Mention gastric bypass surgery in a group and someone will probably tell you that he knows someone that had that surgery and gained all the weight back. The truth is that while weight regain is possible after gastric bypass surgery, people that have surgery are much more likely to maintain their weight loss than people that lose weight by dieting. Gastric bypass surgery does not guarantee you’ll never regain, but it gives you a tool to help prevent it.
How Can Regain Happen?
After gastric bypass surgery, your stomach is much smaller than normal and you also do not absorb all of the calories you eat because part of your small intestine has been bypassed. Over time, your stomach is supposed to stretch a little bit so you can eat slightly larger amounts. Over time, your small intestine adapts so that you begin to absorb most of the calories you eat, too.
Now, you will never be able to eat as much as someone that hasn’t had gastric bypass surgery, so your smaller stomach will always help prevent weight gain. If you choose the wrong foods, though, it is possible to gain. Consider this. Three years after my gastric bypass, I can eat about one cup of food at a time. I can eat one slice of pizza or a handful of French fries. I can eat a couple cookies. If I regularly ate one cup of sugary cereal for breakfast, one slice of extra cheese pizza for lunch, some French fries for an afternoon snack, something high in calories for dinner and a high calorie snack before bed, I could gain weight. Some people do have trouble tolerating sugar after gastric bypass surgery, but there are plenty of sugar free treats that are high in calories.
How Common Is It?
Dr. Charles Callery, a bariatric surgeon in San Diego, California, reports that his patients lose an average of 80 percent of their excess weight in the first two years after gastric bypass surgery. He says that his patients then regain an average of 15 percent of their excess weight by the time they are five years post-op. To put this in terms of pounds, let’s say a patient is 5’4″ tall and weighs 240 pounds, 100 pounds more than her ideal weight. If she is like Dr. Callery’s average patients, she will lose 80 pounds and decrease her weight to 160 pounds in the first two years after surgery. Then she’ll gain 15 pounds back over time, and five years after surgery she’ll weigh 175 pounds.
Keep in mind that these numbers are averages; that means some patients lose more weight and keep it off longer, while others lose less or gain more back.
How Can You Prevent It?
You can prevent weight regain after gastric bypass surgery by using your gastric bypass as the tool it’s meant to be. Like any tool, it only works correctly if you use it properly. That means you need to measure your portions and not try to slip in an extra bite or too. It also means you need to make good food choices. It does not mean you can never have a treat, but most of your meals and snacks need to be healthful foods, high in protein, low in fat, low in sugar. Make an appointment with a registered dietician if you need help making healthful food choices.
Something else you can do to prevent weight regain is to avoid drinking with your meals and for at least 30 minutes after meals. When you drink with meals or right after meals, you wash food out of your pouch and into your small intestine. The sooner your pouch is emptied, the sooner you will feel hungry again. Not drinking with meals helps you feel full longer which helps you avoid eating too much and gaining weight.
Sources:
Thinner Time. http://www.thinnertimes.com/weight-loss-surgery/gastric-bypass/gastric-bypass-outcomes.html. Gastric Bypass Outcomes.
AGA Journals Blog. http://agajournals.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/what-causes-weight-gain-after-gastric-bypass/. What Causes Weight Gain After Gastric Bypass?
Bariatric Surgery Source. http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/weight-gain-after-gastric-bypass.html. Weight Regain After Gastric Bypass Surgery and 9 Ways to Prevent/Reverse It.
Reference:
- voices.yahoo.com/recovery-after-gastric-bypass-surgery-4739114.html?cat=51
- voices.yahoo.com/prevalence-complications-after-gastric-7921928.html?cat=51
