How can I come out of starvation mode and maintain my current weight?

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  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,181 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    I been on a crash restricted diet (just fruits, vegetables, protein, and good carbs) for over 2 months. I gained 5 pounds over the summer, decided to diet and even though I exercise everyday, I still gained. So I went on a very low calorie diet, (300-1000 calories a day, I know it's not good) I burn 1500-2000 on the treadmill to lose weight quicker, and went from 132 to 107 The problem is I'm in starvation mode and want to eat normal again. I'm terrified of gaining, but not by number, but by that I won't be able to fit in my new clothes I could finally fit in it. I'm also scared I'll binge, that's how I gained weight over the summer. I also excessively exercise for 3 years (burning 3500-6500 calories on the treadmill and not minding the calories I ate because I worked out all day long) If I eat more but keep up my workout program, will I be able to maintain my weight? Thank u.

    My suggestion would be to eat to maintain your current weight.
    then go exercise and burn 1500 - 2000
    If you don't your body may not get the proper nutrients
    Your body may lose muscle mass.

    I'm confused. If she eats at her maintenance, with that hypothetically being an average of 2,000 calories per day, and she exercises to burn 1500 - 2000 calories, which is realistically probably not possible at her size, then she would net 0 to 500 calories to keep all her bodily functions in working. She will lose a lot of muscle mass this way.

    I am hoping I misunderstood your posting. Please correct me if I misread.

    They Key word is "The problem is I'm in starvation mode and want to eat normal again."
    To me, eating normal again would be eating at maintenance.
    She's also binging, prob because not enough sugar or carbs of some shape. increase the carbs, decrease the chance of binging.
    She's also eating 300 - 1000. She's not going to to have the energy to do anything productive.
    Also
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    I been on a crash restricted diet (just fruits, vegetables, protein, and good carbs) for over 2 months. I gained 5 pounds over the summer, decided to diet and even though I exercise everyday, I still gained. So I went on a very low calorie diet, (300-1000 calories a day, I know it's not good) I burn 1500-2000 on the treadmill to lose weight quicker, and went from 132 to 107 The problem is I'm in starvation mode and want to eat normal again. I'm terrified of gaining, but not by number, but by that I won't be able to fit in my new clothes I could finally fit in it. I'm also scared I'll binge, that's how I gained weight over the summer. I also excessively exercise for 3 years (burning 3500-6500 calories on the treadmill and not minding the calories I ate because I worked out all day long) If I eat more but keep up my workout program, will I be able to maintain my weight? Thank u.

    My suggestion would be to eat to maintain your current weight.
    then go exercise and burn 1500 - 2000
    If you don't your body may not get the proper nutrients
    Your body may lose muscle mass.

    I'm confused. If she eats at her maintenance, with that hypothetically being an average of 2,000 calories per day, and she exercises to burn 1500 - 2000 calories, which is realistically probably not possible at her size, then she would net 0 to 500 calories to keep all her bodily functions in working. She will lose a lot of muscle mass this way.

    I am hoping I misunderstood your posting. Please correct me if I misread.

    They Key word is "The problem is I'm in starvation mode and want to eat normal again."
    To me, eating normal again would be eating at maintenance.
    She's also binging, prob because not enough sugar or carbs of some shape. increase the carbs, decrease the chance of binging.
    She's also eating 300 - 1000. She's not going to to have the energy to do anything productive.
    Also

    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178105003690
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    I been on a crash restricted diet (just fruits, vegetables, protein, and good carbs) for over 2 months. I gained 5 pounds over the summer, decided to diet and even though I exercise everyday, I still gained. So I went on a very low calorie diet, (300-1000 calories a day, I know it's not good) I burn 1500-2000 on the treadmill to lose weight quicker, and went from 132 to 107 The problem is I'm in starvation mode and want to eat normal again. I'm terrified of gaining, but not by number, but by that I won't be able to fit in my new clothes I could finally fit in it. I'm also scared I'll binge, that's how I gained weight over the summer. I also excessively exercise for 3 years (burning 3500-6500 calories on the treadmill and not minding the calories I ate because I worked out all day long) If I eat more but keep up my workout program, will I be able to maintain my weight? Thank u.

    My suggestion would be to eat to maintain your current weight.
    then go exercise and burn 1500 - 2000
    If you don't your body may not get the proper nutrients
    Your body may lose muscle mass.

    I'm confused. If she eats at her maintenance, with that hypothetically being an average of 2,000 calories per day, and she exercises to burn 1500 - 2000 calories, which is realistically probably not possible at her size, then she would net 0 to 500 calories to keep all her bodily functions in working. She will lose a lot of muscle mass this way.

    I am hoping I misunderstood your posting. Please correct me if I misread.

    They Key word is "The problem is I'm in starvation mode and want to eat normal again."
    To me, eating normal again would be eating at maintenance.
    She's also binging, prob because not enough sugar or carbs of some shape. increase the carbs, decrease the chance of binging.
    She's also eating 300 - 1000. She's not going to to have the energy to do anything productive.
    Also

    For the OP to stay at her current weight requires her to NET at maintenance ... not just eat at it before factoring in exercise. The eating plan you described does not come close to putting the OP at maintenance.

    The OP started a couple of very red flagged filled threads that show multiple indicators of likely disordered thinking and actions.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    MissJay75 wrote: »
    Your post was full of red flags for me:
    "I been on a crash restricted diet"
    "I know it's not good"
    "I burn 1500-2000 on the treadmill to lose weight quicker"
    "I'm terrified of gaining"
    "I'm also scared I'll binge"
    "I also excessively exercise for 3 years"

    I don't think this is something you can do well by yourself. What you've done in the past was really unhealthy, and you did it even knowing how bad it was. Are you in school? Do they have a counseling program for students?

    Spot on. OP, you need to speak to a therapist about your eating disordered thoughts and behaviors.
    Agree!!! OP get help!!
  • williamwj2014
    williamwj2014 Posts: 750 Member
    edited October 2015
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    the title of the thread pisses me off...


    STARVATION MODE IS NOT REAL.


    unless you mean actually starving then yes...
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Au contraire mon frere.

    Starvation mode - aka adaptive thermogenesis, aka metabolic efficiency - is real.

    Now - some of the myth effects you may have heard associated with it are not real to starvation mode, but rather to actual starving (burning muscle before fat).
    Some just aren't true (getting it by skipping a meal, by itself causing weight/fat gain, totally preventing weight loss).

    Yes - the term is not great but it's been used for awhile in research literature - the mode has been understood and appreciated for years.

    But her usage is correct - don't get to eat as much as might have.

    One such study is in video clip above.

    Here's a ton more to knock yourself out with.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1077746-starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss

    And a study showing you can recover from it, or perhaps diet/exercise right from the start and never go in to it.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/reduced-metabolism-tdee-beyond-expected-from-weight-loss-616251

    And look at the group for extending life by eating at constant caloric deficit to potential daily burn so their metabolism purposely slows down. They don't deficit enough to lose weight - just enough to slow down.
    And it's a bear to lose weight that way.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    heybales wrote: »
    Au contraire mon frere.

    Starvation mode - aka adaptive thermogenesis, aka metabolic efficiency - is real.

    Now - some of the myth effects you may have heard associated with it are not real to starvation mode, but rather to actual starving (burning muscle before fat).
    Some just aren't true (getting it by skipping a meal, by itself causing weight/fat gain, totally preventing weight loss).

    Yes - the term is not great but it's been used for awhile in research literature - the mode has been understood and appreciated for years.

    But her usage is correct - don't get to eat as much as might have.

    One such study is in video clip above.

    Here's a ton more to knock yourself out with.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1077746-starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss

    And a study showing you can recover from it, or perhaps diet/exercise right from the start and never go in to it.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/reduced-metabolism-tdee-beyond-expected-from-weight-loss-616251

    And look at the group for extending life by eating at constant caloric deficit to potential daily burn so their metabolism purposely slows down. They don't deficit enough to lose weight - just enough to slow down.
    And it's a bear to lose weight that way.

    Starvation mode is not adaptive thermogenesis. Starvation mode is the pervasive myth that your body can reduce calorie expenditure more than you can reduce calories.
    If someone wants to talk adaptive thermogensis, they'll use that term.
    The study inside of your blog, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004377 says that Sedentary Energy Expenditure changed all of 6% more than the predicted value of just the mass loss. This number shrinks to even less when accounting for the difference in thermic effect of food from less calorie intake overall, and the changes in actual sedentary activity. That leaves just a few percent difference in an actual RMR, and that still might be attributable to the differences in activity - a highly active person should have a higher BMR / RMR as the body is engaged in more recovery.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I'll agree that the term has been widely misused more lately, commercials claiming you have it if you skip a meal.

    But it was the term used years ago when AT was being talked about, both were used in what I read.
    Just because the wrong effects are applied to the term doesn't mean the term is wrong.
    Like the way HIIT has been slapped on any number of routines that aren't HIIT really.

    So was the 6% the group that had daily burn about 370 calories less than expected, or 496 less?

    While 6% off sedentary energy expend might be small - the result to daily burn in real calories is decent.

    Or at least, I'd think many folks would enjoy eating 370 to 496 potential extra calories and still lose weight. Not even including the extra that could be eaten if LBM wasn't reduced along with metabolism.
  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
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    Do you get Juicy Fruit too?
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    edited October 2015
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    eat your BMR and continue working out how you were, that will automatically bring your eating back up but youll still be netting way under. but you can use this as a basline to start upping your food from, id start cutting back on the cardio and start doing resistance and weights. Im very curious how this goes for you because for a couple weeks ive been eating 200 calories a day and burning 600 calories a day to keep a 2000 calorie a day deficit so i can burn 4lbs a week, last couple days i slacked and only burned 400 a day after i broke a couple day plateu (I minus a calorie for every min because thats about BMR rate) so the next two days I have to eat nothing and burn 900 calories a day if im gonna lose over a pound and a half in the next day so I can be 180 by saturday morning to keep up with my scheduled plan. I should be 135 in no time if I can do this. I plan to get to 120 then gain 15lbs muscle.

    So are you receiving psychiatric care for something related to food/consumption issues?

    Also, in order to gain muscle you have to eat at a surplus . . . and as a woman, you can realistically expect it could take about a year to 18 months to actually gain that type of muscle mass - depending on your routine, eating habits and workout programs. Further, if you've been eating at that type of a deficit for a long time, your body is already eating its LBM more than likely. How do you expect your body to build muscle when you've been depriving it of nutrients for such a long time? Muscle really only builds when you're eating at maintenance or at a surplus, but mostly at a surplus. That's why many body builders go through bulk and cut cycles. During bulk cycles they are not eating 500 calories/day, period.

    I would potentially suggest seeking help with regards to your relationship with food before attempting to gain 15 lbs of muscle on a 120lbs frame. Just for reference, I weigh 255lbs and have 140 lbs (approx) of LBM on me. That's a lot . . . so my muscles, organs, tissue and bones weigh almost as much as you do entirely. Gaining lean muscle is hard for women and it takes a solid eating regimen, plus dedication and commitment. I would maybe seek out help to gain a healthy relationship with food before attempting that plan.

    ETA: from your profile, your highest weight recorded is 310lbs. My highest was 340lbs, so not far off. I'm not sure how tall you are but I am 5'10. I work out 6 days/week - 3 running days and 3 crossfit/bootcamp days, so I'm very active and intensely active. As I mentioned above, I have 140lbs approx is lean body mass on me. I was always a bigger girl and when people are bigger for a long period of time they can develop more muscle mass just because it takes a lot of effort to carry that extra weight around. With that in mind, I'm not sure if you would benefit from speaking with a nutritionist or registered dietitian because for me to get down to 160lbs I would have something like 18% BF . . . and that's super lean, but just not realistic for me. I'd like to get to anywhere between 20 and 25% BF. I am definitely not a doctor, but from experience with being that big you may benefit from having someone to talk to with a lot of experience in getting the right kinds of nutrition into you if you would like to weigh that amount.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    What the what what? :huh:
  • Donnah781
    Donnah781 Posts: 37 Member
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    Maybe talking to a nutritionist can help ? You have done a great job and staying on track is whats important. Give the nutritionist a shot :-)
  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
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    MissJay75 wrote: »
    leahrbeatty, it sounds like you have an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. Please find a counselor who specializes in helping people with an eating disorder. They should also be able to help you find a nutritionist to guide you through the process of feeding your body in a healthy way after doing it wrong for so long.

    Great advise
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
    edited October 2015
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    The problem is you have jacked up your metabolism. The way to fix it is to EAT. Stop neglecting your body and give it food. Eventually your body will learn that you aren't in a famine and it will start burning calories normally, but it does take time. You can lose weight by starving obviously, but what happens is when you do start eating a normal amount your body tries to store all of it until the next famine. This does correct itself after eating normally for awhile.

    I also agree that you need to look into therapy for your disordered eating.
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
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    Thank you, I heard it's water, but I keep reading in other places that its fat. I don't want to gain weight and won't be able to fit in my new clothes. I love exercising and I want to eat between 1200-1500 calories a day, keep working out and still keep my current weight or stay between my current weight and 110. (110 was my main goal but decided to keep going which is bad)

    Keep in mind that you MAY gain weight at first as your body is adjusting to eating normally again. That is okay though because it will drop quickly once your metabolism corrects itself.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    MissJay75 wrote: »
    Your post was full of red flags for me:
    "I been on a crash restricted diet"
    "I know it's not good"
    "I burn 1500-2000 on the treadmill to lose weight quicker"
    "I'm terrified of gaining"
    "I'm also scared I'll binge"
    "I also excessively exercise for 3 years"

    I don't think this is something you can do well by yourself. What you've done in the past was really unhealthy, and you did it even knowing how bad it was. Are you in school? Do they have a counseling program for students?

    so much this..

    OP - I would strongly suggest seeing if there is a counselor at your school that you can talk to about these issues.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    edited October 2015
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    I been on a crash restricted diet (just fruits, vegetables, protein, and good carbs) for over 2 months. I gained 5 pounds over the summer, decided to diet and even though I exercise everyday, I still gained. So I went on a very low calorie diet, (300-1000 calories a day, I know it's not good) I burn 1500-2000 on the treadmill to lose weight quicker, and went from 132 to 107 The problem is I'm in starvation mode and want to eat normal again. I'm terrified of gaining, but not by number, but by that I won't be able to fit in my new clothes I could finally fit in it. I'm also scared I'll binge, that's how I gained weight over the summer. I also excessively exercise for 3 years (burning 3500-6500 calories on the treadmill and not minding the calories I ate because I worked out all day long) If I eat more but keep up my workout program, will I be able to maintain my weight? Thank u.

    My suggestion would be to eat to maintain your current weight.
    then go exercise and burn 1500 - 2000
    If you don't your body may not get the proper nutrients
    Your body may lose muscle mass.

    I'm confused. If she eats at her maintenance, with that hypothetically being an average of 2,000 calories per day, and she exercises to burn 1500 - 2000 calories, which is realistically probably not possible at her size, then she would net 0 to 500 calories to keep all her bodily functions in working. She will lose a lot of muscle mass this way.

    I am hoping I misunderstood your posting. Please correct me if I misread.

    They Key word is "The problem is I'm in starvation mode and want to eat normal again."
    To me, eating normal again would be eating at maintenance.
    She's also binging, prob because not enough sugar or carbs of some shape. increase the carbs, decrease the chance of binging.
    She's also eating 300 - 1000. She's not going to to have the energy to do anything productive.
    Also
    In This situation, the OP needs to do 2 important things:

    1. Get professional help for her eating disorder.
    2. Eat at maintenance or more.

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    For some reason the quote function is not working, so also what @brianpperkins and @senecarr said.