Don't believe in "Starvation Mode"?

Options
1…34689…12

Replies

  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Options
    To be clear:

    What 75% (my estimate) of MFP users would define "Starvation Mode" as...

    THAT, I do not believe in.

    Testimonials, anecdotal evidence, all of it means NOTHING in my opinion. Show me scientific evidence of a starving person that gains weight as a direct result of their starvation.

    Starvation (as a clinical term) and "Starvation Mode" (technically adaptive thermogenesis or famine response) are NOT one and the same. They can be related, and can correlate, but trying to use the terms interchangeably is part of the problem.

    Yes- what most posters are referring to ISN'T the act of starving- it IS the famine reseponse (or whatever the correct designation is) where people eat well below their calories for a prolonged period of time, and in response their metabolism slows- here the body is not actually starving YET, but has few enough calories to run on that the possibility of starving seems real. It manifests most obviously in those near a healthy weight or with a smaller body fat % because low body fat is one of the signals to the body that starvation is a danger. The biggest problem of starvation mode is that though the people are eating well below their calories, they cant go over the average (and very low) amount that they normally eat without gaining- So they think "Oh I've been so good for WEEKS! I can have a huge pizza night, or go on a pub crawl with my friends!" because they've "earned" all these extra calories. BUT all they have done is slow their metabolism which will now store all the extra it can in case things get tight again.

    Nobody is contending that people who are actually starving gain weight, but rather pointing out why people who abstain from food exessively can still gain, even with just one "splurge".

    Which posters have you seen defining "starvation mode" and "starvation" as the same thing?
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Options
    I see that you've been very successful so do whatever works for you. My sister is also a firm believer in eating the exercise calories. I personally think it makes working out a moot point.

    So I just wanted to address this, because it is the common kernal of discontent with the "eating exercise calories".

    MFP works a bit differently than most calorie/point counters. Most nutrition plans incorporate workouts into your overall activity level- ie I have a desk job, but if I workout 5 days a week most plans would put me at "lightly active". This would figure into my daily calorie goal - so most nutritionists would assume I am working out a certain number of times a week and then recommend that I eat 1500-1800 calories everyday, regardless of my workout.

    MFP is built on a system that enables you to lose without working out, if you so choose. Because of this, you get a lower starting goal but it has you manually account for specific workouts or anything outside your normal level of activity. so you get a lower starting goal everyday (so you continue to lose regardless of whether or not you workout), but when you workout more, you should be eating more. So on days I workout, I eat 17-2000 (total), and on days that I don't I eat 13-1400 (total), but my net (the amount my body gets to run off of) is always 1300-1400

    You can do what ever you want in regard to exercise calories but it doesn't change the fact that MFP is designed for you to eat these calories. The equation on the homepage:

    GOAL FOOD -(minus) EXERCISE =(equals) NET

    Your supposed to be aiming to make your NET calories match your NET calories-- that is how the tool is designed.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Options
    megg, I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, she's primarily referring to the people who reference that caloriecount.about.com article that's been floating around the internet for a few years (the one referenced earlier), where the guy interchanges starvation diets and starvation mode. I've seen it in a few other places as well, and a few posts on MFP.
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 986 Member
    Options
    adding, so I can read later
  • Trafty024
    Trafty024 Posts: 57 Member
    Options
    Interesting reading. Thanks!
  • shannonshock13
    shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
    Options
    I feel confused.



    bahahaha man, you and me both.

    whatever happened to eat less move more lose weight?
  • gillleeman
    gillleeman Posts: 397 Member
    Options
    Bumping for my topics
  • lovetowrite73
    lovetowrite73 Posts: 1,244 Member
    Options
    whatever happened to eat less move more lose weight?
    And therein lies the problem and why this argument will forever remain.
  • 123nikki123
    123nikki123 Posts: 527
    Options
    BUMP!
  • DJH510
    DJH510 Posts: 114 Member
    Options
    The theory of starvation mode as it is presented in forums such as these IS a myth. It breaks the laws of thermodynamics; there's no way around that.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Options
    The theory of starvation mode as it is presented in forums such as these IS a myth. It breaks the laws of thermodynamics; there's no way around that.

    Please explain. This is how myths are perpetuated, people making open ended statements with not description and nothing to back it up. Making this statement opens up the field for anyone and everyone to throw out their wild theories.

    There are plenty of us trying to explain the phenomenon with science and logic, please don't just dismiss that with a simple "you're wrong" type of argument.
  • rachel1975f
    rachel1975f Posts: 894
    Options
    "Tanks for Nuttin"

    Still as confused as I was when I started reading:noway:
  • techie30
    techie30 Posts: 82 Member
    Options
    bump
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Options
    The theory of starvation mode as it is presented in forums such as these IS a myth. It breaks the laws of thermodynamics; there's no way around that.

    I agree with Boss, this is a very open statement- In what way is it presented in the forums? The links the OP cited had an entire section citing scientifc information on how/why starvation mode exists. Boss and several others have spent a good amount of time explaining the concept in a basic understandable way. You don't eat enough, your body believes that starvation is a possibility. It slows down your metabolism to avoid actual starvation- thus requiring you to eat less calories, so people are not getting the deficit they believe. In what forums is it presented as breaking "laws of themodynamics" (which as far as I can tell are only tangentially applicable here)

    I have come across many people who DIDN'T believe in starvation mode who incorrectly explain what it is, but most people who advocate eating your exercise calories and getting a minimum of net calories, in my experience, explain as I have above.
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    Options
    The theory of starvation mode as it is presented in forums such as these IS a myth. It breaks the laws of thermodynamics; there's no way around that.

    I agree with Boss, this is a very open statement- In what way is it presented in the forums? The links the OP cited had an entire section citing scientifc information on how/why starvation mode exists. Boss and several others have spent a good amount of time explaining the concept in a basic understandable way. You don't eat enough, your body believes that starvation is a possibility. It slows down your metabolism to avoid actual starvation- thus requiring you to eat less calories, so people are not getting the deficit they believe. In what forums is it presented as breaking "laws of themodynamics" (which as far as I can tell are only tangentially applicable here)

    I have come across many people who DIDN'T believe in starvation mode who incorrectly explain what it is, but most people who advocate eating your exercise calories and getting a minimum of net calories, in my experience, explain as I have above.

    I think more than a few times someone starts a thread that says "I haven't lost anything" or "I gained weight", and one of the solutions offered by many posters is that they must be in starvation mode and need to eat more. If their metabolism slows down by 10% because they are eating less it should not completely eliminate their deficit, they should continue ton lose but at a slower rate; you should not GAIN because you are not eating enough, THAT is a violation of the laws of thermodynamics because energy cannot be created or destroyed (the body doesn't have as much energy as it needs to survive, it should tap into the fat energy stores, not create new fat - from what?).

    The resident experts don't communicate it this way, but many times the layperson translates it into "if I eat 1000 calories today instead of 1200 I will gain 2 lbs of fat" :noway: . My guess is that is what DJH510 was referring to
  • CatchMom11
    CatchMom11 Posts: 462 Member
    Options
    @Boss - I have to know where you got your Red Sox banner! I need to get one for my Yankees. lol.
  • lukimakamai
    lukimakamai Posts: 498 Member
    Options
    bumb...just wanting to come back and read some links later :o)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Options
    @Boss - I have to know where you got your Red Sox banner! I need to get one for my Yankees. lol.

    C'mon, why would I EVER give that kind of information out to a yankee's fan. :tongue:

    But seriously, I made it. It's simple, you just find your favorite Yankee's image on the web, save the image locally on your machine, open up mspaint or what ever image editor you like, resize to fit the banner section, and re-save it as a jpeg file, it's not difficult.
  • CatchMom11
    CatchMom11 Posts: 462 Member
    Options
    @Boss - I have to know where you got your Red Sox banner! I need to get one for my Yankees. lol.

    C'mon, why would I EVER give that kind of information out to a yankee's fan. :tongue:

    But seriously, I made it. It's simple, you just find your favorite Yankee's image on the web, save the image locally on your machine, open up mspaint or what ever image editor you like, resize to fit the banner section, and re-save it as a jpeg file, it's not difficult.

    Thanks! I will give it a try. Apparently it's not true what they say about Boston fans. lol. jk. Btw - my husband cheers for you guys. He's not a Boston fan per se, but he absolutely with every inch of his being, hates my Yankees. It's certainly a good thing I didn't know that when we started dating. lol.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Options
    whatever happened to eat less move more lose weight?

    Well, in my experience, eating more and moving more made me lose more than eating less.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/the-pennsylvania-hillbilly-less-isn-t-always-more-75272

    I don't claim to fully understand the science behind it, but I know what's working for me. And when I didn't eat enough, my body would not release the pounds. Now I'm eating more and the weight is dropping faster than I ever expected. Best of all, I'm happy and don't feel deprived at all.

Categories