How can I get out of starvation mode?

Yanicka1

Eat at MFP maintenance levels for 2 months and do not weigh yourself. You have to get help also.

cloud2011

I would see a doctor or nutritionist. I completely understand why you fear gaining. You need some reassurance that your hard work will continue to pay off and it will.

But, you need to give your body the proper nutrients, and you want to feel good doing it.

How are you feeling now, physically? Do you feel hungry, or fatigued? Or even lightheaded?

Good luck and take care of yourself.

hlandry6

This seems like a silly question....um EAT more food?

eenn

bump

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Daily water weight fluctuations means that you shouldn't get all worked up when you gain weight. I've seen people gain and drop as much as 8 lbs in a day. It's just water retention.

That being said, you are undereating. Implement a Full Diet Break immediately and resume your diet after at least two weeks.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

agreed but do NOT resume your diet--you don't need to diet. You can stand to gain a few pounds, you're at the lower end of the healthy weight range anyway.

TrinNZ

why are you talking about "resuming diet"...this girl does not need to "diet"...she needs to eat a healthy amount of food and talk to a doctor. She only weighs 122lbs at 5ft 7"!

KilikiMom

i read this somewhere here before

you know who eats 600 calories a day?? BABIES!!!!!

dont be scared of food...food is NOT the enemy...teach yourself how to eat right and healthy

Newfiedan

You are not gaining fat, you are gaining water/carb weight, for every 1 g of carbs the body will store 5 g water, so if you eat more initially yes you gain more this should be common sense. Eating 1000 cals a day and expecting to lose weight is moronic. What you will end up doing is shedding muscle mass and some fat. It is unfortunate that way to many people on here are obsessed with the scale weight. This single mindedness sabotages real results for far to many on here. According to the scale/bmi I am obese. You need to learn to make friends with your body, stop torturing it with so low a cal intake and get back onto a healthy track and start losing fat. What you are doing is ending up more unhealthy and making it easier for your body to regain fat which is a sad but inevitable thing on the road you are on unless you learn to get off this path and learn to start eating healthy and taking care of yourself. A cal deficit is not the only means to shed fat, yes it does work, but in the end what choice/road you take is up to you.

charcharbec

Okay--- I didn't read what everyone else said on here but I will tell you that I have been where you are. I was eating about 300-450 calories a day for months back when I started losing weight. It was something that just kind of happened and not really a concious choice to "starve" myself. ANYWAY---there was NOTHING I could find out there on how to re-introduce food without gaining a TON of weight.... so what I did was that every week (every Friday) I introduced 150 calories and ate that straight for the week. When Friday came I would add another 150 cals until I was up to a healthier goal. I stopped at 1050 and then started calorie cycling. I recently just went up to 1400 cals a day and will probably slowly go up from there as I start building more muscle. I wouldnt just jump to 1200 if you are super low but if you are at 1000 cals a day def. bring it up to 1200. stay there for a couple weeks to let it even out and then increase a bit again. That's what I'd recommend.

JennetteMac

Bump

renegadecupid

5'7" and 122 pounds is considered underweight. You are flirting with an eating disorder and serious damage to your organs. Get some psychological help, as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more disordered your thinking will become. You are living on almost no nutrients, and your brain can no longer distinguish right from wrong apparently.

My 16 pound dog eats 500 calories a day.

What he said... ^^^ ASAFP.

also vitamins.

CindyCountingCalories

Bump to read later sounds interesting.

PS: I'm not starving dairy is public.

bellefille

Yesterday I ate 600 calories and GAINED half a pound. Every day lately I've stayed under 1000 calories and I keep gaining weight. I've stopped getting my period as well I think. I'm 5'7 and 122. How can I beat starvation mode without gaining more than a few pounds? I used to be 196 and so I'm terrified of gaining weight. I'm ready to just call it quits. Anyone help?

You need to see a doctor:

- You currently have a BMI of 19.5 which is towards the lower end of normal
- You are terrified of gaining weight
- You are currently eating less than 1000 calories per day, which is less than that which is recommended for those trying to lose weight
- You have stopped getting your period

Put together, these are troubling signs.
Please get some help.

vade43113

it's the minimum daily calorie intake recommended by health & nutrition organisations to give your body adequte nutrition.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php

I think I am going to change the number then Thanks for the info

InnerFatGirl

Honey, take a deep breath and relax.

Sweetie, eating 600 calories is not going to help you.

You will not become obese if you eat over 1000 calories.

I'm on 1710 calories a day, was on 1740 and have been losing about 2lbs or more a week.

Don't fear, hun. Just let go of that fear. You've come so far. 196lbs is where I started too! Well done for losing that all.

Weight does not come back on overnight. Eat what you like, just keep it in moderation.

If you're worried you're developing an eating disorder, or a fear of eating, speak to someone or contact a GP.

x

InnerFatGirl

Yesterday I ate 600 calories and GAINED half a pound. Every day lately I've stayed under 1000 calories and I keep gaining weight. I've stopped getting my period as well I think. I'm 5'7 and 122. How can I beat starvation mode without gaining more than a few pounds? I used to be 196 and so I'm terrified of gaining weight. I'm ready to just call it quits. Anyone help?

Ok, so normally I'm one of the first to be all like ZOMG yer doin it RONG but in this case, I'm not sure what exactly it is about your post, but something is nagging me. I don't want to immediately jump to "You've got an ED", but something in the back of my head is nagging at me that this sounds scary. My sister had an ED, and how you describe things......I see similarities, and I think what bothers me the most is that you arent getting your period. That is a sure sign you don't have enough body fat, and aren't eating healthfully.

So...maybe someone better equipped to give you some advice on here can do so, as im not a psychologist, but I just wanted to put out there that some of what you're saying worries me.

This.

InnerFatGirl

5'7" and 122 pounds is considered underweight. You are flirting with an eating disorder and serious damage to your organs. Get some psychological help, as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more disordered your thinking will become. You are living on almost no nutrients, and your brain can no longer distinguish right from wrong apparently.

My 16 pound dog eats 500 calories a day.

^^^!!!

Axels91

i agree with everyone else. i tend to have some characteristics of eating disordered behavior. i like to know exactly how much of what i am eating as well as how many calories i burn. or i cant sleep at night.

thankfully enough people here have drilled into my head that if i dont eat, im not going to get what i think i will get.

i still have an issue with going over 1100 calories, but im realizing that as i gain muscle and endurance, i will need more food. period.

i was so embarrassed at gym today. i went in there and bolted for 15 minutes on the treadmill, 80 minutes cycling and a few weight reps on my legs and some ab work. when i walked to the bathroom my legs gave out and a nice gentleman had to catch me or i would have fallen over. i was borderline blacking out. if you are going to eat that little, dont exercise.

blasiansrus

I wasn't advocating 1200, I was just explaining where people get the number from.

I agree regarding the intake relevant to bodyweight, and prefer the "deduct 20% from TDEE" to simply deduct x calories.

Understood. The post was also directed at others in this thread who are making it seem like 1200 is the magical intake level that will save you from "starvation mode".

To the OP, the best way to break through your plateau is not to lower the level of your deficit, rather it is to eat at maintenance for at least a couple weeks in order to normalize hormones (and many other reasons). You will be in a better position to resume your diet at this point.

I agree with ^.
Eat maintenance & you'll "get out of starvation mode". You will most likely gain some weight back, but that's what happens when you starve off the weight in the first place & then start eating a normal amount again.
Just eat foods in moderation & exercise if you want to lose weight later on.
FYI: 1200 is even too low for a majority of the people on this site to eat & lose weight healthily. You should almost never eat below your bmr (which is more than 1200 for most teens & adults)

whatsleftofmeisyours

Thank you all for the advice, first off. Second, 122 at 5'7 isn't underweight, I've looked into my bmi. I'm going to start going to
A nutritionist because what one person hit head on is the fact that I need reassurance while I try to fix this. I need to know I'm not going to gain back everything I've lost. When I was overweight I had an extreme level of self hatred and I know to a point I have an eating disorder. I'm just not ready to look into that factor more.