Talk to me about starvation mode like I'm a gorilla

ahyllim

All my life, everything I've heard has always said that if you don't eat enough calories, your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to the weight. Now I'm reading that this might not be true and all those years I've eaten more than I needed to for fear of this terrifying 'starvation mode'. Even when I enter my food at the end of the day, sometimes MFP will remind me about starvation mode.

So what's the deal? Am I fat because I'm starving?

sloth3toes

MrGonzo05

Dear fellow gorilla,

Do you believe your starvation has caused your weight gain? As a gorilla, does that make any sense?

Here. Have a banana.

Sincerely,
The Gorillas

trogalicious

MFP is designed with a calorie deficit already factored in. It's trying to tell you that you need to eat.


....eat.

LTKeegan

From what I understand, long term starving causes metabolic damage. Short term does not. So one day of eating 900 calories won't kill you but 9 years of it will do lasting damage.


Gorilla eat banana when available. Gorilla no at banana long time gorilla body store extra banana when gorilla eat banana.

ahyllim

No. I blame the years of overeating, eating garbage, and binge eating for my fatness.

I'm just looking for some more information on 'starvation mode' and whether or not it's really a thing that I have to consider as I try to rid myself of the weight.

trogalicious

No. I blame the years of overeating, eating garbage, and binge eating on my fatness.

I'm just looking for some more information on 'starvation mode' and whether or not it's really a thing that I have to consider as I try to rid myself of the weight.

no, don't worry about the "starvation mode" message.
That being said, it's hard to get what you need... from a nutritional standpoint... if you're at too much of a deficit. If you're eating under all the time, you're not doing yourself any favors long term.

AJ_G

Rule 1: Calories out - Calories in = Calorie deficit = fat loss. This is ALWAYS true(if no abnormal metabolic problems are present)

Rule 2: Your body always wants equilibrium (Calories out = Calories in).

Rule 3: Your metabolism has the ability to VERY SLOWLY change in order to make Rule 2 possible.

So all this means that if you are in a sustained calorie deficit for a long period of time, your metabolism will begin to slow in order to reach equilibrium. This process takes months and doesn't happen over the course of just days or weeks. The larger your calorie deficit, the faster it will happen.

ahyllim

So, let's say with the exception of one year of my adult life, I have always been morbidly obese. I managed to lose it all using WW once only to turn around and promptly regain it all again. I'm back at the starting line of wanting to lose 90-100lbs. If I eat lower carbs (because my body reacts very poorly to carbs of any kind), higher protein (lean protein, not bacon), and about 1200-1300 calories a day for about six months, will this be seen as starvation mode by my body? What if I threw in one day of higher-ish carbs (sweet potato or extra fruit) a week? Would this be enough to keep my body guessing?

trogalicious

So, let's say with the exception of one year of my adult life, I have always been morbidly obese. I managed to lose it all using WW once only to turn around and promptly regain it all again. I'm back at the starting line of wanting to lose 90-100lbs. If I eat lower carbs (because my body reacts very poorly to carbs of any kind), higher protein (lean protein, not bacon), and about 1200-1300 calories a day for about six months, will this be seen as starvation mode by my body? What if I threw in one day of higher-ish carbs (sweet potato or extra fruit) a week? Would this be enough to keep my body guessing?

throw out that garbage about "keeping your body guessing."

Look, if you wanna make it sustainable, since it wasn't the first time.. just find a moderate calorie deficit on food that you can eat forever.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. If you ask a question on the forum, give as much information as you can ("yes, I have a food scale and weigh my food" is worlds better than "I eat a palm full of miscellaneous boiled chicken parts..sometimes.")
17. Be honest with yourself and honest with us.
18. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

and make sure to read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Too Long to read it all? Stop falling off the cart. Make it easier to stay on this time so it's sustainable long term.

QuietBloom

If there were such a thing as a starvation mode that kept you from losing weight, no one would ever die of starvation. Forget about starvation mode. Eat at a reasonable deficit, use a food scale, log religiously.

SLLRunner

There is a difference between starving yourself and starvation mode.

Starving, as used in the normal dieting world, means you are not eating enough. Starvation mode is a condition that happens after long periods of eating very low calorie diets wherein you lose a large percentage of muscle and body fat.

Think Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Even though it was a controlled study/experiment, the people became emaciated.

Slightly underweight, normal weight, and especially overweight, people do not go into starvation mode.

I love bananas and I wonder if any of those gorillas upstream will share.

ahyllim

Too Long to read it all? Stop falling off the cart. Make it easier to stay on this time so it's sustainable long term.

Thank you for that. I did read it all, I just didn't quote it all. I appreciate your time.

I promise you that I'm not one of those 'blame everyone and everything except myself' people. I'm pretty realistic with myself about how I got where I am right now. There's just so much information out there, you know? I do measure and weigh everything I am putting in my mouth (it's only been a few weeks, but I've been consistent). I do, at times, find 1200-1300 calories a lot of food. I was really used to shoving my face with bad, empty calories that made 3000 calories a day easy, but 1300 calories of vegetables and lean protein is A LOT more food than I was eating a few weeks ago.

I guess, for me, I've heard so much talk about 'starvation' and how badly it will slow your weight loss that I am worried there's more merit to it than I was giving it credit for. I don't want to have to do this a third time because I'm unable to sustain what I am doing right now. But I also don't mind a few weeks of nice losses to help my motivation and mental stamina.

raven_ous

The long and the short of it...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1077746-starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

Studies using the rigorous standards outlined above have consistently shown that when people eat a calorie restricted diet — they lose weight.

That is, when researchers measure people’s energy expenditure, weigh all of their food and count their calorie intake, and force them to eat less food than they need to maintain their weight — they lose weight. The amount of weight they lose is also generally proportional to the size of their caloric deficit.

At this point, eating a calorie restricted diet and exercising (largely to burn more calories) are also considered the two most scientifically supported ways to lose weight. It works.

When you restrict your calorie intake enough to create a deficit, you lose weight. It turns out the reverse is also true.

I think trogalicious hit it on the head already.

BrainyBurro

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/



ETA: unrelated gorilla GIF

qnotes

In order to burn calories, you need to consume calories. It takes fuel to keep a fire burning.

rollng_thundr

My understanding of the process of metabolism is that the body will adjust to whatever environment you put it in. If you decrease your intake to the point of severe deficit, your body's metabolism will slow to a point that you will not burn off as much as you should, and your body will store fat to use as fuel, etc.

This may be an overly-simplistic explanation, but I can dig up some articles that would support this thesis (as I'm sure there are many more out there that might contradict).

I'm also sure that the body is complex in how it processes nutrition, and each person is different, but logic and basic physics says calories in vs. calories out will determine whether you are storing or consuming.

Eat sensibly, find support, gain inner strength, fight every day and get as much exercise as you can.

Also, allow yourself to enjoy small victories.

aangrisani

No. I blame the years of overeating, eating garbage, and binge eating on my fatness.

I'm just looking for some more information on 'starvation mode' and whether or not it's really a thing that I have to consider as I try to rid myself of the weight.

no, don't worry about the "starvation mode" message.
That being said, it's hard to get what you need... from a nutritional standpoint... if you're at too much of a deficit. If you're eating under all the time, you're not doing yourself any favors long term.

I get starvation mode, almost everyday that I log my meals. I honestly am not hungry, I eat clean and try to eat everything healthy. How can I be in starvation mode while I am full? Should I eat more?

trogalicious

No. I blame the years of overeating, eating garbage, and binge eating on my fatness.

I'm just looking for some more information on 'starvation mode' and whether or not it's really a thing that I have to consider as I try to rid myself of the weight.

no, don't worry about the "starvation mode" message.
That being said, it's hard to get what you need... from a nutritional standpoint... if you're at too much of a deficit. If you're eating under all the time, you're not doing yourself any favors long term.

I get starvation mode, almost everyday that I log my meals. I honestly am not hungry, I eat clean and try to eat everything healthy. How can I be in starvation mode while I am full? Should I eat more?

Hunger isn't a good indicator of proper nutrition. If you've been getting that message every day, you might wanna look into what you need... for what it's worth, eating "clean" has no bearing on whether or not you're getting enough of what you need.

That being said, if you're not accurately logging all the time... everything... then you're not giving yourself a fair shot to start with at least as far as tracking macros.

sunfastrose

Thank you for that. I did read it all, I just didn't quote it all. I appreciate your time.

I promise you that I'm not one of those 'blame everyone and everything except myself' people. I'm pretty realistic with myself about how I got where I am right now. There's just so much information out there, you know? I do measure and weigh everything I am putting in my mouth (it's only been a few weeks, but I've been consistent). I do, at times, find 1200-1300 calories a lot of food. I was really used to shoving my face with bad, empty calories that made 3000 calories a day easy, but 1300 calories of vegetables and lean protein is A LOT more food than I was eating a few weeks ago.

I guess, for me, I've heard so much talk about 'starvation' and how badly it will slow your weight loss that I am worried there's more merit to it than I was giving it credit for. I don't want to have to do this a third time because I'm unable to sustain what I am doing right now. But I also don't mind a few weeks of nice losses to help my motivation and mental stamina.

The thing is, you don't have to be perfect. Plan your day in advance - your vegetables, fruit, lean proteins. Look at the numbers you get; if they are too low, add more calorie dense foods. Oils, nuts, dairy - they all have their purpose. Even food with a less perfect nutrition profile can fit if you plan for it. Stop thinking of food as bad or good, think of how to reach your goals while still eating food you love.

defauIt

Here's some quick and dirty numbers to explain it. Note, these numbers are used to illustrate the point, they are not exact numbers that will apply to any specific person.

Let's say you're roughly average and the total number of calories your body burns a day is 2500.

Let's say you start eating 1500 calories a day to lose weight. As a result of your reduced intake, your metabolism might drop to around 2250 to try to conserve energy.

That's all it is. Starvation mode is an attempt by your body to conserve energy to erase SOME of the calorie deficit you have.

Here's a few caveats:

1) It will never remove the deficit completely. This is not possible. Otherwise there would be no starving, skinny people in the world. It will remove SOME, not ALL of the deficit.

2) Long term reduced intake can permanently damage your body and your metabolism. Let's say you're the same person from before, needing 2500 calories a day. If you suddenly started eating 500 calories a day your body may go to desperate measures to give you the energy you need every day. These desperate measures include breaking down your muscles for energy (and don't forget the heart is a muscle), not having enough glucose for your brain (making you feel run down and tired, groggy, out of it), etc.