Week Three Plateau - It's Really a Thing

So, maybe I'm the last person on the planet to discover this, but apparently the Week Three Stall is a thing! It happens to LOADS of people who do weight loss surgery. Of course, I had to research the hell out of it to figure out why...but I didn't find much that was credible.

I did find this publication from the University of Pennsylvania about how the body converts fat to energy (see the link below).

Basically, these are the highlights (you will need to know basic cell bio to understand these notes):

- Fat is made in the liver from excess carbohydrates and amino acids

- The fat is used to make ATP when glucose in the body is low

- In short-term fasting, proteins from muscles and other tissue are converted into glucose by the liver and used by the brain. In long-term starvation, the body turns down the use of protein and turns up the use of fat. It makes keto acids from teh Acetyl CoA. The metabolism of fat gives more calories than protein. (FYI long-term starvation is considered 20-40 days...about the end of week 1 post-op).

One blogger posted something about your body needs something like 8 ounces of water to break down 2 ounces of glycogen and that's why you stall...but I couldn't back that up from a credible source. I only mention it in case anybody out there knows more about this and could shed some light on it for me.

I also learned there is a difference between dietary fat (like in butter) and stored fat (glucose converted to fat by the liver). Probably not the most profound information, but interesting none-the-less.

In other news, I began the pureed foods today...two days early, but I don't care. I ate 2 ounces of apple sauce for breakfast. Dinner was 2 ounces of lemon pepper tuna (from a pouch) and 2 ounces of cottage cheese. I got full half-way through and had to put it back in the fridge and finish it up three hours later. CRAZY!!!