Silly Question

[DebDeb]

Hi all, I'm sure this will seem like a really silly question to those of you who are expert sleevers but ............ When I read all the comments from people who've been sleeved, everyone says that they have way more energy than before the op. I realise that carrying less weight around will improve energy levels but if I (not yet sleeved) only took on board around 800 cals per day, I'm sure that I'd feel exhausted and probably not very well. So my silly question is this! How do sleeved people manage to have so much more energy and feel so well on so few calories??

[amandajane]

I don't know that what I'm about to say it 100% true, but my best educated guess is that you are only consuming 800 calories per day but your body is using all of your extra stored fat for whatever energy it is not getting from the calories you take in (which is why you lose weight)... So really, we all have a lot of extra "energy" (ah-hem, fat) for our bodies to use as needed.

[natex14]

There are lots of different fuels that you can put in your body, carbs, fat, sugar, protein and I'm sure smarter people will have a lot longer list. This is one of the reasons that after the sleeve you focus on getting in a lot of protein. Protein is a great fuel and low in calories. Pancakes are a great fuel as well, but high in calories. Protein is also released slowly into your system, so it provides more energy for longer periods.

As mentioned above, your body will also burn fat as fuel. Unfortunately, it will also burn muscle as fuel, so keep the protein high and the muscle won't get used as much.

[Terribj]

I'm 2 months post-op and eat about 600 calories a day, yet I can't sit still. It seems I have to be up and doing something, Even after working out for 60 minutes I --do laundry, clean the kitchen, scrub the bathroom - i could go on and on. It is like nothing I've ever felt before.

[DebDeb]

Teeribj, that sounds AMAZING!! Hope I end up the same! (the house is in need of a serious springclean!) If not, when you've finished all of yours, you'll have to pop on a plane to the UK and do mine,

[MysticalMaybe]

Yes mostly its us eating better. Getting all our protein in plus all the vitamins we take. I know I use to eat terrible before the surgery and felt like crap all the time... Now that I'm eating better I feel better. I'm always doing something and I even get told to just sit down! LOL

We are what we eat. I feel so good when I eat my veggies and protein... I can really feel the difference if I start eating crap.. I almost feel sick.

I also sleep better when I eat better... Life is good when you eat good... just the way I feel

[luke]

Once I got on my feet and started moving a bit, I found I had tons of energy. My surgical team explained it to me this way.

Say, your body needs 2000 calories per day to sustain life. If you're eating only 800 calories per day, but body needs 2000, why don't you feel super-tired, or why aren't you starving?

Well they said:

"Your body is amazing. If it needs 2000 calories, it will take 2000 calories from wherever it can. If you only eat 800, it will TAKE the remaining 1200 it needs from from your fat and muscle itself. The point of exercising and eating enough protein is that we want it to take as much of that 1200 from your existing FAT and not your muscles."

So Even on a restricted diet, though you aren't taking in many calories, your body is finding the calories it needs within you, so you won't feel as tired as you think because your engine isn't (yet) starved for fuel. Hope that helps!

[BladeFox]

I don't know that what I'm about to say it 100% true, but my best educated guess is that you are only consuming 800 calories per day but your body is using all of your extra stored fat for whatever energy it is not getting from the calories you take in (which is why you lose weight)... So really, we all have a lot of extra "energy" (ah-hem, fat) for our bodies to use as needed.

SPOT ON! Although you are only eating 800 calories per day, it is coming from protein and your fat is being used to burn for energy. I wouldn't say that all of us have a ton of energy either because at times I feel a bit tired - possibly due to my work, but it happens. I would say the balance is 80% energy and 20% tired.

[DebDeb]

Thanks everyone - that makes a lot of sense (8 weeks today, I'll be getting my sleeve done and I will find out if you're right x

[Karynna]

that's also why they stress protein. If that is where you are getting your calories from, your body is on a ketosis state. If you are getting it from carbs, it is not. It is much easier to burn fat when you are in ketosis.

[denise.jordan39]

Ditto, but I can't stress enough to take the recommended vitamins. It really makes a difference. When I was struggling getting them down, I could barely walk across the house, as soon as I was able to consistently take ALL those vitamins, it was like magic my energy level improvement.

[GELDED]

Excellent answers on this thread!!

[robhall]

as nathan said once you have ur sleeve done u start focusing more on what you eat en most of us start eating protein because it is better for us.

[DebDeb]

Thanks so much everyone for the really great information and advice - I shall certainly take note