Asked my Trainer re eating back calories

This was simple to understand I like it!

bump

Great info.


Thanks

Thanks for the post!

Thank you very much for sharing!

LOVE, love, LOVE this!!!

Starvation mode does exist unfortunately...I have thrown my body into it..and it sucks!!!

BUMP for future reference.

I think the answer is interesting. Lots of words. Not sure it all make sense. One thing that bothers me is that she makes no reference to BMR (basal metabolic rate) which to me is a key component when you are talking weight management.

..."starvation mode"... simply DOES NOT exist. Let me say it again - it does not exist - unless you are at a Nazi Concentration Camp and have been ritually denied basic sustenance for months and months on end...

I think maybe you don't have to go to quite those extremes to find people in starvation mode. I know a clinically obese person who was put on Optifast and drank nutrition in the form of a packet mixed with water and ice. Total calorie intake daily: 550 calories. This person weighed in the range of 480-500 pounds. My friend was asked to exercise for 30 min. a day, 3 days a week. This person was told maintaining this diet would put the body into ketosis, and this would cause the body to use stored calories (fat) rather than starve.

Now I cannot get this person to eat. Oh yes, s/he lost 100 lbs and stayed on it a year. But you cannot maintain that kind of diet for a year and NOT come out of it wanting to eat. A lot. So the lost weight returned, and now s/he's struggling again.

The whole argument of whether to eat back workout calories or not means a lot to people like my friend because s/he truly thinks you have to keep yourself to 400 or 500 calories a day in order to lose weight. By explaining things in terms of "starvation mode' it helps people understand, even if it isn't "technically" correct.

My friend is constantly tired. When s/he's not working, s/he's sleeping or wants to be. To me, this indicates that s/he is not getting nearly enough calories, and that until s/he gets a steady workout routine going where energy is being generated by burning calories, s/he needs to eat back workout calories and maintain the deficit that MFP recommends.

All that to say... isn't it possible that what is true for obese people may not be true for people who carry a healthier body mass index?

Thanks for sharing!

"starvation mode" which simply DOES NOT exist. Let me say it again - it does not exist - unless you are at a Nazi Concentration Camp and have been ritually denied basic sustenance for months and months on end.

Reference Ancel Keys' Minnesota starvation study, where the idea of 'starvation mode' came from. Men who ate at a 50% caloric deficit for 6 months showed a 40% reduction in metabolism. They ate approximately 1500 calories per day; hardly what we'd consider being "ritually denied basic sustenance."

Now, the idea of starvation mode has been greatly abused and misapplied (perhaps by the trainer in question,) but the research suggests it does indeed exist.

Maybe it would be better to describe it as "wrecking your metabolism" or "kicking in an unhealthy yo-yo weight cycle." For most people with this issue, I think that's what happens.

"starvation mode" which simply DOES NOT exist. Let me say it again - it does not exist - unless you are at a Nazi Concentration Camp and have been ritually denied basic sustenance for months and months on end.

Reference Ancel Keys' Minnesota starvation study, where the idea of 'starvation mode' came from. Men who ate at a 50% caloric deficit for 6 months showed a 40% reduction in metabolism. They ate approximately 1500 calories per day; hardly what we'd consider being "ritually denied basic sustenance."

Now, the idea of starvation mode has been greatly abused and misapplied (perhaps by the trainer in question,) but the research suggests it does indeed exist.

Maybe it would be better to describe it as "wrecking your metabolism" or "kicking in an unhealthy yo-yo weight cycle." For most people with this issue, I think that's what happens.

i agree

Answer:
Great question! To start, I would like to clarify that eating 1200 calories to lose weight is fine for some people, and not others. It may be too low. So for those of you that are interested in calorie counting, you must check a program first like the one listed above, as the amount can be influenced with your activity level, your height, and your age.

AKA: Eat 10-20% under your TDEE while creating a healthy deficit of diet and exercise! You're trainer is right. Just wish everyone else on this site would listen

Thank you for posting this , I was wondering the same thing. It was helpful .