Starvation Mode (muscle, losing fat, weightlifting, building)

[lamb1111]

I have lost quite a few pounds over the past few months, but now have reached a plateau. I haven't been eating the 1200-1500 calories a day I probably should have been eating, but rather 800 to 1000 calories per day. However, I eat totally healthy. I increased my calories to 1000 to 1200, but I also doubled and even tripled my exercise. Could I have thrown my body into starvation mode? I am eating more calories now in order to try to get out of this mode. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[talo]

Most likely - Unless you are a 75lb girl .

What are your stats ?

Weight, height, etc....

What is your main goal ?

[lamb1111]

I am 5'3" and now 165. My goal is 130.

[talo]

Do you want or have any muscle ?

[lamb1111]

Yes, I am building muscle and that is a good thing. Could be that I am building muscle and it weighs more and that might be why I am not losing pounds. Just not sure.

[CaptainNJ]

"starvation mode" is a myth put out by people who try to complicate dieting. eat less and/or add exercise, you will lose weight.

your body is walking, breathing, replacing cells, keeping you alive; it is burning calories.

[lamb1111]

Thank you. I will remember this whenever I get discouraged. Appreciate it much

[ogre]

Originally Posted by lamb1111

Yes, I am building muscle and that is a good thing. Could be that I am building muscle and it weighs more and that might be why I am not losing pounds. Just not sure.

Muscle will add weight, so it's possible to hit a plateau in weight loss because you're losing fat but adding muscle at the same time. Use your weight to track general trends, but pay a lot of attention to the fit of your clothes to get a better idea of improvements in body composition.

[lamb1111]

I think my body is looking more toned and my clothes are getting looser on me, so I suppose that is what it is. Just been so conditioned to looking at the scale I guess. Thanks

[Akama13]

Originally Posted by lamb1111

Yes, I am building muscle and that is a good thing. Could be that I am building muscle and it weighs more and that might be why I am not losing pounds. Just not sure.

Do you do weightlifting? How much, since when? Sometimes you will plateau while losing fat when your body retains water, weight lifting can "cause" this. Or you waited too long to start resistance training and have lost muscle which needs more calories to be maintained than fat. Or maybe you've become sloppy, stopped weighing your food, guessing etc. These are all possibilities.