What Is A Safe Calorie Intake That Won’t Promote Starvation Mode?
I am 43 years old female and weigh 200 pounds. I am 5′ 4″ tall. For most of my life I have been slender. I have gone on a 1200 calorie diet and use a treadmill 3 times a week at the moment for 45 minutes each workout. In the last two weeks my weight loss has dropped to a pound a week and I have felt more tired than usual. I believe my body has gone into starvation mode. Any information I have found has said to consume the calories for your target weight, however that has cut my calorie intake to less than half of my previous intake. With exercize if I continue with the 1200 calorie intake will my body eventually start to lose the weight again or can I expect to continue to maintain my present body weight and stay in starvation mode?
your body wont go into starvation mode if you eat 4-6 meals a day. try to have some protein every 3 hours or so. as long as you keep eating throughout the day, your body wont think it’s starving and you’ll keep your metabolism up.
1200 for women is where alot of weight loss programs start but I usually see the level with programs that include wight training. Could you be consuming the wrong ratios of Carb, Protein, Fat? Try 60% Carbs, 20% Protein, and 20% fat. Also, you should really consider weight training if your doctor approves. Starting at age 30 we lose up to 1% of our muscle mass each year. The only way to stop it is to weight train. Weight train does not mean bulk up. It means an intense enough workout to build some muscle.
As for starvation mode. Yes, I believe you may be in that mode. I say this because I often see this low calorie intake for plans that include some intense weight training. The weight training helps keep you out of starvation mode at low caloric intakes.
You may have also cut too many calories to quickly. I don’t like dropping more than 500 at a time. Say I want to cut 1000 calories out. I woudl drop 500 for a few weeks and then drop the next 500. I do this even when including weight training.
Also, are you getting enough hydration? You can’t burn fat efficiently without proper hydration. The liver takes over for the kidneys when your dehydrated taking away from the livers normal functions.
Dr. Chiro added more good advice. 5-6 meals/snacks a day to keep blood sugar stable. Eliminate all High Fructose Corn Syrup.
You sound like you are doing everything right. Try increasing your intake to 1500 calories per day with healthy, high fiber foods, and possibly increase your exercise to 4-5 days per week for 30-45 minutes. This might increase your body’s fat burning ability. Also, try dividing these calories into 5-6 meals per day. Good Luck!!!