Starvation Mode is a big MYTH!

I see posts from time to time, and people talk about "starvation mode" with the VSG.  It does NOT happen folks, it is a myth.

First of all, starvation mode only happens when a person is unable to eat enough over a prolonged period of time.  Second, it does not happen when your body has adequate food (which it has with the fat we are all burning).  Third, all of the studies were done on people that started out at NORMAL weight, and then had a horribly reduced caloric intake for months at a time.

That simply does not apply to us.  We are not at normal weight, unless someone is crazy enough to have this surgery when they don't need it.

Our bodies convert our fat into the fuel we need to operate.  If we ate enough calories to provide that fuel, we would not lose weight.  We have this surgery so that we can NOT eat all of the calories we need for a long time, so long as we follow the diet we are supposed to.

You will NOT go into starvation mode on any normal diet.  I don't care what some diet guru says in their popular books, if that stuff actually worked, none of us would be on these forums, would we?

I am amazed that people believe all of that crap.  They have failed, again and again and again on those so called miracle diets, because they don't work for anything morethan a few pounds.

But, you want to believe what those quacks write.  So, you get on here and tell people that they are in starvation mode; or that they have to follow the Adkins Diet, South Beach Diet, etc.

Well, if those worked, why are you here?

Think about it folks.  Instead of telling people all of these old wives tales, or what the latest diet guru (who makes a LOT of money from people that buy those books) is telling folks, think about actually following your dietary and exercise plan that you are given by your surgeon and/or their program.

Those plans work, if you will just follow them.  These surgeons don't depend on book sales to make their money.  They actually have to depend on patients that have really lost a LOT of weight, to help spread the word abotu them.  If they don't get the weight off of people, they don't stay in business.

The people that are the most successfull at losing weight around here, are the people that stick the closest to their diet and exercise plan.

The ones that have the most trouble, are the one that keep doing it, "their own way".

It's your choice folks.  Follow the plans that actually work, or go to the latest books and fail all over again.

ok fair enough...please tell me why then I am following my plan and I havn't lost anything in 2 weeks? I'd love an answer that I can use and start losing again. I am only 4 weeks out and am stuck.

It's water retention. It seems to be a common response to moving from an all liquid diet to soft/mushy food.

I wrote this blog post about starvation mode a while back. It cites some of the studies that have been done on starvation and notes that even when people do go into starvation mode (which they do once their body fat drops down to essential levels--i.e., not us), they still lose weight.

The clinical data does not support the idea that you need to eat more to lose weight.

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html

Unfortunately, stalls happen.  They seem to happen to women more frequently than they do to men (it is a hormonal thing), but they happen to everyone.

This has absolutely nothing to do with "starvation mode", which ONLY happens after a very lengthy period without adequate nutrition (such as prisoners of the Japanese suffered during World War II).

When a stall hits (and they are very common after about 3 weeks for women), the only thing you can do is to ride it out.  Stick to your program, you WILL begin losing again.

The "3 Week Stall" happens to everyone. It's your body compensating for the shock of the surgery, the rapid weight loss in the first week or 2 (which is mostly water weight...your body then replaces tha****er, causing you to "stall" on the scale.)

MM

I go through stalls like a cycle...lose 3 pounds for 2 weeks then nothing for 2-3 weeks, then suddenly a drop on the scale.  A 2 week plateau is nothing.  If you follow your doc's rules, you will SUDDENLY see a drop in the scale.  One thing that is important for me is to write everything down.  It is sooooo easy to grab a bite of this or that between meals and it can blow your whole day!  Re-eval your diet/exercise if you aren't losing.  Each time you hit a plateau, you should do that and you can really see what you are doing right and wrong.

Many (most?) of u**** a stall at three weeks out.  Keep the faith.

I am somewhat conflicted.  My dr and my nut (who are both well respected and successful in their profession) told me that there is such a thing as starvation mode, and that if you eat too few calories your body will break down muscle instead of fat.  The way to prevent this is to eat enough calories where the body breaks down fat instead of muscle.  On one hand you say this is garbage, but on the other hand you tell me to do what my dr says. 

Signing off as confused us usual about this whole process!

But you are confusing two different phenomenoms.  The popular theory of starvation mode that floats around on diet boards is not when your body breaks down muscle instead of fat, it is when you stop loosing weight because you are not eating enough.   The body starts to break down muscle instead of fat when you are not getting adequate protien in your diet.  The way to prevent this is to make sure you get enough protien...it is not calorie dependant. 

mary

Thanks for the clarification.  I guess when my nut told me to up my calories from 800 to 1,300, she just assumed that would all be protein since those are the rules!  And I thought it ws calorie related.