starvation mode

Tywana

What bothers me is that when I exercise it gives me much more cals to consume, in which I am not hungry enough to eat this much. The healthy foods I eat are low in calories, can someone help me? I don't want to put myself in starvation mode. I have been circling around 170 to 186 for the last year. What do I do? Do I eat more nuts?

sanura

No its not silly. It is important to feed your body enough every day and if you have spare calories (if you are under 1200 food calories) and want chocolate then go for it.

I agree!

dababers

Might have done better to eat an apple or a bowl of special K. The problems with indulging in sugar, is once the body has it (especially after long periods without it), there's an increased desire for it in the body and the mind. It's like the experts say, even consuming "sugar-free" sweets makes the body expect the sugar high and calorie load, even if it's not there. It's like a domino effect. Good luck with your program.

jrt9999

What bothers me is that when I exercise it gives me much more cals to consume, in which I am not hungry enough to eat this much. The healthy foods I eat are low in calories, can someone help me? I don't want to put myself in starvation mode. I have been circling around 170 to 186 for the last year. What do I do? Do I eat more nuts?

When I have a couple of hundred calories left at the end of the day do to exercise I eat a serving or wheat thins with laughing cow cheese, and sliced raw almonds sprinkled on top. An awesome three hundred calorie snack and definitely adds in the fat calories I am short on because of all the fruits and veggies throughout the day.

beth40n2

I think a little chocolate or there candy each day keeps the cravings away. I like Hershy's kisses or Milk Duds. Just suck 2 or 3 of them and make them last as long as you can......yummm.

GiGi76

For those of you questioning the area of study...Read this blog please...It has every study from Ansel Key's University of Minnesota Study to Dulloo, Jaquet 1998. American journal of clinical nutrition...to Doucet, et al 2001. British journal of nutrition.

http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2007/11/is_starvation_mode_a_myth_no_i.php

It is better to be armed with knowledge.

Thanks you so much for sharing this link!!! People drive me crazy not eating enough!!! People dont seem to understand that sometimes the harm you are doing to your body doesnt show up until years down the road and by then the damage is already done and you cant do anything about it!!! When you dont eat enough you put all kind of EXTRA stress on your body organs and it WILL catch up with you!!!

Talazws

Oh wow, I just did basically the same thing! I am finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, especially on a vegan diet. I am worried about starvation mode as well, but I wish I had read this before I ate two pieces of dark chocolate...especially since I am now over my sugar limit for the day! It would be really hard to eat enough vegetables to cover the 300 calories I am lacking, though.

muth3rluvx2

Oh wow, I just did basically the same thing! I am finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, especially on a vegan diet. I am worried about starvation mode as well, but I wish I had read this before I ate two pieces of dark chocolate...especially since I am now over my sugar limit for the day! It would be really hard to eat enough vegetables to cover the 300 calories I am lacking, though.

Dark chocolate is actually good for you. it's milk chocolate that you kind of want to try to avoid. There's a number of health benefits to dark chocolate including being an antioxident. It also has iron, calcium & protein (more than you might think!) and some others. Tons of research has been done. Considering almost all foods have *some* sort of sugar value to them, I actually don't worry about that nearly as much as the benefits. Besides, I'd much rather deal in sugar than sweeteners. I mean really - what's better a piece of chocolate or a diet soda? The soda might have 0 cals but guess what? It has 0 everything except carcinogens. Don't get me wrong.. I drink soda and sometimes even diet - this isn't to bash it but to state the reality of if you're going to make smart choices, really do some comparing as to what your choices are.

I'm also in the camp of not believing in starvation mode in the sense of how it's panickingly referred to here. I'm not denying the existence but that 1200 is not a magic number of do or die. *shrugs* But that's another debate altogether and there are very very heated debates about it and "evidence" can be found to suit either side of the argument. Not one I'm really interested in getting in again - seems pointless, really (the debates - no one is going to change anyone's minds so...why bother?). What I say is do your own research and make up your own mind and listen to your own body and do what you truly think is right for your nutritional and optimal health needs.

Nailrep

From my understanding, the REAL reason 1200 calories is recommended is because it can be difficult to get enough nutrients with less calories. That being said, I don't think chocolate has much nutritional value.
Do WHATEVER makes you feel comfortable.
I consume on average 900 calories per day. That is what I am comfortable with. If it worries you to dip below 1200 than don't. It doesn't matter what other's think.

"LIKE LIKE LIKE!!!

spaboleo

Starvation mode is real...and you tend to gain weight.

This is exactly the amount of weight I am now trying to lose :sad: :sad:


But you won't get into starvation mode if you tend to deceed your caloric limitations on occasion!
You will get into starvation mode if you really hunger (und purpose or even unknowingly!).

For me it was unknowingly, because I cut back on food really too hard. Combined with working out too much (cycling, weight training, cardio-exercises, ...) and doint intermittent fasting (for me 2-3 days Eat-Stop-Eat each week) I was actively starving my body.
I really ate too little. Always wondered why everybody around myself seemed to be eating twice to thrice as much as me, but I was the only one struggling with my weight.

Every now and then I got a snack attack (really hard). What I know now this was a reaction from my body. A warning signal more precisely.
This obsessive eating every two weeks really let my weight explode...


I've done some calculations with the help of MFP. I regularly deceeded the 700kcal a day if I average my weeks intake!!! I was already on a diet and fasted two or three days a week. This led to the harmfully 700kcal. :frown:

This had bad influence on every part of my life.
I wasn't fit enough...always tired and dizzy. Every meal set me into a comatose state (food coma) and I barely slept well. If
I worked out most of the energy for the day was consumed.

Don't starve yourself!
And watch you calories with MFP
Try to log everything, including every exercise and try to hit you caloric goal. It is no problem if you deceed or exceed it on occasion...as long as you don't hunger

Thanks