Once I lost the weight I wanted to for our wedding and honeymoon, I was determined to keep up my workout schedule and my clean eating. Unfortunately, I noticed a few changes in my body that I was not keen about. My legs and arms were getting bigger (muscle, yes) but I wasn't "toning up" the way I had imagined. Jeans were tighter and some of my favorite shirts no longer fit. I was completely at a loss. Nothing had changed between my diet and workout intensity, yet my body was not changing the way I had hoped.
Charles said that it might be because my body was actually going into starvation mode, since I was only eating about 1,200-1,300 calories a day. He helped me calculate my daily caloric needs for my height and weight and for the amount of heavy lifting that I was doing. I decided to start eating about 2,000 calories a day with about 40% protien, 30% fat, and 30% carbs. It was actually quite difficult to get to 2,000 calories and avoid carbs while getting enough protein and fat. I kept up this diet for another few months, but then I started noticing I was actually gaining weight. Yes, I know the number on the scale shouldn't matter. But that's the only way I had been monitoring my progress, so it brought me down to know that I was increasing in weight. I started to get really depressed with my body, and on top of the stresses of graduate school, I gained back the weight I had worked so hard to lose.
So this is where my story begins (again)...
I've read about the starvation mode before. It's hard for me to know exactly how many calories I consume in a day right now since I eat two meals at school and am not sure how all those things are prepared. Sometimes I wonder since I like to eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies for dinner, but that's usually cause I'm honestly not too hungry come night time most days. Guess we'll see if I keep my waist down. Btw look at those ripped arms!
ReplyDeleteThanks love! I had heard about starvation mode before, but I assumed it only happened to people with eating disorders. I wasn't aware that if you are working out and burning loads of calories a day and then only eating a little over 1,000 calories, you actually are depleting your body of nutrients and it's impossible to keep up the progress. You have to refuel your body if you're working out so much. Honestly, I don't even count calories anymore. As long as I eat smaller portions, and eat about 4-5 small meals a day, I don't worry too much about the # of calories I consume. If I know I've eaten healthy and I've had enough water, then I listen to my body. If I'm still starving, I opt for fruit or oatmeal, something with substance to fill me up. For you, since it's difficult to count your calories when you don't really know what's in your meal, I'd say just listen to your body. Watch your portions, but eat every 3-4 hours. If you're hungry and you've had enough water, eat. If you're not hungry, don't eat. Obviously, whatever you're doing is working. You look great!
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