My numbers say I am in starvation mode ~ but I am full HELP

Options
debmost4
debmost4 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, I just started last week. This was one day of mine. Herbalife shake for breakfast and lunch. snack was sundried tomato tunafish on 4 crackers. Dinner was a Flat out pizza with cheese onion ham and bacon. Plus 5 water bottles during the day. I was full. My numbers say I did not eat my 1200 calaries and that I am starving my body and will not be able to lose. Is that true? My weight has been at the same weight for years now. I just turned 40 and thought I should try to lose ome weight . I don't tend to. Ieat a lot just usually pick bad choices. Is there any one else out there that has this problem?




I guess I filled something out wrong. You all are telling me I only need to lose 20 pounds, I never even mentioned in my post what my weight loss number is. The class I entered last week did my numbers and said I needed to lose 50 pounds. The 1200 calories is what is on the top of the page when I sign in everyday. I was just asking for advice on how to add to my meals to get a higher number. I did not really need negative comments, just wanted helpful suggestions
«1

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Will you actually hit starvation mode, no... are you eating enough quality food, probably not. With only 20 lbs to lose, you can not aim for much more than 1/2 - 1 lb per week. But if you want to post, your height and weight as well as your exercise routine and lifestyle/job, I can run the numbers. But I have a feeling you should be around 1600-2000 calories.


    One note, if you consistently under eat, your body will catabolize your lean body mass which will slow down your metabolic rate and you will end up losing muscle and fat instead of all fat.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Options
    Can you do Helbalife and still get in 1200 calories? I dont know much about Herbalife so its a genuine question.
  • SHHitsKaty
    SHHitsKaty Posts: 301
    Options
    I thought I was doing fine at 1450, generally only eating 1300 of those, I'm 5'4", 26 years of age, want to lose about 10 more lbs, I've lost 7 altogether. I'm finding out though that with working out 6 days a week, I probably should be eating more in the 1500-1600 area.

    I don't know how anyone can eat under 1200 calories, when I had my calories set at that I was starving and I also wasn't losing ANY weight even though I was eating much less.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Options
    Sounds like you aren't eating nearly enough. To be fair doesn't surprise me considering you are replacing two of your meals with shakes instead of real food.

    Also, 1,200 calories a day is acceptable for people who are OBESE but for someone who only has 20 pounds to lose that may be too high of a deficit.

    My suggestion is to eat real food, consume atleast your bmr, and slowly change your eating habits to a sustainable diet.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Options
    It's because you're trying to live on shakes. Do you plan to live on shakes for the rest of your life? I realize that all these companies sell them with the promise of losing weight and being invigorated with all the healthy things in them but really no one is going to make a lifestyle of it and you can't continually under eat and be healthy.

    Being "full" and having gotten the nutrition and calories you need are two different things. I can chug water all day and feel full but I'm not going to be healthy. Another part of it is mindset. You've only been doing this a short time so your body hasn't had time to rebel and your mind is still in the Rah Rah phase of weight loss where it's all exciting and new.

    Since you probably already have a supply of the shakes and have spent a lot of money on all the wonderful things Herbalife has to offer I'd suggest supplementing the shakes with some real food to at least get your calories over 1200 although it should probably be more than that.
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    Options
    Okay, I just started last week. This was one day of mine. Herbalife shake for breakfast and lunch. snack was sundried tomato tunafish on 4 crackers. Dinner was a Flat out pizza with cheese onion ham and bacon. Plus 5 water bottles during the day. I was full. My numbers say I did not eat my 1200 calaries and that I am starving my body and will not be able to lose. Is that true? My weight has been at the same weight for years now. I just turned 40 and thought I should try to lose ome weight . I don't tend to. Ieat a lot just usually pick bad choices. Is there any one else out there that has this problem?

    It's a well known fact that people who do not eat do not lose any weight. That's why those concentration camp survivors were so fat.

    --P
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    Options
    The easy way to get above those calories is to take the shakes out of the equation. Eat some real food! Breakfast oats with some berries... Lunch lean meat with salad or home made soup and a roll... You certainly won't feel great for long having a shake for breakfast and lunch. Your not massively over weight so no need for something so drastic.

    I'd say you probably need to be looking at 1500. Google calorie dense foods and get some into your diet. Hummus... Nuts... Cheese... Olives... Etc. Google it loads will come up!

    This does not have to be torture. You can eat real food and lose the weight!

    Zara
  • SHHitsKaty
    SHHitsKaty Posts: 301
    Options
    There is a woman I work with who is only eating 1 'real' meal a day (dinner) and drinking meal replacement shakes for breakfast and lunch and she's lost 5lbs and plateaued there. I'm assuming because her body isn't getting the real food it needs and her metabolism is probably slowly down after only eating 1200 or less than 1200 calories a day.

    I spoke with my chiro today about this (who also went to school for nutrition) and he said that in most cases, as people have stated above, 1200 is given to people are in dire need of weight loss and obese.

    I am eating 1300-1450 calories a day and he said I should actually be eating 1500-1600 to lose the weight I want to see, so long as I continue working out 6 days a week, as soon as you change how much you work out, you're going to have to drop back on the calories too but not to 1200.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Options
    Okay, I just started last week. This was one day of mine. Herbalife shake for breakfast and lunch. snack was sundried tomato tunafish on 4 crackers. Dinner was a Flat out pizza with cheese onion ham and bacon. Plus 5 water bottles during the day. I was full. My numbers say I did not eat my 1200 calaries and that I am starving my body and will not be able to lose. Is that true? My weight has been at the same weight for years now. I just turned 40 and thought I should try to lose ome weight . I don't tend to. Ieat a lot just usually pick bad choices. Is there any one else out there that has this problem?

    It's a well known fact that people who do not eat do not lose any weight. That's why those concentration camp survivors were so fat.

    --P

    The inevitable theory is that by consuming extremely low calories you lose a large amount of muscle mass AND fat. What happens when you lose muscle mass? You still look fat and flabby when you get to whatever "goal weight" you had. You are skinny fat and will have to lose EVEN MORE.

    Additionally this lowers your BMR so that it takes a low amount of calories INDEFINITELY to sustain said weight loss. Nothing like having to eat 800 calories for the REST OF YOUR LIFE so that you don't gain a bunch of weight back.

    I don't think anyone can argue that you don't want to eat a really low number of calories and try hard just to look like this when you get to your goal weight-

    Skinny-Fat1.jpg
    (and by THIS i mean still flabby. Generally these people look thin and fine in normal clothes but as soon as you see them in a bikini they just look.... soft? They have hit their goal weight and still have a really high percentage of body fat)
  • Sabrina__26
    Sabrina__26 Posts: 78
    Options
    There was a time in my life when I'd get full eating 200 calories. Probably I was kidding myself, but I genuinely felt like I was not one bit hungry. I would eat like that for months without really craving anything more. You've only been doing this for a week, maybe right now you feel fine, but there will come a time when you feel absolutely starved eating under 1200.

    I have been eating 1200 calories since May. Most days, almost everyday, I would eat under that as I had difficulty getting to 1200. But recently, I find that I'm actually feeling hungry eating that amount. So, I began to eat my 1200 calories but still felt quite hungry. Yesterday I increased my calories to 1300 calories.

    The point I'm trying to make is, yes, at first you may think 1200 is too much, but soon you'll find it more and more difficult to eat really low. I'd say, listen to your body, when you feel it's too less, increase your calories. As for starvation mode, I don't believe that 1200 is some magic number that everyone should eat above to avoid getting into starvation mode.
  • debmost4
    debmost4 Posts: 3
    Options
    I guess I filled something out wrong. You all are telling me I only need to lose 20 pounds, I never even mentioned in my post what my weight loss number is. The class I entered last week did my numbers and said I needed to lose 50 pounds. The 1200 calories is what is on the top of the page when I sign in everyday.
  • shelleyspots
    shelleyspots Posts: 89
    Options
    I use the Herbalife shakes, but eat real food too. I have a shake in the morning, a snack later mid-morning, a nice lunch (lot's of veggies, lean meat or beans for protein etc.) a snack later in the afternoon, a shake for dinner. I sometimes use the shake mix to make healthy pancakes, or muffins. I sometimes have the mix as hot chocolate and eat ezekiel bread. The shakes are a tool, a high protein, very nutritious tool made from real food. You can read the label and see for yourself. The point is, that you are not eating enough calories. You have to exercise, eat when you are hungry, mostly plants, not too much, stop eating when you are full. Whatever plan you should choose, shakes, paleo, atkins etc.,. make it a plan you can stick to, and make sure it is healthy. God bless.
  • ckspores1018
    ckspores1018 Posts: 168 Member
    Options
    I'd get rid of the shakes and eat some real food. You may be full but you aren't consuming enough calories and you aren't getting adequate nutrition, either.

    Edited to add: No one was mean or rude to you. Suggesting you stop eating replacement shakes and start eating real food is a helpful suggestion-not a mean one.
  • Sabrina__26
    Sabrina__26 Posts: 78
    Options
    I guess I filled something out wrong. You all are telling me I only need to lose 20 pounds, I never even mentioned in my post what my weight loss number is. The class I entered last week did my numbers and said I needed to lose 50 pounds. The 1200 calories is what is on the top of the page when I sign in everyday.

    The ticker on your page says you are looking to lose 23 lbs, I suppose that is what people are referring to.
    As for MFP telling you that your goal calories are 1200, that is also the number they had given me. I think most people on here are given that amount, or close to that amount. You can change your goals and calories on the HOME tab. Also, when you exercise, your goal calories increase so you can eat more.
  • 00Melyanna00
    00Melyanna00 Posts: 221 Member
    Options
    "My suggestion is to eat real food, consume atleast your bmr, and slowly change your eating habits to a sustainable diet."

    THIS!
    You don't need herbalife, you just need clean, proper, good, healthy food.
  • debmost4
    debmost4 Posts: 3
    Options
    Okay thanks, on my phone there is no "tickers" that show anything.
  • gr8pillock
    gr8pillock Posts: 374 Member
    Options
    Hey there,

    I say trust your body. If you're not hungry, you shouldn't force yourself to eat. My personal opinion. But choose higher quality foods for your nutrient needs.
  • Miss_dannii
    Miss_dannii Posts: 1,351 Member
    Options
    open your diary
  • Techn0mancer
    Techn0mancer Posts: 46
    Options
    If you convert 50 pounds to kilos you get 22.7, which MFP would display as 23, so I'm inclined to believe that's what happened, but why it would still be labeled as pounds is where I get lost. But, yeah, so that's where people are getting the "20 pound" number from.. they're getting it from what you entered on your own profile

Categories