I was told our bodies burn more calories than normal after invasive surgery, tummy tuck. Is that true?

Wound healing requires active calorie consumption and increased protein intake but this is only for the first 6 weeks after surgery and this is no time to gonon a diet. After the 6 weeks it begins to fall back to your baseline and exercise and proper diet are the best way to maintain or enhance your result.

Hi ManneygirlSurgery by its very nature is invasive and therefore serious business.  Any time the body has extra demands or stress placed upon it, more calories will be expended.  In the case of a tummy tuck, this is a large operation with long recovery.  The healing process will place significant demands on the body that will require many calories, as well as all nutrients, and lots of fluids.  That fact coupled with the fact that many people cannot eat much for a while after surgery will frequently contribute to weight loss postoperatively.  The weight loss may or may not be a good thing, though most of my patients like that little perk.  Once your acute healing is over, and you are able to eat again, if you are not careful, you will gain weight and potentially ruin your nice result.Therefore, you must be responsible for maintaining a reasonable weight in order to preserve your result.  With little effort, this should not be a problem.

After surgery, the body does increase metabolism, but not for long. If you are on a strict diet, make sure you have proper nutrition before surgery. 

True, you will have a higher metabolism for a short time after a tummy tuck procedure, however after you heal, only great habits will enhance and yield greatest results after your procedure. A better goal would be a weight loss plan to enhance the investment you are making in yourself.

Although there may be an increase in metabolism with having an invasive procedure such as a tummy tuck do not use it as an excuse to eat whatever you want because a week turns into a month, a month into 6 months, and before you know it you will have developed bad eating habits.  I tell my patients that this procedure can help them jumpstart into a healthy lifestyle that will be needed to maintain the new results.