Attention New-ops- About that first "stall" -->

This is borrowed from a couple wise women on the main board, where occasionally it is bumped to help the new arrivals.. I think if no one objects, I'm going to do the same for us VSGers.. it may help calm the nerves for some of us who are going through this now. You are not broken!

This also can be used to explain that crazy 3lb gain from eating 1 serving of mashed potatoes, or pizza or what-have-you carby goodness if your plan was originally a very lo-carb plan and you deviated for a bit.

When you magically drop x pounds per day or x pounds in the first week, two weeks, three weeks, etc. after surgery, it feels like a dream come true. 

But: IT. WILL. STOP. Because it is NOT fat. It is WATER. This is what is happening, courtesy of Diana Cox, who is a molecular biologist Ph.D. and taught stuff like this in medical school. She makes me look smart :-).

Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.

As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

You are kind to post this.

When I was in grad school, I remembered about two pounds hydration for a pound of glycogen, but my memory is probably faulty. This is one reason it's important to take body circumference measurements in addition to monitoring mass.

Speaking of other fun facts, did you realize you breathe out most of the fat you lose? Many people assume it's pooped or peed out - some is, but most is exhaled as CO2.

Thanks Jo

Thank you!

I also have wondered as we progress from liquids to mushies to soft then solid foods if that causes a little stall too???

I also never knew we exhaled the fat. Great information on all the above. Thanks!

So how long on average does it take to rebuild the glycogen stores?

Thanks sooo much for the info!! I am slowly breaking out of my stall!

Leslie

Bump..

 

Oh, what i would give for OH to allow stickies..
Up to the top again.. 

this is great info.  i believe i am in a stall now and being a newbie we can't help but think we are doing something wrong...