Starvation Mode (based on truth, but stretched too far)

JulieF11

I've read this on MFP over and over again, "starvation mode". I've eaten peanuts, almonds, walnuts, avocados, etc... just to prevent it from happening to me. However, I noticed on the weight loss reality shows, these folks are not eating all their calories they would need to prevent starvation mode. So I did a little research. I suggest you Google it yourself: "Starvation Mode, Myth or Fact" and read all the articles you can about it. The one that sticks most in my mind is a simple statement from the National Health Association (as follows):

"In regard to metabolism, if you are overweight/overfat, you can not cause your metabolism to decrease below a level needed to lose weight while you have extra weight/fat on you, and you can not "lose more weight by eating more calories/food." This is a misunderstanding of the principles of metabolism that does not apply to overweight people trying to lose weight."

Please note: Starvation Mode does exist... It was proven by a group of men in an experiment in MN in the 1940's. But the men were subjected to half the calories they burn at a resting rate, and it didn't happen until they had lost a substantial amount of weight, months into the program. In other words, they really were starving... showing all the bones in their chest, etc... when their metabolism took a nose dive, to help their bodies survive.

I am not saying we should eat less than our 1200 cals a day.... You need a min of around that (not really a magic number, but an average) to get the nutritional vitamins and minerals you need. But don't think you are doing your body a favor by eating a brownie at night, to keep from going into starvation mode.

Please research the information you get so you know why you may be struggling with breaking a plateau, or no longer losing at the rate you had banked on, etc. Oh yes, and if you are struggling to lose weight and yet you are already in the "healthy" BMI zone... It's very important that you get the nutrition you need... not from vitamins, but from food. Your body absorbs the vitamins and minerals from whole foods in a much higher percentage than the supplements which are often just passed through your body. So if you are taking supplements thinking you are getting all you need... think again. Most of what you think you consumed, may have gone right through you.

skfj5

Very very interesting!!

FaugHorn

Hoorah!

I'm on a purposeful calorie restricted diet and have received comments about friends being worried about me going into "starvation mode". There are studies showing links between reduced caloric intake and longevity, i.e. mice that eat fewer calories live longer.

I had done a lot of research before changing my habits and I'm glad others have too!

erickirb

Good post. I would like to point out that to anyone on a 1200 calorie diet, that there is no room for junk food and such a low intake. If you eat junk, you will miss something else as at 1200 calories it is already difficult to get the required nutrition even eating clean. So for those on a 1200 cal diet, look in your diary, if there is anything unhealthy you are probably lacking adequate nutrition. If you up your calories to 1400 or so, you will have some room to fit in some unhealthy food, but at 1200 you need to make every calorie count.

daisymae9801

I've read this on MFP over and over again, "starvation mode". I've eaten peanuts, almonds, walnuts, avocados, etc... just to prevent it from happening to me. However, I noticed on the weight loss reality shows, these folks are not eating all their calories they would need to prevent starvation mode. So I did a little research. I suggest you Google it yourself: "Starvation Mode, Myth or Fact" and read all the articles you can about it. The one that sticks most in my mind is a simple statement from the National Health Association (as follows):

"In regard to metabolism, if you are overweight/overfat, you can not cause your metabolism to decrease below a level needed to lose weight while you have extra weight/fat on you, and you can not "lose more weight by eating more calories/food." This is a misunderstanding of the principles of metabolism that does not apply to overweight people trying to lose weight."

Please note: Starvation Mode does exist... It was proven by a group of men in an experiment in MN in the 1940's. But the men were subjected to half the calories they burn at a resting rate, and it didn't happen until they had lost a substantial amount of weight, months into the program. In other words, they really were starving... showing all the bones in their chest, etc... when their metabolism took a nose dive, to help their bodies survive.

I am not saying we should eat less than our 1200 cals a day.... You need a min of around that (not really a magic number, but an average) to get the nutritional vitamins and minerals you need. But don't think you are doing your body a favor by eating a brownie at night, to keep from going into starvation mode.

Please research the information you get so you know why you may be struggling with breaking a plateau, or no longer losing at the rate you had banked on, etc. Oh yes, and if you are struggling to lose weight and yet you are already in the "healthy" BMI zone... It's very important that you get the nutrition you need... not from vitamins, but from food. Your body absorbs the vitamins and minerals from whole foods in a much higher percentage than the supplements which are often just passed through your body. So if you are taking supplements thinking you are getting all you need... think again. Most of what you think you consumed, may have gone right through you.

Thank you so much for posting this. I am very tired of hearing EVERYONE talk about starvation mode.

Ritamas2

Thanks so much for taht post...veeeery interesting facts indeed!

Great job on your weightloss by the way!!!:happy:

TateFTW

That's why I HATE that freaking term.

It's amazing what you find when you do your own research and stop following the fitness magazine reading, online forum following, useless crap-spewing masses.

Newkell

interesting

ilovecreg120809

thank you for the information

_Khaleesi_

Thank you for posting this. I too was shocked about the perseveration/ fixation on "starvation mode" on here.

erickirb

Hoorah!

I'm on a purposeful calorie restricted diet and have received comments about friends being worried about me going into "starvation mode". There are studies showing links between reduced caloric intake and longevity, i.e. mice that eat fewer calories live longer.

I had done a lot of research before changing my habits and I'm glad others have too!

This may be so but with so few pounds left to lose you risk burning a large % of lean muscle instead of fat, unless you eat enough calories. Is your goal to lose weight, or lose fat? The answer to that should give you your goal intake, if your goal is to lose fat you should be set up to lose 0.5 lbs/week for the last 10-15 lbs.

vodkaswigger

Thanks so much for this post, i read a lot of scare mongering and worry sometimes as i dont eat all my cals sometimes, let alone exercise cals, thanks for this, very interesting xx

daisymae9801

Hoorah!

I'm on a purposeful calorie restricted diet and have received comments about friends being worried about me going into "starvation mode". There are studies showing links between reduced caloric intake and longevity, i.e. mice that eat fewer calories live longer.

I had done a lot of research before changing my habits and I'm glad others have too!

This may be so but with so few pounds left to lose you risk burning a large % of lean muscle instead of fat, unless you eat enough calories. Is your goal to lose weight, or lose fat? The answer to that should give you your goal intake, if your goal is to lose fat you should be set up to lose 0.5 lbs/week for the last 10-15 lbs.

Yes, but I've read that strength training prevents that.

TateFTW

Good post. I would like to point out that is anyone is on a 1200 calorie diet, there is no room for junk food and such a low intake. If you eat junk, you will miss something else as at 1200 calories it is already difficult to get the required nutrition even eating clean. So for those on a 1200 cal diet, look in your diary, if there is anything unhealthy you are probably lacking adequate nutrition. If you up your calories to 1400 or so, you will have some room to fit in some unhealthy food, but at 1200 you need to make every calorie count.

But you CAN'T put numbers out there like they apply to everyone. My wife is 5' tall and 115 lbs. when she was trying to lose 1 lb. a week her daily goal was 1200 cals. If she went over, it was bad. If she was under, she got a WARNING saying she was going to go into starvation mode. So she's supposed to eat EXACTLY 1200 calories a day? Oh yeah, that's totally realistic.

Mindful_Trent

While "Starvation Mode" is thrown around too often and used incorrectly, it CAN happen. Here is a very good post explaining how it works and who should be concerned:

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

Other posts about it that people should read:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding

http://bankshealth.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/inaugural-blog-short-and-long-term-underfeeding/
(This one is a blog written by a knowledgeable MFP user... the portion talking about "long term fasting/underfeeding" is relevant to the starvation mode topic.

fitaliciag

THANK YOU! omg i am so tired of hearing about starvation mode!

SheilaSisco

We are all unique individuals and some of us will stop losing or start gaining if we aren't eating enough calories. It had been proven on this site time and time and time again. Some bodies NEED a certain amount of fuel in order to lose the weight. Maybe it isn't 'starvation mode' per se, but it works out to about the same thing. I ate under 1200 for weeks with NO results. Talked to a few people, upped my calorie intake and *bam* started losing. The same has happened to many of my friends on this site and in real life. Besides, as you mentioned, you can't really get proper levels of nutrients eating so little, so people should still be consuming over 1200 net calories a day to go about this weight loss goal the healthiest way possible...

helenoftroy1

I concur!

erickirb

Hoorah!

I'm on a purposeful calorie restricted diet and have received comments about friends being worried about me going into "starvation mode". There are studies showing links between reduced caloric intake and longevity, i.e. mice that eat fewer calories live longer.

I had done a lot of research before changing my habits and I'm glad others have too!

This may be so but with so few pounds left to lose you risk burning a large % of lean muscle instead of fat, unless you eat enough calories. Is your goal to lose weight, or lose fat? The answer to that should give you your goal intake, if your goal is to lose fat you should be set up to lose 0.5 lbs/week for the last 10-15 lbs.

Yes, but I've read that strength training prevents that.

Yes it does if you are losing slowly, but if you are losing fast and don't have large fat stores you will burn muscle if you don't fuel properly

TanajaP

the next time i hear stuff about eating your exercise calories and starvation mode i'll be sure to link them to this post!

thanks for the great information!

TateFTW

Hoorah!

I'm on a purposeful calorie restricted diet and have received comments about friends being worried about me going into "starvation mode". There are studies showing links between reduced caloric intake and longevity, i.e. mice that eat fewer calories live longer.

I had done a lot of research before changing my habits and I'm glad others have too!

This may be so but with so few pounds left to lose you risk burning a large % of lean muscle instead of fat, unless you eat enough calories. Is your goal to lose weight, or lose fat? The answer to that should give you your goal intake, if your goal is to lose fat you should be set up to lose 0.5 lbs/week for the last 10-15 lbs.

This is completely true and correct. Working out when you have very little fat and you aren't getting adequate nutrition will burn mostly muscle. It becomes very important to run a very small deficit and focus on things like macro ratios in this situation. These things are not nearly as important when someone has plenty of fat to lose.