The Consequences of a Very Low Calorie Diet (aka Starvation
LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
Posts: 3,634 Member
This is taken from an article by Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle article entitled Big Fat Lies (Love this article). Thought of sharing this very important article here especially for those having problems with their calorie intake. Here it goes:
Here Are Some of the Consequences of Starvation Mode:
1. Your fat cells sound the alarm and release less leptin. Leptin is the "anti-starvation hormone" that tells your brain you are well fed with plenty of reserve energy. When leptin goes down, fat-burning goes down.
2. Your appetite rages out of control. Your brain flips on the appetite switch and hunger hormones increase. You become a ravenous food-seeking machine.
3. Your body releases fewer fat-releasing and fat-burning enzymes such as hormone sensitive lipase and lipoprotein lipase.
4. You lose muscle. Maintaining muscle requires energy. Extreme diets are like an "energy crisis", so excess muscle becomes expendable and you cannibalize your own lean tissue.
5. Your metabolism ratchets down. Levels of T3, the active form of thyroid, fall, decreasing your metabolic rate.
It's hormonally, metabolically and psychologically impossible to achieve permanent fat loss by starving yourself.
You can't fight these biological defense mechanisms with willpower. Your body is too smart for that.
Eventually, extreme diets lead to frustration, binge eating, weight re-gain, and you end up with less muscle and a slower metabolism than when you started.
The good news is, you DON'T have to starve yourself to get a lean body. In fact, you can eat more and burn more fat - and IT'S SIMPLE!
Here are 4 easy tips that will get you started with the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle approach to losing fat and keeping it off for good, without going hungry:
1. Avoid very low calorie diets.
Before going on any diet, look at the recommended calories first. You'll discover that most of them require you to slash your food intake to the level of "semi-starvation." 1200 calories or less for women and 1800 or less for men are dangerously low levels and yet this is exactly what most popular diets recommend... and why most fail.
2. Customize your calories.
You must adjust your calories according to your overall body size, amount of lean body mass, activity level, age and gender. Effective programs always take individual body type into account before telling you how much to eat. If a diet recommends the same calories for everyone, that's a warning sign of an ineffective generic program - stay away.
3. Decrease your calorie intake slightly.
Small calorie cuts don't trigger the starvation response as much. Use a conservative calorie deficit - just 20% below your maintenance level at first. For example, a typical female needs about 2150 calories a day to maintain. A 20% deficit is 1720 calories per day. NOTE: if you are very overweight, your body can handle larger calorie deficits without negative side effects (because you have so much reserve energy in storage).
4. Increase your calories burned.
If you only cut your food intake slightly, then how do you cut body fat without the process taking forever? Simple, you BURN MORE. Increase your deficit with fat burning workouts and an active lifestyle. First, if you're not doing so already, you should aim for 3-4 days per week of strength training with weights. Weight training protects you from losing muscle while you're in a calorie deficit. Second, do at least 3 days per week of moderate to vigorous cardio training. Push yourself at a high enough intensity to really get your heart pumping. Third, to accelerate fat loss more, or to break a progress plateau, bump up your activity further by adding additional cardio sessions or increasing the intensity or duration of your current workouts. Fourth, keep your lifestyle active, and participate in physical hobbies, housework, walking, sports or recreational activities that you enjoy. This is known as Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis or N.E.A.T. Every calorie you burn adds up.
The fat loss truth is: starvation diets can actually make you fatter- so always remember my fat loss golden rule:
DON'T STARVE THE FAT... BURN THE FAT!
Source: http://www.burnthefat.com/BIG_FAT_LIES_1_starvation_diet_lie.html
Here Are Some of the Consequences of Starvation Mode:
1. Your fat cells sound the alarm and release less leptin. Leptin is the "anti-starvation hormone" that tells your brain you are well fed with plenty of reserve energy. When leptin goes down, fat-burning goes down.
2. Your appetite rages out of control. Your brain flips on the appetite switch and hunger hormones increase. You become a ravenous food-seeking machine.
3. Your body releases fewer fat-releasing and fat-burning enzymes such as hormone sensitive lipase and lipoprotein lipase.
4. You lose muscle. Maintaining muscle requires energy. Extreme diets are like an "energy crisis", so excess muscle becomes expendable and you cannibalize your own lean tissue.
5. Your metabolism ratchets down. Levels of T3, the active form of thyroid, fall, decreasing your metabolic rate.
It's hormonally, metabolically and psychologically impossible to achieve permanent fat loss by starving yourself.
You can't fight these biological defense mechanisms with willpower. Your body is too smart for that.
Eventually, extreme diets lead to frustration, binge eating, weight re-gain, and you end up with less muscle and a slower metabolism than when you started.
The good news is, you DON'T have to starve yourself to get a lean body. In fact, you can eat more and burn more fat - and IT'S SIMPLE!
Here are 4 easy tips that will get you started with the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle approach to losing fat and keeping it off for good, without going hungry:
1. Avoid very low calorie diets.
Before going on any diet, look at the recommended calories first. You'll discover that most of them require you to slash your food intake to the level of "semi-starvation." 1200 calories or less for women and 1800 or less for men are dangerously low levels and yet this is exactly what most popular diets recommend... and why most fail.
2. Customize your calories.
You must adjust your calories according to your overall body size, amount of lean body mass, activity level, age and gender. Effective programs always take individual body type into account before telling you how much to eat. If a diet recommends the same calories for everyone, that's a warning sign of an ineffective generic program - stay away.
3. Decrease your calorie intake slightly.
Small calorie cuts don't trigger the starvation response as much. Use a conservative calorie deficit - just 20% below your maintenance level at first. For example, a typical female needs about 2150 calories a day to maintain. A 20% deficit is 1720 calories per day. NOTE: if you are very overweight, your body can handle larger calorie deficits without negative side effects (because you have so much reserve energy in storage).
4. Increase your calories burned.
If you only cut your food intake slightly, then how do you cut body fat without the process taking forever? Simple, you BURN MORE. Increase your deficit with fat burning workouts and an active lifestyle. First, if you're not doing so already, you should aim for 3-4 days per week of strength training with weights. Weight training protects you from losing muscle while you're in a calorie deficit. Second, do at least 3 days per week of moderate to vigorous cardio training. Push yourself at a high enough intensity to really get your heart pumping. Third, to accelerate fat loss more, or to break a progress plateau, bump up your activity further by adding additional cardio sessions or increasing the intensity or duration of your current workouts. Fourth, keep your lifestyle active, and participate in physical hobbies, housework, walking, sports or recreational activities that you enjoy. This is known as Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis or N.E.A.T. Every calorie you burn adds up.
The fat loss truth is: starvation diets can actually make you fatter- so always remember my fat loss golden rule:
DON'T STARVE THE FAT... BURN THE FAT!
Source: http://www.burnthefat.com/BIG_FAT_LIES_1_starvation_diet_lie.html
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Replies
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Out of the 10 topics we get on this a day (or at least that's what it seems like) this has probably been the most informative/easiest to understand I've seen.0
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This was quite informative. Thanks for posting!0
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bump to finish reading later on....
Thanks for posting this.0 -
An excellent and clearly written summary of some very important information. Thanks for posting.0
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I'm on a 500-800 calorie diet and exercise three times a week and I haven't lost any muscle. I've lost pure fat.
I'm quite enegetic and function normally through out the day. I think everyone is just overreacts when the numbers go bellow 1200, because the body CAN function on less. This is a diet so obviously this can not be long term.0 -
I agree having had the effects of a very low calorie diet but I will also say, everyone's body is different. As a petite, naturally curvy woman I can drop below 1,200 without harm as long as it's not a sustained drop.
And also if you are dropping below recommended levels the frequency with which you do eat should increase and it's always good to up proteins and avoid processed foods and simple sugars. It's very important if you are eating extremely low calorie amounts that what you are eating is the best quality and to watch your nutrition.0 -
this is why i think diet like lemon detox are absolutely ridiculous and pointless, nice article0
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I'm on a 500-800 calorie diet...
Please be careful minuu, I just read http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/335633-to-those-who-ve-lost-over-100-pounds-in-a-year-please-respo
Scan for sanura's post from Mon 09/05/11 06:18 PM
Blessings!0 -
Bump0
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bump0
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500-800 cals per day?
I'd like to hear you explain the theory behind how you think this is even workable. It may be working now, but if you listen to what has been scientifically proven, you cannot be an exception to the rule.
Sorry, but I don't think you are doing yourself a favor
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500-800 cals per day?
I'd like to hear you explain the theory behind how you think this is even workable. It may be working now, but if you listen to what has been scientifically proven, you cannot be an exception to the rule.
Sorry, but I don't think you are doing yourself a favor
How it is workable??? People go on extended fasts 30+ days and claim to have more energy than they have ever had before. Starvation mode is a ridiculous thing for most people to worry about. Most people on this site are overweight if not very overweight, dipping below 1200 calories for a couple days isn't goint to hurt anyone.0 -
regardless of whether a person is overweight or very overweight, it is not necessary to dip that low - be it a few days or a few months.
Like I asked before, if someone can give a good explanation that has a rational theory or a proven one behind it, I'd love to listen.0 -
To add:
If we eat to live ( and NOT live to eat) then restricting HUGE amounts is no better than consuming them.
In my HUMBLE opinion, lifestyle is what we are all aiming for since we only have one life to live. Rushing weight loss or gain doesn't help the longterm, it helps feed the need for immediate gratification.
Just my two cents.0 -
For every post on here saying starvation mode is a legit concern there is a post showing that it isn't. Do some research. You can make your own opinions. But don't just read post on here and take them as absolute truths.0
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I'm on a 500-800 calorie diet and exercise three times a week and I haven't lost any muscle. I've lost pure fat.
I'm quite enegetic and function normally through out the day. I think everyone is just overreacts when the numbers go bellow 1200, because the body CAN function on less. This is a diet so obviously this can not be long term.
How do you know you have lost 'pure fat' and not muscle?0 -
What about someone who eats 1200 calories a day, but burns 800 calories a day??0
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I'm on a 500-800 calorie diet and exercise three times a week and I haven't lost any muscle. I've lost pure fat.
I'm quite enegetic and function normally through out the day. I think everyone is just overreacts when the numbers go bellow 1200, because the body CAN function on less. This is a diet so obviously this can not be long term.
How do you know you have lost 'pure fat' and not muscle?
PRESUMING BY MESURING HER BMI?????0 -
I'm on a 500-800 calorie diet and exercise three times a week and I haven't lost any muscle. I've lost pure fat.
I'm quite enegetic and function normally through out the day. I think everyone is just overreacts when the numbers go bellow 1200, because the body CAN function on less. This is a diet so obviously this can not be long term.
How do you know you have lost 'pure fat' and not muscle?
PRESUMING BY MESURING HER BMI?????
I can't tell if you are joking or not, but i'll respond anyways. BMI is useless, and in no way would show if she lost muscle or fat.0 -
how do you measure whether you've lost one or the other? honest question.I'm on a 500-800 calorie diet and exercise three times a week and I haven't lost any muscle. I've lost pure fat.0 -
I'm on a pretty low-cal diet. I've lost a few pounds but to be honest, I don't feel any changes at all apart from the fact my acne has declined and I am feeling healthier. Quite funny.0
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I'm on a 500-800 calorie diet and exercise three times a week and I haven't lost any muscle. I've lost pure fat.
I'm quite enegetic and function normally through out the day. I think everyone is just overreacts when the numbers go bellow 1200, because the body CAN function on less. This is a diet so obviously this can not be long term.
How do you know you have lost 'pure fat' and not muscle?
PRESUMING BY MESURING HER BMI?????
I can't tell if you are joking or not, but i'll respond anyways. BMI is useless, and in no way would show if she lost muscle or fat.
Body fat measurments might be the one? i dunoo... each day im baffled by what right or wrong on MFP.0 -
the girl eating 500 calories is either anorexic or trolling would be my guess. Read her profile before you start defending her choice as rational. Under reasons to get fit she wants to see some of her ribs and her hip bones... and her goal weight is 87 pounds. The weight of a child. Of course you can lose weight on 500 calories and at 87 pounds I am pretty sure you wouldn't lose any muscle mass... because there wouldn't be any. Starvation mode or not, the results of this are... um long term? Death.0
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I think the original poster is wrong to say that it is "impossible" to starve oneself and keep fat off permanently. I'm not saying it's a good thing to do that, but I've known many people who have done just that. I work as a psychologist and see a fair few people with eating disorders who somehow manage to eat negligible amounts of food, exercise excessively and still get up for work each day. Obviously they are extreme examples and often end in sickness and premature death, but there's a sliding scale of eating behaviours from the very disordered undereater to the very disordered over-eater and very broad range of relativeley "normal" eating in between. Different people have the ability to maintain different levels of control over their eating, and different bodies will respond differently to different levels of food intake. It's a complex mix of biological factors, psychological factors and social factors. To find out what's right for you you need to read a lot of different bits of advice, weigh them up and see what works for you in practice. Like most things, it's not a "one theory fits all" kind of a thing.0
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Aren't proana posts against forum rules? Could we leave the funny stuff up a little longer and maybe have moderators address the promotion of eating disordered behavior? Any more posts that are concerned about the 500calorie diet and soon we'll get the post demanding support for everyone because everyone is different. Yet 500 calories in the absence of a really bad illness or a doctor's supervision to manage extreme overweight is simply promoting unhealthy, dangerous behavior. Eating disorders kill people and should not be promoted.0
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If you skip out carbs in your diet, then you can pretty much get to 800 cal a day! However it's not sustainable, and if you have health problems, it's a big no no!
And also I don't know if any of you have heard of 'lighter life'... it's a diet programme, where you can only eat their own food, and it's around 600 calories a day, but it claims you recieve all your vitamin and mineral requirements. You have to be severly overweight to do it though, and you need doctors permission. I know a few family friends who have done it, and they look fantastic now. However it is a very strict diet and very expensive!0 -
the girl eating 500 calories is either anorexic or trolling would be my guess. Read her profile before you start defending her choice as rational. Under reasons to get fit she wants to see some of her ribs and her hip bones... and her goal weight is 87 pounds. The weight of a child. Of course you can lose weight on 500 calories and at 87 pounds I am pretty sure you wouldn't lose any muscle mass... because there wouldn't be any. Starvation mode or not, the results of this are... um long term? Death.
Well said and exactly what I was thinking... very concerning in my opinion and I hope this young girl has some friends and relatives who are alert to her situation.0 -
Bump0
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However this diet isn't sustainable, hence why it's only a diet, and why I will only do it for a short period of time, and I will start introducing carbs soon. At the end of the day if you can eat 3500 calories a day for all your life, you can afford to go 700 calories a day for a few weeks! However every person is totally different! Each body is different and has a different environment, if this diet works for her then let her be, however if you have health problems, it should be avoided.
Sorry but she states in her profile explicitely that she has an eating disorder. That plus all the "ana" references like "thinspo", "thigh gap",etc! In my opinion (and in the opinion of my former therapist), you shouldn't be on a weight loss website if you have an eating disorder. You should be working on a healthy diet and cognitive therapy with a doc!0 -
However this diet isn't sustainable, hence why it's only a diet, and why I will only do it for a short period of time, and I will start introducing carbs soon. At the end of the day if you can eat 3500 calories a day for all your life, you can afford to go 700 calories a day for a few weeks! However every person is totally different! Each body is different and has a different environment, if this diet works for her then let her be, however if you have health problems, it should be avoided.
Sorry but she states in her profile explicitely that she has an eating disorder. That plus all the "ana" references like "thinspo", "thigh gap",etc! In my opinion (and in the opinion of my former therapist), you shouldn't be on a weight loss website if you have an eating disorder. You should be working on a healthy diet and cognitive therapy with a doc!
Yeah I just checked out her profile, she is probably trolling... or a 15 year old girl going through a phase, hence the thigh gap and hip bone remarks... I do hope she only wrote those 'inspirations' as jokes. I have friends who have gone through eating disorders, and it's such a dark place!0
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