is not eating enough cals stalling my weight loss??? HELP ME

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Replies

  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
    I've lost 47 lbs in 8 months through extreme low cals (500-700) and exercise. I've stopped losing completely! I exercise 6 days a week for about 50 mins. I know I'm being stubborn but I just don't see how eating MORE can help

    Is this a joke? It sure seems like it.

    Otherwise...

    You've been on here for 2 years and are doing that 700cal thing? Why ask? clearly you aren't going to listen to this forum.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    Starvation mode is oversold, but the fact is your body pretty much adjusts to anything. Best thing to do is mix things up to confuse it. Vary your exercise routine, eat over on some days and under on others, etc.
  • eggfooyumyum
    eggfooyumyum Posts: 42 Member
    A 47lb loss in eight months is slow/steady weight loss - a little over 5lbs a month. I suspect you are eating a lot more than 500 - 700 calories a day. Either way, I think you would benefit by investing in a private consultation with a nutrition and fitness specialist. If you are indeed eating that few calories, something is awry. Good luck!
  • ceajules
    ceajules Posts: 123
    THat happen to me thats why I came back and I am tracking everything feel free to add me
  • debbie1012
    debbie1012 Posts: 2
    definitely starvation mode...especially since you are working out so much. if you are not giving your body enough nutrients , it will shut down and hold on to any stored fat you may have. you can eat more, if you are worried about gaining, just make good choices...protein is good since you are working out. carbs are necessary to keep your energy up before a work out. just watch the carbs that you consume. I like drinking 1% chocolate milk, it gives me the sweet that I desire and the carbs and protein that my body needs.
  • daddysgrl
    daddysgrl Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks for the concern lovelies but please know an eating disorder couldn't be more absurd! I was OVER being fat and went a lil extreme. That is all. I never thought it was normal, ok, or cool. I was freakin starving but it was working so I suffered through it. I will abruptly fix.
  • erindh87
    erindh87 Posts: 94
    I'm gonna tell you something you're not gonna like. If you up your calories even below your TDEE, you will gain a few pounds, because your body is used to running on less fuel and will store the fuel in case you start starving it again. BUT - and this 'but' is important - after your body trusts you to give it the amount of fuel it needs to run again, you will lose weight steadily, consistently, and sustainably.

    ^^This!! If you follow everyone's great advice and increase calories to a safer level (which you definitely need to do), you will most likely see a jump in weight for a while. Your body will be expecting you to take it back down to your normal dangerously low levels, so it will hold onto anything it can. You'll have to give it some time to learn that you're not going to starve it again.

    You could try a gradual approach to see if it will help...say only 100-200 extra at a time for a few weeks until you get to at LEAST 1200 (IMO, you should go at least to your BMR). It might minimize the weight gain. Either way, just give it time and your body will start dropping again. It might be several weeks before it stabilizes after you up calories, but it WILL go back down eventually.
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
    I have been on a low calorie regimen for several years and I have stopped loosing weight also. I read all the message boards about the starvation myth and that we need to eat more to weigh less. Okay, I started upping my calories and I have gained about 5 pounds. Some say that is to be expected. So now I am going to go back to low calories and see what happens. The problem I had with low calories was I was waking up at night starving. Really don't know if the starvation thing is true.

    If you think starvation mode is a myth, you will be yo-yo dieting your entire life. Have fun.
  • vkruithof
    vkruithof Posts: 227 Member
    I've been EXACTLY where you are - and I do mean exactly. I refused to eat more than 700 calories a day - and I would only eat in the morning and early afternoon. My reasons may not match yours, but I was working on developing a pretty solid eating disorder. As it is, I got away with a minor one.

    You have to eat. YOU HAVE TO EAT.I cannot say it any plainer.

    I PROMISE you that you will not gain weight in the long run. Not with the amount of exercise you do.

    Look at my diary ( I know I haven't logged much in the past few days - I was away and internett was sketch) but look at my July/August. I lost about 10 pounds in 10 weeks. Weight that I hadn't been able to lose on a restricted diet. Some days I'll eat 1800 calories, some days 2000 -- it depends on my TDEE

    Say screw it and go up to 1500 calories of good quality food - don't cheat your way up with chips or sweets. Good stuff, as much as you want. You will be so surprised at how awesome it tastes and how full you get. You might gain a couple three pounds in the first week, MIGHT, but it will come off after that

    And you will be so surprised at how great you feel and how much better your work outs are

    Seriously....go eat

    ALWAYS take advice from someone who's LOST weight and knows what she's talking about! Good luck!
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    Wh you have done basically is taught your body to survive on a very low amount of calories.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I have been on a low calorie regimen for several years and I have stopped loosing weight also. I read all the message boards about the starvation myth and that we need to eat more to weigh less. Okay, I started upping my calories and I have gained about 5 pounds. Some say that is to be expected. So now I am going to go back to low calories and see what happens. The problem I had with low calories was I was waking up at night starving. Really don't know if the starvation thing is true.

    Forget the starvation myth.

    If you're waking up starving your body is telling you it needs food. Listen to it before you make yourself sick. You don't think a body without enough calories to function will not process every single calorie that gets put into it efficiently?

    It is also true that you can't just eat any calories, you need to eat good calories.
  • Happyinwcfl
    Happyinwcfl Posts: 1 Member
    Like you, I had to go extreme as well. I did the first 3 weeks at 500 with zero exercise & jump started the weight loss. Then I went to 700 and began the original P90. Now that I am doing P90 Master Series I needed more energy so I am now at 900-1400. In five months I've lost 35ish lbs and feel great. Since I am at a size I am happy with, but have more fat to lose I am going to try and ignore the scale so I can focus on toning while losing the fat. I will be upping calories as needed when I move to P90X.

    There will be weeks you are at a stand still.. but if you stick with MFP 1200 goal & exercise.. I promise the scale will reward you. Do you use a HRM to see how many calories you are burning? I can't imagine having any energy to exercise only eating 500 calories for the day.

    Good luck.

    p.s. I researched the heck out of starvation mode. 1. Yes, your metabolism slows down... it just will take a little longer for a pound to come off.. aka a 4k calorie deficit instead of the usual 3.5k. 2. The slow metabolism is not permanent. 3. Your body will not absorb muscle until you hit an extremely low body fat percentage.. like 5-6% for men..
  • 1holegrouper
    1holegrouper Posts: 323 Member
    Starvation mode this. Starvation mode that. As if there is some switch on our backs, LOL.

    When we weigh more our metabolism is faster. When we lose weight our metabolism will slow down merely because we weigh less and have less body mass to maintain. There comes a point where the abundance of fat cells that we had are no longer there for the taking. Now we are down to the stubborn fat cells. Our body then does fight to maintain what weight it has (what some might call starvation mode). Now we cannot get by with extreme and sometimes ill advised measures. Its time to outsmart our bodies.

    This means having a calorie deficit that you body will respond to with results you want. It also means eating responsibly and with an amount of calories that will not cause harm to your body.
  • Peggb
    Peggb Posts: 84 Member
    my dr said that its not safe to go below 1200 cals or you "starve" your body - I agree with the person who said to reenter your new weight in and see what it says you should be doing. Or get some protein shakes to fill you up with less calories Good job on the 47 lbs lost so far!!
  • Leeanne1974
    Leeanne1974 Posts: 207 Member
    I have lost my tracker plus 5lbs i lost in the week before joining MFP. In eight months.
    I eat at least 1200 cals a day. I cut down to 900 for one week and felt amazing.. For that week. The next week I felt like crap, was tearful, down in the dumps, spotty and my hair looked awful.
    I did lose that week but lost again the next week when I upped my cals again.
  • kellicci
    kellicci Posts: 409 Member
    Thanks for the concern lovelies but please know an eating disorder couldn't be more absurd! I was OVER being fat and went a lil extreme. That is all. I never thought it was normal, ok, or cool. I was freakin starving but it was working so I suffered through it. I will abruptly fix.

    Whew, good to know that you plan to fix it!

    Just be forewarned that when you start eating more you might...okay probably will....gaina few pounds right at first. So prepare yourself for that menatlly. If it were me I might even try to trick myself by setting a goal to gain 3-5 pounds (so taht when it happens I wouldn't feel like a failure) then reset my goal to lose. After you gain those few pounds and keep eating a healthy number of calories and exercising (about 4 weeks later) that's when the weight loss will start again.
  • Josh
    Josh Posts: 123 Member
    Howdy folks,

    I wanted to offer a brief explanation for the locking of this thread.

    The forum guidelines include this item:
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    At our discretion, this locked thread may be deleted entirely in the near future.


    With respect,
    Joshua
    MyFitnessPal Forum Staff
This discussion has been closed.

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