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MyFitnessPal Community

told i am eating to little because of the amount of calories burned?

senennieves

Hello
i have a question, i am 5-9" and 290 lbs, i am doing P90 workout from beach body 6 days a week, and i am also walking 15 - 20 k steps at work do security foot patrols, MFP has me eating 2000 calories per day, and i am burning between 1500 - 2800 calories from activity alone, o my total calories burned for the day usually are between 4500 - 5300 calories, my beach body coach says body will go into starvation mode and hold on to bodyfat ??? and i won't lose weigth, i ahve not losed any weight in the last 2 weeks, i was ij the understanding that if you calories consumed is less than your calories burned you lose weight period?, can someone explain to me if what my coach is saying is true or not, because my total calorie burned for the week is more than double my caloric weekly intake.

Replies

WBB55

You probably won't go into anything similar to a "starvation mode" as your trainer defines it, since that doesn't exist.

That being said, this isn't a race, there's no reason to have such a large deficit. Conversely, if you have lots of energy and aren't suffering cravings there's also no convincing reason to eat more than 2000 calories per day.

Are you eating 2000 total? or 2000 net?

capaul42

Starvation mode does not exist in the way your coach is using it. Your body does not hold onto fat if you're not eating enough. That's one of those myths that's been tossed around so much people began to think it's true.

3dogsrunning

A few things to keep in mind here.
1. MFP's goal is before exercise. You are supposed to log the exercise and eat at least a portion of those calories.
2. Your walking you do for work should be accounted in your exercise level you chose for MFP. You should be set to active. You shouldn't log those calories daily.
3. I suspect your calories you are logging for P90x are overestimated.

So it is likely that you don't have quite as much d a calorie deficit as you think.

As others have mentioned, starvation mode doesn't work like that.

How much are you losing per week? That should give you an idea of where our calorie deficit is.

cwolfman13

starvation mode is pretty much a myth...that said, inadequately fueling your body stresses the body and raises cortisol levels which effs with your metabolism and will make weight (fat) loss much more difficult.

queenliz99

You should be losing on a 2000 calorie intake but 2 weeks is not enough time to know if you are doing everything right. Keep going!

senennieves

i have not losed any weight in 2 weeks, but i lost 1/4 inch in my thighs and my neck, and my energy level is pretty good, i am eating 1600 -1800 calories per day out of 2000 calories allowed and i feel fine, no cravings, im am getting over 100 grams of protein a day also

catstratch

When you eat too little, your body thinks it is going through a famine so it will reserve body fat (to survive). You will still lose weight (calories in calories out duh), but a lot will come from your muscle. And muscle mass raises your metabolism.
You should eat more with your amount of exercise. Not only because of ^above^, but it will be so much harder to keep up with that (and leads to reactive overeating or exhaustion). The key is to eat enough to feel well but still lower than your energy expenditure in order to lose. And the real key is patience

Hope that helps.

RodaRose

Are our weighing your food with a food scale so that you know exactly how much you are eating?
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

senennieves

i weigh and measure all my food.

RodaRose

O.K. then. Be patient with the scale. During the time that the scale is not "cooperating," pay attention to your measurements (as you have) and your photos to look at other progress.

Did you greatly increase activity in the last week or two? Sometimes, when there is a big change like that the body initially holds on to water weight for a few days or longer.

smurfette54

I agree with 3dogsrunning in the above. I want to put this into perspective for you a little. I am a 5'0" female and weigh 126 lbs. I really don't need to lose that much, but I was getting into bad habits and was gaining weight back, so here I am holding myself accountable for what I am eating. Either way, MFP has me eating 1300 calories to lose the weight. I exercise 6 days a week and burn anywhere from 200-500 calories depending on my exercise intensity and duration. I typically eat 1500-1700 calories in a day and I have been losing about 1/2 pound a week. That being said, with the amount of exercise you are doing and your height and weight you should be able to consume way more than 1600-1800 calories a day and still lose weight. Something has to be off here. It sounds like since you are losing inches, you are probably losing fat but gaining muscle. Also, as we begin to train hard, our muscles retain a lot of water, and it can take up to 6 weeks to actually see a decline on the scale. I actually would increase my calories if I were in your shoes, but make them good ones, not junk food. P90X is going to require loads of protein, so you can always increase that. I would also increase my good fats, avocados and nuts.

Thanks for reading this response
P.S. I am certified in fitness nutrition from ISSA. Good luck sir!

Jcl81

senennieves wrote: »

i have not losed any weight in 2 weeks, but i lost 1/4 inch in my thighs and my neck, and my energy level is pretty good, i am eating 1600 -1800 calories per day out of 2000 calories allowed and i feel fine, no cravings, im am getting over 100 grams of protein a day also

Sounds like you gained some lean mass. It can happen no matter what the people on this forum think. Everyone is different. Although, it won't always be that way, you'll eventually lose weight.

Psychgrrl

Jcl81 wrote: »

senennieves wrote: »

i have not losed any weight in 2 weeks, but i lost 1/4 inch in my thighs and my neck, and my energy level is pretty good, i am eating 1600 -1800 calories per day out of 2000 calories allowed and i feel fine, no cravings, im am getting over 100 grams of protein a day also

Sounds like you gained some lean mass. It can happen no matter what the people on this forum think. Everyone is different. Although, it won't always be that way, you'll eventually lose weight.

She lost body fat, it's not a gain of muscle in two weeks at the type of deficit she's reported.

JeromeBarry1

I know it's rare and unusual, but sometimes a he is a he.

kshama2001

senennieves wrote: »

i have not losed any weight in 2 weeks, but i lost 1/4 inch in my thighs and my neck, and my energy level is pretty good, i am eating 1600 -1800 calories per day out of 2000 calories allowed and i feel fine, no cravings, im am getting over 100 grams of protein a day also

1600 -1800 calories per day total or net?

snickerscharlie

senennieves wrote: »

Hello
i have a question, i am 5-9" and 290 lbs, i am doing P90 workout from beach body 6 days a week, and i am also walking 15 - 20 k steps at work do security foot patrols, MFP has me eating 2000 calories per day, and i am burning between 1500 - 2800 calories from activity alone, o my total calories burned for the day usually are between 4500 - 5300 calories, my beach body coach says body will go into starvation mode and hold on to bodyfat ??? and i won't lose weigth, i ahve not losed any weight in the last 2 weeks, i was ij the understanding that if you calories consumed is less than your calories burned you lose weight period?, can someone explain to me if what my coach is saying is true or not, because my total calorie burned for the week is more than double my caloric weekly intake.

Your beach body coach is clueless. No surprise there.

Enjcg5

How in the world are you burning 5k calories/day?

senennieves

I have a fitbit and it monitors my daily activities. I with 290. and I work security, I con duct foot patrols half my 7 hour shift, so i log 20, 000 steps I night, plus what I burn, usually total us 4500 to 5300 depending on the patrold

senennieves

I have not done any patrols yet it's 3:30 pm and according to fitbit I burned 2834 calories so far

Enjcg5

Fitbits are notorious for overestimating the burns. You will not go into starvation mode eating 2k/day. Are you measuring ALL of your food to get to that number?

Maxematics

The 2834 burn for the day doesn't seem farfetched. I'm 5'3" and 109 pounds and so far my TDEE for the day is 1664; it's usually 2000 by the end of the day. I'm seconding the question about weighing and logging.

3dogsrunning

synacious wrote: »

The 2834 burn for the day doesn't seem farfetched. I'm 5'3" and 109 pounds and so far my TDEE for the day is 1664; it's usually 2000 by the end of the day. I'm seconding the question about weighing and logging.

It wasn't 2834 for the day, it was for roughly half the day and he hasn't done any of his usual walking.

Maxematics

3dogsrunning wrote: »

synacious wrote: »

The 2834 burn for the day doesn't seem farfetched. I'm 5'3" and 109 pounds and so far my TDEE for the day is 1664; it's usually 2000 by the end of the day. I'm seconding the question about weighing and logging.

It wasn't 2834 for the day, it was for roughly half the day and he hasn't done any of his usual walking.

Not his usual patrols but I don't know how much he walked today. He's also a lot taller and heavier than I am so I dunno. I'm also wondering what his adjustment looks like without him just spitting out numbers.

Francl27

That sounds like a huge overestimation of calories burned.

senennieves

I'm 5 foot 9 inches, 290 lbs, 53 years old I have walked so far 16, 949 steps and I got 6 more patrols to go at roughly 1500 steps per patrol, inside the building and I have eaten 1200 calories so far, I have not have my dinner yet, normally my total burn with activitie. P90 workout and walking I burn between 4500 - 5200 calories total, that's what my body burns

senennieves

According to my fitbit I have burned 3874 calories since 1 minute after minute, I sleep with my fitbit on, so I counts what my body burns while I sleep too

Maxematics

Now that I'm sitting at the computer and using the MFP website, I can view your diary. You've gone over your sodium goal by almost double for the past three days, as well as most of the last two weeks since you have fast food almost every single day. You sure you're not retaining water right now? You weigh all of your fast food?

senennieves

I don't weigh the fast food sandwich or salads, everything else I do

senennieves

Well I do have high blood pressure, and I'm drinking 64 ounces of water, but the P90 workout uses power band , dumbells, and I do pushup, squats, and other strength training stuff, I was told the body retains water for repairing muscle and for recovery, could that be it?

senennieves

I was told that I should not go below 1500 calories as I would not be eating enough and I would lose muscle and it could hurt the body on the long run