How do you STOP your body from going into STARVATION mode

[Firecallie 2]

I'm concerned because I know that when i go on liquids my metabolism is going to drop and everything and I don't want it to stay that way and gain when i start eating again.

[Parvathi 2]

I too, was concerned about this. I lost 15 lbs after surgery on the liquids/mushie phase. I gained a couple of lbs when I started eating solids. But after the first fill, they started to fall right back off and I've been on a downward (albiet slow) slope every since.

The liquids/mushies are very important though, to allow your body time to heal and your band time to situate itself without any bumps.

[Ericalynn13 1]

From the research I've done as long as you consume 800 calories a day your body won't go into starvation. If you choose the correct liquids you can easily make that goal each day. Just make a point of having at least 250 calories at each meal. Eggnog, Milk, Cream of Soups, Slim fast Liquids, etc all will allow you to reach that goal. I haven't had any issuses with not getting enough calories, except the frist 2 days, which I don't know of anyone who could right out of surgery.

[MerryHearted 20]

The scale probably will show a rise of 2-4 lbs once you switch to solid foods, just from solids being in your body (poop, for example).

Otherwise, exercise is the key to keeping your metabolism up. As soon as you feel up to it, make sure you start exercising, even if it's just walking.

I did Glucerna drinks while on liquids, plus a little juice and a daily latte and SF Jello, juice popsicles... it adds up pretty easily to 800-1200 cals per day.

[DeLarla 22]

Starvation mode (long term) is a myth. Ask any doc or nutritionist who'll explain that it's very temporary, which is why people starve to death every day. If you stop eating, your metabolism may slow down, but after a few days of not eating you'll drop weight and continue to lose till you die, unless you eat.

Sorry if that sounds blunt, but the whole myth is one of my pet peeves because one of my obese family members tells people she's fat because she doesn't eat enough and stays in starvation mode. Nobody but me knows about the garbage bags filled with candy bars stashed behind the couch and dresser.

[giveyouthemoon 4]

I think your question is less about starvation mode and more about the fear of eating this new way, of being overhungry. Of being miserable and not eating in the quantities you can now.

Getting banded really does change how you look at food and how you look at being full. Don't let your fears stop you. Gotta go into 'em. We're here for you.

[Nykee 13]

I also think 'starvation mode' is very short term..

I have lost tons of weight in this mode through my life.. and fast..

I just lost 30 pounds in 2 months (aug to oct) (liquids... mushies only)

and then for the last month (oct to nov) I have been on solids.. and I gained a pound.

Ummmm

NO

I rather eat nothing... ya know.. It was a fine two months and I want it back.

[Firecallie 2]

Good stuff to know guys, thank you. And thanks Karen, I am freaked out about the new way i'll be eating it's a huge change and part of me says "Look everyone else is losing weight, what if you get this done and STILL can't do it." Eh i'll get over it and i know it's just my head messing with me.

[giveyouthemoon 4]

"What if" you actually aren't really hungry? Do you have a plan to cover that possibility?

This is the demon I'm wrasslin' with right now because no, I didn't have a plan for it going in. I'll actually have an argument, OUT LOUD, with my self in the kitchen.

"You KNOW you are not hungry...so why do you want to eat???"

"I just do...I have to eat!"

This is a HUGE issue right now. And I'm convinced part of the root of my monthlong plateau......I just keep eating and eating even tho I'm not really hungry. And that behavior got me to where I was before banding and will keep me at this weight post banding.

Good thing I have a visit to the ol' head doctor later this week. And a fill tomorrow. That's my plan...I'll let you know how that works out for me.

[DeLarla 22]

Thanks, Nykee! I hear obese people using the "Starvation Mode" so often as an excuse for staying heavy. If our bodies went into starvation mode, people could be stranded with no food for a month, right?

[Guest Alice Nadine]

I just was banded Friday, November 4th. It's been a rough 4 days, but each day I feel better. I have already lost 7lbs. I really can't wait for the mushey food and get off of clear liquid and slim-fast stuff. The liquid Vitamin is awful, but I take them anyway. I am afraid of loosing my hair, etc.

I really am shakey from not eating, but am hanging in there.

Alice Nadine

232 pre-op, 229 day of op, 222 today, 140 goal

[Dragonwillow 0]

I'm three weeks out...I have lost 18lbs since surgery, but that was in the first 2 weeks on liquids. I've currently been stalled for a week. My poor nutritionist had to listen to me go on and on in panic mode just earlier today. I am eating around 700 calories a day...though I'm thinking of adding a protien shake just go get my protien up to about 60 instead of the 45 its at now. I exercise 5 days a week for 60-70 minutes at a time. So I'm burning a little less than half the calories I'm taking in at the gym. I'm frustrated right now, because I don't see how I can't be loosing weight. The body is a crazy thing.

Before surgery I worried..how will I ever be able to keep up current activities on such low calories. It hasn't been an issue. I think part of it was that even though I was eating around the 2000 calories a day and maintaining...alot of thos calories were empty calories. I eat VERY clean now...if something has NO protien...or has too many carbs, or too much sugar....I don't eat it. So even though I'm eating almost 1/3 of the calories I used to, the calories I eat now are qaulity calories.

Melissa

[lildarlin 0]

Karen! Well put. Gosh what a powerful statement, for me it was! I'm not banded, but I'm thinking about it and I'll admit. I think about the "what I can't have's", or how I will eat afterwards. I'm afraid that I'll figure out a way to eat things that I shouldn't because they'll go through without any trouble. Afraid that I won't lose any weight at all after going through surgery etc. Afraid that I won't succeed, because I haven't succeeded at any weight loss plan I've tried for the past 30 years of my life.

I guess I have a lot of questions that need to be answered, huh?

How does one deal with all these issues? Does every obese person have these fears? I would love to hear from anyone that has....I need help.

[Jachut 487]

DeLarla's right, starvation mode as an ongoing thing is a bit of a myth, its not like a switch flips and you stop losing weight. But what happens is when you're body has burned its store of ready glycogen from within your muscles and liver it switches to alternative fuel sources and those arent purely fat, they include your body's lean tissue. As your lean tissue is burned, your energy needs decrease, because lean tissue is metabolically active, whereas fat isnt. So you need to eat less and less to continue losing weight and if you ever start eating "normally" again, well you'll blow up faster than you can say pancake. You wont need half the calories you previously did to pile on all the weight you've lost and more.

What you're trying to do in avoiding "starvation mode" is trying to keep your body burning fat and not its own lean tissue. There's not a lot of consensus on how to do this, some believe in high Protein, low carb diets but there's not really any irrefutable proof that they work any better than anything else, although there's plenty of people around who will tell you its worked brilliantly for them, so that's an individual choice.

The liquid/mushy phase is pretty short term, it will involve lots of Water weight lost and it will involve a loss of lean tissue, but its unlikely to cause you significant harm or problems in such a short time. But like mentioned above, it is perfectly possible to get a balanced, calorically sufficient diet in to your body in purely liquid form, a Meal Replacement program with added vegetable and fruit juices/smoothies (perhaps with some bran added for fibre) would be an easy way. And even though it caused a lot of disagreement, the information I've just gotten from my surgeon suggests mushies should be simply a stage of blending regular meals (apart from a phasing in process).

Over the course of your weight loss, once it starts in earnest, your job is to maintain your muscle mass - you need lots of cardio to burn fat and keep the weight coming off but muscle building exercise is really important too, to build muscle and keep your metabolism fast.

[Firecallie 2]

Everything has been so helpful...thank you. And right on the money for alot of it.