Starvation mode help?

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infractusspeculum
infractusspeculum Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
I used to try and stay below 800 calories a day, which worked fairly well- I went from 140 to 131. Then my weight started rising again, so I decided to try and eat healthier. I've gone back to more than 1200 calories a day, but I've gone up to 136, and am worried about getting back to 140 and then some. Any tips on how to reduce or stop the effects of my rebound? Thanks

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  • kasarin
    kasarin Posts: 82
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    bump
  • jessdeweerdt
    jessdeweerdt Posts: 128
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    I actually found that once I started eating at least 1200 cals a day I dropped 1lb a week for 8 weeks.. I've reached a plateau since then.. but what I understand is that you will gain at first until your body kinda trusts that you will keep feeding it. Make sure the food you are eating is healthy and make sure you are drinking plenty plenty of water! You basically have to change your metabolism.. it's a slow process.. but don't give up now!
  • Vsgullo
    Vsgullo Posts: 1 Member
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    That is how it is for me too. I must stay around 600-900 or I gain. I am almost the same weight range as you too. I go from 136 to 129 is the lowest I have gotten then I start to gain it all back. I am going to try to get lower this time. Are you exercising? I am not, I always just do real low cal, but seems exercise may be next. Just waiting for the weather to warm up around here first.
  • Becky_Boodle
    Becky_Boodle Posts: 253 Member
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    When you eat less then a daily min of 1200 you're only doing damage to yourself...yes you may have lost weight but you also lost muscle in the process...I would sugest you eat at least 1200 cals a day and include cardio and strength training into your routine...it takes muscle to burn fat...if you're not feeding your muscles the proper nutrition and workouts then your not gonna gain any muscle or lose any fat...the number on the scale is just that...there's a difference between being "skinny" and being "skinny fat"
  • HannahMarieMcDougald
    HannahMarieMcDougald Posts: 544
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    Do not go below 1000! Your brain needs 500 calories a day to function! And not to mention the calories you burn during the day..Thats why your not losing! -Shakes head- Seriously 800 calories and you thought that was healthy? NOOOO Dr would approve..........
  • infractusspeculum
    infractusspeculum Posts: 11
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    I exercise about 5-6 times a week for 30 minutes on the elliptical, and I'll usually also take a 30-60 minute walk 3 times a week or so. I drink about 2 litres of water a day, so that shouldn't be a problem
  • littlebluej
    littlebluej Posts: 102 Member
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    I understand how you feel. I went from eating ~500 or less to now eating about 1300-1500. My biggest fear was seeing the scale jump up like crazy. Thankfully it hasn't, only 2-3 lbs in the last 2 weeks (since increasing my calories). But keep in mind that when you start eating a normal amount again, a lot of the weight gain is actually just water. There will probably be an initial weight increase for most people, but give your body time to readjust and you should start losing again.
  • Kristin2984
    Kristin2984 Posts: 54
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    You just have to stick with the healthy calorie diet. Eventually your body will get used to it and know that it's going to get another meal. Anorexics go through this when they start to eat again. Not healthy at all. Your body thinks it need to keep every calorie because you won't feed it again. Make a commitment to stick to a healthy calorie consumption. Try it for at least three months and then reevaluate. I think you will see that your body will get used to eating a healthy diet without packing on the pounds. Also make sure you exercise as this will help ward off weight gain while your body adjusts.
  • privatetime
    privatetime Posts: 118
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    I'm afraid I have no scientifically-based advice for you. I can only encourage you to try different things, and find out what works for you.

    I suspect you already know you're going to get the "you were eating so little your metabolism slowed down" admonishment. The same theory says you'll have to stay at your currently level of caloric intake or increase it, while exercising regularly, in the hopes of building more muscle and/or increasing your metabolism. That may take nerves of steel. ;-)

    For me, it's not as much about the total calories as it is about how much the food I eat spikes my insulin. I'm insulin resistant, so even if we were eating the same foods, I likely produce way more insulin in response than you do.

    What does insulin do? It triggers fat storage. What does excess insulin do? It triggers lots of fat atorage.

    So while I am concerned about eating more than I burn, at this point, I'm even more concerned about insulin-spiking foods such as carbohydrate and protein, especially simple carb's. I do my best to stick to a low GI diet, as much as possible.

    On the plus side, while fat is calorically dense, it doesn't spike insulin much. I can eat extra fat, and not gain weight. Okay... ...A little extra fat. Let's be real.... ;-)
  • hollyberry2012
    hollyberry2012 Posts: 253
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    I had a sorta self - revelation today ...It has kinda floored me. I think I better put it into words if I can. When I was a little fat girl, my mother would put me on diets....all of them had one thing in common...starvation!....As I grew up, I tried again and again to 'diet'...and always tried to mimic what I was taught as a child. Even now on MFP...I eat less than my allotted calories and feel ashamed and embarrassed to eat more...I can feel this so strongly that it's even in my subconscious mind if that makes sense. My stomach will shut up tight and not allow more...whereas it allowed plenty, too much when I wasn't dieting! Y'all it is gonna take me a few weeks here on MFP to reprogram some of this starvation nonsense. But I will do it, Lord help me, and you guys too. Thanks for letting me begin to work this out in my head everyone.
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing
  • doubglass
    doubglass Posts: 314 Member
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    I looked at your diary--you are starving yourself. Get professional help. Talk to an MD to make sure you have nothing physical wrong with you then get some head help. If there is not a physical reason for your inability to eat, your behavior is irrational and you need head help. If you want to get back to the activities you describe you need a training diet, not a weight loss diet. You need muscle not Somalia skinny.

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  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I used to try and stay below 800 calories a day, which worked fairly well- I went from 140 to 131. Then my weight started rising again, so I decided to try and eat healthier. I've gone back to more than 1200 calories a day, but I've gone up to 136, and am worried about getting back to 140 and then some. Any tips on how to reduce or stop the effects of my rebound? Thanks

    Only eat back about 200 extra cal's a day for a week.
    Then add on another 200 a day for another week, until back up there.

    Here is what a lady had to do that had lowered her metabolism such that weight loss stopped. And she even lost fat while getting here metabolism burning at full speed again.
    So you can recover, and get that free 400-500 calorie burn each and every day. Wouldn't that be nice!
    http://www.exrx.net/Questions/StarvationEffect.html

    A similar case study was published by Jampolis (2004). A 51 year old patient complained of a 15 lb weight gain over the last year despite beginning a strenuous triathlon and marathon training program (2 hours per day, 5-6 days per week).
    A 3 day diet analysis estimated a daily intake of only 1000-1200 Calories.
    An indirect calorimetry revealed a resting metabolic rate of 950 Calories (28% below predicted for age, height, weight, and gender).
    After medications and medical conditions such as hypothyroidism and diabetes where ruled out, the final diagnosis was over-training and undereating. The following treatment was recommended:

    Increase daily dietary intake by approximately 100 Calories per week to a goal of 1500 calories
    32% protein; 35% carbohydrates; 33% fat
    Consume 5-6 small meals per day
    Small amounts of protein with each meal or snack
    Choose high fiber starches
    Select mono- and poly- unsaturated fats
    Restrict consumption of starch with evening meals unless focused around training
    Take daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement
    Perform whole body isometric resistance training 2 times per week

    After 6 weeks the patient's resting metabolism increased 35% to 1282 Calories per day (only 2% below predicted).
    The patient also decreases percent fat from 37% to 34%, a loss of 5 lbs of body fat.

    Jampolis MB (2004) Weight Gain - Marathon Runner / Triathlete. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 36(5) S148.
  • djicon
    djicon Posts: 9 Member
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    800 calories a day is not even enough to sustain your daily bodily functions! Your net calories (calories consumed - calories burned) shouldn't be under your BMR (basal metabolic rate), it's basically the amount of calories your body needs to do normal involuntary functions such as digest and breathe. You can calculate it from MFP or from a scale that measures body fat composition. If your body doesn't get enough calories and nutrients, it goes into a catabolic state and starts holding onto body fat while breaking down muscle mass to get to the protein. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catabolism

    I struggled with this recently when I was over-training and not eating enough. I saw my lean body gradually getting fatter. It seems counter-intuitive but I had to scale back my work-outs and eat MORE to lose that body fat. Now I'm back to being lean and fit again. Hope this helps!
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    ihttp://www.burnthefat.com/metabolic_damage.html

    Anyone surviving on under 1000 calories and not losing weight should read this, and start eating more.
  • ashleab37
    ashleab37 Posts: 575 Member
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    If you're not losing weight on a CONSISTENT diet of 1200+ cal a day, there's a good chance you're already healthy. You're pretty damn light, do you really need to lose more, or do you just want to?
  • papastu
    papastu Posts: 737 Member
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    want to be skinny?

    how about healthy aswell :wink:

    eat more
  • infractusspeculum
    infractusspeculum Posts: 11
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    Well guys, I'm not eating 800 a day ANYMORE, so while I appreciate all the "oh no, don't!" posts, it's just reiterating what I already realized and did :tongue: I just want to know how to eat normal- like I AM- and not gain everything back and more

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