Frustrated!

[ireckon]

I've been training/dieting for about 7 weeks now and was doing great until the past 2 weeks. I get my body fat measured every Friday at the gym and it's gone up for the past two weeks! I ate a cookie out of frustration which won't be helping me but I've been killing myself and I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I've stuck to 1400 calories a day, meet my trainer 3 days a week for an hour of weights and do around 5 hours of cardio on my own per week, mostly steady state with some intervals thrown in if I have the energy.

I work a lot and don't get much sleep (4-6 hours usually) could that be my problem? I worked 36 hours straight last week with no sleep or breaks.

Thanks in advance for ideas/insight on what I can do about this :) I'm so frustrated and I know my trainer thinks I'm secretly binging on pizza every night.

[momwithmuscle]

I've been training/dieting for about 7 weeks now and was doing great until the past 2 weeks. I get my body fat measured every Friday at the gym and it's gone up for the past two weeks! I ate a cookie out of frustration which won't be helping me but I've been killing myself and I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I've stuck to 1400 calories a day, meet my trainer 3 days a week for an hour of weights and do around 5 hours of cardio on my own per week, mostly steady state with some intervals thrown in if I have the energy.

I work a lot and don't get much sleep (4-6 hours usually) could that be my problem? I worked 36 hours straight last week with no sleep or breaks.

Thanks in advance for ideas/insight on what I can do about this :) I'm so frustrated and I know my trainer thinks I'm secretly binging on pizza every night.

You're eating too few calories and not sleeping enough. At 1400 your body is going into starvation mode and will hoard onto all body fat. You're exercising a lot and need more fuel for your body. I was eating as much as you did and exercising as much and landed in the hospital for two months at 115 lbs. You honestly don't want that hell.

[kimm4]

I've been training/dieting for about 7 weeks now and was doing great until the past 2 weeks. I get my body fat measured every Friday at the gym and it's gone up for the past two weeks! I ate a cookie out of frustration which won't be helping me but I've been killing myself and I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I've stuck to 1400 calories a day, meet my trainer 3 days a week for an hour of weights and do around 5 hours of cardio on my own per week, mostly steady state with some intervals thrown in if I have the energy.

I work a lot and don't get much sleep (4-6 hours usually) could that be my problem? I worked 36 hours straight last week with no sleep or breaks.

Thanks in advance for ideas/insight on what I can do about this :) I'm so frustrated and I know my trainer thinks I'm secretly binging on pizza every night.

It's only been 7 weeks...way too soon to be getting frustrated. There will be weeks where no changes happen, so it's completely normal.

How are you keeping track of your calories? You don't list your stats, so I can't tell if those calories are right for you.

[kimm4]

You're eating too few calories and not sleeping enough. At 1400 your body is going into starvation mode and will hoard onto all body fat. You're exercising a lot and need more fuel for your body. I was eating as much as you did and exercising as much and landed in the hospital for two months at 115 lbs. You honestly don't want that hell.

She's weight training 3 days a week for an hour. She could cut back a little on the cardio, but in no way is she exercising too much...

Without her stats, no one can tell if she's eating enough.

Starvation mode...oh boy...

[PrettyReckless]

The exact same thing is happening to me. No weight loss after 4 weeks of constant workouts and proper food tracking w/ deficits.



Starvation mode...oh boy...

Isn't "starvation mode" a myth though?

[kimm4]

The exact same thing is happening to me. No weight loss after 4 weeks of constant workouts and proper food tracking w/ deficits.



Isn't "starvation mode" a myth though?

Eating 1400 calories for a measly 7 weeks doesn't put a person in this "supposed starvation mode"...a word that everyone is so quick to use...

Here's some good read with a little more detail:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=113443111

[ireckon]

thanks all. I'm 5'6.5", 142 pounds, measuring in around 23% body fat right now.

I measure everything so I'm pretty careful about not going over 1400. I'll try increasing my calories.

I know I shouldn't get frustrated this quickly but I've been trying so hard and the results are so agonizingly slow! I'm not giving up, just venting a bit. I dropped 7 pounds of fat in 6 weeks and gained 3 pounds of muscle and now everything seems to be reversing grrrr.

[rockangel]

thanks all. I'm 5'6.5", 142 pounds, measuring in around 23% body fat right now.

I measure everything so I'm pretty careful about not going over 1400. I'll try increasing my calories.

I know I shouldn't get frustrated this quickly but I've been trying so hard and the results are so agonizingly slow! I'm not giving up, just venting a bit. I dropped 7 pounds of fat in 6 weeks and gained 3 pounds of muscle and now everything seems to be reversing grrrr.

You gotta learn to be patient, it will come. If you are trying to do a recomp (lose fat and gain muscle) then its really a very slow process for your body to do both, especially at such low cals.
If you are trying to lose weight, again its a slow process. you just dont change your body in a matter of a few weeks. It takes time and consistency to really get where you want to be.
There will be weeks that no changes happen, there will be weeks where things look like you are going backwards, but the important thing is to keep going because changes will happen.

I also advocate that you up your cals a bit. Seems a bit low for 5'6 (considering i get about that cal range and im 8 inches shorter).

But as kim said, 7 weeks isnt that long. heck, im in 14 months and its still not long enough! But you just gotta keep going.

[HawaiianSiren]

You mention you're frustrated... can I suggest hiring a trainer to do your nutrition program? It takes all of the guess work out of it. In fact, when I hired a trainer to do my work out program and do my nutrition, I broke through my plataue which I found odd considering I was eating more and working out less. Just a suggestion. Unless you've been around the game for a while there is a lot of guess work for a "newbie". Search around, there are plenty of online trainers to do a program from you. Some good, some not so good but they are available.

[silverlining84]

You mentioned you do steady state cardio. I used to do that as well for long periods and got stuck at a weight loss plateau. I switched that to high intensity interval training for 2-3x a week and then more weight came off. Good luck and keep with it.

[momwithmuscle]

thanks all. I'm 5'6.5", 142 pounds, measuring in around 23% body fat right now.

I measure everything so I'm pretty careful about not going over 1400. I'll try increasing my calories.

I know I shouldn't get frustrated this quickly but I've been trying so hard and the results are so agonizingly slow! I'm not giving up, just venting a bit. I dropped 7 pounds of fat in 6 weeks and gained 3 pounds of muscle and now everything seems to be reversing grrrr.

I ate 1800 calories for a year and then 1400 calories for another year, and dropped from 165 to 115 and ended up in the hospital for 2 months, and since then I've been battling an anorexia and bulimia for the past ten years.

Dieting just leads to binging and rebound weight gain, starvation just doesn't work. Now anytime I cut my calories even down to 1800, boom I end up severely dehydrated and dizzy.

[silverlining84]

I ate 1800 calories for a year and then 1400 calories for another year, and dropped from 165 to 115 and ended up in the hospital for 2 months, and since then I've been battling an anorexia and bulimia for the past ten years.

Dieting just leads to binging and rebound weight gain, starvation just doesn't work. Now anytime I cut my calories even down to 1800, boom I end up severely dehydrated and dizzy.

Eating below maintenance doesn't cause binging and rebound weight gain for everyone. It comes down to figuring out what it takes you to maintain and then adjust accordingly from there. 1400 calories a day is not what i'd call "starvation mode".

Thanks for posting the link to that thread kimm4. Some great info in there.

[birdiefu]

thanks all. I'm 5'6.5", 142 pounds, measuring in around 23% body fat right now.

I measure everything so I'm pretty careful about not going over 1400. I'll try increasing my calories.

I know I shouldn't get frustrated this quickly but I've been trying so hard and the results are so agonizingly slow! I'm not giving up, just venting a bit. I dropped 7 pounds of fat in 6 weeks and gained 3 pounds of muscle and now everything seems to be reversing grrrr.

I started my first cut at 5'6", 142 pounds, about 24% BF. Cut on an average of 1750-ish cals/day (Actually about 1650 six days of the week, with one day going up to 2400 cals). I don't know how you can eat 1400 cals a day as I would get wicked grumpy on days when I dipped down to close to 1500 to bring my average back to 1750. I got down to 126 pounds in 4 months (thought I spend about a month of that time gaining then losing 10 pounds on a bender of a honeymoon!).

I would most definitely suggest upping your cals to closer to 1700-1800, depending on activity. When I got my GoWear, turns out I was burning more than I thought and my actual maintenance was around 2400 so I could have cut happier with higher cals. As a matter of fact, when I started upping cals on my way to bulk, I got out of the 3 1/2 week plateau I was at and actually lose 2 more pounds eating over 2000 cals/day. Its always better to start with a smaller deficit so you have wiggle room to reduce it if you do plateau. Starting out at 1400 is just a big deficit right off the bat.

Oh, and don't rely on those BF reader to be accurate, go off of measurements, clothes fit, and photos.

[momwithmuscle]

1400 calories a day is not what i'd call "starvation mode".
.

My doctor would disagree with you on that one.

Google information about the Minnesota Semi Starvation Study. This really opened up my eyes to the harmful effects of dieting. Since I almost killed myself dieting and felt most of the same effects of these people, I stopped doing it.


I have a great link but can't post it :(

[momwithmuscle]

Here is an overview:

Introduction

The biological reality of our weights and weight control, and the effects of dieting, were clinically demonstrated more than 50 years ago in what remains the definitive research on the subject. The findings in this famous study, revolutionary at the time, have been replicated in the most precise, complicated metabolic studies of food intake behavior, energy expenditure and the biochemistry of fat conducted by the country’s top obesity researchers.

This classic study made the most important contributions to our understanding of dieting, yet surprisingly few consumers today have ever heard of it. It was led by one of the world’s most renowned scientists, Ancel Benjamin Keys, Ph.D., porly known for inventing K-rations — those indestructible transportable foodstuffs of white crackers, greasy sausage, Chocolate and candy — that kept our soldiers alive during World War II.

In the 1940s, when starvation was widespread throughout war-torn Europe, little was known about the effects of human starvation or how to best refeed people who’d suffered from such deprivations. Dr. Keys led the first scientific study of calorie restrictions, at the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene at the University of Minnesota, for the War Department. The researchers wanted to understand the medical needs facing millions of starving war victims and how best to renourish and rehabilitate them to health after the war. Their study was known as the Minnesota Starvation Study and the results were published in the legendary two-volume, Biology of Human Starvation (Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis, 1950).

The study itself was so comprehensive and intense, however, that even Dr. Keys admitted no other human experiment quite like it will ever be done again because, given what we now know, it would be seen as too cruel and life-threatening. While the degree of suffering the partints underwent would violate what is seen as the ethical rights for human research subjects today, in one respect this study was different from obesity and weight loss research done today. These men were not volunteering because they felt they needed to lose weight for fear that their own lives were endangered, nor were the study authors motivated by personal gain or selling a weight loss program.

The experiment — the starvation syndrome

The 40 young male partints were carefully selected among hundreds of volunteers for being especially psychologically and socially well-adjusted, good-humored, motivated, well-educated, active and healthy.

They were put on calorie-restrictive diets of about 1,600 calorie/day, meant to reflect that experienced in war-torn regions, for 3 months. They dieted to lose 2.5 pounds a week to lose 25% of their natural body weight. The calories were more generous than many weight loss diets prescribe today!

What this study was actually studying, of course, was dieting and restrictive eating — our bodies can’t tell the difference if they’re being semi-starved involuntarily like war victims or voluntarily. During the 3-month nutritional rehabilitation period after the diet, the men were randomly assigned to various nutritional regimens, with differing levels of calories, proteins and vitamins. The men lived at the lab and everything they ate and did was closely monitored, as was their health with a battery of tests. Daily exercise was walking about 3 miles a day.


As the men lost weight, their physical endurance dropped by half, their strength about 10%, and their reflexes became sluggish — with the men initially the most fit showing the greatest deterioration, according to Dr. Keys. The men’s resting metabolic rates declined by 40%, their heart volume shrank about 20%, their pulses slowed and their body temperatures dropped.

They complained of feeling cold, tired and hungry; having trouble concentrating; of impaired judgment and comprehension; dizzy spells; visual disturbances; ringing in their ears; tingling and numbing of their extremities; stomach aches, body aches and headaches; trouble sleeping; hair thinning; and their skin growing dry and thin. Their sexual function and testes size were reduced and they lost all interest in sex. They had every physical indication of accelerated aging.


But the psychological changes that were brought on by dieting, even among these robust men with only moderate calorie restrictions, were the most profound and unexpected.

So much so that Dr. Keys called it “semistarvation neurosis.” The men became nervous, anxious, apathetic, withdrawn, impatient, self-critical with distorted body images and even feeling overweight, moody, emotional and depressed. A few even mutilated themselves, one chopping off three fingers in stress. They lost their ambition and feelings of adequacy, and their cultural and academic interests narrowed.

They neglected their appearance, became loners and their social and family relationships suffered. They lost their senses of humor, love and compassion. Instead, they became obsessed with food, thinking, talking and reading about it constantly; developed weird eating rituals; began hoarding things; consumed vast amounts of coffee and tea; and chewed gum incessantly (as many as 40 packages a day). Binge eating episodes also became a problem as some of the men were unable to continue to restrict their eating in their hunger.

The aftermath

The last part of the Minnesota Starvation Study revealed perhaps the most important effects. When the men were allowed to eat ad libitum again, they had insatiable appetites, yet never felt full. Even five months later, some continued to have dysfunctional eating, although most were finally regaining some normalization of their eating. As they regained their weights, their suppressed metabolism and energy levels returned, although even three months after ending the diet none of the men had yet regained their former physical capacity, noted Dr. Keys.

While it seemed the men were “overeating,” Dr. Keys discovered that their bodies actually needed inordinate amount of calories for their tissues to be rebuilt:


Our experiments have shown that in an adult man no appreciable rehabilitation can take place on a diet of 2,000 calories a day. The proper level is more like 4,000 kcal daily for some months. The character of the rehabilitation diet is important also, but unless calories are abundant, then extra proteins, vitamins and minerals are of little value


In other words, they weren’t really “overeating,” it was a biological, normal effect of hunger and weight loss. The men regained their original weights plus 10%. The regained weight was disproportionally fat, and their lean body mass recovered much more slowly.

With unlimited food and unrestricted eating, their weights plateaued and finally, about 9 months later, most had naturally returned to their initial weights without trying — giving scientists one of the first demonstrations that each body has a natural, genetic set point, whether it be fat or thin.

Despite the fear that with unrestrained eating everyone would continue to grow larger, it isn't true.

[lovingit]

At 1400 your body is going into starvation mode and will hoard onto all body fat. The problem I have is with this statement.^

It's simply untrue. In the Minnesota study, the men continued to lose weight until they got around the 5% body fat range. They experienced a metabolic slowdown of 40%, but at no point did their bodies "hoard" all of their body fat preventing them from losing weight.

[momwithmuscle]

The problem I have is with this statement.^

It's simply untrue. In the Minnesota study, the men continued to lose weight until they got around the 5% body fat range. They experienced a metabolic slowdown of 40%, but at no point did their bodies "hoard" all of their body fat preventing them from losing weight.

Ok well then I will retract and say that eating 1400 calories is unhealthy and you risk developing an eating disorder, and binging just like the men in that study did.

Our bodies aren't meant to go into semi-starvation.

It was crappy, I did regain my weight and then some, and like they said, most of it was body fat and lean muscle mass is recovering slowly, which is why I am weight training.

But believe me, after being in the hospital and forced to eat 4,000 calories a day and gaining 50 lbs in 3 months, no one should suffer that hell.

[momwithmuscle]

This part as described below was the most horrible.

I recently went down to 1800 calories a day and started getting the same effects. I'm FINALLY getting to sleep through the night and not feeling like I am going crazy.
--------------------------------------------------------------
They complained of feeling cold, tired and hungry; having trouble concentrating; of impaired judgment and comprehension; dizzy spells; visual disturbances; ringing in their ears; tingling and numbing of their extremities; stomach aches, body aches and headaches; trouble sleeping; hair thinning; and their skin growing dry and thin. Their sexual function and testes size were reduced and they lost all interest in sex. They had every physical indication of accelerated aging.


But the psychological changes that were brought on by dieting, even among these robust men with only moderate calorie restrictions, were the most profound and unexpected.

So much so that Dr. Keys called it “semistarvation neurosis.” The men became nervous, anxious, apathetic, withdrawn, impatient, self-critical with distorted body images and even feeling overweight, moody, emotional and depressed. A few even mutilated themselves, one chopping off three fingers in stress. They lost their ambition and feelings of adequacy, and their cultural and academic interests narrowed.

[rockangel]

There is no such thing as "starvation mode".

What there actually is, is a decrease in metabolic speed. To most people this is called "starvation mode".

Your body will slow down your metabolism in order to compensate for the lower calorie (lowered energy input) level, but at no point does it "hoard all your body fat". If that were the case, then there would be no such thing as anorexia, and the project you are quoting since they all would have ended up FATTER and not lean to the point of being inhumane.

In your study this is the key "As the men lost weight, their physical endurance dropped by half, their strength about 10%, and their reflexes became sluggish — with the men initially the most fit showing the greatest deterioration, according to Dr. Keys. The men’s resting metabolic rates declined by 40%, their heart volume shrank about 20%, their pulses slowed and their body temperatures dropped."

Its not that the body goes into starvation mode and hoards fat, its that the body slows BMR, which makes it HARDER to lose fat.

You are also talking about MEN who are going well below their maintenance and well below their BMR "They were put on calorie-restrictive diets of about 1,600 calorie/day, meant to reflect that experienced in war-torn regions, for 3 months. They dieted to lose 2.5 pounds a week to lose 25% of their natural body weight."

So, the experiement was set at a very unhealthy level and was looking at a very unhelahty time frame to lose the amount of weight they were looking for.


And i do not believe that dieting always leads to binging.

And yes, our bodies are made to go into semi starvation. Thats why the BMR slows down, thats how our bodies have dealt with famine in the past.

I think you are misguided and misinformed through your own experiences and you should not be trying to guide others until you have a better grasp of the bodies function and nutrition.

For what its worth, i have been eating at 1600 cals (and that is below my maintence) for 14 months, without resorting to chopping myself up or having any of the issues you described. Actually, quite the opposite has happened. So your explanations dont hold for everyone.

[ireckon]

I've been doing 1600-1700 a few days now and feel much better thank you all for the advice. I do find it difficult to eat that many calories when it's all healthy food. Maybe I'll throw in some peanut butter or something.

[milfinbikini]

I've been doing 1600-1700 a few days now and feel much better thank you all for the advice. I do find it difficult to eat that many calories when it's all healthy food. Maybe I'll throw in some peanut butter or something.

It's probably best to work with a nutritionist, let her count your calories and you just focus on the meal plan she gives you as counting calories can get obsessive.

My nutritionist said that someone who cuts calories too dramatically, can experience dizziness, low blood pressure, fainting, irritability, etc.

I have experienced all of the above and ended up fainting, cutting my head open and coming to with a shirt full of blood and having the ambulance take me to the ER from a 1600 calorie diet!

Then I was dizzy and could barely get out of bed for 2 months after that, and blanked out while driving my child.

Why are people on this site risking this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been there, you don't want this!

[TeayotaSoupra]

I agree with it being hard to eat that many calories when your eating healthy!!
I've always been low on calorie intake and I'm really noticing it now. After lifting heavy or hard cardio I feel HORRIBLE and start seeing black dots and getting headaches (sucks when I'm on the bike)

And agreed leave the body fat measure thing on the desk.

[5more]

thanks all. I'm 5'6.5", 142 pounds, measuring in around 23% body fat right now.

I measure everything so I'm pretty careful about not going over 1400. I'll try increasing my calories.

I know I shouldn't get frustrated this quickly but I've been trying so hard and the results are so agonizingly slow! I'm not giving up, just venting a bit. I dropped 7 pounds of fat in 6 weeks and gained 3 pounds of muscle and now everything seems to be reversing grrrr.

Your saying in 6 weeks you dropped 7 lbs of body fat and gained 3 lbs of muscle???
This is pure fluff. I wish I could put on 3 lbs of muscle in 6 weeks. Who told you this crap? If it was your trainer get a new one.

[freebirdmac]

OP, do not base your success/failure on body fat measurements. They are not that accurate to begin with and some can be horribly off. I hate seeing people get all bent out of shape over bf numbers. Or the scale for that matter.

Take measurements in several locations. Take progress picts. Assess how your clothes fit.