Issues losing weight after gallbladder removal.

[KittyChimera]

I started dieting in October, because I decided that I wanted to be healthy before I turned 30, and my 29th birthday was coming up in November. I got a gym membership and started eating better, and then out of nowhere at the end of October, I had to have emergency gallbladder surgery.

Since I had the surgery, I think that I've gained like 40 pounds, even though I am eating healthier and eating less. I started paying particular attention to what I was eating, and counted calories very specifically and gained 5 pounds over a week. The next week, as an experiment, I ate whatever I wanted and only gained 1.5 pounds. 

Has anyone else had this problem? When I had the surgery, they didn't say anything about how it would affect my body or anything, or how I should be eating if I wanted to get healthy and lose weight. In the follow up with the surgeon, I didn't really get a chance to ask him because he came into my hospital room at like 5am to check the incisions and talk to me and because he woke me up I was really groggy so I didn't really think to ask any questions. 

According to the calculations from Fitbit, I need to eat about 1700 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week, but people are telling me that that's way too high and I need to cut back to 1200. Does anyone have any thoughts? 

[SunsetRunner]

to lose weight

[Dominique]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

to lose weight

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Any way of eating that puts you in a caloric deficit will lead to weight loss:

It can be keto, but it doesn’t have to. @t56 said she has already been eating a ketogenic diet. I think it’s more a low-carb diet than a ketogenic one, as merely eliminating starches isn’t enough. For a diet to put you into ketosis, total carbs (including non-starchy ones) must be very low, no more than something like 20 grams per day. Protein can’t be too high either (otherwise part of it will be converted into carbs), so 80+% of your intake must come from fats. You just don’t eat such a diet by accident, it has to be the result of a very conscious decision.

Likewise, any activity that contributes to the deficit will work for weight loss. It can be running (as in @t56’s case), but could just as well be biking, rowing, or even a low-intensity activity like walking (provided there’s enough of it). 

[t56]

I’m Sorry, but I did not say I was on the KETO. I have never been on it. I don’t eat carbs which is basically the same. But, I am not on KETO.  
I do not eat carbs, other than salt free cracker with salt free natural peanut butter because I have Hypoglycemia.  No one can be completely carb free, but I am as close as it gets. My crackers are 9 carbs  total. I only eat chicken or fish for meat. I eat fresh vegetables such as yellow squash, zucchini and green beans. We are not gaining weight because of what we eat. We are gaining because we do not have a gallbladder. Running helps and yes any other exercise should help too. Running seems to work the best.

[Dominique]

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@t56 wrote:
I did not say I was on the KETO. I have never been in it. I said I don’t eat carbs which is the same. But, I am not on KETO.

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You wrote (I quote):

"Keto is basically what I have been doing for years."

What’s the difference between "doing keto" and "being on keto"?

[t56]

I have been doing the lowest carbs possible for years. I never even heard of Keto until this year when someone said something about it on fb. Other than that I haven’t even read about it. I don’t due fads. I do a diet for everyday for always, just the no sugar diet I have been on for years because of Hypoglycemia. So, I do not do Keto. I have a diet that is no carb and is similar to any other her diet that is low carbs. Having a diet that is similar does not mean you are on the same diet. I was just showing that I was unintentionally doing something similar.  Oh, and I also don’t eat salt.  

[PamVelezz]

Dominique (and a few others) I find most of your comments in this threat unhelpful. Are you here to be helpful or just to tell everyone else that what they are feeling or going through is in their heads? How many times do the people going through this issue have to tell you that we have triend everything. From low calorie, to low carb, to fasting, to harder workouts to pills to just crying. Seriously dude... this sh*t is real. It is happening to en entire community. Facebook has an entire huge gallbladder removal group and half of thos people experience this issue myself and the people on this thread included. So if you're here to post little diagrams of calories in and calories out you're not being helpful. Please come back with a more compassionate approach or with a solution... or just dont comment at all. As of right now I burn about 2700 to 3000 calories daily and consume about 1500 to 1800 calories daily. I'm clocking in a 206 as of today I'll go down to 200 and the next day back up to 202 or 204 with absolutely NO change in calorie intake. NONE. I drink about a gallon of water daily. I typically eat about 20+ grams of fiber. I track macros by weighing by the gram. And STILL nothing moves. I hate people that like you want to tell all of that we arent weighing things right, arent exercising hard enough, arent over weight, it's all about calories in and out. IT CLEARLY ISNT IF SO MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING IT ISNT!!!!

[t56]

Thank you Pam!  18 years of this for me. It is real and it is so very hard to deal with.  No one understands unless they are going thru it.   I have tried everything and seen several drs.  I finally gave up on them.  I eat little and run in place while I watch a show.  But, one item off on food or sit down for a show and the next day I weight 3-4 lbs more.   I got on this site for info and support, but I feel constantly attacked by some.  Thank you for your voice. 

[mmsgamma3]

Ok so I started this thread and I stopped responding to anything because I thought it was just me that was feeling belittled and attacked! I thought I was being over sensitive because I am super sensitive about my weight! I know how hard I workout and I know that I eat very clean. Unless someone is experiencing this issue you have no idea what it is like.  Everyone on here is very aware what they eat and how active they are and for some to discredit that knowledge is just mean. So be nice! You have no idea what we are going thru and it’s not just a physical thing it’s also very much emotional. Just be freaking nice!!!!

[PamVelezz]

I'm just fed up, you know? I know I'm meticulous about how I eat and how much I work out, I'm a cross fitter. My workouts are not easy workouts. I've tried eating more I've tried eating less. I've tried Keto. I've tried low carb. I've tried phentermine. I've tried IF. I've tried OMAD I've tried counting macros, I've tried working with coaches and nutritionists. Ive tried regular workouts,  I've tried less work outside I've tried harder work outside. Ive tried not doing anything. I've tried crying. I've tried meditating. I have tried EVERYTHING. It infuriates me when I'm told "it still boils down to calories in and out 🥴" it obviously doesnt. So trust me guys there is definitely some disconnect here with our bodies, if you've been disciplined and tried... then you know something is not right. Dont let anyone belittle your experience it isnt as simple for us as these people think. Much love and if you guys find anything that works please share! I was told that I should see a Naturopath 

[SunsetRunner]

Did you test for your level of insulin ?, if you have insulin resistance your are never gonna loose weight.

[PamVelezz]

@SunsetRunner yes, I've had a full hormone panel as well as thyroid, blood work, insulin resistant test etc. Everything with the exception of my iron levels and my vitamin d were lo . But those two have always been low for me since about middle school. No one knows what's going on

[t56]

I’m sorry, but please STOP!   It is not insulin!  What it is  is not having a gallbladder.  Period!!!!  Please spend time trying to find out what will make a body think it still has a gallbladder instead of throwing every single medical issue at us.  

[SunsetRunner]

Ok, i'm trying to help you, like i said gallbladder i think has nothing to do with the weight lost, it's just an store for the bile, many people have liver transplant and they don't have a gallbladder but they are thin and also almost all the people that has it out are fine. Liver is responsible for most of the proceses in our bodies  and probably metabolic syndromes are the major issues loosing weight. It's simple, if you eat the same calories that you burn you are nerver gona lose weight, but if you eat less, your body can't take energy from the air, it has to take it fom your body fat, it pyshicaly imposible to not burning fat if your body needs energy to work and you don't give it with your food, it just the thermodynamic law.

[DrDebND]

I would also look at Leptin levels becasue if you developed a resistance that could be an issue.

[DrDebND]

I agree it is sine gallbladders are removed. I know people don't want to admit this but it is happening. I had thought this was due to lack of enzymes but even replacing them doesn't seem to help.

[UkuleleMama]

I haven't chimed in in a while. I know for a fact my body is dealing with how it processes food differently. Our bodies do change as years go by, but they usually don't change overnight. So if most, or all, of us on this forum were able to lose weight or stay in shape by eating and exercising in our own specific ways, but all of a sudden those ways no longer worked and the only change was getting our gallbladders out, pretty much the only conclusion you can come to is the loss of our gallbladders is mucking things up for us. One of the doctors I saw while trying to figure out what was going on was my gynecologist. His answer wasn't particularly helpful, but he was probably the only doctor who really listened and tried to help. His answer was: sometimes our bodies just do weird things and we don't know why. On face value, it's a terrible answer, but the reality is, no one in the medical field is really studying the problem so there aren't any conclusive answers out there. That's unfortunate. Mostly, doctors are just telling us you can live without a gallbladder and that's the end of their concern. If what happens after it's out means you're stuck with constipation or diarrhea or weight gain, they don't care because it's not a life or death situation. If you complain enough, they might give you a prescription, but otherwise they just think you're a whiny baby or a hypochondriac. Because I do know people who got their gallbladders out who have zero problems. Anyway, I'm kind of betting that because we all had varying reasons for having to get our gallbladders out, there probably isn't one answer for all of us. I mean, I never ever had a problem digesting food. I had absolutely no idea whatsoever that I had made so many gallstones. One minute I was thin, felt awesome, could run 7 miles and feel full of energy, and eat whatever I wanted. The next minute I found out my gallbladder, which was technically in great shape, was packed with so many gallstones, and I mean a LOT, that one was half in and half out and not a single speck more could fit. So what the heck!??? So I had what the doctor said was a healthy gallbladder that just happened to be loaded with gallstones. So the answer to why I have issues now may be different from the person who got their gallbladder out because it was diseased. Still, I feel there has to be some common answer for all of us that might just need to be tweaked for each person.

[mmsgamma3]

I hear ya!!!’ I’m frustrated beyond belief! I have not been a “couch potato” in7 years. I went from 180 to 220 in the blink of an eye AFTER my gall bladder was removed! And 2 years later I’m still struggling to get the weight off!!! Food now terrifies me because I can not gain any more weight! Unless ppl have walked in our shoes they have no freaking idea what it’s like!!! 

[t56]

Why won’t the medical field try to find out why?  They are constantly studying things that are not life threatening.  This causes that, then they retest the same thing and  change it  to another answer 3 or 4 times. But, no one will even try to find out about why bodies get big after gallbladder removal.  They just say it “I don’t know or you eat wrong or you need to exercise. No one even tries.

[SunsetRunner]

It appears to happen in women, i've read in many sites that the cause can probably be hormones, that aren't regulates. 

[t56]

I only know 2 men who had their gallbladder out and it happened to both of them; one is a very close friend who gained 30 lbs really fast and he can’t get it off.  The other is my husband.  He also gained and is struggling.  He eats  the same as me - lowest carbs possible, no sugar and no salt.