why do people who do weightloss surg. don't go into starvati

jenX1174

Yes, in my case, I believe my body went into starvation mode. A year after my daughter was born, I had my lap-band done-- in June of '08, and I initially lost 35 pounds the first 6 months. I became really frustrated through the next 5 months when my weight would only bounce between 1 and 5 pounds, up and down. I'd go in and get a fill, lose a few, and then gain a few. I was exercising and only consuming 1200 calories a day, as I was instructed by the nutritionist. There was no education about eating your exercise calories back, so my Net cals were anywhere from 200-700 a day on average.

In Jan '09, I developed gallstones and had my gallbladder removed in Feb. I tried a couple more times that year to get back on track, but the weight wouldn't budge. In Feb 2010, I had a big upheaval in my personal life and mentally was in no shape to focus on my weight. I tried again last June to no avail. Yes, by this point I gained back about 15 of the pounds I lost. The link below my weight loss ticker is the perfect example of me before and after Lap band surgery. I wish I had this knowledge before. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing weight --- I barely ate anything, I figured I should be losing something. I hit one of my lowest points and believed I was just doomed to be fat for the rest of my life. I felt like a failure.

January brought me to MFP after hearing about it from a couple of coworkers who were using it. I did the profile, read some of the links provided for the "Newbies," and it all came together.

I've have been doing this for 4 weeks, and have dropped 8 pounds! I believe my body was in starvation mode and was fighting to hold on to everything it had. I was skeptical at first, and very afraid. I was afraid I would be putting in all this hard work and effort again only to fail again.

I guess we'll see. So far, so good, but I feel as if I will succeed this time. :drinker:

MizzTweezy

The lap band procedure is a restrictive surgery. The roux-n-y gastric bypass surgery is both restrictive and absorptive. What that means is they staple off a part of the stomach so it only holds about an ounce. The duodenum of the small intestines is bypassed, therefore food is absorbed by the body in a different way.

Besides the supplements these individuals take, they are told to eat a diet very high in protein. When they drink water, it is never with a meal, but they need to sip water all day. They do not eat foods high in sugar or else they suffer from dumping syndrome. If they follow the meal, they almost enter a state a ketosis, therefore fat stores are burned instead of the carbohydrates we all consume.

This totally makes sense to me.... I am a lap band patient as well, and find myself in and out of ketosis a lot.

smc864

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS STARVATION MODE.

I could bring up examples of holocaust victims or starving people in Africa, but that would be a bit morbid. Please read this article. All of you.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

SezxyStef

Hi all, quick question. How come when people do lapband or Gastric bypass, their bodies don't go into starvation mode and they lose tons of weight very fast? SOme of them eat 3-400 calories for the first 2-3 months. I just spoke with a guy who did it. He said you pgysically can't eat for the first few months. is the starvation mode not true? should we all be on very low calorie diets? Now i am very confused. Thanks in advance for all your advice.

Well that would be because starvation mode is a myth.

Your body does not magically hold onto fat due to low calories...and it does not magical create weight gain on low calories.

Take the woman who got stranded in a vehical for 48 days in Nevada....all she had to eat was trail mix and candy and drinking water from a stream...she had lost 30lbs...and was nearly dead. Tell her she went into starvation mode.

That doesn't mean go on a low calorie diet...that is not healthy. You lose muscle along with fat, you have no energy, lose your hair etc etc.

Weight loss is not fast, you didn't gain 20lbs in 5 weeks you wont lose it in 5 weeks. Eat at a reasonable deficet, don't try to lose it too fast and make sure you weigh your food so you know for sure how much you are eating....trust me 3oz of pasta is not a lot...and a serving of cereal is not a bowl full.

Weight loss is simple calories in <calories out.