How to lose weight after a Hysterectomy!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by blackdog60 I to could not lose the weight. At around six months after my TLH I started running 30 min two times a week on my treadmill and yoga one day a week. That and limiting my calorie intake did the trick. I lost 15lbs!!! The secret is watching what you eat. Small portion sizes seem to work. One day a week I allow myself a cheat day, This seeems to be working. Try to eat healthy also!!!

That is great to know! I constantly worry about weight gain. I have started walking 3 evenings a week - upto 3-4 miles each time. And I try my best to limit calorie intake (easier said than done!). Only brown rice, vegetables, lentils, yoghurt, fruit. I am hoping for the best. I will be happy even if I lose 4-5 pounds over three months! .

This has been a big concern for me. Prior to my surgery I read a lot about how women gain weight after a hysterectomy. I have been on Weight Watchers for about 15 months and over this time I have lost 65 lbs. So I was very upset about the possibility of gaining weight. I have lost about 6 lbs since my surgery 6 weeks ago and then this week for no explainable reason I have gained 7 lbs. back. I spoke to two Drs. prior to my surgery about gaining the weight and they assured me that as long as I stuck to the WW diet I have been on I would not likely put any of the weight back on. Well lets see! There was no reason for me to gain 7 lbs this week, so lets see if I am going to loose it again this next week and chalk it up to retaining fluid. I am petrified that despite sticking to my WW diet my weight gain is going to be out of my control. Not fair when I have been so dedicated. Can't blame bloating on "that time on the month" anymore as I no longer have a "that time of the month!" I would definitely like to know how everyone else is doing in regard to diet and weight gain so lets keep this thread going for the foreseeable future! Thanks.

Hello,

Before my hysterectomy I was a size 4 I was 28 yrs old. I'm 37 yrs old Im like a size 10 and I'm having difficulty to lose weight I've tried eating in smaller portions and working out like twice a week and I'm not having any results. What do you think I need to do to lose the weight?

Thank you for sharing! I think you're right about the fact that we need much less than we did before, and much less than most of us typically eat. However, replacing with coffee and or diet coke would not be the healthiest way to cut down . I had a surgical hysterectomy (ovaries removed too) in Jan. of this year. So, it's been 9 months tomorrow! Whew... I just gained and gained during the time of recuperating and not being able to exercise much. So, I understand your desperation! I'm exercising more now, and that's helped a little, but I was still gaining. In August I read "Ageless" by Suzanne Somers. Its a great book that talks about bio-identical hormone replacement and how we all need some as we age. In the back of her book she gives a list of places/ clinics and doctors that will prescribe bio-identical hormones. It has changed my life since the end of August when I got on them!! I've lost eight pounds so far, (Slowly but surely) and there have been many other wonderful changes! I'm actually sleeping at night , am having so much more control over my appetites, and am experiencing a more lively libido too. They say that these happy changes are just the beginning. I can't say enough about the help that has been to me!! Perhaps it will be a help to you too. I am also cutting out all processed sugar -- just using a little honey or stevia when I need something sweet. It's amazing to me that I'm even feeling the freedom and strength to tackle that now!

Dear Hystersisters,

I had always been around 125-130 lbs in my adult life...after my hysterectomy, I gained 30 lbs in one year to my great dismay--"It's happening to me--oh no!!" I said---and the pounds were steadily gaining over the weeks..what can I do? I thought...It seemed that I had no control over it....I had not changed my eating since my days of being 125 lbs....and yet the weight was sticking to me so easily....it was discouraging.....then one day, I decided I would radically change my diet.....I completely cut out bread, restaurant food, fruit juice of any kind, honey, jam, soft drinks, basically all refined sugars, no processed foods, no fried foods--I only ate small portions consistently---basically, I created a very healthy diet consisting of fruit, fish, salad and veggies, and only allowed myself to eat a low fat and low sugar cereal--only 5 grams sugar perhaps 3 times a week, but only 1/2 cup....and maintained this low calorie, low fat and low sugar diet for now 3 1/2 months....I lost 21 lbs and now weigh 134...and I lose steadily a pound a week--each Sunday--it is very consistent because I don't cheat on my diet--and I realize this 'diet' has to be my way of eating for the rest of my life...and that's okay....it seems drastic, but it gave me the control over my body again....and I did not have to give in to hysterectomy weight gain....plus, my complexion cleared up after a life time of skin problems, because I cut out all sugar and processed foods and I really started feeling healthy...less calories is beneficial...and you can get used to it...I don't feel deprived...just I feel like I developed self control. There is a silver lining to the hysterectomy weight gain challenge....in it, you will find the opportunity to remake yourself with a new lifestyle...and you will embrace it when you experience how much better you feel and look----Don't give up--you can do it too!

Hello Histersisters~ and thank you, Sivatherium, for that post. It is very encouraging to hear of your success!! I am also feeling a new freedom in seeing myself gain self-control over foods that have seemingly enslaved me. I have much more to lose than you do. I know it's quite popular right now to cut out carbs. I'm wondering if you eat any in your diet right now... such as whole grains ever? I'm thinking that what I need to do next is drastically limit carbs, such as only eating a limited amount (no more than a cup a day) of whole grain brown rice, or barley in soup, or oats for breakfast. I rarely eat processed foods or white flour products already, but cutting out all refined sugars since the start of the month has really been good for me. I just know that at some point I will probably find my weekly weight loss leveling off again and want to consider what to do to boost it and keep it coming off. I need to lose between 40 and 50 pounds. Thanks for any advice you can give.

A lot of people have good success with the Fat Flush Diet. They have a very active forum with tons of support. It's a healthy diet that starts with two weeks of detox, that is the toughest part, after that it gets easier. It's a way of eating that is carefully designed and it definitely works. I went on it back in 2010 and saw immediate results, lost 14 pounds and kept it off until after my surgery. Trying to get my act together so I can get back on it. If you are looking for a healthy way to eat with a lot of online support, check it out by googling Fat Flush. One warning, the supplement packages that are recommended, and the protein powders, are expensive. But we all spend our money on something, so health is a good investment. I'm not associated with FF in any way, but I think it's a good, healthy way to lose weight IF you can handle cutting out all the bad stuff for the first two weeks.

Thanks sivatherium, for giving us hope . I too have been a consistent 110 pounds over a long time (I am petite, so that is not really the low end for my height!). And slowly but surely, I have been gaining weight over the last six months. It is tough to cut down because of the kind of food we eat in this part of the world - for e.g. rice is big part of our diet! So, I have switched to brown rice; still... it is tough. I will try and follow the diet you have (I am a vegetarian, so all except the fish is possible)...let me see if I can get down to my original weight. I need to lose 5-8 pounds probably..thanks for outlining your successful plan.

I also noticed a distinct lack of interest in exercising and I used to be a gymrat, in there 5 -7 times a week.

I've gained 15-20lbs since surgery even though not over-eating, just eating bad things. I'm exercising again (dating a gymrat) and tried the HCG diet with injections but not getting results, just side-effects (headaches, nausea). I've lost about 4 lbs in 3 weeks which means that it's not working.

I'm thinking that not having ovaries (TAH 7/15/2009) may have something to do that especially since I'm not on any kind of HRT.

Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Hello again fellow Hystersisters,

Today I am almost to my goal to reach my original pre hysterectomy weight....which is around 125-130---I have been able to steadily lose one pound a week since the the middle of July when I realized the "hysterectomy weight gain" was also happening to me--a person who never had weight issues previously---and it was depressing---as I'm sure many of you know that feeling....
Just to give you my individual example for comparison sake--as it may be helpful to see---
Before my hysterectomy---my diet was: breakfast: any kind of cereal--two pieces of buttered toast with honey or jam/ or scrambled eggs with the buttered toast---mid morning snack if I wanted--lunch was frequently anything I wanted--I'm not big on fast food--so that was usually not an option--though occasionally I did---sometimes on the way home from work, I'd get fries to munch on--but normally--some sort of "power or fiber bar" and chocolate milk--I drive a long commute----dinner was any kind of meat or I'd stop by my husband's restaurant and grab a tasty sharwerma sandwich--usually chicken--but undoubtedly full of calories---I ate sweets regularly--but not in overindulgence--cake at parties, pastries with coffee meetups with friends, but I was an avid jogger as well--so I was always slim----after my hysterectomy and subsequent recurrence of cancer and further surgeries--repair of large insisional hernia--I was greatly limited in exercise--or I would be weakening the hernia repair--(about a 7 inch incisional hernia---and then after I recovered from all that, the weight began sticking on--I was wondering what if anything could I do--I read about how weight bearing exercises would help--yet, that was not allowed for me now---I couldn't spend an hour a day at the gym---my work as I school teacher allowed maybe for 30 minutes on days I wasn't wiped out-------so I these are the changes I made: breakfast--cooked fish sometimes--cod or tilapia, 1/4 cup of Puffins cereal--only 4grams of sugar--90 calories--or--sometimes just two egg whites and fruit plus coffee--sweetened only with stevia powder----no snacks--lunch--a can of tuna fish--carrots, cherry tomatoes, plenty of fruits, or a salad with fruits--no raisins--high in sugar--no oranges---or very limited--no fruit juices--no bread--maybe one or two slices every two or three weeks--no butter, no jam, no honey--dinner--okra and tomatoes/ or asparagus/portabello mushrooms and shrimp/ very low sodium/ or fish again and salad--sometimes a little bit of basmati and wild rice at the base of a salad....no cheese generally, if I go out with friends or family to a restaurant--maybe a veggie pizza--2 slices max--no sodas ever--no candies ever--that can undo everything quickly---a lot of apples, raspberries if I want the sweet taste--strawberries, blue berries, really any kind of veggie--I just have favorites--okra, asparagus, spinach, brussell sprouts------I have a natural tendency to keep my diet very much the same everyday--I don't require a lot of variety and I think that helps me lose weight with great regularity----I always remember all the effort it takes to make all these changes when I'm confronted with cakes at parties or whatever, and decided that it's just a moment about to pass--and cannot replace all the time it took to get where I'm at----on the way home from work I snack on green apple slices--no more french fries----it's just a very healthy diet now that I'm on---and you don't need magic or some special class to help you--start taking out all the high calorie foods--even Greek yogurt is full of sugar even though it's "non fat"----sugar is a big culprit--sneaking around in many things.....a Cliff bar at the store is 300 calories--wow--I had not given it much thought before--but calories do matter---be cognizant of everything you put in your body--all the little right choices will all add up.....today I'm 131 lbs....almost 25 pounds less--which may be less to lose than others, but for me--it was a lot--I have about 5 more lbs to go to be at my normal adult weight....you can get used to a new diet--it is 100% possible--and you will not feel hungry--you may not feel "full", but all you need is to not feel hungry------you can lose all the weight you need--all it takes is a decision---I'm here to say you can and it works.