Eating, Starvation Mode, and the Reality of it all

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  • valeriebpdx
    valeriebpdx Posts: 499 Member
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    I am sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your mom's story.
  • theartsymom
    theartsymom Posts: 21
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    I eat 1200 calories a day (my doctor told me that at the weight I am eating 1200 calories a day until I get to 170 and then bumping it up to 1400 is what I should do) and I still sometimes eat a bit over because I"m hungry. I can't see how people can eat 500-900 and feel like they're satisfied. That's rather frightening, really. I'm sure eating that low wouldn't make you lose any quicker because your body would go into starvation mode and hang onto whatever fat it could. Am I right?
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I eat 1200 calories a day (my doctor told me that at the weight I am eating 1200 calories a day until I get to 170 and then bumping it up to 1400 is what I should do) and I still sometimes eat a bit over because I"m hungry. I can't see how people can eat 500-900 and feel like they're satisfied. That's rather frightening, really. I'm sure eating that low wouldn't make you lose any quicker because your body would go into starvation mode and hang onto whatever fat it could. Am I right?

    Well I can say this is what happened to me. SO glad your doctor is thinking thru the entire process, and not a quick "git er done" attitude.

    As long as you feed your body you will be fine. 1200 today, 1300 tomorrow, 1150 the next will actually a good thing IMHO

    Good luck to you !
  • Luckymam
    Luckymam Posts: 300
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    Brilliantly put. Well done for telling this story. I've starved myself before and I can tell you, it's miserable. Life is to be enjoyed. It's taken me until the age of 33 to work out being healthy and happy means eating well, exercising and enjoying life.

    My friend 'diets' (starves herself) all the time. She's thin, and very unhappy. She's never happy. Starving does not equal happiness.
  • renae5
    renae5 Posts: 393 Member
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    Thank you for sharing your story, it hits a lot closer to home when someone's life is involved. I lost my own Mom in 2005, but to cancer (but I still remember her always struggling with her weight and she never seemed to eat very much... and this probably had a lot to do with her body's inability to be healthier, diagnosis to death in 10 months). This only brings me to my own battle, I hit a wall about 6 months ago and have not been able to lose a single pound since, I have exercised HOURS and hours a day and I have even (just being honest) tried for weeks at a time to see how closely I could come to exercising all or even more calories than I ate... long story short, I am still at the same weight and the mental part behind it all is even more torturous than the physical b/c I was counting every single calorie of every single thing I put into my mouth day in and day out and obsessing every minute of every day about how I could work in every possible calorie to Burn and nothing was working, I feel Broke and like a failure... I am just destined to be Fat.... UNTIL I read your Post!!!! This just REALLY hit home for me!! I am 35, I have 3 children, didn't I start losing weight and quit smoking and everything else to be healthy For them!! So, from now on I eat (starting today), I am going to set exercise goals... NOT weight goals... I used to be Fat, I am Not any more, it's OK Not to be a size 5... I am MUCH healthier than I was in my 20s and that is the Point!!! I had a goal to ride 15 miles on my bike this morning and I rode 20, I am very proud of myself... and now I am enjoying a great big fat egg white and cheese omlet, I intend to try to eat healthy (for cholesterol and things like that) but if I am hungry I Will eat and often!! Thank you for potentially saving me!!!
  • dj_stevie_c
    dj_stevie_c Posts: 270
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    Appreciate the story. You must be very brave to be strong enough to help so much.

    And I agree 100% with what you're saying, I was close to getting into a similar situation people just don't realise how dangerous not eating right can do to you both Overeating and Under eating. Get the balance right folks.
  • Jennwith2ns
    Jennwith2ns Posts: 296 Member
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    Thank you for posting your very sad story. I wish people knew that being skinny does NOT equal being healthy. It is a huge misconception! There are 2 girls at work that brag about how they stay thin by not eating, yet drinking alcohol to make up for the calories. I heard one of them say just the other day something about how life is short, so they can do what they want and look good. I wanted so badly to say that life WILL be short for them if they keep it up!
  • Supermel
    Supermel Posts: 612 Member
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    Great post, I'm very sorry about your Mom's terrible journey. Its so sad there are no 'second chances' :( I lost my Dad in 2006 from pancreatic cancer, and there is a good chance his smoking caused this terrible disease (at least in part) and it sucks to know had he quit 30 years before when my mom did, he might still be with us!
  • Shy1979
    Shy1979 Posts: 75
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    Thank you for sharing your mothers story! It should be a wake-up-call for many!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    Thank you for sharing your story, it hits a lot closer to home when someone's life is involved. I lost my own Mom in 2005, but to cancer (but I still remember her always struggling with her weight and she never seemed to eat very much... and this probably had a lot to do with her body's inability to be healthier, diagnosis to death in 10 months). This only brings me to my own battle, I hit a wall about 6 months ago and have not been able to lose a single pound since, I have exercised HOURS and hours a day and I have even (just being honest) tried for weeks at a time to see how closely I could come to exercising all or even more calories than I ate... long story short, I am still at the same weight and the mental part behind it all is even more torturous than the physical b/c I was counting every single calorie of every single thing I put into my mouth day in and day out and obsessing every minute of every day about how I could work in every possible calorie to Burn and nothing was working, I feel Broke and like a failure... I am just destined to be Fat.... UNTIL I read your Post!!!! This just REALLY hit home for me!! I am 35, I have 3 children, didn't I start losing weight and quit smoking and everything else to be healthy For them!! So, from now on I eat (starting today), I am going to set exercise goals... NOT weight goals... I used to be Fat, I am Not any more, it's OK Not to be a size 5... I am MUCH healthier than I was in my 20s and that is the Point!!! I had a goal to ride 15 miles on my bike this morning and I rode 20, I am very proud of myself... and now I am enjoying a great big fat egg white and cheese omlet, I intend to try to eat healthy (for cholesterol and things like that) but if I am hungry I Will eat and often!! Thank you for potentially saving me!!!

    Come here and let me hug you! You are a beautiful woman who is setting an example for her babies. I know you want to be there for a loooooong time and bet you will!!

    Thanks for sharing. You will never know how you helped me!

    :heart: Jeannie
  • khlewis85
    khlewis85 Posts: 13
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    I am very grateful that you shared your story. i am suffering right now with the whole under-eating thing, and have been for 9 years of my life and i'm trying really hard to fix things and stories like yours really give me a kick in the butt to remind me how even though i feel like i'm this dark hole i can't crawl out of, that i need to try harder than i am and not give up and go back to starvation mode because i am at risk of death. and it's just a fact and it scares the crap out of me, so thank you for giving me the kick in the butt that i needed today to get back on track and not ignore my rumbling tummy.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I am very grateful that you shared your story. i am suffering right now with the whole under-eating thing, and have been for 9 years of my life and i'm trying really hard to fix things and stories like yours really give me a kick in the butt to remind me how even though i feel like i'm this dark hole i can't crawl out of, that i need to try harder than i am and not give up and go back to starvation mode because i am at risk of death. and it's just a fact and it scares the crap out of me, so thank you for giving me the kick in the butt that i needed today to get back on track and not ignore my rumbling tummy.

    Oh honey........my heart aches for you. Ppl do not understand that the longer you go without, the less your body will request food. You can do this!!

    Little bits, right? I remember my mom gagging at the 1st breakfast of eggs and toast! :noway: I cannot eat that!!

    Then she looked at her daughter and said .........OK. LOL.......I remember I took a bite and she took a bite. Holy cow, I have not thought of that in YEARS!! (thanks to great counseling :wink: )

    It took her about a month to eat a normal days food, and that was prob 1200 cals now that I think back.

    Keep working towards a healthier body! God Bless:flowerforyou:
  • tcac
    tcac Posts: 211 Member
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    Thank you for sharing your story, it hits a lot closer to home when someone's life is involved. I lost my own Mom in 2005, but to cancer (but I still remember her always struggling with her weight and she never seemed to eat very much... and this probably had a lot to do with her body's inability to be healthier, diagnosis to death in 10 months). This only brings me to my own battle, I hit a wall about 6 months ago and have not been able to lose a single pound since, I have exercised HOURS and hours a day and I have even (just being honest) tried for weeks at a time to see how closely I could come to exercising all or even more calories than I ate... long story short, I am still at the same weight and the mental part behind it all is even more torturous than the physical b/c I was counting every single calorie of every single thing I put into my mouth day in and day out and obsessing every minute of every day about how I could work in every possible calorie to Burn and nothing was working, I feel Broke and like a failure... I am just destined to be Fat.... UNTIL I read your Post!!!! This just REALLY hit home for me!! I am 35, I have 3 children, didn't I start losing weight and quit smoking and everything else to be healthy For them!! So, from now on I eat (starting today), I am going to set exercise goals... NOT weight goals... I used to be Fat, I am Not any more, it's OK Not to be a size 5... I am MUCH healthier than I was in my 20s and that is the Point!!! I had a goal to ride 15 miles on my bike this morning and I rode 20, I am very proud of myself... and now I am enjoying a great big fat egg white and cheese omlet, I intend to try to eat healthy (for cholesterol and things like that) but if I am hungry I Will eat and often!! Thank you for potentially saving me!!!
    '
    You are going to do this the right way. I know because you are here and you have posted. Now find friends, people who will keep checking in on you. People you can share your heart with. If you want, add me as your friend. I have girls and a soft heart of mothers. It is hard being a mom. Let people come along side of you. Know this most of all you are loved and very important to God.
    linda
  • tcac
    tcac Posts: 211 Member
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    I am very grateful that you shared your story. i am suffering right now with the whole under-eating thing, and have been for 9 years of my life and i'm trying really hard to fix things and stories like yours really give me a kick in the butt to remind me how even though i feel like i'm this dark hole i can't crawl out of, that i need to try harder than i am and not give up and go back to starvation mode because i am at risk of death. and it's just a fact and it scares the crap out of me, so thank you for giving me the kick in the butt that i needed today to get back on track and not ignore my rumbling tummy.
    I notice you have not added any friends yet. Do that. Find people on here who will commit to walking this walk with you. You do not need people telling you what to do, you need people to encourage you and you will find them here. If you want, add me as a friend. I am much older, but I am a good encourager.
    linda
  • Crickks
    Crickks Posts: 94
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    BUMPED
  • suckitup
    suckitup Posts: 95 Member
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    I'm so glad you mentioned your 1200 diet and hitting a wall at 145lbs. I was quickly losing the weight with 1200 "healthy" calories each day, but not eating more for the exersice either. Once I thought I was happy with the weight and chose to maintain, the computer gave me a TON more calories to eat each day. I can't manage that unles I go hog wild. I did slack off and made lots of those extra calories unhealthy yet tasty ones and saw a quick 3lb jump! I'm going back to around 1400 and staying away from the taboo food again.

    Thanks again for sharing all of your experience. It will help people! :happy:
  • peacock1234
    peacock1234 Posts: 4
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    Really interesting topic. I knew that I wasn't supposed to go under 1200 calories but didn't really know why. Thanks to everyone who has posted - I have learnt a lot!:flowerforyou:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I am so thankful I was healthy when I had a congenital heart defect diagnosed and surgery to repair it. I was told my good health was a factor in how well everything went!

    Take care my friends!
  • OIPRD
    OIPRD Posts: 4 Member
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    excellent posts, food is for energizing our body, mind, and to be enjoyed. Eat meals with friends and family, focus on feeding hunger, not feelings, listen to your body, and make 80% good choices. the 20% you eat something that has no nutritional value helps keep life sweet, real, and managable.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Jeannie,

    Sorry to hear about all this, I know it can't be easy to share it. But I think it's important to show real life consequences to an unhealthy lifestyle. And I congratulate you for your strength and ability to share your story.

    Sometimes I get the feeling, when I write about organs shutting down because of starvation, people see the abstract and think "well, that's the EXTREME, it won't happen to me." But they would be wrong. The liver is the most obvious organ that can be affected (and the worst, people don't realize that the liver is JUST as important to life as the heart) But there are other things too. I think sometimes people think we say this stuff to shock folks, and maybe the thought is that we exaggerate to make a point, but we aren't, and stories like this, as sad as they are, can help people to understand, this isn't necessarily a worst case scenario, it's a common outcome for people who consistently eat well below the level of nutrients they need long term.

    So again to you Jeannie, thank you for being strong enough to share. And to everyone out there that doesn't understand why we say to stay within the Deficit that MFP gives you, read the newbie posts, they give a clear and concise reasoning as to why it's important.

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