hey ladies,

so i have a question (most because i'm fairly new at calorie counting- about 2.5 months) this is the FASTEST i have seen weight literally, WHOOSH right off.

i'm at about 1.5-2 lbs a week.

my calorie range is between 1,400 and and around 1700, i try to keep it in the 1550's (and i'm pretty steady at it)

again, i do a very intense form of yoga, for my body- i have calculated that i'm burning about 1,100 calories if i were performing all poses to full extension (which i am not). i count that i am burning between 800-900 for 90 minutes.

i am doing a 30-day challenge. today is day 13.

i have been fairly steady of the calories - when i do yoga 3-5 times a week i keep at about 1450 and now i've been eating about 1550 for the last few days - basically i have added an extra egg and greek yogurt into my usual diet. my water intake (i also use electrolytes) has gone up significanty because the ammount of sweat produced is actually borderline obscene.

it's actually really funny. my best analogy for the water thing is: you know when you see a tonne of moose on the side of the road licking the snow after winter? they do this because they are dehydrated after the hibernation and need electrolytes in their bodies.

i feel like i belong on the side of the road licking road salt ahah

now, i don't feel like i am STARVING but i do feel a tonne of muscle soreness/stiffness fatigue. i would like to continue losing about 2 lbs a week for the next little while, but do you think i should up my calories further in order to prevent starvation, or do you think that i am operating "like normal" right now?

the goal is to absolutely not deprive my body, but rather to make it happy and healthy, but it's not really telling me what it wants.

sincerely,
dehydrated and confused ahahahah

Thank you so much for your response, that gives it a good perspective.

I actually lost 65 lbs in my first year of weight loss.

took a 6 month break, gained 15 lbs,

then lost about 10 lbs in 4 months,

and 7 months to lost the other 20, stalled out at 188 for like, 2 months, and it's been over 10 lbs since I started calorie counting. This is unfortunately when I also started noticing loose skin/muscles coming through. The constant worry is losing too fast - but nutrients wise, it's perfectly balanced. carbs, fibres, healthy fats, proteins etc.

thanks you for your insight its really reassuring!

Sounds like what you are doing is just right for you.

Starvation mode/fasting state is the body attempting to conserve energy. 1200 calories at your size will effect the equilibrium of your body and send it to fasting state.

Shake it up. Pump in a protein shake, up the intensity of excercise, spread out the meals.

Do 10 minutes of yoga everday.
In additon - doing mid/high intensity exercise will stimulate some hormones and other factors that will change the way your body cycles its energy. You have excess energy in there man, make it happen.

Your body has figured out what is going on - it is conserving. Change it up - start with doubling up on a protein shake today and lifting some heavy weights, tomorrow do some intervals. You can do it man.

total side note:

- i just looked over the last week of my nutritional reviews, i'm eating "intuitively" but within calories, but my food intake has changed significantly.

i went from ALWAYS having a "goal" - over goal ammounts of protein and fibre and always being significantly under "goal" for fats and carbs. i am REALLY close to carb level goal, and right at the higher end of the fats level of goal. Guess the body wants what the body wants.

also notice, it's pre-TOM/TOM week, and i've still lost 2 lbs + added water weight.


WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH.

- i'm eating 1,500 not 1,200. also, body size


- i'm not training for a marathon, and have absolutely no use for a 200-400 calories protein shake as they bulk.

- i do between 90, and 180 minutes of BIKRAM yoga. This is not your typical sun/moon salutations and cheesecake. this is 40 degree, minimum 60% humidity sweat drenching torture time. 10 minutes of gentle yoga do not require protein shakes or any supplements.

I also was always very afraid of the whole starvation mode. My personal experience, it's a myth.

You're doing great

if you ever have time, youtube "bikram chaudhury" the thing he says are so obscene, that i love them (yes, i drank the bikram koolaid)

ex:

" i sell pain, not cheesecake".

"welcome to the torture chamber".

In life you only have to travel 6 inches. That is the distance from your mind to your heart.

— Bikram Choudhury


Cheer up, things will get worse.

— Bikram Choudhury

he's well known for kind of being rediculous, but it gets things done.

"never too young, never too old, never too sick- to start from scratch and start again".

Another slightly off-topic thing... and I don't want to hijack this thread, but Stim, I've ALWAYS wanted to try Bikram. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with it? How you got started etc? Is that your main form of exercise? I did vinyasa yoga regularly a few years ago but I have never tried Bikram. I'd love to hear more about it... I don't think I'm in good enough physical shape to try it, but maybe I'll go for it later in my journey...

When I am dieting, I always seem to hit starvation mode at about 2.5 - 3 months in. After that, I have to change everything around in order to start losing again. DIfferent foods, calorie cycling, different exercises, feast days, fasting days, etc. Confuses the metabolism back into gear.

I have had great success with JUDDD, getting off a plateau. Also low-carb works for me, but I still hit a plateau until I combined it with JUDDD.

My biggest clue that I am in starvation mode (besides not losing any more weight) is when I start getting cold all the time.

I do believe in the "Starvation" theory, I look at it this way, if you are eating way too few calories if your body could think, it would be thinking "she must be marooned on a desert island with no food, I'd better conserve all the calories I can."

hey dj,

if you do decide to try it (and i believe everyone should, no matter the physical shape!!!!) please try it several times (atleast 5), and i reaaallly suggest at least 3 times in the first week.

basically, bikram is a series of 26 begginers postures, they are all doable (i couldn't do about 24 of them for the first few months). you get benefits by just being in the room because it's practiced in a 40 degree room so you SWEAT (aka burn calories).

it's a 90 minute series. it's done to the same diologue, in the same series every time, it essentially knocks your off your feet so hard that you are unable to think so its a "90-minute awake meditation".

the first 3-4 times, you will hate it, you will want to throw up, faint, and run out the room screaming - but with every time you pursue it, you will feel better, you will be more toned, lean, and flexible.

how i got started?
i saw a groupon for 30 days unlimited. since i had it, i decided to practice as many times as i possible could.

this was may 2011, and i am now seriously considering teach training for it.

bikram right now, is almost my main form of exercise, i do throw in some LIGHT jogging in the warmer months (april-sept) 1-2x a week, i take the stairs, and i don't drive which means i do quite a bit of walking. aside from that, it is my only form on exercise.

i hope that helped!! please don't hesitate to ask more questions!

I don't sweat ai a 40 degree room , I shiver like crazy !

bargoo- I don't know if you were serious or not about your post, but the OP is from Canada, so that would be 40 Celsius, in that case I hope you wouldn't be shivering LOL

That is awesome! I have seen those groupon deals from time to time and I think I might just be convinced. Unfortunately because of the scheduling I haven't even been able to take a regular yoga class at my gym, and I miss it!

ETA: Hehe, and when it was 40 degrees here this morning, I was thinking it was a heat wave!