Can someone please explain this mystery to me.I have had my pouch now for 5 years.Everything I eat literally goes right through me,I mean as soon as I put something in my mouth I`m off to the races to the toilet. If what ever I have eaten doesn`t have the chance to sit there like a normal person where in the heck is all this weight coming from!!! I have gained 75 lbs in 5 years since my pouch surgery.I wish so hard that I was one of those people who complain that they can`t gain weight.You don`t know how mad I am that this is going on with all the other problems I have.I just had to get this off my fat chest.

I cannot explain it, but I do understand! I have gained 45 pounds since my surgery 2 1/2 years ago (and I was overweight then!). Granted, I know that some of them came from the ability to eat foods that I could not tolerate before my surgery so I am not saying I do not know how I gained much of it, LOL!

Even with running three times a week and tracking my calories to the letter, it is so very hard for me to take it off. The weight DOES NOT want to budge. And I am eating very healthy foods, so it's not like it's because I eat a lot of easily digested empty calories, LOL!

So, just some (((hugs))) from me, a j-pouch board fatty!

-Nicole

I've gained some weight after surgery too and I'm still not sure how I did. I've figured out my calories and am burning WAY more than I take in. I was able to loose a lot this summer, but it was difficult. Small portions, no sugar, no pre packaged foods, lots of fruits, veggies, and lean meats etc.

If you honestly believe that you are eating healthy and are still gaining weight, check with your doctor. It could be hormone/thyroid related... also check your iodine levels. This can easily be done by going to a health food store and picking up a small bottle of iodine and putting some on your skin (stomach). If the iodine disappears within 24 hours or less, you need iodine. I found that it really helped me out!

I am not sure that what you are describing is the meal you just ingested as being instantly evacuated. What you probably are describing is the gastrocolic reflex, where the presence of food in the stomach stimulates peristalsis. I typically have to empty my pouch right after a meal. But, my transit time is closer to 8-12 hours. It only takes a few hours for those calories to be absorbed.

Once you are over 40, an occasional TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test, along with your usual stuff can easily rule out hypothyroidism. I never heard of the iodine on the skin test, but it probably is not real accurate if it is indicative of anything. If you take a multivitamin with minerals, your iodine intake should be fine. Watch out on taking in too much iodine because in more than very tiny amounts, it is toxic.

Jan

Hey thanks for the heads up on iodine Jan, I'll keep that in mind!

Jan, could it be the "feast famine syndrome" that some dieters go thru where they starve themselves and their body goes into overdrive to save calories???
I have gained weight as well but I know part of it is due to some of my medications.
I have always wondered if the food moves thru our systems faster that our bodies would be grabbing all the calories it can...
Julie

Yes, that can be part of it. Your body does what it needs to get what it needs. Plus, those who have had IBD can be considered to have chronic wasting disease. You remove the colon that has been wasting large amounts of protein for a long period of time and the protein loss stops. However, your metabolism does not revert back to the healthy time. That is one theory I have heard.

Jan