A Personal View on Exercise Cals and Underfeeding

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Replies

  • skinnyb450
    skinnyb450 Posts: 288
    WOW! Thank you for this post - So well written and so open - Thank you for sharing :):flowerforyou:
  • runningneo122
    runningneo122 Posts: 6,962 Member
    Well thought out post. Thanks, LH. Thanks also to Banks for the book reference. I'll be looking into that.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    good post lh.

    I think the term "starvation mode" is my biggest pet peeve on MFP. Not only from those who say it's a myth but also those who say it's always the reason. Anyway, I'll have to be reciprocal in this post and bump it since you're always bumping mine. :wink:

    -Banks

    Thanks, Banks! I'm sure I've been guilty of it too - enthusiasm is sometimes blinding. Trying to remember to keep my own in check and not be fanatical or miss parts of the equation - and educate myself so I can speak intelligently about it. :wink:

    how are you at bio-chemistry? I have an awesome book, but you really need to know how to read organic chem formulas pretty well to understand the first half. You don't have to be a chemist, but you have to be competent at chemistry on a college level. If you are, I'll give you the book title. It's a text, and expensive, but SOOOOO worth the money if you're into the science behind the human metabolism.

    I took bio-chem in college and have a decent grasp of it, though some of it is still a bit over my head. I'd be very interested in the book - but I may pester you with questions when they come up! :laugh:

    hehe, for that book, I probably won't have the answers, it's very advanced. But even if you only get 1/2 of it, you've made out.
    the book is called

    "Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism" 5th Edition (I actually read 4th edition, but I guess the differences are minor between the two). You can get it off B&N (look for used copies), it's like $160 or so, but I picked up a used copy for about $85, you might even be able to find it at those college text book websites where you can rent books for a few months. I don't know, I wanted my own copy so I could mark it up and fold pages and stuff.

    I did a lot of research into what to use as my main research tool, and this book was head and shoulders above the rest as far as editorial and content reviews by peers (I.E. nutritional scientists and professors), so that's why I got it. It took me almost a month to get through, which is a lifetime for me, as I read really fast, and can get though most 400 page paperback novels in two to three days or less.

    Excellent, thanks. I'll check on renting one for the moment and work it into the budget to get my own soon. I can always use another grueling reading/study torture device!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member

    Excellent, thanks. I'll check on renting one for the moment and work it into the budget to get my own soon. I can always use another grueling reading/study torture device!

    you won't be disappointed then. Torture you it will!

    The part about the krebs cycle made my brain itch. Brush up on your co-enzymes <shiver>
  • marniehodges
    marniehodges Posts: 264
    Beautifully said, and without all the drama and know-it-all attitude that gets flipped around here daily. Now I just hope the right people read it! :wink:

    Thanks so much for sharing your story! :flowerforyou:
  • sherry2626
    sherry2626 Posts: 49 Member
    Great Story Thanks For all the Helpful Info
  • NikkiJ17
    NikkiJ17 Posts: 295
    Beautifully said, and without all the drama and know-it-all attitude that gets flipped around here daily. Now I just hope the right people read it! :wink:

    Thanks so much for sharing your story! :flowerforyou:


    I agree Marnie!! It was written in an informative way, not condesending or over-dramatized. Thank you for sharing!!! Someday's I'm just fine eating 50-75% of my exercise calories then all of a sudden I get this little voice in my head that starts questioning. I just want to make sure that I'm not doing anything wrong, I have a long way still to go and I want to do it right!!
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Beautifully said, and without all the drama and know-it-all attitude that gets flipped around here daily. Now I just hope the right people read it! :wink:

    Thanks so much for sharing your story! :flowerforyou:


    I agree Marnie!! It was written in an informative way, not condesending or over-dramatized. Thank you for sharing!!! Someday's I'm just fine eating 50-75% of my exercise calories then all of a sudden I get this little voice in my head that starts questioning. I just want to make sure that I'm not doing anything wrong, I have a long way still to go and I want to do it right!!

    Thanks girls! I'm at about 50-75% right now, as I don't have a HRM yet and I'm fairly sure some of my burns are overestimated. Tricky finding that balance sometimes and the brain is pretty good at making us second guess ourselves. But understanding how it all works goes a long way toward keeping those little voices in check! :wink:
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member

    Excellent, thanks. I'll check on renting one for the moment and work it into the budget to get my own soon. I can always use another grueling reading/study torture device!

    you won't be disappointed then. Torture you it will!

    The part about the krebs cycle made my brain itch. Brush up on your co-enzymes <shiver>

    Krebs is like a maze - took a long time to get it - and it's been so long now, I'll definitely need a big refresher. Getting old and forgetting everything I once knew is a pain in the *kitten*. :grumble:
  • ekafont
    ekafont Posts: 39 Member
    I found it hard to understand how eating more could be OK after all these years of thinking that you had to starve yourself on a diet ... but I have found it so much easier to stick with this program because I can eat more if I burn calories therefore giving me incentive to work out more - I've been losing slowly, only 6.5 pounds in a month and a half - but I've also gone from a size 14 to a size 10 and have a lot more energy ... and that is the true goal!

    Thanks for a great post!
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    I found it hard to understand how eating more could be OK after all these years of thinking that you had to starve yourself on a diet ... but I have found it so much easier to stick with this program because I can eat more if I burn calories therefore giving me incentive to work out more - I've been losing slowly, only 6.5 pounds in a month and a half - but I've also gone from a size 14 to a size 10 and have a lot more energy ... and that is the true goal!

    Thanks for a great post!

    My energy level is one of the key indicators for me. I used to make a lot of excuses for how tired and fatigued I was all the time - a lot of denial about how it wasn't because I didn't eat enough. My energy levels are a million times better now - everyone has noticed that I'm more energetic and upbeat. Yay! :bigsmile:
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    There was nothing drastic about it, but over 5 years I lost probably half of my muscle mass and doubled or tripled my fat.

    You did what now? Holy crap...

    Nice OP. Well observed and good self awareness. Good luck with acheiving your goals.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    There was nothing drastic about it, but over 5 years I lost probably half of my muscle mass and doubled or tripled my fat.

    You did what now? Holy crap...

    Nice OP. Well observed and good self awareness. Good luck with acheiving your goals.

    Crazy to think of, eh. What's really crazy to me, is that I did great while I was pregnant/breastfeeding - being responsible for someone else was easy to do. But when it came to just being healthy for my own sake, I simply quit on it. I wasn't exactly a pinup model, but I had pretty good muscle tone and my BF % was good. When I was younger, of course, it didn't seem so hard to keep those things in line (though I didn't always do it in a healthy way.) But after being pregnant and hitting 30, it was a whole different story. I went from a BF % of about 20 to over 40 when I started changing habits. Scary, and sad, to think about. Thanks for the good wishes!
  • tgh1914
    tgh1914 Posts: 1,036 Member
    bump
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Self bump - whatchoo gonna do about it?! :tongue:
  • holliwest
    holliwest Posts: 4
    I agree 110% I am thinner when I eat. It is a really hard mental concept for me to grasp. I for years worked out 2 hrs a day and ate 1000 calories and was the biggest I have ever been. I do not weigh myself but I have made it a point to eat every few hours and track my calories for the last two months and have many people saying wow what are you doing. I say EATING..... Mentally its hard for me to think this is ok... EAT and lose... but I am trying my hardest and its working... I am 5'2 and a size 1 but I was at one point a size 9 and that was starvation... I work out 2 hrs a day so its hard to eat my calories I burn, but by eating every few hours good food, it makes it easier..
    GOOD LUCK
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
    great post.. thank you for it.. and thank you to those bumping it so i noticed it *L*
  • maeadair
    maeadair Posts: 496 Member
    bump ty Shelly
  • runningneo122
    runningneo122 Posts: 6,962 Member
    Bump for my friend, ladyhawk. Good job, girl.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Bump for my friend, ladyhawk. Good job, girl.

    :smooched:
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    Think of competitive bodybuilders, they do NOT look like they do at the competition year round. They do cycles of "bulk" and "cut", where they eat more, gain weight, then cut down ("diet") to get back into competitive shape. This is like real life...we as humans go through periods of bulking and cutting just naturally, like I bulk during Christmas time (yummy cookies) and cut during the summer (lots of fruits and days by the pool).

    I think we analyze this WAY too much at times.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Think of competitive bodybuilders, they do NOT look like they do at the competition year round. They do cycles of "bulk" and "cut", where they eat more, gain weight, then cut down ("diet") to get back into competitive shape. This is like real life...we as humans go through periods of bulking and cutting just naturally, like I bulk during Christmas time (yummy cookies) and cut during the summer (lots of fruits and days by the pool).

    I think we analyze this WAY too much at times.

    I can assure you, at no time was I "bulking" and "cutting" and looked nothing like a bodybuilder. I was depriving myself of fuel and I paid for it, in mental and physical health.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
    Thanks for a well thought out post!! Nicely put!!!
  • lovetowrite73
    lovetowrite73 Posts: 1,244 Member
    I enjoy reading your posts because they are so eloquently put and well thought-out. I don't think you have overthought anything and am thankful that you posted this.
  • willimh
    willimh Posts: 227 Member
    Great post and well needed. We learn from education, experience and exposer. You have definately educated us from your experience. Thanks again.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    time to break out my special "Banks" bump I save for special posts.


    bump.gif
  • Ashtarot
    Ashtarot Posts: 52 Member
    Thank you for putting this out here for us to read. I see so many things that you were going though that seem so familiar to my own past. I am only now after 2 months starting to sleep more than 4 hours at a time. Thinking back to the amount of caffeine I was taking in it's a wonder I slept at all.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Great post - thanks for putting this out there!
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    Very good post.

    I found this out when I got my BodyMediaFit.
    On the standard 1200 that MFP likes to throw around, I was weak, tired, and cranky. Turns out I naturally burn 1800-2200 a day living my life, so I was STARVING. I decided to bump up: MFP gave me 1500 as "maintenance" and I lost even more! Well yeah, that was still a 500 cal a day deficit at what they called maintenance. I had to put my lifestyle up to very active to get them to say 1700, and I do go over that most days, and my numbers turn red, but I don't care because I am full, alert, have energy to work out and do my job, and I am not gaining.
    (and as a reference point: I am 5'2" and weigh 104 lbs, so if 1200 is starving for ME, it is probably starving to 95% of people who read this, because the bigger you are the more you need to survive.)

    I have been advising anyone who will listen that 1200 is too low and to eat more.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Very good post.

    I found this out when I got my BodyMediaFit.
    On the standard 1200 that MFP likes to throw around, I was weak, tired, and cranky. Turns out I naturally burn 1800-2200 a day living my life, so I was STARVING. I decided to bump up: MFP gave me 1500 as "maintenance" and I lost even more! Well yeah, that was still a 500 cal a day deficit at what they called maintenance. I had to put my lifestyle up to very active to get them to say 1700, and I do go over that most days, and my numbers turn red, but I don't care because I am full, alert, have energy to work out and do my job, and I am not gaining.
    (and as a reference point: I am 5'2" and weigh 104 lbs, so if 1200 is starving for ME, it is probably starving to 95% of people who read this, because the bigger you are the more you need to survive.)

    I have been advising anyone who will listen that 1200 is too low and to eat more.

    for a 5'2" woman 1800 yes, I could see that as maintenance if you were relatively active, but 2200, you might have something up there. That's super high for a woman your size. I've done a lot of research into this area and if I'm not mistaken (I'd have to go back and look) that would put you in the top ten percent of RMR for women over the age of 30 at 5'2", maybe even the top five, very rare, you should be happy for that if you've been metabolically cleared.
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