Question:
I think my body may be in starvation mode.

I have been eating about 800-100 calories per day. I have been using an elliptical trainer and buring between 350 & 550 calories 5 days a week. Am I eating enough or too much? I have been losing weight SLOWLY. I am 8 weeks out and have only lost 30 pounds.    — Kimberly M. (posted on September 16, 2005)

September 16, 2005
Personally, I don't believe in "calories in, calories out" for us. If that was valid, we'd all have figured out the formula and not be here together. What KIND of calories are you eating? Carbs don't burn so well for us, they store. But if you are not getting enough nutrition, your body will keep IT ALL. Every bite, useful or not.
   — vitalady

September 16, 2005
Michelle, whose success speaks volumes, has given you some good advice. Remember, calories are alot like foreign currency, it may have value somewhere, but in your own body, the calories from different types of food are going to burn differently. In general, if you weren't too active, your body would need about 600-800 calories per day for basic functioning. Anything less than this amount and you will in all likelihood be in starvation mode. It seems as if you are very close to this number given the intensity of your workouts. That being said, a general rule of thumb is to multiply your weight by about 9 (if you are not very active)-- this number is your approximate base caloric need (I know there are lots of qualifiers to this estimate); if you consume above this number (except in the case where you are in ketosis because you are not consuming many carbohydrates) you will probably gain weight. Below this number, but above the 600-800 range and you will probably lose.
   — SteveColarossi

September 16, 2005
I'm by no means a professional on the WLS matter, but from comparing my loss to others there are so many factors I think that contribute to the amount and pace that you loose. I for one am young and very active with three kids and I lost my weight rather quickly and I lost a large amount (50% of my begining weight) and have been able to maintain it for about 7 months now) whereas my father and step mother who are in their late 40's lost much slower than I did and didn't loose quite as much #'s number wise-even tho they were larger than I was to begin with. Plus it seems that EVERYONE'S body takes to the surgery and their intake so much differently. I think 30 lbs in 8 weeks is wonderful and you are on a very good start! Don't get discouraged, the lbs AND inches will start flowing off! Good luck!
   — cedsangel

September 16, 2005
According to your profile you BMI is 38+. I'm assuming this reflects the 30 lbs. Mainly this translates into needing to lose about 100 lbs. So 30 lbs in 2 months is awesome. It means you have lost 30% of the weight you need to lose. <p>People lose at different rates for not explainable reason. It's just how their body reacts. Like Michelle said, avoid the carbs, especially white carbs. It's too early to be pumping that stuff back into your body in my opinion. Choose the veggies and fruits and if you must eat breads go for the really high fiber, low carb ones. There are some great breads on the market nowadays for very low carb diets. I love my bread and bagels by Natural Ovens. A slice of bread is 3 grams of carbs after the 5 grams of fiber is removed. It's very grainy and definitely sticks with you. It's called Golden Crunch. <p>Since every post-op plan is different it is difficult to comment on the amount of calories you are eating. If a great majority are coming from protein drinks then it should be okay. If it is all from food, it would appear that it would be on the high side as it would be difficult to eat that any calories, in food, in 3 meals. Again I'm assuming your plan is 3 meals like mine was, which may not be the case. Just keep doing what you are and watch which foods you choose to eat. Do you have an eating plan to follow or a dietician you can contact? I would not be concerned about the 30 lbs as it seems like you are right on track. <p>I had about 250 lbs to lose and I only lost 24 lbs the first month. I was shocked as I just assumed I'd have a huge loss. Well I never had that huge loss in a month. Instead I was a very consistent loser with no plateaus until about 7 months and then it was just a slow down of sorts. I averaged 20 lbs a month for the forst 10 months, so it definitely added up. By about 14 months PO I was at goal weight, so it does come. My only caution is to not do too much exercise this early out as more than likely to get to your goal weight you will need to increase exercise along the way. Just remember that whatever level of exercise you get to in order to reach goal weight, is likley going to be what you need to do to maintain. So unless you want to be living on that eliptical machine for hours every day, take it easy. That's not to say do not exercise, but give your body a chance to adjust to everything. Also alternate your exercising with something else to shake things up a little. Sometimes that is needed. The other thing is to get into weight training. Nothing burns fat like muscle does. You will appear to gain or sit still for a little while, but the muscle definition will come and then you become a lean mean fat burning machine 24 hours a day. Muscle is a very good thing in the world of weight loss. I could not do much aerobically due to my size and pain etc, but I kept working at it and increasing as I could. It took till I was 6 months before I could walk a mile continuously, but after that it just seemed to come quickly. However, I went back to weight training at 9 weeks PO and I still contend that had a lot to do with the loss and shrinking I achieved. The fat was disappearing and I was dropping clothes sizes quickly. Focus on the long term goal and don't panic. Do what you are supposed to and it will all work out in the end. Good Luck!
   — zoedogcbr

September 24, 2005
Some advice I got from a doctor was to eat within 90 min of getting up or your body will go into a starvation mode.
   — Marlys O.