Veganism, weight loss, and starvation mode

[darius18]

Background:

IAMA

23 y/o

Height: 6’ 6’’

Weight: 145

Profession: Software development

I guess to give full context, I need to start from the beginning. In high school/college, I had always been a high achiever (4.00 GPA, involved in clubs, etc.). After college I took a well paying job in my field in a typical cube farm environment, and found it to be fairly unfulfilling. I had always struggled with depression, but I believe a combination of lack of fulfilling work and social contacts has led me down this current path.

In October 2012, I used MDMA alone for the first time while hanging out with a group of close friends. The profound sense of love/empathy from this experience has stayed with me since then, although I have only used on one other occasion. Based on this, and a weight gain of 15 pounds since starting work (175 to 190 lbs), I decided to become a “vegetarian” in February of 2013. However, I still allowed myself to cheat when I went out to eat to restaurants, and thus, I still ate meat for about 15-20% of my meals.

It was during this time where I believe my obsession with food/exercise began to become abnormal. Many weekends, I would exercise for extended periods (e.g. run 16 miles) so I could reward myself with a large burger and fries from Five Guys or a large mint Oreo concrete from the local custard shop. I began to exercise somewhat excessively, perhaps 12-18 hours a week. However, my weight remained steady at around 175 lbs from February thru July. Throughout this time, I would estimate my caloric intake was around 3000-4000 kCals per day. During the summer, after vacationing to Colorado and doing a lot of physical exertion, my weight did drop to 165 lbs, but my caloric intake/appetite remained the same (generally eating 1000 calories per meal).

In August of 2013, I made the decision to go vegan in sort of a snap-judgement; I went biking with a friend and his vegetarian girlfriend. Afterwards, I re-examined the reasons I went “pseudo”-vegetarian in the first place, and determined that veganism was the lifestyle that most closely aligned with my values. Therefore, I gave up all non-vegan foods the next day (caveat: I do not concern myself with cross contamination with meat on restaurant grills/refined sugar and bone char/ingredients that make up less than 2% of a product).

After going vegan, I initially lost 10 pounds within a month or so 165->155. I began to notice during this period a reduced sex drive and some increase in depressive symptoms, but did not make a link between this and my diet. I still worked out daily, with a combination of strength and cardio workouts (usually P90X + 4 mile run or 8 mile run + 30 min elliptical).

Through November->January, I continued with this combination of strength and cardio, and generally maintained a weight of 150-155 lbs. On weekends, I continued to overeat at restaurants (with vegan choices now) and exercise more to compensate. During this time, I continued to notice a strong decrease in sex drive along with a substantial decrease in semen production. My heart rate slowed to about 40 beats per minute (which I attributed to increasing conditioning instead of decreased metabolism). Additionally, I began to become very tired/lethargic when not working out, cold, and had very dry skin (possibly due to low fat consumption as well).

After continued muscle loss along with a general disdain for strength training in general, during February, I replaced my P90X regiment with 60 minutes of elliptical training. I also cut back on my food intake as I was generally eating well beyond feeling full as part of emotional escapism; I thought I was likely getting too many calories with all of food I was eating. Further, I quit my current position for a new job opportunity in Colorado, which added some additional stress to my life. During long weekend runs, I would become extremely tired and could almost “feel” my body burning muscle for energy. After visiting a physician, it was determined that I have developed anemia and have low levels of Vitamin D. Additionally, my platelet count is very low. I have been supplementing Vitamin B12, so I am not sure if this is a concern.

In the subsequent weeks, I have atrophied to 140 lbs at my lowest level (I am now 145). I became very concerned when I looked in the mirror and saw a starving man, protruding hipbones and all, staring back. Although my thyroid activity was in the normal range when tested about 2 weeks ago, it was at the lower end of “normal” spectrum and my condition has deteriorated since. I am very concerned that I have put my body into “starvation mode” through a combination of steady state cardio stress, stress from my job transition, and lack of food intake.

Because of my career transition, I do not have the time nor the ability to visit a doctor again for several more weeks. I am currently in the process of moving to Colorado, and will be starting my new position soon. I have given up on exercising for the time being, and have set a calorie target of 2500-3000 cals per day to get out of “starvation mode.” However, I know that once I get to CO, I will want to get outside and enjoy everything my new state has to offer. Additionally, exercise is an extremely important aspect in my life, and giving up the mental/physical wellness that comes with it has been hard.

Therefore, here are my questions:

1) Did I put my body in “starvation mode”?

2) How long will it take to recover?

3) Is it safe to exercise/do outdoor activities while recovering?

4) How can I minimize fat gain while recovering? Should I be concerned about fat gain in the abdomen/buttocks, or is it just temporary until the body adjusts out of starvation?

5) Is it better to “shock” the system by eating a large number of calories or slowly build up over a period of months?

6) What is the likelihood I have done permanent damage to my metabolism?

7) One of my lifetime fitness goals is to run an ultramarathon. I was planning on starting up training for this soon. Is this safe, or should I lower my goals to a marathon and a more balanced approach which involves more strength training?

More information:

Typical workout

November:

Weekday

1) P90X weight training + 4 mile run

2) 30 minutes elliptical training + 8 mile run

Weekends were generally similar with a longer 12 mile run

February

1) 60 min elliptical training + 4 mile run

2) 30 min elliptical training + 8 mile run

Weekends were generally similar with a longer 12 mile run instead

Example daily meals in November:

Breakfast:

Oatmeal: 300 cals

Flaxseed: 60 cals

Berries: 30 cals

Protein powder: 130 cals

Banana: 100 cals

Salad: 200 cals

Lunch:

Oatmeal: 300 cals

Berries: 30 cals

Protein powder: 130 cals

Banana: 100 cals

Salad: 200 cals

Apple: 100 cals

Dinner:

Salads: 400 cals

Stir Fry: 800 cals

Total: 2880 + 200 cals from random snaking

Example daily meals in February:

Breakfast:

Oatmeal: 300 cals

Flaxseed: 60 cals

Berries: 30 cals

Protein powder: 130 cals

Banana: 100 cals

Lunch:

Banana (2): 200 cals

Apple: 100 cals

Peanuts: 300 cals

Carrots: 100 cals

Brussel sprouts: 100 cals

Workout:

Apple: 100 cals

Medjool Dates: 100 cals

Dinner

2 Boca Burgers + Bun + Lettuce + Tomato: 400 cals

Roasted vegetables: 350 cals

Beer (optional): 125-200 cals

Total: 2495 + 200 cals from random snaking

TLR - Looking for advice on how to recover safely from “starvation mode”

 

[gryphon56]

@darius18 Just to summarize:
Very underweight, anemic, low Vit D, and probably a host of other problems.

Your diet and exercise routine is extreme, which would be beneficial to someone who is obese. You are not obese by any means. Before giving some advice, I would consider if you have some type of eating disorder. I only say this is because you work out like crazy and don't eat a lot caloric dense foods really. I don't know, its just something for people to keep in mind regardless of the severity.

Working out is amazing and fun, but if you are going to be burning that many crazy calories, you better be eating a lot. In general, it does not seem like you are getting enough protein, fat, or even carbs for that matter. You do a great job keeping track of your calories, but I would reccommend looking at your macro consumption. Here is a good website to figure out what macro ratio you want to do.

To answer your questions:

1.) Yes, by burning protein, you are essential in starvation mode because there is so little fat left on your body. Fat is good for you to a certain extent. Hormones are made of fat!

2.) It will vary depending on how you change your diet and exercise. Increasing caloric intake by eating more fats and proteins and decreasing the amount of cardio you do and replacing it with strength training weight lifting would be the fastest solution, but it would require time to adjust to it.

3.) That depends on the amount of calories you eat. CO is an amazing place and I'm sure you'll want to do amazing activities but you need to eat more a lot more. Will discuss below.

4.) You need to gain fat, and you can't control where it goes on your body, its just more noticeable around the hips, belly, and butt. That should be your least concern right now.

5.) Shocking the system is never a good thing. I would slowly adjust for both your body and your minds sake.

6.) You are young, and this is a recent thing, so probably nothing serious.

7.) I would hold off until you are at a healthy weight and understand how much of what kind of foods you need to eat to maintain high energy exercises. It seems like you are trying to do too much at once. One thing at a time.

You need to see a doctor and a dietrician before yo listen to anything the internet has to say. Express your concern, ask them their opinion, and work on a plan with them.

Besides that, my advise is to change your diet to fit your macros (see website) increase your caloric intake so your body has something to build from. That includes a lot a lot a lot of protein. Eat way more healthy fats (which will help your calories increase). Nuts, olive oil, coconut oil all that is good. Your mind set is that you want to 'bulk'. Get to a healthy weight body fat percent and then, you would be better suited to do more high calorie burning intense exercises, but you would still need to consume more calories.

Hopws this helps. Good luck

 

[darius18]

@gryphon56 Thanks for such a thoughtful response.

I agree that I need to increase the amount of fat/protein in my diet and eat more calorie dense foods. My macros are very much too carb heavy. Additionally, the 9 cals per gram of fat will help boast my overall caloric intake.

 

[brit25us]

@darius18 Okay, not to scare you or sound harsh, and you can look into this yourself and maybe talk to a professional about it, but I would lean toward thinking you have some kind of eating disorder... Maybe not, but... your story definitely raises some red flags for me. I'm currently going through medical school (so not a medical professional yet), and currently in a psychological assessment class. Every week we have a few cases and have to go through the DSM-V to diagnose the case.

Feel free to go through the DSM yourself--I have an electronic copy I'd be happy to send you if you wanted it.

Let me ask you this: are you afraid of gaining weight? At your height, a healthy weight range would be between 160 on the low end to 215 at the other end. When you were at 175 before, that was okay, but your eating and exercise habits concern me. Don't get me wrong, I totally believe we need lots of exercise and understand we evolved exercising much, much more than we do in modern times such that I don't necessarily think it would be unhealthy to literally exercise all day (or all work-day) doing something light like walking at a treadmill desk... but I'd like to know your reasons why you exercise as much as you do, and how you feel about your eating habits versus how you think everything "should be", etc.

That being said, I don't think you are eating enough. Starvation mode is mostly a myth, and you aren't in anything close to starvation. You haven't done permanent damage to your body. Just eat more calories, and do so until you see your weight on the scale going up. If you're concerned with fat gain, then don't do crazy binges and eat more calories consistently and spaced out, like in meals as you are doing (as in: don't eat 2,000 calories all at once and then only eat a little or none the rest of the day). You want to not spike your insulin response and have a slow, steady drip of glucose to minimize fat gain. You can continue your exercise routine if you like, but you will need to eat more to make up for the calories you're burning, and eat enough on top of that to gain weight and not just keep it stable. I suppose you'd want to aim to gain 1-2 pounds a week, kind of the same weight we tell people to aim for to lose when losing weigh, but just reversed in your case. Your current meals look healthy and fine, and it doesn't look like you're binging as you described you did in your past, so just add more to each meal to bring up your total calories.

edit: just corrected myself, we're reading the DSM-V, not IV.

 

[darius18]

@brit25us I would say yes, I am afraid of gaining a lot of weight and becoming fat, but I think no more so than any other person. However, at the moment, I am much more afraid of losing any more weight. I just want to be healthy. I definitely do not starve myself or anything extreme like that.

I do think there is some mental health aspect to my eating/exercise habits stemming from depression. I like to run to help manage stress and to improve my mental well being. If you could send me a link to the DSM criteria you mentioned, it would be much appreciated : D.

Thank you for assuaging my concerns about starvation mode. That was really my main concern - that I may have done permanent damage. I have taken the last four days off from all exercise, and am feeling much better, but still sore from lack of rest in the past : /.

Again, thanks for a thoughtful post.