How ‘flexible’ is it? i.e. what sort of range = too low?
There’s a lot of talk about calorie reduction etc. Yet how low before the body holds on to fat as a starvation response?
I’ve heard a lot about it and when I go low calorie ( I won’t give a figure as no doubt someone half my age and twice my size will tell me it’s wrong - well, it will be for them!!!) I can’t see differences until I starve myself. Then it’s possibly eating muscle only - arrggh.
Any advice. I appreciate it’s a vague question, apologies.
It’s more a matter of time in a severely restricted calorie state than the actual hardline calorie intake. For instance, you can do an all day fast and a starvation won’t kick in, but stay at 800 calories or so a day (while being 200 lbs or so) and chances are in 3 weeks or so you’re starvation mechanism will kick in. This is one reason why anorexia and bulimia can be so hard to recover from - your body has been in a survival starvation mode for quite some time and reversing it isn’t easy.
[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:
It’s more a matter of time in a severely restricted calorie state than the actual hardline calorie intake. For instance, you can do an all day fast and a starvation won’t kick in, but stay at 800 calories or so a day (while being 200 lbs or so) and chances are in 3 weeks or so you’re starvation mechanism will kick in. This is one reason why anorexia and bulimia can be so hard to recover from - your body has been in a survival starvation mode for quite some time and reversing it isn’t easy.[/quote]
Thank you for the reply. Hence the need for frequent refeeds, I suppose.
I can’t seem to find the right balance between maintenance cals and lowering them enough to work without going too low. Then I read a calorie is not a calorie, etc etc. So wonder if lowering them makes that much of a difference.
Ive found that what you eat is alot more important than the specific calorie count. Nutrient dense foods like meats, veggies, nuts, seeds and all fun good stuff like that are more satisfying and overall contribute to more better health than over management of calories and the like. Check out marksdailyapple.com and the like and you will learn how you can get away from having to micro analyze your life like that, it worked for me and its worked for alot of other people as well.
[quote]alin wrote:
I can’t see differences until I starve myself. Then it’s possibly eating muscle only - arrggh.
[/quote]
I understand that some people need to go much lower than others in order to elicit a response, but while I can’t say not to do this for so many days in a row, I will suggest just throwing in one or two such days each week instead of following such a low intake on a daily basis. IME, the fluctuating of nutrient and caloric intake can have a positive effect on your metabolism, as well as your psychological state when dieting. Flirt with low levels, but don’t engage in a dance with them if you’re worried about losing muscle.