working out vs starvation mode

kabini

You only get the starvation message if you eat UNDER your minimum calories...i.e. 1200 calories. If you eat 1100, you get the message. If you eat 1200, you don't get the message.

If you eat 1200 and burn 1200, you don't get the message.

If you eat 1100 and burn 700, you get the message

OOOOOOH....I didn't notice that....hahahah...so basically if it says you need to eat 1200/day and you eat say, 1300 but burn 900, you are still good???? I never noticed that.

dulceluva

You only get the starvation message if you eat UNDER your minimum calories...i.e. 1200 calories. If you eat 1100, you get the message. If you eat 1200, you don't get the message.

If you eat 1200 and burn 1200, you don't get the message.

If you eat 1100 and burn 700, you get the message

OOOOOOH....I didn't notice that....hahahah...so basically if it says you need to eat 1200/day and you eat say, 1300 but burn 900, you are still good???? I never noticed that.

Yup. Because you've eaten your minimum calories. It is just your decision now whether you want to eat up all of those burned calories - I'd say some but not all

mel_istheshit

By no means am I a nutritionist, but I think the recommended calories is based on how quickly you want to lose weight. For example, I want to lose 1 lb/week so I should consume 1500 calories/day. If I wanted to lose 2 lbs/week this recommends I consume 1200 calories/day. The recommended extra calories from working out is to keep you on track with your goal to loose your weekly goal.

With that said, I agree with what has been said earlier about consuming those extra workout calories if you feel hungry, but not needing to. I think it just means you can have those and still stay on track with your goal. However, I would add that if you are burning an extra 1000 calories you should eat the extras if your feeling hungry... you're in this for the long haul so you don't want your body to burn out too quickly!!

:drinker:

tiliquinones

The formula for losing weight is very simple: Consume fewer calories than you burn.

for example: my body automatically burns approx. 1715 cals/day w/light or no activity
If I consume 1200 cals/day
____
that gives me a deficit of 515 cals/day

515x7=3,605 cals burned per wk
therefore I should loose 1.03 lbs/wk

I could loose more by burning addt'l calories w/exercise:happy:
Or consume 1715 and stay at the same weight

AtlantaSara

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek116.htm

stephaniek

Every "body" is different. 1200 cals may be the bottom limit for some (petite people), but not everybody. Also, everybody burns a different amount of calories depending on their fat to muscle ratio ... the numbers on websites and machines are not accurate for everybody and just a guide. The more muscle you build the more calories you will burn in an aerobic and anaerobic state. The bottom line on weight loss is calories in vs. calories out, but the trick is not to get too stuck on the "numbers" because they are a guide. I see people thinking that 1200 calories is the magic number, but if you are 5'7" and weigh 200 pounds (just an example) you'd be starving your body at 1200 calories. I have a hard time believing that anyone that wants to lose a significant amount of weight (unless due to a physioloical condition) has a hard time eating enough calories. The tools section provides a calculator for BMR that can be used as a guide (not gospel) for minimum calorie intake per individual. I would aim for that number or slightly higher to keep losing weight. Maintenance is where you eat the calories that you burn. In short, keep on with the cardio and weightlifting ease up on the doughnuts and drink your water!

rpowersrph

The way I look at it is the body knows how many calories it needs to sustain itself if you are below the 1200 calories per day your body starts conserving calories the body becomes more efficent. this is a guide line and every body is different because of medicial condition , body size and other variables. This is not a magical number but the lower you go I believe the more efficant the body gets. Working out allows you to keep eating at a healthy level while still losing weight. I also believe this is true but it also has limitation fatigue and the bodies need to rest will take over at some point again this is not the same for everyone age fitness level all play a role. I prefer to eat around 2000 to 2500 calories this keeps me feeling full and exercise between 800 to 1300 cal/day

krazykayzy

So, I work out every single day and usually burn between 700-1000 calories during my workouts (over 1 hour of straight cardio stuff) So, I was just wondering if the calories you burn by exercising count in the "starvation mode" thing. I know this site counts them...but I was just wondering. I typically eat fairly normally....around 1400-1500 calories a day, but with my exercise if you subtract the calories I burn it puts me WAY below what the site recommends. Any advice on this would be appreciated! :flowerforyou:

OK....here I go....
For those people who are trying to lose weight and BURN FAT....spending hours on the treadmill/stairmaster/elliptical machines is not what you want to do!!!!! Cardio is Cardio...meaning cardiovascular activity...meaning you are working your heart muscle. The harder/longer you work out the less fat you burn. Cardio activity burns sugar...not fat. It uses your immediate sugar stores (ie whatever you had for breakfast) and burns it to maintain your strenuous activity.

Less intense exercise is more effective to lose weight/burn fat. Walking, SLOW jogging or SLOW stationary bicycling for 45 -60 minutes creates a slow but steady demand in your body for more energy and your body then taps into its fat stores for fuel.

And as for how many calories to consume.....Your BMR should be your bottom line no matter what. You'll need to find a website that will calculate it for you. My body's BMR is 1480....meaning if I was to do nothing all day but breathe, my body would need 1480 calories to keep breathing, my heart pumping blood and my other organs functioning. Now...I don't calculate whether or not I've exercised into my calculations.....but I also don't worry if I go over by 100 or even 200 calories either. I use this site as a rough calculation of what I'm putting into my body (kinda holds me accountable so I don't go on a food binger!) So I usually eat between 1400 and 1800 calories and exercise as well and try not to make too much of a science out of it. I always lose weight this way (and if I stopped getting pregnant I'd keep it off!!!) I think (but don't quote me on this) if you always maintain whatever your BMR is regardless of how much you exercise you should be ok. This being said....you shouldn't be burning more than 300-500 calories per day by working out because then you're drawing on immediate energy stores and not fat.

Also FYI....
you should be drinking a minimum of 12 8oz glasses of water per day. Why? (because that's a LOT of water) Your kidney's rely on water to do their job of filtering out waste products and impurities from your body. With a water shortage the kidneys cannot function properly so they dump their workload on the liver...among the livers many functions is metabolizing stored fat into usable fuel for your body. If your liver is taking on extra assignments from the kidneys, its ability to burn fat is severely compromised. If less fat is metabolized, more of it remains stored and weight loss comes to a screeching halt.

I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do or how to do it....I'm just passing on some of the information that I have come across (my sister's boyfriend is a fitness buff and trainer) if someone else can benefit from it then GOOD!

cmriverside

Always such an interesting variety of ideas on this subject!

I eat the calories to within 200 calories of recommendation. I have maintained healthy weight loss, i.e. not stressing my kidneys, heart, liver, skin, eyes, etc. You need a certain amount of nutrients that your body is using just to stay alive, never mind the huge stress of adding more muscle. My trainer said HIGH LEAN protein at the latest 45 min after workout. Eat protein before workout. If you aren't hungry, substitute protein powder.

Myfitnesspal helps you figure your BMR. Go to:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

Calories burned vary depending on your heart rate, your weight and your age during cardio-type work; AND the duration of that targeted heart rate. You must take your heart rate.
________________________________________
HEART RATE CALCULATOR

http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/activity/thr.htm

(The following is a synopsis of the above calculator)

Beginner or low fitness level . . .50% - 60%
Average fitness level . . . . . . . . 60% - 70%
High fitness level . . . . . . . . . . . 75% - 85%
Now that we’ve determined and gathered the information needed, we can pull the information together in the Karvonen Formula:
220 - Age = Maximum Heart Rate
Max Heart Rate - Rest. Heart Rate x Intensity + Rest. Heart Rate = Training Heart Rate
For example, Sally is 33 yrs old, has a resting heart rate of 75 and she’s just beginning her exercise program (her intensity level will be 50% - 60%.) Sally’s training heart rate zone will be 131-142 beats per minute:
Sally's Minimum Training Heart Rate:
220 - 33 (Age) = 187
187 - 75 (Rest. HR) = 112
112 x .50 (Min. Intensity) + 75 (Rest. HR) = 131 Beats/Minute
Sally's Maximum Training Heart Rate:
220 - 33 (Age) = 187
187 - 75 (Rest. HR) = 112
112 x .60 (Max. Intensity) + 75 (Rest. HR) = 142 Beats/Minute
Periodically, take your pulse during your exercise session to gauge your intensity level. Typically, the easiest location for taking a pulse is on the side of your neck, the carotid pulse. Be sure not to press too hard on the carotid artery or you’ll get an inaccurate reading. Count the number of beats, always beginning with zero, for 6 seconds (then multiply by 10), or for 10 seconds (then multiply by 6) to get the number of times your heart is beating per minute. If your pulse is within your training heart rate zone, you’re right on track! If not, adjust your exercise workload until you get into your zone.
Ratings of Perceived Exertion (Borg Scale)
Another method that can be used in conjunction with taking your pulse is the Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE). This is a subjective method that allows you to rate how hard you feel you’re working. RPE can be the primary means of measuring exercise intensity if you do not have typical heart rate responses to graded exercise. These people include those on beta blocking medications, some cardiac and diabetic patients, pregnant women, and others who may have an altered heart rate response.
On a scale of 0 - 10, rate how you’re feeling in terms of exercise fatigue, including how you feel both physically and mentally. You should be exercising between an RPE of 4 (somewhat strong) and an RPE of 5 or 6 (strong). Use the following table to determine the intensity level:
0 . . . . .Nothing at all
0.5 . . . Very, very weak
1 . . . . .Very weak
2 . . . . .Weak
3 . . . . .Moderate
4 . . . . .Somewhat strong
5 . . . . .Strong
6
7 . . . . .Very strong
8
9
10 . . . .Very, very strong (Maximal)

The Talk-Test Method
Like the RPE, the talk test method is subjective and should be used in conjunction with taking a pulse. The talk test is quite useful in determining your comfort zone of aerobic intensity, especially if you are just beginning an exercise program. If you are able to talk during your workout without a great deal of strain, you’re most likely in your comfort zone. Work at an intensity that allows you to breathe comfortably and rhythmically throughout all phases of your workout. This will ensure a safe and comfortable level of exercise.
__________________________________________

Good luck, everyone. This subject is the heart of these community boards, and is debated probably once a month. Don't be a slave to the scale. I haven't lost weight recently, BUT I have lost an entire size in pants and blouses without losing weight. I'll take my new body and the food!

~Cheryl

melathon

Just to chime in and I'll try to keep it short:

I started the year at 203 lbs (and miserable:frown: ) and am now 188 :happy: and I just started using this site on Jan. 14. I am by NO means an example but I have to think that I'm doing something right. This is just what works for me. I've had a couple REALLY big calorie splurges (1600 cals in one meal and over 2000 in another , 6 days apart!) and for some reason I'm still losing like mad. Whatever's going on, I want it to continue! I'm going to continue to eat all my calories, including ones earned by exercise, because that's what MFP has told me to do and it seems to be working wonders.

By the way - they didn't make it particularly clear on the show, but isn't this what happened to Jillian's team on The Biggest Loser? They didn't eat enough and stopped losing weight, despite the fact that they were doing Jillian's horrendously intense workouts.

Just my $.02!

PS I also recommend weight training - I know some people do just cardio but for me, building muscle has really helped me rev up my metabolism and I couldn't lose without it.

ohthatbambi

Well, yesterday I was home all day with a sick child and I ate a litte more than usual but not bad stuff. So after dinner I bolted for the gym b/c I was stir crazy. I exercised about 1.5 hours and came home and did strength straining/crunches etc. I guess I burned 700 calories or so. I ended up consuming all of my regular calories, plus the earned ones and I even went over that by 70 calories. I really expected the scale to be up a quarter of a pound or so but instead it dropped .6 pounds. So guess, what I am eating all my calories and my earned ones today just to make sure today's weight wasn't a fluke!

cmriverside

Well, yesterday I was home all day with a sick child and I ate a litte more than usual but not bad stuff. So after dinner I bolted for the gym b/c I was stir crazy. I exercised about 1.5 hours and came home and did strength straining/crunches etc. I guess I burned 700 calories or so. I ended up consuming all of my regular calories, plus the earned ones and I even went over that by 70 calories. I really expected the scale to be up a quarter of a pound or so but instead it dropped .6 pounds. So guess, what I am eating all my calories and my earned ones today just to make sure today's weight wasn't a fluke!

Yes! But you can't be too much a slave to the scale, daily weight can fluctuate by a couple pounds depending on a variety of causes: water retention (salt), weather, when and what you have eaten, hormones, and I'm sure others can attest to and add more reasons.
1000 calorie burns should only be done occasionally. Your body will not be able to sustain that, and you may burn out, and you won't have effective loss with this approach. For an expert "Less is More" opinion, here is an interesting article.

http://www.i-a-r-t.com/articles/Exercise Articles/Aerobic Myth.pdf

cmriverside

Wow! SOOO many people with the same question So, from what I gather, the b est thing to do is just eat normal, and only when I'm HUNGRY (not to force myself to eat the extra calories). I mean, seriously, for someone burning 1000/day exercising, they'd have to eat burger king for virtually every meal to consume the number of calories suggested! (not literally, but you know what I mean). So I guess I'll just keep doing like I'm doing. I mean, I am losing weight (15 pounds since Jan 8) but I just want to make sure I'm doing it the right way!

Please be careful with this approach. If you deprive your body of nutrients, you are endangering your health. You should consult with a doctor or nutritionist if you are going to take this path. It really could cause long-term health problems. You need to eat to lose.

200 calories either way is not a big deal, but more than that over time is a big deal.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but Food Is Fuel. You need to eat.

~Cheryl

cmriverside

This was from Icandoit: Anyone on this post needs to read this!!! Thank you, Renee, for another invaluable post!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing?page=1#posts-19051