About the plateau/starvation mode theory....

Losing_It_In_Texas · 01-23-2009, 09:19 PM

I'm trying to buy the theory that you go into starvation mode when you aren't getting enough calories cuz that would explain why I'm not losing at the rate my dr wants. BUT.....for arguments sake, what about people who are ill; cancer etc and don't eat much for EXTENDED periods and they continually lose weight, or people in concentration camps who got extremely thin.....why didn't their bodies go into starvation mode since they were literally being "starved"? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I would just really like a good explanation of why weight loss plateaus at certain points. I've asked my doctor and he seems perturbed at that question and then talks in circles that get us nowhere. I hope someone smarter than myself can figure this one out....I'm truly stumped. Please help if you can.

Jachut · 01-23-2009, 10:24 PM

If you continue to eat barely anything, you will lose weight, otherwise nobody would ever starve to death

But you dont want that sort of weight loss. That's sick weight loss, you burn off all your lean body tissue and end up skin, bones and not much muscle. Then when you regain your weight, you stack on the fat and your body composition is worse than it ever was. This unfortunately happens to people who have things like cancer and lose lots of weight. It's really really bad for you.

I would guess that the reason weight loss plateaus out is that your metabolism drops as you lose your lean tissue and your body detects the lack of food, so it holds out as long as it can. But eventually, you'd continue to lose.

lbmobley · 01-28-2009, 01:59 PM

I am totally with you! I have been at a plateau since November...i have only lost 6lbs in 3 months...and my doctor isn't happy either...and neither am I. I have stuggled with my weight all my life and I thought that as much as I weighed when I had the surgery (360) that I would drop fast...boy was I wrong. Its like every other diet or weight loss thing I try...i hit a plateau and I can't get over it! For once I want to be a normal person and lose the normal amount of weight for a LAP-BAND® patient (7lbs a month avg.)!!!! I work out 4-5 days a week and eat 1200 calories a day...and still nothing! I keep hoping that one day I will wake up and lose like 10lbs...and that my body is just shifting around...but then I also I wonder if I am just a freak of nature !

marivan · 02-01-2009, 07:11 PM

I can so totally relate! I've been told all my life that it was me and I must be lying about what I'm eating because (and this is the kicker) "no one came out of Belsen fat". I mean, how insensitive is that? The worst thing is, now I have the band and I'm so confused as to whether I'm eating too much, too little and what to do to speed it up. Every once in a while I go on that five day pouch test, in order to give myself a little weight loss boost, but I'm sure that isn't great either.

And I'm sure you all have family who get sick and lose ten pounds in a couple of days. We get sick and don't lose a pound, even though we didn't eat either!

I even bought a new diet book recently, which I had hoped never to have to do again once I was banded. It is called "Crack the Fat loss Code". It claims to get your metabolism all sorted so it doesn't ever go into starvation mode. Trouble is, it is so complicated that I managed the first really restrictive week and then totally fell off as I couldn't figure out what to eat! I didn't want to have to worry about this stuff once I got the band!

My clinic isn't much help and neither is my own family doctor. I wanted to go for a metabolic rate test and neither of them will refer me! I don't know what the big deal is, but I thought it may help me to figure out how to raise my rate of weight loss. I'm already exercising and can't eat that much, but after fourteen months, I'm starting to get really discouraged.

Anyone else get past this?

Mary

Crishell · 06-01-2009, 02:09 PM

I am so glad I am not the only one experiencing this. But why isn't there an answer?? I exercise 5 days a week (aim for at least an hour a day but at least 30) and watch my calories yet the scale refuses to move. I have recently bought 2 "metabolism" booster books in search of some insight. I increased my exercise and that almost killed me b/c I started getting so exhausted and muscles ached alot trying to do more pkus work 8 hours a day & take care of other things throughout the week. I cannot get an answer as to why this is happening to me.It is not like I am pigging out on Burger King, or whatever else and laying around doing nothing. I do too much for the scale not to move. Although I have not gained, I am doing entirely too much to just maintain. I too don't know whether to eat more/less, exercise more/less. Should not be this complicated. It's like a screwed up Rubiks cube that is unsolvable.

marivan · 06-01-2009, 03:24 PM

Hi Crishell,

I know too well how you feel. I'm not giving up but I wrote my message above yours in March and I had been at a plateau since November and I am still at the same weight. I'm getting stronger, and firmer, but have not lost any further weight. I really hoped that I would have lost all my weight by now, a year and a half after my surgery.

I think the problem is, for all the research in obesity and books and doctors saying that they know the answer, no two people are alike and we don't fit in the conventional pegs they try to put us in. I was never someone who ate at fast food restaurants and my problem wasn't that I couldn't stop myself from eating, but rather I would diet for a couple of months, see no results and just start to eat regular food again. Which would see the weight go on nice and quickly! No fairness in that.

I'm trying to find a personal trainer to see if I can change my routine in order to jump start this process.

Do you have any weight lifting in your routine? I've found that while I still am not losing, I am feeling more able to do every day jobs because the new muscles and love the muscles in my arms.

I have no answers as I am in the same boat as you. As I said, I bought that book "Crack the Fat loss Code" and then after that bought a book about clean eating called "Ultra Metabolism" by Mark Hyman. It's a great book too, but after two weeks when he said people often lost 10 pounds, I still hadn't budged.

If I find something that works, I will certainly tell you, as I hear what I think in what you have said.

I stopped looking at some of these forums because I was so tired reading about people who said "oh I went to party and ate a lot more than I should have, but when I got on the scale I still managed to lose 2 pounds this week". It just doesn't seem fair.

Keep your chin up!

Mary

Crishell · 06-04-2009, 03:41 PM

I am not doing any weight lifting. About 3 weeks ago, I increased my amount of exercise. I go to Curves every day after work, most Saturday mornings & also started going an additional 2-3X a week at lunch time (when I could get away from work) since I work nearby. In addtion to Curves, I started walking & doing aerobics at least 3x per week. After two weeks of all of this, I found myself exhausted physically, mentally & spiritually. As of last week, i slacked up b/c I just could not handle all of that & work a stressful job too. At the time that I increased my exercise, started looking at what i was eating & when & also tried to correlate that to when I was exercising. Make sure I eat breakfast every morning before 9:30, eat more fruits/veggies/nuts. I must say that during my prolonged plateau, I have lost some inches but not enough to go down another clothing size in like many many months. I think some of my fat has redistributed itself & my "back fat" has decreased. Plus, I had bloodwork in early April and my A1C was lower (6.2 down from 6.4 in September), cholesterol was also lower. So I know my eating has not been too bad otherwise those numbers would not have decreased. Now after incorporating some definite changes to my exercise routine & food for the past almost month, I am afraid to weigh. If the scale does not reflect a change, I will be devasted & will lose my motivation to do the good things that I am doing. i just can't risk taht disappointment right now.

talkalot1981 · 06-04-2009, 05:50 PM

I have heard people say that if you increase you excersise you might need to increase you calorie in take. Not by alot but maybe by 100-150 calories day. If you are burning to many calories then your body does think it is starving and the scale won't move. Of course I am not an expert, I am just repeating what I have heard.

Jaffa · 06-04-2009, 06:44 PM

Just a side note. If you are working out a lot, not having enough calories will definitely give you less energy to put into the work out. So you may work out for the same amount of time, but the net result is less calorie burn and maybe even less fat loss.

If you get enough protein and you are working out. You can eat very little and still be healthy. But that is the big kicker, if you eat too little your going to be tired and not want to work out as much.

If you aren't going to do any physical activity, then you still need the protein, but maybe not quite as much in calories. The problem is the less you eat in calories the more critical the protein, and 1 gram of protein is going to be at best about 10 calories.

So lets say you want to starve and eat protein isolate all day. You would really need to eat about 70-90 grams of protein because you don't want your body using muscle for energy. Well, that is already about 700-900 calories.

Jaffa · 06-04-2009, 06:46 PM

Oh, and if you do this for very long, chances are you will need your gallbladder removed.

Jachut · 06-04-2009, 07:55 PM

I find my body tells me in no uncertain terms when I'm not eating enough to fuel my running - and for me that means not enough wholegrain bread, cereals etc. Maybe its to do with running as opposed to strength training but too few carbs and a more protein based diet just depletes me totally. Of course I eat enough protein, but I need my carbs too.

My runs start to feel like I'm running through water. Every now and then I'll have a run like that anyway, but when it starts to feel awful every time, its a sure sign to improve my diet. (I tend to get lazy with my eating and not eat meals, but just pick all day. When I do that, i stop eating bread, cereal etc, and eat more crappy foods - biscuits, chips, too many cappucinos...)