More chance of losing weight if I use all my calorie quota?

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feeeeona
feeeeona Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there fellow slimmers!

I wondered if anyone knew if you had more chance of losing weight if you reached your calorie limit each day than if you were under each day?

Last week i was 100+ calories under each day and doing lots of exercise. I was really pleased with myself and couldnt wait to weigh in. However, i was absolutely gutted to see i hadnt lost a single ounce. I just felt like i had worked my butt off and tried so hard for nothing. Im sure all of you have felt this at some point on the slimming rollercoaster and it is not a nice feeling!

If i had consumed my full 1200 cals rather than being under, would i have more chance of losing weight? Anyone got any experience of this? It just doesnt seem right...

Thanks guys xx

Replies

  • Ashalahn_LMT
    Ashalahn_LMT Posts: 342 Member
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    I think the body enters "starvation mode" somewhere around 1100-1200 calories. Although I may be wrong with that figure. Sounds like you may actually be eating too little, thus your metabolism is slowing down.
  • crysthom
    crysthom Posts: 27
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    You are correct, if you consume less than 1200 calories for to many days your body will enter into starvation mode and will basically stop using its stored fat for energy.
  • crysthom
    crysthom Posts: 27
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    Oh and thanks for the pic, now I want a cupcake! LOL! ;)
  • dcmat
    dcmat Posts: 1,723 Member
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    Most people suggest not dropping below 1200 cals a day. Hit your cal limit and burn some back off through exercise
  • yumster70
    yumster70 Posts: 23 Member
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    You are correct, if you consume less than 1200 calories for to many days your body will enter into starvation mode and will basically stop using its stored fat for energy.

    CORRECT! I TRY NOT TO GO LESS THAN 1200 CALORIES BUT SOMETIMES I DO. I JUST TRY TO STAY BACK ON TRACK.

    6316041.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • jennywrens
    jennywrens Posts: 208
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    I'm not one of the people who always eats their exercise calories, but I will always try and reach my 1200 - occasionally I'll be below by a few calories and some days I'll eat back loads of my exercise calories.

    Listen to your body, if you're hungry then eat - if not then don't - but always try and make sure you hit 1200 calories
  • srsly
    srsly Posts: 38 Member
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    You are correct, if you consume less than 1200 calories for to many days your body will enter into starvation mode and will basically stop using its stored fat for energy.

    So untrue lol. Starvation mode is BS. I lost weight eating 600 calories ;) And if starvation mode is true, explain anorexia.

    Anyway, you can try eating more but why would you lose weight by eating more? You lose weight at a caloric deficit, nothing more. Maybe try doing more cardio or just give it time. Weight-loss doesn't occur every week. You could be losing inches; the scale can't measure that.
  • BeckyKSmith
    BeckyKSmith Posts: 212 Member
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    I lose more if I eat All of them and net around 1300-1400 than if I stick to 1200. I am 5'4" and 170lbs. Comforting...isn't it :happy:
  • T0M0
    T0M0 Posts: 250 Member
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    When I was on 1200 per day I had days where I would nett less than 1000 and days where I would be 300 over. I tried to look at the week as my target and not day to day. I've been using MFP since Jan and have only gained twice so, so far me it's worked well. I personally thinks it's good to try and vary your calories the same as your exercise.

    :-)
  • Ashalahn_LMT
    Ashalahn_LMT Posts: 342 Member
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    You are correct, if you consume less than 1200 calories for to many days your body will enter into starvation mode and will basically stop using its stored fat for energy.

    So untrue lol. Starvation mode is BS. I lost weight eating 600 calories ;) And if starvation mode is true, explain anorexia.

    Anyway, you can try eating more but why would you lose weight by eating more? You lose weight at a caloric deficit, nothing more. Maybe try doing more cardio or just give it time. Weight-loss doesn't occur every week. You could be losing inches; the scale can't measure that.

    There's a healthy way to lose weight, and an unhealthy way to do it. Sure you will lose weight with extreme calorie deficits, but with a host of negative side effects (tissue damage, loss of muscle mass, lack of energy, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, etc). Anorexia is classified as an eating disorder for a reason. You won't find a doctor telling you to be anorexic to be healthy.
  • Silky815
    Silky815 Posts: 367 Member
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    Oh and thanks for the pic, now I want a cupcake! LOL! ;)

    Hi there. There will be no cupcakes allowed while on this site. LOL Good luck to you.
  • srsly
    srsly Posts: 38 Member
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    You are correct, if you consume less than 1200 calories for to many days your body will enter into starvation mode and will basically stop using its stored fat for energy.

    So untrue lol. Starvation mode is BS. I lost weight eating 600 calories ;) And if starvation mode is true, explain anorexia.

    Anyway, you can try eating more but why would you lose weight by eating more? You lose weight at a caloric deficit, nothing more. Maybe try doing more cardio or just give it time. Weight-loss doesn't occur every week. You could be losing inches; the scale can't measure that.

    There's a healthy way to lose weight, and an unhealthy way to do it. Sure you will lose weight with extreme calorie deficits, but with a host of negative side effects (tissue damage, loss of muscle mass, lack of energy, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, etc). Anorexia is classified as an eating disorder for a reason. You won't find a doctor telling you to be anorexic to be healthy.

    Agreed :) I only did it for a little while and I never said it was the healthiest, but the fact that the 1200 calorie magical number is so common on these boards is funny. You can lose eating 800 calories, 1200 calories, 1300 calories, 1600 calories, and in my case, 1700 calories. There's no one right number for everyone.

    Never said a doctor would recommend anorexia, however if starvation mode was true, we'd not have such disorders as the body would "hold onto everything because it's in starvation mode." ;)

    Kudos @ P90X. I'm on my 3rd round and loving it, time to move on though. I think I'm getting tired of it.
  • lily1972
    lily1972 Posts: 375 Member
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    Correct! Everything is a question of hormone production... if you go under 1200 calories for a few days, your metabolism will slow down to maintain. If you eat back your exercise calories and maintain a stable net calorie intake, your metabolism will "plateau" and adjust. Your "reports" button is extremely helpful to avoid these two problems! Jillian Michaels advises to use your calorie goal as an average and zigzag your calories (ideally without going under 1200 - my suggestion). Meaning, you don't necessarily eat a larger quantity of food on "high" days, but foods which contain more calories like nuts, pasta, rice, legumes such as chick peas and healthy fats (avocado, etc.) because you certainly don't want to stretch your stomach any further :smile: Cardio and strength training go hand in hand... and try to boost your consumption of fibre and protein. I have had a lot of success using these principles so far!!

    You have given your system a shock - it needs time to adjust and to "reboot" :wink:
    Good luck! And drink lots of water! :flowerforyou:
  • feeeeona
    feeeeona Posts: 3
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    Wow thanks everyone so much for the great responses. Its such a comfort to have support from like minded people, its like having an online group hug lol.

    crysthom and Silky815: We get to have some when we meet our goals! Its my inspiration!

    So should I be "eating back my exercise cals" or not? Sorry, bit of friday afternoon confusion setting in!

    xx
  • Dreamknitgirl
    Dreamknitgirl Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you for saying this. My calorie limit since I started was 1200 and I really wondered if this was possib!e, (and still do). I exercise a lot and enjoy it but I am nearly at my first 11 weeks and have only lost 6 #s. I know that my goal is much less than others, but it has been frustrating. I will try eating more (humm, what should I add? More complex carbs?) and see if that doesn't shake things up. If you have any other ideas, I would love to hear them! Thanks.

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