Starvation mode? Plateau? Please help!
Options
swanfam4
Posts: 41 Member
So I'm not exactly sure why I've stopped losing. I have PLENTY to lose. Here's what I've been doing:
MFP says my food goal should be 1500 cal/day (I entered "Lightly Active")
I'm burning 360-400 calories/day doing 30dayshred.
So if I eat the calories back like MFP says, I'd need to eat up to 1900 cal/day.
I'm actually eating somewhere between 1300-1500 cal/day.
Am I putting myself in starvation mode? Is there really anything to that? Also - I feel like I'm eating a ton...never hungry...so I'm not sure how I can eat more calories if that's really my problem.
I know there are lots of threads out there about these topics, but any insight y'all have would be greatly appreciated!
MFP says my food goal should be 1500 cal/day (I entered "Lightly Active")
I'm burning 360-400 calories/day doing 30dayshred.
So if I eat the calories back like MFP says, I'd need to eat up to 1900 cal/day.
I'm actually eating somewhere between 1300-1500 cal/day.
Am I putting myself in starvation mode? Is there really anything to that? Also - I feel like I'm eating a ton...never hungry...so I'm not sure how I can eat more calories if that's really my problem.
I know there are lots of threads out there about these topics, but any insight y'all have would be greatly appreciated!
0
Replies
-
So I'm not exactly sure why I've stopped losing. I have PLENTY to lose. Here's what I've been doing:
MFP says my food goal should be 1500 cal/day (I entered "Lightly Active")
I'm burning 360-400 calories/day doing 30dayshred.
So if I eat the calories back like MFP says, I'd need to eat up to 1900 cal/day.
I'm actually eating somewhere between 1300-1500 cal/day.
Am I putting myself in starvation mode? Is there really anything to that? Also - I feel like I'm eating a ton...never hungry...so I'm not sure how I can eat more calories if that's really my problem.
I know there are lots of threads out there about these topics, but any insight y'all have would be greatly appreciated!
how long has it been since you lost weight? What are your last 6 weights for the last 6 weeks? Are you doing any other types of measurement? Have you begun any new exercise routines recently? Do you have any medical conditions? Anything else that you can think of that's different (food, habits, routine, exercise, stress levels...etc.)0 -
How long have you plateaued?0
-
I'm having the exact same problem!0
-
0
-
Diaries are tools for you to use and if you are asking others for help they need to be able to see what you have been doing. It is impossible to give someone directions in the dark!!!!! It is impossible to give advise if we don't know what the problem(s) are. If you are asking for help, please open your diary so we can be as helpful as possible.
Vicky Jo0 -
I've been stuck for about 2.5 to 3 weeks. No medical conditions. I take measurements - but there's been no change there either. The only change has been starting 30 Day Shred on Monday (4 days ago)0
-
0
-
I think 14 lbs since January is awesome!! That right there tells me you shouldn"t be in a plateau.
You just started a new routine. It takes time for the body to adjust to new routines. Give it time, stop stressing and it will start coming off again.0 -
Hey Swan...you can do this. I actually had the same issue right before the holidays.
Take the following into consideration. Change up your workout, I do different cardio daily. Do you have a gym membership? I am a member of a sports club in DC so I started taking some of the classes they offer. The weight starting moving again.0 -
YES, eat no less then 3/4 of those exercise calories or you are exactly right you'll be putting your body into the mode that it will hold onto every thing you eat. Think of it like this..... you are a fire, the fire needs to be stoked with wood every 2 to 3 hours, or it will burn
out. Stoke YOUR fire people!
Everyone feel free to friend me for more good "food for thought" each day. Hugs and Happy Health, Colleen
0 -
Are you sure you are putting in the right amount of calories being burned for the Shred? I don't burn more than 225-250 on Level 2 and 3. Maybe you are putting in too many calories burned then eating them back and there fore eating more calories than you should?? Usually if you do a exercise for an extended period of time you burn less and less calories as your body adjust to it. That would be my only guess is making sure exercise calories are correct. Also have you tried the zig zag method? I have heard a lot of people try that when they have gotten stuck and have had success breaking through the plateau. Hang in there!!0
-
I spoke with my trainer about eating the exercise calories like MFP says to do and he doesn't agree. I also feel that it doesn't make sense to eat back the calories you just burned so I don't. You may also be building muscle right now. Try taking your measurements and using that as a guide instead of your scale for a couple weeks. Just keep up the great work and the results will show
Take a look at this blog I saw...it might help
http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=3926473&SPShared=TRUE0 -
What are you eating? Calorie restriction works when you are starting out, but after awhile it won't work as well unless you are eating a healthy and balanced diet. Good nutrition is a much bigger part of weight loss than exercise. You should be eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, good carbs (brown rice and sweet potatoes), healthy fats (avocados and nuts). lean meats and low fat dairy.
Lots of people sabotage themselves because they simply aren't getting the nutrition they need. They start eating yogurt because they have heard it's good for you, but they opt for a sugar laden flavored yogurt...better to eat plan non-fat and add some real fruit. Or they start eating power bars/supplements etc. that quite frankly are just candy bars in disguise.
I also would encourage everyone to take a peek at this video. Great visual on why it's important to weigh calorically dense foods on a scale vs. measuring them in a cup. It's a real eye opener....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
I also agree about eating back exercie calories "with caution" for the exact reasons pointed out on the video. IMO, the burns on MFP are too high. If you eat a little more than you think,+ don't burn as many calories as you think = no weight loss or maybe even some weight gain (100 extra calories a day is 10 pounds gain in a year). I stick to a range instead that accounts for me eating some but not all of my exercise calories. That way I am not worried about it day in and day out. Days I don't do any exercise I eat a little less, and on days that I do, I eat a bit more.0 -
I set my MFP to being completely sedentary and I tell it I dont plan on doing any exercise.
Then I eat back 3/4 of the calories except on long runs because I burn like well over 1000 calories!
It for the most part has worked for me...0 -
You might like this link: It has ten different ideas for a diet plateau. I've heard people say to wait it out and you'll lose weight but I dont think that has ever worked for me. Plus Im an impatient person. hehe So what I do is try to change my routine by either lowering the calories (for me, that's very difficult) or adding a new exercise routine, if only a half hour of walking or something cardio preferably to chew up calories. Strength training helps too... but not right away. It's more of a long term thing. Keep up the good work!
http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/tips-to-get-off-diet-plateau.aspx
Hope that this is helpful to you!0 -
So I'm not exactly sure why I've stopped losing. I have PLENTY to lose. Here's what I've been doing:
MFP says my food goal should be 1500 cal/day (I entered "Lightly Active")
I'm burning 360-400 calories/day doing 30dayshred.
So if I eat the calories back like MFP says, I'd need to eat up to 1900 cal/day.
I'm actually eating somewhere between 1300-1500 cal/day.
Am I putting myself in starvation mode? Is there really anything to that? Also - I feel like I'm eating a ton...never hungry...so I'm not sure how I can eat more calories if that's really my problem.
I know there are lots of threads out there about these topics, but any insight y'all have would be greatly appreciated!
Lets say you eat 1400 calories and then exercise and burn 400 calories. That means your NET calories (look at your homepage for this #) is 1,000....
1400 calories consumed - 400 calories burned = 1,000 NET calories YOUR BODY THINKS YOU ATE (that is all that it can have a chance to absorb is 1,000 of the calories NOT 1,400).
You need to make sure your NET calories is at least 1200 (the amount minimum for your body to do everyday things like breathing, heart beat, walking to the bathroom, etc). Your calories you ate is not as nearly important as your NET calories because that is what you are supposed to be basing the 1200 a day off of to make sure your body has enough nutrients to support itself workout and just in general!0 -
Oh yeah, you could be in starvation mode right now from not eating enough NET calories. Your metabolism plummets to keep you from losing weight when it thinks you are starving. I wouldn't worry about starvation if we were NOT on MFP but we are, and we are all on a calorie deficit everyday so it is real for MFP users (unlike the average joe on a 2,000 calorie maintenance diet).0
-
I just fixed this as of yesterday after reading a bunch of blogs and MFP posts. I considered what I read on shifting daily calorie level (dropping down, then increasing another day just so you maintain the same calories for the week) and also on fasting.
I remember some stuff I read on fasting that showed how this can be a healthy thing if done right. It said if you are still taking in water, a one day fast has no ill effects and will actually help to wake up your digestion. You will get hungry in sort of a shock method way for a short duration, then satisfy that hunger quick enough to be sure you are not stopping your metabolism . Those who tell you this stops your metabolism need to read up more on this, as only a prolonged deprivation of calories will stop your metabolism, not a short one. I would not do this but once a month at the most to ensure you are not stopping progress all together.
What I did was a variation of all this and it kicked start things for me. Although I had a caloric intake that was lower than usual yesterday (the shifting effect), I also made sure most of my dinner calories were liquid in form. If I felt hungry, I would just have another cup of skim milk. It got me through the night and the next morning I saw the effects.
If you look at my logs, I have been doing a large amount of exercise, but I had been doing this for the past two weeks without a change much in weight. I do not recommend maintaing a liquid diet, but like the fast to kick start things, I think it can be done periodically (maybe more often than once a month since you still are getting calories).
Good luck, I can only tell you what seems to have worked for me and hope it helps you.0 -
So I'm not exactly sure why I've stopped losing. I have PLENTY to lose. Here's what I've been doing:
MFP says my food goal should be 1500 cal/day (I entered "Lightly Active")
I'm burning 360-400 calories/day doing 30dayshred.
So if I eat the calories back like MFP says, I'd need to eat up to 1900 cal/day.
I'm actually eating somewhere between 1300-1500 cal/day.
Am I putting myself in starvation mode? Is there really anything to that? Also - I feel like I'm eating a ton...never hungry...so I'm not sure how I can eat more calories if that's really my problem.
I know there are lots of threads out there about these topics, but any insight y'all have would be greatly appreciated!
Lets say you eat 1400 calories and then exercise and burn 400 calories. That means your NET calories (look at your homepage for this #) is 1,000....
1400 calories consumed - 400 calories burned = 1,000 NET calories YOUR BODY THINKS YOU ATE (that is all that it can have a chance to absorb is 1,000 of the calories NOT 1,400).
You need to make sure your NET calories is at least 1200 (the amount minimum for your body to do everyday things like breathing, heart beat, walking to the bathroom, etc). Your calories you ate is not as nearly important as your NET calories because that is what you are supposed to be basing the 1200 a day off of to make sure your body has enough nutrients to support itself workout and just in general!
I agree with 99% of what you said, except that 1200 is not the magic number for everyone. If you are heavier (like well over 200 pounds) likely your bare minimum for breathing etc is around 1600 not 1200.
I agree with the net calories. I have been wearing a Body Media for a few weeks and although it is fascinating what I burn when I exercise, it is even more fascinating what I burn on an average day.
Like I said above, I told MFP that I wanted to lose 1lb per week and that I did no exercise. That gave me a daily goal of 1900 calories. On a slow day with no exercise, my Body Media says I burn 2550... so yep that is right on.0 -
I think that if you are trying to lose weight, you should take all your calories you burn in a day including exercise, subtract 10-20% at most, and eat that. Every once in a while, eat all the calories you burn just to change it up.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.4K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions