STARVATION MODE???

iverayna

THIS SUCKS!! I have to up my calorie intake from 1200 to 1700 because im working out so much. WHAT!! Seriously THAT MUCH?? I am very determined to do this and FINALLY put myself FIRST for once in 17 years which is SO SO hard for me to do without feeling like I am taking something away from my family. I need to find myself again. Its my time to be taken care of by me, right..
SO..............
I am just above 200 lbs and I eat right about 1200 cals a day sometimes a bit less sometimes a bit more ( i know less is bad) I eat all healthy stuff and I dont drink any sugary drinks or eat of drink other crap. I eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day. I have an Elliptical, Treadmill, Recumbent bike, Ab lounge, Weights, Wii with several workout games and some other workout stuff and I use them but not on the same days. I mix it up. My friend and I go walking about 3 times a week (5-8 miles) and sometimes i will add the elliptical or the bike to that. I generally workout 6 times a week. In a every day workout I burn at least 1000+.
Now I understand calories in calories out. Also that your body can go into starvation mode but what do i have to do to lose this weight.. I dont want to get frusterated and cheat on my new lifestyle but I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT.. Its why im doing this, so im not miserable anymore. But i dont know what to do now, Im at a loss. I am not one to ask for help EVER, but I am now.. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG AND WHAT DO I DO TO CHANGE THIS AND START LOSING THE WEIGHT I WORK SO HARD FOR???? Im so afraid of eating 1700 cals.. And i dont want to slow my workouts down cuz i can feel myself getting stronger. But where is my payment for all my hard work.. And how can the people on biggest loser eat 1400 cals and workout for 7 hours a day and still lose 15 pounds if this "starvation" thing is true. HELP!!!

bikerbiz

Best explanation I've seen on here...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

ilovesporks5826

I asked my trainer because I had the exact same question/issue. She suggest that you zig-zag between eating those calories and leaving a deficit. If you continually stay below your calorie "balance" your body will go into starvation. But if every other day or two you go back and forth, your body wont register that they need to conserve since it is used to getting the calories it needs. It is crazy and complicated but it makes a bit of sense.

I hope it helps.

ladyhawk00

If you can't eat that much, DON'T exercise so much. Really, from what you've described, what you're doing is probably overkill. And actually detrimental if you aren't able to fuel the body enough.

My best advice - READ these threads (and the one posted above). Explains it all!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

aisatsanaw

maybe upping your protein and watching your carbs... thats what I try to do. I try to eat first thing in the morning to get my metabo going. I'm doing little to no exercise and am losing weight almost daily. But that was the first 15 lbs.. we'll see how it goes from there. Another secret I heard from my daughter in law was not to eat anything that had more than 2gram of sugar per serving. I don't always stick to it but try to. There's a big difference in the sugar content in prepared foods, 'specially diet foods.. good luck friend.

Also, I've been sick, broncitis/cold/flu for the last week which has made me really miserable but great for my weight lost..

hpsnickers1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

Pinkranger626

Hi,
Honestly 1200 calories isn't enough for the amount of exercise you're doing. you need to eat more. Not more junk, more good food that you already eat. If you don't increase your food intake you will slow your metabolism down. Think of it like a fire, if you add junk like wet wood or leaves the fire smolders and slows down, if you don't add enough wood the fire dies, but when you add more good wood to it the fire will get bigger and burn hotter. Don't be afraid to eat more, its what your body is telling you to do. I hope this helps you feel a little better about increasing your calorie intake to a reasonable level. 1700 calories sounds about right for your activity level and your height and weight. if you don't believe me or MFP you can do the math out yourself and see how you feel about it. here's the equation:

BMR= basal metabolic rate ( this is the minimum amount of calories you need to consume in a day to function normally)

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

After you figure that out then do this equation to figure out how many more calories you need to support your activity level

Harris Benedict equation:

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9


In order to lose weight, take that number and subtract 300-500 calories from it.... and that will show you a calorie goal that will support your metabolism, your activity level, and will also help you lose weight if that's what you're after.

Hope this helps you.
Sarah

byHISstrength

You definitely need to eat more. You need those extra calories. I just recently had the same issue...I work out for an hour to an hour and half 6 days a week (doing P90X) and I was sticking to 1200 - 1400 calories a day. I recently increased my daily calorie goal and focus on eating more...it's only been a week or so and I already dropped about 1 1/2 lbs.

Remember to eat smart.

Don't get discouraged...you will lose weight.

iverayna

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much everyone. Looks like I will be doing a LOT of reading thanks to hpsnickers1 . Thats Great. Also I guess I should go change my activity level from Sendentary to what Moderatly active to very active then?? Yeah all this new stuff seems like so much to take in and learn but I know itll all be like riding a bike. Definiyly not willing to tone down the working out because it makes me feel FANSASTIC but i will definitly read up A LOT and raise my cal intake to 1600 and see what happend. After all, im in this for the long haul and id better learn all this now so itll stick forvever. I cant thank you guys enough.

honeyrabbit

I'm really glad you posted your dilemma............I was about to post exactly the same thing when I saw your post first.
I've got precisely the same situation going on!
I eat quite a lot..I certainly don't starve myself but because I eat healthily the food I eat generally doesn't contain many calories. I sometimes struggle to eat my full calorie allowance of 1340......throw exercise into the mix and obviously the amount of calories i'm supposed to eat increases.

Like you, I love to exercise because it makes me feel good so I don't want to reduce the amount of exercise I do. On an average day I do around 500-700 calories worth of exercise so I should be eating around 2000 calories!!!

I'm very wary of adding this extra amount into my diet BUT the simple equation of eat less+ do more exercise= weight loss clearly doesn't work.
I can absolutely understand your frustration, as like myself, you put in LOTS of effort and yet nothing happens.
I've been doing this level of exercise and eating around 1300 calories a day for over 6 months and i've only lost 2 pounds!!!

A nutritionist has advised me to eat as i'm eating now as my diet is healthy BUT to add in some protein shakes after each exercise session. These are very low in fat but will help to increase the calorie intake a little. It will also help to produce muscle tissue as muscles need protein to grow (he assures me this won't result in a Swarzenegger physique).
Having more muscle tone, even when just walking around burns off more calories but the body will take these calories from your fat store rather than your muscle store....which according to my nutritionist is what happens when the body is in starvation mode. The metabolism slows down and if the body needs energy, in order to protect it's fat store it takes the energy from the muscle tissues.

Hope that wasn't too confusing and it made some sort of sense!?

I'm skint at the moment but am going to invest in some protein shake powder next week..........

So, here goes nothing, i think it's at least worth a shot!

Don't be defeated, keep up the good work and am sure you AND I will see some results soon!

Michelle x

iverayna

Its so nice to know that others have these problems.. Yeah I have the Jillian Michaels Natural Whey Tripple Chocolate protein shake powder but not sure when to take it and I tried making it and I guess i didnt make it right cuz i may as well have tried to eat chalk. Chalk, NOT on my diet regime. It says to make it with water or a different beverage but which beverage is the tastiest? (other than adding it to a Tripple Grande White Chocolate Coconut Mocha Haha) So, AFTER a workout is best time for the protein shake? I have lost 10 total and 7 since really starting to do this fitnesspal thing. WHICH IS AWEOME!! But i know that something is wrong.. Doing something wrong cuz im hungry enough for tummy to growl like its tha class just before lunch.. Being able to scan the food with my phone makes it super easy... Now if losing this weight could be so easy. Sheesh

rvice2

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much everyone. Looks like I will be doing a LOT of reading thanks to hpsnickers1 . Thats Great. Also I guess I should go change my activity level from Sendentary to what Moderatly active to very active then?? Yeah all this new stuff seems like so much to take in and learn but I know itll all be like riding a bike. Definiyly not willing to tone down the working out because it makes me feel FANSASTIC but i will definitly read up A LOT and raise my cal intake to 1600 and see what happend. After all, im in this for the long haul and id better learn all this now so itll stick forvever. I cant thank you guys enough.

I may be wrong, but I believe when calculating how much your body needs, the activity level is based on your activity level of a normal day and does not include your exercise. For instance, I am a teacher and thus spend the majority of the day walking around my classroom. When I get home I run 4-9 miles and I do spinning 3 days per week. I still keep my activity level at moderately active (not 'very active') because that is my level on a normal day throughout the day. Make sense?

tatiana_13

Everyone has given you really good answers. But let me put it to you another way. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words...

I am 4 ft 11. I weigh about 115. And I eat *MORE* than 1200 calories a day. And I exercise about...20 minutes a day. I'm a fan if HIIT training and body weight training, so I pack a lot into a small time period, but still (think, I feel like I am going to die at the end of those 20 minutes). And I am losing weight.

There is no way on God's green earth that you and I have the same calorie needs.

Don't think so much about whether or not you will lose weight on so few calories. Starvation mode or not, if you stuck to it, you probably would lose weight...eventually. But probably not forever. And then, unless you developed an eating disorder, you *would* gain it all back. And that is probably not what you want. Right?

My advice? CHANGE your perspective. If you can lose weight by EATING. By learning GOOD eating habits. Habits you can SUSTAIN for the rest of your life. Why wouldn't you?