starvation mode

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marujita
marujita Posts: 53
in Health and Weight Loss
How much at risk am I at actually slowing down my metabolism if I'm not eating my calories that I earn from a workout? Has anybody actually experienced this? How do you know it's happening? The reason I ask is that I've stopped losing weight even though I'm consistently at a deficit of calories each day.

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  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    I haven't experienced this, but I would recommend you read the following posts - they're from the "Newbies - please read" that Banks posted - it's stickied at the top of the General diet & weight loss category. These might give you some of the information you're looking for.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • nicolee516
    nicolee516 Posts: 1,862 Member
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    I actually wasn't losing anything when I got serious in September. I actaully gained weight! I was sooooooooo frustrated! Then I took the advice of our wonderful MFPals, and started eating my exercise cals. Whammy! I have lost almost 10 lbs! Yeah!!!:drinker:
  • la4et
    la4et Posts: 134 Member
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    I rarely eat my exercise calories, and I have continuously lost weight. I do make sure I eat all my daily calories. Good LUck
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
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    I've lost weight doing it either way. Sometimes I eat them, sometimes I don't. Still lost weight either way. I guess everyone is different.
  • nursevee
    nursevee Posts: 344 Member
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    As much as "eating the exercise cal's" makes sense, there are just days when I can't force myself to eat THAT MUCH food (unless it's junk or crap which is hardly productive). When I lost weight the last time I used Weight Watchers and they give bonus points for exercise and don't advocate you eat them (although you can) and I lost weight consistently each week. Mind you, they also have zero point foods. I would make sure you're giving yourself plenty of nutrients, eating all your allocated calories for the day and keeping your snacks regular and healthy (especially if you are exercising hard). Make sure you're having extra water too because your body will stop burning without adequate hydration.
  • tstarfly
    tstarfly Posts: 4 Member
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    Honestly, I hate to say it, but the thinnest I have been was when I exorcised and did not eat the extra calories. Not only did I go from 138 - 123 in 3 months...I kept it off for 4 years!
  • valerie33
    valerie33 Posts: 26 Member
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    TOtally agree w/what was posted above!! I've gone from a size 18-4 , went from 210 pounds to 128(at my smallest in my profile pic) !! I never ate my "excercise calories, however I did increase my overall caloric intake after 3 months when I lost my inital "major weight." I went from taking in 1,200 calories to taking in 1,825 calories a day (roughly) I had to, for the same reason u r talking about, i stopped loosing and needed a boost. I talked to a professional had blood work done, filled out an evaluation on my exercise and food intake to see exactly how many calories I should be taking in.

    Now, over this past summer I put back on some of the weight, I was unable to exercise (amazing how fast the weight comes back on w/o exercise'in) , so i am back on my "A-game "to get back to that size 4!!
  • ali258
    ali258 Posts: 403
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    If you're exercising a lot and you're hungry, eat some or all of your calories. If you're exercising a little and you don't feel like you need to eat your exercise calories, it's okay not to. I think even with exercise, you should be getting about 1200 calories of nutrition a day just to keep your body running in a healthy way. (So, if you ate 1500 calories and then burned 600 exercising, your body would only be working on about 900 calories, so you should probably eat 300 more calories of food, if you can do so in a healthy way.) When I work out at night, and end up with a few hundred extra calories, I don't worry about trying to eat them before bed.

    Good luck. You will find your perfect balance.

    -Alison
  • marujita
    marujita Posts: 53
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    thanks y'all

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