is starvation mode real?

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  • hissweetpea461
    hissweetpea461 Posts: 27 Member
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    I have to take pills for my anemia (and a shot for the other type I have!), and I know I feel tired when I'm running low on hemoglobin and haven't taken my pills like I should for a while (they hurt my stomach). I'm totally just guessing, but I bet that lowers metabolism itself. Being that tired would have to relate to a lower metabolism, I'd think. It certainly doesn't make me move peppily around like when I'm doing better, so it at least lowers how vigorously I move all day.

    Anemia needs to be controlled anyway. Make sure they know what's causing yours. My hair was getting bald spots before I got the tests to see if I was bleeding internally (nope, just diet and periods causing it) and got on big iron pills. My hemoglobin went way up after a few months of iron, so it was easy enough to fix!

    If you are talking macrocyctic anemia (my other type), that's B-12 and/or folate. Your doc should know that, but they are often really, really bad at checking levels related to those. I can't digest B-12 it turns out, so it got to be a huge problem and I got very ill (and nerve damage!) before a doc finally figured out what that was. It just needs a shot a month! So simple to treat. That one is called pernicious because it used to be uniformly fatal until they figured out it was a B-12 problem.

    So anemias can be very big deals. Make sure your doc is on top of that, really. And you'll have more energy, so that's always nice with weight loss ;)

  • hissweetpea461
    hissweetpea461 Posts: 27 Member
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    I take 325 mg iron daily folic acid, B12, vitamin c and get my blood checked twice a year. I've been on this regiment for 3 years now and it's helping keep me regular :) He doesn't seem to be convinced that it's linked to my Metabolism, but rather my cysts on my ovaries and fibroid tumors in my uterus. Alone with my thyroid.
  • hissweetpea461
    hissweetpea461 Posts: 27 Member
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    Chaelaz wrote: »
    I've been eating under 1200 calories for over a year and no weight has come off. So now two months no sugar still no weight coming off. I seem to be stuck and want to get to a healthy size for me.

    No. No. and No.

  • hissweetpea461
    hissweetpea461 Posts: 27 Member
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    No no no what?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    No no no what?

    When you hit the quote button, you can type in the same box. It makes it easier to follow the quotes and responses.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Im 5'5" 48 yrs old. Muscular. I measure according to servings. No I don't weight but will be starting this week. No sugar. White or other processed. That was a personal choice. I do eat fruits and vegetables, fresh and frozen nothing canned. Just recently cut back on breads because they convert into sugar.

    It's already been covered but this definitely sounds like you are eating more than you think.

    Also, if you are going to follow the suggestions here to follow MFP's calorie goals, you may want to change your weight. It will skew your calorie intake suggestions. You still have your ticker as 127 lb to go.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
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    arb037 wrote: »
    shell1005 wrote: »
    arb037 wrote: »
    I came to the conclusion when I researched the subject that there was no such thing as starvation mode. I'm hardly an expert, but I got the impression eating too high a deficit for an extended period of time (6 months+) will see your body adapting to this. You'll still lose weight, but your metabolism readjusts to running on the fuel you're giving it.

    As people are saying here, logging every bite and weighing food could help.

    Indeed, the term is called "adaptive thermogenesis" and takes a large deficit with a good amount of time before this happens.
    But to answer the question " starvation mode" is a myth.
    Just to put it out there, as it seems every single response so far has been to tell you, how youre lying to yourself in regards to logging food.
    In certain instances especially with women. Where they do crazy amounts of cardio and eat like 900 calories a day the body will flip out and not lose weight. In fact can quite possibly gain.
    Doubtful that is the case here as you did not mention those specifics.

    What you call "flipping out" is what others are calling starvation mode. Which you correctly say does not exist.

    Right. What that guy said is malarkey. Doesn't exist. I stupidly did a VLCD program many years ago. They set you at 800 calories a day. They had rules at what you could eat and when....yadda yadda. I worked out quite a bit as well. I lost a crap ton of weight. I never had a weigh in that I didn't. I also wasn't healthy. I'd never do that again, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that my body didn't go into starvation mode or flip out....mainly because both do not exist.
    arb037 wrote: »
    I came to the conclusion when I researched the subject that there was no such thing as starvation mode. I'm hardly an expert, but I got the impression eating too high a deficit for an extended period of time (6 months+) will see your body adapting to this. You'll still lose weight, but your metabolism readjusts to running on the fuel you're giving it.

    As people are saying here, logging every bite and weighing food could help.

    Indeed, the term is called "adaptive thermogenesis" and takes a large deficit with a good amount of time before this happens.
    But to answer the question " starvation mode" is a myth.
    Just to put it out there, as it seems every single response so far has been to tell you, how youre lying to yourself in regards to logging food.
    In certain instances especially with women. Where they do crazy amounts of cardio and eat like 900 calories a day the body will flip out and not lose weight. In fact can quite possibly gain.
    Doubtful that is the case here as you did not mention those specifics.

    What you call "flipping out" is what others are calling starvation mode. Which you correctly say does not exist.

    Since my response was deleted i will simply post this link.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html/

    So NO my example is spot on and not "malarky" as you so eloquently put
    I kept a link on my wall for quite a while related to this marathoner and it wasn't a blog. It was someone confirming her weight gain and normal imbalances impact weight gain when excess training occurs and the body is constantly stressed. I stopped posting it on MFP because people couldn't believe it. Water, cortisol, and excess training and underconsumption....not hard to understand.
  • sunandmoons
    sunandmoons Posts: 415 Member
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    Why would you wait a year???? If I was not losing in three months I would know something is wrong and I need to monitor closer or exercise more..I surely wouldnt wait a whole year.. Something is a miss.
  • sunandmoons
    sunandmoons Posts: 415 Member
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    Maybe open your diary?
  • emhunter
    emhunter Posts: 1,212 Member
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    @hissweetpea461 im sorry you are going through this. The same happened to me. I'm not sure if starvation mode is real...although I've been told it is but I do know you can get an active and resting metabolic test that will tell you exactly how many calories you need to eat to lose. If after the test you don't get the results you want with those numbers go to your doctor. Get tested for insulin resistance and PCOS. That will really help.
  • hissweetpea461
    hissweetpea461 Posts: 27 Member
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    emhunter wrote: »
    @hissweetpea461 im sorry you are going through this. The same happened to me. I'm not sure if starvation mode is real...although I've been told it is but I do know you can get an active and resting metabolic test that will tell you exactly how many calories you need to eat to lose. If after the test you don't get the results you want with those numbers go to your doctor. Get tested for insulin resistance and PCOS. That will really help.

  • hissweetpea461
    hissweetpea461 Posts: 27 Member
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    What is PCOS? Either this app or my phone isn't letting my dairy keep past a few days then delete. Like today I ate well, nothing for breakfast 3 cups of coffee, sugar free creamer, no lunch, early dinner grilled lean sirloin patty on light bread, teaspoon of vegetable garden cream cheese, five slices of jalapenos. 5bottles of water throughout the day. Just wasn't interested in eating today.

  • Azuriaz
    Azuriaz Posts: 785 Member
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    From what I've read, if you have a buddy of the same weight and height and activity level but you have lost a decent amount of weight and she has never had to diet, you will need less calories than she does to maintain your body weight. I'm perfectly fine calling that starvation mode, and if there is a famine, I'll live long enough to have buddy barbecue. (I know, I know, that was wrong!)
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    Azuriaz wrote: »
    From what I've read, if you have a buddy of the same weight and height and activity level but you have lost a decent amount of weight and she has never had to diet, you will need less calories than she does to maintain your body weight. I'm perfectly fine calling that starvation mode, and if there is a famine, I'll live long enough to have buddy barbecue. (I know, I know, that was wrong!)
    Except that's not starvation mode, typically isn't what people mean when they use the term, and only muddies the water. I mean, you can be perfectly fine calling protein carbs, but that doesn't mean it's helpful.

  • Azuriaz
    Azuriaz Posts: 785 Member
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    Azuriaz wrote: »
    From what I've read, if you have a buddy of the same weight and height and activity level but you have lost a decent amount of weight and she has never had to diet, you will need less calories than she does to maintain your body weight. I'm perfectly fine calling that starvation mode, and if there is a famine, I'll live long enough to have buddy barbecue. (I know, I know, that was wrong!)
    Except that's not starvation mode, typically isn't what people mean when they use the term, and only muddies the water. I mean, you can be perfectly fine calling protein carbs, but that doesn't mean it's helpful.

    Seems like starvation mode to me. You deprived yourself of calories for a time. Your body adapted by requiring less calories.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Azuriaz wrote: »
    Azuriaz wrote: »
    From what I've read, if you have a buddy of the same weight and height and activity level but you have lost a decent amount of weight and she has never had to diet, you will need less calories than she does to maintain your body weight. I'm perfectly fine calling that starvation mode, and if there is a famine, I'll live long enough to have buddy barbecue. (I know, I know, that was wrong!)
    Except that's not starvation mode, typically isn't what people mean when they use the term, and only muddies the water. I mean, you can be perfectly fine calling protein carbs, but that doesn't mean it's helpful.

    Seems like starvation mode to me. You deprived yourself of calories for a time. Your body adapted by requiring less calories.
    And, again, all using the term like that does is muddy the issue and lead to posts like the OP's in which people wonder if eating "too little" stops weight loss, when it doesn't. But, hey, if you think it's helpful to use terms in a way that confuses the issue, I support your choice to do so.

  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    Azuriaz wrote: »
    From what I've read, if you have a buddy of the same weight and height and activity level but you have lost a decent amount of weight and she has never had to diet, you will need less calories than she does to maintain your body weight. I'm perfectly fine calling that starvation mode, and if there is a famine, I'll live long enough to have buddy barbecue. (I know, I know, that was wrong!)

    You're right - basically adaptive thermogenesis - a greater fall in RMR than is predicted through the loss of body weight alone.

    The problem is in the context of these forums it is used to describe the situation were eating too few calories (lower than maintenance calories in reality) leads to fat loss stopping altogether which is evidently nonsense.