[mdust]

Hey,
I am wondering this:

As everyone knows, no one should eat less than 1200 calories in a day unless otherwise directed by a doctor (i.e. for extremely obese people). So by eating around 1300-1500 calories each day (I cycle my calories) and exercising 6 days a week (both weightlifting and cardio, totalling about 2 hours) averaging a caloric burn of about 500 calories....Couldn't this also put my body into starvation mode? Since everything is calories in-calories out, if I eat 1350 calories, and work out burning a total of around 500 calories, giving me a total of 850 daily caloric intake...wouldn't that technically put my body into starvation mode since I would be getting less than a 1200 total?

Does anyone else think this? Is this right? I never see people write articles about this..only to count calories and exercise...

Thanks!
MDust

[RobertW]

Originally Posted by mdust

Hey,
I am wondering this:

As everyone knows, no one should eat less than 1200 calories in a day unless otherwise directed by a doctor (i.e. for extremely obese people). So by eating around 1300-1500 calories each day (I cycle my calories) and exercising 6 days a week (both weightlifting and cardio, totalling about 2 hours) averaging a caloric burn of about 500 calories....Couldn't this also put my body into starvation mode? Since everything is calories in-calories out, if I eat 1350 calories, and work out burning a total of around 500 calories, giving me a total of 850 daily caloric intake...wouldn't that technically put my body into starvation mode since I would be getting less than a 1200 total?

Does anyone else think this? Is this right? I never see people write articles about this..only to count calories and exercise...

Thanks!
MDust

Starvation mode is triggered when a normal weight individual consumes only 2/3 of their maintainance calories. At that point their bodies turn off the aging process, reproduction and some other non-essential processes.

I wouldn't worry about starvation mode unless you actually start showing symptoms. As you mentioned above, morbidly obese individuals sucessfully lose weight on very low calorie diets without entering starvation mode.

If you are really concerned about running "too big" of a deficit, try using your predicted BMR at your goal weight and work from there. There are alot of postives about going straight into maintainance, if you have the patience.

The past few weeks I have been spending one day a week at my eventual predicted BMR (3,600 Cal./day) and six days at a substantial deficit (2,000-2,400 Cal/day). I need to average a loss of ~0.5#/day to hit my goal weight be September 1st.

[djstorey]

You know, there's always a lot of talk about starvation mode and many different opinions but I believe what you're saying is possible. I exercise 6 days a week and tend to burn about 500 calories a day myself. I have noticed over time that everytime I let my calories go below the 1600-1700 range, I plateau and start feeling tired a lot! As soon as I get back on track and get a few more calories in, the weight starts to come off again and my energy comes back.

Everyone is different and I weigh more than you so your intake will be different. You might have to experiment with your calorie intake to see what works best and what makes you feel your best.

[aphil]

What you are not seeing in the picture though, is that you are burning calories all day long-talking on the phone, doing laundry, sitting, etc.

Don't see it as "only getting 850 calories a day" because you are subtracting your workouts. You, and everyone, is burning calories all day long, plus what they are doing with their exercise.

Most people burn 1200 calories a day + just existing-their body functions such as breathing, sleeping, walking, and so forth-which is why 1200 calories a day or more is recommended.