Starvation Mode

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by cinnabar

but not everyone got fat that way.....i know i didn't, even though those that adhere to strict calories in/calories out thinking will insist i did, and that i must be in denial.

personally, i've sorted through my confusion on all this, and decided that i just can't reject one argument in favor of the other on this one. i think the key to successful weight loss is in recognizing that both arguments are valid, valuable, and applicable in varying degrees for anyone with weight issues.

how did you get that way? maybe not 4,000 cals a day but maybe a little over your maintenance requirements so you slowly gained over time?

in reality, there are a lot of different diets and lots of them work if you stick to them. i looked at the web site of a diet and they went through lots of generally excepted "facts" and they said they were wrong. nobody really knows. so i like to stick with what is simple and effective for the vast majority of people. then when you develop your discipline and get to a certain level of physical perfection, worry about the details. people do atkins diets and sure they work, but how many of those people are going to be thin in the long term? the most realistic way to stay thin long term is cutting calories.

im actually considering playing around with my own diet to test out how different one calorie really is from another. i have already modified my diet by cutting out a meal of 8ounce chicken breast in a high protein wrap, and replaced it with 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. doesnt seem to be any negative impact and i love my pb&j's! im considering switching my dinner of 8ounce chicken with a handful of pasta and some tomato sauce for a sandwich of nutella on white bread. maybe throw some protein on my nutella.

[cinnabar]

Originally Posted by CaptainNJ

how did you get that way? maybe not 4,000 cals a day but maybe a little over your maintenance requirements so you slowly gained over time?

no doubt this has been a factor to some degree, but for the most part, my experience supports the scenario described in the article that sixdemonbag linked....did you read it?

ok, this got a bit long, but here it is.


some background: spent most of my 20s at an average weight of 135 pounds, (5'4 female) but believed myself to be obese compared to the super skinny girls, so i was always dieting. i remember one particular diet that always worked for me short term: 300 cals for 3 days, 600 cals for 3 days, 1200 for a week, repeat cycle. i'd try to stay under 1000 on the 1200 week. obviously not doable long term, i'd lose weight then gain it all back and then some, until i stepped on the scale on my 30th birthday, and the number read 189.

after another round or two of desperate starvation style dieting, i finally joined a gym, found a personal trainer, and with great hesitation and complete disbelief, started to eat clean, nutritionally balanced diet of about 1750 cals....at first i gained weight, about 7 pounds (i kept a journal and have it in front of me now), but my clothes started to fit better, and i managed to stick with it on provisional faith. it defied logic that i would lose weight, but i had made a deal with my personal trainer to trust her, and sure enough, after about 2 months i started to burn fat, eating twice as much as i did before. and no, i've never been a junk food fanatic, almost never eat fast food and i'm not a snacker, my food preferences have always been relatively healthy ones. ok well aside from too much sugar in my coffee, and a coca cola habit that i kicked probably 15 years ago now. you would never find processed convenience foods on my pantry shelf or in my freezer, then or now.

well then i moved, and switched gyms, and because of long hours at work, was never able to get to my gym by the 9 pm closing. i'm a professional painter, so my job is relatively physical, climging ladders, scaffolding, hauling 5 gallon pails of paint, moving furniture...all part of my daily routine. but i rarely if ever, stop to eat at work. typical day is a breakfast of oatmeal or protein shake, and i'd take a half cup of almonds to keep hunger at bay while at work, and possibly a piece of fruit, lots of water to drink. dinner of broiled skinless chicken breast or angus beef burger with steamed veggies. not a pasta or bread lover either, but i might indulge in a glass of wine or beer later in the evening.

the occasional splurge...chocolate or cheese and crackers, once in a while chinese take out.

weight gain over 2.5 years of under 1000 cals per day eating, with the occasional splurge (maybe 600-700 calorie pig out session) on weekends: 40+ pounds.

in november last year, i switched gyms again, 24 hour golds. i do resistance training with weights as heavy as i can lift for 3 sets of 6-8 reps, when i can lift 3 sets of 10 up goes the weight. almost no cardio except as warm-up. oh and i do an hour of yoga 5-6 times a week....as i've done for many years now, but it's mostly for relaxation and preventative maintenance. same but bigger breakfast, started making a lunch and forcing myself to stop to eat at work, usually tuna salad with real mayo (can't stand the low fat dressings), spinach salad with boiled egg, or chicken stuffed pita with feta cheese. nuts and a piece of fruit in the afternoon as snack, and dinner is much the same as it's always been, but i do try to eat a bit more carbs and fat at dinner, half a potato with a pat of butter, or bit of toasted pumpernickel with bruschetta. i do my best to eat at least 1600 - 1800 cals per day.

i'm eating easily twice as much as i did prior to last november, and i've lost 29 pounds so far.

think that about covers it, gotta run, stove dinger binging....made a lovely greek pork loin, lemon potatoes and greek salad for dinner tonight.....as much as i would eat in an entire day 6 months ago.

[CaptainNJ]

i can definitely see how body composition will improve with more calories and serious weight training. thats more what i do because im not looking to lose weight. but i dont really buy into the notion that increasing calories and reducing exercise could accelerate weight loss.

[NewJersey?]

Wow.

I have to agree with 6demonbag. He's spot on with this one.

Anyone can lose weight. Just don't eat. But in the long run, your body will slow down so much, that just looking at food will get you fat.

Even when extreme dieting, we need to have carb up days once or twice a week. why do we do this? Because we don't want our bodies to slow down too much and, dare I say it... go into starvation mode. Ehh, I just threw that in there. I don't know if it;s technically that way, but close enough.

No one should really go under 1000-1200 calories. If they need to be that low, then they should incorporate some cardio to get that low and still take in 1200 or so. Only the low weight people. Everyone should be lifting weights twice a week to keep muscle while on these strict diets. You're NOT going to build muscle on this diet. If you can save the muscle you have, that's excellent. The goal is to lose fat.

I melted fat off myself with zero cardio and lifting weights twice a week just to keep muscle. The theory is if you have to do cardio, then just drop the calories 350 or so instead. BUT.... if you're already under 1000/day, then just stay there and do some cardio. Again, it's only for smaller lighter weight individuals. You stuill need to lift the weights though.

Good luck.