Starvation mode: real, fake or a matter of opinion

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  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
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    Matter of opinion completely. No one person on here will know your body, your medical issues or weather or not you get enough or are lacking in something. Even we sometimes can't tell when our body is lacking in certain things

    When it comes to LCDs getting a doctor on board is the smartest thing anyone can do as they will make sure you are getting what your body needs and they will be looking out for you! That's why I trust my GP over the opinions we see here. And I always will.

    If you trust a GP for your nutritional and exercise advice, then you're ignorant. They know next to nothing about the subject. Good luck with that.

    That's why they are General Practioners. They do come in handy for all sorts of health advice and treatment though. I am working with mine to monitor my bloods and other doctory stuff. He is quite happy that I know more about nutrition and exercise than he does....

    I really wouldn't call anyone ignorant for trusting their GP over anonymous know alls on an internet site. Some people are woefully ignorant and spout all sorts of tut wot they have read....
  • snejkaxo
    snejkaxo Posts: 91 Member
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    Sorry for being so blunt, but Famine in Somalia is starvation mode, and not polishing over 1000 calories every day. So no, definitely no worries for you about starvation mode. Here is an awesome advise about how to lose weight though:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL96-_87Z9E
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Aside from the metabolic changes that occur with chronic under feeding there are other health concerns and significant risks of VLCDs: gallstones (1/4 people but not always a concern), cardio issues including sudden death from ventricular tachycardia, hormonal damage to the adrenal/pituitary system, hair loss, etc... Such a large deficit cannot meet micronutrient needs of muscle repair from your exercise - you also increase the risk of exercise injury and reduce the overall benefits from your practice.

    Some people here think that a Very Low Calorie Diet is 1200 calories. A VLCD is defined as 800 calories or less.

    Some people look at the whole picture of total weight loss and net calories - a negative net of over a thousand calories with weight loss of close to 4 lbs a weeks is likely a VLCD.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
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    Sorry for being so blunt, but Famine in Somalia is starvation mode, and not polishing over 1000 calories every day. So no, definitely no worries for you about starvation mode. Here is an awesome advise about how to lose weight though:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL96-_87Z9E

    Another one who talks sense and expects to get any response..... :)
  • wibblefps
    wibblefps Posts: 78
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    I too think there's some confusion here. "Starvation Mode" Is a well understood physiological response to prolonged (and dangerous) energy deficit whereby the body will start metabolising lean muscle tissue as an energy source.

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

    However, note the extreme circumstances by which the mechanisms are called in play. Only realistic for someone with a serious eating disorder.

    If people are talking about fasting for periods, again there's a lot of published research, recently culminating in the notion of having two days a week where one consumes less than 500/600 calories a day, has a positive impact on health:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html
    http://www.closeronline.co.uk/2013/07/the-5-2-diet-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work-plus-recipe-ideas
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc
  • SurfyFriend
    SurfyFriend Posts: 362 Member
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    A diet you can't maintain for life is a fad diet. Any fad diet is starving the body of one thing or another. Calorie restriction included, unless someone is morbidly obese and needs to lose weight urgently.
  • vulpesgirl
    vulpesgirl Posts: 10
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    I can't tell if this is real or if you're doing a Lewis Carroll. lol (in response to the Shatner's Bassoon thing)
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
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    I can't tell if this is real or if you're doing a Lewis Carroll. lol (in response to the Shatner's Bassoon thing)

    Me? Oh Lewis Carrol and Brass Eye.... mix well don't they? :D
  • 1capybara
    1capybara Posts: 162 Member
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    27 lbs in 55 days - thats over 3 lbs a week.

    Sounds like a "if it aint broke, dont fix it" situation to me. Keep going with what is working until it isnt working yet. Once you get to or close to a weight you happy with, you can worry about maintenance.
    agreed, u r doing most excellently, keep up the good work! u r AWESOME!
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    The bottom line is, until and unless you are at a dangerously-low body fat percentage, if you eat a calorie deficit you will lose weight. You must.

    Agreed. Having seen my dad not eat thanks to chemo (he may have eaten about 300 calories a day for about 6 months) and continue to lose weight until he was alarmingly emaciated (concaved abdominal area, ribs showing through - think Belsen), starvation mode certainly didn't kick in for him.

    Just starve yourself through any plateau and you will continue to lose weight. <
    VERY UNHEALTHY AND NOT RECOMMENDED.
  • michelledfoster
    michelledfoster Posts: 22
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    A diet you can't maintain for life is a fad diet. Any fad diet is starving the body of one thing or another. Calorie restriction included, unless someone is morbidly obese and needs to lose weight urgently.

    WOW. Clear, concise and kind. Thanks. I have enjoyed reading this thread (with a *couple* of snarpy exclusions) because I see a lot of obviously successful (ie hot) people giving thoughtful advice in a rational and kind manner.

    As for this quote, this is perhaps the Dalai Lama of dieting advice for me. I have been scared to death that the minute I *stop* doing what I am doing, I will gain it all back. I will be fearful of that until I have done this long enough to know that my current efforts are habit. But, since I have been fat my whole life I expect that maintenance will be a life long process as much as the weight loss phase is a long process. I do believe that as long as I am aware of what I am going and making a conscious effort, I can maintain this. I am exercising, eating delicious and nutritious foods and having all of my favorite foods. Just not all of them all of the time. Thank you for this comment above, and this thread. Good advice herein, given in a good manner.
  • uniquegeek
    uniquegeek Posts: 2
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    Agree - and if you ever go to eating disorder or body image seminars put on by (real) health professionals, they will also tell you depriving yourself causes the body and brain to react in self-preservation because you are going against its needs. Note: "needs", as in necessity. This is why with starvation you also get craving, binging, wooziness, and crankiness. Going "on a diet" is a guarantee of gaining weight, in the end. Developing sustainable healthy habits is the way to go.
  • annakow
    annakow Posts: 385 Member
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    Kids in Africa are on starvation mode where one pound its a matter of life or dead..we are on diet lol
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    Real if someone is literally starving.

    Otherwise, I think the reason that diets based on undereating fail because they include binging some of the time and/or because the lack of adequate fuel diminishes effort/intensity of workouts.
  • BrandNewFabulousMe
    BrandNewFabulousMe Posts: 259
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    Starvation mode does exist but not the way ppl on here describe it to be. Serious malnutrition is what it is over a period of time. See your dr or a nutritionalist if any concerns.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
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    In my opinion starvation mode is a myth as far as diet and exercise is concerned and used by some on this site as an excuse to binge in the evenings. I also refer to http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/ and cannot in all fairness point to those that spout this theory at people regularly with open diaries that have late evening meals or BINGES in my opinion of cakes, puddings, ice cream etc to consume exercise cals. Eating 600-800 cals of rubbish before bed is not something I think is acceptable and I wonder how much success people would have without the starvation myth!

    We are all individuals with our own problems and histories what is good for one is not necessarily good for another, and the conflict between the cardio and strength clans on here is unhelpful to many ordinary people, more myths CARDIO EATS MUSCLE etc.

    Do your own research and take all advice from MFP users with a pinch of salt until you do but most of all stop feeding the TROLLS they must lose weight to!

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