calories and worried about starvation mode

HeathenBelle

I'm new to the whole diet thing. Having been fairly active all through my life (and 128 pounds for most of it) I gained a lot in college due to some extreme emotional distress and quit exercising. Now college is over and I am afraid to say how much I weigh now, I have a labor intensive job (package handler: I lift heavy boxes and load them on trucks for 4 hours at a very fast pace). I have lost ten pounds since starting my job and walking on the 2 mile park trail next to my house. Granted I have only been at my job 10 weeks, and I have been strictly watching what I eat. Today MyFitnessPal warned me that my calorie intake is too low and I may go into starvation mode??? However, it didn't say this the other days when my calorie intake was lower than it was today, so I am highly confused. I am very afraid of eating too much, and gaining back what I lost. I want to continue losing (1 to 2 pounds a week), I just am worried I am not doing this whole thing right. On the weekends I don't have work, so I consider it resting time and just do house work.

I'm not starving at night, my tummy isn't growling at me; but I have read that some people have said they didn't see any change and head to start eating more to actually lose weight...

someone please, I need help.

grundylady

If you don't eat enough calories then your body may think you are in a famine and try to put as much into fat stores as it can. i can't tell you where that point is....it may be different for each person. My understanding is, however, that if you simply burn more calories then you eat you will continue to lose.

lilpickle683

to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. HOWEVER - you do need to make sure you're eating enough so your body doesn't think you're dying and stores every calorie you eat as fat. I found these calculators to be very eye-opening and helpful:
http://eattoperform.com/eat-to-perform-calculator/
http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

basically, there's your basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories your body needs to perform basic functions if you did absolutely nothing (think being in a coma). then there's total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), or the number of calories you use doing your day-to-day activities. this can vary depending on how active you are. you need to eat 15-20% less than you TDEE to lose weight. if you eat too little, like less than your BMR, your body goes into starvation mode and starts storing everything. and you can feel like crap most of the time.

hope this helps

HeathenBelle

Oh my goodness, thank you both so very much! I work as a package handler so I lift and carry heavy boxes for four hours. It's like a paid intense workout. I try to eat like I should but I am just so worried about over eating. I will definitely check those websites lilpickle683. I believe I burn way more than I eat. Thank you again, both of you.

__Di__

OP just log your calories and exercise and stick to your daily allowance.