Accidentally in Starvation mode?

[Alfie0605]

Hello, so slightly long post ahead. Really look for some input on if this is “normal”.
Stats:
5’7”
148 pounds
Female
22 y/o

I have always lifted weights and worked out. I just had my BF % checked 3 weeks ago and I was at 22% with a 29” waist. This was checked because I was put into a program similar to CrossFit (alongside my weight training) that was supposed to drop my BF% to 21%. After participating in the program 4x a week and doinging weights 5-6x a week (my usual routine was just weights 4-6x a week) and eating my regular intuitive eating of around 2,000ish calories a day I had my two week checkup and my waist jumped to 31” and my BF % went up to 23%. This shocked both my trainer and I since I generally eat healthy and didn’t drastically change anything about my diet. My trainer came to the conclusion that I put myself into starvation mode and my body was storing fat. I was told to figure out my maintenance calories and bump my intake and I will start losing fat.

After calculating it, my maintenance before working out is 1,800 and then I use my Apple Watch to add calories that I burn through exercise and my maintenance is usually between 2,500 and 2,700 for the day! That just seems extremely high for a female of my stature. I’ve been doing it for three days and I feel less tired, but also like I’m binging everyday.

In general my question is, does this seem correct? I do not want to add any more body fat, but I also rather boost up my metabolism and worry about fat later. Should I expect another jump of BF%? Any other theories on what my body is doing?

BF% was measured through the tool you hold (spacing on the name) and although it’s not accurate with actual % it’s pretty reliable to tell if you’re +\- BF!

Thank you!

[1JFS3]

General answer: no. Though I don't know your training intensity, that is an extremely high maintenance for you.

In my opinion, the starvation mode comment is crap. Are you sure you are tracking accurately? And if you could explain your training intensity, what would you say? High heart rate, sweating a lot, active >60% of the time in the gym?

I'd reevaluate your tracking. Your weight should not have jumped if you were actually consuming 2k, however, I think that could be a little steep unless your training is pretty intense.

[gbullock32]

Those fitness trackers are very inaccurate; I doubt you exercise enough to burn 700-900 calories unless you run a marathon daily. Starvation mode is a myth and does not exist; in a calorie deficit you will lose fat, otherwise people would not die of starvation...

Gaining weight means you are eating too much, either tracking intake wrong or just eating more than you need.

[ironwill2008]

. My trainer came to the conclusion that I put myself into starvation mode and my body was storing fat.

This is nonsense. If you aren't losing weight, you aren't in a calorie deficit. At least part of your problem is using that apple gizmo to "add back calories" that you think you may have burned.




If you want to see the actual effects of real starvation, Google some pics of POW internees or, even more gruesome, pics of terminal anorexia victims.











You seem to be very confused on how to properly set up a workable nutrition plan. Spend some time reading here, and get yourself up to speed. You need to stop listening to the "trainer":

*Figuring Calories and Macros: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1481919401


*Nutrition for beginners: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=136691851

[Alfie0605]

Those fitness trackers are very inaccurate; I doubt you exercise enough to burn 700-900 calories unless you run a marathon daily. Starvation mode is a myth and does not exist; in a calorie deficit you will lose fat, otherwise people would not die of starvation...

Gaining weight means you are eating too much, either tracking intake wrong or just eating more than you need.

So the Apple Watch is not accurate? And good to know. I thought it was an extremely high amount which is why I came here for advice. I weight lift for around 1-2 hours my heart rate is usually 140-160. And I do HIIT (30 secs on/off) after for 15 mins where my heart rate is between 170-200 the entire workout. The workout I just began and saw the bf% jump was HIIT for an hour straight which my hr ranges from 150-180. I usually use the class as a “warm up” for days a week and do the stair stepper for 10 minutes on days I don’t have the class.

[Alfie0605]

This is nonsense. If you aren't losing weight, you aren't in a calorie deficit. At least part of your problem is using that apple gizmo to "add back calories" that you think you may have burned.


If you want to see the actual effects of real starvation, Google some pics of POW internees or, even more gruesome, pics of terminal anorexia victims.

Thank you for the reply. I did not claim to be starving. I believe him saying I was in starvation mode was a way to dumb down the fact that my body isn’t consuming enough energy to expend how much energy I burn through activity. Also, I am quite educated on those subjects and I’m not trying to victimize myself. I’m just trying to understand all the different information that’s being given to me. As for the Apple Watch, is it not accurate? This offends me 😂 I paid good money for that thing!

[Alfie0605]

General answer: no. Though I don't know your training intensity, that is an extremely high maintenance for you.

In my opinion, the starvation mode comment is crap. Are you sure you are tracking accurately? And if you could explain your training intensity, what would you say? High heart rate, sweating a lot, active >60% of the time in the gym?

I'd reevaluate your tracking. Your weight should not have jumped if you were actually consuming 2k, however, I think that could be a little steep unless your training is pretty intense.

I thought it was an extremely high amount which is why I came here for advice. I weight lift for around 1-2 hours my heart rate is usually 140-160. And I do HIIT (30 secs on/off) after for 15 mins where my heart rate is between 170-200 the entire workout. The workout I just began and saw the bf% jump was HIIT for an hour straight which my hr ranges from 150-180. I usually use the class as a “warm up” for days a week and do the stair stepper for 10 minutes on days I don’t have the class.

I sweat pretty much the entire workout, however lower body is much more intense than upper body days. I also did not track my calories, I’m a intuitive eater, but I didn’t change anything in my diet to see that jump. I’m very conscious about eating healthy. I didn’t change anything besides adding the HIIT class.

[Alfie0605]

You seem to be very confused on how to properly set up a workable nutrition plan. Spend some time reading here, and get yourself up to speed. You need to stop listening to the "trainer":

*Figuring Calories and Macros:


*Nutrition for beginners

Okay, so I did the TDEE and I entered exercise 5/days a week. I would consider mine high intensity, but for the sake of not knowing what that calculator considers high intensity I just did the average. It said my maintenance is 2,221 and weight loss 1,817. So regardless I am confused as to how I gained weight in the course of two weeks when all I changed was working out more! I am a creature of habit so my meals are pretty consistent. I had one piece of coffee cake with my grandma for her birthday... that’s the only “naughty” thing I did. And I am sure one piece of cake didn’t ruin me! I know it sounds inaccurate, but eating 2,300 calories a day has been extremely difficult for me, so I’m sure I wasn’t going above 2,200 to see my weight spike.

[okayest]

Saying you “eat about” means you either don’t know for sure or you’re inconsistent day to day, that needs to be changed. And eating intuitively will not often cause weight loss. That’s not how nature works, intuitively your body would much rather eat to gain or eat to maintain a well healthy body fat. So if you listen to your brain for how much to eat you will most likely remain the same if you are at an already healthy size with an already somewhat healthy diet. Or you might gain weight if you include low satiation foods like baked goods and sauces.

I advise you to (1) stop calculating calories burned on a per workout basis (2) weigh and track every single piece of food and beverage you have for 4 weeks to see how much you are actually eating (3) if you’re not losing weight in those 4 weeks then keep weighing and tracking and eat several hundred calories less than that in order to lose weight, or if you’re gaining weight in those 4 weeks take 600+ calories off, or if you are losing weight then keep eating that much.

If you hate weighing and tracking your food then use the time that you need to spend doing it to get an idea of what foods you can eat and in what quantity you can eat them in order to get to the certain feeling of fullness/hunger that allows you to maintain a certain rate of weight loss.

[ironwill2008]

Thank you for the reply. I did not claim to be starving. I believe him saying I was in starvation mode was a way to dumb down the fact that my body isn’t consuming enough energy to expend how much energy I burn through activity. Also, I am quite educated on those subjects and I’m not trying to victimize myself. I’m just trying to understand all the different information that’s being given to me.

Anyone who uses the term, 'starvation mode' is clueless about basic human physiology and how it works. Yes, the metabolism gradually slows a bit as more and more weight is lost over time, but at no point during an extended period of calorie deficit does the body just stop losing weight; this only happens when death occurs. I'll refer you back to terminal anorexia victims.


One more time; if you're not losing weight, you are not eating at a calorie deficit.

As for the Apple Watch, is it not accurate? This offends me ������ I paid good money for that thing!

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger; lots of people paid good money for those things, thinking they were buying something that would return accurate results. You, and all those others, post similar threads here, and in the 'losing fat' forum, almost by the minute. The only accurate means of measuring actual calorie 'burn' is to measure the amount of oxygen you're consuming while exercising, using specialized equipment in a lab or clinic, not with some gimmick strapped to your wrist.





I understand why people who spent good $$$ on these gizmos would be defensive about their purchase and attempt to justify their value, but facts are facts, and VO2 Max measurement is currently the only accurate way to measure caloric consumption. Anything else is little more than a rough guess.

[Alfie0605]

Anyone who uses the term, 'starvation mode' is clueless about basic human physiology and how it works. Yes, the metabolism gradually slows a bit as more and more weight is lost over time, but at no point during an extended period of calorie deficit does the body just stop losing weight; this only happens when death occurs. I'll refer you back to terminal anorexia victims.


One more time; if you're not losing weight, you are not eating at a calorie deficit.





Don't feel like the Lone Ranger; lots of people paid good money for those things, thinking they were buying something that would return accurate results. You, and all those others, post similar threads here, and in the 'losing fat' forum, almost by the minute. The only accurate means of measuring actual calorie 'burn' is to measure the amount of oxygen you're consuming while exercising, using specialized equipment in a lab or clinic, not with some gimmick strapped to your wrist.





I understand why people who spent good $$$ on these gizmos would be defensive about their purchase and attempt to justify their value, but facts are facts, and VO2 Max measurement is currently the only accurate way to measure caloric consumption. Anything else is little more than a rough guess.

I’m clearly very warped on how many calories exercising actually burns. I will no longer listen to my Apple Watch for anything but HR. Is TDEE calculator you linked somewhat accurate? I quoted above what it suggested my weight loss caloric intake would be at 1,817. That’s completely doable for me.

[ironwill2008]

I’m clearly very warped on how many calories exercising actually burns. I will no longer listen to my Apple Watch for anything but HR. Is TDEE calculator you linked somewhat accurate? I quoted above what it suggested my weight loss caloric intake would be at 1,817. That’s completely doable for me.

No calculator formula can be truly accurate, and can only provide an estimate. Use the formula's calorie info as simply a starting point, a number to put into use, and then evaluate, after 3-4 weeks of compliance, where you're at. If, by then, you've lost a few pounds, stick with that amount until it no longer produces a weight loss. When weight loss stalls out for 3 weeks, if you're still not where you want to be (based on the mirror, the fit of your clothes, your body weight, and probably most importantly, the numbers in your weight training logbook), drop your daily calories by 300 or so, and evaluate again after another 3-4 weeks.



All of this assumes you are using a digital food scale, and are religiously weighing/measuring/tracking everything you eat and drink. Don't rely on MFP data, nor the nutrition information on food packages.


........and don't attempt to 'eat back' exercise calories. That mistake alone has stymied many a trainee from losing any body fat.

[Plateauplower]

I have a Fitbit and log my weight into it daily. I find it useful to track walking, bike riding etc, as well as sleep patterns and averages . However, the TDEE calculation is WAY off usually. It usually has me around 3500-4000 cals /day on days when I’m active. It’s probably off by about 1000 cals according to my math based on tracked intake and scale weight. So yes the Apple Watch or fitbits are neat tools, and can be useful, I think they are great if they motivate people to move more in the little group challenges etc, but don’t rely on the TDEE data. As mentioned above it takes some pretty intensive analysis with expensive equipment to accurately measure caloric burn. The good thing is it’s free to figure out yourself by weighing yourself and tracking your intake accurately. Then you can easily adjust your intake to meet your goals.

[gbullock32]

I’m clearly very warped on how many calories exercising actually burns. I will no longer listen to my Apple Watch for anything but HR. Is TDEE calculator you linked somewhat accurate? I quoted above what it suggested my weight loss caloric intake would be at 1,817. That’s completely doable for me.

Most people will burn ~200 calories in an average weight lifting session; it's not much. This is already accounted for when you calculate your TDEE, so you do not 'eat back' calories from exercise.