Hi All-- I'm going to forewarn you here, this is going to be a lengthy post... (I'll try to keep it short and sweet.. but it's a long story... with some medical stuff--so if you're squeemish, sorry ).

I'm about to cry because I can't figure this out... so if anyone has some insight, that would be amazing..!!

I started my process December 31, 2007 at 185lb using the Weight Watcher's Points method-- It worked out ok, but I'm a dance teacher (primarily) so figuring out my Daily points vs. Activity points, etc, got REALLY confusing, and I lost for a while, then plateaued from March-July(ish). I weighed about 170 at this point.

In July/August, I realized that I couldn't digest meat anymore (it took me out for the rest of the day/evening that I would eat it) So I went vegetarian and started calorie counting on The Daily Plate (to track nutrients and calories). It was like night and day! I did really well-- eating a lot of legumes to make up for whatever proteins weren't being provided by meats-- I lost another 10ish pounds, and then got stuck at 160 by new years.

THIS is where my problems started hardcore....

SO-- I had been feeling a lot of pain on my left side, and did some research on webMD, and thought maybe I had an ovarian cyst on my left side... So I went to the doctor and she ran me through some tests, and YES, there was a cyst. It was so large that they couldn't see the whole thing on an ultrasound, so they went to an MRI, and found that it filled my ENTIRE abdominal cavity. I went in for surgery on Jan 26th, and the doctor said it was bigger than a basket ball... (all's well, thank goodness, and I was very lucky that it wasn't cancerous, etc)

Since that point, I've just been recovering.

The food side of that is that I was only able to eat between 600-1200 calories from about christmas to the first week in february: Both from having my stomach squished by the mass, and from not having an appetite after surgery. I also wasn't able to move very much for the same reasons.

Now I'm eating about 1500 calories (averaged) per day, and I'm working as a nanny, and doing some customer service jobs that require that I stand/be active all day.

I was thinking that the gain in weight was because I was eating SO little before, and I've been bumping up my calories to as much as 3x as much as I was eating before... And my metabolism, I'm SURE is all messed up... but... Seriously, I cannot physically make it through my day on less than 1500 calories: I feel weak if I eat much less... (I'm still recovering from MAJOR surgery, so I don't feel comfortable even thinking about dipping my calories lower..)

So if I need 1500 to survive, but I'm GAINING because of that...??? What's a girl to do?!!!

How much have you gained ? How much do you weigh Now ? I read your post a couple of times and didn't see that info. Did I just miss it ?

Oh, whoops !!! Before surgery I was 163 and after surgery I was 155. I got down to 151 at the lowest, and I'm currently 156.6.

That doesn't sound like enough to worry about. Considering what your body has been through. I would stay with the 1500 calories for another couple of weeks before making a change. See how your body adjusts to surgery.

Thanks so much

This has all just been SUCH a roller coaster... And being "on plan" was the main consistency for me.. I guess "time" is the ever-lovin answer to life (for me)!

Goodness me, you have to heal! Your body needs to make all kind of tissues and repair the damage from surgery and from what the cyst was causing. You are only a month post-surgery, and before that you were hardly eating. Don't worry about cutting calories at this point; worry about getting well again.

Jay

weegreen,

Are you able to comfortably walk now? If I were you, I would begin a daily walking routine and stick to your 1500. Also, are you taking a good vitamin regimen?

My intake is 1500 daily too. I exercise daily. I am slowly losing but let me emphasize slowly. The last few pounds really are difficult.

Good luck.

Jay, get outta my head!! This was exactly what I was going to post. Your body's going to hang on to every calorie to help it heal, so just roll with it until you're better.

I agree- right now nutrition and enough calories are crucial to healing well, as long as you don't balloon and gain 20 lbs, I think it's fine to gain a few pounds back.

Glad you caught the cyst before it got too bad

basketball sized cyst GOOD LORD ALMIGHTY!!

Glad they caught it and it was benign!

I just wanted to point out too that last Monday my Weight Watcher leader who is also a nurse said that when we are sick our bodies also hang on to water in an effort to heal itself and that's why people who have the flu and sick to their stomach throwing up and not eating anything for weeks are very surprised when they come in to get weighed and they haven't lost any weight.

You may be just holding on to extra water and not gaining fat.

And I agree with everyone else healing is the main concern now. Once you are fully healed then you can hit it hard once again!

Good luck!

weegreenlassie, this is totally OT, but you look awesome in those hard shoes! I was a soft-core feiseanna competitor in middle/high school and loved every second, but then I came to college in the Midwest and there are no troupes or schools in town

I've never had major surgery, but I completely agree that it would not be a good idea to deprive your body now. Does your doctor have a recommendation for a nutritionist who advises people in situations like yours?

Thanks, everyone! I'm trying really hard not to let the gains bother me, and flatiron-- that's a wonderful point I never would have thought of-- No wonder I've been chuggin the H2O! (and craving protein like no tomorrow..!)

The only thing my nurses told me was to not lose "too much" weight. So... Nobody's really put any restrictions for gains/losses.

I see the doctor right before St. Pat's, so hopefully she'll be able to shed some light on the situation

It's just frustrating to take a full year to lose 30 pounds... and then start gaining it back once I get rid of the "thing" that was causing the bulk of my troubles!!

Tkm--Thanks so much!! I love my hardshoes With this silly surgery, I've been out of dance for almost 3!!! Months!! And here it is: St. Patrick's Day (in 2 WEEKS!!) And I can't dance Even if I was given the OK to start dancing again, there's NO way I'd be in St. Pat's shape..
Looks like there's a school in your state-- but states tend to be big places.. http://www.mayerschool.com/ Are you still in Indiana?

It's times like these when you want to say BOO MEN! lol.

I told my husband I can't wait till he starts getting prostate exams

Wow, you take it easy jig lady, your body has just gone thru the wringer, with a cyst of that size, my gosh it needs ample time to heal, rest up and take care of yourself, do not worry about the extra calories, your body is holding onto water from the surgery is all, in due time the swelling and water weight will be gone. One day at a time, taker easy and rest up, the more rest you get the faster your body will heal, give it all the nutritition it needs and then some. When you feeling stronger, then you can get back to cutting back on calories and doing what you do best jiggin! Bummer that no patty day dancin for you, but your health and your body trump dance! Sending healthing healing vibes your way.... Take care...

So sorry you have had such a rough time lately!

I too, could not survive on any less than 1500 calories, I find it just isn't enough food. I think if you are active then I don't see how you could gain, perhaps your body still needs to recover from the surgery. I don't really know, but I'm sure you must be frustrated about this. Perhaps you need to talk to your Dr. and see what he/she thinks.

Good luck.

Lori