Starvation Mode

Bourds
Bourds Posts: 90 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
Hope I made the right choice.....I feel my body may be in starvation mode so I finally had my first meal over 1000 calories in 5 months. I went out for supper and had pizza, nachos & breadsticks. Probably ate 1000 calories in that meal + almost 400 earlier in the day. Hope this helps my journey and not set me backwards. Time will tell.

Has anyone else ever tried this...tell me what you think??

Replies

  • MrsTits
    MrsTits Posts: 44 Member
    Once or twice a week I have a higher calorie day. If you have the same amount every day then your body will get used to it and the losses will slow. I find having a couple of high calorie days a week keeps the amount zigzagging and my metabolism on it's toes a little more, plus I feel less deprived.
  • efcdcdb
    efcdcdb Posts: 392 Member
    Well - you said to tell you what we think...I think not going over 1,000 calories for 5 months is unrealistic. I don't know how you did it. That would never work for me! :noway:
  • I agree with the_missus.. I do exactly the same thing.. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • OpenWindow
    OpenWindow Posts: 15
    I took her 1000 calories as just a meal, not a daily intake. Am I right? If not, yes, I think only having 1000 calories a day isn't the most realistic, or healthy, but if you meant that it was your first meal of 1000 calories in 5 months, than that is understandable. I don't see anything wrong with every now and again "splurging." But, I think it really depends on the person and their habits. If it is something that you felt comfortable doing, then by all means, I think you'll be okay :)
  • cheeksv
    cheeksv Posts: 521 Member
    I think if you decided to have a high calorie meal you really should have known the exact number of calories. It sounds to me like you are only guessing at what the intake was. You may have been under or way over.
  • denverdeb1
    denverdeb1 Posts: 34 Member
    I hope you have not been eating 1000 calories a day for 5 months that is unhealthy! My doc has told me to never go under 1500 per day. Just started doing that this week and started losing again before that I was on a several week up 3 down 3 cycle. I am going with docs recommendation from now on. However, I am sure there will be special occassions where I will have to go over 1500 but I plan to try my darndest to not do that.
  • 1234lbsgone
    1234lbsgone Posts: 296 Member
    I could be wrong, but I understood that the meal was over 1000 calories, not that you have been eating less than 1000 per day? Just want to clarify that so you can get the advice you are looking for instead of worrisome responses.
  • Bourds
    Bourds Posts: 90 Member
    Yes I have been eating a total daily calories of 1000 per day (not net this is total intake). I also have a hard time mentally with eating back exercise calories to I haven't been doing that either. I don't feel tired, have lots of energy and really feel pretty good. I struggle with hunger but also had alot of weight to lose. It has been coming off pretty good up until the last few weeks where I only lost 2 pounds total. I did some reading and it said my body may be in starvation mode and that I need to eat a high calorie meal to get my metabolism to kick in. I actually thought my metabolism was "kicking in" when I exercised so I am still confused with that one. I mentally am really focused on getting this weight off but don't want this to take longer than it needs to. I don't want to be unhealthy so as I said earlier I do feel really good.
  • ste73
    ste73 Posts: 90
    The human body is a specialist at survival and If your not eating enough calories everyday your body will hang on to everything you put in your mouth and swallow for as long as it possibly can,. then after that your body will start to break down and basically start eating it's self, so it's not healthy. You need to make sure you keep a close eye on your food intake and make sure you hit your minimum targets for the day, everyday or your gonna end up yoyoing in weight and possible health problems to go with it aswell
  • ste73
    ste73 Posts: 90
    here is a good link to describe exactly what starvation mode is all about
    http://optimalbodyweight.com/qa/weight-loss-tips/body/starvation-mode-weight-loss
  • Cherry21
    Cherry21 Posts: 7
    I've done this in the past also and it sometimes kicked me out of my funk as long as I didnt go all crazy. I have also read that if you pick one day a week to eat "bad" foods it helps keep you from going into starvation mode and helps you not feel deprived.:smile:
  • Bourds
    Bourds Posts: 90 Member
    Has anyone else done this (healthy or not) and found that this got there weight loss going again. Do I really need to do this as least once a week. Mentally I really have a hard time with the thought of eating more will help me lose more. I want to be healthy but I also don't want it to be a slow, slow process. I have tried way to many times to lose weight and when it was too slow or plateaued I would give up. I finally found a way to make it come off faster and I also exercise (cardio & weight lifting) daily to keep my muscle strength and metabolism going. Isn't that helping too?
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    If you have the same amount every day then your body will get used to it and the losses will slow.

    Sorry but this is simply not true. If you are in a caloric deficit you will lose the weight, it's just that when your body recomps it adjust what your maintenance is which is why losses slow down. But if you are keeping track, then you adjust with the recomp.
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