Good or bad?

txgator

Its still confusing. my BMR was 2218. I am 48 and started at 246bs. My life was basically sit behind a computer all day and sit in front of the TV all night. ON Jun 3rd I started my weight loss. I severely curbed my caloric intake and increased my exercise. From June 3rd to July 11th I have lost 39 lbs, almost 4 inches off my waist and 3 1/2 of my chest. I still ride the stationary bike for 60 minute, do Tae Bo for 20 minutes, then lift weights. I also am eating about 800-900 calories a day. Not trying to starve myself, I just dont seem to be getting hungry. I do drink plenty of water with some gatorade occasionally. For the most part I have cut out fast food completely, Sodas are gone with the exception of a Fresca now and then and NO potato chips (which may be what ends up killing me, lol). So is there anything wrong with this? I do want to go into "Starvation mode", AKA “ adaptive thermogenesis”

P.S. Is there an adaptive diet that compares to The grapefruit diet for those of us that hate Grapefruit and Cottage cheese?

thetrishwarp

You WANT to go into starvation mode? My understanding is that that's bad. You should be aiming for a higher caloric intake than 800cals+exercise.

erickirb

Its still confusing. my BMR was 2218. I am 48 and started at 246bs. My life was basically sit behind a computer all day and sit in front of the TV all night. ON Jun 3rd I started my weight loss. I severely curbed my caloric intake and increased my exercise. From June 3rd to July 11th I have lost 39 lbs, almost 4 inches off my waist and 3 1/2 of my chest. I still ride the stationary bike for 60 minute, do Tae Bo for 20 minutes, then lift weights. I also am eating about 800-900 calories a day. Not trying to starve myself, I just dont seem to be getting hungry. I do drink plenty of water with some gatorade occasionally. For the most part I have cut out fast food completely, Sodas are gone with the exception of a Fresca now and then and NO potato chips (which may be what ends up killing me, lol). So is there anything wrong with this? I do want to go into "Starvation mode", AKA “ adaptive thermogenesis”

P.S. Is there an adaptive diet that compares to The grapefruit diet for those of us that hate Grapefruit and Cottage cheese?

If your BMR is over 2000, and you are only eating 800-900 and exercising is starving yourself. As a man you should eat a minimum of 1500 Net (1500 plus what you burn working out) for safe and lasting weight loss with minimal loss in muscle. Follow MFPs guidelines and eat all your calories. If you are not hungry either make more calorie dense food choices or drink your caloires.
I am assuming you are the guy in the picutre is not then 1200 Net minimum for a woman.

luv2ash

where do your calories come from? how much protein and how much carbs a day. This is basically what I do as well, I eat about 1000 cals a day, but my food is high quality food. Although your weight loss seems a bit much in 5 weeks. Even the plan I follow allows for 2-5 pounds a week. I lost 40 in 8 weeks. Just remember one thing.....when you reach your goal weight, what will you do? will you continue to eat like this? Do you have a maintenance plan lined up? You certainly cannot go back to your old ways, so this is why it is very important to adapt a new lifestyle.

luv2ash

I wonder if he means he wants to go into fat burning mode-ketosis? versus starvation mode???

stanvoodoo

1200 min for women and 1500 min for men. Any less for more than a few days is putting you at risk. Unless you are under Drs orders to do so.

You want to give your body fuel to burn especially with alot of exercise as you indicated. You want to burn fat but if you don't give your body fuel it may burn muscle instead.

I would guess 800-900 is too low of calories and you are not getting enough protein and fiber.

Best of Luck!

upinthecosmos

Ummmm, why do you want to be in starvation mode may I ask? That slows the metabolism down, are you trying to shock it & jumpstart it again or something since you've lost quite a bit so quickly?

vick9180

I would discuss this with your doctor. Everything I've learned about in school and my certification program scream "harmful". You're borderline anorexic with that calorie intake daily. Eventually your body will eat more than just the fat...it'll eat away your muscle too, and then work its way into your bones, making them extremely brittle. Talk with your doctor about the long term effects of having a diet like this. In my opinion, you can't keep that up for long without doing damage to your body, and when you stop and increase your calories, the weight will all come back. I just think this will do more harm than good in the long run...it's far better to try to eat adequate calories with exercise than to starve your body.

pattyproulx

Good or bad? I'd say terrible.

I hope you meant 'do NOT want to go in starvation mode'? but reading about the grapefruit diet thing, I'm not so convinced.

I'd be curious to know what you're eating. at 800-900 you will very likely be in starvation mode.

Out of curiosity, why the gatorade?
You need to get good amounts of healthy fats and proteins as well as good levels of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc). If you're only hungry for 800-900 calories a day you really really should not be wasting any of it on gatorade.

Add generous amounts of olive oil to salads to get those calories up if you need to, and eat some veggies to make sure you get those nutrients. Though I'm not much of a believer in 'calories', I still would not recommend eating less than 1200 per day.

As someone said, as soon as you go back to eating normally, it will come back even heavier and will be harder to lose again. You shouldn't see weight loss as a diet. In this day and age, everyone's so focuse on rapid results. Aim to change your habits and be patient with your weight loss.

joejccva71

OP-

You do NOT want to go in starvation mode. Your body will burn muscle along with fat, and are you planning on eating 800 calories forever because that weight will go right back on you once you start eating again. If you plan on eating 800 cals forever then eventually you will have zero energy and your body will shut down.

My tip?

Find out how many calories you burn everyday in a 24 hour period. I use a BodyMedia FIT for this which is about 90% accurate. Then eat at a calorie deficit of what you burn everyday. You should lose no more than 2lbs per week which is a 1000 calorie deficit. So if you burn 3000 calories a day, then eat 2000 a day, drink plenty of water, take a multivitamin, and fish oil.

You should be eating 1g of protein per lb of your bodyweight.

You should be eating .35g-1g of fat per lb of your bodyweight. Yes fat is your friend.

Then put the rest of your calories into carbs and/or more proteins and fats to come up with 2000 cals a day.

Remember:
1g of protein = 4 calories
1g of carbs = 4 calories
1g of fats = 9 calories

Also you don't have to eat super clean to lose weight. I eat what I want and still burn fat at 2lbs per week because I watch my caloric intake and I hit my macros every single day.

txgator

I never seem to be clear when i write. I dont want to go intobstarvation mode it just appears to me that i am. I dont eat much because i am not hungry. Definetely not anorexic. What i eat is mostly fruit, vegetables and protien. I dont drink gatorade for the calories i just like them. As a matter of fact i havent even entered them. This is tje first time i have really tried to lose wieght and am clueless apparently. Ever since i started exercising my appetite has lowered and i get full so fast. As i said anorexia is NOT in play. Lol. Thanks for all the help

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I never seem to be clear when i write. I dont want to go intobstarvation mode it just appears to me that i am. I dont eat much because i am not hungry. Definetely not anorexic. What i eat is mostly fruit, vegetables and protien. I dont drink gatorade for the calories i just like them. As a matter of fact i havent even entered them. This is tje first time i have really tried to lose wieght and am clueless apparently. Ever since i started exercising my appetite has lowered and i get full so fast. As i said anorexia is NOT in play. Lol. Thanks for all the help

Add some nuts and avacado. Dip your veggies into some hummus or your fruit into some full flavor full fat yogurt. Put those gatorade calories in there (high in sodium). If you're eating the "diet" version of anything stop and get the real stuff. If you're eating egg whites only add back a yolk or two. Pick higher calorie fruits like bananas or blueberries. These are all adjustments that you can make to your diet to increase to a healthy level of calories without really increasing consumption. You need to get that calorie count up. Also, if you've been doing the same work out routine over and over again switch it up. Your body is becoming efficient at that routine and needs something else. This is the one time where being inefficient really is a good thing (man I love Lou Schuler).

txgator

Great tips. I dont eat diet anything. My fruits of choice are Cantaloups, Bananas and Apples. I will definetely get some yogurt too and start drinking some whole milk instead of 2%. It just seems so counter intuitive that I have to eat more to lose...lol

ninerbuff

Its still confusing. my BMR was 2218. I am 48 and started at 246bs. My life was basically sit behind a computer all day and sit in front of the TV all night. ON Jun 3rd I started my weight loss. I severely curbed my caloric intake and increased my exercise. From June 3rd to July 11th I have lost 39 lbs, almost 4 inches off my waist and 3 1/2 of my chest. I still ride the stationary bike for 60 minute, do Tae Bo for 20 minutes, then lift weights. I also am eating about 800-900 calories a day. Not trying to starve myself, I just dont seem to be getting hungry. I do drink plenty of water with some gatorade occasionally. For the most part I have cut out fast food completely, Sodas are gone with the exception of a Fresca now and then and NO potato chips (which may be what ends up killing me, lol). So is there anything wrong with this? I do want to go into "Starvation mode", AKA “ adaptive thermogenesis”

P.S. Is there an adaptive diet that compares to The grapefruit diet for those of us that hate Grapefruit and Cottage cheese?

Yes. You should lift first before cardio. Otherwise with depleted glycogen stores, your body will start catabolizing muscle tissue for energy. That means you will be losing lean muscle tissue, which will lower your metabolic rate which means you have to either eat less or exercise longer to burn high calories.

txgator

Wow. Now THAT is something else I didnt know. We've been doing cardio before the lifting. That changes tonight! Thanks!

vick9180

I never seem to be clear when i write. I dont want to go intobstarvation mode it just appears to me that i am. I dont eat much because i am not hungry. Definetely not anorexic. What i eat is mostly fruit, vegetables and protien. I dont drink gatorade for the calories i just like them. As a matter of fact i havent even entered them. This is tje first time i have really tried to lose wieght and am clueless apparently. Ever since i started exercising my appetite has lowered and i get full so fast. As i said anorexia is NOT in play. Lol. Thanks for all the help

Just to be clear on the definition of anorexia, it's taking in 400-500 calories or less in a day...this isn't anorexia nervosa, which is the mental health disorder defined by lack of healthy body image. Anytime you eat below that amount of calories consistently, it's considered anorexia, whether it's purposeful or not. Taking in only 800-900 calories a day would be borderline anorexic. If you google anorexia, only the disorder will pop up, but you can take a look at how it can affect your body. It refers mainly to females, as they are the majority of who suffer from the disorder, but it gives you an idea of how inadequate calorie intake will affect your body in the long run.

I think it's important to know these kinds of things, because while you are of healthy mind, it doesn't mean that you can't have an eating disorder defined by your eating habits. I think there are some great suggestions on here of how to get some extra healthy calories in your diet. Once your metabolism is fixed, the weight will come off.