Calorie intake and "starvation mode"

thepetiterunner

Okay, so I've talked to a lot of people about this and I've heard all sorts of different answers, so I'll just go ahead and ask it here and see what people here think about this.

As I understand it, your caloric intake should be whatever your goal is everyday, let's say, 1200 calories. If you also exercise and burn off another 600, does that mean I should really be consuming a total of 1800 calories a day? How does one still lose weight if you're trying to lessen your caloric intake?

I guess I'm worried about hitting a "starvation mode" type plateau because it's really hard for me to lose anything below 110 (I've tried this a few times and only been successful once or twice). My body just seems to want to hover at this number and I'm thinking maybe it's because my body thinks it's starving.

Thanks so much for your help!

Cheers,
Cathy

lulabox

It's a tough one. I will speak here for people like me (and you I guess) who are trying to lose weight (fat) who have a healthy BMI as it might be different for others. I think the key is to eat enough. 1200 calories is not enough for most people in my humble opinion. If I listened to MFP, I'd be eating that to lose 1 lb a week, but every time I lost weight, I ate significantly more and lost 1-2 lb a week.

I would ignore whatever MFP says in terms of calories in and out. It's not that simple. I'd just raise how many calories I eat in general if you eat 1200 or less. I'd also do strength training. I'd stick with that for a while and eventually the weight will start falling off again when your body has adjusted to a higher amount of food (but still slightly less than before) and your metabolism kicks in a bit.

What do you think of my suggestion? What is your goal/issue?

thepetiterunner

I think it's just seeing my weight stall at the same place and not being able to see results (i.e. get rid of fat in places) even when I'm eating healthy, working out and am very fit and active.

Right now I'm eating 1200 cals or thereabouts, and exercising quite a bit, so I'm wondering if I'm just not eating enough. Maybe I need to up it to 1300-1500/day instead. I do strength training 3-4 times a week and I do quite a bit of cardio (about 6-8 hours a week if not more, depending on whether or not I'm training for a race), so I suspect I'm just probably not eating enough.

Your suggestion makes sense. I'd really just like to get a little more lean and stay toned, but I always seem to hover at this weight and it's very hard for me to break past it and maintain it. I think I've just got a bit of paranoia that I'll eat too many calories and then have to work on getting rid of all that weight I put on.

lulabox

I'd eat more to be honest especially with all the sports you do. Maybe 1500? How tall are you? I think that if your weight is not going down, you've got nothing to lose by trying to eat more as you say.

You may have to be patient though: your weight might stall or even go up (via water not fat) for a few weeks. If it does work, the good thing is that it will be much easier to maintain too because going from 1500 to normal maintenance eating is much easier than from 1200.

Good luck and let me know how it goes. I'll add you

orlaoshea

You basically need to 'eat' to lose weight but the correct foods. I would try protein whey drinks to increase your metabolism, greens, water, carrots, apples and other superfoods which give you enough calories for your body to function but also burn fat while increasing muscle. You will still lose weight. Track everything and don't get too caught up with calorie intake. You can compare weeks to see what works for you and just repeat that. That is a lot of exercise you are doing which is great.

lulabox

^ You read my mind. I was just thinking have you tried eating a high protein diet? That might work.

thepetiterunner

I do drink a protein powder/shake right after a workout, a simple protein isolate that my trainer had suggested to me months ago and I eat really healthy, I think it's just the quantity of food is not enough. Thanks for the input!