Questions bout "starvation mode"

kgarcia1226

I've been "dieting" since April 7th. I am eating 1000 calories per day. The 1st week I did not exercise. The 2nd week I started a 20 minute Zumba disc and, per this site, I burned 165 calories each time. The 3rd week + I am doing 30 minutes of Tae Bo and, again per this site, I am burning 517 calories each time. The 1st 3 weeks I had ketones in my urine so I was burning fat. Now I don't. I am afraid I have entered the dreaded "starvation mode". Especially since I did not know that with increased calorie burn from exercise I should increase my caloric intake. I am curious. Should I just increase my caloric intake from 1000/day 2 1200/day or should I increase it based on my calories burned, whatever that is daily? I have lost 14lbs so far, 4 which I am happy, however, my loss seems 2 b at a snails pace now & I am looking 4 the best/safest/fastest loss (I know, kind of an oxymoron). Any input would b great. Thanks!!

heathersmilez

Mixing things up for your metabolism will help it get back on track – you may gain a couple pounds in the beginning but that’s you body readjusting to food, its going to hang on to the first bit for dear life out of fear that it wont receive any more. It is imperative you stop eating less than 1200 calories a day no matter how much you want to. I know, I protested this for so long and I finally accept it as the truth – it took like 4 months though so I don’t expect to have you convinced in a day.

Here’s why;
Why must I eat at least 1,200 calories a day when I want to eat less?
In order to get the daily food servings you need for a balanced diet, it takes about 1200 calories a day (for a man it is 1500 calories a day). With careful planning, you could have a balanced diet on 1000 calories, but the restrictiveness of a very low calorie level can lead to binging and weight cycling, which will take you further from your weight loss goal. What's more, very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight.
Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a 5' 2", 19 year old female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing:
-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

= 1200

My suggestion is to start eating 1300 calories one day, 1500 the next and mix it up with exercise 30 minutes jogging one day, 20 minutes jumping jacks the next.

Also, here are
8 Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism
1. Get active - it's a sure-fire way to increase the amount of muscle you have, which in turn will speed up your metabolism. Do a mixture of aerobic and resistance training for best results. And don't forget to be more active in your daily life too.

2. Eat little and often - there's evidence that eating small, regular meals throughout the day, rather than one or two large meals, may help to keep your metabolism ticking over. Surprisingly, around 10 percent of the calories we use each day go on digesting and absorbing food - so the more times you eat, the greater this effect is likely to be.

3. Eat plenty of protein-rich foods - research shows that around 25 percent of calories in a protein-rich meal may be burnt off. But make sure you choose low-fat protein foods such as lean meat, skinless chicken and low-fat dairy products.

4. Spice up meals - it's not an old wives tale after all! Spices like chilli are thought to raise metabolism by up to 50 percent for up to three hours after eating, due to increasing your heart rate. But before putting the local Indian takeaway on speed dial, work out which curries have the lowest calorie and fat content.

5. Swap you daily cuppa for green tea - there's evidence that it contains antioxidants that speed up metabolism.

6. Try a CLA supplement - more extensive studies need to be carried out before any definite conclusions can be drawn, but research has shown that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) might increase muscle and therefore boost metabolism.

7. Chill out - research shows that being very cold can increase metabolism by up to 20 percent.

8. Have a sauna - being very hot is also thought to boost metabolism by about 20 percent (but check you don't have any underlying medical problems that mean you shouldn't go in saunas or steam rooms).

chrisdavey

see http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stroutman81/view/should-i-eat-back-my-exercise-calories-25705

chrisdavey

also to put it in numbers.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/89496-suggestion-to-end-the-exercise-calorie-confusion?page=1#posts-1325727

kgarcia1226

Ok, let me c if I understand. According to MFP my daily maintenance (calories just 2 survive & avg daily activity w/o exercise?) is 2200/day. So that would make 20-35% deficit 4 loss equal 440-770/day. So total daily calories would b 1430-1760 per day. Now, how I acheive that 1430-1760 is my "choice" right? By choice I mean either I could not exercise, not smart, and only eat the appropriate number of calories to be the deficit range. Or I could eat let's say 2000 calories then exercise enough to burn off anywhere from 240-570 calories. Am I understanding this right? Either way, it appears that my current lifestyle, 1000 cal/day in & then 150-500 burned therefore only 850-500 maintained in the body daily, is not the way to continue. Right? Now that I'm thinking more about it it seems as though I'm hurting my body with my current lifestyle. That's not what I'm looking for.

Yurippe

Yep, you got it now!

BuckeyeLuvvvva

Aaahhh starvation mode is the worst! I'm VERY stubborn and I'm pretty sure that I'm not taking in enough calories all the time but I'm too scared to up it too much... but I'm working on slowly taking in more and more and not stressing too much about it, I know it's all mental, for me at least.... but I know we can do it!!

heathersmilez

Ok, let me c if I understand. According to MFP my daily maintenance (calories just 2 survive & avg daily activity w/o exercise?) is 2200/day. So that would make 20-35% deficit 4 loss equal 440-770/day. So total daily calories would b 1430-1760 per day. Now, how I acheive that 1430-1760 is my "choice" right? By choice I mean either I could not exercise, not smart, and only eat the appropriate number of calories to be the deficit range. Or I could eat let's say 2000 calories then exercise enough to burn off anywhere from 240-570 calories. Am I understanding this right? Either way, it appears that my current lifestyle, 1000 cal/day in & then 150-500 burned therefore only 850-500 maintained in the body daily, is not the way to continue. Right? Now that I'm thinking more about it it seems as though I'm hurting my body with my current lifestyle. That's not what I'm looking for.

Exactly! I know, the net calorie feature on this particular website can really shock you. More proof that we really should eat our workout calories. I rarely do that but that is my own flaw, not recommended. Baby steps....


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

thenebean9

Aaahhh starvation mode is the worst! I'm VERY stubborn and I'm pretty sure that I'm not taking in enough calories all the time but I'm too scared to up it too much... but I'm working on slowly taking in more and more and not stressing too much about it, I know it's all mental, for me at least.... but I know we can do it!!

I've been using MFP for a few months now, and I've noticed that the closer I get to eating all my calories for the day, the more I lose weight. I went for a while without hitting my goals by about 300-400 calories (i eat my exercise calories too) and my weight loss stagnated. I've lost 27 pounds (10 before using MFP) so don't get to worried about staying as low as possible. it still works!