think about it.. 1200 cals, starvation mode & metabolism

it takes a calorie deficient of 3500 a week to loose a pound... so there fore by cutting calories you will loose whether you exercise or not..

ok well then theres the whole stigma that if you go below 1200 calories a day then you are in starvation mode.. *uh oh!* and your metabolism slows down to conserve energy... right?

ok well then doesnt your metabolism slow down regardless of whether or not your in starvation mode?... say you used to eat like 1700 calories but now you eat 1200 calories, after a while wouldnt your metabolism slow down to only burning 1200 calories and therefore prevent you from loosing any more weight?

and even if you exercise you are still supposed to eat more to make up for what your body burns off.. so your still at 1200 calories and therefore not loosing anymore weight, and your now stuck in a plateau... and you cant cut anymore calories because then that would be "unhealthy"..

like im all for counting calories, but i think something is lost in translation...

I'm not sure I understand your question.  Why would your metabolism slow down from a 500 calorie deficit if you're meeting your basic needs?  Starvation mode comes in when you are eating too little to fuel your basic metabolic processes ... heartbeat, digestion, immune system, etc.  As long as you are consuming enough calories to meet these needs, starvation mode shouldn't be a problem.

are you sure you need to lose.  Did you pack on the weight anyway?  Why didn't you stop yourself?

for crying out loud...

no all i am asking is that after a while your metabolism will slow down right?.. so if your body was used to burning 2400 calories a day and then you cut it to say 1900 calories a day to lose a pound a week.. doesnt your metabolism eventually slow down to only burning 1900 calories a day? surely your body wont burn 2400 calories a day forever... and then once your body gets used to its 1900 calories a day you will stop loosing weight and therefore have to cut calories more.. and then once your body gets used to that defient then you have to cut more.. but your not supposed to go less then 1200 calories.. so then your stuck...

ah, I'm surprised how you could be confused after you asked the 400 lb person how they possibly could have gained weight.  sounded like you knew how to keep it off.

Yea your body eventually gets used to the calorie cut. That is why its important to not cut too many calories too quickly. If you get down to 1200 calories I'm sure your probably coming close to your goal weight....which would mean instead of cutting more calories you should up your activity level.

Also activity and muscle building would increase your metabolism so you could probably afford to eat more than 1200 calories.

never mind, i'll drop it.

just not understanding how you need to lose and can't figure out how to lose 10 lbs but don't understand how other people could need to lose more... 

see?

The lowering in calorie needed isn't due to slow down in metabolism unless you are in starvation mode.  It is due to the weight loss.  Think about the fact that the less you weigh, the less you need to carry around, and the less area your body needs to work to nourish.  For example, the less body mass there is, the less distance your heart will need to pump your blood.  This is why everyone have different Basal Metabolic Rate.

Metabolism slows down as we age as well. 

OP- why are you trying to lose? You just posted that your size 0 jeans are getting too big, time for 00's?

I see.  Yes, as you lose weight, your metabolism will slow because it takes less energy to do things like breathe and repair body tissue.  It's the same principle that a short, petite person requires fewer calories than a tall, muscular one.  So as you get smaller, your energy needs decrease. 

I would suggest that for most people, if you're only eating 1200 calories a day, you're probably as thin as you can be and still be (maybe) healthy.

do you people seriously read all of my replies to everything? haha like you keep refering back to totally different topics that i have commented on.. i think some one needs a better hobby..

and i know that i don't need to loose weight, and i know that i have a problem, you dont need to listen to anything that i have to say...

Honey, we listen because we care.

This isn't some anonymous community where people just keep to themselves and are here only for their own purposes. The majority of people using the boards are here to support other people, make new friends... the whole bit.

If you don't want our concern and you don't want our advice, then I suggest you don't post. :)

OP, you're only 17.  You don't want to be anorexic when you have your whole future ahead of you.  People in this community are willing to listen to you (for free, might I add -- a shrink would cost a lot more).  You might be defiant now (your profile reads like a pro-ana person), but you'll probably look back later 10 years from now and see how foolish you were. 

As for your question, I'm not sure why the starvation line is 1200 calories, since different people have different metabolism and different dimensions.  But, it's true that if you eat too little, your body will shut down drastically, whereas if you just eat somewhat less than normal, your body will continue to function at or near the pace it was functioning before, especially if you exercise along with dieting.

carmenxox ~ there's 2 different ideas in your question...

1) smaller people need less food than larger people; like a car that goes more miles needs more gas...

so the closer you are to your goal and healthy weight, the less food you will need to eat.

2) metabolism rate; can be fast, normal or slow (no matter what your weight).  Most people have a normal metabolism rate.  

 A slow metabolism means essentially that you don't need to eat as much food because the body stores more for later instead of using all your food at a normal metabolism rate.

1. there are some things that slow it down like problems with your thyroid gland or
2. as you get older, it naturally begins to slow, or
3. if you go into starvation mode, then it slows even more.

A fast metabolism is rare but there are some things you can do to speed up (rev up) your metabolism.

1. treat an underactive thyroid (so your metabolism becomes normal again)
2. get out of starvation mode (so your metabolism becomes normal again)
3. do 30 mins of cardio exercise 4 to 5 days a week (even breaking it into 3 ten minute sessions works just as well as 30 min sessions).  It is not necessary to do more to rev up your metabolism.  More cardio excercise does not give you an equal amount more increased metabolism... so this is not a case where more is better...  the 30 mins 4 to 5 days a week is enough :)
4. increase lean muscle mass (convert excess body fat to lean muscle) by strength and resistance exercise to tone and condition your muscles;  your lean muscle tissue burns a bit more than adipose (fat) tissue.

Hope this helps :)