eat less still getting fatter and fatter?

rose313 · September 2012

Are you logging your food accurately? You could be eating hundreds more calories than you think. Also, rejoin the gym and start lifting to tone up. You will notice inches coming off, even if the scale doesn't show a loss.

LadyIvysMom · September 2012

Have you had your thyroid checked? If you are doing all the right things and still not getting results, it's worth looking into.

That was my thought also.

If you are eating less/exercising more/somehow getting to a calorie defecit, you should eventually lose some weight. If you are really are doing everything "right" as far as a healthy diety and workout routine, my first concern would be that there may be a medical issue. Talk to your doctor just to be on the safe side.

SHBoss1673 · September 2012

OMG, I have this problem too! People assume because I"m 290 lbs it because I sit around eating junk all day! Which is not the case, most days I'm way under my calorie goal. But it has been brought to my attention that if I don't eat enough my body is going into starvation mode and will not burn up the fat!

So I'm having to make myself eat smaller portions more often through the day and changing up the exercises that I'm doing.

So far its been working great.
Good luck!

You will not go into starvation mode. Lol. That's a big fat lie and a myth that continues to perpetuate among the masses. It's just not true. It takes about 3 or 4 days of zero food to go into starvation, plus there is a clinical definition of a percentage of body fat you have to have before you are actually starving. Trust me, you've never actually starved. I know, because if you did, you wouldn't have said what you said about starvation mode.

Eat you goal. If the weight doesn't come off, reduce your cals. Keep going unless you get dangerously low, like 1000 cals or whatever. Then go up in cals and keep going. You might have to eat more to lose.. Sounds weird but it does work. If that doesn't work, see a doctor.

What I mean by going up or down with the cals, is every week when you weigh in, if you haven't seen a difference, adjust your calories down by 100. Do this every week, until it just seems too low. If you're not losing, I suggest you do the opposite and go up. You can go way up and you should not gain, but might lose. It depends. But, if neither of those methods work, as I said, go visit a doctor because something else might be going on.

beansprouts · September 2012

wow, this is all false info. and horrible advice, please don't follow it. If you have any kind of a techincal background, here's some Actual data for you to read.

Starvation mode:

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=789564&jid=PNS&volumeId=54&issueId=01&aid=789556

http://www.ajcn.org/content/46/4/622.full.pdf+html

http://www.ajcn.org/content/68/1/1.full.pdf+html?sid=1f835bd6-51e1-49c0-a79e-e73fa166c490

http://www.ajcn.org/content/71/6/1511.full.pdf+html?sid=1f835bd6-51e1-49c0-a79e-e73fa166c490

http://www.ajcn.org/content/83/2/461S.full.pdf+html?sid=25df97eb-0ad2-4dbd-91a7-07d1ff371d19

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/96/1/66.full?sid=fbb2018e-851b-468e-82d3-e0326c632ce4

http://www.ajcn.org/content/68/3/599.full.pdf+html?sid=0a679b54-6b93-4a1c-8ce1-88b3f0402baf

Fat loss and lipid metabolism

http://www.ajcn.org/content/61/3/486.full.pdf+html?sid=13ed3002-6c8d-4b9b-9c50-eaea1d5b38a8

http://www.ajcn.org/content/73/3/523.full.pdf+html?sid=0a679b54-6b93-4a1c-8ce1-88b3f0402baf

http://www.ajcn.org/content/55/3/670.full.pdf+html?sid=0a679b54-6b93-4a1c-8ce1-88b3f0402baf

http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/2/558s.full.pdf+html?sid=35d57613-d25d-4127-ac75-0aa506b9db26

http://www.ajcn.org/content/61/4/968S.full.pdf+html?sid=35d57613-d25d-4127-ac75-0aa506b9db26

http://www.ajcn.org/content/57/5/752S.full.pdf+html?sid=35d57613-d25d-4127-ac75-0aa506b9db26

I don't know what all of the stuff that you pasted says...but the truth is that what we commonly call "starvation mode" IS about body fat...just like the poster that you disagreed with said. Low calories will put you at risk of going into "starvation mode only when your body fat falls below 5% for a male and below 10% for a female...note: ANY (Under weight person) STILL TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT WITH BODY FAT PERCENTAGES THAT LOW HAS AN EATING DISORDER...NOT A WEIGHT PROBLEM!

brainfreeze72 · September 2012

Don't skip meals, that is the worst thing you can do to your body. I'd say frequent smaller meals. I usually have an egg sandwich before work, a yogurt and a piece of fruit mid-morning, a salad and sandwich for lunch, maybe another piece of fruit or veggies and hummus other small snack before I start cooking dinner. This may take some time but talk to your doctor. I did about 5 or 6 weeks ago and he advised me to join MFP. I also have a thyroid problem which I am on medication for. Ask your doctor to check your thyroid levels with a blood test.

It is not just about how much food you eat but the quality of the food you eat. If you are eating frozen dinners or canned foods those contain a lot of sodium which can make you retain water and hold a lot of extra weight. I recently have been tracking my sodium and working on improving it. Coincidentally, I dropped 5.8 pounds in 1 week when I paid attention and was more careful of my sodium intake. For me, I'd rather have extra calories that I can walk off than extra sodium. The more foods you eat with minimal processing the better your body can process it. That means fresh meats, fish, poultry, vegetables, whole grains. Using MFP to help me track my diet has really helped me keep myself under control. I don't know whether your other method of tracking is helpful with counting calories as well as carbs, fat, sodium, etc. but maybe take a closer look at that.

amnsetie · September 2012

OK so now I know you are trying to lose tummy fat but you are not that overweight
You can't target lose weight by the way so no need to make you your mind where you want to lose the fat from.
To do what you want you must exercise.
You can exercise a bit around the office,
do standing push-ups against the wall. take in some small weights for arm curls, do stretches or desk yoga
But better is to find some energetic exercise you don't hate and keep doing it every day or every second day.
You can find the time, cos you want the result.
Don't skip meals, this is not a good thing, you can eat smaller meals but skipping meals will turn your cravings up.

SHBoss1673 · September 2012

wow, this is all false info. and horrible advice, please don't follow it. If you have any kind of a techincal background, here's some Actual data for you to read.

Starvation mode:

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=789564&jid=PNS&volumeId=54&issueId=01&aid=789556

http://www.ajcn.org/content/46/4/622.full.pdf+html

http://www.ajcn.org/content/68/1/1.full.pdf+html?sid=1f835bd6-51e1-49c0-a79e-e73fa166c490

http://www.ajcn.org/content/71/6/1511.full.pdf+html?sid=1f835bd6-51e1-49c0-a79e-e73fa166c490

http://www.ajcn.org/content/83/2/461S.full.pdf+html?sid=25df97eb-0ad2-4dbd-91a7-07d1ff371d19

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/96/1/66.full?sid=fbb2018e-851b-468e-82d3-e0326c632ce4

http://www.ajcn.org/content/68/3/599.full.pdf+html?sid=0a679b54-6b93-4a1c-8ce1-88b3f0402baf

Fat loss and lipid metabolism

http://www.ajcn.org/content/61/3/486.full.pdf+html?sid=13ed3002-6c8d-4b9b-9c50-eaea1d5b38a8

http://www.ajcn.org/content/73/3/523.full.pdf+html?sid=0a679b54-6b93-4a1c-8ce1-88b3f0402baf

http://www.ajcn.org/content/55/3/670.full.pdf+html?sid=0a679b54-6b93-4a1c-8ce1-88b3f0402baf

http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/2/558s.full.pdf+html?sid=35d57613-d25d-4127-ac75-0aa506b9db26

http://www.ajcn.org/content/61/4/968S.full.pdf+html?sid=35d57613-d25d-4127-ac75-0aa506b9db26

http://www.ajcn.org/content/57/5/752S.full.pdf+html?sid=35d57613-d25d-4127-ac75-0aa506b9db26

I don't know what all of the stuff that you pasted says...but the truth is that what we commonly call "starvation mode" IS about body fat...just like the poster that you disagreed with said. Low calories will put you at risk of going into "starvation mode only when your body fat falls below 5% for a male and below 10% for a female...note: ANY (Under weight person) STILL TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT WITH BODY FAT PERCENTAGES THAT LOW HAS AN EATING DISORDER...NOT A WEIGHT PROBLEM!

this statement is false, please show me where you get this info from, because I've already shown you the research (some of it) that I use to refute that statement.

It's common knowledge in the medical community that even at small deficits, the body begins to slow down the metabolic rate, and as you raise the deficit for an extended period (multiple days and on into weeks) the metabolism decreases and the rate of lipogenesis (the storage of fat from sugars and acetyl-CoA) increases.

stormsusmc · September 2012

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/743724-useful-links-for-you-must-read?page=1#posts-10981308

check out my thread there...some of the links there may help you

antjoanes · July 2014

This starvation mode thing is a myth, I can't find any substantial evidence of eating less means you keep hold of your fat. Lets face it you can't break fundamental laws of physics, your body is its size due to the stored energy and amount of energy going into it.

Check and count drink calories, butter or margarine added to toast ect. Count everything that goes in! 1lb of fat is 3500calories so if you can deficit that amount through eating less and exercising you WILL loose weight.

Skipping meals is absolutely fine, I'm currently skipping breakfast so I effectively fast 14 hours a day and weight is coming off quick. As long as you meet your macros it all works. I'm eating ice cream and the odd chocolate too but keep my total calorie intake at my fat loss level.

Oh by the way watch of for coffee shop latte's as some are 200 calories, again record EVERYTHING

maidentl · July 2014

This starvation mode thing is a myth, I can't find any substantial evidence of eating less means you keep hold of your fat. Lets face it you can't break fundamental laws of physics, your body is its size due to the stored energy and amount of energy going into it.

Check and count drink calories, butter or margarine added to toast ect. Count everything that goes in! 1lb of fat is 3500calories so if you can deficit that amount through eating less and exercising you WILL loose weight.

Skipping meals is absolutely fine, I'm currently skipping breakfast so I effectively fast 14 hours a day and weight is coming off quick. As long as you meet your macros it all works. I'm eating ice cream and the odd chocolate too but keep my total calorie intake at my fat loss level.

Oh by the way watch of for coffee shop latte's as some are 200 calories, again record EVERYTHING

The OP was written two years ago. :grumble:

QuietBloom · July 2014

This starvation mode thing is a myth, I can't find any substantial evidence of eating less means you keep hold of your fat. Lets face it you can't break fundamental laws of physics, your body is its size due to the stored energy and amount of energy going into it.

Check and count drink calories, butter or margarine added to toast ect. Count everything that goes in! 1lb of fat is 3500calories so if you can deficit that amount through eating less and exercising you WILL loose weight.

Skipping meals is absolutely fine, I'm currently skipping breakfast so I effectively fast 14 hours a day and weight is coming off quick. As long as you meet your macros it all works. I'm eating ice cream and the odd chocolate too but keep my total calorie intake at my fat loss level.

Oh by the way watch of for coffee shop latte's as some are 200 calories, again record EVERYTHING

The OP was written two years ago. :grumble:

Somebody discovered the 'search' function.

Zombie thread!

AllOutof_Bubblegum · July 2014

Eating "less" does not necessarily mean "not eating too much". You can cut your calories, to fewer than you were eating before, but if you are eating over maintenance, you'll still gain weight. Make sure you know your TDEE, and are eating below it.

frnpierre · August 2014

Lost a great deal of weight almost reach my goal by 20 for no reason started gaining wait bloting everywhere used to workout 3 times a week at gym 1 to 2 hours I am desperate this has to stop

Unknown · August 2014

This content has been removed.

skittle316 · August 2014

eating less and less is not always the answer... you need to be eating helathy nutritious food and having at least 5 to 6 SMALL meals in a day.

Make sure you have some nutritious snacks with you at all times for those times when you are busy or travelling - like a packet of nuts etc...

What i have found works best for me is to prepack all my food for the day and have it in a little coller box on my desk - and set myself times when I must eat...

By eating smaller meals more often you will find that your food craving will start to deminish. Also make sure you have having less refined foods (low GI) you will feel fuller for longer and your blood sugar won't spike and then drop which is what causes all the "bad" food cravings - it's your body looking for it's next "fix".

And EXERCISE - even if it's just a quick 30 min walk round the block, get your blood pumping

You can add me if you like

The 5 or 6 meals a day thing is myth. The reason you loose weight is because you're eating less meals. Intermittent fasting is better for weight loss and general health.

eat less still getting fatter and fatter?

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