So my trainer....

Kelekat

Doesn't believe in the concept of bodily starvation mode.

I told him that I'd upped my calories from 1200 in hopes of losing some weight.

He wants me on 1200 on cardio days and 1600 on lifting days.

This flies in the face of everything I've been told since I started logging.

Is there any peer reviewed evidence that anybody knows of offhand that I can show him?

IvoryParchment

Is there any peer reviewed evidence that anybody knows of offhand that I can show him?

I doubt it, because he's probably right. But if you're doing enough exercise to use the services of a trainer, 1200 sounds pretty austere. What's the hurry? Get fit, eat healthier, moderate your portions, settle into a lifestyle you're willing to stick with the rest of your life, no matter what anyone else says. If you're not willing to stick with the program lifelong, it's not worth starting. The number of calories you will need to maintain your goal weight will cause you to lose weight if you are over your goal weight, even if it's not as fast as you might like.

Kelekat

He trains me one day a week. The rest of the time, I'm on my own. I lift four days a week and do cardio only three days a week.

He thinks that 1200 isn't enough for lifting days, but fine for cardio days and to tell you the truth, I usually have a hard time eating all my calories anyway (which makes me wonder how in the heck I ever became overweight to begin with):bigsmile:

albinogorilla

Doesn't believe in the concept of bodily starvation mode.

I told him that I'd upped my calories from 1200 in hopes of losing some weight.

He wants me on 1200 on cardio days and 1600 on lifting days.

This flies in the face of everything I've been told since I started logging.

Is there any peer reviewed evidence that anybody knows of offhand that I can show him?

is his day job being a dietician? if not............

Sublog

Doesn't believe in the concept of bodily starvation mode.

I told him that I'd upped my calories from 1200 in hopes of losing some weight.

He wants me on 1200 on cardio days and 1600 on lifting days.

This flies in the face of everything I've been told since I started logging.

Is there any peer reviewed evidence that anybody knows of offhand that I can show him?

He's right. Starvation mode doesn't really exist. Metabolic slowdowns do occur, but mostly due to natural processes like lowered BMR/NEAT/etc....

http://muscleevo.com/lyle-mcdonald-interview-one/

For once, a trainer was right.

mjbrenner

Starvation mode can be a problem for people who are already at or near a healthy BMI. If you are obese, it is far less of a problem, because your body will not as easily switch over to a metabolic slowdown, and more importantly, it will not as easily begin catabolizing muscular protein instead of fat.

kyrstensmom

Doesn't believe in the concept of bodily starvation mode.

I told him that I'd upped my calories from 1200 in hopes of losing some weight.

He wants me on 1200 on cardio days and 1600 on lifting days.

This flies in the face of everything I've been told since I started logging.

Is there any peer reviewed evidence that anybody knows of offhand that I can show him?

He's right. Starvation mode doesn't really exist. Metabolic slowdowns do occur, but mostly due to natural processes like lowered BMR/NEAT/etc....

http://muscleevo.com/lyle-mcdonald-interview-one/

For once, a trainer was right.

Yep. And your metabolism only slows up to 10%, which in the grand scheme of things, isn't much. If you feel good eating 1200, then eat 1200, but if you feel tired, light headed, lethargic, or hungry, eat a little bit more.

suziecue66

He trains me one day a week. The rest of the time, I'm on my own. I lift four days a week and do cardio only three days a week.

He thinks that 1200 isn't enough for lifting days, but fine for cardio days and to tell you the truth, I usually have a hard time eating all my calories anyway (which makes me wonder how in the heck I ever became overweight to begin with):bigsmile:

Steady, state cardio utilises more of your body fat for energy after a time and when doing weight training you are accessing more your glycogen stores in your muscles. Maybe that is why he has you eating more on lifting days to replenish those glycogen stores.

sportyskylar

My trainer also told me that 1200 calories was a good amount to have. I'd say he's right. They're trained to be train you after all!

gonzang

Starvation mode gets thrown about loosely. Your body might go into conservation mode, which is a bit different. Eating around 1200 probably won't cause starvation. The studies done that people use to talk about starvation were done on a specific group of men...blah blah blah. Not really generalizable findings but used as if they are.

I agree that 1200 seems a bit strict if you're exercising vigorously, but just make sure you are getting everything you need.

DakotaKeogh

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=35501

Articeluvsmemphis

suziecue66

Starvation mode can be a problem for people who are already at or near a healthy BMI. If you are obese, it is far less of a problem, because your body will not as easily switch over to a metabolic slowdown, and more importantly, it will not as easily begin catabolizing muscular protein instead of fat.

How does that work? Are you saying that with the obese there is plenty of body fat to catabolize so won't necessarily need to catabolize muscle. If the body needs glucose it may still catabolize muscle to make it. Glucose/glycogen can be made from the glycerol in fat.
I don't believe in starvation mode. People have lost on 800 calories, doing strength training and most of the loss was from body fat.

Kelekat

Oh man, now I'm really confused....

I upped my calories (even though I'm not hungry on 1200) because so many people on MFP were telling me that I wasn't eating enough, even though I eat back most of my exercise calories in addition to the 1200 calories, and that my lack of sufficient food was the reason that I wasn't losing.

Tonight I packed myself full of chicken chili with avocado, trying to get enough calories into my body and I'm miserable. I can't consistently eat this much food.

And I'm not what I would term obese. I'm 5'8-1/2" and weigh 168.

mjbrenner

Starvation mode can be a problem for people who are already at or near a healthy BMI. If you are obese, it is far less of a problem, because your body will not as easily switch over to a metabolic slowdown, and more importantly, it will not as easily begin catabolizing muscular protein instead of fat.

How does that work? Are you saying that with the obese there is plenty of body fat to catabolize so won't necessarily need to catabolize muscle. If the body needs glucose it may still catabolize muscle to make it. Glucose/glycogen can be made from the glycerol in fat.
I don't believe in starvation mode. People have lost on 800 calories, doing strength training and most of the loss was from body fat.

I wish I remembered the review of a few different experiments that laid it out, but it was months ago that I read it. In essence, most of the data used to explain "starvation mode", including the metabolic slowdown and reduction of muscle mass, comes from studies of people at a healthy body weight. This trend does not hold up in obese, or even moderately overweight individuals. Of course fat loss is often accompanied by muscle loss as well unless specific steps are taken to counteract this, but you can consume a semi-starvation caloric deficit and still maintain muscle mass if you are obese and take the right steps.

This is not an excuse for people close to their healthy body weight to begin using semi-starvation techniques, because they are not full of large amounts of fat which the body will happily turn to for energy. This solely applies to people who have large amounts of body fat to lose.

xraychick77

lol...first off..trainers are NOT nutrition experts..

second..no it doesnt exist..its a myth that has NEVER been scientifically proven. just a thing a bunch of people grabbed onto and rehash as if its real or has any basis in scientific fact.

reneeileen

Sounds like calorie cycling.

And here's a little light reading about underfeeding/overfeeding:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/51/2/264.full.pdf

AntWrig

Doesn't believe in the concept of bodily starvation mode.

I told him that I'd upped my calories from 1200 in hopes of losing some weight.

He wants me on 1200 on cardio days and 1600 on lifting days.

This flies in the face of everything I've been told since I started logging.

Is there any peer reviewed evidence that anybody knows of offhand that I can show him?

He's right. Starvation mode doesn't really exist. Metabolic slowdowns do occur, but mostly due to natural processes like lowered BMR/NEAT/etc....

http://muscleevo.com/lyle-mcdonald-interview-one/

For once, a trainer was right.

Yep. And your metabolism only slows up to 10%, which in the grand scheme of things, isn't much. If you feel good eating 1200, then eat 1200, but if you feel tired, light headed, lethargic, or hungry, eat a little bit more.

Do you not understand what a severe deficit is? Re-read the link you quoted.

avafrisbee

Now this thread has me super confused. I was seriously beating myself up for not eating all 1200 of my calories everyday and now according to this thread it's okay?

The next thread I read will tell me it's not and then it's freaking back and forth.

Screw it, I'm going to eat the calories I want. If I am under freaking hoo-rah and if someone wants to de-friend me you go right the heck ahead.

mfpdannimac

Do what works for you- if you don't like his advice, eat what feels right, track it and don't tell him.

almonds1

lol...first off..trainers are NOT nutrition experts..



this

Kelekat

Now this thread has me super confused. I was seriously beating myself up for not eating all 1200 of my calories everyday and now according to this thread it's okay?

The next thread I read will tell me it's not and then it's freaking back and forth.

Screw it, I'm going to eat the calories I want. If I am under freaking hoo-rah and if someone wants to de-friend me you go right the heck ahead.

This! ^^^^^^^

Because I feel fine at 1200 calories--I'm not hungry at the end of the day, I'm not hungry throughout the day. As a matter of fact, I have to anticipate my exercise so that I can eat a few calorie/nutrition dense foods BEFORE working out so that I'm not left with a huge deficit at night.

I'll friend ya, 'cause I'm right there with ya!