Weapon against starvation mode?

So I've been reading a lot about starvation mode but also about zigzagging calories as a method to lose weight.

I've read in multiple places that as long as you raise your caloric intake to around maintenance level every 3rd (or 4th...? can't remember dang it) day at least, then your body will never dip into starvation mode (it will start, but upping iyour intake will give your metabolism a kick).

Have any of you had any experience with this?

I'm trying 1000-1200 calories for three days, and the 1700-2000 after every third day. How does that sound?

Well, 1000-1200 sounds a little low, but apart from that- I'm now trying to lose again after spending YEARS in starvation mode and months eating maintenence trying to fix it, and all advice I've received has been to eat my target (1300cals) for around 10days or so, then have a maintenence day (1800cals)? It's working so far- but it's only been a week and I haven't had my 'maintenence' day yet?

It takes a few days for your body to enter starvation mode, although, you definitely do not want that to happen, reducing calories for 2-3 days and then eating within your optimal range isn't the worst way to lose weight.  I have been doing something similar, ( all-be-it unintentional) for the past 6 weeks and have lost 9 lbs.  Just make sure that when you are dropping your calories you eat healthy calories as to not deprive your body of nutrients.  and also be cautious to not go on a raging binge on the days you up your calories.  I find this method of weight loss quite sustainable and also vary the length of my low calorie days.  Keeping your body guessing how many calories it's going to have keeps you from plateauing and does give your metabolism an extra boost.  I normally do 1000cal's for 1-3 days and then 1400ish for one, (lots of people tell me I'm not eating enough, but if i eat 1500cal's daily my weight either maintains or goes up).  It all depends on your body, only you are going to know the amount of calories you feel satiated at.  If your body goes into starvation mode, trust me you will know.

I don't really zig-zag my calories. I just adjust my caloric intake according to my activity level of that day, as my activity level varies quite a bit. I eat more on the days I work 8 hours than on the days I sit at home and play Wii Fit for about an hour.

I don't really trust anything that involves eating a tiny amount, as 1000 is too few calories, and I'm going to argue that even 1200 is too few, depending on how old you are/how much you weigh/how tall you are/how active you are. While your days of eating 1700-2000 obviously aren't days where you're having too few calories, why not do some zig-zagging that's less erratic? My average burn on light activity is about 2300 calories, so I aim for 1700 on the days where I'm only playing the Wii Fit. My average burn for moderate activity is 2600, so I aim for around 2000 calories. I am never starving, and I'm losing rate at a moderate pace, and there's no risk of me slipping into starvation mode. Yes, it's possible I may undereat one day or two, but I'll never worry about my body thinking I'm starving it.

What you're doing is too close to starving your body. Our bodies are smart. Your metabolism might slow down despite your best efforts for it not to because you would technically be starving yourself a majority of the time. Swamp_rat is a good example of it, actually. She IS in starvation mode. The reason she maintains or gains weight on 1500 is because she hasn't eaten enough in the past, and her body is still reluctant to believe she's going to feed it.

Why not try zig-zagging, but on your low days eat 1400, and on your high days eat 1800? With a range like that, you could still lose weight and trick your body into working a little harder to burn the fat, while still feeding your body enough.

Original Post by armandleg:

What you're doing is too close to starving your body. Our bodies are smart. Your metabolism might slow down despite your best efforts for it not to because you would technically be starving yourself a majority of the time. Swamp_rat is a good example of it, actually. She IS in starvation mode. The reason she maintains or gains weight on 1500 is because she hasn't eaten enough in the past, and her body is still reluctant to believe she's going to feed it.

Why not try zig-zagging, but on your low days eat 1400, and on your high days eat 1800? With a range like that, you could still lose weight and trick your body into working a little harder to burn the fat, while still feeding your body enough.

 I agree, but didn't like to say!

irishmum, I didn't want to say it either, but it needed to be said. My method of "zig-zagging" isn't really zig-zagging because I'm just taking into account the amount of calories I burn individually per day. I, too, was once in starvation mode and it took me a bit to get out of it. I used to think 1200 was enough for someone my size--it clearly wasn't and I first had to break away from thinking "less is more" and began eating more. I could eat 1700 steadily throughout the week, but on the days where I work a full shift, I am just way too hungry during the course of the day NOT to eat more. I figured listening to my body was the better way to go.

However, I'm still trying to figure my body out, because my level of activity changed a bit, not to mention I took some time off (3 weeks), and gained 10lbs during that time, and lost about 5.5lbs of it already. Obviously I'm still losing water weight just from getting back on track. Once my weight stabilizes, I should be able to recalculate how much to eat for my body to lose weight and not starve. My suspicion is that I'm burning more calories at work than I think.

Zigzagging works well for me - though it's more of a "listen to my body" zigzag than a planned one.  Every day, I aim to eat between 1500 and 1600 calories.  If I only eat 1300-1500 and am not hungry, I don't eat anymore and call that a low-cal day.  If I'm still hungry after 1600, I have another snack - though I try very very hard not to go over 2000 unless it's a special occasion (i.e. I've gone over about three times total since July 1 - and, even then, the highest was 2200).  So, I wind up with a zigzag from 1400-2000 cals, hitting the high end almost every Saturday and the low end almost every Sunday and an average of 1700 cals/day. 

That may sound like a lot of calories, but I've never dieted before so my body trusts me to feed it.  I'm 5'4, early 30s and weigh 155 lb.  My BMR is 1400 which is why I don't go down to 1200 (1300 is rare - usually means I'm sick), and my daily burn is supposedly 2100 cals/day for my size/activity level.  It must actually be a little higher than that as I'm averaging a loss of 1 pound every 5 days.  I must say, I'm kind of looking forward to being able to maintain on 2100 cals/day.  :-)

Okay, I'm reading all this and I think I've got it all wrong... I've been keeping my calories to about 800 on the weekdays (with about half hour of aerobics a day) and about 1400 on the weekends (cause it's so hard to be good on the weekends).  I'm maintaining my weight... but I have to watch what i eat.  I've recently learned that it's important to reach my target calories in a day so my body DOESN'T go in to starvation mode.  I'm willing to do it... but how long will it take before my body is out of starvation mode (and cutting back calories actually means weight loss)?  How much will I gain to get to this point?  That part scares me.  I don't want to have worked so hard to get here, just to balloon back up.  At the same time, eating cabbage 3 meals a day is starting to suck pretty badly... lol...

Really Low calorie diets are also called Rebound diets. You have a low calorie days or weeks, and you rebound the next day or week by binging to make up for the low calorie days.

You mostly makeup for those calories by eating sugary food.

I think it is a good idea to get professional advice on what is best for your body.  I am on an eating plan that my doctor set for me, and it is working great.  It is easy to stick to, I lose consistently, have enough energy, etc.  Most people on these boards would try to tell me that my calories are too, low but it works for me.  I have a set number for six days of the week, and one day per week I eat maintenance level calories.

If you have questions about the best calories for you to consume and lose weight, I would encourage you to get a doctor's opinion first (a doctor you trust and who knows you and your body).

Don't go below 1200F/1500M +300teens +%exercise unless you're going to be under your doctor's care.

well, i'm surely in need of advice here too i guess. i too spent about a year on and off in starvation mode, and now it actually seems that's the only time i'm losing weight, and i've been keeping a journal, there's not a day where i went anywhere near 1800 calories, usually 13-1500 and i'm not losing any sort of weight. I'm about to take a visit to the doctor for thyroid levels, because honestly, i've never eaten this well in my entire life, and at about 150 now i'm not pleased, and want my size 8 back- and those were the days of bigmacs and shakes lol!

wow, kwimbea, 800/day on weekdays is really really not good, BUT its great that you're looking into getting out of that.  by no means will you just balloon back up. honestly, you're probably going to gain about 3 lbs, because your body will love being fed and will adjust pretty quickly.  usually, when people re-feed, a lot of the weight is water weight, because of the variety of food you're eating.  it really only takes about a week or 2 to adjust.

the amount your eating on the weekends can definitely be your regular days if you're willing to let it be.  your body will adjust.  your brain, heart, lungs, and other important organs will thank you.  so definitely go for it.

Okay I eat my normal amount of food usually more than 1000 calories a day and i work at starbucks. So on my days off i try to eat a little less cause i normaly munch on Starbucks pastries and such lol. I walk for about an hour a day and do upper body exercises for about 45 minutes 3 times a week.  My friends are saying that I've lost wight but i dont feel like I have. But I think my body might be going into starvation mode especially after i get off work. When I am at work I drink as little coffee as posible like 2 shots of espresso a day at the most but i drink caffeine free tea (passion tea) with lemonade. I'll have like 2 or 3 of those a shift at work; and sometimes I dont eat when i am at work and i come not feeling hungry and I'll eat like a toffee almond bar usually when ever we have them and i can go for a day without feeling hungry but i dont know why. So some days i dont eat but thats because i dont feel hungry and i'll drink tea with some sugar in it but not much. Is this Healthy to go like this even though i am being told that i am looking thinner and alot better looking?

Original Post by gettingxthere:

So I've been reading a lot about starvation mode but also about zigzagging calories as a method to lose weight.

I've read in multiple places that as long as you raise your caloric intake to around maintenance level every 3rd (or 4th...? can't remember dang it) day at least, then your body will never dip into starvation mode (it will start, but upping iyour intake will give your metabolism a kick).

Have any of you had any experience with this?

I'm trying 1000-1200 calories for three days, and the 1700-2000 after every third day. How does that sound?

You're 15 years old, the suggestion of 1000-1200 calories is too low for an adult woman, let alone a 15 year old.  Give then height, age, and weight that you've posted in other threads, 1500 is your minimum calorie intake to lose weight assuming that you're not getting exercise.

mrnarrator - that's really weird, because i work at starbucks too, and i too rarely eat at work and come home not feeling hungry.  although i don't nibble on pastries etc at work i do drink a lot of milk.

i weigh 118lbs and want to get down to 110lbs, but i seem to go from a few ' good days' of feeling in control, and then i flick back to eating too much at nights.  i find living alone increases my nightime eating, and subconciously feel i bypass hunger during the day as an excuse to ease the guilt of night eating.  how do i break this?!  i know that logic would say eat during the day, but tckiling the night is the hardest bit.  soemtimes it feels like an unstoppable compulsion and i just can't stop.  has this alone messed my metablism up?

Original Post by jembop:

  i know that logic would say eat during the day, but tckiling the night is the hardest bit.  soemtimes it feels like an unstoppable compulsion and i just can't stop. 

 It is an unstoppable compulsion. Your body is made to survive & when you don't feed it all day and finally come home, it knows that it can finally eat. Further, since you're telling your body the ONLY time it can eat is at night, it overrides whatever your desires are to restrict so it can survive. Your body doesn't want to be thin, it wants to live. This is exactly why everything says not to skip meals.

Yes, eat during the day! If you choose nutritious snacks wisely you can literally eat all day and all night to keep your body happy and still meet whatever your calorie goal is.