I'm new to this and need help

LD6686

Hi,
I am wondering if someone can help. I have trouble eating the right amount of calories. I always seem to be under, but if I go to the right amount, I'm worried it will put the other allowances out. If I don't eat the full calories, will my body go straight into starvation mode, or will I have some grace period. Also, if I eat more calories on another day, will that counter balance the under eaten days a lil bit? The other question I have is : When I start to lose weight, will I need to reduce the amount of calories I am eating to keep the weight coming off? Or will it stay the same? Hopefully, I will get fitter and be able to burn off more calories every day doing exercise.

louisee294

Hi, you sound terribly stressed. Calm down, Just try to eat the right amount of calories for a week, then once you've figured that out you can swap food around to get the other values in place, but i wouldnt worry too much about everything else, other than perhaps the fat and sat fat. for example, you might swap a snack of crisps for with 5 grams of fat and 100 cals, for a banana 0 grams of fat and 100 cals, you see?

I am always over on my sugar because i eat fruit evey day, and I am not changing that.

Like I say though, just try to get one thing right at a time, because if your calories are right then everything else should fall into place.

311Phil

yeah, try and stick as close to the calories as you can.

LD6686

Thanks, I just don't know if I am doing more harm than good by exercising and not eating the right amount of calories. The last thing I want is my body to go into starvation. I just don't feel hungry after I have eaten my 3 meals, and don't think I should be eating the calories I have left just to hit the 1200 mark....I have been doing this for 2 days (3 today) and so far I am under for the week by about 500....Should I be forcing myself to eat the 1200 to prevent starvation? I'm not sure I am asking things in the right way at all.

For instance, yesterday I ate 1043 calories, so I was 157 under my allowance. Then I exercised and added on another 163 so I then had 320 left over (coz it obviously puts my allowance up a bit). Should I be eating the full 1200 + what I burn off, or will my body not go into starvation mode if I only don't eat under 1000? I am desperate to lose weight, and don't want to end up pushing my body into starvation because I'm not eating the 1200....And then when I do lose, say 20lb, will I need to reduce my calorie intake even more to keep losing weight, or will MFP recalculate for me when I change my weight?

cerysrhi

I always try to eat my 1200 because like you I worry about going into starvation mode they say on top of that you should still eat you work out calories too I tend not to do that as I only burn a couple of hundred calories a day now if you were only eating 1000 cals and burning 600 then I would say there is a high risk of your body going into starvation mode that being said if you force yourself to eat when not hungry your are likely to be sick and then have no cals in your body so are worse off I hope this helps x

VEGPETE

Hi, you sound stressed, first. Take a breath. Good. Now take another one right down into your stomach. See. You're here and everything is fine. Now, have a look at this posting I found...I think it seems to say that you'd have to be under eating by at least 50% in order to change your metabolism.

http://caloriecount.about.com/truth-starvation-mode-ft28742

I'm not an expert and I don't know if this person is either but, it seems okay?

final thought, in my opinion getting worried or stressed is more likely to lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. I use this site as a tool not a manual. It's there to HELP YOU keep control - not to control you. Good luck.

monkeydharma

As others have mentioned, don't freak - there's a lot of play in the 'system'.

- 1200 calories is a general figure for 'starvation mode'. It can vary among individuals. If you are comfortable eating lees than that, and you are still losing weight, then it shouldn't be an issue.

- Generally speaking, it takes several days for one's body to wake up and say "hey! I'm not getting food - batten down the hatches, boys!". One or two days won't make or break the bank.

- Most of your daily weight gain/loss is going to be fluctuations in water weight (salt is a poison, and the body will retain/shed water in order to keep it at a proper dilution). If you are hitting your wieght goals over a weeks time, then you are doing OK.

- Exercise is one of the primary ways to boost your metabolism and avoiding starvation mode.

- Last, as you lose weight, YES your calorie intake also drops. It's basic science. Your basal metabolism is partially based on your weight (each pound requires so many calories to keep it maintained), so losing weight lowers the basal metabolism. Since losing weight requires that you eat less than what you burn (each pound of fat = 3600 calories), that also drops. That's one of the reasons that a 1500-calorie diet becomes less effective over time. So, either every 10 pounds (or every month) review your parameters and change if necessary.

Good luck!

LD6686

Thanks all....I know I sound stressed, I'm just a natural born worrier. And as I have never done calorie counting before, and want to lose weight fast (but healithily) I don't want to push myself into starvation without knowing it. I've made myself a sweet tea, which has pushed todays cals up to the 1102 mark, go me. And I might have a piece of fruit after dinner....after my exercise. I don't want to eat the calories I burn off during exercise, as atm it is such a small amount. When i start to burn off 400-600 cals with exercise, then I might start eating some back, but for now, I'll try to push myself to eating the full 1200 and exercise aswell

LD6686

Thanks for that thread link btw! Very helpful. I went and worked out my bmr and it says for my weight I can eat 1759 cals per day. Starvation only starts if you eat less than 50% of that allowance. So, as long as I am eating over 895 cals a day, I should be ok. I'm happy now

VEGPETE

Great! really pleased it helped. All the best with it.