missybrubaker's Journal, 21 March 2018

I am stuck too - i am getting out my food scale again, clearing out the nuts and olives and other things I can eat and underestimate. Good luck to us! 

I don't think you are eating enough. Your body is in starvation mode. gotta feed the fire. I do this all the time. please someone, correct me if I'm wrong 

The concept of “starvation mode” which is the unfortunate held belief that “the body will hold onto body fat and not lose it regardless of how many calories are burned off” is complete and utter BS. It’s a myth. Any deficit large or small, will cause weight to be lost 100% of the time as long as a TRUE caloric deficit is in place. 1200 calories for example plus whatever amount you may be burning off from exercise I can guarantee you’re losing weight on. 1200 calories is an extremely high deficit, 1200 is the appropriate amount for maintenance for a woman who weighs close to 90lbs and is a deficit for a woman who would weigh close to 100-120lbs (to give an example.) the reason why you think you’re not losing weight when really you are! Is because of many reasons. A calorie deficit= energy deficit, and whenever you go extremely low in calories, your body will do things such as... Holding on to water weight! Also called water retention! The lower you go, the less water you drink, the more you sweat, the more exercise you do (list goes on) are all reasons why your body APPEARS to not be losing any weight, it’s being counterbalanced by the water retention. So you may have lost 2lbs of fat in 2 weeks (or whatever) but it shows that 2lbs is not gone because the excess water in your body , intracellular water retention (such as in your cells & muscles) & extracellular (such as outside cells, around adipose tissue aka fat mass) is causing it to look/feel/appear as though the scale isn’t budging... further more, As previously stated users said, your calories are way too low. Once you up those to a correct leve, start doing less exercise, drinking more fluids, . Then you’ll see more normal (and healthier) weight being lost. 

And to add one other thing, which happens many many times, which may even be a case for you, is you could be consuming more calories taking you out of a deficit by either realizing it or not, or you’re in a deficit a few times per week then eat a lot on other days, also contributing to not being in a deficit at all, not causing weight to be lost. So, re-analyze your diet and calories/foods, make sure you’re tracking everything correctly, and adjust as needed. 👍🏻 

Exactly what are you eating? 

deadpool12345 you lost me at the end there. so starvation mode is a myth but she needs to eat more calories. that's what I read. is that right?  

U could also be building muscle which is more dense than fat 

Go get a dexa scan or into a bod pod and get ur body fat % measured 

Yes and yes. You read correctly. The reason why she needs to eat more calories is because in the long term continuing in the deficit she is in, which should really be more like 2500 calories (to start, may be lower, may be higher) but anyways, because going that low with the weight she is at will cause more harm then good in the long run. The body needs a specific amount of calories just to be healthy and functional properly. Over a long period of time, without proper calories, without adequate nutriention from more calories, more macronutrients (protein/fat/carbs) that’s a set up for problems. Now there’s varying factors that may contribute to, maybe for a little while, her body will be okay, but it increases the chance that the lower and lower she goes in weight, the more chance for muscle to be used more for energy, the more chances that organs could fail, at worse case scenario. Low calorie deficits that exist like this are the types which cause people to become anorexic. Not to say that’ll happen but just to give an example. So yes, starvation mode, as I defined it, is a myth. There is no “mode” for fat loss, no “mode” for building muscle, no “mode” for pooping lol, your body functions in unison all the time, and for many other related factors and reasons, which is why she needs to be in a higher calorie level, that will STILL be in a caloric deficit, but a healthier way of losing weight to remove the problems associated with going into an extremely unhealthy low deficit. 

Good luck Missbrubaker. Seems like you need some.  

😒 deadpool, you get the side eye! 😂 I don't doubt what you say, don't get me wrong. But the answer is the same either way. 😊 

Know how you feel.  

don't give up. you got this!  

Sorry, hit the wrong button. You are probably not eating enough calories. I've been in your boat. Just had the 2nd knee done and 3 months later I have energy to start walking for longer periods of time each week. You might have insulin resistence , so you need to get a good checkup that will include your glucose rate. Also, remember that as we age, our metabolism slows down. Get a good checkup, find out how many calories you really need to NOT go into starvation mode. 

There are discrepancies between the terms. For the purposes of that I explained, “starvation mode” see the quotes. Vs other people using starvation mode= what is simply called Starvation. Starvation is very very real! But not “starvation mode”. Will the body starve if it doesn’t get enough calories? Eventually, but only to the point that would cause near death, and to the point where the body is at its lowest weight and basically sacrificing any more weight would lead to organ failure, a coma, and leading to eventual death... that would take a lot to accomplish! But as I said before, and what I’m sure you’re referring to is= Starvation. But even that will NOT cause the body o “hold onto fat storage”... Hence why I said being in “a true deficit” it’s the law of thermodynamics, adaptive thermogenesis, and basic biology, it will be literally impossible for the human body to hold onto any weight (muscle or body fat) when IN a calorie deficit, regardless of how large or how small the deficit is, it will always ALWAYS result in weight to be lost. And to further answer the question about starvation, look at any starving child in Africa, or that tv show Naked & Afraid, they have practically nothing to eat and lose lots of weight, just to give an example.on another point is if muscle is being built, and if you gain 5lbs of muscle and lose 5lbs of fat, your weight will appear the same, muscle is not more dense then fat, 20lbs of muscle and 20lbs of fat will always weigh the same, check my profile for a reference picture. And to further enhance the knowledge of what Starvation will do to the body. You can see here. So hopefully that clears up everything. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment 

Up your calories 

Deadpool, since you seem to be the expert, please tell me how I was on a 1200 calorie diet for 4 months and lost nothing. My temperature drops to 97 the day I go on a diet. Is that not starvation mode? My hair was falling out and I had no energy, but my doctor told me my TSH thyroid test was normal. My ancestors survived the potato famine in Ireland, by the way. 

If you read what I was saying, the last 2 times... I’ll have to repeat myself a 3rd time. STARVATION IS REAL! “Starvation MODE” is the myth! Starvation MODE is when people believe that no matter how LOW in calories they go they will NOT lose weight. That is the OPPOSITE of STARVATION as I said is VERY REAL AND HAPPENS.... What happens with you clearly was a problem! Obviously. Hair doesn’t just fall out for no reason, and it doesn’t matter if a thyroid is causing weigh issues, a deficit is a deficit plain and simple. If you had no pre-existing medical conditions and weren’t taking any drugs/medicine/supplements that were causing those extra problems, then your consumption of 1200 calories was causing you to have a nutritional deficiency, which is also a cause of hair loss. I can’t see your profile, and without providing me any information of what you weighed at that time, you could have been in a deficit and that caused the nutrient problems, hence hair loss. That is not the only thing that can cause those problems. Many people have full heads of hair and they have gone in even lower deficits, so you probably had/have some other issue relating to that. As for your 1200 calories intake. Everyone’s body is different, and if your issues are not the same as this persons which I clearly stated below, which is the most common problem among many others who believe they’re in a deficit when it’s either they’re not, or they are, and other factors are causing them to not see weight being lost when in fact it is. If those are not the causes, then some people have low calorie maintenance levels, some have higher, some people can eat 4000 calories and have which enough metabolic rate/and or, combine t with exercise and they may be at maintenance and not lose or gain weight. Others may have very low calorie levels, and regardless of ho skinny or fat or not they are, their intake of calories may just BE that low! Which means, they would have to go even Lower! Hence, if you truly had a maintenance caloric level of 1200 calories, then you would need to consume less to see weight loss.  

be encouraged. stay strong. U will drop! 

I'll hold your hand Missy and walk you through it just sent you mail Sweetie