Starvation mode if under calorie count???

Dancinblind

Just curious and really can't quite figure it out..... will my body go into starvation mode if I am under my daily calorie count when i excercise? For the last couple days since I started 30DS in the evening and have been walking at lunch, I have been under my calorie count. I eat well and have a variety of fruits and veggies (though I'm usually over my protien count). I just don't want to eat this late at night but right now I logged in at 400 calories below my daily requirements with excercise. I'm just not sure....

ladyhawk00

A day or two will not cause it, no; but if it becomes a habit it can begin starvation mode reactions. Might help to read these threads:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/230930-starvation-mode-how-it-works

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/231636-the-eating-when-you-re-not-hungry-dilemma

P.S.... MFP's default protein setting is on the low end of what's recommended, so it's not a big deal to be over it, and you may even want to change your ratios to what works for you. You can go to Goals, Change Goals, Custom and adjust them there.

korgscrew

I'm under pretty much every day and don't count my exercise calories and im losing 2 pounds a week. It's more of an issue when you get quite near your goal weight but your cals will be lower anyway.

For protein I've been told that you should have a gram for every pound you weigh.

xraychick77

no such thing as starvation mode..its a myth.

SHBoss1673

read what I wrote here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/245828-starvation-mode-and-being-hungry

rocklion

A 400-calorie deficit will not put you into starvation mode on days you exercise. I hit those marks all the time and have yet to feel any kind of affects of a starvation mode. If you are hitting close to your designated calorie intake on days you aren't working out, that will help make it up.

For the most part, if you want to cut fat, most research I've done says that you can cut up to 500 calories a day within your diet and be fine. On the same token, if you want to gain muscle and mass you have to eat up to 500 calories more a day than what your normal calorie intake should be.

But that being said, the fact remains the most important thing is what you are eating and how you are eating it. If you are eating three meals a day, it's not "clean food" and its just less of the junk food you've been eating then eventually the person will begin eating more at some point because they cannot keep up with just cutting food out of their diet. I don't view this as starvation mode. I view it more as a deficit in vitamins the body needs. Example, you cut your protein in half, you do that for a sustained period of time. What happens? You get cravings for protein. Next thing you know, you head to McDonals to gorge on a Quarter Pounder. You cut down on your fats because your on a low fat diet. You decrease your sugar. Up comes snacking on a Little Debbie. Those are part of the problems I've encountered with limiting your intake too long on certain nutrients.

The big thing is to make sure you are eating clean foods that leave you fulfilled and not hungry at the end of the day. If you feel okay, then you should be okay. Make sure you eat enough protein during those workout days, and also carbs. That's not pizza and hamburgers. That's greek yogut, chicken, lean beef and nuts.

Once you hit your goal weight, you will want to change what you are doing. You'll actually need to eat more of the clean foods. You may feel like your gorging yourself all the time, but the body needs it now you're on maintenance level.

But I doubt seriously you are in starvation mode or even risking going that route.