Diet Help PLZ fear of starvation mode!!

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benjibartezz
benjibartezz Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi i am a 21 yr old male from australia who weighs in at about 85kgs,

I have a desk job from 8-5 weekdays and then go to the gym straight after work. i also work out during the weekends too

Ive been hitting the bikes at the gym now for the last three days for 2 hours (1 hour intervals) and been aiming for 1200 calories burned each time. (2400 total burned) and then doing about 30-40 mins of weights with my mates

Now my intake is roughly around 1600 calories which i know is already low for my sex weight age etc but i dont feel hungry or have the dreaded starving pains or want a need to snack cause i already do to get my intake up.

My sleeping patterns are fine, im not lethargic and and im not irritable or getting dizzy, so id just like some advice if possible.

The changes in my diet are fine for me but if i overeat or go out and have fast food or a pizza i feel bloated and dare i say it fat.

I also possibly believe my ability to want to burn off so many calories could be factored with that i was bullied a lot throughout highschool for being fat and now i have lost so much but just want to keep going.

Replies

  • IzzyLightwood2k17
    IzzyLightwood2k17 Posts: 14 Member
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    I think you should goto your doctor and just have a talk with them about it, so he can give you offical and legit advice which we cant really do on this site for you. Congrats on your weight loss :smile:
  • lmfbs
    lmfbs Posts: 72 Member
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    It sounds like you have psychological issues that would best be dealt with at therapy.

    Your body needs food as fuel. Your body needs exercise, and rest. Exercising for 2 hours a day eating only 1600 calories is unhealthy, and frankly, a little scary. Get help. Please.
  • benjibartezz
    benjibartezz Posts: 13
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    Ive more pushed myself to lose weight ever since my dad passed away roughly 8 months ago from cancer, so ive been pushing myself hard to get fitter.

    Before then gym i walked every day for 40 mins and lost 8kgs in 4 months which i was quite proud about and it also built my fitness up quite dramatically.

    I wouldnt go as far as saying i need therapy, its more a bridge i need to cross which i have via exercise because its an amazing release from day to day stress.

    Can anyone suggest any healthy foods to bring my intake up to a healthy level?

    please note mostly everyday involves a yakult, multivitamin, coffee and a cup of v8 juice for breaky. Lunch has been the same everyday this year which is 3 sushi rolls, 2 white rice chicken teriayki/avocado and 1 teriayki beef/carrot. Then dinner is a mccains healthy choice meal with another cup of v8 juice and a glass of orange juice or whatever juice is available. Snacks are 15 almonds a day, 5 squares of dark chocoloate 70% and also a few tablespoons of 99% fat free yoghurt
  • nebulinda
    nebulinda Posts: 120 Member
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    It sounds like you have psychological issues that would best be dealt with at therapy.

    I don't know if I would go so far as to say you have psychological issues based on your brief post. But it does sound like you have, at best, some overtraining, and at worst, exercise anorexia. If you really do burn more than 2400 calories at the gym, but only eat 1600, then you are netting negative calories. That's really not good. If you continue this pattern, starvation mode is the least of your worries. You should not be netting below your BMR, and you're not even breaking even. If you've only been doing this for three days, I can understand that you feel fine. But keep it up, and this kind of lifestyle could have serious consequences.

    Go see a nutritionist to find out exactly what and how much you should be eating. Go see a personal trainer to find out the best exercises and amount to reach your fitness goals (some are better than others). And, if you feel like all this exercise is compulsive, and you need to do it, and you can't stop, go see a mental health professional.
  • benjibartezz
    benjibartezz Posts: 13
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    I work out because i love how i feel afterwards, its only the last 3 days i have pushed myself this hard on the bikes and i was wondering what the damage could be.

    Also, i know no-one means any harm by it but i do not have any psychological issues, ive been to counsellors in the past for bullying and really have stepped out of what was a shell that was killing me.

    All i really want to know is what can i eat thats healthy for the body and also help lose weight/tone
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
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    Ive more pushed myself to lose weight ever since my dad passed away roughly 8 months ago from cancer, so ive been pushing myself hard to get fitter.

    Before then gym i walked every day for 40 mins and lost 8kgs in 4 months which i was quite proud about and it also built my fitness up quite dramatically.

    I wouldnt go as far as saying i need therapy, its more a bridge i need to cross which i have via exercise because its an amazing release from day to day stress.

    Can anyone suggest any healthy foods to bring my intake up to a healthy level?

    please note mostly everyday involves a yakult, multivitamin, coffee and a cup of v8 juice for breaky. Lunch has been the same everyday this year which is 3 sushi rolls, 2 white rice chicken teriayki/avocado and 1 teriayki beef/carrot. Then dinner is a mccains healthy choice meal with another cup of v8 juice and a glass of orange juice or whatever juice is available. Snacks are 15 almonds a day, 5 squares of dark chocoloate 70% and also a few tablespoons of 99% fat free yoghurt

    I'm assuming you're fairly short. You're losing weight reasonably slowly which tells me you're not starving to death.

    the reason people want you to eat more than 1200 cals a day is to gain all the nutrients. You are eating more than 1200 cals a day and are therefore gaining those nutrients, and the fact that you're burning off fat and calories is neither here nor there.

    Can you pinch an inch of fat? I'd quit when I got down to that. Then it's going to be a difficult case of finessing a slowly higher and higher calorie intake. Good luck with that - I'm not far enough along to know how to do it.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Keep it simple with some basics:

    - eat a reasonable deficit from your total expenditure (including exercise)
    - eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, 'good fat', complex carbs and protein
    - do not overtrain - generally do not spend more than an hour doing cardio a day and have some low intensity cardio days mixed with the high intensity
    - make sure you have at least one or two rest days a week where you do no intensive exercise
    - lift weights (which you mention you are already doing)

    3 days of intensive training will not have done any damage - just 'dial it back' so you don't going forward

    Your diet does not actually sound too bad. You should try to replace the pre-packaged meal a few days with something less processed if you can. Some suggestions: add more almonds, eat a whole tub or two (individual ones) of full fat yoghurt, add some fresh and veggies, add some good fats in (peanut butter is good). You also may want to think of adding a protein shake as you may be very low on protein with what you are eating.
  • benjibartezz
    benjibartezz Posts: 13
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    Yeh im about 172cm so not the tallest guy around haha

    Thats the thing, i am not starving myself at all. ill eat when im hungry and stop when im full.

    I just love being active because having a desk job is a big blow during the day i feel like i have all this unused energy and can let loose at the gym.

    At the moment i have love handles, tummy weight and also "noticeable enough with a shirt off" man boobs. My goal is to stop once my tummy is flatter and focus then on building more muscle.

    I just need to eat bigger meals. the only reason breakfast suffers the worst is because of my sleep pattern 11pm-7pm then leave for work by 730am
  • benjibartezz
    benjibartezz Posts: 13
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    The protein shakes sound good too, i may have a look into it. The meals have only become a thing this week, as before id be having steak veggies and brown rice.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    The best time to start building muscle is actually when you have those extra pounds.

    One thing to remember is hunger does not necessarily correlate to the body actually needing to be fed. If you get full quickly, focus on calorie dense foods such as nuts, seeds, avocados and pick full fat versions of the foods you already eat.

    If you like the feeling of exercising a lot - to keep it going (without overtraining) you need to fuel your body.
  • benjibartezz
    benjibartezz Posts: 13
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    Ok, so eating more is plain obvious, but with the training recommendations, i will try 1 hour bike split into two 30min rides and then do weights. Im more afraid of putting muscle on and not losing the fat. Does the muscles except the tummy react the same way the tummy does? like if build my ab muscles up its just building the muscles and not shifting the fat
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    You can do a 1 hour bike ride - but you should not do this every day. For example, try to limit high intensity to only a few days a week. Throw some brisk walking in a day for two instead.

    Pretty much all muscles work the same way (subject to actual differences in people's genetic make-up). Do resistance training to build muscle and lose body fat so those muscles can be seen.
  • nasja1984
    nasja1984 Posts: 98 Member
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    Hi i am a 21 yr old male from australia who weighs in at about 85kgs,

    I have a desk job from 8-5 weekdays and then go to the gym straight after work. i also work out during the weekends too

    Ive been hitting the bikes at the gym now for the last three days for 2 hours (1 hour intervals) and been aiming for 1200 calories burned each time. (2400 total burned) and then doing about 30-40 mins of weights with my mates

    Now my intake is roughly around 1600 calories which i know is already low for my sex weight age etc but i dont feel hungry or have the dreaded starving pains or want a need to snack cause i already do to get my intake up.

    My sleeping patterns are fine, im not lethargic and and im not irritable or getting dizzy, so id just like some advice if possible.



    The changes in my diet are fine for me but if i overeat or go out and have fast food or a pizza i feel bloated and dare i say it fat.

    I also possibly believe my ability to want to burn off so many calories could be factored with that i was bullied a lot throughout highschool for being fat and now i have lost so much but just want to keep going.

    I do roughly 1200 a day....if your hungry and you have calories from exercise, eat them back, if not hungry, bank them. You will lose slightly faster. Don't worry about starvation mode unless you have very little body fat. MFP has to do a blanket warning to protect themselves, If a person is overweight...they won't go into any kind of starvation mode. Now if you have very little body fat left, that's a different story.
  • kpederslie
    kpederslie Posts: 23 Member
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    Dont be afraid to build muscle. Muscle tissue burns more calories than fatty tissue does. Breaking up your cardio is a good choice. My trainer recently changed my workouts to 45 min cardio, strength training, and then another 45 min of a different type of cardio. Seems to be working so far.

    That being said, everyone is different, and as always, speaking with a professional that is familiar with your workout and eating habits will always help more than random people's opinions. :happy:
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    You are female and older than the OP and should not be advising him to eat like you do. A metabolic slowdown will happen if he consistently has a too large a deficit. Please do not encourage something that could mess up his metabolism and also not provide the appropriate nutrients. The recommended minimum calories for a male are 1800.

    Edit: referring to the post two up from mine
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    The have 2 issues w/2 hr on a bike per day--1) it's likely not sustainable, so it's not the most practical of plans; 2) putting in that high a volume of the same cardio runs the risk of leaving you "stale", esp since you are likely not replenishing your glycogen stores incurring that high deficit.

    It just sounds like your routine is unbalanced. I would try to work in some other activities as well as mix up intensities. And I would recommend lifting heavy weights. You can experiment with different levels of calorie intake. If you are incurring real, consistent 2000 calorie/day deficits, there will eventually be adverse effects. If you truly are burning 1200-2400 calories in a workout, you need to be replacing some of those calories.
  • benjibartezz
    benjibartezz Posts: 13
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    Bit of an update..:)

    Gym sessions are now two 20 min sessions of cardio and then 30 mins of weight lifting.

    I have moved to having the following for my diet:

    Breakfast - Its either Uncle Tobys Plus Antioxidant with 99% fat free passionfruit yoghurt + Yakult light + multivitamin if i have the time before work, if not its a up & go liquid breakfast + yakult + multivitamin and maybe a coffee.

    Lunch - has rotated between 3 sushi rolls 2 chicken teriyaki/avocado 1 teriyaki beef/carrot OR Subway 12inch chicken fillet with lettuce carrot olives onion fat free honey mustard sauce on wholemeal toasted

    Dinner - Still on the light choice meals, looking for a reasonable replacement to these without feeling sick, i dont have a large appetite in the evening.

    Snacks - 4 squares of dark chocolate 70%, 1 serving fat free yoghurt, 12 almonds, 2 pink lady apples (depending on how hungry i am, all snacks are eaten throughout the day or maybe even just 1 or 2)
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    I am glad you have cut back on the cardio - well done. Try to keep working on eating a bit more.

    How do you feel? Energy and motivation-wise?
  • benjibartezz
    benjibartezz Posts: 13
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    Energy wise i feel awesome, really lively and my motivation is great, the best part of the working day is getting out of the office and getting sweaty!!

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