Why not just starve?

mckshowie

im going to get crucified for this... but i dont really believe that if you go back to HEALTHY eating habits and reasonable calories, you'll get fat/gain ridiculous amounts of weight etc.

if you look at anorexics who go through rehab - and im talking they have SERIOUS problems and have been starving themselves for prolonged periods of time - they're not all overweight when they come out.

i don't condone starving yourself, at all. i couldn't do it. but i don't think that doing it and then eating again will cause you to gain bunches of weight... as long as you're not going back to your old eating habits that made you overweight to begin with.

ladyhawk00

As to the OP, these threads may help answer some questions about metabolism and health consequences of underfeeding and how to determine healthy, realistic cal goals.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/230930-starvation-mode-how-it-works

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/222019-60-lbs-in-60-days?hl=60+lbs

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding

CriticalX

Oh my God people! First of all there is no such thing as a stupid question!
We are here to support eachother and learn things and ask questions and get other peoples opinions.
If you didn't have anything nice to say about my post then keep your mouth shut, just go on to the next question.
There really is no need to be mean to someone who has a question. I was looking for information about what my metabolism will do in this situation. I did not say I was gonna starve myself or become anorexic. I was just asking a question. Being mean or sarcastic is not helping me out at all.

sorry for others on here. but not eating right u lose bad and good. u just wanna lose the bad

marji4x

it's not sustainable and it's terrible for you in the long run. This was a good fat2fitradio.com episode on the topic of starvation diets: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/2011/02/fat-2-fit-118-the-evils-of-starvation-diets/

shreddingit

it wont be fat you will be losing its precious muscle!!

lclarkjr

Overall health is a lot more important than just losing weight. Healthy weight loss is possible so just stick with it. Starving yourself causes your body to burn muscle for energy and cling to fat. So you may weigh less but you will still be fat. Aim for being healthy (good diet and regular exercise) and the weight loss will come naturally. I know you can do it!

Mindful_Trent

if you look at anorexics who go through rehab - and im talking they have SERIOUS problems and have been starving themselves for prolonged periods of time - they're not all overweight when they come out.

i don't condone starving yourself, at all. i couldn't do it. but i don't think that doing it and then eating again will cause you to gain bunches of weight... as long as you're not going back to your old eating habits that made you overweight to begin with.

I realize you make it clear that you don't condone starvation to lose weight, but your focus on subsequent weight gain/loss concerns me. Gaining weight back afterwards is not the only (or even most important) reason to avoid starvation. It's horrible for your overall health, and as I mentioned above makes you very vulnerable to vitamin deficiencies, dehydration, loss of muscle mass, etc. Not to mention the mental aspects of starving yourself. It's not healthy. period. I'm sure that if I really wanted to, I could lose weight and keep it off using any unhealthy "diet" out there, but that doesn't mean they're in any way healthy.

debbiepaints

It's water weight. As soon as you start eating and drinking normally again it will come back up and besides STARVING yourself is not a healthy or fun way to get weight off.

Kristy0728

Techinically - your body actually becomes MORE "fat" when you are starving. Your body looses its muscle mass.

MistyMtnMan

Sure you may get thinner BUT you will still be made of mostly fat. You can still be fatty and not overweight. Thin doesn't equal healthy. Plus you won't be able to maintain just not eating a lot forever. You may loose a lot but you may also GAIN it all back and then some because you are not learning to eat the right foods and the right amounts.

There's a reason not many people have athletic bodies and that most of the population is overweight. IT"S HARD WORK. If you want to get thin the right way and STAY thin. Do it the right way now. People are so used to getting things as soon as they want them. You gotta just stick with it through the good and bad and you will get to where you want.

Schwiggity

it's not sustainable and it's terrible for you in the long run. This was a good fat2fitradio.com episode on the topic of starvation diets: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/2011/02/fat-2-fit-118-the-evils-of-starvation-diets/

That's a really cool radio program. Definitely adding to my bookmarks!

Kaileyxoxo

i apologize for those who post unnecessary and rude comments, people come on here to feel supported, so a,rude, but anyway..... last year i lost 5-7 pounds and hit my goal weight because for a week and a half i was basically eating jello and small meals because i had surgery in my mouth and I have kept the weight off, im not saying its healthy to STARVE yourself, but if a person wants to go on a "diet" for a week or two to jumpstart or to break through a platueo? (ha spelling sorry)... i think that is perfectly fine. just dont get into a bad habit!

psuLemon

There are a lot of issues. Essentially, you will get the same results as an anerexic person. Problem with that is you eat away all your muscle, your bone mass starts to deteriorate, your internal organs start to have issues, your stomach starts to eat itself with the acid that lines your stomach and a huge amount of complicated issues that follow. It will kill your metabolism to a point that any type of calories you intake, it will hold on to for as long as possible. And as someone else stated earlier, you lost your water weight. People can hold up to 7 lbs or something like that in water weigh (woman more than men for many reasons). Eating the low amount of calories will only make your BF % increase.

rlyoungers

Because if you do it for a long period of time, your metabolism will adjust down to burning only that small number of calories each day. Your weight loss will slow down dramatically and then even if/when you reach your goal weight, you'll continue to have to eat that tiny number of calories or you'll gain weight. At least that's what I've read.

Plus, when you have the stomach flu, it feels easy to eat that few calories because you have no appetite. When you are well again, you will feel starving on that number of calories and it will be a miserable way to lose weight!

JenniferH81

I understand where you're coming from. Last summer I had some stomach issues, and lost a bunch of weight. Then after I felt better I've lost none by eating healthy and exercising. Nothing at all since november. However I haven't gained any of it back which is awesome..but still.

marji4x

Oh also, if you continue to listen to fat2fit (and it's backed up in everywhere else I've read about this), you'll hear them talk about the long term effects of starvation diets.

One of their big goals is being fit AND getting to eat a lot. They advocate eating lots of healthy foods and still losing/ maintaining weight.

If you starve yourself (eating under your daily caloric requirement) your body starts to freak out and toss muscle out, because muscle is more work to keep up with in the body (like tossing the heaviest cargo overboard during a storm at sea). It takes more calories to keep your muscles running than your fat, so your body throws out the muscle and keeps the fat.

You eventually hit a plateau where your body is running very efficiently at starvation levels (the body can adapt) and then you are starving yourself, not losing weight, and wrecking your body. When you eventually come back to eating normlly, not only do you gain weight from your body trying to recover from starving, you've lost muscle mass.

I've heard a pound of fat burns 5 calories a day just sitting there....a pound of muscle burns something like 35 calories a day just sitting there.

So if you have less muscle, you are burning less calories per day just existing and have to eat less the rest of your life...and some people can't do that and end up binging, an no one should HAVE to do that regardless.

You want to exercise, build up your muscle mass (not like a bodybuilder you know, just healthy amounts of muscle all over) and slowly get fit over time...and get to eat lots of yummy food!

I've been consistently losing weight and I never touch salads...I eat lots of lean meat, healthy-style mac and cheese, veggies, various other dishes that are low-cal but NOT "diet food"

the occasional burrito or burger when I am out with friends, a bit of dessert once in a while.... but I eat healthy 90% of the time and let myself go about 10% of the time. I'm losing weight(not fast but fairly steady), my body is getting toned and sexy and I am never hungry.

Keep reading up on this, but that's the consensus I've come after lots of research (online, admittedly).

Good luck!

FairyMiss

Starving is fine. Look how healthy the kids in Ethiopia look. :indifferent:

damn you you stole my post.
and well 1000 cals i would not really call starving. now doing much lesaroudn 500 yes. and that would be fine if you dont mind organ faliure

marianne_s

You've lost water...... you'll gain it all back within days...

eeeekie

Simple fact...

It's not healthy.

You can't drive a car with no fuel. You can't have a healthy/active body without any fuel either...


(edit: You may be thin but you're still fat (unhealthy) at least at your weight right now you're correcting old habits and making yourself healthy. Just because you're thin doesn't mean you're healthy and strong)

Jade_Butterfly

Starving DOES work, unfortunately the end result isn't pretty.

Good answer!