I'm 6 weeks pot op. Eating 600-800 cal per day. 60+ Protein and 30-40 carbs. Exercise almost daily - 1 hour walk w good pace and weights after.

I had a total of 45 pounds to lose and have lost 23 pre and post op.

The. It all came to a screeching haul the and I started gaining a few oz every day for the past 2 weeks and now I'm up 2.5 total. Not a lot but with the way I'm eating and exercising I would expect loss. I'm at about -900 net calories per day.

Any ideas? I'm not a believer in "starvation mode" because I've read so much that shows its a myth. Any other ideas????

Thanks everyone. ????

Ps. Carbs come from things like: Bariatric Advantage bars, honey in tea, nuts, fruit, Greek yogurt or a splash of apple juice in Water. No starches or processed sugars at all.

Edited April 20, 201511 yr by OldMomOf3

I know you said that you do not believe in starvation mode and I just need to preface this by saying that i believe in it wholeheartedly because I have been dealing with the effects of it in a classic case I might add. I have gone up on the scale aswell in these past few weeks but I know that i retain water frequently. It could be an issue of water or you are losing inches instead of pounds becasue you are gaining lean muscle and losing fat.

Just because you don't believe in something, doesn't mean it isn't true. Famous last words! What do you think your body would do if, indeed it is starving? And what is starving? To the body it is a massive reduction in nutrient intake, and that is what you have given it. And so it reacts to that by shutting down and conserving nutrients, sending them to the most vital organs. Thus hair loss. Thus skin dryness. Thus lack of energy. Thus, thus, thus... Respect the starvation, and how your body reacts to it. It will hold onto whatever it can to survive. It is not HAPPY with you. And it is nature.

Don't fret, you will develope your own weight loss pattern, I didn't lose anything for weeks, then drop 5-10 pound s in a week. It's wierd and when I'm not losing I fluctuate up and down, 2-4 pounds. Keep at it, you'll see!

Are you taking measurements? That may be a much more reliable way to track your progress than the scale. I know you said you don't believe in "starvation mode", but do you believe in anorexia? There is a form of it called anorexia athletica, which is when you are burning more calories through exercise than you are consuming (not accounting for basal metabolic rate). So if you are burning 800-900 calories through structured, formal exercise and you are only consuming 800-900 calories a day, you are essentially anorexic.

You NEED to consume enough calories to sustain your exercise. While you need a daily deficit in order to lose weight, too large a deficit will definitely impede your weight loss and cause other health concerns.

Another thing to factor in is that building muscle can cause you to retain some Water. As you push your muscles to the limits through strength training, the microtears you create will cause your muscle to retain water to protect itself and repair. This should NOT deter you from doing weight training, because that is ultimately VERY good for you, but it can cause some fluctuation in your weight as you step up the intensity.

Fwiw, I don't believe in starvation mode either. Not in overweight or obese people. If we limit our caloric intake, our bodies will burn our excess fat for energy. Starvation mode may apply to very thin people with low body fat, but from the research I have read, it does not occur in overweight people.

classic stall, go have yourself a fat day

I have noticed that some people are not convinced in starvation mode and let me just take a moment to pandor to you. I am not at all trying to sway your opinion but i think there are some misconceptions about it and I want to explain this. Starvation mode is a term that sometimes gets thrown around in a way that makes it seem dangerous, hence the word "starvation". This word has a very morbid condontation to it and maybe we should call it fasting mode or the reset button. Your body is a machine that is highly adaptable but in the end will function the way it was created to function. If you have been use to eating high calories for years your body has been use to storing the excess calories as fat. Now on the other hand if you all of a sudden drastically cut those calories and become more active your body stops in its tracks and resets itself. For example. If a train if going at a fast speed and you hit the breaks it does not stop suddenly it slowly decreases speed and momentum over a period of time then once you have stopped and started the train back up it will move slowly in order to create momentum again. i am not trying to equate a human body to a train but i am only using this as an example as to what our bodies are doing. They are learning to adapt to the new lifestyle. Once the train starts back up the momentum will push it along but it will take time. If you have gone low carb like most of us have you will know that our bodies are now using protein as well as glycogen to convert to glucose in oder for our brain to function properly. Our livers have to process this and it is an extra step in our body function of which our body is completely not use to dealing with. I am not a scientist i am just a curious reader that loves this stuff. I would like to end this by saying to others that this is not at all a personal attack and I respect everyones opinion and I am completly interested in your opinions of why or why not you believe in "starvation mode". I am always open to a new understanding of our anatomy. Thanks to everyone. bless

Edited April 21, 201511 yr by Bonawanabfree

@@Bonawanabfree I think you're right that part of the problem here is the term "starvation mode". People are taking it literally, when really it might be better called "preservation mode". When you have a drastic reduction in caloric intake, you body wants to preserve itself. And while it is true (obviously) that your body will burn fat stores for the fuel it's no longer getting from food, it will also drastically lower your metabolism in an effort to preserve that fat for as long as possible. The mistake people are making is assuming that their metabolism will remain constant, whether they are burning food or stored fat for energy and that is simply NOT true. The switch to burning fat for fuel changes your metabolism as a mechanism for self preservation.

@@JamieLogical I agree with you 100%. Our bodies do what they were built to do. It is not as if we can sit down and reason with it. "Starvation" is a very strong and hard hitting word. This is just biochimestry working for us and not against us. I guess using that term can make people uncomfortable and I can understand that. We are not literally starving we are just changing adapted behavior for a more healthy lifestyle and no one likes change especially our bodies chemistry but change is essentially good. I wish I could talk to my molecular cells and explain to them what is going on but thats a pipe dream.LOL

@@OldMomOf3

Ps. Carbs come from things like: Bariatric Advantage bars, honey in tea, nuts, fruit, Greek yogurt or a splash of apple juice in Water. No starches or processed sugars at all.

I just wanted to add something about this. I am not a sugar Nazi but I want to point out that your body does not know one sugar from another. It does not discriminate sugar from fruit VS. a tablespoon of sugar. I personally stay away from fruit at this stage in tha game because I can get glucose from my stored glycogen and Protein. Sure it tastes great but it is not needed to survive. If you are going to eat fruit I would just sugest that you also eat protein with it to cease hunger because sugar in any form with tend to make you more hungry and faster, not to mention you will crave more and more. Just a suggestion.