Could I be in starvation mode?

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nattiepeach
nattiepeach Posts: 40 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I haven't seen the scales move in two weeks, well besides a few hundred grams up and down. I've been consistently sticking to my 1200 calorie a day limit, drinking plenty water and have been eating back my exercise calories. Also, I'm not eating junk, mostly fruit, oats, vegetarian meat substitutes, fat free dairy, veggies etc and a few low calorie treats here and there. I'm pretty sure I'm not eating too much, could I possibly be eating too little? I've been reading a bit about starvation mode and everyone seems to say that when they ate more calories they lost more. I'm female, 5.5ft and weigh 74.5kg. Should I eat more or should I stick to my 1200 a day? Also, if anyone knows the answer, I'd like to know if eating back exercise calories counts as zig-zagging? Or does your entire NET have to zig-zag? Thanks!! xxx

Replies

  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Two weeks with no movement isn't technically a plateau yet. You certainly could zig zag and see if it works for you. I ended up having to add calories in order to lose again but that was after an almost 2 month plateau. If I were you, I'd start zig zagging then make more changes if there is still no change in a week or two.
  • canuckgurrl
    canuckgurrl Posts: 29 Member
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    1200 calories is the absolute minimum you should eat. I have never eaten my exercise calories back.
    To me it's counter productive. I'm trying to lost not maintain my weight. I'm eating about 1200 - 1450 per day.
    Trying to lose 60 lbs. I'm down ten so far.

    Good luck !
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    If you've been eating 1200 plus your exercise calories it's highly doubtful you are in starvation mode. It's more likely that you've hit a plateau. It happens. If you stick with your healthy plan you will begin losing again after your body adjusts. Or you could try the zigzag calorie thing (I've never done it so can't offer any advice on that) or try a different workout to try and get the scale moving again.
  • 0SimplymeStacyLea0
    0SimplymeStacyLea0 Posts: 222
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    Probably not starvation mode if you are eating your cals back. Keep doing what you're doing for another week or two and then consider zig zagging. Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    if you are consistently eating the same things and exercising the same work out, your body could be getting used to it, and not changing. maybe you need to changer your routine, both eating and exercising. with your diary being public, we can't know what you do, but maybe switching up your run with a bike ride or a swim will be good. human beings are creatures of habit, and it is important to break that routine.
  • nattiepeach
    nattiepeach Posts: 40 Member
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    I didn't mentioned that I only started two weeks ago, so perhaps its just taking a while to kick in. Anyway, I'll stick to what I'm doing and see what happens. Thanks!
  • Buhbeee
    Buhbeee Posts: 27
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    I would advise against "eating your rewarded calories". So far there is only one thing I would change about this site and it's that language of "earned/reward calories" Think of it this way, if you eat the "earned calories" you're only balancing yourself out, meaning you won't lose weight, but you won't gain any either. If you want to lose, you have to have a calorie deficit at the end of the day every day. OK, not every day you do need a couple of rest days!

    That said, if you ever feel weak, shakey, or dizzy due to not eating, you should grab some juice of fruit that has a fast simple sugar and requres little break-down (anything citrus, berries or grapes).
  • Larius
    Larius Posts: 507 Member
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    Two weeks is not enough time to tell. Water weight variations can easily mask the 1kg you should have lost in that time. According to http://calorieneedscalculator.com/index.html , eating 1349 Calories a day you would lose 1lb. (~0.5kg) per week. That isn't much above your 1200, but eating a little extra might help. At this point though, I'd suggest being patient for a few more weeks.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    I didn't mentioned that I only started two weeks ago, so perhaps its just taking a while to kick in. Anyway, I'll stick to what I'm doing and see what happens. Thanks!

    How are you calculating your exercise calories? And are you eating them *all* back? If you're eating them all, I'd say make sure you're using an HRM, as the MFP estimates overestimate a lot.

    I don't agree with the poster advising you against eating your exercise calories at all (that really would put you in starvation mode after a period of time, since 1200 is pretty low to start with, before you factor in exercise!) if you're using the mfp estimates, I'd suggest eating about half of them.
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
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    There's some interesting thoughts being shared in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/344533-has-anyone-ever-been-through-starvation-mode-tell-your-st

    And I'd say give it more time, too :)
  • jgic2009
    jgic2009 Posts: 531 Member
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    I would advise against "eating your rewarded calories". So far there is only one thing I would change about this site and it's that language of "earned/reward calories" Think of it this way, if you eat the "earned calories" you're only balancing yourself out, meaning you won't lose weight, but you won't gain any either. If you want to lose, you have to have a calorie deficit at the end of the day every day. OK, not every day you do need a couple of rest days!

    That said, if you ever feel weak, shakey, or dizzy due to not eating, you should grab some juice of fruit that has a fast simple sugar and requres little break-down (anything citrus, berries or grapes).

    I'm sorry, but that is just wrong. 1200 calories (or whatever number MFP gives you) is already a defecit. Exercise creates an even larger defecit, which can be unsafe (not to mention counterproductive) if sustained. When you eat your exercise calories back, you are still in calorie defecit--that's the way MFP is built.
  • nattiepeach
    nattiepeach Posts: 40 Member
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    I would advise against "eating your rewarded calories". So far there is only one thing I would change about this site and it's that language of "earned/reward calories" Think of it this way, if you eat the "earned calories" you're only balancing yourself out, meaning you won't lose weight, but you won't gain any either. If you want to lose, you have to have a calorie deficit at the end of the day every day. OK, not every day you do need a couple of rest days!

    I don't quite agree with that. I will still have a deficit of 1000 calories if I eat them back since my BMR is 2200. Besides I would probably collapse if I didn't eat them or at least some of them.

    Meerkat, I use the estimates from the machines at the gym, which I think are more accurate than MFP's. MFP's seem much higher because I have to lower the minutes to match the calories.

    Thanks Bronwenhilary, that thread is actually what sparked the thought :) I will give it more time, I just want results! As in NOW! hee hee but i know it takes time :)

    xxx
  • nattiepeach
    nattiepeach Posts: 40 Member
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    I would advise against "eating your rewarded calories". So far there is only one thing I would change about this site and it's that language of "earned/reward calories" Think of it this way, if you eat the "earned calories" you're only balancing yourself out, meaning you won't lose weight, but you won't gain any either. If you want to lose, you have to have a calorie deficit at the end of the day every day. OK, not every day you do need a couple of rest days!

    That said, if you ever feel weak, shakey, or dizzy due to not eating, you should grab some juice of fruit that has a fast simple sugar and requres little break-down (anything citrus, berries or grapes).

    I'm sorry, but that is just wrong. 1200 calories (or whatever number MFP gives you) is already a defecit. Exercise creates an even larger defecit, which can be unsafe (not to mention counterproductive) if sustained. When you eat your exercise calories back, you are still in calorie defecit--that's the way MFP is built.

    Yup, agreed.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    I would advise against "eating your rewarded calories". So far there is only one thing I would change about this site and it's that language of "earned/reward calories" Think of it this way, if you eat the "earned calories" you're only balancing yourself out, meaning you won't lose weight, but you won't gain any either. If you want to lose, you have to have a calorie deficit at the end of the day every day. OK, not every day you do need a couple of rest days!

    That said, if you ever feel weak, shakey, or dizzy due to not eating, you should grab some juice of fruit that has a fast simple sugar and requres little break-down (anything citrus, berries or grapes).

    I'm sorry, but that is just wrong. 1200 calories (or whatever number MFP gives you) is already a defecit. Exercise creates an even larger defecit, which can be unsafe (not to mention counterproductive) if sustained. When you eat your exercise calories back, you are still in calorie defecit--that's the way MFP is built.

    QFT
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I would advise against "eating your rewarded calories". So far there is only one thing I would change about this site and it's that language of "earned/reward calories" Think of it this way, if you eat the "earned calories" you're only balancing yourself out, meaning you won't lose weight, but you won't gain any either. If you want to lose, you have to have a calorie deficit at the end of the day every day. OK, not every day you do need a couple of rest days!

    That said, if you ever feel weak, shakey, or dizzy due to not eating, you should grab some juice of fruit that has a fast simple sugar and requres little break-down (anything citrus, berries or grapes).

    I think you should read more on how the site works, because this is incorrect. You will lose if you eat your exercise calories back. You may lose faster if you don't, but depending on how much exercise you do, you could also do damage to your body by not keeping it properly fueled.
  • Jessen7
    Jessen7 Posts: 7
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    I would advise against "eating your rewarded calories". So far there is only one thing I would change about this site and it's that language of "earned/reward calories" Think of it this way, if you eat the "earned calories" you're only balancing yourself out, meaning you won't lose weight, but you won't gain any either. If you want to lose, you have to have a calorie deficit at the end of the day every day. OK, not every day you do need a couple of rest days!

    Someone can correct me if need be, but I believe you have a misunderstanding of how this site calculates your target calories. They already calculate a deficit for you (those are the calories it tells you to eat every day), so if you don't eat back your exercise calories you have a larger deficit than you need/want. Lets say I want to lose 2 lbs a week and MFP tells me to eat 1200 calories. If (1) I want 1200 calories today, (2) I eat 1200 calories, and then (3) I bike for two hours and spend 1200 calories I will have, essentially, eaten 0 calories--not good. Instead, if I enter my exercise under that scenario, MFP will update the calories that I can eat, and I will end up eating 2400 calories, but still have the correct deficit. Put another way, these two scenarios should have the same effect on my weight (everything else held constant):

    Scenario 1-no exercise: 1200 goal (which includes my requested deficit) + eat 1200 = 0 (met my deficit, should lose weight)
    Scenario 2-burn 1200 exercise calories = 1200 goal + burn 1200 exercise calories + eat 2400 calories = 0 (met my deficit, should lose wait)

    So, both scenarios get me to the same point--Scenario 2 just keeps me a lot happier :). I have lost 28 pounds using this philosophy.
  • jellybaby84
    jellybaby84 Posts: 583 Member
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    If you haven't lost weight yet then I don't think your conclusion should be to eat MORE - it should be to eat less!
  • Buhbeee
    Buhbeee Posts: 27
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    OOOOH! I got it! Thanks! On Jillian, I was always limited to 1200-1300 with hefty workouts, because that was considered what would be burned just by existing. So now I'm just wrapping up with those last stubborn pounds. I must have misunderstood the site and really appreciate you guys stepping in!

    :flowerforyou:

    Thanks again!
  • CarolinaGirl87
    CarolinaGirl87 Posts: 12
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    I'm wondering the same thing. I'm debating on going with what MFP says to lose 2lbs a week (1200 net cal) or 1 1/2 lbs (1400)...

    I think 1400 sounds better because I plan on excercising daily and getting to eat those calories back will probably help. 1200 seems so low for my weight..I'm 5'3" 228 lbs. BMR around 1750.

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