Will my body really go into starvation mode if my net calori

How much are you exercising to burn that many calories? Do you have a HRM or do you go by what MFP/the machines tell you?

And yes, you should be eating at least 1200 NET calories per day.

are you wearing a heart rate monitor while you are running up and down the stairs? if not, maybe you should just count that as normal daily activity instead of logging it?

you need to be eating 1400-1600 calories a day with that kind of exercise im living proof! and im only 4 11!!

Well, since I've added my dinner my net calories have gone up to 377. And no, I haven't burned 1200 calories through exercise, it's just that I've only eaten 889, but burned 512 (by running up and down the stairs). So my net is still way below 1200

So eat more. It's really not that hard. Add some high protein/fiber foods. Eat some peanut butter, protein shakes.

Your body needs fuel, and if you really are burning that many calories, you need to refuel your body so it can continue doing the other things it needs to do.


Good luck!

I kept getting those messages cuz I was running on the elliptical for an hour every morning and running 2-3 miles on my lunch break and then some times hiking or walking at the park 2-3 miles after work. I'd end up with 1100 calories or more under my daily goal. I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was bullcrap getting the starvation mode messages cuz I ate food and snacks and wasn't hungry. Then I started being really exhausted and falling asleep at 7pm when I normally stay up till like 11pm. I had some other symptoms too. It took me like 2 weeks of that to catch on that I was starving myself I stopped running on my lunch break and started eating more. I've been ok since then. So just be careful!

Are you breastfeeding? If so you need to be eating more anyways.

yes if you are not eating close to your net calories your body starts "eating" at your muscle. I don't know if you are nursing, but if you are you REALLY need to keep the calorie count up, breast feeding does help burn them. Dont over do the exercise, keep an eye on your food intake and YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!! Good luck and Congrats on the baby!

Until very recently I was netting way less than 1200 a day. I was losing weight too. I was supposed to net 1630 a day to lose 0.5lb a week, but with my exercise typically at 1500kCal a day my net was very often MUCH less than 1630. Even when I ate 2000+ calories. I've recently had to force myself to bring my net to a 1000 or more as I was just losing sooooo much weight. I mean I didn't need or want to lose more...but my energy levels and happiness are and were sky high as a result of the healthy eating despite a technical "undereat". I was eating good quality nutritious stuff!

On that note, I was using a HRM and doing 2 cardio sessions a day. One at lunchtime (typically a 12km run) and after work.... 60 - 70 mins stationary bike in the gym on level 12+. On weekends I'd just do the run but was doing phys every day.

I personally think its a load of rubbish and totally subjective (dependent on how much you have to lose, they type and effort level and duration of your exercise, the quality and balance of the food you do eat, how often you exercise, your height, your age, your general activity level, lifestyle factors etc).... for me to eat 3000+calories a day to "net" 1200 has proved extremely difficult and I'm not going to stuff myself on nuts and stuff... I've tried to day with the gingerbread though! I feel horrible and stodgy for eating so much!

Everyone's physiology is different.

There are lots of people on here who will tell you that they never ate their 200,000 daily exercise calories and that they did just fine.

On the other hand there are people who if they dip below 1500 calories net, their weightloss grinds to a halt.

You really just have to figure out what works well for you personally.

I think any extreme change in your diet or exercise regiment is going to put your body in some level of shock. For some people that means good things, for other people that means bad things.

I also know, but this is just for me personally, that big changes are hard to maintain, so I stick to small changes and add onto them every 10-20 lbs or so.

So if you were already maintaining your weight by eating less than 1200 net, then you're probably ok burning a little more to lose weight.

I have found that if you take what you were doing to maintain and then tweak it a little to lose, that works well for a while.

Either way, it sounds like you're making a lot of good decisions, and that's awesome. Keep up the good work!

Are you saying that you logged 1200 calories of exercise for the day??

Yes, your net should be close to your daily goal each day. 179 calories is far too low for your body to operate on for 24 hours.

Says who? Do you know her exact BMR/ TDEE lifestyle factors? What her routine food balance consists of?... how hard she works when she works out? her VO2 MAX?

Don't listen to this... and try not to think of the numbers toooo much... read my post above...

While I will not make assumptions about what caloric intake would be most appropriate for the OP (since that would be based on a great number of variables), I absolutely maintain that netting 179 calories per day, if done consistently, is not healthy. A day or two, here and there, like that will not send a body into "starvation mode," but a year of that very well could. Without knowing the OPs stats, I can absolutely guarantee you that her BMR is above 179 calories.

To the OP: Please consider looking around on past threads and reading the "sticky note" posts at the top of most categories. Best of luck to you :flowerforyou: