Starvation mode yadahyadah

suchgreatheights91

So I have been trying to lose weight for the past 3ish weeks. I have always fluctuated in weight from fad diets, diet pills, eating disorders, college, stress, etc. But now I'm really trying to lose weight the healthy way. I Have been reading a lot about "Starvation Mode" on these forums and I am kind of confused. I have been having really weird sleep patterns lately.. not falling asleep till like 3am, waking up at 1pm.. what can I say, I am a college student at home working only oncea week (screw retail..). I wake up and eat usually kashi cereal, sometimes tuna on 1/2 of those deli thin rolls, whatever it is its high in protein and fiber usually w/ whole grain. Then I work out either biking or running and burn about 100-200cals. Then I'll eat dinner (usually whatever my parents make.. salad.. grilled chicken and veggies... etc) then late night I have a frozen 100 cal yoplait yogurt as a midnight snack or tea. The thing is.. when I add up my calories... they add up to like 700! And technically thats starvation.. but Im really not hungry and am afraid to eat more... I really dont want to gain any more weight. What is everyones opinion on starvation mode? Sorry for such a long post... I'm new and confused ahaha

kimberly428

Well, sounds like you know what you need to do. Why not add something higher in cals in there? Maybe throw some granola into the yogurt or (more like an and) double up on the cereal.

sjsd

The main thing you want to do is keep your metabolism running regularly. That means that you should be eating every three to four hours. Eat small healthy meals. Cut out the complex carbs. Eat brown rice, oatmeal, potato as your carbs. No bread, crackers or anything like that.

If your metabolism burns at a regular rate, you won't go into starvation mode. If you find that you are at a plateau, you can try to eat a few more calories one day and lessen the number the next. That normally shakes up your body.

It may also be that your body will be at a standstill for a few days, or even weeks. Don't stray. Keep on your plan and don't cheat. If you cheat, then you can't tell where you went wrong.

4lafz

Pretty much every article I see on it says that your body needs at least 1200 calories a day - for FUEL. If there is no FUEL - metabolism slows (like a car won't go without fuel) and you will not lose because everything you put into your body it holds onto because it does not know when it will get it's next fuel. It saves it because it knows it will need the energy soon!

I think you need to up some good, healthy calories to achieve 1200. I do not eat all my exercise calories but I usually achieve at least 1200-1400. A day or two perhaps 1100.

AnneElise

you need energy in order to live in a healthy way... if you don't feed yourself enough food you don't give yourself the energy to live on. Eating that low in calories is a problem. Define anorexia...... basically people who don't eat enough. maybe see a doctor who can tell you exactly what you need.

suchgreatheights91

oh i just made my food diary public so you guys can see what i've been eating. although.. ive only been on this site for like 2 days so theres only 2 entries... you can still see that I am eating just not enough cals apparently

AnneElise

you need energy in order to live in a healthy way... if you don't feed yourself enough food you don't give yourself the energy to live on. Eating that low in calories is a problem. Define anorexia...... basically people who don't eat enough. maybe see a doctor who can tell you exactly what you need.

re-read it and it sounded harsh. I didn't mean it that way but I don't want to sugarcoat it either. My sister had an eating disorder for 7 years and I know how hard it can be on someones body.

tinasullens

You are definitely putting your body into starvation mode. The late night eating isn't helping either. You should try to stop eating 2-3 hours before you go to bed at night and ALWAYS eat breakfast within an hour of waking up. Breakfast is what gets your metabolism going for the day. Our bodies need fuel every 2 to 3 hours to keep our metabolism going. Eat small meals every 2 to 3 hours. If you wait till your hungry or your stomach starts growling, you've waited too long.

Eat whole grains, lean proteins, fruits & veggies, and drink plenty of water!
Aim for about 350 calories for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then 100-200 calorie snacks in between.

Just a little blurb I found about sleep patterns on weight loss. It seems that sleeping too much can have the same affect on our weight loss (or lack thereof) as not sleeping enough. "Participants who initially reported sleeping five to six hours nightly were about 35 percent more likely to gain 11 pounds and and nearly 30 percent more likely to pack on enough weight to be deemed obese over the years than those who reported getting seven to eight hours of shuteye each night. Participants getting nine to 10 hours of sleep were 25 percent more likely to gain 11 pounds and more than 20 percent more likely to become obese than the ideal sleepers."

There's not much indication as to why this happens (medically), it's just been proven as the case with both. So set your alarm clock to wake up after 8 hrs. of sleep.

Probably more info than you wanted, but hope some of it helps!
Tina

amysj303

Read this by Jillian Michaels:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness-specialist/fixing-ruined-metabolism.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthHealthyLiving_20100801
she recommends "resetting your metabolism" as she explains "First, set your daily caloric intake at 12 calories per pound of body weight. (For example, my weight is 117; 117 x 12 = 1,404 calories a day.) Then stick like glue to that calorie allowance for at least one to two months, depending on your metabolism. This will allow your body time to readjust your metabolic set point accordingly.

Also, if you don't have much weight to lose, or are close to your ideal weight, your body may maintain that. I thought this article was interesting:
http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100260012

search "starvation mode" here, there are some good explanations if you want a better understanding of it, basically, your body will adjust to maintain no matter how little you eat if you have done crash diets or eat so far below your daily caloric needs.

IsMollyReallyHungry

Whatever you do to add calories, try to make them healthy calories and do it slowly, a week at a time.

IsMollyReallyHungry

Read this by Jillian Michaels:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness-specialist/fixing-ruined-metabolism.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthHealthyLiving_20100801
she recommends "resetting your metabolism" as she explains "First, set your daily caloric intake at 12 calories per pound of body weight. (For example, my weight is 117; 117 x 12 = 1,404 calories a day.) Then stick like glue to that calorie allowance for at least one to two months, depending on your metabolism. This will allow your body time to readjust your metabolic set point accordingly.

Also, if you don't have much weight to lose, or are close to your ideal weight, your body may maintain that. I thought this article was interesting:
http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100260012

search "starvation mode" here, there are some good explanations if you want a better understanding of it, basically, your body will adjust to maintain no matter how little you eat if you have done crash diets or eat so far below your daily caloric needs.

This is interesting and if I hit a pleautue I may try it because this formula for me would have me eating over 4400 calories a day which I am not going to even try to do at this point. 367 x 112 = 4404. This may be good for someone smaller or closer to their goal weight than me. I did not read the link so not sure if more was added this forumla.

IsMollyReallyHungry

You are definitely putting your body into starvation mode. The late night eating isn't helping either. You should try to stop eating 2-3 hours before you go to bed at night and ALWAYS eat breakfast within an hour of waking up. Breakfast is what gets your metabolism going for the day. Our bodies need fuel every 2 to 3 hours to keep our metabolism going. Eat small meals every 2 to 3 hours. If you wait till your hungry or your stomach starts growling, you've waited too long.

Eat whole grains, lean proteins, fruits & veggies, and drink plenty of water!
Aim for about 350 calories for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then 100-200 calorie snacks in between.

Just a little blurb I found about sleep patterns on weight loss. It seems that sleeping too much can have the same affect on our weight loss (or lack thereof) as not sleeping enough. "Participants who initially reported sleeping five to six hours nightly were about 35 percent more likely to gain 11 pounds and and nearly 30 percent more likely to pack on enough weight to be deemed obese over the years than those who reported getting seven to eight hours of shuteye each night. Participants getting nine to 10 hours of sleep were 25 percent more likely to gain 11 pounds and more than 20 percent more likely to become obese than the ideal sleepers."

There's not much indication as to why this happens (medically), it's just been proven as the case with both. So set your alarm clock to wake up after 8 hrs. of sleep.

Probably more info than you wanted, but hope some of it helps!
Tina

Thanks Tina!

LadyRG

Thanks for taking the time to post, I certainly got a lot out of it.

stroutman81

The late night eating isn't helping either. You should try to stop eating 2-3 hours before you go to bed at night

Why do you make this recommendation?

and ALWAYS eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.

And this one?

Breakfast is what gets your metabolism going for the day. Our bodies need fuel every 2 to 3 hours to keep our metabolism going. Eat small meals every 2 to 3 hours. If you wait till your hungry or your stomach starts growling, you've waited too long.

Metabolism isn't as volatile as you're making it out to be. None of the research suggests that it is, nor any of the anecdote that I've witnessed. The greatest experiment done on metabolism was the Minnesota Starvation Experiment whey they literally cut calories in half over huge periods of time in already skinny men and make them exercise. It was to mimic concentration camps.

Even there, you didn't see significant reductions in metabolic rate until significant amounts of weight were lost, and that's to be expected in that case as smaller bodies need less calories.

Here's a recent article I wrote in my MFP blog regarding meal frequency:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stroutman81/view/meal-frequency-28437

If you take the time to read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

amysj303

I read it, that's very interesting and I think I can accept the science. Maybe metabolism doesn't speed up or slowdown as much as we think, or maybe we use the term inappropriately. It is certainly possible that blood sugar levels effect hunger and craving and so maintaining blood sugar levels would help some people make better choices overall and in general, eat fewer calories, but it makes sense not to be too strict.
Simple is easier to follow and easier to stick with!

Ge0rgiana

I read it, that's very interesting and I think I can accept the science. Maybe metabolism doesn't speed up or slowdown as much as we think, or maybe we use the term inappropriately. It is certainly possible that blood sugar levels effect hunger and craving and so maintaining blood sugar levels would help some people make better choices overall and in general, eat fewer calories, but it makes sense not to be too strict.
Simple is easier to follow and easier to stick with!

I wake up at 6AM, and I generally eat breakfast when I get to work at 7:30. I try to eat a decent amount of breakfast with at least 20g of protein. It has nothing to do with my metabolism. It just seems to set my blood sugar up for a good day (hypoglycemia). I generally don't eat after 6PM. I've just had all my calories for the day by then, and I feel no need to snack after that time. Something must be working. Even though I haven't weighed in a long time, my clothes are seriously baggy on me. I think maintaining your blood sugar is probably the most important factor for weight loss, because when you control your appetite you control what and how much you eat far better.

With that said, I'll also add that I eat 5x a day, 3 meals and 2 snacks. To the OP, I would say that snacking more will go a long way toward eating more calories without messing yourself up. Have some peanut butter or milk or something during the day. But do eat a little more.