Weight Gain After Transplant: Where Does it Come From and How to Get Rid of It

Oct 17, 2017 | Mayo Clinic Transplant Staff | @mayoclinictransplantstaff | Comments (17)

Many factors can contribute to unwanted weight gain after your transplant. However, carrying around excess weight is unhealthy for post-transplant patients: it can hinder your recovery following surgery by slowing down healing, and it also may put you at higher risk for diseases or complications that stem from being overweight, such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or even certain cancers.

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“Unwanted or unneeded weight gain is common, though the reasons why and amounts vary based on the organ transplanted,” says Heather Bamlet, RDN, LD, transplant clinical dietitian at Mayo Clinic’s campus in Rochester, Minn. “I think based on the numbers, it is safe to say many transplant patients gain between 10-20 pounds—but this does not have to happen. If it does occur, patients can successfully lose weight, if they are committed.”

Causes of Weight Gain

Here are some factors that may contribute to putting on pounds following transplant:

  • Reducing activity level due to recovery or feeling afraid of hurting the new organ
  • Not needing as many calories with a healthier body that works more efficiently post-transplant
  • Experiencing medication side effects, such as fluid retention or decreased metabolic rate
  • Seeing an increased appetite after surgery due to overall feeling better
  • Rewarding yourself with foods that were restricted before surgery, such as ice cream
  • Choosing more fattening “comfort foods” to make yourself feel better as you heal from transplant
  • Experiencing more opportunities for overeating as you become more social again, such as eating out, celebration events and traveling
  • Exceeding your weight-gain goal if you’ve been advised to put on weight due to losing too much weight pretransplant

Typical Weight Gain Patterns

Here Heather shares with us common patient experiences as well as the numbers for weight gain, by transplant type:

Heart: Weight gain often occurs after heart transplant, which is likely due to feeling better and a less restricted diet. A small, retrospective study on 200 heart transplant patients showed recipients had gained an average of 22.7 pounds one year out from transplant.

Kidney: A small study including 35 post-kidney transplant patients showed that more than half, or 19 of 35 of the study participants, gained weight following kidney transplant, while the others maintained or lost weight after transplant. For those who gained weight, the average increase was 19.58 pounds. Those who ate more fruits and vegetables, however, tended to experience less weight gain. Another study showed average weight gain of about 9 percent three years post-transplant.

Liver: Though liver transplant patients are likely to see some weight loss initially, weight gains can start around four months after surgery. Patients are told to eat to help with the healing process, and some even need to gain weight and muscle mass lost prior to transplant. Often they feel so much better post-transplant, however, with food tasting good and appetite increasing, that they put on pounds. One study showed a median weight gain of 11.24 pounds at one year after liver transplant and a 20.94-pound weight increase three years after transplant.

Lung: This patient group tends to be more diverse in terms of weight gains and losses. Some may have lost significant weight and muscle mass before transplant, and so their providers encourage regaining these after surgery. Others gain weight due to changes in activity levels. In the longer term following lung transplant, some patients see weight increase, while others see muscle mass losses due to steroid use. Researchers found the median weight change after transplant was 10 percent.

How to Lose Post-Transplant Weight

Do transplant patients have a unique situation for weight loss? Yes and no, Heather says. Though their circumstances surrounding weight gain may be distinct, the basics of weight loss are similar to others needing to lose excess pounds.

“Our transplant patients have been through a lot—and likely a dramatic life change after surgery and recovery,” Heather says. “However, when you break it down, if someone is gaining weight, they have reached a point where too many calories are going in and not enough calories are being burned off.”

Regardless of your transplant type and how you may have gained weight after it, here are some tips on how to see the scale go down:

Cooking and Meal Planning

  1. Plan meals ahead of time.
  2. When designing a meal, follow the MyPlate method.
  3. Use cooking methods that will keep the foods out of reach for snacking, such as a slow cooker.

Eating

  1. Be aware of your portion sizes.
  2. Eat more fruits and vegetables.
  3. Choose whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy products most often.
  4. Keep treats like cake, candy, cookies, chips or soda to a minimum.
  5. If still hungry after meals using the MyPlate method, reach for more fruits and vegetables.
  6. Make sure you are drinking enough noncaloric fluids.

Exercise

  1. Get active. Aim for at least 150 minutes of exercise weekly. It is better to split this up and do at least 20 minutes most days of the week.
  2. Do weight training. Add this in to boost your muscle mass after your surgeon clears you to do so, since muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does.

Accountability, or having someone to whom you report your weight loss progress, is also an important component of success.

An ideal body mass index target is 18.5-24.9, though Heather points out Mayo Clinic dietitians look at each patient individually and may aim for a different goal based on each patient’s history, muscle mass and strength, as well as personal goals.

“Definitely we are targeting a BMI less than 35, preferably less than 30,” she says. “I tell people to figure out their calorie needs based on age, weight, gender and activity levels—your dietitian can help you—and to stick with it. You can track your food intake using an app or online program.”

What to Expect from Your Weight Loss

As a rule of thumb, losing 1-2 pounds per week is a realistic expectation, Heather says, pointing out that faster weight loss leads to more muscle mass losses and is likely not sustainable over the long term.

“The key to weight loss is making lifelong lifestyle changes with regard to food and physical activity,” she says. “Diets don’t work, as people do them for a short time and then return to their old patterns.”

It’s also important to keep in mind that each transplant—the organ and the recipient—is different, and that what works for one person’s weight loss might not work for another, Heather explains. She feels strongly, though, that all patients are capable of losing weight after transplant, especially if they make SMART goals and a solid promise to themselves to make changes.

“With commitment to goals, transplant recipients can reach them,” she says.

HELPFUL LINKS

Interested in more newsfeed posts like this? Go to the Transplant blog.

This is a topic that is near and dear to my transplanted liver and kidney (2009). Holidays are a time to celebrate and spend time with family and friends - but I am tempted by all of the yummy foods that I see everywhere. I have pretty well managed my weight thru diet and exercise, but it is difficult and the weight creeps up on me.
Does anybody else have the same thing happen to them? How do you manage your weight?

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@rosemarya I managed so well for a long time but am not doing very well these days. Each day I vow to be very strict in what I eat, and then on most days I cave. Today hopefully will be better. I really want to drop these excess pounds, about 10 right now, that I have gained over the last year.
JK

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@contentandwell @rosemarya I really need to get better at watching what I eat. I've been stress eating so much lately and it needs to stop!

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@jodeej

@contentandwell @rosemarya I really need to get better at watching what I eat. I've been stress eating so much lately and it needs to stop!

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@jodeej this is a tough time of the year to get it under control too. For me, I really need to keep an incentive in mind, that helps. I did feel good the other night when we went out to dinner. I managed to not any of the yummy rolls before dinner! For me, that was an accomplishment! Unfortunately I did eat my whole dinner though, I should have left some but it was really good.
JK

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@jodeej

@contentandwell @rosemarya I really need to get better at watching what I eat. I've been stress eating so much lately and it needs to stop!

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JoDee, Times of stress are diet disaster in my opinion. There are many articles that I see about stress food targets, so I know we are not alone!
With stress my diet goes haywire, too.

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@contentandwell

@rosemarya I managed so well for a long time but am not doing very well these days. Each day I vow to be very strict in what I eat, and then on most days I cave. Today hopefully will be better. I really want to drop these excess pounds, about 10 right now, that I have gained over the last year.
JK

Jump to this post

I am 71 and entered kidney transplant at 118#. I did exceptionally well. My weight is up 10# since my transplant May 2022. My transplant nurse said I will gain 20-40 pounds. That put me in shock! I’ve always watched my weight. I eat healthy and lately been walking 5000-7000 steps a day with no reduction in pounds. How much does the meds have in weight gain? I was told that exercising will not help. Looking for someone that experiencing this same situation to please comment

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@deakinoh

I am 71 and entered kidney transplant at 118#. I did exceptionally well. My weight is up 10# since my transplant May 2022. My transplant nurse said I will gain 20-40 pounds. That put me in shock! I’ve always watched my weight. I eat healthy and lately been walking 5000-7000 steps a day with no reduction in pounds. How much does the meds have in weight gain? I was told that exercising will not help. Looking for someone that experiencing this same situation to please comment

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@deakinoh, Most patients that I have met in the Transplant Discussion Group have needed to gain weight after transplant. Do you think that your 10# gain is excessive or is it a return to your previous normal weight?
I was skin and bones after my liver failure and transplant when the fluid retention diminished. I had to gain weight.
I want to tag some members who have participated in some transplant discussions.
@liver2007, @chickytina, @mandaaddams, @contentandwell - How did you control your weight after your transplant? Was your experience similar to @deakinoh?

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I still have no appetite (since having COVID 2 years ago). So I had lost weight at first from that. Then before I received my double lung transplant, I had a hard time eating due to not being able to breathe. I went down to around 95 pounds (I'm 5'7") before the surgery, which I was considered to be malnourished and had a protein deficiency. Even though I was drinking Boost 3x a day, I was still losing weight. I had no appetite, I started to eat more after they put me on 30 liters of oxygen, but still wasn't able to eat too much and was increased to 4x a day for the Ensure. After the surgery I was still on Boost or Ensure for the first few months, but was able to eat more. Now 6 months after the surgery I have gained a lot of weight back and consider myself to be at a good size now (the team are ok with my weight now). I still have no appetite, but force myself to eat regular meals and don't need to take the Boost or Ensure any longer. So I am not sure if the meds really affect my weight gain, but I needed to gain weight.

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@rosemarya

@deakinoh, Most patients that I have met in the Transplant Discussion Group have needed to gain weight after transplant. Do you think that your 10# gain is excessive or is it a return to your previous normal weight?
I was skin and bones after my liver failure and transplant when the fluid retention diminished. I had to gain weight.
I want to tag some members who have participated in some transplant discussions.
@liver2007, @chickytina, @mandaaddams, @contentandwell - How did you control your weight after your transplant? Was your experience similar to @deakinoh?

Jump to this post

@rosemarya @deakinoh
While waiting for my transplant I intentionally lost weight and got in better shape, knowing that it would make my recovery smoother. In the last 4-6 weeks I gained 35 pounds of fluid though. That came off gradually after transplant and then my weight was back to what it had been so I had no post-transplant loss or gain except the loss of the fluid.

I almost always have a good appetite so losing weight is not easy for me and I was not surprised that I did not lose after transplant, I was eating quite well.
JK

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@rosemarya

@deakinoh, Most patients that I have met in the Transplant Discussion Group have needed to gain weight after transplant. Do you think that your 10# gain is excessive or is it a return to your previous normal weight?
I was skin and bones after my liver failure and transplant when the fluid retention diminished. I had to gain weight.
I want to tag some members who have participated in some transplant discussions.
@liver2007, @chickytina, @mandaaddams, @contentandwell - How did you control your weight after your transplant? Was your experience similar to @deakinoh?

Jump to this post

I lost about 20 lbs after radiation/chemo through eventual transplant. I realized that most of the weight loss was muscle. Since I have been much more physically active and strength training I picked up 10 pounds. Don't know if you are experiencing that.
Hope this helps, Barbara

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