Hi,

It's been probably over a year since I have posted on this site. I guess I just didn't have the mindset I wanted/needed to embark on my weight loss journey. I don't know what happened but I got a revelation. I just "knew" that it was now or never. So I started on 1/7/02. I'm not following any plan. I'm concentrating on eating healthy. My goal is to lose 2 lbs a week.

Now here's the question: I am terrified of putting my body into starvation mode and lowering my already slow metabolism. Do you eat when you are hungry or just ignore it until your next planned meal?

Thanks,

Blondee

Blondee,

It has also been about a year since I have posted on this website but here I am ready to go at it again. I believe that a person should eat whenever they are hungry, the trick is to stop when you are satisfied and not stuffed. It seems easy to just eat when your hungry but when your accustomed to just eating whenever and however much it is difficult to make that transition. I have come to the realization that this is going to be a long journey and a difficult one at that. Oh, and to answer your question, I think that if you are hungry you should eat, just don't over do it. I'm going to do the same exact thing you are going to do , I wish you the best of luck on your journey.

Floridachick

I need to add my .02 in here. you do need to track your food so you do not go below 1200 cals that is a magic nember so to speak if you go below that thenyour body will head into the starvation mode. there is a great online counter www.fitday.com free!!! and remember that it takes 20 min for your body to feel full so when you eat something then stop for 30 min and see if you are still hungry that will be your best bed. and eat something healthy and make sure you get in your protein that will help a lot. if your body is in the starvation mode the best way to jump it out of it is to eat about 1800 - 2000 cals daily for about a week then your body thinks that the food is there and will come out of it and start to rev up your metabolism.

any more questions just ask

and welcome to the wonderful group we have here!! blondee

and welcome back floridachick

Hi, I'm a newbie here (gasp, shock, fear of stupid questions to follow )
I currently weigh 209lb's and need to loose 100. And was curious about this starvation mode stuff, I too don't want to go into starving marvin mode either, and have been eating between 1300-1600 calories a week for two weeks plus excercise & water....
now I thought this was ok but was disapointed in the results, and on another site posted a question about weight, (because so far I've only lost 2 pounds in 14 days and a few inches on my hipweighters and waist, thats it). Now the people there began the your starving yourself pulpit sermon on me, and now I'm confused.
I made sure never to eat under 1200 calories.
Are you safe to eat 1200 calories even if you are this overweight? Or will you go into starvation mode because its not enough calories because you are overweight, but would be enough if you were thin?
(what a mouth full!)

purple

Hi I have a few sites for you to check out. first one is a fat % that will tell you your lean body mass. now make sure you are in the room alone with a tape measure. and go for it. with that make sure you write down all the info and save it. it will tell you your lean body mass and that is what is your muscles and you need to keep that every mongh or every few weeks do this to amek sure that it is ot droping. this is what you need to feed. and the energy that you use just to keep this mass going. from that there is a formula that will tell you how much calories you need to keep the lean body going and that is your minimum calories that you need to take. mine is about 1500 calories. I am only 5'2" but have a lean mass of about 122 lbs (I work out)

Welcome to the site and let me bring the info sites for you. Hold on

bf% http://healthcentral.com/cooltools/C...s/bodyfat1.cfm

you need your BF% for the next one.
http://www.hussman.com/eas/bmrcalc.htm

Thanks for the replies and warm welcome everyone! I'll try to keep up with my posting this time around.

Blondee

Nice to see you again! I remember you from a long time ago. I'm recently back myself. We can start again together!

Unfitkit - I don't think I'm in a position to give advice just yet, but I did want to ask if you had thought of something. You said that you were exercising, and you had lost 2 lbs, but you had lost inches on your waist and hips. Exercise increases muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, but is more densely packed and takes up less space. So even though you are seeing the change on that infernal scale, there is a change taking place. All of us have had the problem where we let the number on that metal monster make or break our day. But the truth is you sound like you are doing good with the exercise. This is a problem I had last year. I was doing good with exercise, but I let myself get derailed because that stupid scale wouldn't budge. So don't give up!

Did I mention I strongly dislike that scale?

HUGS!

M'Chelle

Bonnieangel,

I remember you too. It's nice to see that you are back too. Good luck to both of us on our journey.

Blondee

Hello,
I usually post on the Low-Carb boards, but have been lurking here too. I told Sue that I would probably pop in at some point, and here I am!

Anyway, Sue the healthcentral link you posted was very interesting. It figured that I have a lean body mass of 137 pounds! I'm only 5' 3"! I've always known that it's not possible for me to weigh 120 and be healthy, but this was eye-opening. Most weight charts show 140 as the top of my range, so if the 137 is true, even 140 is not realistic. Currently I weigh 218, down from 250. I've set my goal weight at 150, figuring I could change it if I want, with a short-term goal of 170. I've decided to take notes of my weight and measurements and go to that site on a monthly basis to see if it changes. Thanks for the links. They sure gave me a lot to think about!

Chickadee

I have to agree with your thoughts. as only 5'2" I always thought that my ideal weight was about 120 well that is what my lean mass is!! I did start off at 132 and have lost some lean mass, but that is ok. My goal weight is about 145 not the 120 I thought that it should have been. it does make things more real and in perspective for us stronger women. LOL

I checked out both sites and found them interesting! My bodyfat isnt as bad as I thought it would be but it said I had 105 pounds of body fat. Oh my goodness! am 5'9 and weighed 313 last year. Now I am 275. It said my lean mass is 170 and I should lose 74 pounds to be at a healthy body fat amount which is 201. I know thats still too high as a goal weight but that will be my goal for now=200 pounds by the end of the year. I guess that's do-able and I will be considered in the healthy range. The other site said I shouldnt go below 1700 cals a day and keep it under 2000. good advice.
thanks for the great links!
lorelei

Loreli just so you know that you WILL lose some lean mass. what you have is being used to move the body around. So some of that will go. but it does give you some good numbers and helps to track the fat loss and muscle mass. Right now the higher your lean mass is the more you are going to burn and now you want to maintain as much fo that as you can to help burn the fat off. and it also gives you a good number to find the least amount of caolories your body requires. So just for now keep doing the numbers every month or 2 just to make sure that you stay on track. just remember a few things. if your weight drops and your lean mass drops too you will not see a change in your body fat % because you are dropping both. and because it is a % you will not see a big drop at any time. but use it to keep tract of your progress.

This is great information guys! I am definitely learning some new things here. Thanks so much for posting it. Have bookmarked the websites and will check them out pronto!

Kath

Thanks for the info. I think I will check it each month or so to see how the numbers look. Thanks again for the site info.