Will this start "starvation" mode?

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dcman236
dcman236 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys, this is my first post here and I couldn't think of a better place to ask a question like this than here. So I'm generaly trying to lose weight, I've already lost some, doing good and I'm motivated but now it comes to those last few pounds (although I use kg) and more than that to body fat. So I'm really doing as much cardio as I can, basically every day, almost all of it being HIIT, also doing some work with weights in an attempt to lose body fat. I also understand that the key is in nutrition. As soon as I started my weight loss program I cut out all those bad thing I loved so much, like Coke or greasy food (I still eat a smaller pizza here and there) and in the last couple of weeks I've cut out almost everything I ever thought I couldn't live without. White bread, cheese, french fries, pasta, etc. Basically I drink a lot of fresh water, eat chicken (with a single drop of oil), boiled potatoes and green beans, tomatoes, spinach and watermelon. I'm really trying to not take many carbs from potatoes and such and more protein. When all this counts up I end up with 500-550 calories at max a day. And usualy I'll burn over 800 a day just doing cardio. But at the end of the day and during the day I'm fine, full, not hungry. Almost as if my body has gotten used to so little. So I was wondering if that is good or bad. I've read on multiple places that eating "less than" calories will get your body to starvation mode and you'll lose weight slowly. But is it really possible that with all the work I'm doing and the type of food I'm eating my body will still "work against" me? If you have any tips on how to specificaly lose body fat please share them and excuse me on such a long message, I just wanted to provide as much details as possible. Thank you in advance.
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Replies

  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Forget Starvation mode. It is over used and misunderstood.

    Regardless, eating that little will have a negative effect on your health whether it is truly starvation made or not. Actually at that level, it's closer to starvation.

    Losing weight doesn't mean cutting everything out. High calorie foods aren't necessarily evil. You don't have to cut fat out, in fact, Your body NEEDS fat, likely absolutely can't function properly without it.

    Add in calorie dense but also nutrient dense foods like nuts, nut butters, olive oil, avocado, add lots of veggies. You don't have to eat low calorie or low fat versions of food. They are good substitutes when you are having difficulty bringing down your calorie intake but if you struggle to hit goal, there is no need to use them.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    :noway:
  • WaxMama
    WaxMama Posts: 369 Member
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    :noway:

    This^
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    Eating 500 calories a day is never good, but it is especially dangerous when also burning 800 calories. Where do you think your energy is going to come from? You risk serious damage to your health doing this. I suggest calculating your BMR and then eating close to that, at least, in calories, and you may have to add extra if you burn a lot, like those days when you burn 800. If you have a lot of fat to lose, going under your BMR can be ok for a little while, but as you get closer to goal weight, it just won't work. Eat real food: protein, fat, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
  • dcman236
    dcman236 Posts: 4
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    I understand everything you guys just said and I've heard/read it many times before. The point that I'm trying to make is I don't feel hungry or extremely tired, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do all that cardio every single day. But I guess if I'm wrong, if because of the low calorie intake I'll still lose fat at a slower pace I can change my approach. The thing is, I'm not doing this as a one time "ASAP" thing and then get back to the way it was. I'm trying to change. All that food I mentioned in my original post is the food I absolutely like, except I made some changes to it, such as eating simple boiled potatoes instead of mash potatoes with buttter and milk or mixing green beans with rice.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    You might as well forget the weights because you aren't going to gain muscle at a deficit. What you are going to do is in end very sick from malnourishment by trying to live on 500 calories a day and losing a lot of lean muscle mass because you're body is going to run out of fuel.

    Nobody is satisfied and not hungry on 500 calories a day. You're playing mind games to convince yourself of that. There are no bad foods so cutting out a ton of things you like isn't going to aid in anything except being deprived. Time to sit down and rethink your strategy.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    How do you cook chicken with "one drop" of oil?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    I understand everything you guys just said and I've heard/read it many times before. The point that I'm trying to make is I don't feel hungry or extremely tired, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do all that cardio every single day. But I guess if I'm wrong, if because of the low calorie intake I'll still lose fat at a slower pace I can change my approach. The thing is, I'm not doing this as a one time "ASAP" thing and then get back to the way it was. I'm trying to change. All that food I mentioned in my original post is the food I absolutely like, except I made some changes to it, such as eating simple boiled potatoes instead of mash potatoes with buttter and milk or mixing green beans with rice.

    You are starving your body. Literally. You will lose weight, yes. You will also lose muscle. The biggest concern is when you reach goal how you will possibly maintain. You are damaging your metabolism, but worse, you are damaging your health.

    Losing weight faster is pointless if you can't keep it off
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    Are you sure that you are really only consuming 500 calories, and not netting 500 after exercise? Your diary is closed, so it is hard to give you advice, especially when you know that what you are telling us is not healthy.
  • dcman236
    dcman236 Posts: 4
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    I'm not using this website as my personal food and exercise diary because where I'm from there's a lot of food that can't be found even in these databases. At least not accurately enough. Sure chicken, potatoes and green beans are probably the same in the US as in Croatia (where I'm from) however there is a difference in the way they can be prepared. When I said i make chicken with a single drop of oil I believe I never used the term "cooking" beacuse where I'm from it mght mean something completely different than what it means somewhere else. Basically, I put a single drop of oil on a pan and "paint it" (I don't know the term) over the pan, then put it on the small fire and make my chicken that way. It still tasty but the reason I do it is to avoid adding calories from oil. If I wanted that I could just eat McDonalds french fries every day. As for playing mind games, I do not believe I'm doing that. The reason I became overweight was because I used to eat either when I was bored or only 2 times per day but in big servings. I'm dedicated now to changing that so that when I reach my goal I can readjust my diet accordingly. Also I believe that in my OP I asked if anyone had any advice on how to burn body fat, not just lose weight, but get to low bf% becaue frankly at this point it might be all I need. But thank you all for your answers.
  • victoriavoodoo
    victoriavoodoo Posts: 343 Member
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    I'm not using this website as my personal food and exercise diary because where I'm from there's a lot of food that can't be found even in these databases. At least not accurately enough. Sure chicken, potatoes and green beans are probably the same in the US as in Croatia (where I'm from) however there is a difference in the way they can be prepared. When I said i make chicken with a single drop of oil I believe I never used the term "cooking" beacuse where I'm from it mght mean something completely different than what it means somewhere else.

    If you wanted to log chicken how you cook it, why don't you log the chicken raw and 1 drop of oil, and whatever else you might add to it, all separately? Then it's pretty accurate.
  • dcman236
    dcman236 Posts: 4
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    So does anyone have any advice on how to lower bf%? What type of food should I eat, what nutrients should I prefer? Thanks in advance.
  • tantsihoppjohanna
    tantsihoppjohanna Posts: 6 Member
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    First off, there are no bad or good foods, per se. It's just certain things should be eaten in a lot less amounts than many of us do nowadays. For example, even though eating simple sugars like sucrose in large amounts is bad, as it will be turned into fat by your liver, in small amounts it can give you that necessary energy boost! Although, opt for sources of sugar where other nutrients are also present, such as fruits. You can eat anything you want, as long as it fits into your diet plan. Unless the food is poisonous of course, in which case i wouldn't categorize it as food in the first place...

    However, eating 500 calories per day just won't get you any long lasting results. Considering you're a dude, you probably want some muscle definition going on aswell, in which case NOT JUST CARDIO (although that applies to females too) and definitely no calorie deficit of such measure !! Do weight training, which aids in helping you lose weight, aswell. Unless you are going for that starving artist type of look, however I doubt that...?

    You are probably on a path to anorexia, if you refuse to acknowledge that your body is hungry. That can happen to quite a lot of people, who really really want to lose all their weight as fast as possible and are downright hating their body fat. The downsides... well there are too many. Your body basically starts making nutrients out of your muscles first and you're in for so many health issues you may never recover from. Think again when making such drastic diet cuts!
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Many anorexics report not feeling hungry. That doesn't mean you don't need more food (you do, unequivocally) it just means you're messing up your hormones with the extreme amount of restriction you're putting your body through.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
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    Many anorexics report not feeling hungry. That doesn't mean you don't need more food (you do, unequivocally) it just means you're messing up your hormones with the extreme amount of restriction you're putting your body through.

    This.
  • tjthegreatone
    tjthegreatone Posts: 324
    Options
    Hi guys, this is my first post here and I couldn't think of a better place to ask a question like this than here. So I'm generaly trying to lose weight, I've already lost some, doing good and I'm motivated but now it comes to those last few pounds (although I use kg) and more than that to body fat. So I'm really doing as much cardio as I can, basically every day, almost all of it being HIIT, also doing some work with weights in an attempt to lose body fat. I also understand that the key is in nutrition. As soon as I started my weight loss program I cut out all those bad thing I loved so much, like Coke or greasy food (I still eat a smaller pizza here and there) and in the last couple of weeks I've cut out almost everything I ever thought I couldn't live without. White bread, cheese, french fries, pasta, etc. Basically I drink a lot of fresh water, eat chicken (with a single drop of oil), boiled potatoes and green beans, tomatoes, spinach and watermelon. I'm really trying to not take many carbs from potatoes and such and more protein. When all this counts up I end up with 500-550 calories at max a day. And usualy I'll burn over 800 a day just doing cardio. But at the end of the day and during the day I'm fine, full, not hungry. Almost as if my body has gotten used to so little. So I was wondering if that is good or bad. I've read on multiple places that eating "less than" calories will get your body to starvation mode and you'll lose weight slowly. But is it really possible that with all the work I'm doing and the type of food I'm eating my body will still "work against" me? If you have any tips on how to specificaly lose body fat please share them and excuse me on such a long message, I just wanted to provide as much details as possible. Thank you in advance.

    No way are you not hungry. This is just the fast track to disaster. Mind boggling.

    Why are you so scared of oil? Or carbohydrates? You're currently living off your lean body mass and that's going to run into dangerous territory soon enough. And even if you don't get there the minute you stop this diet you will pile all the weight back on far faster than you lost it, and you'll have a higher body fat percentage at the same weight than you did before. Not worth it.

    Re-train your body to recognise hunger cues (probably a coping mechanism from this starvation diet you are eating), eat more and take the slow, scenic and more certain route to weight loss.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    Many anorexics report not feeling hungry. That doesn't mean you don't need more food (you do, unequivocally) it just means you're messing up your hormones with the extreme amount of restriction you're putting your body through.

    This.

    This can't be quoted enough.
  • sherigambino
    sherigambino Posts: 26 Member
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    I started out eating 1200 calories a day and just was not loosing the weight. I was working out almost everyday and was feeling just worn out. I bumped my calories up to about 1500-1600 a day and noticed that I started really burning the weight off. So I guess what I'm saying is that less calories sometimes is not better.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    My advice is to set MFP to lose 1 lb per week. Meet your calorie goal and don't undershoot it. Eat more protein than MFP tells you. Lift weights, and eat back at least half of your exercise calories.

    That's the best way to lose fat. Losing fat is different than losing weight. You'll lose weight doing what you're doing, but you'll be unhealthy and you'll be sacrificing a lot of muscle, which is very hard to get back.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    You're an adult and will make up your own mind, but a 2 year old requires about 1000 calories per day. Good luck!

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