"Starvation mode?"...weight loss plateau

teeveesee · May 2011

Hi all,

I've noticed a weird thing about my weight loss progress and wondered if anyone found anything similar. When I started MFP I was on around 1500kcal per day and lost a fair few pounds quickly. Then I stopped losing so dropped my kcal further to 1300 and lost again....then stopped. So I've tried dropping again and I'm supposed to have 1200 a day but more like have 900-1000kcal and I've started gaining weight!

I can't understand it. When you track your daily food and it's less than 1200 cal it warns you that you could put your body into 'starvation mode'...do you think this is what has happened? What does it mean?

If not, what else could I do to kick start the weight loss again?

Thanks!

Qarol · May 2011

The thing with "starvation mode" is really that your body is slowing down its metabolism because it's afraid food is scarce. It learns to get by on fewer calories. Then, if you eat just a little bit more, you're going to gain because your body didn't need those extra calories, since it was operating just fine on less.

I'd suggest never going below 1200. And if you were losing well at 1500, maybe stay there. But gradually increase it back up so you don't gain a lot. And add more exercise to help get your metabolism back up again.

Plataeus are inevitable. You just have to push through it. Changing up your exercise routine or changing up your foods can help, but I wouldn't recommend cutting calories to get through a plateau.

staciekins · May 2011

Let's say you were eating 3500 cals with no exercise every day and thats how you gained weight.
So now, you wanna lose as fast as possible. You eat 1200 cals a day with no exercise. That's your minimum NET. You add 400 cals of exercise. Your NET becomes 800. So you add back that 400 by eating it making it 1200 cals NET again. So, you eat a total of 1600 cals, with 400 cals exercise. (Remember that is the BARE MINIMUM! The more you lose, the more you need to intake.) That is still significantly less than what you were probably consuming before AND you don't risk putting your body into starvation mode nor do you risk being malnutritioned. WIN!

bluefox9er · May 2011

Hi..I too have been warned about the dreaded plateau..the only thing I will do when I hit this stage is to continue to eat 1200-1400 cals a day and make sure I do at least a 300 cal a day average exercise burn per day ( I often do a 1000 cal work out at least once a week)

just hang in there and dont deprive your body of GOOD nutrients, drink lots of water and stay true to your exercise regime and I'm sure all will work out for you!

good luck and keep going :-)

greeneyed84 · May 2011

Up your calories. Vary them day to day so your body doesn't used to a particular "diet". Worked for me :-)

joannbuist23 · May 2011

Type in starvation mode in the search and you'll find loads of information :flowerforyou:

smuehlbauer · May 2011

My suggestion - up your callories back to where MFP tells you to be at, change up your cardio or increase your cardio and eat half of your exercise calories back. Don't eat less than 1200 caloires. That's just silly!

If your exercising your body needs those calories to function the correct way.

Make sure you get enought water and sleep.

copperdave · May 2011

Eat more. Less calories doesn't necessarily mean losing weight...especially when you're under 1200 calories. I ADDED 300 calories after I plateaued, and now I'm losing again. I know it sounds weird, but you have to EAT to LOSE!

nchapman2008 · May 2011

that happened to be, stop dropping your calories though, its not a good idea and you should be eating ATLEAST 1200 and you should be exercising in order to allow you to eat more, its difficult to get all the nutrition you need with that amount of food

your weight will come off quickly and then stop this only lasts for a week max, then you should start losing again, i stayed at the same weight for about a week and then lost about 3lbs over night, just your body catching up really, keep at it and put your cals back upto 1500 if that was working for you

its different for everyone, if you eat less than 1200 then your body will start storing everything you give it, because its scared there wont be anymore food for a while
the best thing to do is to eat small meals frequently rather than just three average sized meals during the day.
i find that snacking helps he lose weight because it stops me from eating huge meals lke i was doing before

x

angeleyes13 · May 2011

Hi,
I was in the 'normal' weight for my height when I started and MFP gave me 1200 limit on calories.
I have stuck to this but eaten any exercise calories I have earned.
What I found was, when I didn't eat these earned calories(for about 2 weeks as I didn't understand that I needed those 'extra' calories in order that my metabolism works harder) I stayed at the same weight after losing 8 pounds steadily.
I made sure I ate these calories and have lost 3 pounds in the last week!!!!

I believe it is similar to a steam train - you put in the fuel and you have the energy to do the exercise, but to make sure your body works harder and burns quicker (therefore burning more fat) you need to give yourself more fuel and not less - with less fuel, you just start slowing down metabolism-wise and therefore don't lose weight!
does that make sense?
Hope it helps (I have realised what MFP has worked out for me is right - I am still on 1200 basic calories and I exercise 3/4 times a week - cycling and walk to work and back 5 days a week (1 hour round trip).
Ax

brbetha01 · May 2011

I have a personal trainer and he has helped me to break the plateau - by doing weight training. Sure enough, I've started to lose weight.

Also, stay out of starvation mode. He has me eating 5 to 6 meals a day (small, healthy meals) and I've started dropping also. This keeps my metabolism at a constant. Starvation drops your metabolism and stores fat cells.

Good luck - that plateau is very discouraging but change up your routine and meals and you should break it.

ruststar · May 2011

I had hit a plateau recently and toyed with the idea of dropping my calories even lower, and then I heard some really good advice: eat like the thinner person you want to be. So I researched the BMR of a person at my target weight and guess what? To maintain that weight, lower than I am now, they had to eat more than I was eating! I think the BMR calculator on MFP is low, and I hate that it only asks you about your job and not your lifestyle - I work out 3-5 times per week, but I work a sedentary job. This is the calculator I used, and I confirmed with several other tools that yes, I really could eat that many calories: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/.

I've been eating 2000 calories for a little bit now and my weight has finally budged from a plateau. I am much happier knowing that this is the amount I will eat for life, not just for a temporary period to lose weight.

cjwolfjen · May 2011

Yes that is what is happening. Your body thinks "this is the only food I'm getting its not enough I need to store it" and you don't lose the weight. I would stick with 1200-1500 daily calories and eat your exercise calories back, all of them. Also try zig zagging your calories to keep your body guessing, that helps with metabolism and weight loss. Eventually your body just gets used to less calories and you quit losing the weight. But if you keep switching it up your body gets confused and keeps losing. Here's a great website for guidelines on daily calorie needs and zig zagging.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

thirteenblessings · May 2011

I would recommend eating at least 1200 calories plus half of your exercise calories. I would also switch up your exercise routine and definitely incorporate resistance training. Start drinking lots of water too. I know when I"m not drinking enough water, my body retains it like crazy but when I drink at least the minimum, I drop a couple pounds quickly.

HTH, good luck!

tjlis2004 · May 2011

Yes this is exactly what happened.
Keep your calorie intake below 2000, Fat intake below 60g and Saturated fat below 20g a day and you'll see the wight start to come off.

thirteenblessings · May 2011

I agree with the zig zagging too. Works great to bust through a plateau!

srogers01 · May 2011

I think this is what happened to me...my body was in starvation mode! I am trying to increase my calories so that I will hopefully see some weight loss. I started dieting and working out in March but have not seen any weight loss. I go up and down between the same 2lbs. I was eating about 1200-1400 calories per day but working out 3-4 nights a week doing cardio sometimes for 2hr's 2x a week. My friend started at the same time and has already lost 20 lbs???

teeveesee · May 2011

Thanks everyone. Some great advice. I guess I do need to up the calories a bit again but I think I'll find it hard to do because of having got used to 900-1000cal quite quickly and maybe feeling a bit greedy eating more. I do need to incorporate some exercise regularly (at the moment it is mostly just dieting and lots of walking with a pushchair and a little bit of pilates).

So hard trying to work out what is right for you, isn't it?! My body seems to respond differently all the time! Anyway, thanks again for the support and advice.

"Starvation mode?"...weight loss plateau

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