Friday Q&A: Regaining Weight After Unwanted Weight Loss

Potatoes in Yellow Dish by Vincent van Gogh

Q: Is there anyway yoga can help one regain lost weight? I've recently lost weight post surgery. Not good; already thin... Normally I've always quickly regained any loss from things that come along such as a cold or flu... It's just never been an issue as I'm quite healthy, but this time very slow. I've only gained back 1-2 pounds. I'm eating normally, my usual good diet, but my weight seems to be settling, instead of popping back to normal... I've been rather over-worked lately, which is most likely the real issue... Need more yoga, including restorative, weights, dancing, & walking to build muscle along with a less demanding pace...

A: Well, where shall we begin? First off, weight loss after a significant surgery is not unexpected, especially if your daily activities and normal dietary intake decreased following surgery. The Mayo Clinic website puts it like this:

“Your body weight is determined by your calorie intake, overall health, age, nutrient absorption and other factors. After you reach middle adulthood, your weight should remain relatively stable from year to year, although a decrease of a few pounds is rarely cause for concern.”

Once someone who has lost weight like our reader is back to normal daily activities and eating habits, you could expect gradual weight gain back to your preoperative weight. The presence of real or perceived stress can have the effect of causing some people to gain weight and others to loss weight depending on the constitution, so the presence of higher levels of stress could certainly be slowing down our reader’s progress to her goal. We have written exhaustively on the benefits of yoga and certain tools of yoga on improving stress management, and certainly a well balanced asana practice along with gentle and quieting practices, as the reader herself has suggested, could be helpful.

So that is a good first step, but I’d recommend that you don’t make your “treatment” worse than the stressful workload you are already dealing with, especially if you're feel like you don’t much free time. Keep it simple, starting with a nice restorative practice one day, trying a bit more activity the next at the gym or with a slightly more vigorous yoga session the next day. Exercise, in general, is known to stimulate your appetite, so take advantage of the increase in hunger and take in a few more healthy calories than you might normally.

Next, it turns out that strength training to build bigger, stronger muscles is another way to gain weight, usually in conjunction with eating more calorie-dense foods. Take a look at my post Yoga for Strength for some ideas on how to modify your yoga practice to save you a trip to the gym. And you might consider consulting with a good nutritionist about a healthy diet for you at this time, as he or she may have some recommendations that you haven’t considered.

Finally, if the weight loss persists or worsens despite your attempts to gain weight, it might be time to go in to see your family MD for a thorough check-up. The Mayo Clinic website points out:

“Unexplained weight loss or losing weight without trying — particularly if it's significant or persistent — can be a symptom of an underlying medical disorder. …. Unexplained weight loss of 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) or more, weight loss of more than 5 percent of your body weight, or persistent weight loss should be investigated.”

And the list of possible underlying conditions that can lead to unexplained weight loss is long, so don’t delay getting this checked out by a professional if you fall into this situation.

However, the fact that our reader has been able to gain a bit a weight back already is a good sign, and putting some of the ideas above into play may add on those desired extra pounds!

—Baxter

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