Is starvation mode really a thing?

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  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,679 Member
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    2500 I would think is plausible. HOWEVER, actual weight trend over-time trumps any estimates and at 11 weeks you should be starting to get semi-reliable self generated data if you're logging every day as accurately as you can. You can even through out outlying weeks and check to see more average performance.

    As mentioned 2lbs a week is actually quite OK. and if you're eating 1500 I wouldn't go lower at your size regardless of what effect it had on pure speed. Sustainability of effort for a few years, developing new habits, those are of more importance than pure speed for someone who is going to have to manage their weight for the indefinite long term.
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 878 Member
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    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    Ladyamanda87 wrote: »
    westrich20940 wrote: »
    If I were you - just to check and see if the calorie goal is ~accurate --- use a TDEE calculator and also put in your lifestyle/activity level as 'sedentary' and see what your TDEE is.

    Subtract a moderate amount of calories from that to lose weight (some online calculators will do this for you to give you a calorie goal).

    If you are losing 2lbs per week, then I'm not sure what you are concerned about....losing MORE weight than that per week usually comes with some other not so nice things so you really don't want to be doing that aggressive of weight loss anyway.

    For reference just as an example: I'm 34F, 5'3", 118lbs and my TDEE is usually estimated to be ~1500 (I eat 16-1700 and am maintaining my weight)......so I'm not sure it's actually 'insanity' for your calorie goal to be somewhere over 2000...just think you should use another option to check it. **Edit just to add that I choose 'sedentary' as my activity level as well when using a TDEE calculator just bc I don't want to include my intentional exercise, I simply log that exercise in MFP and eat those calories back so due to my activity there are days I eat over 2000 calories as well. Including any intentional exercise I think just depends on what makes the numbers easier for you in your head....

    Okay thank you. I'll check it now! I know 2lbs a week is good, and healthy. I just thought it would be more at first. It's hard to be this big and when I lose 20lbs I feel no different but someone else loses 20 I can definitely tell lol. I just need to chill and focus.

    one thing to keep in mind is that when you are larger (I started at almost 400 pounds (378 to be exact), have lost 189+ currently) it takes longer to SEE weight loss.

    a few reasons for this ....

    1- people are 'trained' not to comment on other peoples weight- good or bad. theres always exceptions but in general, most people wont really say anything unless YOU bring up the subject.

    2- larger clothing sizes are made to be generous and it can take losing quite a lot to go down in sizing. now, i change jean sizes roughly every 10 pounds or so. when i was larger it was 20 or so pounds if i remember right? material is stretchier, waistbands are elastic, material is more forgiving, etc... they are (purposely) made to cover a larger weight range

    3- in the MIRROR (and i STILL struggle with this)... we just dont SEE it. logically, i know that i weigh 182 (as of this morning). when i look in the MIRROR... i still tend to see someone much larger than what i know is there (if that makes sense). its called body dysmorphia, and to a certain extent i think most people, especially those who have lost weight have a form of it. Those with severe eating disorders have SEVERE forms of it. Oddly, in photos, I can see the weight loss (usually). Just not in the mirror. I can hold up a pair of size 10 jeans and say ' no way will those fit' and they fit PERFECT and my mind be blown. minds are weird, man.


    This in the bold!!! One of the craziest things for me was that I lost ~30lbs all through covid...so I needed new clothes. I couldn't try stuff on in stores and it was so hard to eyeball it (I still struggle with this). I remember I ordered some clothes on stich-fix and I just measured my waist at home for it (I'm not sure I did it correctly but I just made a note to the stylist that I wasn't sure it was right)..anyway I got a pair of jeans in my box and the second I held them up I had the most massive feeling of discouragement and just thought..."There's no WAY these will even go up over my thighs..." --- TRY STUFF ON ANYWAY.. Because man o man....those jeans fit like a glove and it really struck me how different what my own estimate/vision of myself was vs. what I actually was.

    There's a good exercise to do for this --- get a string and unwarp the amount that you *think* would go around different parts of your body (belly, waist, butt, thigh, etc) --- kind of like the game you play at baby showers...

    Then actually use the string to measure it -- more often than not your own estimate is over. Can be a real eye opener.

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