Struggling with Weight Gain Years After Ileostomy Reversal

Hi, my name is Jenny. I'm new to the group! I hope everyone is doing well.
I don't understand why I'm holding onto weight. I am a runner, I work out, and I'm basically doing the same things I was doing before I found out. I basically eat healthy; if anything, because of my ileostomy reversal, I can take a couple of bites of food and feel full, so I'm not even eating as much as I was eating! I had rectal cancer and my ileostomy reversed about seven years ago. I was at 130 lbs, at 5'4", after cancer/ileostomy I'm 166 lbs and I can't lose the weight!! I would even be happy if I could just lose 15 pounds. Is anyone else having the same problems? And if so, what did you do to get your body burning fat? Most of it is in my stomach area. Thanks.

If you're careful about your diet and still can't lose even a few pounds, try apple cider vinegar. I know it sounds crazy, but it really works. You can buy the capsule form at Walmart in the vitamin aisle.

Hi Jenny,

There could be a lot of reasons why you're not losing weight, and most have nothing to do with whether you have or had an ostomy or not. But you haven't given us much information to work with, so there are a lot of possibilities here.

First, how old are you? As we age, we experience hormonal changes and our metabolism slows down—both are not good for weight loss. Second, describe what "eating healthy" means. Are you pretty well versed in nutrition? It seems most don't know that we've completely changed the food we eat from what used to be nutritious to not so much. The names are the same, but the foods are totally different. Are you familiar with insulin resistance and what causes it? Like I said, there are a lot of different paths to investigate to answer your question. But you did give us one clue. If you're only gaining weight in your midsection and not proportionally all over your body, it will eliminate some things. So let us know where you want to begin.

;O)

Just trying to get a feel for how

I was using apple cider vinegar and started to have a really bad odor from ileostomy that I couldn't tolerate myself or control. I saw a GI who did an MRI and a sample and found all was okay. When I told him about the apple cider vinegar, he said he thought that I had changed my gut bacteria and that I should stop. I had lost a couple of pounds, but I didn't want to smell, so I stopped the apple cider vinegar and the odor went away, thank God.

Yes, I have become very heavy and haven't even been able to lose 5 pounds. I am also pre-diabetic. I even started taking phentermine but couldn't tolerate it. I have scheduled an appointment with a nutritionist to see what I can do. In the meantime, I am starting Optavia that I have seen others have success losing a lot of weight.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister