Is this starvation mode? Help!

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jynnantonnyk
jynnantonnyk Posts: 81 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Ok, I am still trying to get to grips with this after a week on MFP.

My target is 1200 cals daily. So say my food total is 800 cals, leaving me 400 under target... and my exercise cals burned is 800... adding another 800 on to my remaining 400.

That gives 1200 remaining at end of the day, almost calorie neutral. Is this what starvation mode is?

I know people are split on whether to eat what you burn... but at the very least, should I be hitting 1200 on food alone?

Am I being too mean to myself? The only point I struggled over the past week was last night as T.O.M arrived yesterday and I really did feel very weak and dizzy (these are sometimes my symptoms at this time) but I felt my food intake that day did not help.

Just had a massive argument with my other half about this as they say that I'm having three meals a day and still under, so what's the problem? I'm trying to explain about eating too little can be bad but they keep saying my problem is exercising.

Have I got this all wrong? My diary is open, not sure if I need to do something for you guys to look at it. I recall a day where after exercise I had about 1000 cals remaining.

4 lbs lost so far, yet I feel like crying lol
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Replies

  • ribena1958
    ribena1958 Posts: 152
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    Eat ALL your calories each day, or, you can save some calories each day and use some extra's for the weekend, take things over a week if that is better for you. Fill up on nice healthy filing foods that fill you up for longer. Earning extra calories working out you can eat them. Just make sure the calories burnt are an accurate amount appertaining to your exercise
  • diemodemdie
    diemodemdie Posts: 37
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    What is your current height and weight, if you don't mind my asking?
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,783 Member
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    Starvation mode is a term made up to scare you into eating more...if your losing your not stalling out.
    Google Starvation mode and read both sides then make up your own mind on if it exists or not.
  • jynnantonnyk
    jynnantonnyk Posts: 81 Member
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    What is your current height and weight, if you don't mind my asking?

    I'm 5'6" and 206lbs.
  • chantels1
    chantels1 Posts: 391 Member
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    A good general rule is TDEE -15-20%. Calorie neutral is going to make you get progressively more tired and weak feeling, and too lazy to do your exercise. You can do it for a short time to drop weight quick, but long term it will set you back! Good luck!
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
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    ummm, if your goal is 1200 and your calories at the end of the day are still 1200 then you may as well be eating nothing. this is dangerous. You need to ensure you eat that full 1200, whether you eat what you burn back is up to you, but you should probably do this too.
  • jayayach
    jayayach Posts: 178 Member
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    I would suggest eating more. Not for any particular scientific reason, but because I like to eat. That's how I got here in the first place.... Now I just know how to eat more and still lose weight and get healthy. You can eat more and still lose weight, too! So, if you feel bad or hungry, and you think its because you aren't eating enough... the remedy would be to eat more!
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
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    This is dangerous, and considered to be starving yourself. This is the same state that many bulimics are in... They eat very little, and instead of purging through vomiting, they just work out to burn off all the calories they eat.

    Clinical starvation mode is NOT a scare tactic. It's a real medical condition that comes with many dangers. You also risk a problem called refeeding syndrome when/if you decide to increase your calories.

    The goal on MFP is to not drop your NET calories under 1200. If you're working out 800 calories burned, that means you need to eat 2000 calories.

    You should know that 1200 is the bare minimum that the medical field will use to rehabilitate people that are starving. It is generally considered inadequate to drop below that, especially without supplements. A gastric bypass patient is generally set to 1000 calories, at the very lowest, and they take loads of supplements to avoid malnutrition during their weightloss. I always tell people, if a bypass patient, who is at the "last chance effort" stage, is still eating more than you are, what does that say about your habits? If a starving person is considered someone that gets less than 1200 calories a day... why would you do that to yourself?

    Frankly, you're eating at diagnosable anorexia levels. I would seek guidance from a medical professional, a nutritionist, and a counselor.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    You're basically in a position of eating nothing. Your body needs to sustain itself, so it's going to start burning stored calories. Which is great, since fat is a stored calorie, but no so great because your body also needs protein and will start burning muscle, too.

    Look, whether you want to eat your exercise calories back or not is up to you. The site is geared around eating them back, and the general idea is that you set a fixed and reasonable calorie deficit to lose weight slowly, easily, and safely - and you work out to be fit. The two are separate. I find eating at least most of them back is working just fine for me. Others prefer not to. I can't sustain good workouts and get weaker if I don't. That's a personal call.

    But no matter how you slice it... you are in a position where you are, for all intents and purposes, eating nothing every day. You aren't entering some mythical "starvation mode", you are literally starving yourself. Great way to lose weight, terrible way to maintain health.
  • jynnantonnyk
    jynnantonnyk Posts: 81 Member
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    Not sure if some of the repliers looked at my food diary, but this is not every day and I only started MFP a week ago.

    Before yesterday I didn't really feel hungry, which is why I started wondering now if I'm doing it wrong and didn't know. I've been having my regular meals and stuff, they just have been very lean and coupled with the exercise - which is part of my goal, it's kind of seeming like I started off eating leaner and exercising more - maybe it should be just one?

    For example, on a day I work out a lot - increase my cals etc and on a day where I don't get to exercise much, focus on a leaner food day?

    Carried away in the first week? Maybe. Developed an eating disorder overnight? Unlikely.
  • madmex569
    madmex569 Posts: 49
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    I'm not sure about the "starvation mode" thing. I have been under my calorie goal everyday for 2 months. I'm still losing weight. I slowed down a little bit. Maybe a 2 week period where i didn't lose as much, but now I'm losing at a quicker pace. The only advice i can give is what works and what doesn't work for me. I have upped my protein and lowered carbs. Almost no sugar. ZERO SODA and fruit juices. It's all sugar and doesn't fill you up. All water. All the time. Eat more than 3 times a day. Even if it is a snack. I'm 6'0" 235lb now. on Mar 7th i was 274lbs. I eat around 1200 cal a day but mostly protein. When i workout i can still keep my muscle up. I also don't weigh myself everyday. Every week. That way if you have a bad day you don't have to see it on the scale the next day. I don't eat any junk food either. Don't know if not eating processed food has helped but i don't want to find out. My 3 main foods. chicken, tuna, broccoli. I hope all the info you get from different people help. Again i'm not saying what i do is the best way. But it 's working well for me. Good luck.
  • diemodemdie
    diemodemdie Posts: 37
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    Not sure if some of the repliers looked at my food diary, but this is not every day and I only started MFP a week ago.

    Before yesterday I didn't really feel hungry, which is why I started wondering now if I'm doing it wrong and didn't know. I've been having my regular meals and stuff, they just have been very lean and coupled with the exercise - which is part of my goal, it's kind of seeming like I started off eating leaner and exercising more - maybe it should be just one?

    For example, on a day I work out a lot - increase my cals etc and on a day where I don't get to exercise much, focus on a leaner food day?

    Carried away in the first week? Maybe. Developed an eating disorder overnight? Unlikely.

    I think that people had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction here. I kind of got what you were putting down.

    I think it's dependent on what foods you consume. For example, I am regularly well under my caloric goal, but it's also based on the dietary needs I have. I eat a lot of fat and protein throughout the day, and it is VERYfilling. My doctor said my blood pressure and cholesterol have dropped significantly since starting the new diet, in addition to the 25 lbs lost.

    It also depends on what you are consuming during the day. Some days, you just might not be hungry. Hell, some days I only eat one meal (unintentionally) and don't think twice about it. However, I do NOT have an eating disorder! I'm not saying that it's healthy to do that, but I'm saying that the long-term adverse effects are likely minimal to nonexistent for an incident or two.

    As long as it is not a sustained, regular sort of drop in calories, then I think you should be fine. Don't sweat it, but do try to get above that 1200 calories when you can!
  • PinkKitty724
    PinkKitty724 Posts: 179 Member
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    ummm, if your goal is 1200 and your calories at the end of the day are still 1200 then you may as well be eating nothing. this is dangerous. You need to ensure you eat that full 1200, whether you eat what you burn back is up to you, but you should probably do this too.

    That's what I was thinking! Eat MORE! I am having an issue with not losing lbs and everyone's telling me to eat more.. and I am eating right around 1200 calories a day. You're basically eating nothing. Highly dangerous. And please take a good multivitamin! :)
  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
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    I have a question for you.

    Where are you getting 1200 hundred calories from?

    I just punched your height and weight and age into the MFP guided plan. With a somewhat active lifestyle, you should be eating 1420 cals a day to lose two pounds a week.
  • jynnantonnyk
    jynnantonnyk Posts: 81 Member
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    So say I have my breakfast cereal, a jacket potato and filling for lunch, some chicken and broccoli for dinner, a coffee, some water, an apple during the day...

    If this isn't reaching my 1200 cals, then what should I be eating? Trying to find foods that are maybe higher in cals - to get me to my cals target - but lower in sugar and fat, so I don't go over on those. I think thats what I'm trying to say!

    I think I focussed on things that were low fat and sugar... but they were also low in cals so that's why I ended under for the past week.
  • kimmers1027
    kimmers1027 Posts: 122
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    Anything under 1200 calories is unhealthy.. You should eat more even if your not hungry. It works !!
  • jynnantonnyk
    jynnantonnyk Posts: 81 Member
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    I have a question for you.

    Where are you getting 1200 hundred calories from?

    I just punched your height and weight and age into the MFP guided plan. With a somewhat active lifestyle, you should be eating 1420 cals a day to lose two pounds a week.

    I'm getting 1200 calories from the thing that set up when I joined, I didn't choose this.
  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
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    I have a question for you.

    Where are you getting 1200 hundred calories from?

    I just punched your height and weight and age into the MFP guided plan. With a somewhat active lifestyle, you should be eating 1420 cals a day to lose two pounds a week.

    I'm getting 1200 calories from the thing that set up when I joined, I didn't choose this.

    I just did it with your age/height/weight/gender and it said 1420. Maybe I am doing it wrong. But maybe you should double check it.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    So say I have my breakfast cereal, a jacket potato and filling for lunch, some chicken and broccoli for dinner, a coffee, some water, an apple during the day...

    If this isn't reaching my 1200 cals, then what should I be eating? Trying to find foods that are maybe higher in cals - to get me to my cals target - but lower in sugar and fat, so I don't go over on those. I think thats what I'm trying to say!

    I think I focussed on things that were low fat and sugar... but they were also low in cals so that's why I ended under for the past week.

    Based on your diary, you can afford some more carbohydrates and certainly some healhy fats. Your proteins are high, which is good, but you need to bring the other two up.

    I'm thinking nuts, maybe some extra virgin olive oil, a little good quality bread, and a small amount of cheese (which, by the way, would make an awesome meal).
  • ridergirlsandra
    ridergirlsandra Posts: 6 Member
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    Eating is a balance of food for health and exercise! if you are starving yourself you will not stay on the diet and you will gain the weight back and more, therefore if you are eating below your goal and you are hungry eat!!! Eat something heathy like vegetable sticks and dip or fruit! Eat watch your calories!! Don't eat fatty foods! Eat every thing that comes from the earth. Read lables. Stay away from things that factories make as they are full of all kinds of bad stuff. Like sugar and salt and stuff I for one have never heard off. Stay away for drinks full of sugar and soft drinks so bad for you. You can eat everything just watch your portions. Read lables. I know it sound a lot of work! Well it is however once you get going and know what your body needs you will be looking great in no time.

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