starvation mode on 1200 cals?

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EngineerPrincess
EngineerPrincess Posts: 306 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Can 1200 cause starvation mode and subsequent plateaus? Also, if you eat 1200 cals for like, 6 out of 7 days a week and ate a bit more on the 7th day would you still go into starvation mode eventually?

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  • nicki9139
    nicki9139 Posts: 11 Member
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    I'm curious about this question also. I started experiencing starvation mode about two weeks ago and actually gained one pound after losing every week. I did end up eating more calories and probably overdid myself actually. I haven't weighed myself this week, but I know that i could feel a big difference in adding more calories. I also haven't been excersicing lately and wondered if that was a contributing factor.

    Thanks for posting this question. :)
  • meghan1789
    meghan1789 Posts: 81 Member
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    It depends what your body needs. My goal is 1200, so if I go below that, that's when I go into starvation mode. But for the last week, I stuck pretty close to 1200 and I still lost weight. I don't know what will happen if I continue sticking with that. I don't usually eat back all my calories, but if I have a really long workout, I do go over my 1200 goal because I am worried that I will go into starvation mode.
  • AngelikaLumiere
    AngelikaLumiere Posts: 862 Member
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    Everyone has to determine their own level before their body's metabolism slows down too much. I ate 1000 per day for over 7 months without being hungry or having plateaus. Just recently I went from being "obese" to over weight and I found that I had to up my calories because my fat stores are not enough to sustain me anymore (yay!) 1200 calories is an average that MFP uses, you may need to eat less, like me, or more. Try 1200 for two weeks and see how your body reacts.
  • douglasmobbs
    douglasmobbs Posts: 563 Member
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    I carry around a big pack of high energy material that my body can use to avoid starvation mode, it is called my belly.

    I do not have any medical qualifications but from what I have read, starvation mode does exist but only in extreme conditions or for those with very low body fat (around 5-7%). From a layman's point of view I cannot see why my body would attack itself to get lower quality energy from a source that is harder to break down.
  • mjsamee
    mjsamee Posts: 215 Member
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    I hope not!! On a pretty good roll here!!
  • annscotslass
    annscotslass Posts: 7 Member
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    I hope not as 1200 is what I aim for, usually going for between 1100 - 1200 in case I have made some error in calculations. I don't feel hungry at all. If I do exercise I try not to burn all the additional calories; however as I have been dieting for 4 weeks now - I intend to have a wee treat tomorrow evening :-)

    Good luck to everyone, whatever your goal or weight loss is this week

    Ann x
  • emmab0902
    emmab0902 Posts: 2,337 Member
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    No.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    Leptin declines up to 50% in just 7 days of calorie restriction.
    When leptin declines, hunger goes up and metabolism can slow down.

    This leptin response is really what "starvation mode" is to dieters.
    So to answer your question yes 1,200 calories can, but so would 2,000 calories if it meant you were still in a caloric deficit.

    It's not a big deal, to get out of it all you have to do is overeat for 12 hours one day a week.
  • georgina1970
    georgina1970 Posts: 333 Member
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    Your body is likely to go into starvation mode if you are eating too few calories. The number of calories/day you should be eating depends on your height and daily activity levels, not including exercise. You should also be eating back your exercise calories. Safe weightloss is 1-2pounds or up to 1kg per week, if you are within 10kg of your goal. Hope this helps.
  • melrose09
    melrose09 Posts: 271
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    I've been reading up on this a ton lately. The number of calories is not as important as the distribution of those calories throughout the day. You want to make sure you are maintaining your blood sugar levels throughout the day. Skipping meals can produce excess insulin when you do eat which will produce more fat. And of course, making sure you are getting all the carbs, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats and the almighty water your body needs for optimal function is super important, so if you can't accomplish that in 1200 calories/day, you should consider bumping up a bit to make sure you get what your body needs. Without assessing, I couldn't tell you what your intake of those nutrients would be, though....sorry

    This is straight out of my ACSM text book (not verbatim, but paraphrased). I'm being a nerd and studying while I MFP :)
  • emmab0902
    emmab0902 Posts: 2,337 Member
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    In actual fact the best hormonal and chemical environment for fat loss (fat not weight) is to eat most of your calories in a limited window of time. I was skeptical until I read the science behind intermittent fasting, and it has also worked for me. I lost ZILCH in months on 1200 cals, then switched to eating all my food between 2pm and 10pm (same total calories) and then lost 4kg. It suits me too as I like eating bigger meals and eating in the evening and used to only eat breakfast as I thought I had to!

    But everyone needs to find what works for THEIR body - there is no one size fits all, and likewise 1200 calories is not a magic number.
  • chosengiver
    chosengiver Posts: 1,493
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    bump
  • EngineerPrincess
    EngineerPrincess Posts: 306 Member
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    Hm lots of different (and opposite!) opinions! lol

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