I'm not going to bitch or whine, but I do think for the first time in my lengthy dieting history, I freaked out my metabloism and I can't lose weight by starving myself anymore. I am 1 month post op, I have been walking about an hour a day, eating tons of lean Protein, no carbs, drinking loads of Water only and I haven't lost a pound in over 3 weeks. I have done Atkins, WW, etc and I have always lost weight consistantly, but on this LAP-BAND® prescribed eating plan, I am eating so many less calories that I think my body believes its starving. I have had many medically trained people tell me never to go under 1200 calories because your body goes into starvation mode. I think I am there.

How many of you have had to increase you calories to lose weight? I really don't want to have to eat more because it scares me, but then again, I'm not getting anywhere with what I am doing now. I have my first fill appt tomorrow and I'm going to let the doctor have it. He told me 2 weeks ago that I'd lose 5 pound in the two weeks between apointments. Not! My family has a history of thyroid issues so I get tested all the time. I have been freezing at night which is so not normal for me at all. I know that this is realated.

I'd like to hear from those who have had similar issues. I'm being patient and I am not expecting to lose 5 pounds a week, but when the scale is starting to move up instead of down sometimes, I think it's time to reevaluate the whole process and make some changes that work for my body.

Off for my hour long walk!

Melissa

Are you keeping track of your calories?

Use a site like fitday or the daily plate to work out exactly how many calories a day you are eating.

If you want to take it a step further, buy a bodybugg so you can also track how many calories you are using.

This whole starvation mode thing is way over hyped.

It all comes down to calories in vs calories out.

If you are eating less than you are using, you will lose weight. Its that simple.

I'm not a great believer in "starvation mode;" there really isn't peer-reviewed research to back up the notion, even though it is very popular.

That said, everyone does have different caloric needs, and it may take playing around to figure out what works best for you.

I like to journal on fitday. That way, I get a good idea of what does/doesn't work. When I hit the wall, I change things one at a time to see what does the trick.

My first change is usually to switch something up, exercise-wise.

At only one month postop, I think it's probably premature to worry about long-term effects on metabolism. Your body's just getting the idea that there's something new going down.

That said, metabolism can be affected by long-term deprivation; I am convinced that my ridiculously low caloric needs are because I had a crazy mother who put me on insane diets when I was a very young child (and not overweight). The body can get awfully good at conserving energy.

But when you have lots of excess fuel stored on the body, it's less apt to do so.

So try tracking what you're doing. It can't hurt to bump up your calories; I'd try adding just 100-200/day to see if there's any change. If not, go back to your baseline, and try switching something else (more Protein, fewer refined carbs, more cardio, etc.)

I bet you a bazillion bucks, though, that the weight loss ball will start rolling without much adjustment, once your body realizes that the band inside it (and your new way of eating) aren't going to cause you to starve to death. It will decide, "Hey, okay--we can use this fat after all!"

Your body doesn't go into starvation mode unless you don't eat enough nutrients so it takes the nutrients from your organs and slows down your metabolism.

What's happening is you're most likely STARVING. They're two different things.

Starving is when you don't eat reguarly enough so your body adjusts to not eating reguarly and slowing down your metabolism.

You need to eat more reguarly, not more calories. At first you may put on weight, but not very much if you keep it under 1200 calories.

I have no idea why your doctors are telling you that...That kind of mentallity is the crap you read in gossip magazines LOL.

One of the most successful diets in Australia they often perscribe to extremely obese patients is under 500 calories a day, but because it contains plenty of nutrients, you don't go into starvation mode.

I'm not a great believer in "starvation mode;" there really isn't peer-reviewed research to back up the notion, even though it is very popular.

That said, everyone does have different caloric needs, and it may take playing around to figure out what works best for you.

I like to journal on fitday. That way, I get a good idea of what does/doesn't work. When I hit the wall, I change things one at a time to see what does the trick.

My first change is usually to switch something up, exercise-wise.

At only one month postop, I think it's probably premature to worry about long-term effects on metabolism. Your body's just getting the idea that there's something new going down.

That said, metabolism can be affected by long-term deprivation; I am convinced that my ridiculously low caloric needs are because I had a crazy mother who put me on insane diets when I was a very young child (and not overweight). The body can get awfully good at conserving energy.

But when you have lots of excess fuel stored on the body, it's less apt to do so.

So try tracking what you're doing. It can't hurt to bump up your calories; I'd try adding just 100-200/day to see if there's any change. If not, go back to your baseline, and try switching something else (more Protein, fewer refined carbs, more cardio, etc.)

I bet you a bazillion bucks, though, that the weight loss ball will start rolling without much adjustment, once your body realizes that the band inside it (and your new way of eating) aren't going to cause you to starve to death. It will decide, "Hey, okay--we can use this fat after all!"

I agree!

and I use fitday too! lol.

My weight was starting to slow down a bit too, so I changed it to swimming a little more - I just have to wait for the Water to warm up a bit. Aqua Aerobics today! Woohoo!

I wonder if starvation mode really does exist how do people manage to become anorexic and end up looking like walking skeletons? If the starvation mode theory was true surely at some point they would stop losing weight?

Thanks everyone. I am trying to keep positive here. I just don't want to pour thousands of dollars into yet another diet that doesn't work. My fear is that I will be like the cartoon woman on the Slimquick commercials a few years ago who's husband and dog get skinny and she just loses her boobs. I mean, I'd love for the boobs to go down, but I want everything else to follow too.

Are weighing your food? I did'nt pick that up from what you wrote.If you are not following the 4 0z at mealtime this could be the problem.

I wonder if starvation mode really does exist how do people manage to become anorexic and end up looking like walking skeletons? If the starvation mode theory was true surely at some point they would stop losing weight?

Ahaha, yeah. :huh2: It was a medical term that was picked up by stupid gossip magazines to intrigue people and let them hear what they wanna hear. They didn't get it right though and I'm so surprised that 'medical professionals' are even still telling people that.

Same goes with 'grazing'...People use that as a stupid excuse to snack all day because they think it's going to help them lose weight. All that advice has done is made us into boredom eaters.

Fact of the matter is;

Your body needs nutrients to run, if it's not getting enough calories for energy, it takes it from your current fat instead. That is how you lose weight.

Without nutrients your body fails and it takes it from other places like your organs. THAT is starvation mode. Starving and starvation mode are two different things lol. They think that you need to eat more calories, but you actually need to eat more reguarly with more nutrients...The calorie part doesn't matter.

Cheers,

WrenBird

I lost my weight by weighing, measuring and logging everything I ate. I ate between 800-900 calories a day. Now I am on maintenance and I eat 1200 calories a day and stay the same.

You have to find what works for you, and you need accurate information to make accurate decisions.

I lost my weight by weighing, measuring and logging everything I ate. I ate between 800-900 calories a day. Now I am on maintenance and I eat 1200 calories a day and stay the same.

You have to find what works for you, and you need accurate information to make accurate decisions.

Where abouts do you log your stuff, if you don't mind me asking :huh2:

I use fitday at the moment.

One of the most successful diets in Australia they often perscribe to extremely obese patients is under 500 calories a day, but because it contains plenty of nutrients, you don't go into starvation mode.

Just curious, what diet is that?

Where abouts do you log your stuff, if you don't mind me asking :huh2:

I use fitday at the moment.

I started out using loseit.com because they have an iphone app but then I got a Body Bugg and used theirs but I sold it when I got to goal and went back to loseit.

Just curious, what diet is that?

3 Meal Replacement version of Optifast.

My cousin's friend lost something like 40 kilos on it too...He's now really sensible with eating :huh2:

His doctor made him go on it.

Sometimes I have it too because it has a lost of nutrients in it. - It tastes like crap though

I started out using loseit.com because they have an iphone app but then I got a Body Bugg and used theirs but I sold it when I got to goal and went back to loseit.

Ahhh, I see.

Wow. It'd be handy to have an iPhone app.

Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is the minimum calorific requirement needed to sustain life in a resting individual. It can be looked at as being the amount of energy (measured in calories) expended by the body to remain in bed asleep all day!

BMR can be responsible for burning up to 70% of the total calories expended, but this figure varies due to different factors (see below). Calories are burned by bodily processes such as respiration, the pumping of blood around the body and maintenance of body temperature. Obviously the body will burn more calories on top of those burned due to BMR.

BMR is the largest factor in determining overall metabolic rate and how many calories you need to maintain, lose or gain weight. BMR is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, as follows:

• Genetics. Some people are born with faster metabolisms; some with slower metabolisms.
  
  Gender. Men have a greater muscle mass and a lower body fat percentage. This means they have a higher basal metabolic rate.
  
  Age. BMR reduces with age. After 20 years, it drops about 2 per cent, per decade.
  
  Weight. The heavier your weight, the higher your BMR. Example: the metabolic rate of obese women is 25 percent higher than the metabolic rate of thin women.
  
  Body Surface Area. This is a reflection of your height and weight. The greater your Body Surface Area factor, the higher your BMR. Tall, thin people have higher BMRs. If you compare a tall person with a short person of equal weight, then if they both follow a diet calorie-controlled to maintain the weight of the taller person, the shorter person may gain up to 15 pounds in a year.
  
  Body Fat Percentage. The lower your body fat percentage, the higher your BMR. The lower body fat percentage in the male body is one reason why men generally have a 10-15% faster BMR than women.
  
  Diet. Starvation or serious abrupt calorie-reduction can dramatically reduce BMR by up to 30 percent.Restrictive low-calorie weight loss diets may cause your BMR to drop as much as 20%.
  
  Body Temperature/Health. For every increase of 0.5C in internal temperature of the body, the BMR increases by about 7 percent. The chemical reactions in the body actually occur more quickly at higher temperatures. So a patient with a fever of 42C (about 4C above normal) would have an increase of about 50 percent in BMR.
  
  External temperature. Temperature outside the body also affects basal metabolic rate. Exposure to cold temperature causes an increase in the BMR, so as to create the extra heat needed to maintain the body's internal temperature. A short exposure to hot temperature has little effect on the body's metabolism as it is compensated mainly by increased heat loss. But prolonged exposure to heat can raise BMR.
  
  Glands. Thyroxin (produced by the thyroid gland) is a key BMR-regulator which speeds up the metabolic activity of the body. The more thyroxin produced, the higher the BMR. If too much thyroxin is produced (a condition known as thyrotoxicosis) BMR can actually double. If too little thyroxin is produced (myxoedema) BMR may shrink to 30-40 percent of normal. Like thyroxin, adrenaline also increases the BMR but to a lesser extent.
  
  
• Exercise. Physical exercise not only influences body weight by burning calories, it also helps raise your BMR by building extra lean tissue. (Lean tissue is more metabolically demanding than fat tissue.) So you burn more calories even when sleeping.
  

Hopefully you can find something useful in all this information.