Okay, it's lunchtime and I'm up for some mental gymnastics...

I read somewhere that it takes a 3,400 calorie deficit to lose a pound of body fat.

One gram of fat, when consumed, is 9 calories (according to the equation for figuring out hidden carb grams in a given food; carbs and Protein are both 4 each.)

There are 459.59 grams in a pound.

So logically, it would mean that you'd have to burn through 4,082 calories to burn off a pound of fat from your body.

There's a 682 calorie deficit unaccounted for somewhere. Now, I recognize that there's probably weight of blood, muscle tissue, etc. etc. factored in along the way, but nearly 700 calories seems like a big oversight. That's about the number of calories I eat in a WHOLE DAY.

Interestingly enough, I'm averaging about 4.4 lbs a week weight loss in the 9 wks since surgery. That's a deficit of 14,960 calories a week, or 2,137 calories a day (assuming the 3,400 calories/lb value). I'm averaging about 600-700 calories at day in food intake.

That means it takes 2,700 to 2,800 calories a day just to MAINTAIN my weight at my current activity level (which is pretty minimal).

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. I'm fairly certain that if I ate that much pre-op, I'd gain 10 lbs in a month, easily. Judging by how cold I am, I'm fairly certain my metabolism has gone DOWN, not UP.

Thoughts, anyone?

You can enter starvation mode, but it cannot be maintained. Even after some time, you will lose weight. It just may not be stored fat.

When you say when your body is 6% for a woman, 5% for a man ... what does that mean?

And, of course, I have to ask ... are you drinking with your meals? Are you exercising at all? Are you saying you have kept yourself under 900 calories daily for almost a month and have not lost a single pound?

Hiya Dooter, yea it would seem that way ...lol

My ticker reflects my surgeon's goal of 154lb and at 5 2 that would still leave me with a BMI of 28! To get to a 'normal' BMI I need to be at the highest 134lb. I know the BMI is only a guide and I would be chuffed to get to 154lb! But I can 'see' there is more than 13lb of body fat hanging around! *sighs*

I haven't lost a pound since the end of Oct and I am at a bit of a loss as to why! *sighs again*. Still, I have renamed myself Coops the Determind!! Just wish this body of mine would co-operate with my head...lol

You can enter starvation mode, but it cannot be maintained. Even after some time, you will lose weight. It just may not be stored fat.

When you say when your body is 6% for a woman, 5% for a man ... what does that mean?

And, of course, I have to ask ... are you drinking with your meals? Are you exercising at all? Are you saying you have kept yourself under 900 calories daily for almost a month and have not lost a single pound?

A person does not go into starvation mode unless her/his body fat is at 5%/male or 6% for a female and then starvation mode happens according to a study I had read.

No I do not drink with my meals, I go by the 30/30 rule. I do not want to take any risks. I have started using a Personal Trainer and working on core strenght, walking and using a recumbant bike for the past 3 weeks. And have been eating at 1100 calories for a few days but for the month previous have been eating a 900 calorie diet. Not that many carbs.

absolutely there are more reasons!

I don't believe in "starvation mode" per se. I think the body will do what it needs to in order to preserve itself. That's why frostbite happens on the extremities furthest from the core of the body - the core fo the body will actually keep blood away from your extremities, causing the Fluid in your flesh to freeze, preserving your core/heart/lungs.

I believe measurements are more important than what the scale says. While muscle doesn't "weigh" more than fat, the matter does have a different mass. So 5 lbs of muscle will take up less room than 5 lbs of fat. Hence measuring

The body knows what its doing and it will start to tell you things when it needs more - listen to your body. No two bodies will ever be the same.

A person does not go into starvation mode unless her/his body fat is at 5%/male or 6% for a female and then starvation mode happens according to a study I had read.

Well, 5-6% body fat is extremely low. Something I doubt I'll ever be at. This is the level of professional athletes.

I would need to look deeper, but I think that may be the point where the body begins to regularly utilize muscle as an energy source as opposed to fat stores if you don't consume your minimum required calories, the number of calories consumed = number of calories burned.

Starvation mode is just a title given to your body trying to protect itself. Trying to put boundaries around when this happens and comparing it to others doesn't really help us at all because everyone is so different.

There is no exact amount and staying at one level will only move you to your next stall. You have to change things up. Keep your body on its toes. Keep it guessing ... keep it burning.

Pure fat vs real fat. Body fat is not just fat. Your numbers are a bit off as well. There are 453.5924 grams in a pound, which when multiplied by 9 does give you your 4,082 figure. It is also accepted that 3,500 calories = 1 pound.

Duh! I knew I was tripping up with the numbers somewhere. I've never claimed to be good at math!

This has been a fascinating discussion, especially Circa's point....

When you get a fever, your temperature rises, you feel cold because of the greater difference between the temperature of the room you're in and your body temperature. My guess is that a lot of people's thyroid function has increased, which has increased their body temp, which has increased their metabolism.

...which actually makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for contributing everyone!