Deficits & "Starvation Mode" .. a little help please?

Okay so I've been reading alot of topics where people are worried that their deficits will cause their body to go into starvation mode; but I also read in the CC Blogs [the ones the experts write] that those deficits aren't a precise, daily thing. *As in, one day of binging can slow/halt your weight loss because you may counteract your deficits from that week.*

Now personally, I try to eat 1200 calories a day & I go to the gym 5-6 times a week (and usually burn in the neighborhood of 500-800 cals). I know this may seem a little extreme to some people but I'm going to Mexico in a few weeks! Anyways, I make extremely healthy food choices (salads, egg beaters, muscle milk light, etc.). And yes, I do cheat sometimes (last night at the library had an everything bagel with cream cheese.. worth itttt).

So that means M-F I'm looking at a total deficit of 4,000-5,000 calories. On weekends I try to stay healthy for sure, but I go out drinking or eat nachos, cheesy fries.. I definitely splurge in the evenings. So this is going to lower my final calorie deficit, taking me out of the "starvation mode" range, right?

Any feedback on this? I guess I sort of feel like as long as I'm going to the gym, doing cardio & lifting weights, my metabolism won't crash. I'm also considering raising my daily caloric intake to 1400 and seeing how that works since I'm pretty happy with my size/weight now.

Hi...I'm interested to see the response to this ..I posted a similar post last night but alas no responses yet

Very similar scenario...I eat approx 1300 kcals Mon - Frid, and then enjoy my Sat night...Indian food, cheese, crackers, nice bottle of wine, dread to think what I total with that lot ...maybe 3500kcals or so but it keeps me sane,...Sunday I eat around 2000 kcals

Oh, and I swim 1 mile six days a week, Mon - Sat burning around 500kcals per swim. but should keep my metabolism up

So my weekly average is around 1700kcals per day and I hope this keeps me out of starvation.

So sounds a similar pattern....I look forward to seeing any responses

Yes, my story is similar.  I think many of us have the same concerns regarding the "starvation mode" thing.  Not the goal here.  We are just trying to stay in a good range for our body types and get healthier in the process. 

Thanks!

 i do pretty much the exact same thing. i have no idea the answer though haha. i am like you during the week, everyone is going to eat me for saying this but sometimes im a little below 1200 just b/c i get so busy, usually drink on friday and sometimes eat at night after, or if not i usually eat alot on saturday. probs not the healthiest thing ever, but college makes life difficult haha. hopefully someone knows the answer to this......haha

I was in a similar situation about 6 months ago when i decided that i needed to lose just a couple pounds...i am female, 5 8.5 and at that time, i was around 117 lbs. Well, I usully went to the gym 6-7 days a week for 60 minutes and the machine (with my age and weight inputed) said I burned 600-700 cals per 60 minute work out. At this time, I ate around 1600 cals and wasn't losing or gaining, which I found really really REALLY weird.But anyway, so when I decided to eat 1400 and exercise to burn "700" according to the machines, I think I put my body in staration mode because I started feeling very bloated all the time and NEVER hungry. Isn't that weird? Well, so what would happen was that I would eat a little and then feel really bloated and not want to eat any more because I felt so horrible after eating (can you believe that??). Generally, I really enjoy eating but at this time, it was horrible! So I did some research and found that if you don't eat enough, your stomach will actually begin to produce LESS acid to help break down the food...and thus was the reason I was feeling so horrible when I ate. It's weird because I was eating pretty healthy and had only a difference of 200 but I think I was actually putting my body in starvation mode... Dunno if this comment helps but good luck!

A while ago, somewhere on this site, I read that the difference between your daily burn including all exercise and the calorie intake should not be higher than 1,000 calories. Therefore, if your daily burn is 3,000 cals and your daily intake is 1200 cals your body is in starvation mode. You would need 2000 cals to meet the recommended difference and should still lose weight.

Having said that, everybody is different.

I did the same thing last week. Stayed on a 1000 cal per day diet for 9 days. I gave up the diet for 4 days. I ended up gaining 2 lbs. It is very frustrating.