Is there REALLY a "starvation mode"???

Tegan74

From personal exp I can tell you that eating too little can cause you to gain weight. Granted I was eating all the wrong things, alot of fast food, but I was only eating once a day, maybe twice (not on purpose ~ I dont have an eating disorder ~ I would just be so busy that I'd forget to eat. Yes thats possible Or I'd get hungry, go in the kitchen, not see anything I wanted and just fix a glass of mt.dew to calm my stomach down til I figured out what I wanted. Which usually took hrs) I was at 202 at one point (found that out from a recent dr's visit.) Once I started eating GOOD calories, several times a day AND exercising I started dropping weight. I'm one of the few people I've seen on here that has trouble eating all my calories daily, again usually cause I'm too busy to think about food, but I'm working on that. Slowly and with a few set backs cause by a very hectic life.

rml_16

From personal exp I can tell you that eating too little can cause you to gain weight. Granted I was eating all the wrong things, alot of fast food, but I was only eating once a day, maybe twice (not on purpose ~ I dont have an eating disorder ~ I would just be so busy that I'd forget to eat. Yes thats possible Or I'd get hungry, go in the kitchen, not see anything I wanted and just fix a glass of mt.dew to calm my stomach down til I figured out what I wanted. Which usually took hrs) I was at 202 at one point (found that out from a recent dr's visit.) Once I started eating GOOD calories, several times a day AND exercising I started dropping weight. I'm one of the few people I've seen on here that has trouble eating all my calories daily, again usually cause I'm too busy to think about food, but I'm working on that. Slowly and with a few set backs cause by a very hectic life.

But how many calories were you eating?

I can easily ingest more than 3,000 calories with a small amount of fast food eaten only once a day. It's impossible to gain weight by not eating enough calories. Where is the energy coming from to create the excess weight? You can convert calories to fat, but you can't convert nothing to fat.

solpwr

From personal exp I can tell you that eating too little can cause you to gain weight. Granted I was eating all the wrong things, alot of fast food, but I was only eating once a day, maybe twice (not on purpose ~ I dont have an eating disorder ~ I would just be so busy that I'd forget to eat. Yes thats possible Or I'd get hungry, go in the kitchen, not see anything I wanted and just fix a glass of mt.dew to calm my stomach down til I figured out what I wanted. Which usually took hrs) I was at 202 at one point (found that out from a recent dr's visit.) Once I started eating GOOD calories, several times a day AND exercising I started dropping weight. I'm one of the few people I've seen on here that has trouble eating all my calories daily, again usually cause I'm too busy to think about food, but I'm working on that. Slowly and with a few set backs cause by a very hectic life.

But how many calories were you eating?

I can easily ingest more than 3,000 calories with a small amount of fast food eaten only once a day. It's impossible to gain weight by not eating enough calories. Where is the energy coming from to create the excess weight? You can convert calories to fat, but you can't convert nothing to fat.

Yes it is possible. The energy is coming from lean body tissue. Muscles. The body can preserve its stores by cannibalizing itself. Its called "Wasting" aka chronic malnutrition. Humans will lose fat and muscle.

rml_16

From personal exp I can tell you that eating too little can cause you to gain weight. Granted I was eating all the wrong things, alot of fast food, but I was only eating once a day, maybe twice (not on purpose ~ I dont have an eating disorder ~ I would just be so busy that I'd forget to eat. Yes thats possible Or I'd get hungry, go in the kitchen, not see anything I wanted and just fix a glass of mt.dew to calm my stomach down til I figured out what I wanted. Which usually took hrs) I was at 202 at one point (found that out from a recent dr's visit.) Once I started eating GOOD calories, several times a day AND exercising I started dropping weight. I'm one of the few people I've seen on here that has trouble eating all my calories daily, again usually cause I'm too busy to think about food, but I'm working on that. Slowly and with a few set backs cause by a very hectic life.

But how many calories were you eating?

I can easily ingest more than 3,000 calories with a small amount of fast food eaten only once a day. It's impossible to gain weight by not eating enough calories. Where is the energy coming from to create the excess weight? You can convert calories to fat, but you can't convert nothing to fat.

Yes it is possible. The energy is coming from lean body tissue. Muscles. The body can preserve its stores by cannibalizing itself. Its called "Wasting" aka chronic malnutrition. Humans will lose fat and muscle.

But you won't gain weight. That's my point. Eating too few calories will not cause weight GAIN. It's physically impossible.

rainbowbow

Ask someone recovering from anorexia who eats a cube of cheese and gains weight because their body is struggling to hold onto any energy it can.

LabRat529

I think this topic comes up every day. And you're gonna get a million opinions and people arguing with each other. I'm just gonna copy/paste my answer from a previous thread. I'm not really saying anything different than what others have said and I don't really have any credentials except that I'm a health-related field (neuroscience/pharmacology which doesn't teach me much about nutrition, diet, and exercise physiology except what you can pick up in basic human physiology and human endocrinology classes). So I'm just casting my vote, as if questions like this one could actually be answered by vote. Here goes:

I think it depends on how you define "starvation mode".... if by "starvation mode", you mean that your body will begin hoarding your fat reserves and burning everything but fat... as far as I know, that doesn't happen until your fat reserves have dropped drastically. But if by "starvation mode" you mean your metabolism will slow down... yes, I think that does happen when you restrict calories too much.

More important to me is that you just don't function optimally on a low calorie diet... you don't think as clearly, you don't have enough energy, you just don't do as well as you would do if you were only restricting a little bit.

rml_16

Ask someone recovering from anorexia who eats a cube of cheese and gains weight because their body is struggling to hold onto any energy it can.

That's because that person's metabolism has slowed drastically and so even a small amount of calories is more than the body needs to survive at that weight. If that person's body requires 500 calories to maintain and the person eats 600, the person will gain. But if that person eats 400 calories, that person will lose.

So, eating the same amount of food every day for a long period of time, if it's less than the body requires, should not cause a gain.

AlwaysWanderer

From personal exp I can tell you that eating too little can cause you to gain weight. Granted I was eating all the wrong things, alot of fast food, but I was only eating once a day, maybe twice (not on purpose ~ I dont have an eating disorder ~ I would just be so busy that I'd forget to eat. Yes thats possible Or I'd get hungry, go in the kitchen, not see anything I wanted and just fix a glass of mt.dew to calm my stomach down til I figured out what I wanted. Which usually took hrs) I was at 202 at one point (found that out from a recent dr's visit.) Once I started eating GOOD calories, several times a day AND exercising I started dropping weight. I'm one of the few people I've seen on here that has trouble eating all my calories daily, again usually cause I'm too busy to think about food, but I'm working on that. Slowly and with a few set backs cause by a very hectic life.

But how many calories were you eating?

I can easily ingest more than 3,000 calories with a small amount of fast food eaten only once a day. It's impossible to gain weight by not eating enough calories. Where is the energy coming from to create the excess weight? You can convert calories to fat, but you can't convert nothing to fat.

Yes it is possible. The energy is coming from lean body tissue. Muscles. The body can preserve its stores by cannibalizing itself. Its called "Wasting" aka chronic malnutrition. Humans will lose fat and muscle.

But that still wont couse you to GAIN weight. you may stop losing weight, but you wont gain weight.

LabRat529

Your metabolism WILL slow down if you're not eating enough.

However, until I see some fat anorexics running around, no one will convince me that weight loss will stop or reverse by eating too little.

A quick comment about this (I just skimmed the thread, so someone else might have made the same comment).

Anorexia is an eating disorder. It is NOT synonymous with really skinny. You CAN be anorexic and fat. Anorexia has more to do with your relationship with food than with your body size.

jenscot25

cee134

Talk to you doctor. That is the only way to find out what you need and don't need and how many calories are healthy for your body type. 1200 calories is a danger zone. It may work for some people and be dangerous for others. Only your doctor can tell you that. The other theory is if you are eating too few calories, your body may not get what it needs. Which can cause damage to your body over time and increase health risks.

Bottom Line: talk to your doctor, find out what your body needs before planing on how many calories you should have a day.

rml_16

Your metabolism WILL slow down if you're not eating enough.

However, until I see some fat anorexics running around, no one will convince me that weight loss will stop or reverse by eating too little.

A quick comment about this (I just skimmed the thread, so someone else might have made the same comment).

Anorexia is an eating disorder. It is NOT synonymous with really skinny. You CAN be anorexic and fat. Anorexia has more to do with your relationship with food than with your body size.

Oh good grief. It was a figure of speech to illustrate a point.

shelby623

According to leangains, http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

"lowered metabolic rate in response to fasting occurred after 60 hours (-8% in resting metabolic rate). Other studies show metabolic rate is not impacted until 72-96 hours have passed"



Also, I somewhat disagree with consulting with your doctor about calorie restriction. I am biased after going to get bloodwork done to see if my weight gain was caused by my thyroid...and my doctor said results are negative and to eat a diet high in fiber and low in fat to lose weight. No *kitten* Sherlock! I had no friggin idea that low fat and high fiber would help me lose weight. So that's what I've been doing wrong this whole time, it's so simple!

Anywho, a registered dietician would have more insight than your physician in regards to weight loss.

msiamjan

Forget to eat? Do you ever forget to breath? My brain NEVER forgets to eat . Where can I get some of that?

honu18

I can tell you, from experience, that you can slow down your metabolic rate extensively. I have stuck to the net 1200 limit for about 4 months now. Last week, I couldn't work out an was sick, so i put my calories on maintenance. Theoretically, I did lot eat3500 cals Over what my maintenance should have been, but I did put on a pound ish. I mean, weight fluctuates so it's not that big of deal, but I think when I move to full out maintenance, which I plan to do very soon, I'm expecting a minor weight gain as my body adjusts.

solpwr

From personal exp I can tell you that eating too little can cause you to gain weight. Granted I was eating all the wrong things, alot of fast food, but I was only eating once a day, maybe twice (not on purpose ~ I dont have an eating disorder ~ I would just be so busy that I'd forget to eat. Yes thats possible Or I'd get hungry, go in the kitchen, not see anything I wanted and just fix a glass of mt.dew to calm my stomach down til I figured out what I wanted. Which usually took hrs) I was at 202 at one point (found that out from a recent dr's visit.) Once I started eating GOOD calories, several times a day AND exercising I started dropping weight. I'm one of the few people I've seen on here that has trouble eating all my calories daily, again usually cause I'm too busy to think about food, but I'm working on that. Slowly and with a few set backs cause by a very hectic life.

But how many calories were you eating?

I can easily ingest more than 3,000 calories with a small amount of fast food eaten only once a day. It's impossible to gain weight by not eating enough calories. Where is the energy coming from to create the excess weight? You can convert calories to fat, but you can't convert nothing to fat.

Yes it is possible. The energy is coming from lean body tissue. Muscles. The body can preserve its stores by cannibalizing itself. Its called "Wasting" aka chronic malnutrition. Humans will lose fat and muscle.

But that still wont couse you to GAIN weight. you may stop losing weight, but you wont gain weight.

Yet a person may experience weight gain in that condition, which can be frustrating. That experience is what I was referring to. Because of normal weight fluctuation due to fluids, that could be the experience.

But you're right. I stand corrected. Being in famine mode severe enough to cause wasting will not CAUSE weight GAIN.

The point I was making is still salient.

Tegan74

From personal exp I can tell you that eating too little can cause you to gain weight. Granted I was eating all the wrong things, alot of fast food, but I was only eating once a day, maybe twice (not on purpose ~ I dont have an eating disorder ~ I would just be so busy that I'd forget to eat. Yes thats possible Or I'd get hungry, go in the kitchen, not see anything I wanted and just fix a glass of mt.dew to calm my stomach down til I figured out what I wanted. Which usually took hrs) I was at 202 at one point (found that out from a recent dr's visit.) Once I started eating GOOD calories, several times a day AND exercising I started dropping weight. I'm one of the few people I've seen on here that has trouble eating all my calories daily, again usually cause I'm too busy to think about food, but I'm working on that. Slowly and with a few set backs cause by a very hectic life.

But how many calories were you eating?

I can easily ingest more than 3,000 calories with a small amount of fast food eaten only once a day. It's impossible to gain weight by not eating enough calories. Where is the energy coming from to create the excess weight? You can convert calories to fat, but you can't convert nothing to fat.

Yes it is possible. The energy is coming from lean body tissue. Muscles. The body can preserve its stores by cannibalizing itself. Its called "Wasting" aka chronic malnutrition. Humans will lose fat and muscle.

But that still wont couse you to GAIN weight. you may stop losing weight, but you wont gain weight.

Yet a person may experience weight gain in that condition, which can be frustrating. That experience is what I was referring to. Because of normal weight fluctuation due to fluids, that could be the experience.

But you're right. I stand corrected. Being in famine mode severe enough to cause wasting will not CAUSE weight GAIN.

The point I was making is still salient.

Sorry ~ I had to go to an appt ~ Lets say I went to krystals, I'd eat 2 cheese krystals and maybe a 4th of a thing of chili cheese fries and a large coke. Almost everything I ate was high in fat ~ add in alot of soft drinks and yes it is possible to eat very little and gain weight. I also got zero exercise which didnt help. Your reaction was the same as mine tho ~ how the HELL did I eat so little and not lose weight. I even had that convo with my hubby, it bothered me that badly. He pointed out that WHAT I ate was bad for me, and that I got no exercise. Because I ate so few calories my body turned everything I put into it into fat, to store it up for 'later'

To the person who asked about forgetting to eat ~ uumm no you dont want that lol ~ trust me ~ there were days when I got sick, couldnt focus, couldnt carry on a conversation and had a headache all because I got so caught up in what I was doing that I didnt stop long enough to eat until 7 or 8pm. That was rare, but it happened more than once
I also notice a huge diff in my energy lvl's now that I'm putting effort into remembering to eat, as in I have more energy I still have to remind myself to eat 3 times a day (somewhere I saw you should eat 6 times a day ~ all I can say to that is WHAT A JOKE) oh and since I've started eating more regularly, I tend to get hungry more often ~ a unique feeling lmao but at least I listen now and go find a carrot or something.

At no point in time was I purposefully not eating ~ my thoughts dont run to 'if I dont eat I wont get fat' ~ my thoughts run to 'theres nothing here I want to eat, I dont want to go to the store then have to cook, and I dont want fast food right this min' That translates to I can be really lazy/caught up in the book I'm reading/caught up in the online game I'm playing LOL

grannygethealthy1111

That depends who you ask. This is an interesting article from Weight Watchers:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=35501&sc=801

meggawatt

Then you didn't correctly explain to them how this site works. You already have a deficit created through diet alone. So when you exercise, MFP adds those calories back to maintain your original deficit. If you don't eat those extra calories you are not fueling your body correctly for your actual activity levels, and as I said in my first response, you run the risk of creating too large of a deficit and hampering your efforts.
[/quote]

Thank you for explaining this!! I'm very new to this, just downloaded the app on Monday actually! I thought I could only eat 1200 calories per day and still needed to do my 45 minutes of exercise per day...been a rough 4 days to say the least!

Espressocycle

When you up your calories, you will gain the five pounds of water weight you lost so easily when you started dieting. After that, it's more steady gain, maintain, or lose. I hope.