I am 3 weeks post op and haven't been given a calorie goal by surgeon or nutritionist. I have been tracking in my fitness pal. Tracking the food that has been recommended for me puts me between 800 and 1000 calories per day. My fitness pal says that's too little and we could go into starvation mode and slow our metabolism. It says to eat at least 1200 per day. Is there any truth to this starvation mode thing?

Yes, it is true, but mfp is calculated for normal people on normal diets, not for people that have had wls. Also.. be careful eating that many calories that soon out.. I think the average person with wls shoots for 1200 calories after 1 year... check with your NUT

It's a myth.

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html?m=1

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=35501

It freaked me out too but the research I've stumbled across says myth.

While the principles most often cited as the basis for "starvation mode" have largely been refuted by science, a different but related concept, "set points", is gaining acceptance in the scientific community as the result of relatively recent and on-going research. The idea is that the body's regulatory systems such as hunger, metabolic rate, hormones, etc. will aggressively defend against losing weight below the current set point. In the days when we were hunter/gatherers, obesity was not much of a threat. But starvation was. So our bodies developed defense mechanisms against starvation. There is mounting evidence that set points are at least part of the explanation for stalls (and a number of other things including weight regain following standard diets). The good news is that there is also evidence that bariatric surgery changes the physiological functioning of the body so that it becomes more receptive to a new set point. For those that may be interested, here are some links with additional information.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/ideal-weight-or-happy-weight

http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/20/3/166.full

http://oliakcenter.com/blog/why-diet-and-exercise-dont-work-as-treatments-for-obesity/

http://oliakcenter.com/blog/why-weight-loss-surgery-is-an-effective-treatment-for-obesity/

I use my fitness pal as well. Don't worry about what your app says. As you get closer to your year, you will need to eat more calories so that you don't lose too much weight. I'm at that point. I have to now make sure I eat enough calories since I run a lot now. I'm a marathon runner now and love it. You just need to be patient and follow your rules.