Transition from not enough cals

evildeadedd

I think the perpetuation of "starvation mode" comes down to two things mostly. One it is a convent excuse. It allows you to say "I am doing everything right and to the letter" when in reality you have a couple days a week you don't log, or go "off program" more often than you want to admit. It gives a nice boogie man to blame for our own short comings. Not to say this is the OP at all, maybe they fall into the second section.

The second thing is I think that "starvation mode" does in fact exist for some. NOT as a physical metabolic reaction, but rather as a mental one. When you eat a VLCD, most people have real physical side effects from it. You are lethargic, weak, you don't sleep well, and your mood just sucks. When you feel this way I think subconsciously you start cutting back on the calories out part of CI/CO. Maybe you park a little closer to the store, you just don't move as much. You go into the gym and think you are killing it because you are soaked in sweat and exhausted, but you were already exhausted when you walk in so you just didn't go as hard as you thought.

Then you hear about starvation mode, so you up your calories by a couple hundred. Instantly you feel better, everything is clearer, you sleep better and have loads of energy. So now you purposely park farther away, you move more throughout the day. You walk into the gym and absolutely crush your workout. All of this leads to much higher calorie burns overall. So you end up netting less than on the VLCD. There is also the mental bonus of it being easier to stay "on program" you aren't as miserable so you spend less willpower just getting out of bed, and have more To spend on making better food choices. Because of all that you suddenly start to lose weight again.

So in your head to think "wow there really is something to starvation mode". All your conscious mind registers is "I ate 1200 calories and didn't lose a thing, then upped it to 1500 and stared dropping weight. Therefore starvation mode=true". When in reality the improvement to mood and how you feel just allowed you to burn more calories throughout the day. At least that is the theory that I subscribe to.

cerise_noir

RosieRose7673 wrote: »

The sad thing is that this starvation mode junk isn't going to go away. As long as there are people who can't take personal responsibility of their food intake and in turn gain weight from it, there will be plenty that will believe in starvation mode simply because they don't want to admit to themselves that they have to eat less.

It sounds harsh, but that's the reality of it!

This. People are forever looking for a reason other than "you eat more than you need to maintain" for their weight gain and inability to lose weight. After all, who wants to admit that they eat too much? I sure as heck didn't! I was one of those for a long, long time. I woke up and took responsibility.. Once I took responsibility, it was easier to lose the weight.

RosieRose7673 wrote: »

Oh- OP, I am not saying this to you specifically. You had a genuine question based on what your (misguided) doctor told you. And it's good to ask questions about anything you are unsure of.

This is more towards others who will just not listen to logic, reason and science.

And, this.

RosieRose7673

evildeadedd wrote: »

I think the perpetuation of "starvation mode" comes down to two things mostly. One it is a convent excuse. It allows you to say "I am doing everything right and to the letter" when in reality you have a couple days a week you don't log, or go "off program" more often than you want to admit. It gives a nice boogie man to blame for our own short comings. Not to say this is the OP at all, maybe they fall into the second section.

The second thing is I think that "starvation mode" does in fact exist for some. NOT as a physical metabolic reaction, but rather as a mental one. When you eat a VLCD, most people have real physical side effects from it. You are lethargic, weak, you don't sleep well, and your mood just sucks. When you feel this way I think subconsciously you start cutting back on the calories out part of CI/CO. Maybe you park a little closer to the store, you just don't move as much. You go into the gym and think you are killing it because you are soaked in sweat and exhausted, but you were already exhausted when you walk in so you just didn't go as hard as you thought.

Then you hear about starvation mode, so you up your calories by a couple hundred. Instantly you feel better, everything is clearer, you sleep better and have loads of energy. So now you purposely park farther away, you move more throughout the day. You walk into the gym and absolutely crush your workout. All of this leads to much higher calorie burns overall. So you end up netting less than on the VLCD. There is also the mental bonus of it being easier to stay "on program" you aren't as miserable so you spend less willpower just getting out of bed, and have more To spend on making better food choices. Because of all that you suddenly start to lose weight again.

So in your head to think "wow there really is something to starvation mode". All your conscious mind registers is "I ate 1200 calories and didn't lose a thing, then upped it to 1500 and stared dropping weight. Therefore starvation mode=true". When in reality the improvement to mood and how you feel just allowed you to burn more calories throughout the day. At least that is the theory that I subscribe to.

Actually, I really agree with that "mental" starvation mode. Never thought about it that way. I know when I haven't eaten enough, I feel awful and don't move beyond absolute necessity. I tend to forget to eat when I'm busy, so it occasionally does happen to me.