Obsession with starvation mode...

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  • jayfree1799
    jayfree1799 Posts: 1 Member
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    I thought MFP was more of a guide/log to let you track exactly what you are putting into your body. I didnt know that everyone was a certified dietician or nutritionist for that matter. MFP helped me to start be accountable for what I eat at all times. I am a Active Duty Soldier and always thought i knew what was best for my body. But, over the years my weight steady kept rising and i didnt pay it not attention. The bottom line is I had to change my lifestyle and get rid of some bad habits in order to get to where i want to be. I am not either of the above that i mentioned earlier, however, i do know that MFP was the start of a new me. I do take accountability for everything that i eat now and i log it. I have been away on and off due to military requirements but now i will be back daily. Once i started seeing results, that was the motivation to keep me going for myself and others around me. I may not know alot about BMR or TDEE or whatever else for that matter. I do know what ever has been working for you i would suggest stick to it. If you plateau, reassess your exercise and go back through your logs to see what you changed. I tell people all the time there are three things you need to change in order to get back in shape: nutrition, exercise, rest. Those 3 are the foundation. If you are eating right and it would be safe to say that we all do here on MFP and you are working out more than what you were before MFP, you will be ok. The problem will come in if you see results to fast and then get away from what got you there. This is just my opinion. I have 4 coworkers that have came to me within the past month and just by helping them with their nutrition alone they are all seeing results. Thank you all for helping me in my goal to stay fit. Please keep posting ideas, recipes, etc.
  • pigsfly1972
    pigsfly1972 Posts: 14
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    I actually gain weight when I don't eat enough believe it or not. I used to skip breakfast, have coffee. Which I know alot of people aren't breakfast eaters anyhow. Than I would get busy being a mom or what have you and than eat 1 huge meal in the late afternoon or evening and then a couple hours later go to bed. I ate 1,200 calores or less in one sitting. I have noticed that alot of women don't eat a whole lot they just eat to much in one sitting,late at night and the wrong choice in food. Which caused me to be tired all the time , and not get a good night's rest. I was living on coffee pretty much. Than I asked my self I see a lot of people that seem to eat like birds small meals or snack all day long and are slim. I wonder if that has something to do with when we were infants out of the womb and ate every 2-3 hours we were hungry.

    I think we came on the earth eating raw nuts, seed, plants and meat way back when so that is how we should eat. However if that is the case how did the women of the 50's stay so trim. I guess they were more active, less hormones in the food . Than all this processed stuff eek . Kind of scary.

    So no I didn't over eat like I said just a little off topic so I think there is more to it than that. We are all so different I think we just need to listen to our bodies.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    MFP WILL TELL YOU YOU ARE IN STARVATION MODE. THIS IS TRUE BECAUSE YOU TRULY AREN'T GETTING ENOUGH NUTRIENTS TO FUEL YOUR BODY.

    Neither MFP nor you have a clue how many nutrients any of us are getting.

    I'm eating around 1,000 calories and when I spent some time adding up the micronutrient content of my diet I was over the RDAs on practically everything. Getting all the nutrients is more about what you eat than how much, 1800 calories of olive oil or starch won't do anyone any good for very long but would pass your calorie test.

    Yesterday a lady eating 1900 calories shared the deficiencies that her doctor had identified through blood tests.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
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    I'm considered morbidly obese.. currently 267 pounds, my heighest was 297. I can eat at a very large calorie defecit because my body has tons of fat to fall back on.
    When I get closer to my goal weight, I'm going to start slowly adding more calories to my diet, so that when I get to my goal, I can eat normal sized meals.

    I was 301lbs. Ate 1800cals a day. Dropped weight like crazy. I've been down to 1490 (crazy ***** territpry) and now eat 1673. I'm quite happy there. I'm rarely hungry I eat a lot and get to have my treats. I've lost 77lbs in ten months. The results speak for themselves.

    My view on this is if you want to starve yourself and screw up your body go ahead! You'll go through what all of us did and be overweight for many years to come. The reason people keep harping on about eating more is so that you will lose weight in a healthy sustainable manner. But hey you know best. It's your loss not mine.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    There are hundreds of studies in medical journals, however, that do support eating at least your BMR.

    Cool. Can you point me at three good ones please.
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
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    I just think there is no one right way. If I ate all of my exercise calories all of the time I don't think I'd lose weight that much. Likewise if I never ate my exercise calories I'd be bloody starving and probably, if nothing else, have a total binge as I wouldnt' be eating enough.
    I've decided sometimes I'll eat them sometimes I'll eat some of them, and sometimes I won't eat them at all. That way my body is always guessing and I'm going with the flow of what my body is telling me.
    Its not black and white.
    Its various shades of grey.
  • HeidiHoMom
    HeidiHoMom Posts: 1,393 Member
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    There are hundreds of studies in medical journals, however, that do support eating at least your BMR.

    Cool. Can you point me at three good ones please.

    I already listed several of them in another post.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    Someone spectacularly missing the point again, and Yarwell once again on his crusade :D
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Someone spectacularly missing the point again, and Yarwell once again on his crusade :D

    Just like all the "eat your BMR" crusaders, eh ?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I already listed several of them in another post.

    I can see the ones about reduced BMR through caloric restriction and/or weight loss, which I'm familiar with.

    I was looking for something about "eating at least your BMR" ?
  • bangersnmash90
    bangersnmash90 Posts: 88
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    In response, I am saying:

    Your body needs a recommended number of calories for basic metabolic functions (BMR)
    Say this amount is 1300.
    You eat 1300 calories of nutirent rich food
    You meet your bodies daily requirement, you will not stave, your body got its quota of nutrients for the day - its quite happy!

    IRRELEVANT of exercise burn you still fuelled your body with the nutrients it needed.

    For energy for the exercise calories your body converts adapose cells to carbs for fuel to provide energy for your exercise. The old fashioned way of exerciing for weight loss.

    I don't want to get too involved in this as what works for some may not work for others BUT I would just like to point out that your BMR is the number of calories your body needs at COMPLETE rest, it would be the amount that you would be fed via a tube if you were in a coma.

    basal metabolic rate
    n. Abbr. BMR
    The rate at which energy is used by an organism at complete rest, measured in humans by the heat given off per unit time, and expressed as the calories released per kilogram of body weight or per square meter of body surface per hour.

    How can you think that you are giving your body enough nutrients if you are only eating the amount of calories you need at complete rest, when you are clearly using a lot more calories than this (even if you weren't burning 500 calories a day). None of us are truly sedentary and hence none of us should or could realistically fuel ourselves on our BMR calories.

    You'll find out soon enough anyway, when you stop losing weight and wonder why.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    None of us are truly sedentary and hence none of us should or could realistically fuel ourselves on our BMR calories

    other than by topping up the calorie difference from our fat reserves, like we would have done hunting down prey having not eaten for a day in the distant past. Part or all of the BMR and activity can be fuelled from the bodies reserves, for a finite period.
  • tpittsley77
    tpittsley77 Posts: 607 Member
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    Bump..... really love to read these threads but gotta go to work....
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    None of us are truly sedentary and hence none of us should or could realistically fuel ourselves on our BMR calories

    other than by topping up the calorie difference from our fat reserves, like we would have done hunting down prey having not eaten for a day in the distant past. Part or all of the BMR and activity can be fuelled from the bodies reserves, for a finite period.

    If you're talking just energy requirements, then perhaps, but even that is doubtful as your body is likely to enter a catabolic state pretty quickly if you don't eat anything at all for a substantial period of time. No vitamins and minerals coming into your body seems pretty unhealthy to me. The whole point about eating your BMR is to ensure you have enough energy AND other nutrients to sustain your lean tissue.

    If you want to roll the dice and chance the health of your organs, the density of your bones and the preservation of your muscles, go ahead. Just don't keep trying to convince everyone else it's healthy, as there's a reason such diets should only be undertaken under the care of a Doctor.
  • watboy
    watboy Posts: 380 Member
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    Can someone post that picture with that horse? You know the one.
  • terrie_exercise_mom
    terrie_exercise_mom Posts: 58
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    Kind of funny how even doctors don't know what they are talking about if they tell you that you do not need to eat your exercise calories back! People on here think they are so smart when it comes to "starvation mode". It is like a broken record!
  • fudgebudget
    fudgebudget Posts: 198 Member
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    "Starvation mode" is real for anorexics and people who live in extreme poverty or famine-plagued countries. It's hyperbolic for overweight Americans.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
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    i lost more eating 1950 total / 1650 net than i did eating 1650 total / 1200 net, also regained weight MANY times after low cal, below BMR diets.............my BMR is 1580 so netting above BMR works much better than grossing BMR for me!!!!
  • RyanDanielle5101
    RyanDanielle5101 Posts: 533
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    I'm set at 1450cals a day (just upped from 1200 a month ago because my body needed the fuel). I burn anywhere from 250-800 cals a day and eat back most if not all exercise cals!!!

    Go figure after a week of higher cals I broke the plateau and lost 3.5lbs!!! Eat more food:)

    I'm 3lbs from goal.....just sayin':flowerforyou:
  • FrostyFour
    FrostyFour Posts: 262
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    I have to post because my entire diet revolves around me being on starvation mode. It's what is making my diet WORK.

    Pre-diet, I'd eat about 1500 calories a day. But it was ONE meal a day. I was so busy with my kids that I wasn't eating. Then at the end of the day my husband would bring home dinner and that greaseball would be enough to fulfil my calories, but my body was still STARVING.

    Right now I'm actually only eating maybe 1000 calories a day. ***BUT*** I am eating it through 5-7 meals a day to let my body know that I'm NOT starving, I have food available I'm just keeping the meals small. And it's worked! Over the past 45 days I've lost 21 pounds!

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