Bookmark Website  | Free Registration  | The Team
The Lounge  | Champions  | The Wire |  Schedule |  Audio  |  Arcade  |  The Top Ten  |  Historical  |  Email  |  Video

Im Freezing! Why Gastric Bypass Causes Patients to be Cold


Body temperature is the result of your body generating and radiating heat. The body is adept at keeping its temperature within a narrow range even though ambient air conditions vary. A normal body temperature is 98.6°F. It is common during the period of rapid weight loss for bariatric patients to feel cold or chilled, even when their temperature reads normal.

People who experience the massive weight loss associated with weight loss surgery experience feeling cold for two reasons: loss of insulation and less energy generation.

Fat is a highly efficient insulator. Consider animals native to cold climates: for example sea lions and polar bears. They are loaded with insulation and thrive in cold climates. When gastric bypass patients follow the rules: eating protein and exercising, the weight lost can only come from fat or stored energy. In effect you are losing your insulation. Less insulation increases the likelihood that you will feel cold.

The second reason for feeling chilled is that the metabolic cell processes are not working as hard as when you were heavier; it takes fewer calories and less energy to maintain and move a smaller body. Think about using an electric mixer: if you are whipping egg whites for a meringue the mixer will do this task effortlessly. But use the same mixer to knead bread dough and it will become warm to the touch, it is working harder because it is moving more mass. The same thing happens with your body; the more mass it must move, the harder it works. As a result more heat is generated.

The body has two well-tuned mechanisms for regulating body temperature: sweating and shivering. What overweight person hasn't been embarrassed by a sticky bout of sweating at the most inappropriate time? Sweating is a mechanism for cooling your body when it becomes too hot inside. The body rids itself of excess heat by expanding the blood vessels in the skin so the heat may be carried to the surface. When this energy or heat in the form of sweat reaches the skin's surface it evaporates and helps cool the body.

Gastric bypass patients become more familiar with the second temperature regulator, shivering, as they lose weight. When you are too cold your blood vessels will contract reducing blood flow to the skin. The body responds by shivering which creates extra muscle activity to help generate more heat. If you allow your body to shiver it will begin to feel warmer. But this is also a good clue that it's time to put on a sweater or turn up the heat. I think most weight loss patients will happily wear a sweater - a sweater is much easier to shed than that insulation we've worked so hard to lose!

Most weight loss patients report that their body temperature regulates after their weight is stabilized, usually eighteen to twenty-four months after surgery. Keep in mind your body is rapidly losing weight and the rest of your body's functions are caught off guard when this weight loss begins. The body's thermostat needs time to catch up to the weight loss, and it will. Patients who incorporate exercise in their weight loss program experience less chilling than patients who do not exercise.

Copyright © 2005 Kaye Bailey - All Rights Reserved

Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com - Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.


MORE RESOURCES:

Houston Weight Loss Surgeons Discuss How to Choose the Right Bariatric Practice
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Drs. Yu and Scarborough discuss key aspects to look for in a practice before undergoing a weight loss procedure such as gastric plication to help improve results and get patients back on track towards leading a healthier life.

and more »


PR Web (press release)

Medi-Weightloss Clinics® Hits 2 Million Pounds Lost Milestone
PR Web (press release)
Although Medi-Weightloss Clinics® is no Mother Nature, it has helped knock down plenty of weight over the past 6 years — 2033748 pounds to be exact. The nation's premier physician-supervised weight loss program is working to reduce the obesity rate by ...

and more »


AFP

French weight loss drug 'killed at least 1300'
AFP
PARIS — Mediator, a drug licensed for use by diabetics that became widely prescribed in France as a slimming aid, "probably" caused at least 1300 deaths before it was withdrawn, a study published on Thursday said. Mahmoud Zureik of the National ...
Study claims French weight loss drug, Mediator, killed at least 1300RFI

all 10 news articles »


USA TODAY

Weight loss: Clinics halt Lap-Band surgeries amid controversy | MassDevice.com ...
Mass Device
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — A pair of outpatient clinics in Los Angeles stopped offering weight-loss surgeries using the Lap-Band gastrointestinal device amid ongoing controversy over a marketing campaign. The FDA late last year issued warning letters to 8 ...
Lap-Band surgeries halted at two LA clinicsUSA TODAY
Clinics tied to 1-800-GET-THIN temporarily stop Lap-Band surgeryLos Angeles Times
Surgery Centers Halt Lap-Band Procedures Amid InvestigationsCalifornia Healthline
InjuryBoard.com -French Tribune -FairWarning (blog)
all 55 news articles »


Dallas Weight Loss Surgeon Adds Bariatrician
Sacramento Bee
As a Board Certified Bariatrician, Dr. Obi will head up the Bariatric Solutions AfterCare program as well as assisting patients during their pre surgery diet requirement for the weight loss surgeries performed at Bariatric Solutions: Lap Band, ...

and more »


Zee News

Drugs with modified lifestyle help weight loss
Times of India
A study led by the University of Leicester looks at the effectiveness of anti -obesity drugs and a modified lifestyle on weight loss and BMI. The review was based on 94 studies including over 24000 individuals and assessed how effective the drugs were ...
Anti-obesity drugs and lifestyle advice 'an effective combination'Netdoctor

all 12 news articles »


Weight Loss Rules You're Allowed to Break
FitSugar.com (blog)
Even though there are some very specific guidelines that can help you reach your goal faster, there's no one-size-fits-all weight-loss plan for everyone. Here are five rules you can bend and still drop pounds from the scale.



Politico

Weight Loss: Rick Warren's New Purpose
Huffington Post
By Lilly Fowler LAKE FOREST, Calif. (RNS) Megachurch pastor Rick Warren has become an outsized evangelical superstar: best-selling author of "The Purpose Driven Life" series, pastoral mentor and even political referee. Now Warren is finding a new ...
Rick Warren finds a new purpose: weight lossThe Christian Century
Rick Warren gets rid of excess weight using the Saddleback "Daniel Plan ...God Discussion

all 6 news articles »


Weight-loss couple urge others to take up challenge
This is Plymouth
A COUPLE from Devonport embracing the loveLIFE campaign have lost five of their 15 stone weight loss target. Chris Searle, aged 30, and Charlotte Telling, aged 25, who are both unemployed, signed up to The Herald's loveLIFE campaign to help improve the ...

and more »


eMaxHealth

The 'fit but fat' debate: Weight loss should still be the goal, experts say
Chicago Tribune
WEIGHT LOSS STILL THE GOAL Though these findings appear to support the idea that you can be fit but fat, scientists note that the rate of MNBO is very rare within the obese population, and the risk for mortality is still high among the obese, ...
The No-Gimmick Secret to Losing Weight for FreeeMaxHealth

all 2 news articles »

Google News


Advertisement



Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us

Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved.