Explaining the unexplainable?

197 pounds

In my last post, I talked about the fact that I've recently gained five to six pounds even though I've been continuing to eat well and exercise, which usually causes my weight to go down rather than up.

Well, I have some moderately good news . . . I may have found a culprit: my partial hysterectomy last November.

According to the Mayo Clinic, many women gain weight after this operation. And it's not unheard of for these women to gain twenty to forty pounds in the months after surgery. Twenty to forty pounds? Sheesh. And I thought I had it bad.

What's even more interesting is that many of these women didn't have a problem with their waistline beforehand but report that they struggled with belly fat afterwards.

Uh, hello? That's me!

I have always been big on the bottom—I've got thighs, hips, and butt to rival JLo. But I've always, always had a relatively small waist—it's something that's been a point of pride for me. Until now. I'm not saying my waist is huge, but it's definitely less defined than it used to be.

Still, I've got to look at the bright side—I may have figured out WHY this is happening to me. And now that I know some women gain twenty to forty pounds, I feel like maybe, just maybe, all of my hard work has actually been paying off.