Calorie Deficit vs. Starvation Mode

moulding55

Hi! I’m Paulette and new here. I’m a 60 year old retired, (young) granny who works out 5-6 days a week (strength training, HIIT, yoga, and cardio) and would like to lose 25 pounds. I am confused with the whole “you have to be in a calorie deficit to burn fat” verses “if you don’t eat enough calories, you’ll go into starvation mode and you will store fat”. Anyone else?

ddsb1111

Hi Paulette, there’s more posts on this than I can count but this link will be a big help for you I think 😊

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1279532/starvation-mode-is-a-myth

sollyn23l2

moulding55 wrote: »

Hi! I’m Paulette and new here. I’m a 60 year old retired, (young) granny who works out 5-6 days a week (strength training, HIIT, yoga, and cardio) and would like to lose 25 pounds. I am confused with the whole “you have to be in a calorie deficit to burn fat” verses “if you don’t eat enough calories, you’ll go into starvation mode and you will store fat”. Anyone else?

You do have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. This is an immutable law of the universe in which we live (See the 1st law of thermodynamics) Doing an extreme calorie deficit is not advisable as it is stressful for your body. So do a moderate calorie deficit (250 calories to 500 calories less per day than what you need to maintain your weight).

cmriverside

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss/p1

From our own Doctor EvgeniZyntx :flowerforyou:

(In the "Must Read" link at the top of the General Weight Loss forum sticky threads)
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-health-and-weight-loss-must-reads

rileysowner

Putting on fat because of not eating enough is a myth which keeps surviving for some unknown reason. Yes, eating too little is not good for you, and it will have negative effects. Losing weight is about having a moderate calorie deficit over time that forces your body to use the energy it stored as fat.

AnnPT77

Hi, Paulette! Good links from those above.

Yes, one needs a calorie deficit to lose body fat, though (of course) counting calories isn't the only way to achieve that deficit. That point above about the 2nd law of thermodynamics is correct.

If someone tries to lose weight punitively fast (ultra low calories), the loss rate can be slower than anticipated. That's from things like fatigue (move less, rest more), reduced unconscious movement (fidgeting, postpone-able chores or hobbies), and "metabolic" things like down-regulated immune function (not good!), slowed hair growth (likely leading to hair thinning/loss eventually), slightly lower core body temperature (may feel cold), etc.

Our bodies can't tell extreme diets from famine, and they down-regulate to keep us alive. They may also increase water retention from the physical stress. But at sufficiently low calories, we'll lose fat (and muscle) weight. There's no "starvation mode" in the sense of that too-popular myth.

Think about it: If eating too little caused bodies to store fat, no one would ever starve to death, or they'd be chubby when they died. Sadly, many thousands of people worldwide do die of starvation, and they're skeletal when that happens, other than cases of distended belly from things like kwashiorkor, which is not body fat.

I joined MFP at close to your current age (I was 59), but with around 50 pounds to lose. I tried to keep my loss rate moderate (reasonable calorie deficit), get good overall nutrition, and find/practice good long-term habits to keep excess weight off. Like you, I'm pretty active, exercising 6 days most weeks. (That last was also true for the last dozen years I was overweight/obese, BTW.)

I lost at a decent clip, was at a healthy weight in a bit less than a year, and have stayed in a healthy weight range ever since, now age 68 and 131-point-something pounds this morning (at about 5'5").

My advice would be to keep weight loss moderate, 0.5-1% of current weight per week at most (with a bias toward the lower end of that range unless severely obese and under close medical supervision for deficiencies or complications). Along the way, focus on finding/practicing relatively enjoyable (at least tolerable), practical new habits that will keep you at a healthy weight permanently almost on autopilot when other parts of life get challenging . . . because they will. :flowerforyou:

That can work. Best wishes!