Not eating enough stall weight loss or cause weight increase?

[SCRed]

Ladies and Gents I have a question. I have been exercising 30 to 60 minutes a day, not really counting calories but not eating much. Work has been hectic, family has been hectic so not much time for eating. Today is weigh in day and I gained a pound! Does too low calorie intake surpress weight loss and possibly promote weight gain? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[kcmom3]

Yes, if you don't get enough calories in your body will go into what's called "starvation mode" and hold onto your fat. This what hard for me at first to because alot of times I didn't feel like eating. Try and just have a few small snacks throughout the day to make sure you get enough in. Good Luck.

[kcmom3]

I forgot to add congrats on your 11 lbs. Don't sweat the pound, it's not a biggie. Somedays I go up a pound or so to but then the next day I am down a pound ot two more.

[SCRed]

Thank you kcmom3!

[hoppity]

I don't know... I went on a 30 day fast once, medically supervised, several years ago, and lost 37 pounds. Of course, I gained it all back and then some, so I would never recommend it, but I think the starvation mode thing is really overstated.

It isn't healthy to eat too little, and your metabolism does slow down, but it won't make you gain weight. You may be retaining water.

[MRSGIFFORD]

The same thing is happening to me! While on Phentermine I just don't feel like eating and everything looks unappealing to me. I drinking water all day!! I drink at least a gallon and a half or more and I'm peeing constantly! I'm afraid to even leave the house because I'm so afraid that I'll have to pee while I'm out. I know I'm not retaining water so I think my body is holding onto my fat or I'm gaining muscle. It's very frustrating. I guess I'll have to try my best to take in the calories I need...

[hoppity]

If you are drinking a gallon of water a day, even if you are peeing it out, you have a lot of extra water in your body all the time, and water is heavy! I'm sure you are still burning fat.

Definitely like you said - take time to eat the the calories you feel you need, but I'm sure you didn't GAIN weight...

[Jenny Boo]

kcmom is right - your body can go into starvation-mode if you don't have enough calories. I am certainly not an expert or anything - lol, and there are a lot of factors that could contribute to your fluctuation. Do you weigh yourself everyday - or just once a week or so?
I ask because it's hard to tell day to day what is happening in your body ya know? Like water weight - which can be impacted by the amount of sodium you ingest, exercise (I think weight-lifting may result in a slight water retention for a short period of time), and of course the dreaded TOM!
The other thing I have noticed as it relates to weight gain/ loss and exercise is that body composition may change one week (like your body fat may decrease (so you lose inches as opposed to pounds). So, I use not only the scale as an indicator of whether or not my regimin is working, but a tape measure - or a scale that reads body fat % as well. I know it has been discouraging for me certain weeks when I didn't appear to really lose any "weight." I try to focus on the change in body fat % at those times to remind myself that I am still making progress. Muscle is much more compact than fat so I am reaching my goal of getting "smaller" even during those weeks that I don't lose in terms of "pounds."
I did decide to play with my calories a little last week - going from about 1175/day to about 1275/day to see if maybe my weight loss had slowed because I wasn't eating enough - thereby halting my metabolism. I had also added weight training that same week (so I was thinking I may not see a change in the weight number on the scale - just the body fat%). I actually lost 2.4 lbs last week instead of 1 pound, which had been my average the weeks prior. This is just how it worked for me - all I really have to offer is my own experience with trial and error - lol. I hope this helps you. Hang in there - you are doing really well!! Congratulations on your 11 pounds!!

Jenny

[crzygerl]

I too was eating less than 1000 calories a day, the first week, lost 8 pounds very quickly, most of it water weight? maybe...??

Then the second week, lost 0. I was so frustrated because I was still eating the same, and exercising as hard as I could..

Well, now I'm in week 3 and I've already lost 5 pounds, I added an additional 100 calories, some days 150 calories to my diet. The catch to how I can do that and not feel bad about it?? I eat fruit. Bananas have 100 calories, 1 cup of strawberries about 50 calories..things like that to add more calories, but good calories...

Try that and see what works for you. I don't know what happened last week, but this week seems to be working out really well for me and I still have 3 days before my "offical" 3 week weigh in....

Let me know how it goes..

[MRSGIFFORD]

Thanks for all of the info. That helped me out alot. I'm making a pact with myself today to only weigh in once a week. I'm starting The South Beach so hopefully that will help me out a bit as well.

[SCRed]

Thank you ladies! I only weigh once a week. I will increase my caloric intake to about 1100 and see what happens. Thank you all for your responses!

[phenified]

How can someone that has had gastric bypass surgey
lose so much weight and eat nothing! I dont believe starvation mode exist.

[pjzsnowangel]

If you dont eat enough then your body will not only hold onto fat because it thinks it starving, but you will LOSE MUSCLE because that is mainly what your body is living off of if it thinks its starving. My doctor told me that, plus I looked it up. Im not saying its 100% true, but its the best explaination.
As for gastric bypass surgery, they lose "so much weight" because they are losing muscle too. That is of course unless they are doing strength training or lifting weights.

It all comes down to, make sure y'all eat enough, I wouldnt suggest going under 1000 calories a day. The main thing is exersise!

Keep up the good work everyone

[lovnlife]

Someone who has gastric bypass surgery has to eat that way for the rest of their life because the size of their stomach has been reduced but they do not starve themselves. I have a friend who had lap band surgery and of course the amount of food she eats is drastically reduced. She has to make sure each and every calorie counts as healthy calories to get the nutrients her body needs. She drinks ensures or eats a small meal every two hours or so. The body is not technically in starvation mode because she is constantly giving it something even if it is a small portion.

Of course if you restrict calories long enough you will lose weight. Your body holds on to it for awhile but it cannot hold on to it forever. When you have such a limited amount coming in, it has to pull from somewhere. The thing is, it is usually not just pulling from just fat but your lean muscle as well. People think this weight loss is all fat but it's not and is not healthy. You are hindering your body's functions! Another thing about very restrictive diets is that most dieters don't eat that way forever so when they start eating again the body puts the weight back on and then some. You CAN lose weight by starving yourself obviously...look at anorexics, the thing is you have to keep starving yourself indefinately or you will gain. Most anorexics body's are in starvation mode which is why they are so fearful to eat. Eating one regular meal may cause their body to gain weight because it is trying to hold on for dear life! Starvation mode is real!

Starving yourself and fasting are two differnt things. Fasting (especially supervised) has been proven to have all sorts of medical benefits as well as removing toxins from your body. Fasting is not recommended for permanent weight loss though because of course, you will gain back what you lost when you start eating again.

[pjzsnowangel]

great reply lovnlife!

[lovnlife]

thanx pj, we seem to have said the same thing

[wannalose30]

I almost never eat more than 1,000 cals a day,I weight train and am gaining muscle but losing fat.Maybe your just gaining more muscle(which is so much better than fat)plus the extra water since your drinking so much.From past experiences I could almost never eat and always kept losing(i only gained because i was put on a weight gain med but i only gained 10 lbs) so i think the less you eat the more you lose.

[lovnlife]

wannalose30 -You don't have to answer if you don't want to but why were you put on weight gain meds?