Please help! Getting body out of starvation mode.....

Cupcake:)

New member
Heya everyone ;) looking for some help :) a week ago I was down to 10.4 stone, now I'm back up to 11 stone which I was when I started dieting 6 weeks ago. It's definitely not just the scales or
water fluctuations-I can see and feel it. Thing is I think I may have been eating too little. On a daily basis I was/am eating :
-3 cups of add water hot chocolate (150)
-fruit salad or soup (approx 150)
-tea (normally meat, potatoes and veg) (approx 600/700)

when I realised I was putting the weight back on I cut the fruit salad and soup. Now I'm still putting weight back on and think I'm in starvation mode-but don't want to eat more to rectify this incase
the pounds pile on even more.....what do I do?

Thank you!
cupcake :) (female, 16, 173 cm, 150 Lb)
 
You're not in starvation mode. It doesn't really exist - it's kinda an internet/dieting myth.

I would suggest that you start by figuring out how many calories you need to eat to lose weight healthily and then start logging your food on one of the free sites like or .

What you're eating is not healthy or balanced.
 
^thanks for the reply, I will definitely try logging onto one of those sites :) could you specify what's not healthy or balanced re my current diet? Thanks so much :) xxxxx
 
^thanks for the reply, I will definitely try logging onto one of those sites :) could you specify what's not healthy or balanced re my current diet? Thanks so much :) xxxxx
 
could you specify what's not healthy or balanced re my current diet?
Well, first of all, as you know, under 1000 calories isn't a healthy amount of food.

Hot cocoa for breakfast isn't healthy. Sugar, sugar, sugar, and more sugar. A teeny bit of protein. Carbs.

There's nothing wrong with fruit salad or soup, but you have to have MORE than that. Again ... carbs, fruit sugars, teeny bit of protein. Nothing else.

Dinner - that's the only balanced looking meal you have, but w/out knowing what type of vegs, and how much meat and potatoes, and how it's cooked, it's hard to say how healthy it is.

Ideally you should be eating a balance of lean proteins, healthy fats, complex carbs and whole grains, and tons of veggies.

I don't see that it your diet at all.
 
^thanks, that was really helpful. I guess i'm really struggling with the
concept of eating more when what I'm eating already is making me gain weight, but as it's so little food I realise I must
be doing something wrong.

How does this look?
-1 apple (66) pineapple (70) natural low fat yoghurt (100 ish) =236
-soup (100) with a piece of bread and butter (150)= 250
-meat or cheese with veg (peas, salad, broccoli etc) and potatoes= approx 600
plus 1 cup of hot chocolate (50)
1136

thanks so much for your help-I'm ready to committ to a diet, but just don't seem to be getting it right yet.
 
Why not look at some of the diaries people write on this site?

There are some great meal plans that people post. Usually you can tweak something to your specific requirements.
 
Did you read any of the sticky posts, as I suggested? I doubt it.
Did you figure out how many calories you're supposed to be eating to be healthy? Nope.
Did you register for an account to log your meals and see how your nutrients break down? Of course not.
Did you do ANYTYHING to educate yourself about what's healthy? Not a thing.

Look, I'm not trying to be harsh. I'm trying to teach you something.

If I tell you that meal above is healthy are you going to eat that exact thing every single day for the rest of your life? What happens when you've lost all the weight you want to lose? Are you going to go back to eating whatever you want w/out any knowledge of what is healthy or why? And then when you gain weight you won't understand why or what to do about it.

Eating a healthy diet - both in terms of losing weight and in terms of a diet as "what you eat regularly" is more than just a list of food.

So for the record, no what you listed above isn't healthy.

No go read the sticky posts and learn why.
 
Cupcake, if I am wrong correct me, or is it the fear of putting on any weight that stops you eating enough at the moment- what is your current BMI? (Just want to check its healthy). If your body is too underweight it wont really work properly and you will also feel under par.

Try to work out how many calories you need per day, there are stickies on the forum and also a website called fitday.com and no doubt there are countless other sites. If your finding it a real struggle its maybe worth checking to see if your able to see a dietition- it can make all the difference to sit down with someone and go through your diet and make plans with someone else who will work with you on your problem- a problem shared is a problem halved.

I'd say below 1200kcals is still too low. I don't know your height or weight or age or what you do in a day so cannot comment either way but basicly your body will get used to whatever you throw at it. If you eat too little it will try its hardest to make this work to maintain your weight, if it feels you are underweight or not eating enough to maintain your weight or even not getting the right nourishment it will send out strng cravings for more food and particulary high calorie foods as it knows it doesn't need to eat alot of these to get what it needs. Basicly make very sure your getting enough protein, enough vitamins and minerals and more importantly enough calories to maintain a healthy weight or if you are overweight (I doubt it) to get to a healthy weight.

Maybe have a plan to add in a little each week or few days to get your calories back to a norm. yes you may gain some weight, but lets face it, you say your gaining weight already. There are important hormonal changes to consider, in your 20s you will go through alot and as you age will continue to go through a few more. The main ones being about turning from a young girl (19) to a child bearing women (25) and your body trying to fix itself up to do so. As you get older, the hormones change again and another thing to consider is your bones. Calcuim is being stored in your bones until your about 30, this will help keep osteoperosis away. Once you hit 30 your bones are in decline (which does impact on your weight) but other hormones add to build muscle (again influences your weight) its all quite complex and I don't want to speak as an expert when I am not- this is stuff I have read/been told by experts and I am sure theres more written about it on Wiki.

Listen, try to get back a healthy diet, its in your interest to do so, if your worried about your weight remember that you may just find your body is trying to get you to a natural weight range which is healthier to you. Please give it a good try, a few months of eating properly, wait for things to settle regarding your weight, they may hop around a bit and remember that not all weight gain is bad, your bones, your muscles, water (which gets stored), nutrients.... its all stuff you need to exist and function properly- things will need tome to settle and I promise they will. If it all goes pear shaped you can always revert back to what your doing now, which is ill advised but if thats what you really want...
 
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