The truth about Starvation mode being pushed on MFP boards.

wildon883r

Copied from Article base.

MYTH: Eating a diet that is too low in calories will cause the body to go into starvation mode and not burn any calories

FACT: Severely cutting calories will cause the metabolism to adjust slightly, but not enough to prevent fat loss

Remember that people around the world who truly die of starvation are not overweight when they expire. It's true that when you severely cut calories your metabolism will make a slight adjustment, allowing your body to run on fewer calories—but it's not a large compensation. If you need to lose weight and you are not, eat less and/or move more and forget about slowing your metabolism.

Read the rest here- http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/the-truth-about-starvation-mode-fast-metabolisms-983959.html

VSgirl2010

good to know!

1FitMomof4Girls

Exactly!!!!

Mightytaco84

You can definitely go into starvation mode and continue to lose weight. The question is, can you keep off the weight? People who seriously want to change their lifestyles shouldn't attempt to go into starvation mode.

Solat37_Neil

I totally believe that "starvation mode" is a load of old ****e. Always have, and always will.

Nailrep

You can definitely go into starvation mode and continue to lose weight. The question is, can you keep off the weight? People who seriously want to change their lifestyles shouldn't attempt to go into starvation mode.

EVERYBODY, no matter HOW they lose weight, WILL gain back every pound if they begin eating more calories than their bodies require.

carolynmittens

yeah i don't really buy it either. i used to eat barely 500 calories a day and i was a stick. but like MightyTaco (hehe) pointed out, the weight won't stay off once you start eating like a normal person again.

wildon883r

yeah i don't really buy it either. i used to eat barely 500 calories a day and i was a stick. but like MightyTaco (hehe) pointed out, the weight won't stay off once you start eating like a normal person again.

How does one eat like a normal person. You meant excessive OVEREATING that got most of us here to begin with? We have to eat enough to maintain high energy levels throughout our day. I eat roughly 3 x 500 calorie meals plus snacks a day under 2000k total and im full of energy all the while my maintain weight calores at current is over 3000 a day. I'm not going to just eat for the sake of eating once i reach my goal weight or eat any different then i am now.. Good luck!

carolynmittens

yeah i don't really buy it either. i used to eat barely 500 calories a day and i was a stick. but like MightyTaco (hehe) pointed out, the weight won't stay off once you start eating like a normal person again.

How does one eat like a normal person. You meant excessive OVEREATING that got most of us here to begin with? We have to eat enough to maintain high energy levels throughout our day. I eat roughly 3 x 500 calorie meals plus snacks a day under 2000k total and im full of energy all the while my maintain weight calores at current is over 3000 a day. I'm not going to just eat for the sake of eating once i reach my goal weight or eat any different then i am now.. Good luck!

nope, i meant "normal" in comparison to eating less than 500 calories per day. which most people would agree isn't normal.

wildon883r

yeah i don't really buy it either. i used to eat barely 500 calories a day and i was a stick. but like MightyTaco (hehe) pointed out, the weight won't stay off once you start eating like a normal person again.

How does one eat like a normal person. You meant excessive OVEREATING that got most of us here to begin with? We have to eat enough to maintain high energy levels throughout our day. I eat roughly 3 x 500 calorie meals plus snacks a day under 2000k total and im full of energy all the while my maintain weight calores at current is over 3000 a day. I'm not going to just eat for the sake of eating once i reach my goal weight or eat any different then i am now.. Good luck!

nope, i meant "normal" in comparison to eating less than 500 calories per day. which most people would agree isn't normal.

I hear ya. I'd pass out with my current work and play lifestyle if thats all i consumed during the day. I go into nutritional PMS if i not adequately nourished (grumpy) as well as get a headache lol.

Ms_Natalie

This topic has been and will be around for a very long time...no matter what journals/books are cited. As with all dietry advice, there will always be support and criticism of particular theories.

However, I believe that an individual requires at least 1200 calories containing good nutirents in order to psychologically and physiologically function. Swimmers eat 3000+ a day to help stay energised and I agree with this totally. It is different for each individual based upon daily exercise, weight, e.t.c.. I do feel though that living on 500 calories a day cannot provide an individual with the essential nutrients and vitamins required to stay healthy. So, for me, it's not a case of starvation mode vs non starvation mode; but feeding your body the energy, nutrients e.t.c....it needs to function successfully.

I also feel that weight loss is more successful if you are eating correctly....I lost a lot of my weight eating 1200 calories and eating back some of my excercise calories...too much attention on the calories IN can be detrimental. If you are hungry, then eat...starving yourself is no good for a number of reasons.

Rodneymc4

yeah i don't really buy it either. i used to eat barely 500 calories a day and i was a stick. but like MightyTaco (hehe) pointed out, the weight won't stay off once you start eating like a normal person again.

How does one eat like a normal person. You meant excessive OVEREATING that got most of us here to begin with? We have to eat enough to maintain high energy levels throughout our day. I eat roughly 3 x 500 calorie meals plus snacks a day under 2000k total and im full of energy all the while my maintain weight calores at current is over 3000 a day. I'm not going to just eat for the sake of eating once i reach my goal weight or eat any different then i am now.. Good luck!

____________

I have been trying to eat back my exercise calories even when I'm not hungry and I stop losing weight at the rate I did before I started the eat back your exercise calories stuff. I'm going back to eating when hungry and if I have a 500 or 1000 calorie deficit at bedtime then so be it. My body tells me when it needs food.

However, I will say that I did go thru a period of losing muscle weight without losing fat. I never, ever want to repeat that again, so I have increased my protein intake above the MFP suggestion--I also make sure to have an adequate strength training and weight lifting regiment in conjunction with my vigorous cardio routines.

almonds1

This topic has been and will be around for a very long time...no matter what journals/books are cited. As with all dietry advice, there will always be support and criticism of particular theories.

However, I believe that an individual requires at least 1200 calories containing good nutirents in order to psychologically and physiologically function. Swimmers eat 3000+ a day to help stay energised and I agree with this totally. It is different for each individual based upon daily exercise, weight, e.t.c.. I do feel though that living on 500 calories a day cannot provide an individual with the essential nutrients and vitamins required to stay healthy. So, for me, it's not a case of starvation mode vs non starvation mode; but feeding your body the energy, nutrients e.t.c....it needs to function successfully.

I also feel that weight loss is more successful if you are eating correctly....I lost a lot of my weight eating 1200 calories and eating back some of my excercise calories...too much attention on the calories IN can be detrimental. If you are hungry, then eat...starving yourself is no good for a number of reasons.

average... I believe my BMI reads about 1800 basic based on 170lb 30yr old male... at 6'
here is a good BMR calulator http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Ms_Natalie

I did state that I believed individual differences play a large part in deciding on what your minimum calorie intake should be...I should have made it clearer...I don't believe that a 6ft male should be eating 1200 calories...but nobody should be eating less than this in my opinion... :flowerforyou:

Teemo

I'm all for being factually and scientifically accurate but it should be with good intentions in mind. The term "Starvation Mode" is usually tossed around in response to questions asking why one shouldn't simply eat NOTHING and then lose weight quicker.

The simple take home points are: (1) it's not healthy to do so, (2) it's not sustainable long-term because your body WILL 'starve', which may not leave you a skeleton but will certainly negatively impact your life as you become nutritionally and calorically deficient.

Hence, "Starvation Mode".

graysmom2005

That makes sense, but it also doesn't explain what's going on with me. I just started a thread. I was overweight, lost 40 pounds, became a spinning/Body Pump instructor. I usually teach twice a day which leaves me burning between 800-1200 calories a day most days. I only lost a few pounds when eating 1200 calories and even THEN I plateaued. I had plateaued eating a bit more before and stayed there for a year. I can not get below 148 no matter how hard I try now. I don't get it.

H_82

Agree, agree, agree!

hush7hush

Thank you!!!

wildon883r

That makes sense, but it also doesn't explain what's going on with me. I just started a thread. I was overweight, lost 40 pounds, became a spinning/Body Pump instructor. I usually teach twice a day which leaves me burning between 800-1200 calories a day most days. I only lost a few pounds when eating 1200 calories and even THEN I plateaued. I had plateaued eating a bit more before and stayed there for a year. I can not get below 148 no matter how hard I try now. I don't get it.

Are you healthy, fit & trim? If so i wouldn't worry about a number. If you don't have hardly any body fat then your just fine!

dmoses

***LIKE***

JAG1224

personally, i don't plan to eat my exercise calories back but if i'm hungry then i'll eat.. if i'm not hungry and i still have calories left i won't force myself to eat them back. sometimes it just feels counter productive.. but i've done both.. eating them back and not and have been steadily losing weight.

bigmamma3

i think its rubish to i eat between 800-1000 cals a day and I'm losing between 1-2lb a week i also don't feel hungry or as if I'm missing out on anything i could quite happily eat like this for the rest of my life!


oh and love the bike btw

TourThePast

MYTH: Eating a diet that is too low in calories will cause the body to go into starvation mode and not burn any calories

FACT: Severely cutting calories will cause the metabolism to adjust slightly, but not enough to prevent fat loss

That article makes perfect sense to me.

lil_missfit

Interesting

Thanks for the insight....I will keep this in mind.

I am considering simply eating 6 meals a day rather than focusing on a number. Two things I have noticed: 1) While trying to NET 1200 on somedays ...I end up feeling stuffed and miserable. This is bc somedays I burn 900+ and have to eat A LOT of food to do this. Also my numbers ( sugar, fat, etc) sometimes are all over the place.
2) Sometimes<

---

emphasise added....when I don't eat back my exercise cals. I get weak, agitated, and confused. It's as if I can not function.

What I am learning is simply listen to your body rather than worrying with mathmatical calculations. I suppose we all need to focus on providing our bodies with the proper nutrients and use sense enough to know when we need to bulk up on the calories and/ or push the plate away and say...."enough".

All theories are worth the consideration thanks!:flowerforyou:

graysmom2005

I'm healthy and pretty muscular (not body building muscular....I have always had muscle tone..even as a toddler. LOL!) But even when I put in my stats for BMI, at my weight it says I'm smack in the middle of normal...erring on the side of overweight! considering I'm a fitness instructor, and I eat so little most of the time in regards to what I burn..that you'd think I'd at least be in the athletic section. My body confuses me! LOL!

nikkijedlo

You can definitely go into starvation mode and continue to lose weight. The question is, can you keep off the weight? People who seriously want to change their lifestyles shouldn't attempt to go into starvation mode.

EVERYBODY, no matter HOW they lose weight, WILL gain back every pound if they begin eating more calories than their bodies require.

Yes, yes to these!!

Barneystinson

I think the real thing here is to determine what exactly your body needs. That's based on a couple things:

1. How much activity you generally have in a day
2. Any specific training needs (are you building strength? Training for an event?)
3. How much do you have to lose?
4. Your age (related to metabolism, caloric needs decrease a bit as we age).

The closer you are to your goal, the less your caloric deficit should be from your "maintenance" level caloric intake (TDEE). The closer you are to goal, the less fat stores you have to burn and you risk utilizing muscle tissue as fuel - NOT GOOD. So sure, you lose weight, but is losing muscle tissue beneficial?

So while some can afford that large caloric deficit 1000+/day (i.e. when you still have a larger amount of weight to lose), the closer you are to goal, the more you train, the more active you become, etc. you will benefit from adding some calories back into your diet.

monkeymomof3

yeah i don't really buy it either. i used to eat barely 500 calories a day and i was a stick. but like MightyTaco (hehe) pointed out, the weight won't stay off once you start eating like a normal person again.

How does one eat like a normal person. You meant excessive OVEREATING that got most of us here to begin with? We have to eat enough to maintain high energy levels throughout our day. I eat roughly 3 x 500 calorie meals plus snacks a day under 2000k total and im full of energy all the while my maintain weight calores at current is over 3000 a day. I'm not going to just eat for the sake of eating once i reach my goal weight or eat any different then i am now.. Good luck!

This makes me laugh....I stopped reading the replies after this....but we did not all get here by excessively overeating. I maintain quite well which is why I have to cut calories and exercise to lose...and I got here by having three kids. Because I maintain so well eating like a normal person I need this place to lose. Don't assume that your norm and everyone else's norm are the same! It can be misleading to people like me that will not benefit from dropping into starvation mode to lose the last 7 lbs!

*** I re-read your response and you did say "most" of us....but still!!! There are healthy ways to lose weight and excessively undereating is sort of just as bad as excessively overeating!

ladyhawk00

Sorry, but these are just some of the scientific studies that show a significant decrease in RMR and loss of lean mass when at an extreme caloric deficit. Most of these studies focus on obese/morbidly obese persons - the effects are far more dramatic in those who are nearer to a healthy BMI. No, it will not "stop" fat loss entirely, forever. But it can impede weight loss and cause a reduction in metabolic rate that makes it harder to lose weight - and the scenario in which it occurs leads to being unhealthy, regardless of weight lost.

Starvation mode exists. Yes, the term is used too broadly and applied incorrectly many times on the forums. But that doesn't make it a myth. It's been proven time and again in scientific, reproducable studies.

http://www.ajcn.org/content/53/4/826.full.pdf+html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2613433?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ajcn.org/content/49/1/93.full.pdf+html
http://www.ajcn.org/content/45/2/391.full.pdf+html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6694559&dopt=AbstractPlus
http://www.ajcn.org/content/57/2/127.full.pdf
http://www.ajcn.org/content/51/2/167.abstract?ck=nck
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v32/n3/abs/0803720a.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_n7-8_v15/ai_18602507/
http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Human-Starvation-I/dp/0816672342/ref=pd_sim_b_3
http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Human-Starvation-II/dp/0816672334/ref=pd_sim_b_2

If anyone is interested, here is my explanation of the topic. I did a LOT of research, which included many, many sources, to put it together. I'm not an expert, but I believe I've learned a lot from those who are.

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

Also, just an added point: starvation mode is not the only concern when addressing undereating. There are many risks that come from undereating and rapid weight loss. Undereating simply sets you up for failure and losing weight in an unhealthy manner. I discussed this in another thread, which also includes scientific references:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/222019-60-lbs-in-60-days

greeneyed84

Totally agree with ladyhawk!
Of course you will keep losing weight after a while. BUT it's not the most healthy thing to do. I try to build muscle, if i ate so few calories, yes, i would lose weight but i would lose muscle. I want to look good, not malnourished.
Plus, when you work out, build muscle, your metabolism increases. You burn more calories doing NOTHING. This is why so many people hit a plateau. Once (most of them) increase their calories by a a couple hundred they start losing again. That's how it was for me, I've hit 2 plateau's and came out of them by upping my calories.

WHY would anyone want to eat only 500 calories a day? I like food too much. i eat 1500 plus most days i work out a lot i eat more as my body requires more. If i ate 500 i would lose muscle mass & my body would not thank me what so ever. Then going to maintaining phase i would gain a bunch of weight back and that wouldn't make any sense since that's the calories my body needs, yet my metabolism has slowed down so much that i would have to stay at 500 calories jsut to maintan. And who the heck would wanna eat 500 calories for the rest of their lives???
No thank you, i'd rather do it the healthy way!!

Cletc

Copied from Article base.

MYTH: Eating a diet that is too low in calories will cause the body to go into starvation mode and not burn any calories

FACT: Severely cutting calories will cause the metabolism to adjust slightly, but not enough to prevent fat Loss

Makes sense to me
EVENTUALLY you are going to lose weight
He says after the "adjustment "

I buy it !

:-)