Starvation mode?

June_Bride

Is Starvation real? Or a myth? I mean I know eating less may slow down your metabolism, and that if you drastically go back to your old eating habits you will gain alot of weight, but will it prevent you from losing weight? I have been reading up on the subject and have come up with mixed opinions and theories on "Starvation Mode" Has anyone followed an eating plan where you eat less than 1000 calories a day, and what were your results?

TavistockToad

Is Starvation real? Or a myth? I mean I know eating less may slow down your metabolism, and that if you drastically go back to your old eating habits you will gain alot of weight, but will it prevent you from losing weight? I have been reading up on the subject and have come up with mixed opinions and theories on "Starvation Mode" Has anyone followed an eating plan where you eat less than 1000 calories a day, and what were your results?

regardless of whether starvation mode exists or not, there is no need and no benefits to eating less than 1000 cals per day to lose weight, espeically when you only have 20 odd pounds to lose.

Phoenix_Warrior

Let's ignore the term starvation mode and focus on the fact that you are actually considering eating so little.

http://evidencemag.com/calories-count/

Your body needs X amount of calories to function properly. If you under eat you run the risk of your body using muscle for energy, muscle is not only lean body mass but vital organs. After a sustained period, metabolic adaptation Nay occur, reducing your metabolic rate. Also, this website specifically is against the promotion of starvation diets, so technically if anyone who shared in any "successes" would be removed and this thread shut down.

This isn't a race. What would you learn, other than a disordered view of calorie consumption by eating so little? Find a sustainable amount of calories and lose it the right way, please.

SuperCrsa

Here's an awesome link Long read, but definitely get to the end!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1084912-good-starvation-mode-article

ekz13

This has some good reads to help with info


https://www.google.com/search?q=starvation+mode+myfitnesspal+site:www.myfitnesspal.com&safe=active&biw=1473&bih=716

SezxyStef

Is Starvation real? Or a myth? I mean I know eating less may slow down your metabolism, and that if you drastically go back to your old eating habits you will gain alot of weight, but will it prevent you from losing weight? I have been reading up on the subject and have come up with mixed opinions and theories on "Starvation Mode" Has anyone followed an eating plan where you eat less than 1000 calories a day, and what were your results?

Easy answer it's a myth...

Eating under 1k calories will cause weight loss (but you will lose muscle and fat) and it will leave you hangry...why would you do that to yourself?

I eat on average 1600-1700 a day and lose.....

supermysza

It's real. I wasn't eating enough when I got too into my weight loss and was still exercising and I was gaining weight. Ironically as soon as I started eating more and got closer to my calorie goal the weight started going down again. So don't undereat :P

QuietBloom

It's real. I wasn't eating enough when I got too into my weight loss and was still exercising and I was gaining weight. Ironically as soon as I started eating more and got closer to my calorie goal the weight started going down again. So don't undereat :P

You were hanging onto water. It's impossible to gain weight when in a true calorie deficit.

Glad you are losing weight on more calories though. Much healthier for your body. :flowerforyou:

SezxyStef

It's real. I wasn't eating enough when I got too into my weight loss and was still exercising and I was gaining weight. Ironically as soon as I started eating more and got closer to my calorie goal the weight started going down again. So don't undereat :P

Yah no it's not...

If you were gaining weigh you were eating more then you thought or not burning as much as you thought.

Our bodies do not magically create fat from nothing...if so we wouldn't see the issues during famines.

Don't undereat is correct but the rest is not.

MarineCodie

I like food.

My_Own_Worst_Enemy

Its as real as ....









Yup. Mer-People. That Sheet is as REAL as Starvation mode.

My_Own_Worst_Enemy

Srsly....

This thread here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science

My_Own_Worst_Enemy

Srsly....

This thread here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science

Okay, one last post. If youve read through the entire thing, this should also explain why "cheat days" or "zig-zagging" your days is highly successful with a lot of people. They arent really cheat days, they are days you are just resetting your bodys leptin levels where they need to be; which the leptin levels drop after not eating enough after 2-3 days. For those of you who do not know what Leptin is, its a hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and expenditure, including appetite and hunger, metabolism, and behavior.

My_Own_Worst_Enemy

It's real. I wasn't eating enough when I got too into my weight loss and was still exercising and I was gaining weight. Ironically as soon as I started eating more and got closer to my calorie goal the weight started going down again. So don't undereat :P

Yah no it's not...

If you were gaining weigh you were eating more then you thought or not burning as much as you thought.

Our bodies do not magically create fat from nothing...if so we wouldn't see the issues during famines.

Don't undereat is correct but the rest is not.

They dont magically create fat from nothing, but your body will retain water from it.

Yes. Your body retains water when you do not eat a sufficient amount of protein. Long-term low calorie diets can be the cause of insufficient protein.

http://www.muscleforlife.com/water-retention-and-weight-loss/

This is another good read which highlights some of the points from the previous MFP post that I posted. The article also discusses the Minnesota Experiment in which the author also explains "I want to repeat this point: the caloric deficit did systematically reduce body fat levels, but the reductions in total body weight were often counter-balanced by increases in water retention."

This is another reason why people freak out here on MFP saying they are working their butts off and arent seeing any results from the scale.

Have a great day! :flowerforyou:


Dammit and I said my last post was going to be the last one. :ohwell:

willdb76

Has anyone followed an eating plan where you eat less than 1000 calories a day, and what were your results?

Yes. I lost weight rapidly. I only did it for one week though, as advised on the diet plan. You can't live like that indefinitely without health consequences IMHO. After the week was up I tapered my diet back to more normal levels and the weight continued to come off.

(I was warned by several people about the 'starvation mode' thing, but it didn't happen, for me at least. The weight loss was sudden, rapid, and followed up by continued gradual weight loss, which I put down to tapering back to a normal *healthy* diet, rather than going straight back to my previous unhealthy diet).

jayjay12345654321

I didn't abide the sound advice about not going under 1000 calories when I was dieting. I had doctors on one side telling me I would have a stroke or even die if I didn't drop the weight fast, and nutritionists on the other side saying I was being too aggressive trying to lose it too fast. I went well under 1000 calories for several months. The weight vanished in months. Only, my body fat ratio was 37% despite being so thin. I thought I did well, until a minor wobble caused my leg to buckle, tearing my ACL and spraining my MCL because I didn't have enough lean muscle left to keep my leg attached at the knee.

My advice is to stop weighing yourself. Fit into the clothes/wedding gown/whatever it is that is motivating you to lose such a small amount and don't sacrifice precious lean muscle in a crash diet. It's not worth it.