,000 - 35,000 calories extra on top of the calories you would need to maintain your weight and you KNOW for sure that didn't happen.

    Bathroom scales give you data which needs to be processed by the logical part of your mind rather than become an emotional feeling. Easier said than done of course.

    Best of luck with your recovery.
  • Princey82
    Princey82 Posts: 4 Member
    Thankyou very much for your reply, it’s greatly appreciated. It’s one of the things I’ve been working on is mindset and also just how much numbers of the scales influence our emotions! Like you said easier said then done .. but will keep pushing forward once recovered .. many thanks again

    Nick
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    Another vote for "you are retaining water while your body heals and that water has weight which shows up on your bathroom scales."

    Hang in there!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Poison Ivy = 14 pounds

    Seriously.

    Luckily I have been through these types of things enough that they MOSTLY do not bother me. No one likes seeing the big upticks on the scale but I know I can trust the process. I have watched more than 18 stone go away.

    So I do not know if your medical team discussed this with you but you really should not be trying to lose weight while recovering. Your body needs energy to repair itself. In fact, it needs more than normal. When I was in recovery last year my body did not mess around on the food issue. I stayed hungry even eating things that normally controlled my hunger well. I was not sure how much over my maintenance calories I could eat so I set maintenance + 20 percent as a cap. I will say that at the time I was in a very good place mentally with my weight loss and I did not really worry if my recovery came with a small bump (real bump not water) on the scale. I figured the worst it would be was 3 pounds. I gained nothing.
  • Princey82
    Princey82 Posts: 4 Member
    Thankyou for the reply, I understand what you are saying and I totally agree, I am not trying to still lose whilst recovering I just didn’t know how much an operation / swelling would affect weight in total and just had a few demons come back to haunt me so to speak after working so hard for all these years.

    Thanks
    Nick
  • Princey82
    Princey82 Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you for the reply and support, I just wasn’t sure and having to work so hard it was a ‘flash back to the past’ but will keep pushing forward and continue once fully recovered .. Thanks again
    Nick
  • domeofstars
    domeofstars Posts: 480 Member
    I'm so sorry to hear what you have been through with your back and all of the pain you have been through too. That must have been really hard. This recovery time after surgery is only a temporary thing and you will get better. Its fantastic you found a nutrition system that works for you with weight loss, and you can get back to it again- if it worked in the past, it can work for you in the future too. The swelling will go, its easier said than done but try not to worry about that- its temporary. You will get back to where you want to be physically, but it may take your body a little bit more time.
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