Starvation mode article that I found very VERY helpful....

For breakfast yesterday I had a bowl of cereal with strawberries and a protein shake. For lunch I had a slice of veggie pizza , a salad and a chicken breast for dinner I had shepherds pie and lots of it. I also had 3 protein shake by some people's ideology I may have eaten way more than I should lol some people however think it's way to little. You can't win on here.

All that matters is your caloric intake relative to your TDEE, and what your goals are.

Anybody have any idea how many calories I burned reading through the eight pages of this thread?

2.7 if you have a rollie ball on your mouse... if not... then 11.4? lol <JOKING>

Hmmm so now i dont have an eating disorder?

For breakfast yesterday I had a bowl of cereal with strawberries and a protein shake. For lunch I had a slice of veggie pizza , a salad and a chicken breast for dinner I had shepherds pie and lots of it. I also had 3 protein shake by some people's ideology I may have eaten way more than I should lol some people however think it's way to little. You can't win on here.

All that matters is your caloric intake relative to your TDEE, and what your goals are.

Hmmm so now i dont have an eating disorder?

For breakfast yesterday I had a bowl of cereal with strawberries and a protein shake. For lunch I had a slice of veggie pizza , a salad and a chicken breast for dinner I had shepherds pie and lots of it. I also had 3 protein shake by some people's ideology I may have eaten way more than I should lol some people however think it's way to little. You can't win on here.

All that matters is your caloric intake relative to your TDEE, and what your goals are.

You tell me. What's your TDEE and what you're typical daily intake...

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!

Truth! And it doesn't just pick muscles like your biceps, your abs, your butt. . . it'll take from the heart too. My nutrition teacher was freaking out about it the other day.

Hmmm do I owe a stanger who means nada to me some information? hmmmmm nooo. quote]

Hmmm so now i dont have an eating disorder?

For breakfast yesterday I had a bowl of cereal with strawberries and a protein shake. For lunch I had a slice of veggie pizza , a salad and a chicken breast for dinner I had shepherds pie and lots of it. I also had 3 protein shake by some people's ideology I may have eaten way more than I should lol some people however think it's way to little. You can't win on here.

All that matters is your caloric intake relative to your TDEE, and what your goals are.

You tell me. What's your TDEE and what you're typical daily intake...
[/quote]

The problem I find is people being labeled for no reason and judged harshly because they don't eat tons of food. Rather than offer some advise on how get more calories in , people say things like "you're going to die!" "you have an eating disorder!" So either they are fortune tellers or they are doctors which I doubt they are either. Another thing is many people don't eat their calories back ever. I didnt know anything about eating calories back because I never kept track of calories because I didn't need to. I lost weight by eating the same type of food just leaner than I have been eating for most of my adult life and even from earlier. Instead of 80/10 beef I now use 93/7, instead of whole sour cream I switched to light or non-fat sour cream, instead of bacon I use turkey bacon. I basically substituted those things and they happen to be lighter in calories sometimes and always lighter in fat content. I don't use MFP to track calories and I've said this before I use it for keeping track of protein and carbs because I am weightlifting a lot these days. But I read these posts about people struggling with eating more and I get it because I never use to eat a lot and I still don't. This does not make someone mentally ill. It's like saying the japanese are mentally ill because some of them eat seaweed and sushi for their entire diet and they only eat 1200 calories and then work out. I know some japanese people and what they eat before anyone asks me how I know this lol. Some of course don;t eat that way but the ones I personally know are super healthy and have awesome lean muscle. The fact that genetics play a big part on how our bodies store fat or don't store fat or the fact that some people don't have huge apetites is almost never taken into account which really makes no sense. I know people who eat well over 3,000 calories a day don't hit the gym and are skinny, I know some people who eat really healthy food and are chubby. I mean come on folks let's stop labeling people. Yes some people truly have eating disorders but many do not and have a hard time eating more. Offer advice if it's solicited if not worry about you.

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.

Well said

This is an AWESOME thread about an informal poll of MFP members and their eating habits. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/395948-caloric-intake-results

To summarize... especially among women, those with lower body fat percentages were those who consumed at least 1800 calories a day.

So, if you just want to weigh very little, go ahead and eat very little. But if you want lower body fat, you need to eat more.

If you need advice on HOW to eat more, start a thread on that topic, since it depends entirely on each individual and how they're eating now. Personally, when I need to eat more, I check my food diary and see where I'm lacking. IE, if I'm low on protein, I'll add a couple more ounces of lean meat, or a protein bar or shake. If I'm low on fat, I'll add olive oil to dinner, or have some cheese or milk, or peanut butter. If I'm fairly well balanced, but just low on calories... I'll have whatever I damn well please.

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.

^^ I think that would actually be the definition of anorexia.

But dairy is good for you everyone needs dairy you should have as much as you can. Stop putting up straw men to deflect from the fact that you are afraid of dairy and having healthy bones. Dairy is good for you it doesnt make you ill nobody is buying that pitty-puppy. Right? Just like people who can't eat anymore because they physically can't or they get sick are also wrong right? you're argument is just not very valid.Being so judgemental doesn't help you or anyone else. Has anyone stopped to think that some comments to people that they need to eat more more more can actually lead people who are not strong willed to overeat ans develop an overeating disorder?

So yeah make her eat more than than she can physically eat so she can meet your standards. Great. I agree if you can eat more eat more if you can't you can't. I can't eat a ton I don't have an eating disorder I Iove food. I think it's unfair and unhelpful to be so judgmental.Some people do have an Ed this term does not need to be thrown out like it has no meaning. Ed is a serious thing and just because people don't eat as much as you can does not mean they have an ED.

I usually eat under 750 calories BUT its not be cause 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.

Oh please! People would rather you stop putting up straw men to deflect from the fact how you are eating is not sustainable if you want to be healthy.
Typical psychological defense to acuse people of being hard hearted "wanting" you to throw up so you dont have to face the flaws in your logic. No one is buying that pity-puppy.

Eat some good healthy fats full of omega 3. Tiny amount of food, very calorie dense, and NOT junk food. All the stuff your brain needs to function. You wont overload your stomach. I can't eat gluten or dairy without getting ill and I have no problem eating clean and going well over 1500.

Nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut oil (controversial you need to do the research and decide for yourself on that one). Find a healthy blended drink with added protein powder for breakfast. I thought it was impossible to eat more than 1200 at first now its easy. Chai seeds high cal, insanely good for you, 1 tablespoon or two a day.

Great that you eat a lot of vegies so many people don't.

Within a few weeks your appetite will increase to a healthy level so you will be able to start meeting your nuitritional requirements.

Good luck

But dairy is good for you everyone needs dairy you should have as much as you can. Stop putting up straw men to deflect from the fact that you are afraid of dairy and having healthy bones. Dairy is good for you it doesnt make you ill nobody is buying that pitty-puppy. Right? Just like people who can't eat anymore because they physically can't or they get sick are also wrong right? you're argument is just not very valid.Being so judgemental doesn't help you or anyone else. Has anyone stopped to think that some comments to people that they need to eat more more more can actually lead people who are not strong willed to overeat ans develop an overeating disorder?

thing is - ive been there. it hurt my stomach to eat more than 1000 a day, even after exercising and burning 800. made me wanna puke.. but i realized that wasnt normal and i tried to eat more...a little at a time. now im eating 1845 on rest days and up to 2500 on exercise days.. and still losing weight at a great rate. i used to look at labels and think "wow, based on average 2000 calorie diet - i could NEVER eat that much!" and now i wonder how i ever ate so little and still had the energy to get out of bed. my body adapted, and i let it get that bad.
and ill still say it to people doing the same - they need to eat more. if they want to keep their organs functioning properly and their bodies from eating itself from the inside out, they need to eat more.

I just find it sooooooo hard to believe that I weight 60 lb more than I need to and reducing my calories to 1200 calories a day or less will PREVENT me from losing weight? It just does not make sense to me! 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...I am interested your opinions on this...

yeah I don't see how eating under 1200 Calories / day is that bad according to my math fitness pal says a pound is 3500 Calories every Calorie I cut seems to make a difference of .01 lbs in 5 weeks that means cut just 10 Calories/day and you lose .1 pounds extra in that 5 weeks it forecast for. one possibility I see for the plateau effect is that as you lose weight ( Newtons or pounds) you lose the ability for the same distance to burn the same number of Calories, W=F*D work equals force times distance if you cut down the force by giving away mass ( the 2 are not equal) and keep distance the same the amount of work done is lower. one kilogram loss is losing almost 10 joules ( about 1/418 Calories) of work done / meter distance over a kilometre that means a few Calories.

Cutting calories also cuts nutrition.

true but please note all but one time I've gone over 1200 Calories I've gone over at least one my limits as set ( also is there any way to do things like diabetic or nephrotic syndrome ?

true but please note all but one time I've gone over 1200 Calories I've gone over at least one my limits as set ( also is there any way to do things like diabetic or nephrotic syndrome ?

that doesnt surprise me. there could be a couple things going on there. not preplanning to make sure your marcos are met but not over. also more likely if you have the defaults still. i changed my macro %s and when i plan out my days and stick to it, i dont go over anything

true but please note all but one time I've gone over 1200 Calories I've gone over at least one my limits as set ( also is there any way to do things like diabetic or nephrotic syndrome ?

that doesnt surprise me. there could be a couple things going on there. not preplanning to make sure your marcos are met but not over. also more likely if you have the defaults still. i changed my macro %s and when i plan out my days and stick to it, i dont go over anything

only thing I plan is to lose weight and possibly fat I'm supposed to watch my sodium and I don't eat big breakfasts. I stopped snacking lately but now to not go under 1200 ( admittedly I have a few times) Calories in a day with what I'm now eating I need to snack. also I've been exercising a good bit on the Wii fit plus.