A question about this whole "starvation mode" thing?

Question

So if i eat 800-950calories(mostly of healthy foods&I'm vegeterian) a day [which is what I've been doing about two months and lost 15lbs., which by the way seems to be staying off] you all bring up that my calories are too low and tell me this whole starvation mode thing, BUT i go to the gym 3-5 times a week and burns about 400calories per each one hour and a half visit.
How can you tell me my body is "storing calories/fat/etc] " when i WORK OUT therefore my body IS burning calories not storing. So does that theory only go for people who do not work out? Someone please explain...

Answer 1

your doing great...dont lsiten to anyone else

Answer 2

Sorry, but I need to be a little harsh.

Listen, just because you lost weight, it doesnt mean you couldnt have lost more weight doing almost the same thing you've been doing.

Try to stick to 1000 calories, trust me, its the best thing to do.

And about the gym thing, im sorry, but 400 calories in an hour and a half is nothing. You should be burning at least 1000 in an hour and a half, you routine is sucks bigtime. You need to increase intensity, increase incline, you need to sweat as if you were standing in a storm, I do everytime. The people I see that are serious at the gym are sweating and killing themselves and NOT on their cellphones. You need to change your perception of what a workout is because to me it sounds like you have it all wrong.

Lets continue. With any kind of dieting, you body will notice (yeah, its pretty smart) and will cut thyroid output which causes your metabolism to slow down, and all this happens within two weeks. When you go under 1000 calories, your thyroid output will decrease even more (so why would you want to eat so much less and have your body burn less? its not logical).

Now back to your weight loss. I always reccomend weight training, and so will any other trainer, why? Because when you lose weight, its not all fat and water, you lose muscle too. If you weight train, you lose less muscle. And YES you did lose 15 pounds, but I really would like to know how much muscle you lost, how many pounds of muscle you lost is more important than how much water and fat you lost. WHY? Because when you lose muscle, you are burning less calories, so that means you work harder to burn the same amount of calories, and on top of everything, IT MAKES IT HARDER TO KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF! and when I say "keep the weight off" I mean for months and months and years. Your talking about it seeming to stay off BUT YOUR STILL DIETING! so what your saying makes no sense. You need to do research, dont rely on what these senseless people on yahoo answers say because most of them just talk and talk and talk when they dont know anything. Go sign up at some steroid or bodybuilding web site, and ask people that really know, not people who think they know (bodybuilding.com - click the link on the left (not the store) and goto the forums, OR steroid.com and goto the forums).


Now back to your diet. I think you lost a considerable amount of muscle, yeah you might look thinner, and im not saying that you didnt lost fat, you did, but your trying to lose as little muscle as you can. You being a vegetarian, are probably not getting enough protein, and this causes muscle loss too. I think you should fill your gap (between 1000 calores and the number of calories your having now) with protein (soy protein or wherever vegetarians get their protein from).

Answer 3

Your body is storing your calories as fat because, since you aren't eating much, it isn't sure when it's next fuel will come, or how much it will get. Your metabolism is what burns stored fat, and if you don't eat enough, your body will not burn anything.

Doing as much as you do at the gym, regardless of whether you are doing cardio or weight lifting, you are burning muscle. Your body wants to keep the fat.

Your brain is fueled off of carbs. If you are eating low carb, your body will begin to break down the protein in your muscles to form the ketones your brain needs. That puts in what is refered to as ketosis, and your brain realizes that something is wrong and your body begins to slow down.

It's great that you have lost 15 pounds, but if you keep this up, you will stop losing weight. You need to eat more, please make sure you are getting enough protein and iron!

You might gain weight to begin with, probably everything you've lost since it hasn't been done in a maintainable manner. But the weight will fall off once you increase your metabolism.

And if you're in the gym for an hour and half, don't forget to stay well hydrated. Depending on how much water you drink, most of what you have lost could be water weight.

Answer 4

When calories store up, its generally energy, for each calorie unit, is an energy unit. That's what keeps you awake, active, and strong. But Calories can be stored up if there is no activity and turned into fat build up.
Calories aren't only energy, they are also fat cells, if no activity is done, then they store up and become that yellow stuff under the skin, or muscle (don't remember it's exact location).
I know I may sound like others, but 800 calories a day is little.
You should at least take in 1,300, or 1,500, with as much activity you do.
Your not starving yourself, because you are eating, but under 1000 calories is not healthy, and could result in slow metabolism, weight gain, and strength loss, especially if you are a vegetarian and not taking as much protein and calcium such that a meat eater does.

So, to answer your question, storing is what happens when it isn't burned with some activity, thus resulting in building up, turning into fat, and weight gain.

1,500 calories a day for you isn't a lot, and I promise no weight gain, with as much physical activity you do. And if you look at it this way, by burning atleast 400 calories, your subtracting, ending in at least 400 calorie intakes a day, which will result in weight gain. It will back fire, trust me. So eat atleast 1,500 or 1,300.

Answer 5

So you plan on eating that low of calories and working out at the gym as you do now, indefinitely? The point with starvation mode is that people typically "diet" that way to lose weight, but once they reach their goal weight they go back to more 'normal' eating habits...THAT is when starvation behaviors will catch up with you.

As long as you eat only low calories, you won't gain...your metabolism will slow (even with exercise) but you aren't feeding your body enough to gain weight with you also working out as you are...but you also aren't giving it enough fuel for your workouts to be as effective as they could be nor for your performance to reach its potential.

When you raise your caloric intake and/or begin exercising less, because you don't desire to continue losing weight, you'll see how quickly the body can start hoarding those additional calories...and there is the potential for it to affect you long term (always have a slower metabolism because of it).

I've been there...I thought I was a smartie and could eat 800 cals a day and exercise 7 days a week and lose that weight overnight...it fell off quickly, let me tell you...but now I can smell food and gain weight. I have to work twice as hard as most people I know to lose anything...it's very frustrating but my own stupid fault because I wanted to do it fast, not right.

Answer 6

your body is storing the fat that you eat if you dont eat enough calories. your body will also not have the proper fuel/nutrition to work out that much and you'll end up fainting or sick. even if you do burn off the fat that it stored through exercise, it's very unhealthy and once you're off your "diet" you will gain back that weight plus some.

Answer 7

it's a basic function of human biology. if the body does not get enough nutrients to support the BMR then the metabolic rate will slow.

losing weight on the scale does not neccessarily mean that fat is being lost. have you had your body fat % checked? when dieting for fat loss tracking the body fat % is essential, it is the only way to accurately determine where gains and/or losses on the scale are occuring.

Answer 8

ok like if u starve urself, ur body holds onto every calorie and fat and EVERYTHING so u actually gain weight but ur not and ur fine so w/e to the peeps tellin u that hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 9

You should be careful about obsessing too much about losing weight. Because if so and if you carry out too far, you are at risk of developing an eating disorder. Eating disorders can cause physical harm to your body. So be aware of what you are doing.

Answer 10

it could. u dont seem to burn off as many calories than u r takin in. u need to burn what u take in

Answer 11

BECAUSE, the one day that you skip the gym, your body will pack on the pounds, you will blow up like a balloon.