Getting body out of Starvation, Karma for help

[serbyte]

I have been on a diet for 3 months now, and need to get my body back to normal. Durring this dieting, i kept lowering my calories until i was finnaly barely losing wight on very low calories.
I have been trying to slowly go back to a regular diet, but have been unsuccessful. I have been gaining fat on a 1800 calorie diet. Does anyone know what type of foods are best for getting your body out of starvation. I really need help, cuz i dont want to lose all that i have accomplished.
Any ways of getting the body out of starvation mode would be ideal.

 

[ashley2212]

Judging by your stats - 165 6'1" 7%bf - I'm guessing you are male and you are tiny!
First of all, I am thinking eating disorder? The situation you described was exactly my life when I was on Weight Watchers, which is why I don't recommend it to anyone - it practically turned me into an anorexic.

I think you need to spend some time putting your brain in check as well as your diet. There are no particular foods that you can eat and not gain fat if your body is used to eating nothing.

As far as eating goes, think natural. Read up on some diets and food advice on this board and online. At that weight and that bodyfat, I think you could use some more fat and muscle on your bones. Understand that in order to fix your brain and your body, you are going to put on a little bit of fat. FAT IS NOT DEATH!!! You need to get your metabolism going again and eventually, you'll find a comfortable zone where you're not fat and you're not starving.

Do you lift? If not, you should start. If I had to guess, I would say you probably eat nothing and do tons of cardio, am I right? Cut back on the cardio and pick up some weights. SLOWLY eat more. Set small goals. For instance: "This week, I am going to eat one more meal than I normally do... next week I'll add another." Stop counting everything (calories, bf, weight) for now and listen to your body.

 

[serbyte]

actually those stats are from this summer before i went to europe. I actually have very thin bones. I was pretty big when i had those stats. I had 16 inch arms and could bench 315 for 2 reps.

I went to europe and lost 5 pounds. Since then i have been on a maintainence diet with low cardio, maybe once a week, and lifting 4 times a week. The problem is i wasnt eating enough. Only about 2000 calories on lifting days.

My problem is, that i no longer know when or how much to eat. I have been eating by a clock for a long time now, and i eat to get the nutrients i need. I have no clue what kinds of foods i need, or anything.

Are there any types of foods in particular that signal to the brain that you are not in starvation mode. I have been reading up on leptin levels and have come to realize that this may be my problem.

 

[velvett]

How long were you really dieting, was it really only three months?
How low did you drop your calories? What were they before you started to drop them?
What exactly were you eating? Ratios? (roughly)
When did you have your body fat measured last?
When did you go to europe? Are you still training? If so- what are you doing - same thing?

You have to eat to get that metabolism going again and I'm not saying feed your face with anything food or amount you can put your hands on.

Eat clean foods and eat at least 5/6 small meals throughout the day, every two hours to get/keep your metabolism working.


fish, chicken, turkey, pork, red meat
oatmeal, rice, rice noodles, yams/sweet potato
any green veggie, root veggie, all sorts of bell peppers
fruit (tomato, apples, cantalope, strawberries) - a lot of people don't eat fruit - this works for me you have to try it and see what works for you.black beans, red kidney beans, navy beans (same disclaimer as fruit)
almonds, all natural peanut butter
olive oil

don't limit your veggies
start at your current lowest daily calories and add 250 cals per day every week that goes by.


Go to your doctor and have a full blood work done (with a thyroid panel). - then report back with the results


One more thought - are you afraid to eat?

 

[Socrates]

many times in starvation seratonin levels go down. seratonin is made from tryptophan which can be consumed through protein or taken in the form of 5-htp. this should help.

 

[serbyte]

I have been eating a diet of abouty 150-200 carbs, 150-200 protien and low fat, around 40-60g. Sometimes i would take in more or less depending on how long the day was.

I have been eating like this for more than three months. I have been afraid to eat since early last spring. I have read an article on refeeds for Leptin levels, and have started a refeed yesterday to boost leptin levels. I will eat 500 carbs for 3 days, and take three days off and eat normal and see how I feel. If it works without gaining too much fat, I will continue this to try to normalize my body.
http://www.theministryoffitness.com/mof/library/articles/article18.htm

I stoped working out seriosly about 2-3 weeks ago. I now do circut training 2x a week to maintain. I do cardio about once a week if i feel it is neccessary. I began practicing kickboxing to keep in shape. Once i start feeling a little better, i will begin lifting again. I will probably give my body another week or two.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Bench 315 fro 2 reps at 6'1", 165lbs with thin bones? 16" arms at 165lbs and 6'1".

WEIRD.

 

[MrMakaveli]

I agree with velveet, if your really gaining on that little calories somthing is majorly wrong b/c thats very close to being thermodynamically impossible. Even fasting people completly to 6% bodyfat metabolic slowdown attenuated at 30% and no further in random studies I've seeen.

Figure out your maintenace at eat there for 2 weeks. One day refeeds while good for leptin, wont address the other metabolic processes that contribute to "starvation" mode (thyroid, etc, etc). Stop cardio and accept fat gain. It's better to be healthy then make a better attempt at getting lean again. Keep your diet clean while doing this and TRACK EVERYTHING. Odd's are your eating more than you think you are.