Why we are so cold

I FOUND IT (hidden in the back of my desk)!!! So I though I would share: This is a post from Incredible Shrinking Woman on 1/17/06 Gastric Bypass: Causes patients to feel cold Our body temperature is basically the result of your body producing and radiating heat. The body is adept at keeping its temperature within a range even though prevailing air conditions vary. A normal body temp is 98.6F. It's basically common during the period of excess weight loss for bariatric patients to feel cold, even when they feel their temp reads normal. According to an article published in ezinearticles.com - People who experience the excessive weight loss associated with weight loss surgery experience feeling cold just because of two reasons: loss of insulation and less energy generation. Fat is a highly efficient insulator. When gastric bypass patients follow the rules: eating protein and exercising, the weight lost can only come from fat or stored energy. In effect you are losing your insulation. Less insulation increases the likelihood that you will feel cold. The second reason for feeling chilled or cold is that the metabolic cell processes are not working as hard as when you were heavier; it takes less calories and less energy to maintain and move a smaller body. The body has two will-tuned mechanisms for regulation body temperature: sweating and shivering. What overweight person hasn't been embarrassed by a sticky bout of sweating at the most inappropriate time? Sweating is a mechanism for cooling your body when it becomes too hot inside. The body rids itself of excess heat by expanding the blood vessels in the skin so the heat may be carried to the surface. When this energy or heat in the form of sweat reaches the skins surface it evaporates and helps cool the body. Gastric bypass patients become more familiar with the second temperature regulator, shivering, as they loose weight when you are too cold your blood vessels will contract reducing blood flow to the skin. The body responds by shivering which creates extra muscle activity to help generate more heat. Most weight loss patient's report that their body temp regulates after their weight is stabilized, usually eighteen to twenty-four months after surgery. Keep in mind your body is rapidly losing weight and the rest of your body's functions are caught off guard when this weight loss begins.

I also have a very strong belief that there is another reason we are cold: CALORIES TAKEN INTO THE BODY ARE BURNED AND USED AS THE BODY NEEDS THEM. WE DO NOT EAT ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN ESSENTIAL BODY FUNCTIONS PLUS PRODUCE HEAT... IT IS A MATTER OF OUR BODIES PRIORITIZING AND ADJUSTING TO OUR NEEDS.

Thank you so much for posting this.. I am going to make my husband read it so that I can get the heat turned up in this cold little house of mine. We're supposed to get our 1st frost tonight too.. but I'm all set with my new flannel sheets.. ummmm!! thanks again April R

I can't believe how i feel the cold so much these days since surgery (10 months ago), but i gotta say i really welcome it. Living in south florida in the summer is brutal, and nowadays i actually go outside to warm up. It certainly makes a nice change.