Info of the Day: Starvation Mode??? Hmmm.
Choclat_Pearl
Posts: 166 Member
Starvation Mode Myth or Fact?
I often hear people who want to undertake a weight loss routine stubbornly adhering to a very low-calorie diet. These people have only one goal in mind and that is a drastic cut in their daily calorie intake in order to lose weight. This weight loss technique is known as the starvation mode and is one of the most popular answers to this common question which is “how can I lose weight”. The starvation mode has received different views and opinions as to its effectiveness but the truth is the starvation mode is a big myth and does not work. Here are several reasons why you shouldn’t follow the starvation mode:
(1) Temporary Weight Loss
While it’s true that the starvation mode will help you shed the pounds off, it’s only temporary because once your hunger pangs come, you will ravenously ingurgitate tons of food to alleviate your hunger. So to resume, all your previous efforts to keep food intake at bay or in little quantities will be in vain and you’ll be back to square one. You’ll gain weight again as ingesting too many calories in one sitting lead to fat accumulation.
(2) Metabolism Slowdown
Followers of the starvation mode can eat between long intervals as they want to reduce their number of meals drastically. It’s not unheard that some people will eat just 1 or 2 small meals per day and trying to keep hunger pangs at bay by drinking water. These small meals are usually very poor for instance eating biscuits for lunch or a small bowl of lettuce soup for dinner are not proper nutrition. Starving yourself like this will lead to a massive drop in your metabolism and a sluggish metabolism will result in weight gain once you start eating more to compensate.
(3) Health Impact
The starvation mode will have negative consequences on your overall health if you follow it for a prolonged period of time. Bloating, gas, cramps, dizziness, weakness and fatigue are some of the symptoms. In addition, some people can even get ulcer. Your stomach naturally produces acid to digest your food but if there is no food there for quite a long time, that acid will erode the lining of your stomach and muscle underneath causing ulcer. Also, your body will lack all the vital nutrients from quality food which it needs for optimum health and function.
(4) Poor Workout
If you’re involved in exercises like body building and cardio to lose weight and build muscles, how are you going to exercise for optimum results if you don’t have energy? Your workout will be a total flop and it’s not efficient to exercise on hunger.
People who undertake the starvation mode don’t have any clue about nutrition, this is why they simply cut down on all calories no matter what for fear of getting fat. But the truth is not all calories are created equal. Just to cite an example, for instance 200 calories from beer is not the same as 200 calories from nutritious foods. Beer has empty calories and not of much nutritive value as compared to skinless chicken breast, fish, sweet potatoes, broccoli and olive oil for a meal. These foods are actually good for weight loss and have fat-burning properties.
So what you need to do is not dramatically reduce calories but eating the right kind and amount of calories and avoiding the bad ones. For example, bad calories can come from saturated fats and good calories can come from monounsaturated fats which are healthy fats. Making proper food choices is the key to lose weight while staying fit and healthy instead of sticking to the starvation mode which will jeopardize your health and not offering any consistent weight loss benefits. Never torture your body through starvation mode.
By Healthy Radio
I often hear people who want to undertake a weight loss routine stubbornly adhering to a very low-calorie diet. These people have only one goal in mind and that is a drastic cut in their daily calorie intake in order to lose weight. This weight loss technique is known as the starvation mode and is one of the most popular answers to this common question which is “how can I lose weight”. The starvation mode has received different views and opinions as to its effectiveness but the truth is the starvation mode is a big myth and does not work. Here are several reasons why you shouldn’t follow the starvation mode:
(1) Temporary Weight Loss
While it’s true that the starvation mode will help you shed the pounds off, it’s only temporary because once your hunger pangs come, you will ravenously ingurgitate tons of food to alleviate your hunger. So to resume, all your previous efforts to keep food intake at bay or in little quantities will be in vain and you’ll be back to square one. You’ll gain weight again as ingesting too many calories in one sitting lead to fat accumulation.
(2) Metabolism Slowdown
Followers of the starvation mode can eat between long intervals as they want to reduce their number of meals drastically. It’s not unheard that some people will eat just 1 or 2 small meals per day and trying to keep hunger pangs at bay by drinking water. These small meals are usually very poor for instance eating biscuits for lunch or a small bowl of lettuce soup for dinner are not proper nutrition. Starving yourself like this will lead to a massive drop in your metabolism and a sluggish metabolism will result in weight gain once you start eating more to compensate.
(3) Health Impact
The starvation mode will have negative consequences on your overall health if you follow it for a prolonged period of time. Bloating, gas, cramps, dizziness, weakness and fatigue are some of the symptoms. In addition, some people can even get ulcer. Your stomach naturally produces acid to digest your food but if there is no food there for quite a long time, that acid will erode the lining of your stomach and muscle underneath causing ulcer. Also, your body will lack all the vital nutrients from quality food which it needs for optimum health and function.
(4) Poor Workout
If you’re involved in exercises like body building and cardio to lose weight and build muscles, how are you going to exercise for optimum results if you don’t have energy? Your workout will be a total flop and it’s not efficient to exercise on hunger.
People who undertake the starvation mode don’t have any clue about nutrition, this is why they simply cut down on all calories no matter what for fear of getting fat. But the truth is not all calories are created equal. Just to cite an example, for instance 200 calories from beer is not the same as 200 calories from nutritious foods. Beer has empty calories and not of much nutritive value as compared to skinless chicken breast, fish, sweet potatoes, broccoli and olive oil for a meal. These foods are actually good for weight loss and have fat-burning properties.
So what you need to do is not dramatically reduce calories but eating the right kind and amount of calories and avoiding the bad ones. For example, bad calories can come from saturated fats and good calories can come from monounsaturated fats which are healthy fats. Making proper food choices is the key to lose weight while staying fit and healthy instead of sticking to the starvation mode which will jeopardize your health and not offering any consistent weight loss benefits. Never torture your body through starvation mode.
By Healthy Radio
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Replies
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Nice.0
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Thanks!0
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Thanks for sharing!
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good to know Thanks 0
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Bump0
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Thats so true learnt all this when I was much younger.I am older and just a little wiser now,but thanks for sharing this one.0
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Thanks for posting this info!!0
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I don't think anyone denies that Starvation Mode exists. Most of the arguement is over what period of time it takes before it kicks in. I found a Military Study where they took a bunch of guys who already had low BF% (ave 14%) and they ate from 1000-2000 cal/day diet with strenuous cardio ( up to 6000 cal burned) everyday for 8 weeks. On the average day they netted NEGATIVE 1200 calories. The guys didn't hit starvation mode in terms of their bodies resisting burning fat and burning muscle until they were below 6% BF - Most of them it was between weeks 6-8.
http://fitnessblackbook.com/main/starvation-mode-why-you-probably-never-need-to-worry-about-it/
(This is just an article that I had book marked that references the study)
Obviously you do not want to starve yourself to lose weight because it's not sustainable, but people throw the phrase "Starvation Mode" around when you haven't even in 3 hours and it's just bogus in that context.0 -
...people throw the phrase "Starvation Mode" around when you haven't even in 3 hours and it's just bogus in that context.
I agree wholeheartedly.0 -
Great article thanks for sharing!0
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I don't think anyone denies that Starvation Mode exists. Most of the arguement is over what period of time it takes before it kicks in. I found a Military Study where they took a bunch of guys who already had low BF% (ave 14%) and they ate from 1000-2000 cal/day diet with strenuous cardio ( up to 6000 cal burned) everyday for 8 weeks. On the average day they netted NEGATIVE 1200 calories. The guys didn't hit starvation mode in terms of their bodies resisting burning fat and burning muscle until they were below 6% BF - Most of them it was between weeks 6-8.
http://fitnessblackbook.com/main/starvation-mode-why-you-probably-never-need-to-worry-about-it/
(This is just an article that I had book marked that references the study)
Obviously you do not want to starve yourself to lose weight because it's not sustainable, but people throw the phrase "Starvation Mode" around when you haven't even in 3 hours and it's just bogus in that context.
Totally agree!0 -
Hmm that explains a lot. I went on a Health Food Store Six-Week diet once that alternated days of 600-800 calories. I lost 25 pounds and was never hungry, but it starvation mode doesn't kick in for 6-8 weeks, that explains it. Now that I am on the long road to loose way more than 25 pounds, I do need to be aware of starvation mode. I learn so much on MFP! 0
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