Body temperature is the result of your body generating and radiating heat. The body is adept at maintaining its temperature within a narrow range even when 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 chilly, even when their temperature is normal.
People who experience the massive weight loss associated with weight loss surgery feel cold for two reasons: loss of insulation and decreased 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: eat protein and exercise, the weight lost can only come from fat or stored energy. In effect, you are losing your isolation. Less insulation makes you more likely to feel cold.
The second reason for feeling chills is that the metabolic processes of the cells do not work as intensely as when they weighed more; fewer calories and less energy are needed to maintain and move a smaller body. Consider using an electric mixer – if you’re beating egg whites for a meringue, the mixer will make this task effortless. But use the same mixer to knead the bread dough and it will get hot to the touch, you are working harder because you are moving more dough. The same thing happens with your body; the more mass you have to move, the harder you work. As a result, more heat is generated.
The body has two well-tuned mechanisms to regulate body temperature: sweating and shivering. What overweight person hasn’t been embarrassed by a sticky sweat at the most inappropriate time? Sweating is a mechanism to cool the body when it is too hot inside. The body gets rid of excess heat by expanding the blood vessels in the skin so that the heat can be brought to the surface. When this energy or heat in the form of sweat reaches the surface of the skin, 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 get too cold, your blood vessels constrict and reduce blood flow to your skin. The body responds by shivering, which creates additional muscle activity to help generate more heat. If you allow your body to shiver, it will start to feel warmer. But this is also a good clue that it’s time to throw on a sweater or turn up the heat. I think most weight loss patients will happily wear a sweater – a sweater is so much easier to take off than that insulation we’ve worked so hard to lose!
Most weight loss patients report that their body temperature regulates after their weight stabilizes, usually eighteen to twenty-four months after surgery. Keep in mind that your body is rapidly losing weight and the rest of your body’s functions are taken by surprise when this weight loss begins. The body’s thermostat needs time to catch up with the weight loss, and it will. Patients who incorporate exercise into their weight loss program experience fewer chills than patients who do not exercise.
Copyright © 2005 Kaye Bailey – All Rights Reserved