Starvation mode
DelilahNguyen
Posts: 26
Hi everyone!
I'm currently aiming to lose 20lbs for a trip in June. I'm eating lots of fruits and veggies everyday and a bit of chicken for lunch and dinner. I usually have extremely long days, I am a flight student which requires me to be up at 4am to workout to be at school at 6am. Yesterday I had 1061 calories of food, from 4am to 7pm and ate it regularly through out the day and I found that I wasn't craving any sweets like I normally do. I did a 30 minute turbo fire workout and a 15 minute stretch after which left a net of 760. When i log my diary for the day it says I'm eating to few calories and will enter starvation mode. I don't feel at all like I'm starving, I feel very awake and energized with always having a snack to eat between my meals. Can I get some advice about this? Will my body actually stop losing weight? Do I always have I eat back the calories I burned??
Thanks in advance,
Delilah
Please feel free to add me!
I'm currently aiming to lose 20lbs for a trip in June. I'm eating lots of fruits and veggies everyday and a bit of chicken for lunch and dinner. I usually have extremely long days, I am a flight student which requires me to be up at 4am to workout to be at school at 6am. Yesterday I had 1061 calories of food, from 4am to 7pm and ate it regularly through out the day and I found that I wasn't craving any sweets like I normally do. I did a 30 minute turbo fire workout and a 15 minute stretch after which left a net of 760. When i log my diary for the day it says I'm eating to few calories and will enter starvation mode. I don't feel at all like I'm starving, I feel very awake and energized with always having a snack to eat between my meals. Can I get some advice about this? Will my body actually stop losing weight? Do I always have I eat back the calories I burned??
Thanks in advance,
Delilah
Please feel free to add me!
0
Replies
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It is right that you are listening to your body. MFP will tell you that if you consumer less than 1200 calories a day regardless of how much exercise you put in.
I would recommend bringing up your intake to 1200 as you could risk slowing your metabolism irreparably and gainign it all back quickly.0 -
Hi everyone!
I'm currently aiming to lose 20lbs for a trip in June. I'm eating lots of fruits and veggies everyday and a bit of chicken for lunch and dinner. I usually have extremely long days, I am a flight student which requires me to be up at 4am to workout to be at school at 6am. Yesterday I had 1061 calories of food, from 4am to 7pm and ate it regularly through out the day and I found that I wasn't craving any sweets like I normally do. I did a 30 minute turbo fire workout and a 15 minute stretch after which left a net of 760. When i log my diary for the day it says I'm eating to few calories and will enter starvation mode. I don't feel at all like I'm starving, I feel very awake and energized with always having a snack to eat between my meals. Can I get some advice about this? Will my body actually stop losing weight? Do I always have I eat back the calories I burned??
Thanks in advance,
Delilah
Please feel free to add me!
I dont think you will go into starvation mode, but your body will definitely conserve the calories. The longer your eat under your metabolic rate (BMR), the faster your body will adapt to burn less calories which will make your weight loss stall. Also, by the picture, i don't think you have a lot to lose so you really should be aiming for.5lb per week. Also, if you have the chance, strength training will add the benefit of cutting fat which will give you the look you want over losing 20 lbs. You definitely need to eat more though.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/392784-skinny-fat-vs-fit-photo?hl=skinny+fat&page=2#posts-54418520 -
You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!0 -
I personally think this 1200 calorie number is BS. I'd venture a guess no one here can even tell you where it came from. But there's no way it's the same for me a 6' male as it would be for a 5' female with two totally different lean body mass weights.0
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I personally think this 1200 calorie number is BS. I'd venture a guess no one here can even tell you where it came from. But there's no way it's the same for me a 6' male as it would be for a 5' female with two totally different lean body mass weights.
BTW I don't eat my exercise calories. If I do I gain. I try to net 1000 calories below my RMR for 2lbs loss a week.0 -
Agree with psulemon. It takes time to go into starvation mode, and it looks like you don't have much to lose, so you need to do this slowly to ensure that you lose fat rather than lean body mass. The way MFP calculates it, when you eat your exercise calories, you are still eating at a deficit and will still lose weight (assuming you're logging accurately). In view of this, you definitely need to up your calorie intake - eating as little as you're doing now may well prove counter productive in the long run.0
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You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.0 -
I personally think this 1200 calorie number is BS. I'd venture a guess no one here can even tell you where it came from. But there's no way it's the same for me a 6' male as it would be for a 5' female with two totally different lean body mass weights.
erm, no. 1200 is BMR x 1.2 to allow for some daily activity. Agreed it's an approximation, but it is higher for men than women and is weight dependent. You need to check your settings.0 -
You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
My body fat percentage is way down and I am more toned, please dont start lecturing, I made it quite clear that my post was my opinion of what IS working for me and nothing me, I do not profess to know anything more than that.0 -
You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
My body fat percentage is way down and I am more toned, please dont start lecturing, I made it quite clear that my post was my opinion of what IS working for me and nothing me, I do not profess to know anything more than that.
nothing more*0 -
I personally think this 1200 calorie number is BS. I'd venture a guess no one here can even tell you where it came from. But there's no way it's the same for me a 6' male as it would be for a 5' female with two totally different lean body mass weights.
erm, no. 1200 is BMR x 1.2 to allow for some daily activity. Agreed it's approximation, and it is higher for men than women and is weight dependent. You need to check your settings.
Wasn't speaking about my settings, simply making a statement.0 -
You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
I don't eat my exercise calories back and I consistently lose body fat % every week.0 -
Many different opinions, I will definitely aim to eat 1200 calories from now on!
I'm 5'2, 19 and was weighing 123.5lbs on new years day. Cut out junk food as best as I could and gave up on pop. Recently started TurboFire. I want to lose 20lbs because that is what I gained from my first year in college and I used to feel extremely sluggish everyday!0 -
I personally think this 1200 calorie number is BS. I'd venture a guess no one here can even tell you where it came from. But there's no way it's the same for me a 6' male as it would be for a 5' female with two totally different lean body mass weights.
It comes from the National Institute for Health and the American College of Sports medicine. It's average number of calories a person's body requires to maintain their bodily functions and with many people that number is higher. So understanding your metabolic rate is huge. When you eat under it, you slow it down and when you don't eat enough calories, you lose lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass controls everything; metabolic rate, immune system, insulin distribution, etc...0 -
You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
I don't eat my exercise calories back and I consistently lose body fat % every week.
Do you track your body fat?0 -
Bump0
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I eat all of mine and am on maintainence. When I was losing I ate at least half of what I burned. Different things work for different people.0
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Many different opinions, I will definitely aim to eat 1200 calories from now on!
I'm 5'2, 19 and was weighing 123.5lbs on new years day. Cut out junk food as best as I could and gave up on pop. Recently started TurboFire. I want to lose 20lbs because that is what I gained from my first year in college and I used to feel extremely sluggish everyday!
You probably dont' have 20 lbs to lose. That gets dangerously low on the scale. You would be better off working on burning body fat than losing weight. Weight is kind of meaningless and won't determine how you look in a bathing suit.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blweightfemale.htm0 -
There is a very good chance that if you are netting less than 1000 cals that a large portion of any weight loss will come from lean muscle, not just from fat. With only 20lbs to go your goal should be set to lose 1lb/week at the most, and to eat back what you burn (provided you calculate that correctly). Too large of a deficit will cause you body to burn muscle as fuel.
To increase calories you don't have to eat more just make different choices.
For a snack have nuts, seeds or dehydrated fruit
add nut butters to your existing snacks
avoid diet and lite foods
drink and eat higher MF% milk products (don't eat 0% yogurt go for 2-5% instead)
drink some calories (instead of 1 glass of water have a glass of juice)
add olive oil to soups and sauces
add avocado to salads and sandwiches
etc.0 -
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
It's simply not true that this applies to everyone. I'm skeptical that it happens to anyone at all and having read several scientific papers that have studied it I remain that way. However there seems to be a good weight of anecdotal evidence on these boards that suggests this is real for some people. But it is totally wrong for you to suggest it's true for everyone since there is similar anecdotal evidence that many don't fall foul of this. Myself included. I am a data junkie and a serial yo-yo dieter. I can evidence years of diets running up to 20 weeks in duration with caloric intake and expenditure measured, bodyfat measured weekly and in all cases for me my fat loss has been consistent until cessation - at which point I go back to my unhealthy ways and regain it all over the following 18 months :laugh:0 -
You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
I don't eat my exercise calories back and I consistently lose body fat % every week.
Do you track your body fat?
Most likely you they would be losing muscle and fat by not eating them, but still more fat then muscle, but if they did eat them back they would lose less weight but be a lower BF% at their goal weight.0 -
Many different opinions, I will definitely aim to eat 1200 calories from now on!
I'm 5'2, 19 and was weighing 123.5lbs on new years day. Cut out junk food as best as I could and gave up on pop. Recently started TurboFire. I want to lose 20lbs because that is what I gained from my first year in college and I used to feel extremely sluggish everyday!
You probably dont' have 20 lbs to lose. That gets dangerously low on the scale. You would be better off working on burning body fat than losing weight. Weight is kind of meaningless and won't determine how you look in a bathing suit.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blweightfemale.htm
I agree with this 100%0 -
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
It's simply not true that this applies to everyone. I'm skeptical that it happens to anyone at all and having read several scientific papers that have studied it I remain that way. However there seems to be a good weight of anecdotal evidence on these boards that suggests this is real for some people. But it is totally wrong for you to suggest it's true for everyone since there is similar anecdotal evidence that many don't fall foul of this. Myself included. I am a data junkie and a serial yo-yo dieter. I can evidence years of diets running up to 20 weeks in duration with caloric intake and expenditure measured, bodyfat measured weekly and in all cases for me my fat loss has been consistent until cessation - at which point I go back to my unhealthy ways and regain it all over the following 18 months :laugh:
No no, you are definitely correct that it doesn't apply to every and it also is determine by how you calculate your calories. If you have it in your TDEE, then you wouldn't eat back calories. But those who are on VLCD and lose weight rapidly, tend to lose a significant amount of lean body mass. I have seen several studies (especially with runners) where they eat LCD and burned a ton of lean muscle mass, making your metabolic rate 25% below the average of their same here.
I, too, am a data junkie, so right on :drinker:0 -
Many different opinions, I will definitely aim to eat 1200 calories from now on!
I'm 5'2, 19 and was weighing 123.5lbs on new years day. Cut out junk food as best as I could and gave up on pop. Recently started TurboFire. I want to lose 20lbs because that is what I gained from my first year in college and I used to feel extremely sluggish everyday!
You probably dont' have 20 lbs to lose. That gets dangerously low on the scale. You would be better off working on burning body fat than losing weight. Weight is kind of meaningless and won't determine how you look in a bathing suit.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blweightfemale.htm
Okay so what should I be doing instead? How can I ensure I lose fat and not muscle mass??0 -
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
It's simply not true that this applies to everyone. I'm skeptical that it happens to anyone at all and having read several scientific papers that have studied it I remain that way. However there seems to be a good weight of anecdotal evidence on these boards that suggests this is real for some people. But it is totally wrong for you to suggest it's true for everyone since there is similar anecdotal evidence that many don't fall foul of this. Myself included. I am a data junkie and a serial yo-yo dieter. I can evidence years of diets running up to 20 weeks in duration with caloric intake and expenditure measured, bodyfat measured weekly and in all cases for me my fat loss has been consistent until cessation - at which point I go back to my unhealthy ways and regain it all over the following 18 months :laugh:
The less you have to lose the more likely the loss of muscle is to occur, to help combat that requires heavy strength training and a lot of protein. Your body fat still may have dropped, but it would have dropped even more if you deficit was smaller. So by having a larger deficit you will reach your goal weight quicker but be at a higher BF% then if you took more time (smaller deficits) to reach that goal.0 -
You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
My body fat percentage is way down and I am more toned, please dont start lecturing, I made it quite clear that my post was my opinion of what IS working for me and nothing me, I do not profess to know anything more than that.
Sorry, wasn't trying to track as I don't know who you calculated your calories. But from my experience, I have seen a ton of people do this and hurt their metabolism a lot.0 -
Dont focus on losing weight, focus on losing bodyfat. Take a look at that skinnyfat vs fit picture that someone posted earlier. Check out this link to measure your body fat at home:
http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html0 -
Many different opinions, I will definitely aim to eat 1200 calories from now on!
I'm 5'2, 19 and was weighing 123.5lbs on new years day. Cut out junk food as best as I could and gave up on pop. Recently started TurboFire. I want to lose 20lbs because that is what I gained from my first year in college and I used to feel extremely sluggish everyday!
You probably dont' have 20 lbs to lose. That gets dangerously low on the scale. You would be better off working on burning body fat than losing weight. Weight is kind of meaningless and won't determine how you look in a bathing suit.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blweightfemale.htm
Okay so what should I be doing instead? How can I ensure I lose fat and not muscle mass??
Set your goal to lose 0.5lbs/week, eat back your exercise calories and eat 0.7-1.0 grams of protein per lb of bw (should be in the range of 30-40% protein), all while lifting heavy weights.0 -
Many different opinions, I will definitely aim to eat 1200 calories from now on!
I'm 5'2, 19 and was weighing 123.5lbs on new years day. Cut out junk food as best as I could and gave up on pop. Recently started TurboFire. I want to lose 20lbs because that is what I gained from my first year in college and I used to feel extremely sluggish everyday!
You probably dont' have 20 lbs to lose. That gets dangerously low on the scale. You would be better off working on burning body fat than losing weight. Weight is kind of meaningless and won't determine how you look in a bathing suit.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blweightfemale.htm
Okay so what should I be doing instead? How can I ensure I lose fat and not muscle mass??
You said your schedule was hecktic, but do you have the ability to do strength training? You want to be able to calculate your TDEE and then back off 20% for a deficit and eat enough protein (about 80% of yoru body weight in grams)0 -
You will go so many differing opinions on here...I havent been a member on here long but have been losing weiht for a year and lost around 70 lbs so far so am at least able to go on my own experience of what works for me...
Personally I do NOT buy into the whole "eat back your workout calories" theory. I work out to burn calories, not so that I can consume more, my body has plenty of stores to burn!
I would say though to ensure you do consume at least 1200 calories to be safe and if you want a bigger deficit then work out.
I have to say though you dont really look like you have 20 lbs to lose, so you may have to expect it to be a slow process!
As I said, just my opinion of what works for me, guarantee I will be agreed with as well as contradicted...
Good luck!
Start tracking your body fat and we can show you the affects of "not eating back your exercise calories" on your metabolic rate and the amount of lean muscle you lose.
I don't eat my exercise calories back and I consistently lose body fat % every week.
Do you track your body fat?
Most likely you they would be losing muscle and fat by not eating them, but still more fat then muscle, but if they did eat them back they would lose less weight but be a lower BF% at their goal weight.
There's too many factors to make a generic statement about this. I would buy that if the person was solely doing cardio for an exercise routine. But I strength train 4 days a week I take 13 measurements every week to track my progress and I am adding LBM while burning fat.
Simple fact of the matter is this. My body preserves muscle over fat especially since I am constantly putting said muscle under stress with resistance training. The body stores fat for energy for when it's at a deficit and I've got my fair share of reserves.0
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