Why Do Women Sometimes Gain Weight After a Hysterectomy?

Why is it important to know why women sometimes gain weight after a hysterectomy?

Not knowing why women sometimes gain weight after their hysterectomy makes it difficult to fix the problem. Without it, we’re flying blindly.

I honestly don’t know if there’s one “real” thing we can single out as the root cause for weight gain for some women — including myself — post-hysterectomy. But still, it was important for me to learn what I could, so I went on the hunt.

Asking the experts.

I couldn’t find a clear answer anywhere. In fact, when I asked my surgeon who had performed countless hysterectomies about it, he gave me a blank stare — as if the “weight gain post-hysterectomy” question was all in my head. It seemed like a strange question he hadn’t heard before, and I started second-guessing myself… Could he be right? Was it all in my mind?

When I asked my nutritionist and other female doctors who hadn’t had a hysterectomy themselves, they were like, “Simple. Just reduce the number of calories you eat, so you have a calorie deficit.”

But for many women, myself included, simply reducing my calorie intake didn’t prevent the weight gain. Simply exercising and being physically healthy 90% of the time didn’t solve the issue. Even drinking tons of water only helped somewhat.

There had to be something else — a hormonal reason why women sometimes gained weight after a hysterectomy.

With so much doubt surrounding this weight gain problem, I did some research to see what others who had had a hysterectomy were experiencing.

Was there just a minority number of people who felt this way? Could science prove that this was really happening? Something that indicated that lots of women had gained more weight after having their hysterectomy — a year after the procedure?

What statistics had to say.

The Journal of Women’s Health did a story in May 2009 on A Prospective Study of Weight Gain after Premenopausal Hysterectomy to assess weight gain in a group of women during the first year of their hysterectomy, in comparison with those who hadn’t had one.

They followed up with 236 women, aged 30-47, a year post-hysterectomy and compared them with 392 women who hadn’t undergone it. Their results showed that women who had the surgery weighed more than those who hadn’t a year later.

Additionally, 23% of the women who had a hysterectomy had gained over 10 pounds during their one-year follow-up visit, in comparison with 15% of women in the non-hysterectomy group.

The women were surveyed across the general population, including weight, race, marital status, educational level, smoking status and weight change as an adult.

The study was only done for the first year post-hysterectomy, rather than several years. As such, they couldn’t determine the trajectory for weight gain had they continued the study for additional years.

Based on message board posts, the group who had undergone surgery did not attribute the weight gain to changes in their diet or exercise habits.

What’s also interesting is that there was no significant difference between both groups of women. The only difference the study found was that the hysterectomy group drank more fruit juice, while the non-hysterectomy group ate more fruit. (Note: I don’t drink fruit juice, sodas or other sugary drinks — but still experienced weight gain.)

Most women tend to get a hysterectomy when they’re in their middle to late reproductive years. One report reported that women gain an average of 1.2 pounds each year, while another said they gain about 5 pounds a year. However, women who have had a hysterectomy report women gaining over 10 pounds.

Possible reasons why we sometimes gain weight after a hysterectomy.

The weight gain may be due to the fact that women are approaching their 40s and going through menopause. According to the study, the weight gain may be a combination of age, hormonal changes and the surgery.

Women who have struggled with weight fluctuations throughout their life seem to have problems with their weight after a hysterectomy. So, lifestyle changes may help.

The study also found that women gained more weight when they were diagnosed with fibroids or menorrhagia, in comparison with other diagnoses. (This was true for me. I had been diagnosed with fibroids.)

In addition, weight gain was significantly higher for women who had abdominal hysterectomies, versus those who had a vaginal or laparoscopic surgery.

There’s a hypothesis that extra weight gain for women who had abdominal hysterectomies may be due to the longer recovery period and limited activity during that time. (I personally did not have an abdominal hysterectomy, but still gained over 20 pounds within the first 6 months post-surgery.)

Women who have a full hysterectomy, with their uterus, ovaries and cervix removed, are more likely to gain more weight than those with a partial hysterectomy. (Again, I only had a partial hysterectomy, but still gained a lot of weight after my surgery.)

At the time of this writing, science doesn’t seem to have a concrete answer quite yet.

How to combat the problem of excessive weight gain after a hysterectomy.

According to the study, staying physically fit can keep weight gain at bay. Doing some low-impact exercises during your recovery period can give you a jump start on maintaining a healthy weight.

Eating whole grains, lean proteins, fresh fruit, and vegetables can also help.

I have to stay ahead of my weight by switching up my workout, adding walking to my routine, watching my calorie intake (but not obsessing over it) and incorporating intermittent fasting. I also visited a nutritionist and got some blood work, to confirm that underlying issues weren’t affecting my weight loss.

Some medications and/or hormonal pills can also impede your progress (and in fact, cause weight gain), so I check everything and only add required meds — always staying cautious.

My research showed me that the weight gain may be due to a combination of things — hormonal issues, the surgery itself, reduced metabolism, the need to reduce our calorie intake as we get older, and the need to switch up our workouts to keep from plateauing.

Although science doesn’t have a real answer, I can utilize their data to combat weight gain and help others, who are searching for answers.

If you’re struggling to lose weight, download my free resource, 7 Surprising Ways to Balance Your Hormones & Blast Away the Pounds After a Hysterectomy.