Upping my diet to 1500Cal

Yuppers, just re-checked with a nurse about starvation mode and she said it is a real thing that happens. If you eat too little calories, your body holds onto the calories by slowing down the metabolism. She said there is two ways to get around it. Higher your calorie intake, or eat small meals every two hours (but when you do that you have to drink lots of water, because there is a risk of kidney damage.)

Medilia wrote: »

sachatee wrote: »

I didn't see this mentioned before, but there are other aspects of health to consider when trying to lose weight rather than simply caloric intake/output. Hormonal levels can play a HUGE role in how you gain or lose weight. For example, PCOS is a super common reason that women can have difficuly losing weight. If you're still not seeing results you might consider a trip to a doctor or naturopath to have your hormone levels tested. It's not something to be alarmed about, but it could potentially be an important piece of the puzzle.

Yeah, booked in for a doctor's appointment because I want to get that checked out.

nyghtrain wrote: »

Yuppers, just re-checked with a nurse about starvation mode and she said it is a real thing that happens. If you eat too little calories, your body holds onto the calories by slowing down the metabolism. She said there is two ways to get around it. Higher your calorie intake, or eat small meals every two hours (but when you do that you have to drink lots of water, because there is a risk of kidney damage.)

I saw that all earlier and I was going to comment about it being called a myth. While I prefer the term "Metabolic slow down" it is all the same thing. Your body clings to what ever it can. It's why starvation diets lead to the people gaining the weight back when they return to eating normal.

Ok this isn't exactly right. During the studies that found that metabolic slowdown occurred this was over a long period of time and the subjects were pretty emaciated by the time it happened. It won't happen to a 200lb person eating 1200 calories for a few weeks. Secondly the study found that metabolism slowed by 40%, some of which would be accounted for by the lower weight and subsequent lower TDEE: a 130lb man burns less calories (i.e. has a 'slower metabolism') than a 180lb man. The 40% would cause weight loss to slow, but you don't stop losing weight or gain weight like people seem to think. You need energy to gain or maintain weight, and your body can't make fat out of nothing. Eh, it's late and my brain is a bit muddled, if someone can explain this better than me please do, haha.

Oh, also, the main reason people put the weight back on when they return to eating normal is because... they returned to eating normal. Normal being too many calories, which is what made them overweight in the first place. The problem with these diets is people see them as a 'quick fix', and don't learn the portion control and lifestyle habits needed to maintain results long-term.