Weight Loss without Gall Bladder

cessnaholly · June 2021

I used to be healthy and thin. Then I had my gall bladder out. It messed up my digestion and my doctor said that was normal. I don't think so but what do I know? Anyway, after that surgery I gained weight and I can't seem to budge my weight loss. The doctors say that weight gain isn't from the surgery or missing a gall bladder but all over the internet are stories of people who gain and can't lose weight.

My question is, is there anyone who has had their gall bladder removed and been able to lose weight? Do you have any tips?

R7seven · June 2021

I had my gallbladder removed over 20 years ago. It has not stopped me from losing weight at all and I’m talking about close to 90 pounds. Just put your info in this site, answer the questions and follow the calorie goals. Weigh and log your food.

yirara · June 2021

If your body stopped digesting your food properly then you'd get less calories out of food. The bile stored in the gallbladder is mainly for taking fatty foods apart and breaking them down into fatty acids. That still works as bile tickles into the digestive tract constantly instead of being stored until use, but too much fat at a time might cause problems. However, having the gallbladder removed can lead to bloating in some people, which is not body fat.

It is possible that you ate too much before surgery, but your condition meant that your body couldn't quite do so much with the food. Now that things work better again you might notice those extra calories. Are you tracking your food intake thoroughly and with a kitchen scale?

lmf1012 · June 2021

I had my gallbladder out roughly 2 and 1/2 years ago and I have not had any issues losing weight. I have lost just over 9 lbs in the last 8 weeks which lines up pretty closely with my average calorie deficit

kshama2001 · June 2021

cessnaholly wrote: »

I used to be healthy and thin. Then I had my gall bladder out. It messed up my digestion and my doctor said that was normal. I don't think so but what do I know? Anyway, after that surgery I gained weight and I can't seem to budge my weight loss. The doctors say that weight gain isn't from the surgery or missing a gall bladder but all over the internet are stories of people who gain and can't lose weight.

My question is, is there anyone who has had their gall bladder removed and been able to lose weight? Do you have any tips?

Despite the anecdotal evidence you have encountered, your doctor is correct.

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

AnnPT77 · June 2021

I had my gallbladder removed part way through losing 50+ pounds, while calorie counting (no, not because weight loss caused gallstones/sludge, which can happen - different issue). Other than some temporary water weight weirdness related to the surgery, I lost weight at the same rate before and after the surgery. I got to goal weight fine, have stayed at a healthy weight for 5+ years since.

I also vote that your doctor is right: For some people, losing the gallbladder can cause digestive issues (usually, those would be problems digesting fats properly, leading to loose stool/diarrhea). But IME, losing the gallbladder doesn't affect weight management.

Weight management is all about balancing calorie intake with calorie expenditure. (Nutrition is important, and ability to digest fats could affect nutrition, in extreme cases, but the effect of no gallbladder is not even at that scale for most people.)

One of the reasons you read about it all over the web is that some people like to find reassuring reasons for their failure to lose weight, and cling to them. Some common ones: Hypothyroidism, menopause, age, "addictive" foods, etc. People who've successfully lost weight (either finding it difficult or not) tend to discount those theories as absolute barriers. This is all just human nature.

lorrpb · June 2021

I had my gall bladder taken out in the middle of my weight loss journey. I’d lost about 60 lb and went on to lose another 80 lb. I did not have to change the types of food I ate or anything.

KelpieLass · June 2021

I has mine taken out a few months ago. And I have also had digestion problems ever since. Happens in something like 5-10% of cholecystectomy post-op patients. We're just among the unlucky ones! Not super fun, but also a LOT better than dealing with incredibly painful gallstone flare-ups. OUCH.

After a bit of experimenting, the main thing that makes things better (not normal, but definitely better) for me on the digestion front is getting my 25g+ grams of fibre a day. Loads of fruit, veg, pulses and wholegrains. Relatively low fat, but not aggressively so.

I've only been accurately tracking my calories for a week, but so far my missing gallbladder doesn't appear to be having any negative impact on my weight loss. I lost 6lbs this week (mostly water weight!) but that should hopefully stablize at 1-1.25lbs a week with a combo of a sustainable deficit and a bit more exercise.

But it's very early days, so we'll have to wait and see. I want to lose around 72lbs and be able to maintain it, so I'm strapping in for the long haul.

Good luck!

yirara · June 2021

Aww @KelpieLass Just tagging you for this fab name and imagine of oor kelpies.

Yes, I also lost my gallbladder a few years ago. Had some digestive problems for 2-3 months, but then everything went back to normal and fine. I generally don't eat too much fat as it never rally filled me. But I at least get close to the standard MFP settings without problems. And occasionally have a rather fatty meal, also without issues. Guess I'm lucky.

AnnPT77 · June 2021

Afterthought: If someone's going through gallbladder surgery now, please eat at maintenance or very close for a few weeks after surgery. I didn't, and it wasn't a great plan. Same would be true for any other surgery or major injury during weight loss: Take a maintenance break while you heal.

Beautyofdreams · June 2021

I had my gallbladder out and have lost 79 pounds since last March. I experienced severe diarrhea when eating food with fiber after the gallbladder was out so stopped eating fruits and vegetables and ate mainly bread. My doctor prescribed Colestipol(sp?) to replace the missing gallbladder. Using that and probiotics helped me immensely and am able to eat fruits and vegetables again. Not sure if this is your experience but it was mine.

Beautyofdreams · June 2021

Should also mention foods like hot dogs bother me so don’t eat them but the medication really helped me.

Toronto6fan · June 2021

I had mine out in January and have lost 20 pounds. I overhauled my diet, no more red meat, I eat chicken or fish, beans, tofu. Limited dairy. Higher fat foods make me feel awful