Starvation Warning??

I dont listen to it. Mine says it all the time and I eat what I need to feel full. I also do not believe in the whole scare tactic starvation mode bs.

A lot do believe in it on here and that is cool but what I am doing is working just fine! :bigsmile:

Ya im always under by 60 or so and it always says that but I still have been loseing so I think we will be ok. I really think if you go way less then that then your body will start storeing the food and then when you do eat 1200 you will gain-thats just my thought so I really try to go no less then 100 cal. below 1200.

The only thing I would say to those who don't believe it: when your weight loss stalls try increasing your calories by 100 or so each day until you start losing weight again. I used to "starve" myself at 1200 calories per day for MONTHS and it wasn't until I started eating 1800 or so of "clean" food that I lost 20 pounds and kept it off for over a year. :-)

If you don't have a lot of weight to lose, eating under 1200 calories will make weight loss slower for you. Like me....I need to lose about 10 pounds. If I eat below 1200 calories (net), I don't lose weight. It's because my body is already technically at a normal weight so it's normalized and efficient. Starvation is a scary word. But all it means is that your body is going to hold on to stores of fat more eagerly because it feels it is not being given enough nutrients....thats all. Just eat that extra 68 calories

1200 is just a gage. Much better to be 68 cals over or even 100 or 150 than 68 cals under, I'd think (though I have done that too a more than once). 1200 calories is the diatetic associations guideline for what women should never go under. However, most women to maintain a healthy metabolism need more than that. If you go more than 4 days a week under 1200 cals you can potentially start burning muscle (not good) and slowing your metabolism. I'd say every now and then, you are fine, but if it becomes a habit, switch to 1/2 per week and let yourself eat more.

Good luck!

If I'm hungry I eat, if not I don't. I have weeks where I eat everythng in sight but then I have some where I hardly eat. I still have the workout energy I need and feel great plus am half to my goal so the 1200 is a gauge for sure.

Make sure that you are listening to your body. If you're body is telling you you're hungry, by all means eat something! What kind of calories you eat surpasses total calorie consumption in importance. If you are eating 1200 calories worth of lean meat and vegetables, you're probably just fine. However, if you're eating 1200 calories worth of processed food, fast food, diet soda, and sugary treats, you're probably going to run into major problems because you're body isn't getting all the nutrients it needs.

If you're close to it & getting all your nutrition I think you're fine....

To the ones who don't "believe" in starvation mode.... It's not something to beieve in like UFO's for God's sake. It's a well known fact & NOT a myth. If you eat too few calories your body doesn't get what it needs to survive so it holds onto fat thinking it is starving because there is a shortage on food.
And if you're asking then how come people with anorexia can lose and lose when eating little to nothing? Because the body has to use up all it has eventually so it will do that to the point of death.
But SHOCKER when they eat more, even if only a few hundred calories they will start storing fat again asap as their bodies will hold on to every grain of food. They royally messed their body up & might never get it back to where it was.
And no, this doesn't only effect skinny people.....
So good luck to the ones who are blind to the truth

I have been under by 5 calories and recieved that warning. I hate it because no one eats EXACTLY 1200 calories - go under and get that warning - go over, well - that doesn't feel very nice either. The warning should trigger at 1000 net calories so it actually MEANS something!

The only thing I would say to those who don't believe it: when your weight loss stalls try increasing your calories by 100 or so each day until you start losing weight again. I used to "starve" myself at 1200 calories per day for MONTHS and it wasn't until I started eating 1800 or so of "clean" food that I lost 20 pounds and kept it off for over a year. :-)

Same here!! OMG, I use to be the Queen of eating below 1200 and felt so proud of my willpower and ability to control the amount of food in my mouth. As I got older I started gaining weight and couldn't figure out why as I was eating and working out pretty much the same. I had my BMR tested and discovered it had dropped 300 points. That means if I changed nothing, I would gain 35 lbs in a year! I learned by starving myself I slowed down my metabolism. Yes, getting older contributed to it as well but not that much. SO I joined MFP, and started tracking my workouts and my food and little by little the weight is coming off. And I'm eating at least 1800 calories a day and have energy for my P90X workouts. I'm a slow learner but I finally got it!

When my calories were 1560, I'd get that ALOT. Then I dropped them to 1470 and still get thata once in awhile. I do try to eat close to my calorie goal, but never do I eat back my exercised calories. That's just me!

greeneyed84 - thanks for your comment! I use this program/website to control my (life-long) anorexia and to learn how to eat like a normal person and fix my metabolism.... as does a friend of mine. (Well, I hope she's sticking to it). Anyway - Anorexia doesn't mean weighing 85 pounds. Thanks for helping people notice that. Last year I went 10 days without food (my last bout of not eating at all) and it made me GAIN 10 pounds. Then after, I've gained 15 more this year.... After Britney Murphy died - the fact it can kill you hit home. It's not a choice I make and it will never go away - BUT I am learning, I think to get the better of it.

She did not die from anorexia,in fact they said after her autopsy she was at a healthy weight for her body