Staying under calorie goal and still losing weight?

Options
drlynned
drlynned Posts: 34
in Health and Weight Loss
I have 1200 calories allotted per day.... most of the time, I stay under that. Not intentionally and not by a lot... I'm anywhere between 1100 and 1150 calories per day. Every time I "complete my entry", I get the, "you're under eating and this could cause your body to go into starvation mode". Do I need to worry about this? Anyone never meet their calorie goal and still lose weight successfully?
«13

Replies

  • nabooru1017
    nabooru1017 Posts: 10
    Options
    Starvation mode is a myth, in my opinion. If you're eating things that aren't empty calories and are under 1200, sounds like you're doing what most people can't :D Go you!
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Options
    Not enough calories CAN put your body into starvation mode. And while you'll lose weight for awhile, eventually your body will catch up and you'll stop losing. You see, our bodies NEED food in order to function properly AND feel comfortable burning the fat off. If we don't feed it enough, eventually it will freak out and think it is starving to death. When this happens, it will hold onto fat and if necessary will burn muscle as fuel instead. We want to burn fat and build muscle - NOT store fat and burn muscle. So, it is very important that you eat enough.

    Not only that but your metabolism will slow way down - not a good way to burn fat and lose weight.
  • SheilaSisco
    SheilaSisco Posts: 722 Member
    Options
    Not enough calories CAN put your body into starvation mode. And while you'll lose weight for awhile, eventually your body will catch up and you'll stop losing. You see, our bodies NEED food in order to function properly AND feel comfortable burning the fat off. If we don't feed it enough, eventually it will freak out and think it is starving to death. When this happens, it will hold onto fat and if necessary will burn muscle as fuel instead. We want to burn fat and build muscle - NOT store fat and burn muscle. So, it is very important that you eat enough.

    Not only that but your metabolism will slow way down - not a good way to burn fat and lose weight.

    What she said. I've experienced it first hand, so I KNOW it is NOT a myth. Honestly, I would set your calorie goals to 1300, that way you can eat 1200 or a little more and still not be 'over'. And you WILL still lose. NOBODY'S maintenance calories are that low, so you WILL still be at a deficit and you WILL lose weight.
  • acasey0123
    acasey0123 Posts: 640 Member
    Options
    you are also less than that amount due to exercise...your body will go into starvation mode and will start burning muscle as fuel instead of fat
  • serenityh1
    serenityh1 Posts: 1
    Options
    I too am having this problem. My goal calories are quite high based I guess on my current weight. I have yet to make that in the week I have been paying attention to what I am eating. Today, I just can not eat any more - I am full as can be. Should I eat just to get the calories even though I am full? And even though per the "formula" based on my height. weight, goals, etc I should be eating 1600 calories if I can't make that, should I just lower my goal down to 1200 but make sure I hit it daily?
  • purnurple
    purnurple Posts: 102
    Options
    why i dont believe in starvation mode. there were no fat people in auschwtiz. They all lost weight and they were eating less than 1200 calories a day. If starvation mode were true then no one would have died of malnutrition . But yet millions died.
  • rmsrws
    rmsrws Posts: 639 Member
    Options
    I too am having this problem. My goal calories are quite high based I guess on my current weight. I have yet to make that in the week I have been paying attention to what I am eating. Today, I just can not eat any more - I am full as can be. Should I eat just to get the calories even though I am full? And even though per the "formula" based on my height. weight, goals, etc I should be eating 1600 calories if I can't make that, should I just lower my goal down to 1200 but make sure I hit it daily?

    Why would you want to over eat? If you feel full and satisfied?
  • cheshirequeen
    cheshirequeen Posts: 1,324 Member
    Options
    make sure the net amount is around 1200 calories. you have to take in account of exercise as what was said. my calories, since im maintaining, is 1600. I exercise a lot so I should be eating more calories to compensate for that. I usually eat around 2000 calories if I really work out hard, if I overeat I make sure i make up for those calories by exercising more, for me personally. definitely make sure you get the net as close to 1200 as well. i had anorexia, i know about going into starvation mode.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    Options
    Starvation mode doesn't prevent death by malnutrition.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Options
    why i dont believe in starvation mode. there were no fat people in auschwtiz. They all lost weight and they were eating less than 1200 calories a day. If starvation mode were true then no one would have died of malnutrition . But yet millions died.

    Prolonged starvation mode means the body begins using itself for fuel - muscle and then organs and so on. It can only hold onto fat for so long if it isn't getting ANY food at all. It will hold onto for awhile in the hopes that the food will start coming in. However, if it doesn't -- it has no choice but to start burning other things for fuel. It usually uses muscle first and then if the food is still too low will then use the fat and so on.
  • FruitLoop05317
    FruitLoop05317 Posts: 229
    Options
    I have 1200 calories allotted per day.... most of the time, I stay under that. Not intentionally and not by a lot... I'm anywhere between 1100 and 1150 calories per day. Every time I "complete my entry", I get the, "you're under eating and this could cause your body to go into starvation mode". Do I need to worry about this? Anyone never meet their calorie goal and still lose weight successfully?

    I try and eat at least 1200 cals everyday but sometimes i dont. my daily goal is high...1950 but i very rarely eat over 1200 and i lose fairly quickly. if i do have a plateau i just try and eat a little more and change my exercise for a few day then i start goin down again.... hope that helps
  • LG2789
    LG2789 Posts: 20
    Options
    I'm tired of people, for whatever reason, battling the starvation mode concept.

    Obviously you will lose weight starving yourself -- along with muscle mass and essential nutrients. And then your metabolic rate will slow to a crawl, you won't feel as energetic, you may experience hair loss, depression, stress, etc.

    Our bodies and minds function at their best when they are taken care of, and that requires adequate nutrition. Please be educated before making decisions such as embarking on an extreme diet.
  • manny_bee
    manny_bee Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    i've seen too many conflicting things about starvation mode. until i experience it first hand, im going to just keep doing what is working for me.
  • jamielise2
    jamielise2 Posts: 432 Member
    Options
    I HAVE been in starvation mode myself, so I know it's not a myth. In high school I cut myself down to 600 calories a day...lost a little weight at first, and then my body shut down. It's okay if your NET calories are over 1200 most of the time. Personally I'm averaging about 1175 in NET with the difference between the calories I eat and what I burn. But I'm ACTUALLY eating about 2500 calories a day. And I'm averaging almost 3 lbs a week of weight loss. And if you don't eat enough EVENTUALLY your body will digest itself and your own muscle, which is what happened in the concentration camps. The 1200 calorie minimum is designed to prevent your body from doing that, and to keep you on a meal plan you can live with.
  • manny_bee
    manny_bee Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    I HAVE been in starvation mode myself, so I know it's not a myth. In high school I cut myself down to 600 calories a day...lost a little weight at first, and then my body shut down. It's okay if your NET calories are over 1200 most of the time. Personally I'm averaging about 1175 in NET with the difference between the calories I eat and what I burn. But I'm ACTUALLY eating about 2500 calories a day. And I'm averaging almost 3 lbs a week of weight loss. And if you don't eat enough EVENTUALLY your body will digest itself and your own muscle, which is what happened in the concentration camps. The 1200 calorie minimum is designed to prevent your body from doing that, and to keep you on a meal plan you can live with.

    i have to admit i had some unhealthy habits in highschool too, but my calorie intake was something like 200-300 cals a day before i got dizzy and my hair started to fall out. it depends on the person because i've never had any issues if i eat above 700 a day.
  • manny_bee
    manny_bee Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    I HAVE been in starvation mode myself, so I know it's not a myth. In high school I cut myself down to 600 calories a day...lost a little weight at first, and then my body shut down. It's okay if your NET calories are over 1200 most of the time. Personally I'm averaging about 1175 in NET with the difference between the calories I eat and what I burn. But I'm ACTUALLY eating about 2500 calories a day. And I'm averaging almost 3 lbs a week of weight loss. And if you don't eat enough EVENTUALLY your body will digest itself and your own muscle, which is what happened in the concentration camps. The 1200 calorie minimum is designed to prevent your body from doing that, and to keep you on a meal plan you can live with.

    i have to admit i had some unhealthy habits in highschool too, but my calorie intake was something like 200-300 cals a day before i got dizzy and my hair started to fall out. it depends on the person because i've never had any issues if i eat above 700 a day.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    Options
    I personally lost weight at 1000 calories per day but I dont go under that...
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    Options
    no..starvation mode is a myth.

    what is really happening when people think they are in 'starvation mode' is simply - your body adapts.

    that is what causes us to plataeu..not 'starvation mode'. so what do we do to break stalls? we change up either our eating habits or exercise or both. so if/when you stall and you go ahead and eat a little more..and suddenly oooh i've lost weight..its not breaking out of starvation..its breaking out of adaptation.

    that is why we should change things up every few months..to prevent stalls.
  • unsuspectingfish
    unsuspectingfish Posts: 1,176 Member
    Options
    no..starvation mode is a myth.

    what is really happening when people think they are in 'starvation mode' is simply - your body adapts.

    that is what causes us to plataeu..not 'starvation mode'. so what do we do to break stalls? we change up either our eating habits or exercise or both. so if/when you stall and you go ahead and eat a little more..and suddenly oooh i've lost weight..its not breaking out of starvation..its breaking out of adaptation.

    that is why we should change things up every few months..to prevent stalls.

    Plateaus =/= starvation mode.

    A plateau is, like you said, when your body adapts to your diet and stops losing weight. Generally, you don't gain weight back at that point, you just stop losing because your body has stabilized. A plateau is usually considered healthy.

    Starvation mode is when you take in so few calories over an extended period of time that your body starts using itself as fuel. It starts storing all the fat it can get for future use and burns stuff like muscle tissue, instead. It's possible to put on weight when your body is first going into starvation mode because of this stored fat. It's not usually considered healthy, but it's a necessary part of human evolution. It's an evolutionary adaptation to keep us from starving in times of food shortage. It's NOT a myth. It's also not going to happen over the course of a few weeks. It's a long, drawn-out process. Eventually, though, if you're not feeding your body enough, it's going to adapt and start storing up that fat while using other parts for fuel.

    Seriously, it's part of human evolution, NOT A MYTH. People just tend to use the term to describe things that are not it. Sort of like the word "ironic".
  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
    Options
    Just an idea but if you're finding it hard to 'eat more' to get enough calories in you could try something as simple as adding a little of the good oils to you cooking. We some of the good fats to help us burn fat build muscle and for our bodies to function well. Things like olive oil and coconut oil are great and a table spoon of either will easily add 100+ calories.

    Just a though. Good luck :flowerforyou: :smile:

Categories