healthier at 30 than at 20

jcl1981

So i came up with this crazy plan to be healthier at 30 than i was at 20. Seems i may have placed a very high burden on myself. I started at 243 lbs at 5'9" at 29 years of age. however after losing down to 207 i have seem to hit this crazy dead halt to weight loss. My boyfriend tells me that i look perfect how i am but i just don't feel like i am doing great. I was originally eating 1200 calories a day. I know that wasn't enough, but i had lost weight several times in the past using that calorie level. I decided this time though that i wanted to do it right. After being at 207 for three weeks even with 1200 calories and a 500 calorie a day calorie burn exercising, i figured i must be in starvation mode or something. So i upped my calories to 1550 as recommended by MFP. I am on my third day of this calorie level but i have not weighed yet. I used to weigh everyday but it was killing my self esteem to see 21 straight weigh ins with no progress. So i decided to not weigh for a week. Has anyone gone through this? Will i ever lose more? i have been down to 182lbs before but at that time i was having a huge calorie deficit and had almost no muscle. People said i looked sick, i don't want that! i want to look healthy and fit. I eat mostly lean meats or vegetarian alternatives, more than the recommended servings of vegetables, and very little fat or oils other that the amounts in low fat food. Please tell me if i am doing something wrong. Should i just stick to 1550 and keep exercising, is starvation mode real, am i in it?

JeninBelgium

starvation mode is real- you could be in it- and it may take several weeks to get yourself out of it- instead of weighing yourself every day (or even weekly ) measure yourself- if you haven't already doen s- measure yourself now (or later today) and keep track of your hips, waist, arms, thighs, neck, chest - even if the scale goes up (yes this is a possibility but take a deep breath and relax) over the next few weeks- with all of your exercising your measurements will most likely go down- albeit slowly

good luck!

elliecolorado

My goal is to be healthier when I turn 30 than I was when I turned 20 too! I personally found that eating back some of my exercise calories helped me a lot to continue losing weight consistently! I started out eating 1200 calories a day and didn't see much weight loss. I also tried eating all of my exercise calories and didn't see much weight loss. I have since found that eating back about 1/3 to 1/2 of my exercise calories works and I have been losing consistently the last 7 weeks since I started doing it that way. If you were only eating 1200 and working out, I'd suggest eating back at least some of the exercise calories. I think that everyone is different and sometimes it just takes experimenting a little to see what works for you. Good luck!

xraychick77

ugh people..when will we learn starvation mode and 1200 cal limit thing is a myth.

all our bodies are different. our metabolisms are different. what you need to go on is your BMR, not some random made up number that comes from who knows where. our bodies adapt very easily. so no matter what calorie limit you use, your body will adapt to it. what you should do is find your BMR and reduce from there try 300 or so cals a day reduction at first..after a month reduce to 500..after a few more months reduce some more. etc. keep your body guessing. Increase your workouts. remember to take breaks! as i said your body adapts. and it adapts to exercise too. meaning your body becomes more efficient at working out. take a few weeks break to let your body de-ajust.
try adding strength training to keep your muscle mass intact.


technically everyone who is going on a calorie deficit from their BMR are 'starving'. metabolism is a subjective thing, not all are the same. our genetics play a big part, our hormones play a big part. what works for some may not work for another.

jcl1981

just an update, i increased to 1600 calories, the next day i weighed 205.4, which was 2.2 lbs less, next day 207, then 206.2, then today 205.4, two days in a row is the longest i have been less than than 207 in 3 weeks so lets see if the downward slope continues or if i will just jump back up.