I had my gallbladder removed in February of 2007 (very recently). During the 8 months or so of dealing with a diseased gallbladder, I put on weight around my middle, a place I have never gained before.
I lost two pounds immediately after my surgery, and have continued to lose weight since then. It is very, very slow. I would like to speed it up.
I walk every day. I run a few times a week, and ride a stationary bike every week while studying for tests (I'm in college). I've found that I feel better when I exercise, but it makes me look bulkier (something I am not striving for).
I only eat one meal a day because of the effects of the surgery. I am nauseated for the first part of the day. I can usually eat dinner, but get very bad diarrhea approximately 10-30 minutes later. My body doesn't have the ability to break down fat, so it purges it. My calorie intake is already very limited because of this.
Are there any suggestions to faster weight loss with this sort of problem?
I think you need to be patient. Your body is trying to recover from surgery, and needs the energy to do that. Eat healthy, nutrient packed foods, and don't skip meals. Just watch your fat intake, and the amounts. I had surgery a few years back for an hysterectomy and it took me six months or more to feel like I was up to speed, and another few months for the surgery weight to drop off. I don't think fast weight loss is a good thing when your body is trying to heal itself. Please give it time. As long as it is going down, even slowly, it is a good thing.
You are far, far too impatient. You've got diahrea because you are eating foods too high in fat. You need to cut way back. I still (30 years after surgery) can't eat fatty foods. Exercise seldom bulks up women. You could quickly up your calorie intake with a can of Ensure or Boost. I had "morning sickness" vomiting for 9 months after surgery. I finally got over that. I found eating a few dry saltines before I got out of bed helped.
I had my gallbladder removed 4 years ago and there are still times that I have that loose bowel issue.....I find that I tend to have that if I don't eat 3 or 4 small meals a day..or at least snacks.
I don't find that it really has much to do with how fatty the foods. I usually experience this on Saturdays when I tend to sleep late and eat a late breakfast/lunch. I will often have a BM within 15 - 20 minutes of eating.
Luckily my family have gotten use to this event (like during trips or when eating out) and we just wait a little bit before leaving places with restrooms.
Are there certain foods that seem to bother you more?? I found that I couldn't eat corn or salad.
Give it a little bit~your body doesn't have a place to store the bile that was stored in your gallbladder...so it is dumping it right into your intestines. It take a while for your body to find a way to deal with this.
I could write a book on the problems I've had since having my gallbladder removed about 3 years ago. It gets better over time, but you are right, your stomach is simply not digesting food (fatty or not) in the same way as it was when you did have your gallbladder. The liver does not know how much bile to produce in order to digest foods now. Oftentimes it produces too little of bile and then all at once, produce too much bile. This usually happens after eating a fatty meal but it can happen with other triggers, such as a dairy and spicy foods. When that happens, your body does a "bile flush", hence having to run to the bathroom.
It is really two-fold:
1) When your liver is not producing enough bile, it stores the fat instead of digesting it properly;
2) When your liver suddenly produces too much bile, you have diarrhea to flush the fat.
I also found that the more I cut back on eating, the more I would have to run to the bathroom after eating. Try to eat 4-5 small meals a day, even if nauseous. This will help your liver to not freak out at the sudden need to produce bile to digest your food.
But the more important thing to know is that your body is not digesting food in the same way anymore. This means that usually, your food will sit in your stomach for awhile because it is being digested more slowly. Thus, if you eat any types of fat or food that is difficult to digest (such as dairy or eggs), instead of digesting it properly, it is storing the fat.
Weight loss after gallbladder surgery is SLOW. I used to be able to lose weight rather quickly and since having my gallbladder removed, that has not been the case. My body is just not the same after having a vital organ (and yes it is vital, despite what doctors tell you!) removed. What I have found helps me is the following things...
1) I eat a lowfat diet. Around 20-30g a day. 4-5 times a day.
2) I take digestive enzymes that help digest the food quicker so it doesn't sit in my stomach as long
3) No red meat, very limited dairy, no processed sugars, no wheat, no eggs, no carbonated beverages
4) daily exercise at least 30 minutes
I am trying to undo 25 years of these habits so I often slip up, but the weight is coming off, slowly but surely. You may just have to accept that you cannot lose weight as quickly as you could before because your digestive system, how it processes foods and stores fats, has completely changed.
I had my gallbladder out two years ago. I still have issues. But now I am finally listening to my body. I cannot digest fats at all. I cannot eat nuts, oils, seeds, eggs, poultry, or meat since I had it out without diarrhea. I had to turn into a vegetarian. Im also limited with celiac disease, casein intolerance, and I cant eat soy. Im also limited with fruits due to allergies and Im slowly adjusting.
Beans and rice are my source of protein. For years I couldnt handle the thought of missing out on those foods but now as good as I feel I wont go back The only fat I get is flax seed ground up. I didnt have stones but just a huge amount of sludge. Even though the after effects suck, I am a much healthier person today and the weight comes off easily if I avoid those foods. Its only about 2 lbs a week but it is fine for me.
After I had my gallbladder out I have never been able to properly digest meat. After I quit eating meat (a few weeks after the gallbladder surgery) I started feeling a LOT better. I tried eating meat again about a year later and I felt crappy all the time (bowel issues primarily). Now I only eat meat on rare occasions. My doctor said this happens to some people, that they are unable to digest some foods that they used to enjoy, after gallbladder surgery.
My best recommendation would be to talk to your doctor about how to find out which foods your body is unable to tolerate and then work out a diet that eliminates those foods as much as possible. It will most likely end up being a low fat diet since your liver will be dumping bile after fatty meals, causing diarrhea.
You might be able to tolerate some fats better than others. I can eat all the peanut butter I want, and some guacamole (not together of course), but a fatty hamburger will put me in the bathroom with a bad tummy ache.
Edit... I forgot to mention that if you do eliminate any food it is IMPERATIVE that you talk to your doctor or at least do your research about what nutrition you get from that food, so you don`t end up with a deficiency. Not all multivitamins carry as much vitamins and minerals as you need. I ended up with a B-12 deficiency because I didn't get enough from my vitamins and I wasn't eating meat! I have to take even more than what comes with the multivitamins. I didn't find out about my deficiency until I ended up with a pinched nerve that took 6 months to heal and my neurologist warned me I might need shots if my levels keep going down. So definitely watch out.
Dieting following gallbladder removal
The only fat I get is flax seed ground up. I didnt have stones but just a huge amount of sludge. Even though the after effects suck, I am a much healthier person today and the weight comes off easily 
if I avoid those foods. Its only about 2 lbs a week but it is fine for me.
