I gained a pound this week, starvation mode?

whitecapwendy

The starvation mode that people keep talking about is the way our bodies were designed. I prefer to call it famine mode. If a famine occurs or think countries where people only have a half cup of rice a day to keep them alive, the body will adjust and cut way back on energy burning to try to keep from starving to death--hence, metabolism crashes and you do not lose weight. Keep in mind that the body needs about 1200-1400 calories a day to function. I am talking heartbeat, breathing, and other bodily functions. That is the BMR--how many calories a day we need to survive if we were in a coma. That is why you hear of people who have eating disorders dying of heart attacks--they finally did not have enough energy to keep their heart beating.

Needless to say, I believe in famine mode

mazdauk

You're not in starvation mode BUT you're not eating enough. Eat 1200 mnimum plus your exercise calories, or set MFP to very active and losing 0.5 lb a week and go by that.

As for the added weight its what others have said - water and poop. Or just being female.

shutupandlift13

I'm eating about the same as you (I'm not working out quite so much at the moment though) and have been steadily losing 3lb a week until last week when I lost just 1lb and started to worry about 'starvation mode' but I've now put it down to my monthly cycle as now I'm back to losing again at the same rate. Is it possible it could be the same cause for you?

Are you 200lbs overweight? No.

Do yourself a favor.... cut it back to 1lb/week at most. Unless you want to get to your goal weight and realize that your body doesn't look like you thought it would at that weight and think that you need to continue to lose.

Eat, lift, run if you feel like it, and be patient. A lot of times slow and steady does win the race on actually getting to a point where you are no longer battling to stay at a certain weight and you can just maintain your goal body.

mikejholmes

I'm 5ft 8", narrow build, start weight 136lbs, now 133lbs, goal 126lbs. I track food every day and weigh the food where necessary. Workouts are one HIIT session w personal trainer where I am dripping with sweat, 1 body pump, 1 step, 1spin then 2 runs and another gym session. I exercise 6-7 days a week. Prior to dieting 3 weeks ago I exercised 4 times a week and some sessions not that intense so I have really upped the ante now. I want to tone up, I have major muffin top at moment.

STOP DIETING. RIGHT NOW!

Eat at maintenance or SLIGHTLY below, get on a heavy lifting program, get adequate protein. You will recomp your body. Upping your intense workouts and eating extremely low calories is only going to cause you to lose LBM.

I can guarantee if you lift heavy for 8 weeks, with a little moderate cardio tossed in only if you want to, eat almost maintenance and at least 100g protein per day, that you will like your body at 133lbs WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more than what you're going to see at 126lbs doing crazy intense Cardio workouts... because literally everything you are doing right now is cardio... yes even the Body Pump. Protein and lifting maintain muscle or at the very least minimize loss of muscle while eating below maintenance calories to a certain extent. You're constantly eating below BMR and aren't going to get the "toned" results you are looking for by going down that path. You're going to be low weight with a high BF% still.

Your body is having a wonderful time dining on your muscle mass while you are eating at a nearly 1000calorie deficit.

I'm 5'8, 165lbs, 25% bodyfat, down from 198lbs, 30+% bodyfat and I've done it by eating at least 1600 cals a day and most of my workouts being heavy lifting. Also, check into your goal weight, 126 is on the low end for women of our height.

Sounds like you found a smart woman to give you advice -- I'd listen.

Jennms85

I have been eating 1200 a day and eating half my exercise calories back for 5 months, lost a ton of weight but haven't budged in about a month. Increased my intake to 1500 about a week ago and lost 1.5 pounds. I don't log that I've lost weight unless I weigh in at that weight or lower for 3 consecutive days so I know it's weight and not water. Try increasing your calories for a week or two and see if it changes.

theresaeberhardt

Actually you need to eat to lose weight. Your body is conserving. You said you are working out hard, maybe you are not getting enough calories to support you metabolism. Try to relax and focus on how your clothes fit, how you feel not just the scale that is only one piece to the puzzle. If you are working out hard you may need closer to 1400-1600 calories/day. The mind is a very powerful thing and my trainer told me about a study or an article where people worked out and did not lose weight but then went on vacation and did because they were so intense about the weight loss when not o vacation they concluded it was that aspect that kept the weight on. Keep going strong it will come.

Snow3y

A pound? You sure you didn't have 1 glass of water too many maybe?

missymakayla

Don't see any water intake, are you drinking plenty of water?

mustang6411

Depends on what you may have eaten or not eaten or exercised or did you try a new exercise? All these things change our weight. Try not to get caught up on 1 lb, refocus this week and try again this week. I have learned through this weight loss process that some weeks will be better than others. WE will have up and downs we just to refocus and get back on track.

escloflowneCHANGED

Everyone says "starvation mode myth" but it makes me wonder why people with 700-900 Net calories per day are always asking why they aren't losing weight like the OP but women and men eating 1500+ lose consistently...

nxd10

Probably water weight. You're not going to gain a pound because you're starving.

It's a POUND. A pint of water.

But do eat. Too little food and you may not go into starvation mode but you will get sick.

And exercise and lift for a beautiful body.

nikilis

Unless you are a small child or a midget, eat at least 1200. Ok?

you gonna offer the girl some advice or just go with this snarky retort stuff?

I wasn't trying to be snarky, I was trying to be helpful. But here is more info.

You did not gain 1 actual pound unless you ate 3,500 calories over your TDEE which you clearly could not have done if you have only been eating 1000 calories a day. Weight fluctuates, especially for women. Don't use only the scale to measure progress, take pictures and use your measuring tape.

Educate yourself on BMR and TDEE and learn that eating less than 1200 calories is not healthy.

so...... why didn't you just say that, cause clearly that would be more helpful than your original comment right.... or should someone be able to extrapolate the thought from your head... what you were thinking... rather than what you are saying?

nice that you threw in the magic number there too..... did you actually calculate her BMR or TDEE? perhaps calculate the deficit?

MikeDasTrainer

Watch your sodium levels, they have been very low for someone who exercises intensly. When you work out, salt travels out from the blood and other body fluids to the surface bringing with it water. When this occurs, your electrlyte balance (including salt) becomes skewed, this can cause the body to retain more water as less salt is able to bring out heated water to the surface to sweat. As well salt aids in neurotranmission of signals from the brain that can aid in parasympathetic brian functions such as metabolism. I'm obviously not trying to say go overboard and eat 5,000g of salt per day, but youmay want to increase more to your daily allowance.

Also, side note, recent research has started to show that even extremly low sodium diets can cause an increase in blood pressure as well due to faulty water balance.

SezxyStef

The starvation mode that people keep talking about is the way our bodies were designed. I prefer to call it famine mode. If a famine occurs or think countries where people only have a half cup of rice a day to keep them alive, the body will adjust and cut way back on energy burning to try to keep from starving to death--hence, metabolism crashes and you do not lose weight. Keep in mind that the body needs about 1200-1400 calories a day to function. I am talking heartbeat, breathing, and other bodily functions. That is the BMR--how many calories a day we need to survive if we were in a coma. That is why you hear of people who have eating disorders dying of heart attacks--they finally did not have enough energy to keep their heart beating.

Needless to say, I believe in famine mode

I so agree. It is a proven fact by science that when your body does not get enough nutrition/calories it slows down your metabolism. Yes you will eventually loose weight on a very low calorie diet but do you really want to loose it by starving????

As for the scale I hope that dies a quick painful death...why do people insist on weighing themselves everyday??? or even every other day. I personally don't own one and go by size. Yes I do weigh in when I feel like it (usually once every two weeks) but even then I don't care what it says. Woman have a notorious tendancy to hold water at certian times and trust me if you gained 1 lb over night it's not actual fat....takes longer then that.

stephaniemejia1671

you can fluctuate by a good 2lb and possibly up to 3lb in water weight and poop. go poop. problem solved.



give it time, and possibly eat back more of your exercise calories for your health.

I like this.

myofibril

Sounds like a normal weight fluctuation.

As long as the overall long term trend is down (if that is your goal) then it is nothing to worry about. One week is simply not enough time to extrapolate anything meaningful from...

sunnyskys2013

darn it i don't know why that posted twice:mad:

sunnyskys2013

It looked to me like you need a little more protein and fat. Like good fats tho like Avocado, nuts and seeds. They would also add fiber.

BTW seen you eat the Fage Greek yogurt , i love that stuff too

Ophidion

Here's some links that will most probably help you along the way and understand what everyone is talking about in some sort of context.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

http://www.globalrph.com/harris-benedict-equation.htm

Good luck.

Remember the MFP community is there to support you.

Morninglory81

I'm 5ft 8", narrow build, start weight 136lbs, now 133lbs, goal 126lbs. I track food every day and weigh the food where necessary. Workouts are one HIIT session w personal trainer where I am dripping with sweat, 1 body pump, 1 step, 1spin then 2 runs and another gym session. I exercise 6-7 days a week. Prior to dieting 3 weeks ago I exercised 4 times a week and some sessions not that intense so I have really upped the ante now. I want to tone up, I have major muffin top at moment.

STOP DIETING. RIGHT NOW!

Eat at maintenance or SLIGHTLY below, get on a heavy lifting program, get adequate protein. You will recomp your body. Upping your intense workouts and eating extremely low calories is only going to cause you to lose LBM.

I can guarantee if you lift heavy for 8 weeks, with a little moderate cardio tossed in only if you want to, eat almost maintenance and at least 100g protein per day, that you will like your body at 133lbs WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more than what you're going to see at 126lbs doing crazy intense Cardio workouts... because literally everything you are doing right now is cardio... yes even the Body Pump. Protein and lifting maintain muscle or at the very least minimize loss of muscle while eating below maintenance calories to a certain extent. You're constantly eating below BMR and aren't going to get the "toned" results you are looking for by going down that path. You're going to be low weight with a high BF% still.

Your body is having a wonderful time dining on your muscle mass while you are eating at a nearly 1000calorie deficit.

I'm 5'8, 165lbs, 25% bodyfat, down from 198lbs, 30+% bodyfat and I've done it by eating at least 1600 cals a day and most of my workouts being heavy lifting. Also, check into your goal weight, 126 is on the low end for women of our height.

Sounds like you found a smart woman to give you advice -- I'd listen.

im going to second listening to her!

bubaluboo

I'm eating about the same as you (I'm not working out quite so much at the moment though) and have been steadily losing 3lb a week until last week when I lost just 1lb and started to worry about 'starvation mode' but I've now put it down to my monthly cycle as now I'm back to losing again at the same rate. Is it possible it could be the same cause for you?

Are you 200lbs overweight? No.

Do yourself a favor.... cut it back to 1lb/week at most. Unless you want to get to your goal weight and realize that your body doesn't look like you thought it would at that weight and think that you need to continue to lose.

Eat, lift, run if you feel like it, and be patient. A lot of times slow and steady does win the race on actually getting to a point where you are no longer battling to stay at a certain weight and you can just maintain your goal body.

Well this isn't my thread but since you commented on my strategy I'll just explain that I'm doing 5 weeks low cal to shed quickly as I'm starting a new job a week Monday and I want the confidence of fitting in my clothes...and that's working. On this Monday, I'm upping the cals to a more sustainable level and doing exactly what you recommend.

nikilis

its over people.

deksgrl

Unless you are a small child or a midget, eat at least 1200. Ok?

you gonna offer the girl some advice or just go with this snarky retort stuff?

I wasn't trying to be snarky, I was trying to be helpful. But here is more info.

You did not gain 1 actual pound unless you ate 3,500 calories over your TDEE which you clearly could not have done if you have only been eating 1000 calories a day. Weight fluctuates, especially for women. Don't use only the scale to measure progress, take pictures and use your measuring tape.

Educate yourself on BMR and TDEE and learn that eating less than 1200 calories is not healthy.

so...... why didn't you just say that, cause clearly that would be more helpful than your original comment right.... or should someone be able to extrapolate the thought from your head... what you were thinking... rather than what you are saying?

nice that you threw in the magic number there too..... did you actually calculate her BMR or TDEE? perhaps calculate the deficit?

There was nothing wrong with my original statement. It is true. Unless you are a very, very small person, eat more than 1,000. It's pretty simple. Did I need to explain why? I didn't feel the need to since some other people also touched on it. She then stated that she is 5'8" and her weight, which should average out to an estimated BMR of around 1400. Is that exact? No, of course not, and I never claimed that it was. This is just common sense AND recommended by health experts and this site.

If you have a problem with me or with what I say, you can put me on ignore. It won't hurt my feelings, honest.

nikilis

Unless you are a small child or a midget, eat at least 1200. Ok?

you gonna offer the girl some advice or just go with this snarky retort stuff?

I wasn't trying to be snarky, I was trying to be helpful. But here is more info.

You did not gain 1 actual pound unless you ate 3,500 calories over your TDEE which you clearly could not have done if you have only been eating 1000 calories a day. Weight fluctuates, especially for women. Don't use only the scale to measure progress, take pictures and use your measuring tape.

Educate yourself on BMR and TDEE and learn that eating less than 1200 calories is not healthy.

so...... why didn't you just say that, cause clearly that would be more helpful than your original comment right.... or should someone be able to extrapolate the thought from your head... what you were thinking... rather than what you are saying?

nice that you threw in the magic number there too..... did you actually calculate her BMR or TDEE? perhaps calculate the deficit?

There was nothing wrong with my original statement. It is true. Unless you are a very, very small person, eat more than 1,000. It's pretty simple. Did I need to explain why? I didn't feel the need to since some other people also touched on it. She then stated that she is 5'8" and her weight, which should average out to an estimated BMR of around 1400. Is that exact? No, of course not, and I never claimed that it was. This is just common sense AND recommended by health experts and this site.

If you have a problem with me or with what I say, you can put me on ignore. It won't hurt my feelings, honest.

so you just made a vague, snarky comment in order to... help? got ya.

Clare291174

I'm starting 'strength training' next week and I know lifting weights will burn fat and improvr definition so I'm really looking forward to doing that. I do eat nuts, not in my food diary as I manually input them as quick add calories. I struggle with eating protein. This is why I have the Greek yogurt in the morning. Would chicken salad for lunch be a good idea? I will speak to the trainer I have only had 2 sessions, he knows I want to lose a few pounds and tone up my middle. My arms are nice from body pump. Legs/bum ok. Seriously thanks to all for posts, even the telling off ones, everyone has said stuff I agree with. I think because I have done Weight Watchers in past I'm wired to eat low fat above all else irrespective of carbs/lean protein balance. I'm trying to reeducate myself to achieve a better, fitter and maintainable shape. It's Friday though so that means some wine tonight, blow the calories!

deksgrl

Chicken is a good source of protein. I also got some chocolate whey protein powder that I stir into Milk and drink before or after I lift. (after usually or if I am due for a meal I drink it before so I have some quick energy). Sometimes I put half a scoop in my coffee if I need to up my protein that day.

kkzmom11

Clare, like others i am not an expert, except regarding myself and my body. i need to eat a MINIMUM of 1200/day and more if i am exercising. my BMR tells me i should be eating more like 1500. I am looking at this process as a journey and lifestyle change, not a diet. so, mindset needs to change first along with your attitude about food/drink and this whole process.