Does Weight Gain Occur After Breast Augmentation?  

Many women undertake breast augmentation to enhance their curves, but also to increase their self-esteem and to help them feel good about themselves. It’s also true that a number of women avoid breast augmentation because they’re worried about gaining a lot of weight during and after the process.

In this article, we’ll discuss the likelihood of any kind of weight gain for women undergoing breast augmentation and we’ll tell you what to expect after you’ve undergone the procedure. Of course, if you’re seriously considering undergoing breast augmentation, you will undoubtedly have some serious discussions with your doctor, and you’ll get all the information you need from him/her.

Weight gain from breast augmentation

It is fairly common for women to gain some degree of weight in the weeks after undergoing breast augmentation. Only a little bit of that weight is actually traceable to the breast implant material, but there are other factors which can contribute to a small amount of weight gain as well.

Before undergoing the procedure, you will likely discuss the situation with your doctor, and at that time, the discussion will revolve around your body type and your complete health history. These two factors will be strong determining factors in how much weight you might gain following surgery.

Most women who undergo breast augmentation don’t gain any more than three to five lbs. in the weeks following surgery. The good news is that you should lose that weight fairly quickly after surgery, just by following your normal routine and continuing with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

In many cases, weight gain is attributable to the fact that most women tend to be fairly sedentary following surgery, at least until they’re cleared by a doctor to resume exercising. If there is no reduction in your calorie intake during this inactive period, it means you’ll probably gain some weight while you are less active.

It’s also possible for the stress associated with surgery to cause swelling and fluid retention, both of which contribute to a small amount of weight gain. This too, will be naturally resolved as your body recovers from surgery. To reduce any swelling that occurs from fluid retention, you can use compression garments and cold compresses.

Managing your weight after surgery

In order to prevent gaining a significant amount of unwanted weight following surgery, there are some things you can do to keep the weight off. Here are some Best Practices that will help you to avoid gaining an excessive amount of weight:

• avoid the temptation to start a crash diet or a fad diet
• when you hydrate, make sure to use water rather than high-calorie soft drinks
• make sure your diet is rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein
• avoid eating processed foods, since these are typically high in calories and lower in nutritive value
• maintain a program of regular exercise

How long does bloating last?

Following breast augmentation surgery, there will sometimes be some postoperative bloating that occurs in patients. This generally reaches a climax within 48 hours after surgery, although it may take as long as 72 hours. The most common symptoms experienced by women following breast augmentation are abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

Many women also report being bothered by constipation, although this naturally resolves itself within a few days after surgery. The good news is that a majority of breast augmentation patients don’t really experience any side effects or symptoms from the surgery at all.

Most women undergo the procedure and have absolutely no negative side effects to report afterward. Most patients will also have normal bowel movements within a day after surgery, and any other side effects will usually have subsided by that time as well. If you do experience swelling in the ankles or lower legs, you can use compression stockings to discourage fluid buildup.

How long before I can exercise?

This, of course, will be a topic you should discuss with your doctor to get a definitive answer. However, most women are perfectly capable of resuming an exercise program within two weeks after breast augmentation surgery. At this time, you should be able to start with light exercise like short walks or walking on a treadmill.

Within a month after surgery, most patients are able to resume full workout programs and resume their normal activities, because by this time, patients are generally completely healed from the surgery.

You can expect that any after-effects which occur as a result of breast augmentation will have played themselves out within four to six weeks after surgery. That means in little more than a month or so, your life can get back to normal, and you can begin enjoying the results of your breast augmentation surgery.

Photo by Jernej Graj on Unsplash