I really need your help guys

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golargbgbg1
golargbgbg1 Posts: 9
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So I started my weight lose journey 2 months ago , I was stupid with eating only 700-900 calories per day then I've had a cheat day every week but never up 3000cal and at the next 2 days of my cheat i ate about 500 or less , I've lost alot i guess around 8 or 9 kg, did I put my body under starvation ?... so then I realised that was wrong and now I've read all these articles on the internet talking about " Starvation mode " I'm so afraid that i'll have to gain all my weight back so I started yesterday eating 1200 and I will keep it that way to the rest of the week + cheat day tomorrow am I on the right track and what I have to do to recover ? please help me guys
"sorry English is not my first language "

Replies

  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    Starvation mode is a poorly understood concept. You know when you're in starvation mode when you have VERY low body fat percentage and you basically look like a bag of bones. If you're at a healthy weight, or overweight, you're not in starvation mode. You're just not. Because of the whole "not starving" thing.
  • golargbgbg1
    golargbgbg1 Posts: 9
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    Starvation mode is a poorly understood concept. You know when you're in starvation mode when you have VERY low body fat percentage and you basically look like a bag of bones. If you're at a healthy weight, or overweight, you're not in starvation mode. You're just not. Because of the whole "not starving" thing.

    Thank you ! my BMI is 19.7% its normal thank god , but they said if you lost it fast you'll gain it fast and even more so I'm scared , is there any advice to get my body used to eat normally again ? about 1700
  • Pixt
    Pixt Posts: 95 Member
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    You know when you're in starvation mode when you have VERY low body fat percentage and you basically look like a bag of bones. If you're at a healthy weight, or overweight, you're not in starvation mode. You're just not. Because of the whole "not starving" thing.
    That may be true for you. It is not true for me.
  • golargbgbg1
    golargbgbg1 Posts: 9
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    You know when you're in starvation mode when you have VERY low body fat percentage and you basically look like a bag of bones. If you're at a healthy weight, or overweight, you're not in starvation mode. You're just not. Because of the whole "not starving" thing.
    That may be true for you. It is not true for me.

    any advice ?
  • Pixt
    Pixt Posts: 95 Member
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    You know when you're in starvation mode when you have VERY low body fat percentage and you basically look like a bag of bones. If you're at a healthy weight, or overweight, you're not in starvation mode. You're just not. Because of the whole "not starving" thing.
    That may be true for you. It is not true for me.

    any advice ?

    I added calories when the 1200 MFP told me to eat wasn't working, and then I saw the scale numbers start dropping. Other than that, I found that adding whey protein to my morning coffee helped me start hitting a more reasonable protein intake :)
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
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    We would need more information. All we know is that you are young (19), have a BMI of 20% and you are eating 1200 calories/day.

    Without knowing more, I'd say you are not eating enough and may be underweight. At best, you are in the correct weight range.

    Go to this site: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
    - fill in your information
    - scroll down the page and read the number of calories calculated for "Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE)". This will be a good estimate of what you should be eating.

    If you are underweight, you will gain a few pounds but these are pounds you need to be healthy. Once your weight has stabilized, you will stay at that healthy weight.
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
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    No, you probably didn't put your body in starvation, but you probably damaged your metabolism a little.
    500-900 calories is too low. In fact, 1200 calories is probably too low. Eat a decent amount of calories, and then you won't need cheat days, and you won't need to punish yourself after the cheat days by dropping you calories further. What is the point of having a cheat day if you are just going to restrict yourself even more afterwards anyway?
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,676 Member
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    A young active person needs to eat. So I think you are wise because you want to eat more now. I'm 45 yo and 5'7" and still eat 2300cals or more and maintain my weight. So if you want to eat more, start increasing your calorie intake slowly. Do you lift? Weight training will increase your muscle mass, and will increase your metabolism.

    I don't like using a scale as a main progress indicator....it's too subject to things like water gain, amount of food in the gut, and even inflammation. I prefer to know my body composition, use a mirror, and the way my clothes fit. I also use my energy levels and strength in the gym as indicators of progress.
  • MrsJS5
    MrsJS5 Posts: 41 Member
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    Don't worry about starvation mode - all of those studies were done over long periods of time (over a year) on extreme diets and the Biosphere 2 extreme diet only slowed the subjects BMR by 65 kcal which is half an apple's worth of calories. And of course the subjects' BMR went back to normal once they started eating normally again. Your body fat % would have to drop to around 7% for women before your body really starts to shut down. (I am a human physiology and anatomy teacher so I geek out on all the quantitative data :smile: .)

    Just increase your calories until you are still losing but at a moderate rate and make sure you are eating lots of fruits and veggies with whole grain carbs and lean protein. If you are suffering, your weight loss is not sustainable. There are lots of people on 1200 - 1500 calorie diets and they can share meal ideas. Just google "1200 calorie diet My Fitness Pal" and you should get lots of ideas.

    The calorie counter on MFP is pretty funny. If you are below calories it gives you all these warnings and if you are over even one calorie, your whole day turns from green to red. It visually punishes you either way.
  • golargbgbg1
    golargbgbg1 Posts: 9
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    We would need more information. All we know is that you are young (19), have a BMI of 20% and you are eating 1200 calories/day.

    Without knowing more, I'd say you are not eating enough and may be underweight. At best, you are in the correct weight range.

    Go to this site: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
    - fill in your information
    - scroll down the page and read the number of calories calculated for "Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE)". This will be a good estimate of what you should be eating.

    If you are underweight, you will gain a few pounds but these are pounds you need to be healthy. Once your weight has stabilized, you will stay at that healthy weight.

    Ok my height 167cm and I weight 58 -57 I don't do exercise these days because of my exams and I'm far from home I'll back after 2 week and start to walk 1 hour 6 time a week like i started before
    I'm not saying I'll eat 1200 from now on no I meant that I started with 1200 and I'm planing to increase it up to 1700 but I'm afraid to do it right away so my body can not understand what happening , so what should I do to increase it in safety way without gaining too much ,, and Thank you for your advice dear I appreciate it so much
  • golargbgbg1
    golargbgbg1 Posts: 9
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    No, you probably didn't put your body in starvation, but you probably damaged your metabolism a little.
    500-900 calories is too low. In fact, 1200 calories is probably too low. Eat a decent amount of calories, and then you won't need cheat days, and you won't need to punish yourself after the cheat days by dropping you calories further. What is the point of having a cheat day if you are just going to restrict yourself even more afterwards anyway?

    first of all thank you so much ur comment is such a relief
    I really hope I didn't , I know I was stupid but I learn more and i'm not planing to go back to this again
    I'm not saying I'll eat 1200 from now on no I meant that I started with 1200 and I'm planing to increase it up to 1700 but I'm afraid to do it right away so my body can not understand what happening , so what should I do to increase it in safety way without gaining too much
  • golargbgbg1
    golargbgbg1 Posts: 9
    Options
    A young active person needs to eat. So I think you are wise because you want to eat more now. I'm 45 yo and 5'7" and still eat 2300cals or more and maintain my weight. So if you want to eat more, start increasing your calorie intake slowly. Do you lift? Weight training will increase your muscle mass, and will increase your metabolism.

    I don't like using a scale as a main progress indicator....it's too subject to things like water gain, amount of food in the gut, and even inflammation. I prefer to know my body composition, use a mirror, and the way my clothes fit. I also use my energy levels and strength in the gym as indicators of progress.

    no I'm not training I can't do that for the next 2 weeks but I'll start in holiday I promise , Thank you dear , I appreciate ur help I'll increase more 200 calorie next week I guess so I can reach 1400 and then add 200 the next one till I reach my gaol I hope it will work , or am I going too fast ?
  • golargbgbg1
    golargbgbg1 Posts: 9
    Options
    Don't worry about starvation mode - all of those studies were done over long periods of time (over a year) on extreme diets and the Biosphere 2 extreme diet only slowed the subjects BMR by 65 kcal which is half an apple's worth of calories. And of course the subjects' BMR went back to normal once they started eating normally again. Your body fat % would have to drop to around 7% for women before your body really starts to shut down. (I am a human physiology and anatomy teacher so I geek out on all the quantitative data :smile: .)

    Just increase your calories until you are still losing but at a moderate rate and make sure you are eating lots of fruits and veggies with whole grain carbs and lean protein. If you are suffering, your weight loss is not sustainable. There are lots of people on 1200 - 1500 calorie diets and they can share meal ideas. Just google "1200 calorie diet My Fitness Pal" and you should get lots of ideas.

    The calorie counter on MFP is pretty funny. If you are below calories it gives you all these warnings and if you are over even one calorie, your whole day turns from green to red. It visually punishes you either way.

    Can I say you just made my day ! Thank you soo much Thats such a relief , I was completely mess this morning and I started to cry and looking in the mirror , I was afraid to gain all the weight I've lost , But I'm much better and I will be positive and move on learning from my mistakes , Thank you dear <3

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