HELP with calories, exercise, and starvation mode

okay. i've been on the site since Mother's Day and i've been wondering one thing the entire time. you need at least 1200 calories a day to keep from going into starvation mode, right? well sometimes i'll eat around 1300 or 1400 calories, and then exercise and burn like 300 or 400 calories. Today I in-line skated for an hour and a half to burn 1274 calories. I ate around 1800. Does the 1274 calories i burned subtract from the 1800 i ate leaving me at around 600 calories for the day and putting me into starvation mode? Do the calories i burn from exercising subtract from what i've eaten today? I'm completely confused and i want to lose weight, so i don't want to get stuck in starvartion mode by not getting enough calories. HELP!

carly

You take the total number of calories you burn per day, minus 500 per day. If you are significantly overweight, you can subtract 1000. That is how many calories you should eat. So yes, if you ate about 1800 calories and burned just 1274 skating, plus all the other activities you did today that burned calories... you have not consumed enough calories for the day for your body.  

I suggest checking out this famous post by CoachDee: http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/4815 .html

so if i eat around 1400 i can only burn like 200 calories or else i go into a deficit? i read the article by coachdee but it just confused me. i usually don't work out until after i'm done eating for the day. What if i burn more calories then i've eaten today? do i have to keep eating until i get evened out?

You should have 500-1000 less calories per day than what you burn in total. Closer to 500 if you just have a few pounds to lose. More near 1000 if you have quite a bit to lose.

Here is the formula from CoachDee's post:

For Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )


Harris Benedict Formula To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor (BE HONEST WITH THYSELF), as follows:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

This is the total number of calories you need in order to maintain your current weight.

This article was just posted on the Lounge forum.  Maybe it will help.  I know it's long, but it's worth a read because it really does tell you what happens when you starve your body.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/core_march_8. htm

Clairelaine - I've just read the above article, its good I wish I had read something like that years ago. I joined June 1st and have watched my weight and dieted on and off for 35 years,  I have just read your profile and I'm a little younger than you , 53,  I am English have had it in my head all these years the only way to lose weight was to eat salad and be under 1000 cals.  I used to feel guilty when I eat but now I am trying to get used to eating 1500.  K. 

**** whats the fun in 1500 cals?

i eat like 3000 a day

2500 to lose

3500 to gain if that

some days when i want some muscle mass i go up to 4000

and ill tell you 3000 is pretty easy to reach!

Burning 1200 calories for 1.5 hours in line skating?  That seems like alot I run for the amount of time and don't burn as much as that.

Original Post by vee3000:

Burning 1200 calories for 1.5 hours in line skating? 

Ya, i'm calling Shenanigans.