Starvation mode

ljones27uk

Hi all
Can someone offer me some advice on starvation mode please? My main query is around whether is brought on by net calorie deficiency or gross? Ie. I can have 1700 a day, if I eat 1700 a day and execise 1700 a day will this put me in starvation mode... Or is it only if I just eat 0 calories? ( eating zero is hypothetical, of course, I'm not going to starve myself ) also, does it take days, or weeks of calorie deficiency to go into starvation mode..

Any hints appreciated, as I'm consistently under my calorie goal and don't want to trigger a slow down in my metabolism.

Cheers

ValGogo

Well, you will hear a lot today. Apparently starvation mode doesn't exist and I believe that. If you are eating and exercising the same amount, I absolutely don't think you're going to starve. But if you are exercising and wasting 1700 calories, your body is going to crave food so just feed it.

Don't worry about silly phrases like starvation mode. Starving is one thing, deficit is another. If you live in any country that has an economy, I doupbt you will ever starve.

Eat your base calories, do your exercise and eat a few of the calories burned back.

Bottom line, starvation mode is a myth and I don't believe in myths, only facts and how my body feels.

vismal

This topic gets debated to death around here. Here's some factual information:

You can starve. If you deprive yourself of enough calories for a long enough period of time, you will die. It has and does happen to people. When people starve to death, they lose TONS of weight. They do not magically stop losing weight because they are starving. They do see some slowdown to their metabolisms but not enough to cease weight loss. They exhaust the great majority of their stored fuel. They look like skeletons before they die.

In order to die you need to be at or near zero intake for a very long time (depending on how much stored energy you have).

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth. If you are asking can you starve to death by eating nothing or next to nothing for a long long time, then yeah, that can happen.

bethanyboomstick

Bottom line, starvation mode is a myth and I don't believe in myths, only facts and how my body feels.

This.

Veil5577

This topic gets debated to death around here. Here's some factual information:

You can starve. If you deprive yourself of enough calories for a long enough period of time, you will die. It has and does happen to people. When people starve to death, they lose TONS of weight. They do not magically stop losing weight because they are starving. They do see some slowdown to their metabolisms but not enough to cease weight loss. They exhaust the great majority of their stored fuel. They look like skeletons before they die.

In order to die you need to be at or near zero intake for a very long time (depending on how much stored energy you have).

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth. If you are asking can you starve to death by eating nothing or next to nothing for a long long time, then yeah, that can happen.

Why, this makes perfect sense! What are you doing here?

farfromthetree

This topic gets debated to death around here. Here's some factual information:

You can starve. If you deprive yourself of enough calories for a long enough period of time, you will die. It has and does happen to people. When people starve to death, they lose TONS of weight. They do not magically stop losing weight because they are starving. They do see some slowdown to their metabolisms but not enough to cease weight loss. They exhaust the great majority of their stored fuel. They look like skeletons before they die.

In order to die you need to be at or near zero intake for a very long time (depending on how much stored energy you have).

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth. If you are asking can you starve to death by eating nothing or next to nothing for a long long time, then yeah, that can happen.

Why, this makes perfect sense! What are you doing here?

He always clears things up so perfectly. I don't know how he has the energy but, I am glad he does.

vismal

This topic gets debated to death around here. Here's some factual information:

You can starve. If you deprive yourself of enough calories for a long enough period of time, you will die. It has and does happen to people. When people starve to death, they lose TONS of weight. They do not magically stop losing weight because they are starving. They do see some slowdown to their metabolisms but not enough to cease weight loss. They exhaust the great majority of their stored fuel. They look like skeletons before they die.

In order to die you need to be at or near zero intake for a very long time (depending on how much stored energy you have).

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth. If you are asking can you starve to death by eating nothing or next to nothing for a long long time, then yeah, that can happen.

Why, this makes perfect sense! What are you doing here?

I'll answer that question with cat gifs....Do I fit in now? LOL

missiontofitness

My idea of starvation mode is that I get it every day. Right as I'm waiting until 12PM until lunch. And before dinner.
Frankly, I don't think it exists. To truly be in a starvation state, you would need more than a few days of eating under your calorie goal. What I do believe though is that it is unhealthy to consistently eat under your calorie goal, and to be starving your body of the fuel it needs.

TL:DR: Starvation mode doesn't exist, but not fueling your body properly does.

Veil5577

This topic gets debated to death around here. Here's some factual information:

You can starve. If you deprive yourself of enough calories for a long enough period of time, you will die. It has and does happen to people. When people starve to death, they lose TONS of weight. They do not magically stop losing weight because they are starving. They do see some slowdown to their metabolisms but not enough to cease weight loss. They exhaust the great majority of their stored fuel. They look like skeletons before they die.

In order to die you need to be at or near zero intake for a very long time (depending on how much stored energy you have).

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth. If you are asking can you starve to death by eating nothing or next to nothing for a long long time, then yeah, that can happen.

Why, this makes perfect sense! What are you doing here?

I'll answer that question with cat gifs....Do I fit in now? LOL

Perfectly.

Cheekies_

This topic gets debated to death around here. Here's some factual information:

You can starve. If you deprive yourself of enough calories for a long enough period of time, you will die. It has and does happen to people. When people starve to death, they lose TONS of weight. They do not magically stop losing weight because they are starving. They do see some slowdown to their metabolisms but not enough to cease weight loss. They exhaust the great majority of their stored fuel. They look like skeletons before they die.

In order to die you need to be at or near zero intake for a very long time (depending on how much stored energy you have).

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth. If you are asking can you starve to death by eating nothing or next to nothing for a long long time, then yeah, that can happen.

Always happy to see you vismal! You, and your sensible answers.... Keep on rocking!

jrline

if you eat what you burn you will not be in starvation mode

ValGogo

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth.

That's a very good sentence. :flowerforyou:

ValGogo

This topic gets debated to death around here. Here's some factual information:

You can starve. If you deprive yourself of enough calories for a long enough period of time, you will die. It has and does happen to people. When people starve to death, they lose TONS of weight. They do not magically stop losing weight because they are starving. They do see some slowdown to their metabolisms but not enough to cease weight loss. They exhaust the great majority of their stored fuel. They look like skeletons before they die.

In order to die you need to be at or near zero intake for a very long time (depending on how much stored energy you have).

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth. If you are asking can you starve to death by eating nothing or next to nothing for a long long time, then yeah, that can happen.

Why, this makes perfect sense! What are you doing here?

:laugh: :laugh:

willnorton

dont believe in it....

urban legend !

ValGogo

This topic gets debated to death around here. Here's some factual information:

You can starve. If you deprive yourself of enough calories for a long enough period of time, you will die. It has and does happen to people. When people starve to death, they lose TONS of weight. They do not magically stop losing weight because they are starving. They do see some slowdown to their metabolisms but not enough to cease weight loss. They exhaust the great majority of their stored fuel. They look like skeletons before they die.

In order to die you need to be at or near zero intake for a very long time (depending on how much stored energy you have).

So is starvation mode real? It just depends what you mean by starvation mode. If you mean a magical metabolic condition that stops you from losing weight because you are eating low calories, then no, it's a myth. If you are asking can you starve to death by eating nothing or next to nothing for a long long time, then yeah, that can happen.

Why, this makes perfect sense! What are you doing here?

I'll answer that question with cat gifs....Do I fit in now? LOL

Perfectly.

(just died from acute case of adorable-itis.)

ljones27uk

Thanks everyone... Music to my ears, I will disregard starvation mode and crack on in my quest to hit target weight. Cheers

maillemaker

Originally, I believed in starvation mode. Then, from discussions here on this forum, I thought it was not true - that they only saw metabolic damage in people who had gotten down to single-digit body fat percentages.

However, I have recently watched a video that has changed my opinion yet again:

http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=20

This is a lecture by Dr. Rudy Liebel of Columbia University Medical Center. I encourage you to watch the entire hour when you have a chance.

In his lecture he explains that body fat produces Leptin. When you lose body fat, your Leptin levels decline. This triggers other physiological changes whereby your body tries to return to the original Leptin level, and thus the previous body fat mass level.

One of these changes is reducing the body's metabolism. This can result in a person feeling cold. I personally have felt this every time I am losing weight. I can tell without even getting on a scale if I am losing body fat because I am cold and hungry.

This reduction in metabolism means that a person who has been obese and lost weight will have a metabolism that is up to 20% lower than a person of the same body mass who has never lost weight. And they have examined people who have kept their weight loss off for years and seen this to still be true. Which means that the effect may be permanent.

In other words, once you gain body fat and then lose it, your body will fight to return to the previous body fat level by lowering metabolism and increasing feelings of hunger.

Dr. Liebel suggests that this is why nearly all people who attempt weight loss through behavioral modification ultimately fail long term.

vismal

Originally, I believed in starvation mode. Then, from discussions here on this forum, I thought it was not true - that they only saw metabolic damage in people who had gotten down to single-digit body fat percentages.

However, I have recently watched a video that has changed my opinion yet again:

http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=20

This is a lecture by Dr. Rudy Liebel of Columbia University Medical Center. I encourage you to watch the entire hour when you have a chance.

In his lecture he explains that body fat produces Leptin. When you lose body fat, your Leptin levels decline. This triggers other physiological changes whereby your body tries to return to the original Leptin level, and thus the previous body fat mass level.

One of these changes is reducing the body's metabolism. This can result in a person feeling cold. I personally have felt this every time I am losing weight. I can tell without even getting on a scale if I am losing body fat because I am cold and hungry.

This reduction in metabolism means that a person who has been obese and lost weight will have a metabolism that is up to 20% lower than a person of the same body mass who has never lost weight. And they have examined people who have kept their weight loss off for years and seen this to still be true. Which means that the effect may be permanent.

In other words, once you gain body fat and then lose it, your body will fight to return to the previous body fat level by lowering metabolism and increasing feelings of hunger.

Dr. Liebel suggests that this is why nearly all people who attempt weight loss through behavioral modification ultimately fail long term.

A 20% reduction in metabolism (which I think is a slight overestimate as the literature I've read suggests more along the lines of 15%) is not enough to cause weight loss to cease. This is basically an excuse people use to stay fat. 20% is just that, 20%. If a "normal" male can maintain on 2700 calories then you'd simply need to eat 2160 calories to maintain. You can increase that number by living an active lifestyle and building muscle. Metabolic adaptations can make it harder to lose weight and maintain weight but it's completely different then saying if you eat to little you'll stop losing weight which is what starvation mode is usually associated with.

Veil5577

Originally, I believed in starvation mode. Then, from discussions here on this forum, I thought it was not true - that they only saw metabolic damage in people who had gotten down to single-digit body fat percentages.

However, I have recently watched a video that has changed my opinion yet again:

http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=20

This is a lecture by Dr. Rudy Liebel of Columbia University Medical Center. I encourage you to watch the entire hour when you have a chance.

In his lecture he explains that body fat produces Leptin. When you lose body fat, your Leptin levels decline. This triggers other physiological changes whereby your body tries to return to the original Leptin level, and thus the previous body fat mass level.

One of these changes is reducing the body's metabolism. This can result in a person feeling cold. I personally have felt this every time I am losing weight. I can tell without even getting on a scale if I am losing body fat because I am cold and hungry.

This reduction in metabolism means that a person who has been obese and lost weight will have a metabolism that is up to 20% lower than a person of the same body mass who has never lost weight. And they have examined people who have kept their weight loss off for years and seen this to still be true. Which means that the effect may be permanent.

In other words, once you gain body fat and then lose it, your body will fight to return to the previous body fat level by lowering metabolism and increasing feelings of hunger.

Dr. Liebel suggests that this is why nearly all people who attempt weight loss through behavioral modification ultimately fail long term.

Yes, the metabolism does go down.. BUT IT DOES NOT STOP. The body does not hang on to every ounce of fat when you lower your calorie intake, it continues to burn fat. That is the biggest misunderstanding where this starvation mode thing is concerned.

Liftng4Lis

Let me know when the leprechauns and unicorns arrive.

vismal

Let me know when the leprechauns and unicorns arrive.

They have arrived

Unknown

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DjinnMarie

Eating too few calories will slow down your metabolism. But a slow metabolism doesn't suddenly make you stop losing weight if you continue eating at a deficit. This myth came from people who crash diet, consuming 500-700 calories a day, drop 5 lbs, then return to normal eating only to find they gained it all back and more.

And yes, it takes consistent, long term (a few weeks) low calorie eating to slow down your metabolism. Likewise, it takes consistent long term normal eating to return it back to it's proper state.

Starvation mode is a myth birthed from a pebble of truth.

SparrowGal2014

Um, let's look at BMR. The lower your weight, the lower your calorie needs UNLESS you need to compensate for activity to maintain. Metabolism will not STOP. How would that be possible? Your metabolism is the energy your body needs to function: breathe, circulate blood, cellular regeneration, daily movement, digestion. Who are these people that say this junk in the name of science? Vismal, thank you (seriously) for your intelligence.

SparrowGal2014

The kittens are AWESOME!

Fit_Jesus

Well there was a study done that took a group of people and had them consume no calories for days. The results were 72-96 hours on average it took for the metabolism to slow down.

So when on an extreme deficit combined with a high expenditure lifestyle (totally not recommended) it'd probably be advantageous to keep your metabolism running smoothly by having a cheat meal every 3 to 4 days

vismal

Well there was a study done that took a group of people and had them consume no calories for days. The results were 72-96 hours on average it took for the metabolism to slow down.

So when on an extreme deficit combined with a high expenditure lifestyle (totally not recommended) it'd probably be advantageous to keep your metabolism running smoothly by having a cheat meal every 3 to 4 days

That's a bit out of context. No calories is VERY different then low calories. Also if the "cheat day" was high calorie enough, it might wipe out the deficit created by the low calorie days. The bottom line is, if you need to lose a lot of weight, you are going to experience some metabolic slowdown along the way. You simply must push through this.

Fit_Jesus

Well there was a study done that took a group of people and had them consume no calories for days. The results were 72-96 hours on average it took for the metabolism to slow down.

So when on an extreme deficit combined with a high expenditure lifestyle (totally not recommended) it'd probably be advantageous to keep your metabolism running smoothly by having a cheat meal every 3 to 4 days

That's a bit out of context. No calories is VERY different then low calories. Also if the "cheat day" was high calorie enough, it might wipe out the deficit created by the low calorie days. The bottom line is, if you need to lose a lot of weight, you are going to experience some metabolic slowdown along the way. You simply must push through this.

I said cheat meal, not cheat day. The idea of the cheat meal would be to keep the metabolism running smoothly while on a very low calorie diet. It's an idea, or broscience. The no calorie study I mentioned was to give the OP an idea of how hard you would have to diet for starvation to even start happening. No calories is an extreme example and it took 3 to 4 days. That was just one study though. There's of course others. I'd still recommend the 2 cheat meals a week if eating at an extreme deficit 0-500 cal/day or at least eat extra around workout times. I'm a believer in diet experimenting. Live and learn!

countscalories

Believing in starvation mode is as much a myth as believing that eating Twinkies will make you thin, blonde, and sweet inside.

Mr_Knight

Can someone offer me some advice on starvation mode please?

It's meaningless unless you're already skinny.

Unknown

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