Have I gone into starvation or survival mode because I'm eating less than 1200 calories per day & I can't lose weight?

I am a very big man of 400 lbs, 5 11 tall and have been overweight my entire life. I have exceeded 250lbs since I was 10 yrs old. I am to a point in my life now, I can not bear to continue this way. I am searching for a solid method to lose weight, my biggest issue is I drive truck, and sit for 11hrs a day, moving in and out of the truck for about 2hrs a day. my stamina and focus are solid after 20 yrs of driving, but I can not manage my weight any longer. I feel like I want to stop eating period. I quit drinking soda, and sugar drinks, I drink 1 to 3 32oz cups of coffee with some milk/cream per day. 1-2 gatorades a day and limit myself to 1 footlong subway sub per day, no mayo or anything on it, just the sub with all the veggies I can fit on it and with peppers. even after changing my entire junk food and soda intake to this I am not getting the results I want. in fact I think I gained a few pounds. I need help finding a solution to my bodys lack of metabolism and find a way to start losing this weight. Would it hurt me if I would cut back hard and only eat once every 2-3 days?

May 23, 2013

Now I have a question, my calorie tracker states that when I do zumba about 5pm that I burn around 500 calories , which then makes me neg for my daily caloric intake. Should I not count that as I should eat more to make the 1000 calorie mark ? Or even with zumba I should reach 1000 calories? Hope that's not too confusing:)

May 16, 2013

The calorie caculator always says you shouldn't go lower than 1200 for a women , but what if I'm sitting most of the day and only working out maybe 3 times a week. I'm starting to think the days I don't work out I don't need 1200 calories. I did the 1200 calorie a day diet for 2 weeks didn't lose anything. I'm a stay at home mom that does housework but most of the time entertaining my two year old. I'm 32 , 5'5 and I'm at 178 today. Was at 176 two days ago lol. I think I'm going to try 1000 and see if that does anything.

May 16, 2013

I'm 6'0 even and 228 lbs, I'm trying to loose weight as quicks as possible but also be healthy, so if I take in 1200 or less calories and work out for 2-3 of cardio daily, will I loose a lot of weight fast?

May 11, 2013

I am 20, 5'2" and weigh 110 lb... I started eating around an average of 1000 calories a day (some days less and some days more) and lost 7 pounds in a month and half (got down from 117 lb to 110 lb). The thing is that I do nothing but sit on my ass all day and require to move very little, that's why I thought that 1000 calories a day was ideal for me. But now all this talk abt how everyone should be eating at least 1200 calories a day to be healthy is scaring me. Should I be worried?

May 10, 2013

I've just started IF and that's what led me to this page but PLEASE help me.

I used to live on a diet of chips/crisps/chocolate anything you can think of and didn't even think of looking at calorie content. I managed to maintain a weight of 9 1/2 stone occasionally going up to 10 stone but always tending to equal out at 9 1/2. I then changed my diet dramatically and easily have my five a day and eat a LOT of vegetables and proteins and only drink water (rather than coke, juice etc.). (I'm also a vegetarian if that matters.) However, unbelievably i'm STILL 9 1/2 stone. Although I feel much better and not as bloated how is such a lifestyle change possible without any weight loss? I was easily going over 2000 cals before and now I don't eat more than 1200 and it's 1200 of good nutritous food. I go to the gym and even added in Bikram Yoga as I herd it was good for breaking out of weight loss plateaus but I still am 9 1/2 stone every morning.

I will continue to eat healthy as I like this lifestyle now but I am very disappointed and disheartened at the fact I cannot get below 9 1/2 stone. I have read your plateau page but have tried everything on it and nothing works! My mum can't understand why I don't loose weight as I don't even eat with my family anymore because they eat so unhealthily yet they are all lighter than me on the scale!

IF is my last resort now because I don't know what else I can do. I'm going to university in September and I really can't go looking like this. I also hate the awkward moment where people say 'wow you eat so healthily to me' and then there's an awkward silence of them thinking 'why are you chubby then?'

I am 19, 5'3 and 9 1/2 stone. Whilst this is within a healthy body fat percentage for me, it is the high end and I have a very obvious belly of fat which disgusts me. I'm writing this with some hope that you may have any idea how to help me.

May 09, 2013

Hi Adrian!
So will I lose my muscles if I'm doing weight training while cutting my calories intake? (I still eat a moderate amount of proteins)
Thanks!

May 02, 2013

So if I eat 800 calories today, and burn 1000 calories in a 2 hour cardio session at the gym (with a Polar HRM) and outdoor cycling. .. Does that mean I have technically not eaten today? And if I now go and make a meal worth, say, 300 calories, does that mean, as far as my body is concerned I've only eaten 100 calories?

I'm a 120lb female 5'4 trying to get down to a size 6uk.
I eat good foods and one day a week have a naughty meal. I exercise daily. Oh and thanks for the butt exercises! I'm trying with 26kg weights on my fam hips its great! I

April 29, 2013

Yes, like in the picture, if your basal metabolic rate is 2000 and you eat 1500 you will lose weight without going into starvation mode. However, a 500 calorie deficit is not even nearly a VLCD. If on the other hand, basal metabolic rate was 2000 and caloric intake was 900, you bet anything that starvation mode will ensue. For some people this means a slow down and for others it means a complete stall. The study cited is flawed. There is a 1000 calorie deficit threshold before the body goes into starvation mode. This is why is easier for obese people to hit starvation mode during a diet. Most dieters cut back way too much on calories and add too much exercise causing the 1000 calories threshold to be reached a surpassed. When your maintenance calories is 2000, it is very hard to go into starvation mode, it is, however, also much easier to go above your caloric needs. Like in everything, there is some variability, but on average, the 1000 caloric threshold will cause a metabolic slowing and protein breakdown.

April 15, 2013

You lose muscle in the starvation. So of course you lose weight... Unhealthy weight loss. Muscle weighs more than fat. And question: Where did you get your degree or where are you getting your information and "knowledge"? This whole blog is the biggest load of junk I've ever read. You definitely need to study how the body works, how it uses nutrients, and how exercise aids in all body functions and promotes healthy natural weight loss and maintainence. I hope you respond

April 08, 2013

I know you're not PRO of this kind of junk diet.. And i know that you know what you're talking about! I know that people can lose weight on EVERY diet since they don't eat more calories that they burn.. It's a fact.

My main doubt about ALL this is quite simple, after all WHY is important eating healthy foods on weight loss or muscle gain?! Despite the fact that you can eat more and feel more satisfied during the day etc.

Why?! Why 97% of the people tell to eat healthy and not junk? I mean.. it have to be for some good reason, healthy foods got much more fiber and vitamins! Junk food got a lot of salt and sugar and fat oils etc.

So even if you're losing weight with a junk food diet, probably you're body will not be very pleased with you're habits because you're gonna increase you're cholesterol and diabetes riks!

In my country we have this wise sentence i'm gonna translate ''he is a man that don't look to his actions to get his goals'' it means that you don't care about nothing at all just to get what you want! And i see this junk diet a good exemple of it! You're ''killing'' you're health by eating JUST junks foods in the name of weight loss.. That's bad and irresponsible.

Even if you're body just burn fat and NOT muscle with all those Twinkie diets it doen't mean that diet is a good idea since you're losing fat and gainning high blood pressure, high sugar, high cholesterol, high risk of desease (cause you miss all the good foods) etc.

Do you understand my point?

March 23, 2013

Hey Adrian,
Exercise 4 hours after my last meal is the same as workout in a fasting mode?

Ex. Sunday i finish my lunch about 2pm and then i go for an hour running at 6pm and ate NOTHING but water in those 4 hours.. i arrive home after my hour by 7pm. when i'm really tired and then i eat ALL the calories i need untill 8pm, where my intermitent fasting ends until Monday 12pm.

Can i say that my running hour after 4 hours of fasting burns a lot of fat or is not much different if i ran after 2 hours since my meal?

March 22, 2013

Ok, if all you have in this page is true i'm clear about it but you said this: ''I'm not saying you'll maintain all of your muscle mass as you lose weight''

why we lose muscle while we're losing weight?..

And how can i know how many calories i burn per day?

And how our body can consume just body fat when a diet is made by junk food? Even if we are eating JUST 1000 calories of junk, it stills junk food with a lots of fat.

What you're saying is that the quality of the calories doesn't matter! And the only thing that matters is the quantity of the calories you eat.. and in common sense it sounds ''fishy''

But thank you by the way! I hope you reply..

March 22, 2013

What is the effect of alcohol on the body when you are in starvation mode? Is it still just about the calories in calories out or does alcohol cause a chemical change to slow the weight loss

February 20, 2013