Starvation mode! (my opinion)

mleoni092708

This is one of those debates that could go on forever. You really don't have to starve yourself to lose weight. I've found I lose more weight if I listen to my body and eat more when it's telling me to. Otherwise I feel sick and weak. I just don't see why anyone would want to put themselves through the stress of eating, say 500 calories per day. The mental and physical stress would be awful and I don't see how that's healthy or could be maintained long term.

rosalee87

When I was eating below 1200 cals I would make healthy food choices, I was never hungry, I'd eat several times a day with snacks but I would watch my portions and everything I would eat was low in calories or 0 cals and I had to read nutrition on every single thing I would eat. I would drink water all day quit sodas, diet sodas, fruity drinks, etc several months before that so I basically stuck to water. Now I don't bother reading them - I just enter them on MFP and whatever it is is and I just watch for calories.

Avalonis

If you aren't hungry, don't eat.

I don't really buy the whole "starvation mode" bull****.

I used to eat half a Subway sandwich a day and I didn't die.

You also have very little muscle.

Personally, I think I'll listen to the people that know what they are talking about, like Doctors, nutritionists, and people who look like Greek gods.

This is all true.

I apologize, I didn't intend that as rude as it probably came across. I just meant you have limited experience. No offense intended. You took it well though

puggleperson

You are right! You won't go into starvation mode.... I think the point, really is that if you are eating under 1200 calories then what happens when you start eating above that?? You start to gain weight.. Or lets say you are eating only 800 calories everyday..what happens when you plateau?? You can't possibly go down to 500 calories a day... That's just not what your body wants. Your body needs fule to make atp and your body runs offf of atp.... Atp = look it up!

_Peacebone_

You are right! You won't go into starvation mode.... I think the point, really is that if you are eating under 1200 calories then what happens when you start eating above that?? You start to gain weight.. Or lets say you are eating only 800 calories everyday..what happens when you plateau?? You can't possibly go down to 500 calories a day... That's just not what your body wants. Your body needs fule to make atp and your body runs offf of atp.... Atp = look it up!

This is how I think of "starvation mode." Eventually your metabolism will slow, and when you start eating normally again, you WILL gain weight back.

lizziebeth1028

Although I do believe that your body can go into starvation mode, I think the 'starvation mode' term is tossed about to freely on these threads. If you fall under 1200 every once in awhile and don't make a habit of this you're not going to 'starve'. But if you do this too frequently your body will not be getting the right amount of nutrients and as a result you will see a loss of muscle. Which is obviously not healthy or a sustainable way to loose weight.

lizziebeth1028

This is one of those debates that could go on forever. You really don't have to starve yourself to lose weight. I've found I lose more weight if I listen to my body and eat more when it's telling me to. Otherwise I feel sick and weak. I just don't see why anyone would want to put themselves through the stress of eating, say 500 calories per day. The mental and physical stress would be awful and I don't see how that's healthy or could be maintained long term.

^Well said! And a good point. Why starve yourself?!??! Food is not the enemy, it's fuel and energy for your body.....and it tastes good!!! I love food. Learn to eat healthy, watch your portions, exercise and you will loose weight and keep it off!

ATT949

Wow, I've been on this site for almost a year and that's the first time i've seen anyone post that link (maybe I have).

Yes, the Wiki is crowdsourced so we know that some of the stuff there is flaky but I take that page as gospel. The conclusion that I've drawn, based heavily on that page as well as on other things about the human body that I've learned since high school (Class of 1973) is that starvation mode is possible but you've got to work really, really hard to almost eliminate food, pay no attention to all of the problems that you face, be oblivious to huge weight loss, and, finally, you croak.

I have no doubt that some people here on MFP have hit starvation mode. I also have no doubt that many folks firmly believe that they will burst into flames and die if they only eat 1199 calories (even though it's almost impossible to track calories to more than a few percentage points).

ATT949

some could eat 800-900 cals per day eating all of the right nutrients & balancing their diet and they never entered "starvation mode". although it does exist it exists at different calorie levels for each person depending on body fat, how much is needed to survive, etc.. this was just what I learned in that course

Your textbooks are wrong!

If you eat less than 1200 calories a day, you will go into starvation mode. I know 'cause I've read it here on the Internet!

<sarc>

Thank you for posting this.

I've been on MFP for almost a year and have seen a huge change in discussion about starvation mode. Just a few months ago is discussed the approach that I took to dieting and was castigated for it. A few posters labeled my diet "dangerous" and one poster wanted to have me banned from the site.

I did "everything wrong" when I was losing weight — I ate 800-1k net cals/day and drank very little water but somehow, I managed to lose 95 pounds in 7 months.

What you're bringing to light is that people react differently to a change in diet. And a low calorie diet is safer than you think.

When I was losing weight, I ate a low calorie diet which was based on the calorie level used by Lindora weight loss clinics. Lindora is a 40 year old company that's located in Southern California that runs a medically supervised weight loss program where patients consume 800 to 1000 calories per day. They have had hundreds of thousands of people lose weight. A typical program is 10 weeks long and, if you follow their guidelines, you should lose 10% of your body mass. I'm not advertising for them but my GF runs one of their clinics so I have some insight into what a proven diet plan looks like.

This is what blows me away about the "1200 calories" hysteria. Debbie works with people every day who consume well under 1200 calories and these people are healthy, active, happy, and losing tons of weight. In contrast, when I log into MFP I read dire warnings about eating so little food. Who should I believe — the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost weight or "medical experts"?

Hmmm…let me think about that!

puggleperson

some could eat 800-900 cals per day eating all of the right nutrients & balancing their diet and they never entered "starvation mode". although it does exist it exists at different calorie levels for each person depending on body fat, how much is needed to survive, etc.. this was just what I learned in that course

Your textbooks are wrong!

If you eat less than 1200 calories a day, you will go into starvation mode. I know 'cause I've read it here on the Internet!

<sarc>

Thank you for posting this.

I've been on MFP for almost a year and have seen a huge change in discussion about starvation mode. Just a few months ago is discussed the approach that I took to dieting and was castigated for it. A few posters labeled my diet "dangerous" and one poster wanted to have me banned from the site.

I did "everything wrong" when I was losing weight — I ate 800-1k net cals/day and drank very little water but somehow, I managed to lose 95 pounds in 7 months.

What you're bringing to light is that people react differently to a change in diet. And a low calorie diet is safer than you think.

When I was losing weight, I ate a low calorie diet which was based on the calorie level used by Lindora weight loss clinics. Lindora is a 40 year old company that's located in Southern California that runs a medically supervised weight loss program where patients consume 800 to 1000 calories per day. They have had hundreds of thousands of people lose weight. A typical program is 10 weeks long and, if you follow their guidelines, you should lose 10% of your body mass. I'm not advertising for them but my GF runs one of their clinics so I have some insight into what a proven diet plan looks like.

This is what blows me away about the "1200 calories" hysteria. Debbie works with people every day who consume well under 1200 calories and these people are healthy, active, happy, and losing tons of weight. In contrast, when I log into MFP I read dire warnings about eating so little food. Who should I believe — the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost weight or "medical experts"?

Hmmm…let me think about that!

Lindora is crap... I spent over 4 grand at that place and gained all my weight back.. WHY? Because without drugs and supplements it's impossible to eat only 800 calories a day for teh rest of your life... I regret the money I spent there and I will never go back. The only thing I liked about that program is the daily injections... If I could I would inject myself every day with the vitamin B complex !!

jlfred

I remember reading about a group of people who followed some extreme diet in which they ate only about 600 cal a day, every day, for life. They were all very thin (and happy about that). And, interestingly, a new study at the time showed that these people actually had longer lives, on average -- up to 20 years longer.

HOWEVER, these people not only had to be completely obsessive about food (rarely eating out, bringing their food scales with them everywhere) and strove to "always be hungry" (that was a sign that they were doing the diet "right" according to them), but they could not exercise or be active. Not only did they not have the energy (literally), but their bones tended to be extremely week, and almost any extrenuous activity could result in broken bones and other problems.

So, great, these people lived longer (allegedly) and were thinner -- but they had NO LIFE. They were *always hungry* (purposefully), couldn't participate in any physical activities, and what kind of social life could they realistically have (other than, perhaps, with other people on the same diet)?

I think sometimes people's perspectives can get a bit scewed. Yes, I want to be thin, and I'd like to live a long life. But I sure as hell would rather be enjoying the time I'm here -- so whatever I can do to combine all those priorities (rather than focusing on one of both of the former alone) I'll do. But I'm not going to sacrifice the latter part just to get to the former part faster.

mstemen

You are right! You won't go into starvation mode.... I think the point, really is that if you are eating under 1200 calories then what happens when you start eating above that?? You start to gain weight.. Or lets say you are eating only 800 calories everyday..what happens when you plateau?? You can't possibly go down to 500 calories a day... That's just not what your body wants. Your body needs fule to make atp and your body runs offf of atp.... Atp = look it up!

Not necessarily. When I was netting around 1000 per day after workouts ( I was eating 1500 and burning 500) I was stuck at the same weight for 2 weeks. As soon as I upped my calorie intake and was netting 1400 (I was eating a total of 1800-1900 a day) I started losing weight at a steady pace.

PB67

You are right! You won't go into starvation mode.... I think the point, really is that if you are eating under 1200 calories then what happens when you start eating above that?? You start to gain weight.. Or lets say you are eating only 800 calories everyday..what happens when you plateau?? You can't possibly go down to 500 calories a day... That's just not what your body wants. Your body needs fule to make atp and your body runs offf of atp.... Atp = look it up!

Not necessarily. When I was netting around 1000 per day after workouts ( I was eating 1500 and burning 500) I was stuck at the same weight for 2 weeks. As soon as I upped my calorie intake and was netting 1400 (I was eating a total of 1800-1900 a day) I started losing weight at a steady pace.

I guarantee the cause was a spontaneous increase in NEAT:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/374740-starvation-mode-neat?hl=NEAT#posts-5106807

CJK1959

My two cents:
Starvation response in animals (which we are) is a set of adaptive biochemical and physiological changes that reduce the metabolic rate in response to a lack of food, whether intentional or not.

Starvation mode is a state in which the body is responding to prolonged periods of low caloric intake levels. During short periods of caloric abstinence, the human body will burn primarily free fatty acids from body fat stores. After prolonged periods of starvation the body has depleted its body fat and begins to burn lean tissue and muscle as a fuel source.[2]

Ordinarily, the body responds to reduced caloric intake by burning fat reserves first, and only consumes muscle and other tissues when those reserves are exhausted. Specifically, the body burns fat after first exhausting the contents of the digestive tract along with glycogen reserves stored in muscle and liver cells.[3] After prolonged periods of starvation, the body will utilize the proteins within muscle tissue as a fuel source. People who practice fasting on a regular basis, such as those adhering to caloric restricted diets, can prime their bodies to abstain from food without burning lean tissue.[4]. Resistance training (such as weight lifting) can also prevent the loss of muscle mass while a person is caloric restricted.

It does exist Virginia, it's just not necessarily evil.

bonkers5975

You are right! You won't go into starvation mode.... I think the point, really is that if you are eating under 1200 calories then what happens when you start eating above that?? You start to gain weight.. Or lets say you are eating only 800 calories everyday..what happens when you plateau?? You can't possibly go down to 500 calories a day... That's just not what your body wants. Your body needs fule to make atp and your body runs offf of atp.... Atp = look it up!

This is how I think of "starvation mode." Eventually your metabolism will slow, and when you start eating normally again, you WILL gain weight back.

I did this, y'all. On 1600 cals and 75 g carbs a day. I lost over 100 lbs and then it stopped for months. I tried everything, eating more, eating less, exercising more, exercising less... then I got hurt, couldn't exercise, depressed, didn't care anymore... I gained 40 lbs in 2 months eating alot of healthy food, but more wheat than before. I don't eat out, we don't eat tons of junk.

I don't know what the tech term for it is. But I have NEVER put weight on that quickly before!

Back on track now, but watching the kinds of foods I eat more than calories. Eating primally, intuitively, and I'm already down 7 lbs after 5 days. (Yes, I know it's mostly water. I've been at this game a very long time!)

erickirb

Ordinarily, the body responds to reduced caloric intake by burning fat reserves first, and only consumes muscle and other tissues when those reserves are exhausted. Specifically, the body burns fat after first exhausting the contents of the digestive tract along with glycogen reserves stored in muscle and liver cells.[3] After prolonged periods of starvation, the body will utilize the proteins within muscle tissue as a fuel source. People who practice fasting on a regular basis, such as those adhering to caloric restricted diets, can prime their bodies to abstain from food without burning lean tissue.[4]. Resistance training (such as weight lifting) can also prevent the loss of muscle mass while a person is caloric restricted.

It does exist Virginia, it's just not necessarily evil.

Not 100% correct, the body will break down muscle and fat at the same time but the lower your BF%the more muscle your body will turn to as it is easier for your body to breakdown muscle and the survival response is just that, muscle burns more calories then fat, so the less muscle you have the longer you can live off your fat.

So it is not one then the other, you usually burn both but mostly fat if you deficit is right for you if your deficit is too large you will burn a large % of muscle then you would on a smaller deficit.