Starvation mode article that I found very VERY helpful....
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The article is pretty good. I have one major contention - your body will burn you muscles for energy before it attacks fat, because it requires too much energy to maintain muscles unless you eat enough and exercise. However the whole "starvation mode" is a misnomer, it's more conservation mode when it turns to burning muscles. But, maintaining muscle mass requires getting enough protein. I lost a lot of weight on a medical weight loss plan, but did not lose a lot of muscle because I exercised and ate almost all protein! So near starvation level diets work, but only under carefully watched conditions!0
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I usually eat under 750 calories BUT its not because im trying to have it help me lose weight.
I eat all throughout the day and im full to the max when i finish eating.
WHATS THE ISSUE?
People would rather me eat until im sick just so i can say im eating over 1000 calories?
No thank you.
What's the issue? Anorexia. Eating that little is disordered eating. That's the nutritional requirements of a 30 pound Cocker Spaniel.0 -
So there is a lot of debate on if starvation mode is real or not, but it isn't sustainable.
There are 3 key questions you need to ask yourself before going on a drastic calorie reduction plan:
1. How will you maintain the weight once you get to goal?
2. Can you do this for the rest of your life?
3. What happens when I start eating normally again?
And the answer never seems to lead back to a plan using drastic calorie reduction, because you'll either fail at maintaining the weight loss, gain once you start eating normally or go on a binge to make up for lost time.
Yes it is calories in, calories out to lose weight but the goal isn't to lose weight, the goal is to say goodbye to that extra weight permanently. I'd much rather pick a solution that fits into the life I plan to lead now and for the next 70 years.0 -
bump0
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I so agree with this article. Thanks for posting. I too am tired of people telling me I'm not eating enough. If I wasn't eating enough, I'd be skinny!! I have been lowering my calories and upping my workouts and am losing weight. THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS! at least for me.
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I usually eat under 750 calories BUT its not because im trying to have it help me lose weight.
I eat all throughout the day and im full to the max when i finish eating.
WHATS THE ISSUE?
People would rather me eat until im sick just so i can say im eating over 1000 calories?
No thank you.
Wow....I don't even know what/how to respond to this.
under 1000 calories is not healthy at all, much less 750.
Not being rude, being honest.
Good luck to you.
Has anyone every thought about how many calories veggies have? not that much.
Im eating tons of veggies and filling myself up and what the hell am i supposed to do if its still not getting over 750?
Im not going to go and eat a bunch of trash food to make it there.0 -
"Also about 4 years ago after I had my 3rd baby I weighed about 220 lb and went on a diet that was lower than 1200 calories per day and had absolutely no problem whatsoever losing the weight within 6 months time...I went from 205 (to be fair..baby weight) to about 150 in 6 months eating less than 1200 cal per day, lifting weights daily and eating whatever I wanted on a Saturday...And I was 37 years old 4 years ago so the age factor was against me as well! Why was I able to lose this weight so successfully when everywhere I read on here everyone says I must eat well over 1200 to lose...remember I lifted weights every single day and ate less than 1200 (some days probably 900) and still lost around 50 lb in 6 months..."
If eating less than 1200 calories a day worked out so well for you, then why are you here, needing to lose weight again? I am not saying that to be rude or mean. Just something for you to think about.
ETA sorry I haven't figured out the quote function yet.0 -
So you WANT to eat less than 1200 calories? Why?
If I can:
keep more muscle,
have more energy,
enjoy more food,
be more likely to stick with my diet
AND lose weight,
I pick that option.
I eat 2000 calories or MORE.
This ^^ I
me food, I also love my muscle, I'd like to retain a large portion of my hard earned muscle AND lose fat more slowly. It's a win. 0 -
when I ate less than 1200 calories a day I lost 50 pounds in 3 months while working out by doing cardio and strength training. I then of course couldn't keep this "diet" up so I gained 60 pounds over the next two years and now 4 years after the 60 pound gain I am eating 1600 calories a day and working out twice a week (eating back my workout calories) I've been doing this for two years now and have slowly lost almost 50 pounds
I feel happier and stronger than ever and I'm never depriving myself of yummy foods. I am 100% against any sort of starvation mode because I know that it is possible to do it in a much healthier way and that starvation not only hurts a body physically, but can also lead to mental damage such as control issues, depression and even anxiety
I'm also minoring in nutrition and all of my classes so far disagree with eating less than 1200 calories per day because it's just not good for your body 0 -
I think this argument has a true and false side. If you have a fair amount of weight to lose, say 30lbs or more, the greater deficit you can have without suffering from "starvation mode" because you HAVE the fat to burn. Your body realizes its extra fat it doesnt need. As you lose weight, and get down to having say 5-10lbs left to lose, you obviously have less fat to burn, therefore your body holds onto it more in fear of losing too much, enter starvation mode. I personally had this happen to me recently. I'm 120lbs and want to get down to 115, maybe 110 because I want to have good muscle tone. I WAS eating 1200 cal a day, eating back some exercise calories, and i started noticing less and less change, not to mention constant bloating, gas and heartburn. Last week I upped my calories to 1400, plus some exercise calories, and the bloating is gone, I'm WAY less irritable, and my stomach already looks better! Ideally if you have 5-10lbs left to lose you're deficit should only be enough to lose .5lbs a week, MAXXXX 1lb a wk, otherwise you're bod is gona have a harder time letting it go...which will only result in frustration!!!0
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My niece lost weight on 500 calories a day and I have much better muscle tone at age 54 than she does at 27. If I'm gonna go through all the hard work of lifting weights to build muscle, I'm for sure, gonna eat enough food to support them, not lose them.0
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I usually eat under 750 calories BUT its not because im trying to have it help me lose weight.
I eat all throughout the day and im full to the max when i finish eating.
WHATS THE ISSUE?
People would rather me eat until im sick just so i can say im eating over 1000 calories?
No thank you.
Wow....I don't even know what/how to respond to this.
under 1000 calories is not healthy at all, much less 750.
Not being rude, being honest.
Good luck to you.
Has anyone every thought about how many calories veggies have? not that much.
Im eating tons of veggies and filling myself up and what the hell am i supposed to do if its still not getting over 750?
Im not going to go and eat a bunch of trash food to make it there.
Who said you had to eat trash food? Eat a healthy balanced diet. Yes, it takes a little planning. But it's not freakin rocket science.0 -
I usually eat under 750 calories BUT its not because im trying to have it help me lose weight.
I eat all throughout the day and im full to the max when i finish eating.
WHATS THE ISSUE?
People would rather me eat until im sick just so i can say im eating over 1000 calories?
No thank you.
^^^Thank-You for this comment... i hear this all the time that I am not eating enough so I ate till I was so sick to my stomach...never again. no thank . I'll take my chances of continuing to loose inches and a 1.5 a week than stuff my stomach beyond a busting point.. Exercise and cutting my meals in 1/2 or eating 5-6 small meals a day works for me.. love how the ones that say that I am doing it wrong, or I must me trying to starve myself I see no PHd. behind their screen name..0 -
my money is on four pages before lock, who's in?0
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My niece lost weight on 500 calories a day and I have much better muscle tone at age 54 than she does at 27. If I'm gonna go through all the hard work of lifting weights to build muscle, I'm for sure, gonna eat enough food to support them, not lose them.
I think this is the crux of the problem - the people eating that little just care about the number on the scale going down.
It doesn't matter to them that they are losing lovely lean muscle instead of fat, they just want to see the lower number.
That is such a shame as they could eat more, lose fat, and look so much better.0 -
I lost a bunch of weight eating 1200 calories a day and working out about 2 hours a day and not eating it back.
I never got stuck, I actually went way under my goal.
However I would have preferred to have still lost the weight and eaten a bit more, but that is done and now I do eat back my exercise calories.0
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