Am I in Starvation Mode?
schliecker4545
Posts: 1 Member
I have lost 10 lbs. but am at a total standstill for over a month. I am eating betweeen 900 and 1000 calories a day. My daughter tells me I'm in starvation mode. Am I? I ate a few extra calories this morning, but would like the communities advice.
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Replies
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I wouldn't think so. If you look into studies about starvation mode, that takes quite a while to occur. Make sure you're being accurate with what you put in your diary (to the best of your ability). I eat about 1200-1300 calories a day and the weight loss has been great recently. Also a lot of sodium can add to water weight too so try to limit that intake as well.0
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Unless you're on a Very Low Calorie diet under the supervision of your doctor, you should not be eating below 1,000 calories ever, whether you're male or female. The guidance for females is not to go below 1200 and males 1500. You're in danger of becoming malnourished and/or burning lean muscle mass as well as fat if you eat below those minimums.7
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No, but why are you eating so little? Rather than worry about the imaginary issue of "starvation mode," you need to figure out a way to eat that allows you to reach a deficit while also meeting your nutritional needs.6
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There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
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schliecker4545 wrote: »I have lost 10 lbs. but am at a total standstill for over a month. I am eating betweeen 900 and 1000 calories a day. My daughter tells me I'm in starvation mode. Am I? I ate a few extra calories this morning, but would like the communities advice.
No, there is no such thing as "starvation mode". Ask famine victims if they stopped losing weight. The graph above helps, but I will add in another: When many people reduce calories very dramatically, their Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis drops. Basically they move less. I suggest getting a step counter and monitoring activity, along with the mentioned above. If you are not truly losing weight on less than 1000 calories, consult your MD.6 -
As mentioned above, "starvation mode" is buzz phrase that originated somewhere in the diet and fitness business. If you stall in weight loss on an extreme calorie deficit, it's your body adjusting metabolic rate to the calories you're intaking and burning. You may initially lose weight at first but it will slow down dramatically because of the body responding to it. You'll still keep losing weight, just much slower.
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CatholicCurtis wrote: »I wouldn't think so. If you look into studies about starvation mode, that takes quite a while to occur. Make sure you're being accurate with what you put in your diary (to the best of your ability). I eat about 1200-1300 calories a day and the weight loss has been great recently. Also a lot of sodium can add to water weight too so try to limit that intake as well.
By the time it occurs, you are actually starving... 'starvation mode', as bandied about by the diet industry does not exist. There is some degree of metabolic adaptation when restricting calories, but no-one eating fewer calories than their body needs to exist holds on to fat. Or no-one would suffer and die from famine.
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Are you using a food scale to weigh your food portions? Have you done the MFP set up to get a daily caloric goal?3
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CatholicCurtis wrote: »I wouldn't think so. If you look into studies about starvation mode, that takes quite a while to occur. Make sure you're being accurate with what you put in your diary (to the best of your ability). I eat about 1200-1300 calories a day and the weight loss has been great recently. Also a lot of sodium can add to water weight too so try to limit that intake as well.
By the time it occurs, you are actually starving... 'starvation mode', as bandied about by the diet industry does not exist. There is some degree of metabolic adaptation when restricting calories, but no-one eating fewer calories than their body needs to exist holds on to fat. Or no-one would suffer and die from famine.
When I think of starvation mode, it reminds me of those poor children in third world countries. Not simply going a while without a bunch of calories. Starvation or starvation mode also includes not drinking enough water as well. With how accessible water is, I don't see that happening.2 -
CatholicCurtis wrote: »CatholicCurtis wrote: »I wouldn't think so. If you look into studies about starvation mode, that takes quite a while to occur. Make sure you're being accurate with what you put in your diary (to the best of your ability). I eat about 1200-1300 calories a day and the weight loss has been great recently. Also a lot of sodium can add to water weight too so try to limit that intake as well.
By the time it occurs, you are actually starving... 'starvation mode', as bandied about by the diet industry does not exist. There is some degree of metabolic adaptation when restricting calories, but no-one eating fewer calories than their body needs to exist holds on to fat. Or no-one would suffer and die from famine.
When I think of starvation mode, it reminds me of those poor children in third world countries. Not simply going a while without a bunch of calories. Starvation or starvation mode also includes not drinking enough water as well. With how accessible water is, I don't see that happening.
Could you explain your stance? I'm kind of lost. Those kids continue to lose weight until they come to a calorie intake equilibrium or they die. Thus, "starvation mode" does not exist. Water might be easily available in the developed world, but in 3rd world, clean water can be hard to come by.1 -
psychod787 wrote: »CatholicCurtis wrote: »CatholicCurtis wrote: »I wouldn't think so. If you look into studies about starvation mode, that takes quite a while to occur. Make sure you're being accurate with what you put in your diary (to the best of your ability). I eat about 1200-1300 calories a day and the weight loss has been great recently. Also a lot of sodium can add to water weight too so try to limit that intake as well.
By the time it occurs, you are actually starving... 'starvation mode', as bandied about by the diet industry does not exist. There is some degree of metabolic adaptation when restricting calories, but no-one eating fewer calories than their body needs to exist holds on to fat. Or no-one would suffer and die from famine.
When I think of starvation mode, it reminds me of those poor children in third world countries. Not simply going a while without a bunch of calories. Starvation or starvation mode also includes not drinking enough water as well. With how accessible water is, I don't see that happening.
Could you explain your stance? I'm kind of lost. Those kids continue to lose weight until they come to a calorie intake equilibrium or they die. Thus, "starvation mode" does not exist. Water might be easily available in the developed world, but in 3rd world, clean water can be hard to come by.
I really wouldn't call it a stance. It's just when I hear of starvation mode, the first thing that enters my mind are those starving children. Clean water is definitely hard to come by and could be part of why starvation mode (or just starving in general) enters my mind when I hear that term. Just another reason why starvation mode really can't exist in the US, UK, etc. We all have access to clean, delicious water to replenish us. The only ones that don't are the other countries where starvation actually does take place. I hope that is a little bit clearer. I haven't done a lot of study on it but it seems there is a very fine line between starvation mode and starving. People on here trying to lose weight will never close to that line so the starvation mode (if it really exists at all) is nothing we have to worry about in our ordinary lives.0 -
CatholicCurtis wrote: »psychod787 wrote: »CatholicCurtis wrote: »CatholicCurtis wrote: »I wouldn't think so. If you look into studies about starvation mode, that takes quite a while to occur. Make sure you're being accurate with what you put in your diary (to the best of your ability). I eat about 1200-1300 calories a day and the weight loss has been great recently. Also a lot of sodium can add to water weight too so try to limit that intake as well.
By the time it occurs, you are actually starving... 'starvation mode', as bandied about by the diet industry does not exist. There is some degree of metabolic adaptation when restricting calories, but no-one eating fewer calories than their body needs to exist holds on to fat. Or no-one would suffer and die from famine.
When I think of starvation mode, it reminds me of those poor children in third world countries. Not simply going a while without a bunch of calories. Starvation or starvation mode also includes not drinking enough water as well. With how accessible water is, I don't see that happening.
Could you explain your stance? I'm kind of lost. Those kids continue to lose weight until they come to a calorie intake equilibrium or they die. Thus, "starvation mode" does not exist. Water might be easily available in the developed world, but in 3rd world, clean water can be hard to come by.
I really wouldn't call it a stance. It's just when I hear of starvation mode, the first thing that enters my mind are those starving children. Clean water is definitely hard to come by and could be part of why starvation mode (or just starving in general) enters my mind when I hear that term. Just another reason why starvation mode really can't exist in the US, UK, etc. We all have access to clean, delicious water to replenish us. The only ones that don't are the other countries where starvation actually does take place. I hope that is a little bit clearer. I haven't done a lot of study on it but it seems there is a very fine line between starvation mode and starving. People on here trying to lose weight will never close to that line so the starvation mode (if it really exists at all) is nothing we have to worry about in our ordinary lives.
Um... water is a zero calorie beverage. It will not prevent you from starving to death, no matter how much of it you drink.
“Starvation mode” in the sense of the metabolism downregulating so that it uses fewer calories after a long period of restriction, does exist, but it doesn’t stop weight loss, and very few MFP users are anything close to it. It occurs after months, not weeks, in people who are actually too thin, not too fat.4 -
You might find that having a day significantly above where you’ve been will kickstart your losing again. And in general-add back a couple hundred calories-why not? You’ll feel better.1
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GeminiLady159 wrote: »You might find that having a day significantly above where you’ve been will kickstart your losing again. And in general-add back a couple hundred calories-why not? You’ll feel better.
Can you please post supporting evidence? thanks.0 -
schliecker4545 wrote: »I have lost 10 lbs. but am at a total standstill for over a month. I am eating betweeen 900 and 1000 calories a day. My daughter tells me I'm in starvation mode. Am I? I ate a few extra calories this morning, but would like the communities advice.
My first thought, @schliecker4545, is that you are eating more calories than you think you are. Do you use a food scale, weighing and logging everything that passes your lips, no skipping, cheating, or forgetting? If not, start there.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
Try weighing out a serving of peanut butter (usually 32 grams, aka 2 tablespoons), and see how little a serving really is. You may cry, be ready!
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