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Not hungry, and I'm eating under 1,000 cals. Dangerous?

Will my body go into starvation mode?

I'm 14, 5"8 and 165 lbs. I want to lose at least 15 lbs in the next three months. I think I've lost some weight, I started about a month and a half ago and my pants fit looser, but I still want to lose more weight since I'm still heavy.

I'm not hungry, I count my calories and they come up to being around 800 to 900 a day. I check on this website to see the calories of everything, and even round it a little more because sometimes I may get a bigger portion of the food.

Also,, I wake up at around 12pm. Lazy I know :P So this causes me to not eat so much during the day, since I stopped eating after 7.

Will my body go into starvation mode? Should I increase my calories? I don't want to gain weight.

Original Post by bonnerz:

Will my body go into starvation mode? Should I increase my calories?

Yes and yes. Not eating after 7 if you only get up at 12 is ridiculous. Lack of hunger is a sign your metabolism is slowing down (ie starvation mode).

A short, sedentary teen needs a minimum of 1500 calories per day; as a taller teen I'd say you'd need around 2000; more if you're active.

What time do you go to sleep?

The reason some people don't eat after 7 is becuase they wake up at 6am and go to bed by 9pm... I'm going to assume you go to bed at 1am, so in your case you shouldn't eat after 11pm... Have one more meal around 10pm, hun.

try to drink a tall glass of milk

or make a smoothie

or just pop a couple of handfuls of almonds or trailmix into your mouth throughout the day

or drizzle a little extra oil or butter on your food

those are easy ways to add few extra hundred calories, without having to eat a lot

don't do this..i've been on the 1000-1200 cals a day before and yes ive lost weight for the first few months or so.but then i stopped losing weight and over the past few years,i've gained even more weight that i hv lost. 1200 is not enough. im currenlty 17.5"3,55 kg. when i started this stupid diet,i think i was around 14 yrs old,47/48 kg. 5"3.

yes.ur body will go into starvation mode and yes,you'll lose weight,but it will only be temporary. if u increase calories,u might gain a bit of weight at the very beginning but it'll disappear once ur body adjusts.and in the long run,you'll lose far more weight eating more calories,than sticking to 1000 cals per day. all the best

Original Post by bonnerz:

Will my body go into starvation mode?

 

I'm 14, 5"8 and 165 lbs. I want to lose at least 15 lbs in the next three months. I think I've lost some weight, I started about a month and a half ago and my pants fit looser, but I still want to lose more weight since I'm still heavy.

 

I'm not hungry, I count my calories and they come up to being around 800 to 900 a day. I check on this website to see the calories of everything, and even round it a little more because sometimes I may get a bigger portion of the food.

 

Also,, I wake up at around 12pm. Lazy I know :P So this causes me to not eat so much during the day, since I stopped eating after 7.

 

Will my body go into starvation mode? Should I increase my calories? I don't want to gain weight.

It is not healthy for someone your age to have such a restrictive caloric intake.  The physical dangers that come with undereating are numerous.  You put yourself at risk for osteoporosis, loss of fertility if you lose your period, hair loss, electrolyte problems, a weakening of the immune system, low blood pressure, blood disorders such as anemia, heart problems and even death.  The mental woes that accompany undereating can be just as devastating.  Depression is common in undereaters as well as distorted perceptions. 

'Starvation mode' is real. The body doesn’t care whether calorie restriction is due to a famine or is self-imposed; it always follows the same pattern: Rapid loss when calories are first restricted, which slows weight loss until calorie equilibrium is reached when body weight is 25% or so less than it had been. Calorie burning slows down to match calorie intake. The difference between starvation and dieting is a matter of degree. Starvation is a nearly complete, prolonged calorie restriction, while dieting is a partial, usually temporary restriction. Concentration camp victims kept losing weight because their calorie intake was extremely low and their output was high because they performed heavy work, sometimes in frigid weather.

After a month and a half of starving yourself, your body has adjusted to the lower food intake.  You need to increase your calories.  You will find that you have more energy and will be able to achieve your goals when you have the proper amount of fuel in the body.

Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited.

well i think it already is in starvation mode

thats why ur  not very hungry.. how many hours r u sleeping?

u should try to eat more healthy option try the recipies option on CC it has some nice healthy recipies . also add some nuts and seeds into ur daily diet plan

hope it helps

bonnerz,

As a teen, the minimum recommended caloric intake is 1500.  We cannot and will not support teens eating less than this.  If you need help figuring out how much you should eat, check out the link for a teen calculator because Calorie Count's calculator is geared more toward adult non-teens.

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.a spx

Also, From "Ask Mary":

Will I go into starvation mode if I eat 1000 – 1200 calories a day?

http://caloriecount.about.com/starvation-mode -eat-calories-q2046

Your body will not selectively burn stored fat because your central nervous system needs glucose and you can’t make glucose from fat.  But protein can be converted to glucose, and so the body breaks down your muscles to provide it.  Ultimately, you lose lots of muscle along with fat, and that drives down your calorie requirements because muscle burns calories but fat does not.  You then maintain a higher weight on less food making weight gain inevitable.  For best results, eat the number of calories prescribed by the Calorie Target calculator in the Tools section.