Starvation Mode: Truth or Myth?

DEGiltz

Hi all. I'm starting to feel a bit frustrated. I've been so very good at weighing, measuring, tracking and exercising daily. I've noticed that I now eat when I am hungry and not out of boredom, anxiety, etc. Here's the issue - I'm not losing weight. I feel like throwing the scale out the window every morning. I've been so pleased with myself and how dedicated I've become, but suffer the disappointment every morning when I don't see that scale moving in the right direction. I know that I am always about 200-300 calories below the daily calorie requirement that MFP has set for me and this doesn't count the extra calories earned from exercise. So I ask, how important is it to get those calories in? Does your body really go into "starvation mode" that easily? I am actually afraid to eat all of my calories. The thought of trying to eat more daily now that I've gotten comfortable with what I'm doing does cause me anxiety. I need advise. Thanks so much!

LMLeu

How long have you been on this routine? I know that after I started working out, eating fewer calories, and consuming much more water I actually GAINED weight. But my inches kept coming off. I kept it up, and after about 4 weeks the lbs started coming off also. I haven't lost much weight, I'm mostly just trying to make sure that I like the way I look and I've slacked quite a bit on the exercise department lately, but for me, the drastic change in normal activity did make my body hold onto some lbs, or I was possibly gaining muscle.

mroger801

As I understand it, you need to have at least 1200 calories/day to prevent going into starvation mode. In the beginning of my weight loss, my goal was near 2000/day and I was regularly somewhere between 1500-1800 calories. Occasionally, I would be around 1100 and my doctor told me that I need to do something to get my calories above 1200. She recommended drinking a glass of milk because its decent calories and has lots of good nutrients.

The most important part is to make sure that your calories change each day. If you eat different amounts each day, it will greatly help with your weight loss. Hope this helps!

slms11

I agree w. mroger. You need at least 1200 per day to keep metabilism up.

BUT - and here's the "great news" caveat - whenever you start a new exercise routine, you will NOT lose weight, but may even gain weight while dropping inches. Why? Because muscle weighs more than fat (it's denser, heavier). Once your body has adjusted to the exercise and built adequate muscle, the pounds will melt away. Trust me, I've experienced this firsthand!

STAY THE COURSE!

3dogsrunning

Great thread that address this topic well.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390234-does-starvation-mode-exist-and-what-is-it

3dogsrunning

I am in the club of eat more to lose more. Eating too little can cause problems that aren't necessarily starvation mode.
You are always under you calorie goal and not losing. Are you eating your exercise calories back? Because if not, that is putting you at a further deficit.
Why not try eating more, even just meeting the calorie intake MFP suggests and see how that works after a couple of weeks.

KavemanKarg

Funny how the calories in = calories out theory goes right out the window and starvation mode dogma shows up whenever calorie reduction doesn't work.

Calorie reduction alone works in only 2% of cases for long term weight loss exactly for the reason you are confronting.

Eventually your body adapts to having less calories and reacts accordingly.

That is why I got off the calorie treadmill and started looking more at macro nutrient composition. I eat enough calories to gain weight, yet I keep losing it. Am I in some sort of reverse starvation mode? I do not even log my food any more, but when I was, over 60% of my calories came from healthy fats, and some days I was eating 4000 calories.

I cannot see your diary, and I have no idea what you are eating, but I will guess at 1200 calories its some odd servings of whole grain with no butter, salads with low fat unsatisfying dressings, skim milk or 1%, or diet drinks, lean chicken breast with no skin (and no flavor) tuna or salmon, etc...

I know I am likely to be called down as yet another low carb crazy, but I am not hungry, I have been losing weight steadily for 3 years, and I feel wonderful.

And my lipid profile is perfect.

Food for thought You can find us in the primal and paleo support group in the forums.

RonSwanson66

I eat enough calories to gain weight, yet I keep losing it.

Stop making things up

Acg67

That is why I got off the calorie treadmill and started looking more at macro nutrient composition. I eat enough calories to gain weight, yet I keep losing it. Am I in some sort of reverse starvation mode? I do not even log my food any more, but when I was, over 60% of my calories came from healthy fats, and some days I was eating 4000 calories.

A) low carb/keto diets have no metabolic advantage

you're saying you consistently ate in a surplus yet lost weight?

C) Paleo man got 50-60% of his kcal from CHO

Acg67

Eaton et al. Paleolithi­c nutrition revisited: A twelve-yea­r retrospect­ive on its nature and implicatio­ns. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1997) 51, 207±216

"The typical carbohydra­te intake of ancestral humans was similar in magnitude, 45±50% of daily energy, to that in
current affuent nations, but there was a marked qualitativ­e difference­."

Saezimmerman

My first suggestion? stop weighing every morning. Weight loss, especially for women, is not linear. I know that you want to see results. I understand and empathize. ( I try to only weigh on Mondays, but today I "rewarded" myself with an extra weigh in. )

Remember that fat loss may be occuring even while weight loss stays away. Try measuring your waist to hip ratio for a few weeks and see if that helps. If you have truely plateaued, consult a trainer at your gym or even your doctor. MFP is nice in that it lefts you print out a lot of information related to your nutrient intake.

You are trying to do the best thing for your health, don't let the numbers discourage you!

RonSwanson66

Eaton et al. Paleolithi­c nutrition revisited: A twelve-yea­r retrospect­ive on its nature and implicatio­ns. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1997) 51, 207±216

"The typical carbohydra­te intake of ancestral humans was similar in magnitude, 45±50% of daily energy, to that in
current affuent nations, but there was a marked qualitativ­e difference­."

PaleoMon didn't have PubMed