starvation mode

lukimakamai

So I looked at your food diary. By no means am I an expert but you need to eat more. Coffee does not count as breakfast! Add an english muffin with peanut butter/nutella/egg and cheese and some kind of fruit. You should be eating more for lunch and dinner also. You know, actual food- sandwiches, fruit, veggies, meat, if you don't cook there are low calorie frozen meals just be aware of the sodium content. Also, there is no reason why your caloric goal for the day should be 700 calories! You really need to eat more. Starvation mode aside your body needs the vitamins and mineral in foods. Good luck!

hedleyrocks247

While i appricate all the things that have been said, iv lost just under two stone doing it this way?

Sure it will work for awhile, but eventually your body will revolt and hang on to everything it can. Another question is, can you keep eating like that for the rest of your life??

What's great about MFP is it shows us that we can still eat and lose weight (as long as the site is used the right way). Our society/culture has drilled it in our heads that we need to starve ourselves to achieve our weightloss goals but this simply isn't true. You should always eat at least what your BMR is - the only people that are able to go under their BMR somewhat are people that have a substantial amount to lose.

I've put my body into starvation response 2 times in my life, and it takes a long time to recover from that. Starving myself worked for awhile, but then it got to the point where it seemed like just looking at food made me put on weight, and believe me, looking back now I can see that it wasn't worth it. Each time put me further and further from my goal, it's a vicious cycle.

Be healthy, trust MFP, take advice, do some research to educate yourself on proper nutrition, go to a dietician for help if your scared that you can't control yourself around food - but please do this the right way, you deserve it.

lodro

survival mode aka starvation mode is easy to know when it has kicked in because you will simply stay static meaning no weight loss, this is usually common in those whom overtrain or undereat, both can cause it to occur you see it every day on here and they call it a plateau. If you are still losing then chances are that you have not hit that point yet.

I hate to say this yet again, but starvation mode does not equal plateauing. That being said: an intake of below 500 will get you below 6% body fat, and then your body will use muscle mass and the tissue of internal organs for fuel. And remember, OP, your heart is a muscle too. And while it is protected longest, because our bodies work that way, it won't be protected forever if you eat this little for a long time. So you're probably fine now, and you will continue losing weight if you keep this up, but you're putting yourself in risk of seriously harming yourself if you continue. Up to the point of early death. "Good luck".

sinclare

wow this thread is intense. I am not going to lecture you, rather, I am going to friend you. I think you need support and friends and you will figure it out.

livymom09

Interesting Reading....

absolament

A healthy body begins with proper nutrition.

katslosingit

GO figure. Everyone I know that had their GB removed has the same issues I do, some have even worse issues with bile duct spasms. Not fun to see my fiance writhing on the floor in pain while his bile duct does a dance for no apparent reason, sometimes lasting several hours. It sucks.

What state do you live in? LOL Next time I hear of someone needing their's out, I'll send them your way

My mom and sister have both had their gallbladders removed and neither have had these issues.

amandarae123

So I was looking at your food diary, and you had yogurt.....not vegan. So many good vegan options out there to get your calories up, but if you're not really a vegan, and that's ok, then don't say you are and keep out some great foods for the sake of a "vegan" title.

foodforfuel

So I was looking at your food diary, and you had yogurt.....not vegan. So many good vegan options out there to get your calories up, but if you're not really a vegan, and that's ok, then don't say you are and keep out some great foods for the sake of a "vegan" title.

After six pages I glad someone else noticed this! Also lists eggs, yogurt, and chicken stock in her diary. It might be the skeptic in me, but this along with other things just arn't adding up. The diary shows logging for only 17 days out of 30.......hmmm.......wonder what was eaten on those other days? Ticker listed in pounds but talks in stones? What really did it for me though, was the Kroger birthday cake in the diary. I may be totally wrong here, but do they have Kroger's in the UK? I think the OP may have some other issues going on. But again, I might be wrong.

katberz

So, back to the OP: Yes, you will lose "weight" while restricting your diet so severely. You'll also lose muscle, organ function, brain function, hair... your nails will stop growing and you'll grow a fine fur called "lanugo" all over your body because you no longer have fat to keep you warm.

I just wanted to say that I've experienced this. I crash dieted on less than 1000 calories and minimum 2 hours' exercise a day for months, lost a lot of weight very fast but also had my hair coming out in handfuls, lanugo so noticeable I had to shave my face(!!), dizziness, fainting spells, stopped periods, etc. I wasn't underweight by any means, still had a good 40 lbs or so to lose when I ate normally again, but clearly it wasn't healthy. And yes, I did pile it back on once I ended that punishing regime.

To be honest this whole thread seems like a wind-up because a lot of things don't add up, but I thought I'd add my 2p in case someone actually is eating like the OP and turns to these posts for guidance.

simplepuremaddness

So I was looking at your food diary, and you had yogurt.....not vegan. So many good vegan options out there to get your calories up, but if you're not really a vegan, and that's ok, then don't say you are and keep out some great foods for the sake of a "vegan" title.

After six pages I glad someone else noticed this! Also lists eggs, yogurt, and chicken stock in her diary. It might be the skeptic in me, but this along with other things just arn't adding up. The diary shows logging for only 17 days out of 30.......hmmm.......wonder what was eaten on those other days? Ticker listed in pounds but talks in stones? What really did it for me though, was the Kroger birthday cake in the diary. I may be totally wrong here, but do they have Kroger's in the UK? I think the OP may have some other issues going on. But again, I might be wrong.

i never said i was a strict vegan i suppose i should of said i try to follow a vegan diet as much as possible. Its just easier to call myself that because 9/10 i dont eat animal produce. and i never once had chicken stock. Not that i have to explain my diary to people. I have a busy life and often cant get to the computor which is something iv tried to make time for recently. + i didnt know wot a kroger was and it was the closest thing i had on that day. Be skeptic all you like. Im sad that you think its a wind up. but oh well last you'll hear off me about this subject now. Im tired of being lectured on this.

CeleryStalker

GO figure. Everyone I know that had their GB removed has the same issues I do, some have even worse issues with bile duct spasms. Not fun to see my fiance writhing on the floor in pain while his bile duct does a dance for no apparent reason, sometimes lasting several hours. It sucks.

What state do you live in? LOL Next time I hear of someone needing their's out, I'll send them your way

My mom and sister have both had their gallbladders removed and neither have had these issues.

What is it with people constantly having to confirm they know people who didnt have the issues with this surgery that I and others i know have? It's not like I told her, hey girl, go get your gall bladder removed! It's all the rage in weight loss miracles these days!

LMAO

I'm happy for all of you who know people who got through this surgery unscathed. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of those people.

katslosingit

GO figure. Everyone I know that had their GB removed has the same issues I do, some have even worse issues with bile duct spasms. Not fun to see my fiance writhing on the floor in pain while his bile duct does a dance for no apparent reason, sometimes lasting several hours. It sucks.

What state do you live in? LOL Next time I hear of someone needing their's out, I'll send them your way

My mom and sister have both had their gallbladders removed and neither have had these issues.

What is it with people constantly having to confirm they know people who didnt have the issues with this surgery that I and others i know have? It's not like I told her, hey girl, go get your gall bladder removed! It's all the rage in weight loss miracles these days!

LMAO

I'm happy for all of you who know people who got through this surgery unscathed. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of those people.

Why? Because you posted (below) in response/confirmation to someone else implying that losing their gallbladder was basically catastrophic.

GO figure. Everyone I know that had their GB removed has the same issues I do, some have even worse issues with bile duct spasms. Not fun to see my fiance writhing on the floor in pain while his bile duct does a dance for no apparent reason, sometimes lasting several hours. It sucks.

What state do you live in? LOL Next time I hear of someone needing their's out, I'll send them your way

But it is not that big of a deal for a lot of people, but the tone of your post above made it seem that was the way for most people. So myself and others are clarifying that it is not true for everyone. Even with your "smiley face" (as you pointed out in another response) a tone of sarcasm/disdain is detected whether you intended it or not.

iwillbeoneday

bump

Ameliadeitz

I have to agree with others and say it seemed you were fighting a bit on the subject. I can understand where you think that 500 calories a day is doing good for yourself, because when you really want to lose weight, it would seem the logical thing to do is way as few calories as possible. When I was younger I thought the same, but I didn't even lose any visible weight; like everyone had already said, the weight you lost could be important weight, not just fat.

Also, being a vegan, I will add that it's still very easy to reach the 1200 day minimum (even to go over it!) Even if you're on a raw diet, it's recommended to have a 1200 daily minimum. Also, if you're serious about being vegan, you need to make sure you're getting the right nutrients, such as iron, protein and calcium, obviously not from animal sources. This means eggs, milk, animal stocks, and you need to check everything for the milk protein whey (it's in a lot more than you'd think!) Your surprise at peanut butter being vegan concerns me, as pb is usually a vegan's best friend... There are plenty of great websites that talk about good places to get your nutrients from that are vegan, and things that "happen" to be vegan that I'd highly suggest if you're looking into veganism.

So bump up your calories, exercise, and enjoy food again; I promise you'll get better results with it!

chloeR316

I know exactly what you're going through I was eating 500 a day and lost 3 stone and it was upsetting everyone around me but i was too scared to up my calorie intake because of what everyone on here says about starvation mode but i found this restriction rescue thingy which helps you up your calories without gaining weight (well not as much as everyone says so) i've uped mine by 250 and trying to get my calorie intake up to at least 1,000 calories.Just try it.
Good luck ox
http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/RestrictingRescue