Reversing Starvation Mode

I'm 5'3 and 100 lbs. I was eating around 600-800 calories per day until I learned about starvation mode. I don't want to damage my body so I plan on increasing my calories, but at the same time since my metabolism is probably low I don't want to gain weight. Any ideas on how to add on calories without shocking my body so I can slowly build my metabolism back up? Thanks :)

    well you should train and by the way should be very careful with boosting your calorie intake! if you overincrease your calories intake, then there will be some problems with your shape. so try to add 100 calories each week. for example since today you can eat 900 calories, after 1 week eat 1000 calories and train a lot! thats healthy!
good luck!:)

also stay on a high protein diet consiting of small meals a dai. the high protein will sure kickstart ur metabolism bk into gear without gaining the pounds. go for lean pultry, fish, legumes egg whites (boiled) and fresh fruit and veg! plenty :)

I HAVE THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM AS YOU DO!!! wow its nice to know there are others out there suffering just as i am.  Message me and let me know what other info/advice you got and it if works.  I want to be able to eat a nice pretxel or cookie and actually feel good about it

If you exercise 4 times a week, your metabolism will speed up to the point that you won't need to worry too much.

What I'm doing is adding 20 calories a day, and when I get up a bit higher, slow it down a bit, maybe +25 every other day. I started the increase before getting to my target range (I just barely edged into it as of today) so that a few pounds of additional weight loss is no big deal.

I anticipate maintaining weight on 1200, initially, though it may go as high as 1400-1500 after a few months. But I'm not sure and will just have to find out when I get there.

You all are adding some great suggestions. I can tell you from experience that I have been here. The whole starvation mode thing. I was eating 600 - 900 calories a day while trying to lose weight. After a few black outs, decided that needed to change. It was nearly turning into an ED because I did NOT want to gain weight back.

However, the longer you wait, the more damage you are doing to  your body. I'm glad you are here now trying to reverse starvation mode.

What I did was boost my calories up from 600-900, to at LEAST 900. Then 4 days later I boosted it up to 1000, then 1100, 1200. Since I was still losing weight, I kept it at 1200.  Did I gain? Yep. I gained 5 pounds in a weekend. But by the next weekended it was gone. So you may have some weight flux's, but they shouldn't be wild and something you cant change.

The exercise 4 times a week thing is great advice, but don't abuse it! Even if you are eating 1200 calories a day. You don't want to drop under that amount even after you have exercised. So if you exercise and burn 300 cals, eat 1500. Again gaining from muscle and such will happen.

Give your body at least 3 weeks of a new diet to see the weight flux. Hope that helps!

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Melinda,
Volunteer Moderator

Yeah umm I have the same problem.  I used to be 179, and i kept losing and losing until now where I am at 145.  I only eat about 700 calories a day, only 5 grams of fat, and live off of fruit and rice cakes.  I know this is really unhealthy, but I can't seem to stop.  I haven't gone near any sweets like ice cream and brownies in weeks, or regular food like chicken and beef.  I really want to lose 15 more pounds, so I can be 5' 6.5" and weigh 130, but I know this isn't healthy.  I know people keep telling me to eat more, but what are the health effects of not eating that much?  It's not like I want to get down to 100 pounds or something.

klg ~ try getting yourself back into eating protein by making a vegetable soup with some chicken, or even adding more beans or soy into your diet.

700 calories a day is not healthy. You may be losing "weight" according to the scale, but your body is probably gaining fat and losing muscle mass. Not good for long term weight loss at all.

What I suggest you do, is add back 200 calories every 4 days until you hit the 1200 mark (at the very least). If you gain weight, so be it. It's only going to be temporary while your metabolism heals itself. It should start coming back off in 3 weeks max.

Let's be real here: are you going to live off of 700 calories a day? Nope. What's going to happen is you are going to stop losing weight before hitting goal, and your brain is going to twist you into thinking that you need to eat less, and THEN we are going to have a major problem on our hands.  So let's just get this fixed before it escalates.

Add in nuts, oils, even breads if it gets your cals where they need to be.

I know how hard it is. I've been there, done this.

Yeah.  I'm at that stage right NOW actually. My brain already twisted. My body's all fucked up into thinking I can't eat more then 800 calories a day. I'm slowly trying to build up my calorie intake. I feel like my hair is falling out and my body's shutting down. Is the only way to cure this is just to eat more?

Yes. You have to eat more, and you need to do it now, not slowly.

chita87 ~ Yep you have to eat more. And you're going to have a hard time doing it. Trust me, I've done this. Been through it. But you need to pull yourself out of the ED you are creating for yourself. If it goes further, you could end up with anorexica. I'd HATE to see that. I was on the verge of it myself.

I would get up and eat, and my stomach would hurt at the thought of putting more calories in my body. I didn't want to eat it, I was sick at the thought of eating more. But we both know it is for the best.

I would talk to myself and coach myself "the sooner the better.. the sooner the better" and I'd eat my damn peanuts. Hated peanuts, but they added the extra calories into my diet.

After a while, I was like "screw these peanuts, I could be spending these calories I am choking down in better ways" then I started cooking my food. Making spaghetti with chicken, chicken sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, etc. Because I felt like I was wasting those calories on some nasty small greasy peanuts.

It took me a few weeks to be okay with eating again. I'm still not all the way there if you want me to be completely honest with you. I MAKE myself eat 1100 calories at the very least, when I darn well know that I should be eating at least 1200. I feel horrible if I touch that 1200 mark.

So make a mark, and try to reach towards it. "the sooner the better" The sooner you start the faster you can start healing your body, and the faster you can start losing any gained weight or maintaining your current weight.

If you need my help or support, I'm here for you. I completely understand how you feel {{{hugs}}}

For what it's worth, I was eating 1200 calories a day for 2 months. That's the male equivalent of eating 800 calories a day, I suppose.

Now I have to force myself to eat 2500, after 2300 didn't stop my weight loss. If you think eating 1200 is hard, try eating 2500!

I so understand how you feel. I've been losing hair in clumps after I started dieting and was living off 600 - 900 calories a day. Now I'm up to about 1500 cals a day and my body still thinks it is in starvation mode. Pretty scary!

I'm seeing a dietician next week, so hopefully that will help!

Ahh, I'm in the same place as you! I'm 5'3" and a half but I weigh 109 lbs now.. I want to maintain at 100 lbs but I'm confused about what I should do!

 

Good luck <33

...i guess those last posters never realized that this thread was from a year ago.

 

i am 5'2'' and alter between binge eating and anorexia. right now i am 98 lbs.;i know i need to gain.;i want to be anywhere from 102-105 lbs i think. i am still eating 700-800 cals a day and count my splenda and spray butter and pam and coffee in my count... prob adds up to 30 of my cals a day. i eat a lb in a half to 2 lbs of fruit a day as my food bc its safe.  stick to protein and fruit and veggies. how many can i do?  want to gain but dont at the same time you know?  not too fast at least.

There seems to be two approaches to remedying this:

A. Upping slowly but surely (1200 right away and then increase from there)

B. Drastically increasing (refeeding, essentially) to 3,000+ calories which shocks your metabolism into overdrive, and suddenly you'll be able to stay thin on a huge number of calories. It sounds too good to be true, right?

On CC, it seems not many people report back definitively on how either method works out for them in the long run, so we're left with a lot of inconclusive data about how/when/why the approaches above work. A lot of people here who have upped their calories  gradually are still seeing weight gains when they are trying to maintain or lose, which I think discourages new viewers/readers to take the plunge, since it doesn't seem guaranteed to pay off the way it should "in theory". If more people posted and said "I did this and it worked exactly as it should have", it would reassure people.

 

I think maybe that is why the refeeding/mechanical eating approach is the new trend here - it's so crazy that it just might work. But because so many people have just started that method, it's too early to tell if it works out for them. Meesh has educated the forum on this approach, and it worked well for her, so that is encouraging.

Danamichael - at the end of the day, you need to weigh your options and do what you feel is more manageable. I guess both seem scary, but perhaps the 3,000+ calorie shock is a way to get it all over with faster and you can theoretically return to a high calorie maintenance level without gaining much/any weight. Ask a nutritionist if she recommends this method for you.

 

P.S. Surprised there isn't two warring camps on the two methods yet. Meanwhile, no one can answer WHICH WORKS BETTER?!