How does exercise impact dieting via calorie reduction and starvation/famine mode?
Question:
I generally read that if you put your body below 1200 calories a day it will go into famine mode and start holding onto fat etc. My question is this.... I accept that eating 1000 calories a day will cause me to stop losing weight. But what if I eat 1700 calories in a day but then burn 700 via exercise? Will my body go into famine mode? Basically, I need to know how exercise applies to famine mode, so that I can lose weight as efficiently as possible without hitting it. :) Thanks again for the help!
Answers:
Here are a couple of great articles on how to break through a weight loss plateau:
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/86/99147.htm
http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/18/102117.htm
The following healthy living recommendations will help you if you’re trying to lose weight, tone up your muscles, have aspirations of building lean muscle mass, are attempting to get a wash board stomach, or just want to feel better:
*1) Burn more calories then you're consuming everyday and measure your results using the following formula: Calories Consumed minus Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) minus Physical Activity minus the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). A website that explains this formula in more detail and will help you determine how many calories you need to reach or maintain a certain weight is at http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/calsburned.htm
Get a diet and fitness calculator that you can put on your computer or cell phone. This will allow you to easily calculate the above formula, set goals, log your daily calorie consumption, and register your physical activities.
Set realistic goals for your ideal body weight. Here are two websites that will calculate a suggested body weight:
Adults: http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm
Teens/Children: http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/exercise/weight/bmi.html
It is difficult and unhealthy to lose more than one or two pounds per week. There are 3,500 calories in a pound. If you eat 500 fewer calories per day for a week you will lose one pound. If you burn through exercise 500 more calories per day for a week you will lose one pound.
*2) Eat natural and organic foods found on earth versus something created by a corporation to make money. Eat meals in small portions throughout the day and take a good multi-vitamin supplement.
Avoid “High Glycemic Load Carbs” (sugar, pastries, desserts, refined starches such as breads, pasta, refined grains like white rice; high starch vegetables such as potatoes) and drink lots of water. Read this article for more information on high GL Carbs:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates.html
Do not try fad diets or diet pills. Here is an excellent food pyramid that anyone can follow: http://www.rayandterry.com/html/images/PyramidLRG.gif?osCsid=26a424be471d1337e7c2f105d5c64d9d
*3) Exercise on most days by doing cardiovascular training and/or resistance training activities.
Read a book or find a certified trainer to make sure your doing all resistance training exercises correctly. A great book to buy that teaches you the resistance training basics is “Weight Training for Dummies”. A superb magazine to buy with resistance training routines that will not get you bored is "Muscle and Fitness". Signup for the free newsletter. An excellent free online resource is at http://www.exrx.net/
A good book to buy that teaches you the cardiovascular training basics is “Fitness for Dummies”.
*4) Get plenty of sleep. Sleep experts say most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night for optimum performance, health, and safety.
*5) Educate yourself continually on health issues and make a life long commitment to good health. A great free publication is “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005”. A superb book to read is “You The Owner’s Manual”. An excellent periodic publication is the “Nutrition Action Health Letter”. A reputable test you can take to measure your biological age is at http://realage.com
Look at all areas where you can enhance your health. For example, make improvements in the quality of the air you breathe. Review outdoor air quality forecasts where you live and get an indoor air purifier. Send me an email or yahoo instant message to "gainbetterhealth" if you want an indoor air purifier recommendation and if you have any questions.
*Click on all the source links below to get the full benefit of the recommendations. The answers presented to your health questions are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Other Answers:
be carefull with losing muscle, muscle cells never regenerat like other body cells
I wouldn't go below 1200 calories a day. Keep excercising, you'll get past your plateau.
The human body was made to move, it likes MOTION! So getting up and moving around gets your heart pumping, and it's a chain reaction from there. The better your heart beat, the more blood flows into your lungs. The more blood that goes through your lungs, the more oxygen you have in your bloodstream. The more oxygen in your bloodstream, the better your brain will function (it only needs blood and oxygen to run, remember). By keeping your body active and healthy you will utilize its potentional instead of having it constantly store energy (i.e. fat) for some later time.
Also, calories represent the energy your body can absorb from food. Eating right, as in having a balanced diet because you NEED carbs, protiens, vitamins and minerals, and WATER FOR GODS SAKE!
As for your plateau, it actually means your body has adjusted to your level of exercise. It's time for you to take it to the next step so your body will have to work harder than it is now. Also, keep in mind that muscles will increase your weight too. A scale is okay, but check your wasteline to see if you're really losing excess weight.
Good luck and keep up the great work!
If your intake stays in the same general area your body shouldn't go into famine mode(as you put it).
you may need to reexamine what your diet consists of and change your cardio into a longer or more intense program to help you move on from your plateau. This might include some weight bearing callisthenics, or longer periods of fast walking.
But don't change until you've spoken to your doctor first.
Years ago, when I went on my first real diet, I had to drop my intake to 700 calories a day and fasting one day a week, after losing about 25 pounds. One hour of running/jogging/walking a day. At the end of eight months I had lost a total of 125 pounds, which amazed my roommate, since that was how much he weighed.
I kept it off for almost nine years, but trying to adopt children as a stay-at-home dad did me in.
Since then, I have found that it is best to try to find the point at which your body uses its stored fat without going into starvation mode, but the difference can be very small and hard to find, and it changes as your body changes.
It is very hard to burn a lot of calories through exercise. If you increase your muscle mass with exercise, you will use more calories per unit of exercise, but if you level off your exercise, either because you don't want to look muscle-bound or you just don't have the time or resources to go any further in building muscle-mass, you have to decrease the caloric intake.
Whichever way you go, your body will adjust and you will have to modify your program to keep losing. Be sure to also do things you need to continue doing after the weight loss to keep it off, so the habits will be there.
Good luck! And congratulations on a good start.
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