Starvation mode

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hamsley
hamsley Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Is it better to remain under your calorie goal or over? I don't mean significantly under or over because I know neither of those are good but I am never bang on with my goal and I'm not sure how much it is okay to be under or over by! I just don't want to enter into starvation mode but at the same time I don't want to go over by too much. For example, after dinner tonight I only had 58 calories left. There isn't anything here I could eat that I'm certain would be under 58 cals so I then have the option of eating something over 58 calories, taking me over my goal, or not eating at all and remaining under my goal.

This is only my second day so I will obviously give it more time but the thing is I have started to get these hunger pangs throughout the day and especially at night time. I'd say after I've eaten something it's maybe 2-3 hours before they start (perhaps slightly longer if it's a meal). So I'm not sure if my body is just not used to me eating like a horse or if it is telling me that it needs more food! As I said, I do not want to go into starvation mode but when I am this hungry I feel like I am so I'm just a bit worried. It's easy enough to fight off though (for now haha).

Last night was definitely worse than tonight so that suggests to me it's maybe going to get easier as time goes on but I'm just wondering what everybody thinks about this? :)

Replies

  • johnhowson
    johnhowson Posts: 73 Member
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    Over some days and under on others is fine. Say you ate a load one day - you don't have to automatically reduce the next. Remember how you do long term is down to not one or two days but what is going on over a period of time.
    Sometimes when I exercise I am miles under my goal but it does not mean I am in starvation mode because I make it up on other days so things even out.
    It is not an exact formula - so don't worry if you are not spot on
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    100 calories on either side is probably fine.
  • vdmxo
    vdmxo Posts: 10 Member
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    I've found that my natural metabolic rate is 1810kcal however when i put the settings to automatic on this, it gives me a goal of 1200. thats good if i want to lose weight obviously, but the point i want to make is that it wont kill you if you went over your goal by like 100 calories. If you work out your BMR then i think it would help you decided how much you can eat over your limit if you feel like youre struggling with finding a food with an exact amount of calories.
    I hope this helps you in some way x
  • catherineames
    catherineames Posts: 2
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    From what I know about starvation mode, the general rule for women is don't go below 1,200 calories.

    However, one day under that won't put you into starvation mode, in fact, one or two days below actually speeds up your metabolism a little bit. And if you get closer to your goal the next day, your metabolism will carry you through it. Just don't make it a habit, and listen to your body!
  • Paddy31
    Paddy31 Posts: 115 Member
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    PINGU!

    I completely love Pingu.

    I realise this is completely of topic, but you get my special prize for best avatar.:flowerforyou:
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    I dont care how accurate you think you've been in measuring what you ate today, but that number that MFP is telling you is just an estimate. 58 calories ? Well within a margin of error, and not worth stressing about.
  • Lizzy_Sunflower
    Lizzy_Sunflower Posts: 1,510 Member
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    100 calories on either side is probably fine.

    I have to agree here. My dietitian says that scientifically we tend to be off by *30%* of our calorie estimations (we tend to figure low) even with sites like MFP we are only estimating so you are just fine being within 100 on either side of your goal

    and since you are so new, may I recommend you start your quest for knowledge here?:



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

    I particularly like the one titled your bodies thoughts on calories

    I am sure you will find the support and tools to be a success...there is a wealth of information to be had here

    Good luck on your journey and happy reading!

    :drinker:

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