Weight loss/fitness

Question
Hi!  I am a 40 yr old female 5' 9" 160 lbs.  My goals are to lose 10-15 lbs and to get strong.  I am eating a healthy diet of 1200-1400 calories/day, I do cardio for an hour (more or less) 4X per week (Zumba, elliptical or jogging), I do Body Pump (weight lifting) 2X per week.  My question is really about my calorie intake.  I've read about "starvation mode" and I wonder if this is a concern.  How many calories are too few?  My results have been sluggish as far as weight loss and I'm wondering if I can drop a few more calories and still keep my metabolism up.  I know muscle weighs more than fat, but I'm mostly going by how my clothes fit...the scale messes with my head so I only check in every few weeks or more. I've been eating well and doing the cardio for a few months but I've only been doing the weight training for a few weeks.  How the heck can I drop pounds and gain muscle??
Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer
Starvation mode is quite a complex topic. I wrote a lengthy article about it to my website, I hope you don't mind that I refer you to it: Starvation Mode: Myth Or A Real Weight Loss Buster?.

In a nutshell, starvation mode is real but not as bad as some weight loss gurus make it out to be. Most of the reduction in metabolic rate comes from drop in activity levels. So if you make a conscious effort to remain active (not just exercise) then it shouldn't be a problem.

As far as weight loss goes caloric restriction isn't really that good way to lose weight. Mainly because 95% of the people gain is back within 5 years.

Changing the types of food you eat is often a better way. I don't know your situation, so I'm not sure how much you do this already. But there's some evidence to indicate that simple and unprocessed foods lead people to spontaneously eat less. That's because the kind of foods people normally eat in Western countries are designed to make you fat. Not only are they high in calories, but they also stimulate the brain in a way that makes you want to eat more of them. They also break the body's energy regulation mechanisms that normally prevent weight gain. I wrote more about this here: Is Your Body Fat Dialed Too High - Body Weight Set Point Theory

Unfortunately this area isn't studies well yet. But there are some studies that show that just eating bland, non-stimulating food causes people to automatically reduce caloric intake and their weight to normalize. Again, this is not yet a proven thing, but worth a shot me thinks.

I hope this help!

Scott

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