No More Diets

After having a hysterectomy my weight is just piling on. How can I stop this from happening?

Unfortunately weight gain after hysterectomy is pretty normal as it is after any kind of surgery where a recovery period is needed. You see after the first few days of not eating much following surgery, patients go back to eating their normal diet but activity levels drop considerably. In fact, on top of their normal diet many patients eat even more than usual due to trying to combat boredom and stress during the recovery period. IT’s too easy when you’re sitting around at home with not much you CAN do to feel like yet another cup of coffee and a cookie.

It does not take many excess calories every day before you start piling on the pounds. Just 500 calories a day too many each day and you will gain a pound a week of pure fat. And levels of activity can be lower for 6 weeks to 3 months or more during the post-operative period as you try and avoid strain.

Yet this period of recovery is essential to get you back to full health so the answer is not to try and do more until you are completely recovered but to eat a bit less and a bit more healthily. This may be easier said than done when you have to rely on others to help with cooking and shopping but if you let your helpers know how important it is to have a healthy diet to help with your recovery they will be willing to help you.

In any case, if you are still recovering then cut yourself some slack. Try and eat a bit less as a form of damage limitation but don’t expect too much of yourself. It is far better that you let yourself recover as quickly as possible and THEN start to do something about your weight if it is all too much for you now. The last thing you want to do is delay your recovery.

Although many people think that the hormones you take after a hysterectomy are to blame, they actually play a very small role - so don’t worry that you are stuck with the extra weight. Hormonal changes and medicines generally make 3 to 4 pounds difference at most and even this can be counteracted by a healthy lifestyle. If additional weight tends to migrate to your tummy area following hysterectomy (as it often does following menopause) then a healthy diet and tummy exercises will help a lot but of course no tummy or other exercises should be done until you are recovered and your doctor has given the OK.

It’s important to just let yourself recover fully and then start eating healthier and building up your activity levels one small step at a time so that healthy eating and plenty of activity becomes just the normal way you live your life in the future.