Does eating more calories really work?

Eating so little may make your body go into "starvation mode" ... which can very well make you gain. You should be eating at least 1200 a day, no matter what. I find that MFP's suggestions are very good, however.

I used to eat too little, too. Since starting MFP I've lost 13 lbs ... at a daily caloric intake of anywhere from 2000-3000(!) calories depending on exercise, because I'm extremely overweight. I was actually GAINING weight when I was eating too little - because of the starvation aspect I was talking about !

You should also be consistent. If you eat 1000, then 500, then 2500 or something even less drastic, your body assumes that you're starving and will try to save calories. You need to make sure it knows you're not starving.

I used to have my goal set to 2lb loss a week. After Christmas i was really struggling to lose weight and I found that I was always going over my calories goal by 100 cals or so. To stop me feeling like a failure every day I changed my goal to 1lb loss a week and have lost over half a stone since. I think my body must like the amount of food I'm eating and therefore feels safe enough to lose some excess weight.

I always find that if I have been eating well for a few weeks..one day of bad food choices actually helps me lose. But, everyone is different.

me too! plus extra water

I'm afraid i've reached a bit of a plateau as I have been battling with the same 2 pounds for about 3 weeks. I lose the 2 pounds and then all of a sudden it goes back up again. On average I eat about 1000 - 1300 calories a day but i'm afraid if I try eating more than that i'm just going to put the 'Christmas weight' back on. I'm still waiting for the 30 day shred video to arrive which i'm hoping will confuse my body a bit.
I'm just really worried that i'll be stuck here now.

Bump up your calories for a few days. You can do it in a healthy manner simply by adding an additional piece of fruit and an extra serving of complex carbs (sweet potato, brown rice, etc.). It's actualy not a bad idea to do that every 3-4 days to keep your body guessing.

What does your diet look like? Lots of different foods can lead to water retention, especially salt. Speaking of water, if you are exercising a lot, try drinking a few extra glasses of it. The air around us is really dry @ this time of year, so it can be difficult to stay well hydrated.

Amen!

Starvation mode is a myth, I can't believe people honestly still believe it!

I think it might have something to do with your water. Obsess about it for a few days and I promise you'll see a diff x

What are your sources? I'd love to believe you, I'm not judging but MFP is overrun by starvation-mode theory so is caloriescount.com etc, just more reasons to believe it’s correct. I'd love to say it doesn't exist so let me know if you have info on that.

If starvation mode was 100% accurate, then why do people loose weight on VLC intake either due to illness or b/c they have an eating disorder? We are talking about healthy sized people becoming skinny. Yes, lean muscle mass is lost but enough to drop 20+ lbs? Seems like your muscles would atrophy if you lost that much lean mass and wouldn’t be able to move which only occurs in people with BMI of about 14 and people with various medical illnesses.

You should also be consistent. If you eat 1000, then 500, then 2500 or something even less drastic, your body assumes that you're starving and will try to save calories. You need to make sure it knows you're not starving.

I disagree, calorie cycling is a great way to boost your metabolism. Going from 500 to 2500 of course is extreme but eating 1200 one day, 1400 the next, then 2000 calories, then 1100 and so on tricks your body into thinking you are getting consistent amounts of food so it won't go into starvation mode for the 24 hour period you are eating less.

Starvation mode is a myth, I can't believe people honestly still believe it!

I think it might have something to do with your water. Obsess about it for a few days and I promise you'll see a diff x

What are your sources? I'd love to believe you, I'm not judging but MFP is overrun by starvation-mode theory so is caloriescount.com etc, just more reasons to believe it’s correct. I'd love to say it doesn't exist so let me know if you have info on that.

If starvation mode was 100% accurate, then why do people loose weight on VLC intake either due to illness or b/c they have an eating disorder? We are talking about healthy sized people becoming skinny. Yes, lean muscle mass is lost but enough to drop 20+ lbs? Seems like your muscles would atrophy if you lost that much lean mass and wouldn’t be able to move which only occurs in people with BMI of about 14 and people with various medical illnesses.

People on VLC intake are "normally" under the care of a physician, and, as such, are taking in additional supplements so their bodies are not deficient in the nutrients they need. I have experience with a family member who continues to battle anorexia. Extremely low calorie intake for an extended period of time, obsessive exercising, no menstrual cycle, no muscle mass ... not healthy.

Set realistic goals for yourself, including some junk foods in moderation. Most people are trying to make a lifestyle change. You're not going to never eat junk food again. You are trying to do this in a healthy manner so you can maintain the weight loss and be healthy without medical problems.

personally, I do about 5 days of 'normal' calories then 2 days on 'low', I think the body gets used to the same amount every day, needs a change, it works for me anyway!

Starvation mode is a myth, I can't believe people honestly still believe it!

I think it might have something to do with your water. Obsess about it for a few days and I promise you'll see a diff x

What are your sources? I'd love to believe you, I'm not judging but MFP is overrun by starvation-mode theory so is caloriescount.com etc, just more reasons to believe it’s correct. I'd love to say it doesn't exist so let me know if you have info on that.

If starvation mode was 100% accurate, then why do people loose weight on VLC intake either due to illness or b/c they have an eating disorder? We are talking about healthy sized people becoming skinny. Yes, lean muscle mass is lost but enough to drop 20+ lbs? Seems like your muscles would atrophy if you lost that much lean mass and wouldn’t be able to move which only occurs in people with BMI of about 14 and people with various medical illnesses.

People on VLC intake are "normally" under the care of a physician, and, as such, are taking in additional supplements so their bodies are not deficient in the nutrients they need. I have experience with a family member who continues to battle anorexia. Extremely low calorie intake for an extended period of time, obsessive exercising, no menstrual cycle, no muscle mass ... not healthy.

Set realistic goals for yourself, including some junk foods in moderation. Most people are trying to make a lifestyle change. You're not going to never eat junk food again. You are trying to do this in a healthy manner so you can maintain the weight loss and be healthy without medical problems.

That didn't answer my question and instead you inferred I was starving myself. I didn't say that, I just posed a question. I wanted to see evidence of the contrary before we believe in something that may very well in fact be a theory rather than a fact like gravity. Its important to obtain as much information as possible but we are all one-track-minded here on MFP and to date I haven’t seen a nutritionist on here, just the occasional trainer.

Please do not make assumptions in the future. You know what they say... assumptions makes an a** out of u and me

Even if you were to reference this article which convinently was bumbed up moments ago, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

the article states the individual was consuming 700 calories for months at a time (so a 3 day diet or fast of some sort wont cause detrimental effects) she was entirely sedentary and whatever food she did eat was cookies which being mostly carbs and fat it's very easy for the enzymes to shuttle the dietary fat into stored body fat. It's what they were designed to do.

Heather, don't take it personally. I was never inferring YOU were starving yourself. I was merely trying to respond to (not "answer") your VLC comment. On the contrary, you seem pretty well informed on the subject of weight loss. So back off, chickie. : ) If you look at my other post, you'll see I quoted you again, and agreed with you.

I didn't even read the article, nor do I need the advice of a nutritionist to know what is healthy and unhealthy eating. It's basically common sense. What I'm trying to say to, not you, but other people who might read this thread, is that consuming too few calories on a daily basis, for an extended period of time, without being under the care of a physician, is treading on thin ice. Is that my opinion? Yeah, you (or anyone else) don't have to believe me, but I think there is plenty of information out there to back me up. I'm trying to lose 97 lbs in a year. That's a lot of weight, and I'm doing it by myself, using a tool (MFP) that I find helpful, but I also am also educating myself outside of this website.

MFP is using basic math, and after two weeks, I agree with their formula. They give me a certain number of calories (less than I need on a given day, so I'm already at a calorie deficit,) I exercise, I eat back my calories, boom. I lose weight. When I came on this thread, I wanted to inform the poster that, increasing her caloric intake by eating back exercise calories, might, indeed work for her as well.

Im really bewildered re the starvation mode thing, especially when you see, or read in the magazines that if someone has a gastric band, or any other kinds of proceedure medically, then they can only stomach a very small amount of food at a time, and lost heaps of weight.

It may not be the healthiest way to lose but seems to work, so why do the medics who oversee someones care after surgery not worry about starvation mode?

Any replies would be useful please. I am finding it difficult sometimes to eat my 1490 cal allowance, and have been 450 under sometimes, then the next day im up to the wire as they say. I really dont know if I am doing the right thing when I read about this starvation mode topic. Thanks. J

(My trusty old response that I will repeatedly copy and paste until someone proves me wrong):

This is from several posts yesterday, and I just copied and pasted it for convenience sake, so ignore the parts about exercise that dont pertain to your situation. But the BMR stuff is important MFP sets your calories based on what you tell it. If you told it you want to lose 2lbs per week, its gonna go as low as 1200 calories. But thats not necessarily healthy or the right thing to do. Really...check out your BMR and stick to it:


Short answer: Try Searching this topic, as it has been discussed ad nausea here on the site.

Longer (but not nearly long enough) answer:
Your body requires a certain number of calories in order for you to simply exist. In order for you eyes to blink, your heart to keep beating, your hair to keep growing, your organs to keep functioning, you have to feed it a certain number of calories. This number is called your BMR. (Use the tool on this site to check your BMR...) For example, my BMR is about 1490 calories. So say I lay in bed allllll day, motionless. I would require 1490 calories just to keep my body alive in a coma-like state.
The second I get out of bed, walk across the room, open the door to the bathroom, brush my teeth, pee, weigh myself, turn on the hot water,and hop in the shower...I have burned calories. Minimal...but still enough to start cutting into the 1490 my body needs in order to fuel its most basic functions.

So if I eat my BMR of 1490 a day, I am only giving my body enough to do its basic functions.

MFP gave me 1200 calories based on my desire to lose 2 lbs a week. At my height and current weight, losing 2 lbs per week is not reasonable, but I wanted to lose FAST. And the lowest MFP will set someone's calories is 1200 (For many good reasons). 1200 is sort of an arbitrary number at this point but no one should really eat LESS than 1200, and there are likely very few people who could eat 1200 calories for the rest of their lives and maintain weight or stay satisfied. (opinion...sorry) I lost 20+ lbs eating 1200 cals a day. Wahoo! Yeah me!! Right? WRONG. The second I started eating "normal" again, I gained all 20+ lbs back, PLUS MORE. It might "work" in the short term, but for many here, 1200 calories isnt the lifestyle change needed to STAY healthy and thin.

OK, back to the exercise thing. If I eat my 1500 (1490) cals today, my body will already be at a deficit for weight loss since I got out of bed, functioned, walked, lifted my toddler countless times, etc. So if I were to workout and burn 500 calories this afternoon, my body would be at an even greater deficit, and risk pushing my body to panic. Once your body panics and your metabolism worries that you are not feeding it enough, you will start to store fat at a faster rate. Your body and metabolism will try to hang onto any extra store of fat in preparation for an upcoming "famine".

Another way to look at it: If you eat 1200 calories and then exercise 500 calories away, you are only holding onto 700 calories for your body to draw from for energy, organ function, eye blinking, etc etc. Its just not enough for your body to exist on without causing longterm troubles.

It took me a looooong time to "get" this. I still have to consciously remind myself to eat my calories in order to lose weight. It seems counter-intuitive...but it WORKS. When I eat my BMR and at LEAST half my exercise calories, I lose weight. When I only eat 1200 calories, I am miserable, hungry, and i might lose some weight initially...but i gain it alllll back with a few extra for fluffiness.

Bottom line: eat more, keep moving, lose more, keep it off
BMR + exercise calories = longterm success



Hope that helped!

Also, if you put your goal as "lose 2 lbs per week" then MFP will set your calorie goal accordingly. That is why it gave you 1200 cals rather than your BMR. Its fruatrating to repeatedly see people say "eat 1200 if youre a girl and 1500 if youre a guy" because every body is sooo different. Dont take that 1200 "golden" number and assume you will lose weight. You might initially, but youll likely stall if your frame/height/etc arent getting enough calories to exist on.

Wow Katbass and RMinVA : Excellent info. I have read and digested it.... thanks sooo much :flowerforyou: