I've heard about starvation mode...

pixiestick

...but I can burn almost 600cals in an hour and 1800cals in a day seems like WAY TOO much. :noway: Those of you who have successfully lost weight, do you find that it really only works if you eat those calories? My fitness trainer told me that I should never eat more than 1400cals, regardless of how hard I'm working in the gym (she made an exception if I ran a marathon that day). :sick:

Are there those people out there who have lost and not eaten all of their exercise cals?:ohwell:

pixiestick

...but I can burn almost 600cals in an hour and 1800cals in a day seems like WAY TOO much. :noway: Those of you who have successfully lost weight, do you find that it really only works if you eat those calories? My fitness trainer told me that I should never eat more than 1400cals, regardless of how hard I'm working in the gym (she made an exception if I ran a marathon that day). :sick:

Are there those people out there who have lost and not eaten all of their exercise cals?:ohwell:

leishrye

Lots of the time i find myself not eating all my calories after i've had an intense work out. You definitely want to eat some of them like say you've burned 500 calories consume 300, but starvation mode tends to only kick in if you're eating a SIGNIFICANT amount less than you used to. It can also take a couple of weeks for your body to get used to the new eating habits so dont get discouraged if after a week of cutting down on calories you haven't lost anything. Just stick with it and if after another week you don't see results then you can alter your calorie intake.

-Hopefully that helps! Goodluck

beagle595

Jolt your metabolism... don't eat your work out calories every day... That is how I am losing weight. Otherwise your body gets used to the routine and goes into starvation mode. Also change your menu, eat different items for breakfast every day.. Swap out lunch for breakfast etc.. Good luck and keep up the great work! :drinker:

SHBoss1673

Starvation mode is real. Trust us. Eat your exercise calories!

see the link in my signature? click on it. There is some good reading in there.

happenstance82

I eat my exercise calories about 3 days out of the week, even though I exercise everyday. So far, I am consistently losing 2lbs per week. I really think it depends on your body. You'll figure out what works best for you.

briblue72

It's real. You might not see it the first day, or even the first week, but if you consistently burn waaay more than you consume, your body will start hanging on to whatever fat it has stored.

I've been losing consistently all year.

And yes, I eat most of my exercise calories. You could eat a 400 calorie PB&J. Doesn't seem like that much more food....

amymeenieminymo

Jolt your metabolism... don't eat your work out calories every day... That is how I am losing weight. Otherwise your body gets used to the routine and goes into starvation mode. Also change your menu, eat different items for breakfast every day.. Swap out lunch for breakfast etc.. Good luck and keep up the great work! :drinker:

Getting used to a routine can cause your weightloss to plateu, but I don't think it would send your body into starvation mode, that doesn't make sense. Why would eating 1800 calories per day (including exercise calories) make you go into starvation mode?

I say eat them, you'd be amazed at how much calorie dense food there is out there to help you reach your calorie goal each day (peanutbutter, nuts, etc). If you cannot eat all of them, try to eat most of them. If you are on a 1200 calorie diet, and you burn off 600 working out and don't replace those calories, you certainly WILL NOT lose weight on only 600 calories a day, you will be torturing your body.

kristineh86

Honestly...I wouldn't eat back all of those calories either. Make sure you dont go below your daily allotted amount of calories AND maybe add another couple hundred!

MyaPapaya75

I dont eat my excercise calories..I stick at about 1200-1400 per day I maintain the minimum sodium requirement. Ive yet to see any kind of plateau. I excercise 6-7 days a week 60min or more mixing it up with cardio and strength training.

d0900

a couple of years ago i lost weight counting my calories..this is why i am back because it works.but anyways...lost about 25 pounds. didn't know about this webiste at the time so i just wrote it out on a piece of paper..i had no idea about the starvation mode and eating exercise calories so when i exercised ( i play competitive soccer) i didn't eat any of my calories back and i still lost all that weight..so i'm so confused as well!!!

wannaBme

Ya, I'm confused with this whole issue too.

If i feed my body 1200 to 1400 very nutritional calories everyday, won't it be satisfied?
If i exercise and burn calories, doesn't that calorie burning melt the fat stores?
If I want to lose a pound a week then I need to burn 500 calories 7 days a week = 3500 calories.

Why would I eat up all the calories that I just worked to burn off?
I don't get it.

SHBoss1673

Guys, I didn't want to go into a long thing because many of us have already posted on why starvation mode is real. Please, read the links that I provided above (or in my signature).

Look, MyFitnessPal already takes into account that you want to lose weight, so when they give you your goal, it's already a caloric deficit. If you exercise and don't eat those calories, the deficit grows.

starvation mode is what happens when you don't give your body the calories it needs to function normally. Your body CAN function normally on a caloric deficit (if it didn't, we'd never be able to effectively loose weight); BUT if that deficit is too great, the body will recognize this, go into somewhat of a panic, and start storing fat anyway it can by slowing down internal processes it deems "less necessary". This means some organs are slowed, your metabolism in general is slowed, and the body starts canabalizing muscles because it KNOWS that less muscle means less passive calorie burn. Since fat doesn't burn calories on its own, the body doesn't see fat as a problem in starvation mode. It takes a little while to really gain momentum (usually about a week or more to really kick in), but once it does, it becomes really difficult to do any good.
Starvation mode isn't a "line" you cross, it's gradual, like any other organic process. Usually you won't even notice when it gains enough momentum to hinder your progress. It IS real though.

It confuses me when people say, "I don't eat back all my exercise calories" Now if they said, "I know it's a little more then my goal deficit but I watch my deficit closely and know I'm still eating enough to stay out of starvation mode." That would be one thing, but people just do it, not even knowing what their total deficit is, and not knowing if the uneaten calories will be harmful to the work they are doing.

I post this because I want people to be informed and succeed. I hope you will all make sure you read the posts on metabolism, exercise calories, and deficits, because without the knowledge, you may just be hurting your own cause.

pixiestick

Thanks everyone.