THE BIG STARVATION MODE MYTH.

Matt_Wild

Most (not all) need to eat and at 1200 will have compromised metabolisms IMO from years of bad dieting and yoyo dieting and will often use contraceptives increasing carb sensitivity meaning diet and content becomes more important (increased estrogen can act to add adipose tissue when introduced to the system).

Its not hard to calculate needs of a person and get them losing weight. I'm currently helping a 47 year old woman and increased her calories from around 1200-1300 to towards 1800 and she's now losing and lost an inch of each measurement in 2-3 weeks and a kilo or two.

Trekmum

To lose one pound of body fat, you have to reduce your calorie intake by 3,200 calories; whereas it only takes 10 to 11 calories per pound to maintain. It's a very lopsided and (to obese people) unfair equation.

Weight doesn't come off instantly. If you are honest and reduce your calories by 500 each day for 7 days, you will lose one pound. These are the scientific facts. Read it here:

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php :noway:

I'm done with this topic. Too many excuses, it's the dieters paradigm to try to ignore fact and blame it on water weight, metabolism, starvation, not eating the right type of food . . . you get the idea. I've only lost 5 pounds, but I don't blame it on anything - I know I eat too much and don't exercise enough. It's MY FAULT.

DatMurse

To lose one pound of body fat, you have to reduce your calorie intake by 3,200 calories; whereas it only takes 10 to 11 calories per pound to maintain. It's a very lopsided and (to obese people) unfair equation.

Weight doesn't come off instantly. If you are honest and reduce your calories by 500 each day for 7 days, you will lose one pound. These are the scientific facts. Read it here:

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php :noway:

I'm done with this topic. Too many excuses, it's the dieters paradigm to try to ignore fact and blame it on water weight, metabolism, starvation, not eating the right type of food . . . you get the idea. I've only lost 5 pounds, but I don't blame it on anything - I know I eat too much and don't exercise enough. It's MY FAULT.

you bumped a thread that has been dead for 2 days to make a statement and say you are done here?

dewsmom78

Starvation is a myth. It's simple physics and you can't change that law. The body needs 10 to 11 calories per body weight to maintain that weight. You eat less, you lose weight. You exercise and don't eat the exercise calories - you lose more weight. It's not complicated. Read the scientific study and ignore the old wife's tales and rumors. The study is located here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

Think about this: if starvation mode kept you from losing weight, there would be no anorexic people in the world, and prisoners of war would not be starved to skin and bone. They would all be FAT or maintain their weight.

You have to be honest with yourself. If you eat your way through the grocery store on free samples, you have to count those calories; if you "just have a bite" of anything you have to count those calories; if you go to Starbucks - if you sneak food at night - if you drink protein drinks . . . You get the idea. If it goes in the mouth - you have to count it ** because your body counts it even if you try to ignore it!**

^^^Very well said.

norcal_yogi

I’ve just discovered this thread so haven’t read through it yet but wanted to offer my experience on ‘Starvation Mode’.

I fully believe I am in starvation mode.

I started my journey in April 2011 at 484 lbs. By September 2012, I had lost approximately 220lbs. Since then, I have struggled to lose anything except when I did a keto diet in February and lost 25lbs in 2 weeks.

I need to lose another 50-60lbs to get towards a healthy weight but no matter what I do, I cannot shift a pound.

For the first year, I ate c. 800 cals and just walked for exercise. Once I hit a plateau, I joined a gym and bumped up the calories to 1,400. That took off another 60lbs or so but since then, with the exception of the weight lost on keto I just cannot lose a pound.

I’ve tried eating more for 12 weeks as per the road map but It didn’t help. I count every calorie so I know there is no creep there. I tried exercising more and exercising less but nothing works.

Last week I decided to try the 5:2 diet along with 90 minutes in the gym every day (a combination of cardio and weights). I did not lose an ounce. So frustrating.

So for the first time on my journey, I decided to have a cheat weekend (It was a long weekend where I live). I never ‘cheat’. I eat 99% clean with the only treat an occasional spoon of PB2. The only carbs I eat are a small bowl of oatmeal, a green apple and green vegetables. Apart from that, I eat eggs, meat, cheese, nuts etc.

In 4 days eating approximately 5,000 calories a day, I put on 18lbs! A lot of that is water weight from the carbs and I have lost 9lbs in the last 3 days (albeit 2 of those days were 500 calories on the 5:2 diet). I’m really hoping the shock to my system will help kick things off but after 9 months of practically no movement, I don’t believe it will.

Generally, if east a couple of hundred calories extra I put on a couple of pounds.

I’m just about at the point where I have to accept that I’m going to stay at c. 240lbs and for my own sanity, this mightn’t be a bad thing.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I strongly believe I am a prime example of someone suffering from starvation mode.

IMO if you still have a decent to substancial amount of bodyfat, you are not in 'starvation mode'. your metabolism may have slowed *slightly* with the VLCD, but it still comes down to physics.

i would suggest heading back towards the 1400-1500 mark, not eating any 'exercise cals' back, and staying there for a while. All the while being villigent about what you take in, eating enough protein (important), staying away from sugars (even fruit sugars in general -- sugar is sugar), and lowering your fat macro possibly. your diary isn't open, so just guessing.

good luck to you.

chatogal

bumo

Spresto2

CINAHL isn't a medical journal. It is a index of the nursing and allied health literature that directs you to articles published in journal. Calling CINAHL a medical journal is akin to calling TV Guide a TV channel.

TV Guide was a channel. Just sayin.

reshyo747

IMHO this is one of the only sites where I've read about this whole starvation mode thing. I'm wondering if it's just to try and stop people from losing too much weight, too quickly and thereby affecting their health? This site doesn't want to look like it's "promoting" eating disorders and stuff?

In 2008 I lost about 45-80lbs in 6 month simply by eating a 800 calorie-a-day diet. I kept the weight off for ages, even I started eating 1,500-2,000 cals again. Did I eventually put the weight back on? Yep. But only because I started eating about 3,000 cals a day (boredom, habit, etc.). NOT because I started to eat "normally" again, or because I went ito starvation mode.

I'm sick of my weight and going back onto 800-1k cals a day and have lost almost 10lbs in 2 weeks.

Maybe some people's bodies are diferent? But in my experience: less food = more weight lost.

iheartmy1dog

MY STORY:


I was obses... I started a diet of 1200cal a day and have pretty much stuck to it this past yr. YES, I have lost a ton of weight... BUT I recently realized 1200cal was not the way to go. My hair is thinning, I have easy bruising, hypertension, cold fingers all the time, etc.... I started upping my calorie intake and just lost 3lbs.


SO... You can lose weight eating less but IMO it's not healthy.

Nasens

YES!!!! I couldn't have said this any better!! Now that I've stopped eating ridiculous amounts of food because it tastes good, I'm repulsed while watching people around me eat like hogs. I never noticed before. :sick:

Mcgrawhaha

help!!!!!!! appearantly, i starved myself into "starvation mode" and it did the opposite and forced me to lose almost 100 pounds!!! please!!! i was warned about 1200 calories a day, and everything they warned me about, NEVER HAPPEND... now im trying to do maintenance, and i am still slightly losing... looks like my metabolism did NOT SLOW DOWN... so, now... either starvation mode is exactly what i thought it was... i very rare occurance that the body may experience as a survival mode towards late stages of starvation, or we really are special snowflakes, and im one of the extra special ones who didnt fall into this dooms day starvation mode death trap... which is it?

DatMurse

everytime I watch a commercial or see pictures of tasty food I enter starvation mode

bridgie101

People say don't eat 1200 or even 1500 calories a day. They say eat more, to weigh less, but people you see on youtube eat 1200 and are losing over 80+ pounds. Can you explain that maybe it is better to eat more in the 1800s, but don't tell people that starvation will come up and get them because it's a flat out lie. Especially if your obese. Some guys did a study and that's the huge thing, that's why people think they're in starvation mode. How can you tell someone to eat more when that's what they have been doing all along, hence why they're overweight to begin with. Look at people in different countries starving, they are not going into starvation mode. No I don't think so. You need to look around you. People want you to fail in weight loss, they will make up anything to make sure you don't succeed. Why IDK. But its true weight loss and takes a long freaking time. You need to think of it in long terms, I mean like 3-5 years, it will need to be a lifestyle change. People think they are going into starvation mode because omg i hit a plateau. It happens with everyone. You're never going to get away from that. Sorry guys. JUST BECAUSE YOU HIT A PLATEAU DOES NOT MEAN YOUR IN STARVATION MODE. 1200 isn't starving yourself. What happens when you don't get enough food your body? It has to go into your fat stores, it's science people. End of story. Comments please thanks:) Oh fyi iv lost 40 pounds.

Good on you. I don't believe in it either.

I remember being convinced if I drank diet lemonade I'd die, right? so many bad things in it. Evil product.

I went to hospital and was fed diet lemonade. I asked the nurse if it wasn't bad for me?

What she said? lemonade with sugar in it is worse.

We can get all hooked up on silly studies. Eat more to lose more? No. What that means is 'eat more so you don't go crazy and have a massive binge consuming 7000 cals.'

This I get. This i agree with. Humans have a drive to eat. it's called appetite. it's not necessarily associated with hunger pangs. Beware your appetite. learn to fool it. and if that means losing weight more slowly, then that is necessary.

But it's not 'starvation mode.' In REAL starvation mode people have no appetite. Look at refugees in Africa. Once you hit a certain point of starvation, a point which none of us dieting has reached, you stop caring. That's starvation mode.

Sarahwantshealth

help!!!!!!! appearantly, i starved myself into "starvation mode" and it did the opposite and forced me to lose almost 100 pounds!!! please!!! i was warned about 1200 calories a day, and everything they warned me about, NEVER HAPPEND... now im trying to do maintenance, and i am still slightly losing... looks like my metabolism did NOT SLOW DOWN... so, now... either starvation mode is exactly what i thought it was... i very rare occurance that the body may experience as a survival mode towards late stages of starvation, or we really are special snowflakes, and im one of the extra special ones who didnt fall into this dooms day starvation mode death trap... which is it?

You are inspiring! Love this post!

55in13

help!!!!!!! appearantly, i starved myself into "starvation mode" and it did the opposite and forced me to lose almost 100 pounds!!! please!!! i was warned about 1200 calories a day, and everything they warned me about, NEVER HAPPEND... now im trying to do maintenance, and i am still slightly losing... looks like my metabolism did NOT SLOW DOWN... so, now... either starvation mode is exactly what i thought it was... i very rare occurance that the body may experience as a survival mode towards late stages of starvation, or we really are special snowflakes, and im one of the extra special ones who didnt fall into this dooms day starvation mode death trap... which is it?

I am another special snowflake. I lost 55 pounds total and I knocked out the first 40 in about 20 weeks by eating around 1200 calories each day. I exercised a few times a week and did not not "eat the calories back". I didn't just survive that, I thrived! There are a few threads on Adaptive Thermogenesis (AT) which does have some good science behind it which explains some of what the SM believer blow out of proportion. It does seem likely that the metabolic rate will drop some when you are losing weight compared to someone who is maintaining at the same weight. That drop is generally less than 15%. So it explains why I "only" lost 2 pounds a week when the math said I should have been losing two and a half. It does not explain why anyone would stall or gain at less than maintenance. I think most of us are well aware what causes that - inaccuracy (purposeful or not).

idembia

Hello everyone,

I am new here and I have just come across this interesting topic. I have always wondered how eating more can help me loose weight! I think this weight loss/gain journey is an individual thing.

I know how I got overweight - I ate more than I should have eaten - simple. So, for me to get rid of the excess weight, I have to gradually reduce what I eat. That is it for me. If there is any truth about starvation mode, then, those images of second world war and all the ones from current wars and disaster areas should not exist.

If the starvation mode thing is to scare people with eating disorder, they have not done a good good job at it.

MY LOGIC: - IF YOU EAT TOO MUCH, YOU WILL GET FAT. IF YOU EAT WELL AND KEEP ACTIVE, YOU WILL MAINTAIN A GOOD AND HEALTHY WEIGHT.

I gained 10 kilos and I could feel it when I move around, not just the change in dress size! My blood pressure also went up and I was always tired! I never had weight issues and didn't know how to deal with eat, at first. Now I am trying to get rid of them and have lost about 2 kilos in 2 weeks. I tried several meal combinations and before deciding on the best one for me. My meals are less than the 1200 calories per day. I spaced my meals with snacks in a way that I feel full from meal to meal.

I am full of energy, more active, happier and no sign of tiredness! - and that is just for 2 kilos, can't wait to see what another 2 kilos off would feel like. I would be to feel my regular weight again and I am looking forward to it.

Personally, I would say, don't starve yourselves but remember that you are what you eat.

kellysarahadams

I have a hard time eating even 1000 calories per day (that's after exercise) and I'm far from starving. I dont eat diet food, I eat fruit, veg and meat. Very little processed. I eat when I'm hungry until I no longer feel hungry. I don't know why. But I'm not going to stuff myself sick because of an arbitrary number.

PtheronJr

Your metabolism did slow down, the issue is that your deficit was so great that it literally didn't matter.
Starvation mode, as it applies to general nutrition and lifting, is a real thing, however people apply extreme viewpoints to it that make no sense.
It's a strawman, no one that warns against starvation mode is warning you about things like "You will never lose weight at too low a deficit." because it makes no sense, no one ever says that, and most people in this thread are just putting words into the mouths of people who actually know what they're talking about on the subject.

There are a few things that will happen if your calorific deficit is too low.

1. Your metabolism will slow down, period. Losing weight will be harder, the issue is that people somehow immediately think "But I'm still losing weight at a deficit and faster than if I was eating at 1500 from my 2300 maintenance!" That may be true, in fact, it is, but your body is not doing it easily, your body is not enjoying this fact. Your body will desperately hold onto whatever energy it conserve and it will fail at this. So your metabolism will be slowed to a crawl in order to counteract this. The issue is that most people on these forums can't seem to understand that metabolism is a factor in your life that is also separate from weight loss.
-It will increase your appetite and cravings, thus making it harder to lose weight.
-You will feel increasingly more and more sluggish as your body burns up its energy reserves and you are not providing it enough to operate feasibly on a day to day basis.
-Your exercise will flounder because your muscles are not receiving the proper energy they need to function.
-If you happen to give and cheat or aren't recording your calories correctly (which you likely aren't, because you're already fairly ignorant about proper nutrition apparently) you will gain significantly more weight than in regular circumstance.

The last point is, astoundingly enough, why most people who lose weight quickly by starving themselves down or eating very little are also the ones to relapse the most. You did not get there through vigorous exercise because it is impossible for your exercise to be vigorous. You were losing a lot of lean muscle mass, which is integral to STAYING healthy and skinny after you've lost your weight, and when you do return to eating normal levels, you have not developed appropriate habits and regimens to respond to your current body composition.

2. You will get sick more easily, your body will react worse to negative stimuli, and your quality of life will generally be highly degraded. Irritability, depression, and more severe health and emotional side effects can be caused by, big surprise, not eating enough food and not getting enough energy.
It's impressive how much of our mood and psychological state of mind can be linked to being well fed, energetic, and healthy, starvation mode, much like it will do to your body, will also make your mind sluggish and weak. Most people already have difficulty getting enough sleep, especially with poor health and physical fitness, adding a massive caloric deficit to your laundry list of issues will only exponentially make them worse.

3. You will not recover easily.
Likely THE most important reason nearly any nutritionist will tell you to diet at a slight calorific deficit while losing weight is because it will be super easy for your body to adjust once you decide to revert to maintenance or bulking, in a few weeks you can slowly add up the calories again and be in a good place, and your body will be there lock-step to adapt quickly to your changing caloric intake. Starvation mode doesn't allow this, remember, you'll be going full swing from "Oh God, I'm not getting any food." to "Hey, everything is fine!"
Too bad that isn't how your body works, as human beings, essentially just another animal on the face of this planet, we never evolved to account for the contingency plan of "Just have a crapload of food show up." Remember, your body, in starvation mode, isn't thinking that you, personally, are denying it food, it is thinking YOU CANNOT FIND FOOD. So when all of a sudden you find a load of a food, something that did not happen very often at all in the history of the human race, your body isn't going to react to that in any sensible way. Your body, for a long period of time, will continue to operate on a lower metabolism, so you will stuff yourself much more than you would before, and you will gain weight much faster, because remember, your body is likely thinking that this is just a big meal, or that you just slaughtered a big ole mammoth and are probably only going to be feasting for a few days, it's going to make sure that metabolism is going to stay in the same spot for awhile so that it can retain all that new energy and make sure, that in the next few days or weeks of starvation, it will have all that energy to spare.

So there you go, it's not as simple as "It doesn't exist." or that "You won't lose weight." it has everything to do with how your body responds to its food intake and how this will affect your quality of life. You're completely welcome to starve yourself down to the weight you want, but your foundation will suffer, your muscles will suffer, and your health will suffer, as will your mood and quality of life.

Also remember, 1200 calories for you may not be much, but for another person that's close to their regular deficit. This is entirely dependent on the individual as to when their body will respond and how it will respond.

To sum it up, people aren't telling you to avoid starvation mode because it's going to make it harder to lose weight, they're telling you to avoid it because it's going to make your life utterly miserable, part of nutrition is making sure you're healthy, and you know, not a near-dead lump of crap crawling around because it didn't get enough food to lift its legs for two hours.

EDIT: For all you people asking the absolutely inane question "Then why aren't starving African kids fat?"
They aren't, they're slow, sluggish, astoundingly frail, sickly, and suffer from terrible quality of life, their bodies hang onto whatever scrap of food it can get.
Why do you think Gandhi was able to survive for month long hunger strikes? His body didn't keep up at the regular pace, it slowed down to adjust to the new caloric intake, but your body adjusts to lower caloric intake much, much, much, more intensely than it does to higher caloric intake.

DiamondSupplyCo

Exactly! Go Willpower!

ironanimal

Exactly! Go Willpower!

Two things;

1. Strong necro
2. Eating under 500 calories a day means you have a problem, not willpower.

shrinkingviolet1913

Saucy_lil_Minx wrote: »

Here is another thing to keep in mind Fat just sits there. You do not burn any energy to have an over abundance of fat. Fat is a storage shelf for the body. Think of it as the closet you jam things in you might need down the road (energy), or things you don't know how to get rid of (toxins). It just sits there closed, and you never look into it until you need something. Lean muscle is used constantly (so it needs energy constantly to maintain). It is like the kitchen in a house full of people, there is always someone cooking in it. The more lean muscle you have the more fuel it needs (the more you have to cook). If you are overweight, and you stop taking in more junk than you really need (to shove in the closet), and start building more lean muscle(cooking in your own kitchen kitchen) your eventually going to need that pan your mom bought you in that storage closet. Guess what that pan, is at the bottom of the closet so you have to clean it out to get to it, and then you find the hiking boots(exercise) you have been looking for to build even more lean muscle(means more energy is needed). So now you have to cook more food in the kitchen, but you don't have anymore pans in the closet, because you have cleaned out the junk. Now you have no choice but to go buy another set, and keep cooking more food, more often to keep up. Nothing is stored, and nothing is wasted. This is how our bodies should be. Hormones are the lubricant to keep the body functions moving, and keep us from becoming content with the closet full of junk we might need down the road, if life changes. It works for me to see it this way, but maybe not for you. I hope this info helps someone else that the only reason I am writing novels here...lol If someone has a better way to put it, or something else to add to the collective wealth of knowledge please enlighten!

I love this explanation!

Unknown

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