Does Starvation Mode really lower metabolism?

20114liz

Well for me, i dont think so. It makes you lose alot of weight...and fast.

AnnaValek

The only reason you lose weight is because your body begins to starve. You lose the weight fast because your body attacks your muscles and then your fat stores, making you lose a lot of weight quickly. Your metabolism lowers as a survival technique, to try to keep your major organs alive. You lose weight fast, but you won't keep it off. As soon as you start eating again, your body will instantly hold onto EVERYTHING you put into it and you will gain weight far past what you had been at in the beginning of your starvation mode. If you eat nothing, you starve and die. You eat a little, you gain more weight from the low metabolism. Eat good amounts with enough exercise and you will slowly lose the weight but you will keep it off. Besides this, you will keep and even develop muscle tone, instead of wasting it away.

Do not use MFP if you are going to become anorexic. This is for people who want to be healthy, not people who want to lose weight fast.

rileamoyer

For short term kick start, starvation might work, but it will slow you down eventually.

Cobain94

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

Avalonis

Well for me, i dont think so. It makes you lose alot of weight...and fast.

Feel free to ignore all the research out there about how bad it is and how it actually slows your weightloss. Because you are way smarter than all those doctors and dieticians.

You WILL lose weight, and fast. But you are starving your body and setting yourself up for a whackton of problems, especially if you are completely cutting cals VERY low.

Larius

Please see my blog post on this topic.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Larius/view/why-eat-your-exercise-calories-or-even-eat-in-the-first-place-123256

Avalonis

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

What. The. Hell.

Worst advice ever. Of course you will lose weight. Your body is trying to stave off organ failure as long as possible. Doesn't make it even remotely healthy, and research shows you gain the weight back once you start eating.

bjohs

This would be a way to lose weight initially. But it is also not sustainable for very long and you could even put the weight back on plus interest. Losing weight the proper way by improving your nutrition and adding a little bit of exercise will also take the weight off. It may come off slowly but your chances of keeping it off is much greater. Good luck.

mistyb47711

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

What. The. Hell.

Worst advice ever.

Agree worst ever

szczepj

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

What. The. Hell.

Worst advice ever. Of course you will lose weight. Your body is trying to stave off organ failure as long as possible. Doesn't make it even remotely healthy, and research shows you gain the weight back once you start eating.

Agreeing with you. Stupid advice ever.

Avalonis

This would be a way to lose weight initially. But it is also not sustainable for very long and you could even put the weight back on plus interest. Losing weight the proper way by improving your nutrition and adding a little bit of exercise will also take the weight off. It may come off slowly but your chances of keeping it off is much greater. Good luck.

Not to mention, depending on how hard shes cutting calories, she could kill herself, or cause irreparable organ damage.

Larius

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

What. The. Hell.

Worst advice ever.

Right! Why not smoke crack while you're at it?

AnnaValek

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

What. The. Hell.

Worst advice ever.

THANK YOU.

Katie3784

It absolutely lowers metabolism, but that does not mean you won't lose weight-at first. You will lose a lot at first, because even if your metabolism is lowered, if your caloric intake drops dramatically, it will cause weight loss. After a while, you will lose less and less weight until you plateau. Your body starts to hold on to the food because it does not know when it will eat again. Basically it works short term, but is nothing but bad long term. Plus, you cannot possibly starve yourself forever, and as soon as you start to eat more, you will gain the weight back.

yanicka

Sure younare losing something.....but that something is not fat....it's muscle. If it work for you, great, but never forget that you are trying to kill yourself and your body will do it's best to survive....at any cost. I do not believe a number on the scale is worth that cost.

millymoozie

was about to go to bed but have just seen your post & i just have to reply ,,this is all from my own personal experience
i started this on a mission to lose weight & i was doing at the begining approx 800 cals burn per day & sticking to a low cal diet of 1200 cals & was very proud of myself when i was well under ,it was fantastic & i lost a lot in a short time & felt strong & good & got a real buzz from the workouts .
sounds great huh !
yeh not so much
then i started feeling like **** ,weak ,looked pale ,zero energy ,,on many occasions in the week would be happily going about my day & would come over in a hot sweat ,clammy & pale looking ,,my eyesight would be distorted ,shaking all over & feeling close to passing out ,as for the exercise it ground to an absolute hault ,didnt put on anymore weight but didnt lose any & i felt quite rough , it recently in the last few months got to the stage i was losing appetite & missing meals ,like a whole day with a meal at night & felt sick & bloated after the meal .
i blamed it on the heat as i live in a hot place ,until i spoke to a friend on here & she explained what i had done ,i had starved myself & my body had lost some fat but was in starvation mode & this is why i had no energy ,,i have thought about all this & it hit me like a ton of bricks of what i was doing to myself ,unintentionally ! i allways thought eat way less cals than you burn off & thats it ,simple ,i was so wrong & i am back now on healthy eating & have upped my daily cals to 1500 & have been exercising happily .
low cals & workouts are NOT the way to go & you are setting yourself up for some serious issues ,believe me it does not feel good ,i struggled to get through my day as i had no energy atall ,would be exhausted within 1 hour of waking in the morning
do not do this ,stick to small healthy snacks every few hours & get those cals in & do your workouts ,feed your body with the energy it needs to burn off the extra cals ,,for you to lose weight effeciently you need your body to be working at top performance

millymoozie

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

not sure where you get your info from ,but you need to be sure before you advise someone to lose weight quickly ,,it really is a dangerous thing to do ,,,,there is no benefits to losing weight quickly atall

millymoozie

THIS IS YOUR 2ND POST ON MFP 1 THIS IS THE FIRST !!!!

Im new here. Been loosing weight since May 6, 2011. So far. I have lost 25lbs. Looking to lose 20 more pounds. I had my 2nd baby about 5 months ago. I need motivation from fellow gils like me.

what the hell you have lost 25lbs since may ,,am i reading this right & to top it all you have kids that rely o,n you each day & a new born of 5 months ,,i think you maybe have a few issues going on ,, i recomend you re evaluate your life & goals ,im not sure you are here for the right reasons ,& i sure hope you didnt get a response from any other girls like you ,like you put in your first post .
i suggest some proper medical advice because i think with this attitude you may need some medical intervention at some stage soon because you have collapsed ,,lets hope its not when your holding your baby !

Rilke

Don't feed the trolls.

NewVonnie

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

What. The. Hell.

Worst advice ever.

Right! Why not smoke crack while you're at it?

I think before my Mom quit smoking ages ago she said something about it curbing your appetite..so add cigarettes to the crack and maybe that'll help.

Heather75

One time, a baby dolphin bit me.

LaJauna

Well for me, i dont think so. It makes you lose alot of weight...and fast.

I think self-canibalization is a great plan! When you starve yourself, you start to eat your own muscle mass. You can eventually even eat your own internal organs! I love it! Let me know how it works for you! Oh, you might want to get some great medical insurance and maybe some life insurance for the future. (Sarcasm is meant. I know.... not nice. I appologize.)

barbiex3

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

What. The. Hell.

Worst advice ever.

Right! Why not smoke crack while you're at it?

LMAO. I hear lots of people lose weight from doing meth... :P YOULL GET REALLY THIN, but it don't mean your healthy

Danahimself

How did that make you feel? @Heather75

Heather75

How did that make you feel? @Heather75

It was an accident, and it only hurt a little so I think I just felt slightly surprised.

lodro

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

What. The. Hell.

Worst advice ever. Of course you will lose weight. Your body is trying to stave off organ failure as long as possible. Doesn't make it even remotely healthy, and research shows you gain the weight back once you start eating.

can you please qualify these statements by also stating that this only starts happening below 6% body fat!. Most people on MFP will never, ever experience this.

christina3323

I suggest drinking kerosene to...it helps burn calories

20114liz

You guys take it easy on me. You have no idea how much calories i used to eat. About 3,500 calories a day. Now i am trying to reduce it to 1,500 and i'm starving, but loosing weight. I gained 50lbs from pregnancy and i'm trying to lose it. I believe how pple eat is relative.
You have no idea how much i used to eat. I do not appreciate the insults. Get your facts rights. Thanks to the lady that explained her own situation.

20114liz

You guys take it easy on me. You have no idea how much calories i used to eat. About 3,500 calories a day. Now i am trying to reduce it to 1,500 and i'm starving, but loosing weight. I gained 50lbs from pregnancy and i'm trying to lose it. I believe how pple eat is relative.
You have no idea how much i used to eat. I do not appreciate the insults. Get your facts rights. Thanks to the lady that explained her own situation.

20114liz

was about to go to bed but have just seen your post & i just have to reply ,,this is all from my own personal experience
i started this on a mission to lose weight & i was doing at the begining approx 800 cals burn per day & sticking to a low cal diet of 1200 cals & was very proud of myself when i was well under ,it was fantastic & i lost a lot in a short time & felt strong & good & got a real buzz from the workouts .
sounds great huh !
yeh not so much
then i started feeling like **** ,weak ,looked pale ,zero energy ,,on many occasions in the week would be happily going about my day & would come over in a hot sweat ,clammy & pale looking ,,my eyesight would be distorted ,shaking all over & feeling close to passing out ,as for the exercise it ground to an absolute hault ,didnt put on anymore weight but didnt lose any & i felt quite rough , it recently in the last few months got to the stage i was losing appetite & missing meals ,like a whole day with a meal at night & felt sick & bloated after the meal .
i blamed it on the heat as i live in a hot place ,until i spoke to a friend on here & she explained what i had done ,i had starved myself & my body had lost some fat but was in starvation mode & this is why i had no energy ,,i have thought about all this & it hit me like a ton of bricks of what i was doing to myself ,unintentionally ! i allways thought eat way less cals than you burn off & thats it ,simple ,i was so wrong & i am back now on healthy eating & have upped my daily cals to 1500 & have been exercising happily .
low cals & workouts are NOT the way to go & you are setting yourself up for some serious issues ,believe me it does not feel good ,i struggled to get through my day as i had no energy atall ,would be exhausted within 1 hour of waking in the morning
do not do this ,stick to small healthy snacks every few hours & get those cals in & do your workouts ,feed your body with the energy it needs to burn off the extra cals ,,for you to lose weight effeciently you need your body to be working at top performance

Not cutting that much. Was eating more than 3,500. Now eating about 1,500. Still starving though. Thanks.

20114liz

Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

Thanks for being factual. You will actually lose the weight. It all depends on how much you want to lose. Besides, starvation mode means lowering calorie intake less than 30/40% of your BMI recommendations. It does not mean not eating at all.
Pple hate hearing starvation mode, they cant stop eating.