What the heck really is starvation mode???

dancer4275

Didn't you post something like this before? I think it was one asking if 500 cals a day was okay to eat.

no, that was about the hcg diet. yeahhhh, after so many negative responses, I decided not to try it. I think I'll stay at around 1000-1200 cals.

But in your diary entries you have only been eating about 500 cals.

That was just for today...I am at school, work, and rehearsal on Thursday's and I can only bring snacks with me.

HoopFire5602

Didn't you post something like this before? I think it was one asking if 500 cals a day was okay to eat.

no, that was about the hcg diet. yeahhhh, after so many negative responses, I decided not to try it. I think I'll stay at around 1000-1200 cals.

But in your diary entries you have only been eating about 500 cals.

That was just for today...I am at school, work, and rehearsal on Thursday's and I can only bring snacks with me.

Yesterdays was 500 too.....I don't want to attack you. It just seems odd. I'm not saying you need help...that's not for me to decide. Just seeing two post kind of relating to the same thing worries me, and looking at you diary, even back a few months.

emmab0902

Didn't you post something like this before? I think it was one asking if 500 cals a day was okay to eat.

no, that was about the hcg diet. yeahhhh, after so many negative responses, I decided not to try it. I think I'll stay at around 1000-1200 cals.

But in your diary entries you have only been eating about 500 cals.

That was just for today...I am at school, work, and rehearsal on Thursday's and I can only bring snacks with me.

Yesterdays was 500 too.....I don't want to attack you. It just seems odd. I'm not saying you need help...that's not for me to decide. Just seeing two post kind of relating to the same thing worries me, and looking at you diary, even back a few months.

Hmm given that your ultimate goal weight is a BMI of 17 you will probably find out if starvation mode is real or not. You are already at a healthy weight.

summalovaable

I think starvation mode only exists depending on your definition of it. Obviously your body won't defy the laws of physics, however it will begin to adapt. Your body is not psychic, it isn't aware you're trying to lose weight. When you go on a high calorie deficit suddenly your body believes you are in a time of famine, and will thus adjust accordingly to keep you alive during this period of poor nourishment (i.e. you expend less energy for the same tasks as before or you may feel less "energetic", it will begin taking from its fat stores etc ). While your body may not be psychic, it is also not stupid. It becomes "worried" that there might be a prolonged period of famine again, and must act accordingly. You've used up fat stores which are its key source of extra nourishment, thus it must focus on replenishing these fat stores to ensure you survive the next famine. Your body has adjusted to ensure you can survive off smaller amounts of food, so when you begin eating more or "regularly" more food is converted to fat

TLCEsq

There is no such thing.

The myth is that large calorie deficits will cause your metabolism to slow down to the point where you are not losing weight. While it is true that dieting causes your metabolism to slow, it can't slow down so much that it prevents weight loss. If you starved yourself to death your metabolism will drop by 20% or so.

HOWEVER, there are a multitude of hormones in the body that conspire to discourage weight loss (and it's worse for women). For example, when energy availability in the body is limited, your body responds my making you more hungry, making you do lest spontaneous activity (patting your foot while sitting), and sapping your overall energy.

This is why weight loss stalls. Not because you're in "starvation mode" but because your body has conspired against you to steal your calorie deficit. The thing is, no matter where your calories are, weight loss is going to slow eventually. And when you're on one of these terribly low 1200 calorie diets that are so popular around here, you can't realistically go down much further and stay sane. Most people would do well to start around AT LEAST 1800 cals, lose weight slowly, and then start dropping cals/adding activity as weight loss slows. The only real solution to stalled weight loss at 1200 cals is to eat at maintenance for a few weeks to bring those hormones back to normal, and then start dieting again (and most people aren't going to do that). This is why the "eat more" solution sometimes works in response to so-called "starvation mode."

Nobody will read this long rant. I should start a blog.

I think that is probably one of the best responses to a "starvation mode" question.

DITTO!