Eye opening. HUGE deficits
graysmom2005
Posts: 1,882 Member
I went back into April to look at my food log when I was trying to be "really good". With my exercise schedule I was averaging around 1000 calorie deficit every day. I would do the occasional weekend pig out (could I have been starving for calories??) Seriously, every day was around 900-1100 deficit. AND I WASN'T LOSING WEIGHT!!! So anyone who wonders if starvation mode exists...or if eating back at least part of your exercise calories is important...take note! :-)
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Replies
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Good post!0
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well said!0
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When your body is starving, it puts itself in a surviving mode and tries to keep every calories you give it....
Good post!0 -
good to know. thanks!0
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Weird. I was doing the same thing last week and I dropped weight like a mofo. Everyone's different though. Worth noting - I didn't really lose weight that fast until I got the BodyMedia, which told me how many calories I was actually burning. MFP quoted me WAY TOO HIGH.
Then I changed my meals to be more functional and better timed. ie high pro in mornings, introducing carbs 1.5 hrs before a workout, and so on.. Must be something in there that prevented weight loss.
Third note, weight loss in leaner subjects has been shown to be more ERRATIC than higher-weight individuals, who's weight loss was consistent. Both groups had similar deficits.0 -
Ugh, don't I know it too! I finally started moving after a 6 month stall, averaging 1600 cals a day. This week I stepped up my exercise, forgetting the eating more part. So I noticed the lbs creeping up this week- so I did the numbers...and 980 calories net after all the exercise! Oops. So I had a big food day yesterday and a healthy normal exercise free day today.
Eat your food people! It may not matter in the first 20 lbs, but it sure matters long term
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This right here. If you have a lot to lose, you will lose weight at first...I did...but then I STOPPED. And I mean STOPPED losing weight. I'd then end up eating a lot on the weekend because my body was dying for calories. Since I started eating a lot more, the want/need to binge has gone down a LOT. :-)Ugh, don't I know it too! I finally started moving after a 6 month stall, averaging 1600 cals a day. This week I stepped up my exercise, forgetting the eating more part. So I noticed the lbs creeping up this week- so I did the numbers...and 980 calories net after all the exercise! Oops. So I had a big food day yesterday and a healthy normal exercise free day today.
Eat your food people! It may not matter in the first 20 lbs, but it sure matters long term0 -
A daily deficit of 1,000 calories = 2 pounds lost per week. That's a perfectly healthy rate of weight loss.
You were probably messing up somewhere and didn't account for it. Lots of people do. They either overestimate/underestimate their daily maintenance, intake, and/or calories burned.0 -
Yup I have to eat all my cals to lose weight. I use the body media fit and my daily burn is 2700-3200 so I have to eat a min of 1700 cals a day. That gives me a 1000 cal deficit still! That means all of the 1350 that MFP gives me Plus my 400 exercise cals...0
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Agreed! In the beginning, I thought I was doing so well. I ate around my calorie intake of 1200 per day, didn't always eat my exercise calories had several double workout days per week. This last month after finshing Insanity, I went to single workouts, ate all of my excercise calories, upped my protein and BOOM....the weight has been melting off!!
Good post!! :happy:0 -
Weird. I was doing the same thing last week and I dropped weight like a mofo. Everyone's different though. Worth noting - I didn't really lose weight that fast until I got the BodyMedia, which told me how many calories I was actually burning. MFP quoted me WAY TOO HIGH.
Then I changed my meals to be more functional and better timed. ie high pro in mornings, introducing carbs 1.5 hrs before a workout, and so on.. Must be something in there that prevented weight loss.
Third note, weight loss in leaner subjects has been shown to be more ERRATIC than higher-weight individuals, who's weight loss was consistent. Both groups had similar deficits.
Understand that one day, two days, or even a week of running a very high deficit will NOT put you into "starvation mode". Your metabolism slows when you run a deficit for a prolonged period of time. . .It's inevitable. When you run too large of a deficit for a period of time, your body reacts and changes your metabolism to the point where losing weight is very hard. It takes a prolonged period (usually at LEAST a week) for this to happen.
So basically, if you feel like running a massive deficit for a few days, it won't really have a huge affect on your metabolism. You'll be even better off if you go back to maintenance calories for 1 or 2 days afterwards. This is the basic idea of calorie cycling. It's all based on weekly deficits instead of daily deficits.
This is my reaction when people ask about being way below their calories for a day or two. It's not a big deal, and won't put you into "starvation mode", but undereating consistently can definitely kill your progress and nullify your efforts. lately I've had days where I've had a deficit of over 1k cals, but I haven't been losing too much (not trying to at the moment) because other days I'm eating at or just above maintanence.
(btw, I hate that term, "starvation mode". Your metabolism is constantly going up and down as your body tries to use its resources as efficiently as possible.)0 -
Weird. I was doing the same thing last week and I dropped weight like a mofo. Everyone's different though. Worth noting - I didn't really lose weight that fast until I got the BodyMedia, which told me how many calories I was actually burning. MFP quoted me WAY TOO HIGH.
Then I changed my meals to be more functional and better timed. ie high pro in mornings, introducing carbs 1.5 hrs before a workout, and so on.. Must be something in there that prevented weight loss.
Third note, weight loss in leaner subjects has been shown to be more ERRATIC than higher-weight individuals, who's weight loss was consistent. Both groups had similar deficits.
Understand that one day, two days, or even a week of running a very high deficit will NOT put you into "starvation mode". Your metabolism slows when you run a deficit for a prolonged period of time. . .It's inevitable. When you run too large of a deficit for a period of time, your body reacts and changes your metabolism to the point where losing weight is very hard. It takes a prolonged period (usually at LEAST a week) for this to happen.
So basically, if you feel like running a massive deficit for a few days, it won't really have a huge affect on your metabolism. You'll be even better off if you go back to maintenance calories for 1 or 2 days afterwards. This is the basic idea of calorie cycling. It's all based on weekly deficits instead of daily deficits.
This is my reaction when people ask about being way below their calories for a day or two. It's not a big deal, and won't put you into "starvation mode", but undereating consistently can definitely kill your progress and nullify your efforts. lately I've had days where I've had a deficit of over 1k cals, but I haven't been losing too much (not trying to at the moment) because other days I'm eating at or just above maintanence.
(btw, I hate that term, "starvation mode". Your metabolism is constantly going up and down as your body tries to use its resources as efficiently as possible.)
This is a good explanation. My stall came after 2 years of 1200-1300 calories a day. I had maybe one cheat meal a week. It wasn't enough and my body rebelled. I eat my BMR now, which is 1600. Gives me a 400 calorie deficit before exercise, and I end up losing 1.6 lbs a week.
I tally up my weekly calories, weekly exercise, then divide by 7 days to make sure I'm averaging 1550-1650 calories a day net.0 -
Weird. I was doing the same thing last week and I dropped weight like a mofo. Everyone's different though. Worth noting - I didn't really lose weight that fast until I got the BodyMedia, which told me how many calories I was actually burning. MFP quoted me WAY TOO HIGH.
Then I changed my meals to be more functional and better timed. ie high pro in mornings, introducing carbs 1.5 hrs before a workout, and so on.. Must be something in there that prevented weight loss.
Third note, weight loss in leaner subjects has been shown to be more ERRATIC than higher-weight individuals, who's weight loss was consistent. Both groups had similar deficits.
Understand that one day, two days, or even a week of running a very high deficit will NOT put you into "starvation mode". Your metabolism slows when you run a deficit for a prolonged period of time. . .It's inevitable. When you run too large of a deficit for a period of time, your body reacts and changes your metabolism to the point where losing weight is very hard. It takes a prolonged period (usually at LEAST a week) for this to happen.
So basically, if you feel like running a massive deficit for a few days, it won't really have a huge affect on your metabolism. You'll be even better off if you go back to maintenance calories for 1 or 2 days afterwards. This is the basic idea of calorie cycling. It's all based on weekly deficits instead of daily deficits.
This is my reaction when people ask about being way below their calories for a day or two. It's not a big deal, and won't put you into "starvation mode", but undereating consistently can definitely kill your progress and nullify your efforts. lately I've had days where I've had a deficit of over 1k cals, but I haven't been losing too much (not trying to at the moment) because other days I'm eating at or just above maintanence.
(btw, I hate that term, "starvation mode". Your metabolism is constantly going up and down as your body tries to use its resources as efficiently as possible.)
Right. This was not for a week or a few days. I did this for a year and a half.0 -
A daily deficit of 1,000 calories = 2 pounds lost per week. That's a perfectly healthy rate of weight loss.
You were probably messing up somewhere and didn't account for it. Lots of people do. They either overestimate/underestimate their daily maintenance, intake, and/or calories burned.
To be blunt...you have no idea what you're talking about.0 -
A daily deficit of 1,000 calories = 2 pounds lost per week. That's a perfectly healthy rate of weight loss.
You were probably messing up somewhere and didn't account for it. Lots of people do. They either overestimate/underestimate their daily maintenance, intake, and/or calories burned.
To be blunt...you have no idea what you're talking about.
+1
My wife's maintenance calorie count is around 1200-1400. Does the scientific literature you've read say it's healthy for a grown female to consume 200-400 calories a day?0 -
*doublepost*0
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+1
My wife's maintenance calorie count is around 1200-1400. Does the scientific literature you've read say it's healthy for a grown female to consume 200-400 calories a day?
Let's be serious. Her "maintenance calorie count" isn't 1200-1400. 1400 might be her BMR, but unless she's lying in bed all day that's not her maintenance calorie intake. If she's active at all her actual maintenance intake is probably closer to 2000. Which means, for a maximum recommended weight loss of 2 lbs/week she can eat about 1000 calories per day.0
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