Am I in 'starvation mode'? Am I getting out of it?

auxiliaa

I've edited my above post to try and be a little more helpful.

Thank you

erickirb

If you are coming from a very low calorie diet and you increase your calories with "carbs" you will gain some water weight but this will be limited and also fluctuate from day to day.

If may well be worth speaking to your doctor about the concerns you may have in regard to you diet.

Without knowing you, my tuppence worth is that you are getting to few calories. You may want to consider upping your intake - fat may be a good way of getting the extra calories as you will not have to add much in the way of volume of food. Rest assured that AS LONG AS YOU ARE IN CALORIE DEFICIT any fat you consume will be burnt off for energy.

Good luck.

So consuming less than the 1500 my BMR + activity adds up to will not increase my weight at all?

It may at first as under eating for so long your body reduces its own energy needs and your BMR may be more like 1300 or so, this will reset after eating above BMR for some time. The weight you may gain at first should be mostly water due to the increase in glycogen stores in your muscles (glycogen stores water), but it is not fat, so don't fret about any gain.

Also keep adding your 200 cals to your day every 3-4 weeks to give you time to adjust to the newer intake slowly.

marieautumn

you should probably see a doctor or nutritionist who can build a plan for you to get back to a healthy weight. i don't think the people of MFP are qualified to give this sort of advice.

SuMcP

It sounds as if you are seriously under weight and still starving yourself - I think you should get some professional help from someone who specialises in eating disorders. Sorry to be blunt, but you are doing yourself serious harm.

geekyjock76

Take your time upping your intake as your stomach may not be capable of handling a large amount of calories. You need to realize that your RMR and TDEE are no where near what they used to be as they've adjusted to chronic low energy availability. You may have had a RMR of 1300, but it may be closer to 600 now. The only way to know how depressed it has become is to visit a metabolic testing center or endocrinologist to assess your RMR. They can also take blood samples to determine the state of your hormonal health as leptin, grehlin and cortisol levels have likely become imbalanced.

leomom72

you need to eat more..according to several charts i have found online, you are about 10 pounds underweight..drink your cals instead if you cant eat them..good luck

kristen6022

No one else finds that the OP being 5'4 and 94 pounds and 14% BF alarming?

Please seek professional help, no one here can really give you medical advice.

BeingAwesome247

You're not in starvation mode, you're just plain starving....

Sweetie, I'd suggest DEFINITELY upping your calories and consider seeking medical attention

A lot of times anorexics do have that weird stomach bloat....fairly common

No one else finds that the OP being 5'4 and 94 pounds and 14% BF alarming?

Please seek professional help, no one here can really give you medical advice.

YES

PaveGurl

You already know this, but you NEEd to gain weight. That's the point, right?

auxiliaa

If you are coming from a very low calorie diet and you increase your calories with "carbs" you will gain some water weight but this will be limited and also fluctuate from day to day.

If may well be worth speaking to your doctor about the concerns you may have in regard to you diet.

Without knowing you, my tuppence worth is that you are getting to few calories. You may want to consider upping your intake - fat may be a good way of getting the extra calories as you will not have to add much in the way of volume of food. Rest assured that AS LONG AS YOU ARE IN CALORIE DEFICIT any fat you consume will be burnt off for energy.

Good luck.

So consuming less than the 1500 my BMR + activity adds up to will not increase my weight at all?

It may at first as under eating for so long your body reduces its own energy needs and your BMR may be more like 1300 or so, this will reset after eating above BMR for some time. The weight you may gain at first should be mostly water due to the increase in glycogen stores in your muscles (glycogen stores water), but it is not fat, so don't fret about any gain.

But this is the annoying part - I have to eat 1500 per day just to maintain, let alone gain any actual weight. So any weight I do gain might mean nothing until I go over 1500

felice03

go see a doctor...only advice needed.

auxiliaa

Take your time upping your intake as your stomach may not be capable of handling a large amount of calories. You need to realize that your RMR and TDEE are no where near what they used to be as they've adjusted to chronic low energy availability. You may have had a RMR of 1300, but it may be closer to 600 now. The only way to know how depressed it has become is to visit a metabolic testing center or endocrinologist to assess your RMR. They can also take blood samples to determine the state of your hormonal health as leptin, grehlin and cortisol levels have likely become imbalanced.

I had one today, I hope it sheds some light on everything..

And I know I'm dangerously underweight and need to gain, but these digestive problems ruin upping the calories... And I don't know how likely me seeing a nutritionist is

leilamarchi

If you were diagnosed with IBS and have developed an eating disorder around it, that's two reasons to work in tandem with your doctor and nutritionist to help you discover and understand the foods you can have safely and the amounts you need to be eating to get to a healthier place.

"Starvation mode" is when your metabolism slows down because you're not giving it enough calories and it thinks it's going to starve, so instead of USING what calories you DO put in, your body is saving them all just in case there isn't another meal for a while. But it sounds like you're just starving, as Outtamyway201 already told you. Big difference.

Please, please, see your doctor and a nutritionist, so you can figure out how to give your body what it needs.

dickymint678

Use calorie dense food - high fat.

Do you eat toast? smother it in butter and or peanut butter (obviously not PB if your allergic...).

Do you eat salad? dress it (alot) with olive / flax seed / rapeseed or mayonaise.

Munch on some nuts and seeds.

samlankford

since you said you have IBS consulting figuring out your "trigger foods" is a REALLY good idea... both myself and my boyfriend has mild cases of IBS (I can't eat mayo, most breads, anything greasy, pork, most red meats.. he can't have mushrooms, broccoli, and a few other things, still trying to figure out his triggers)... if your able to consume nuts you may want to look into "kind" granola bars.. you can pronounce and identify EVERYTHING that is in them, taste great and they are very good for you...

SuffolkSally

Some of the digestive problems may come from the starvation you've inflicted on yourself. As they took time to develop, they'll take time to recover from too, and it may not be smooth or comfortable progress.

Talking to a specialist is probably your best bet, if that's possible?

In the meantime go with eating high calorie but fairly low volume foods (if you know what your IBS triggers are then it's going to be best to avoid them for now - when your overall health is better you experiment with reintroducing them gradually). Eggs, meat, fish, nuts, fruit, avocado, oils, meal supplements if you feel more comfortable drinking soem calories rather than eating them. Try not to weigh yourself overmuch as progress may be erratic, you need to focus on your energy improving, and accept that you need to gain weight.

auxiliaa

I didn't realise how severe this sounds to other people..

SuffolkSally

I didn't realise how severe this sounds to other people..

It's easy to get into a sort of loop of day to day acceptance of things which are actually quite abnormal to an outsider - I know this from experience!

DoomCakes

I have one person on my list that I know suffered from anorexia. She also has the same problems with feeling overly bloated and stuff after eating. But she jumped from little to more. I think she eased herself back and is feeling better though. The only thing I can suggest is eat more calorie dense and nutrient dense smaller foods. (peanut butter, almonds, nuts providing you're not allergic) But honestly, I'm not a medical professional, and this is something you really should take up with your doctor to assist you in putting together a better meal plan that will help you put the weight back on, but in a healthy manner and maybe with less discomfort to you.

auxiliaa

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the input - ill focus on gaining and increasing, and live with the bloat if it means I'll be healthy again