starvation mode DOES exist!!

summalovaable

The problem with using individual stories to "prove" the existence of a certain phenomenon, is that there is always other individual stories that disprove the same thing,

At the end of the day it comes down to the laws of thermdynamics, and if you think you are an exception to that then you should probably donate your body to scientific research.

Really? I agree with the first part of this, too many people say "I did ____ and lost weight therefore ____must be right" (can be replaced by the negative as well). Of course this is no way to prove something is accurate.

However, just out of curiosity.... have you ever even personally researched the Law of ***Thermodynamics and the human body, or is this from the broscience research of MFP. Because last time I checked, the Law of Thermodynamics was applicable "physics land"(you know, the world where every physics law works ideally) and does not consider the confounding biological variables in our bodies.

What I assume you are applying is that its all just "calories in-calories out". This is a wonderful equation for any promoter of VLCD's, and even satisfactory reasoning for girls to develop eating disorders.. its just a numbers game after all, right? But this does not account for a change in overall metabolism. Calories in -calories out, too bad calories out keeps changing on us.

And you know what? It is a fantastic mechanism that our body is able to do so. Imagine, being able to survive without food for prolonged periods of time! And when food is available, you may store excess fat to help you survive the next round of no food!! Not a major concern for people who have access to food daily, but unbelievably helpful throughout evolution when we weren't always living so comfortably.

Maybe I should also remind you there's no "set" level for starvation mode, and just because you personally eat very little does not mean you are losing at the proper pace, and it does not ensure that you will successfully keep the weight off long term. So until I meet the person that says "I ate 200 calories a day, exercised religiously, lost 100 + lbs with the correct deficit and kept it all off for 2 years" I'm going to keep stating starvation mode exists. And thank goodness it does, otherwise.... we might not even be here right now.

IronSmasher

The problem with using individual stories to "prove" the existence of a certain phenomenon, is that there is always other individual stories that disprove the same thing,

At the end of the day it comes down to the laws of thermdynamics, and if you think you are an exception to that then you should probably donate your body to scientific research.

Really? I agree with the first part of this, too many people say "I did ____ and lost weight therefore ____must be right" (can be replaced by the negative as well). Of course this is no way to prove something is accurate.

However, just out of curiosity.... have you ever even personally researched the Law of ***Thermodynamics and the human body, or is this from the broscience research of MFP. Because last time I checked, the Law of Thermodynamics was applicable "physics land"(you know, the world where every physics law works ideally) and does not consider the confounding biological variables in our bodies.

What I assume you are applying is that its all just "calories in-calories out". This is a wonderful equation for any promoter of VLCD's, and even satisfactory reasoning for girls to develop eating disorders.. its just a numbers game after all, right? But this does not account for a change in overall metabolism. Calories in -calories out, too bad calories out keeps changing on us.

And you know what? It is a fantastic mechanism that our body is able to do so. Imagine, being able to survive without food for prolonged periods of time! And when food is available, you may store excess fat to help you survive the next round of no food!! Not a major concern for people who have access to food daily, but unbelievably helpful throughout evolution when we weren't always living so comfortably.

Maybe I should also remind you there's no "set" level for starvation mode, and just because you personally eat very little does not mean you are losing at the proper pace, and it does not ensure that you will successfully keep the weight off long term. So until I meet the person that says "I ate 200 calories a day, exercised religiously, lost 100 + lbs with the correct deficit and kept it all off for 2 years" I'm going to keep stating starvation mode exists. And thank goodness it does, otherwise.... we might not even be here right now.

Brilliant, you've solved world hunger, the energy crisis and global warming. If you could carry on with world peace and the eurozone crisis that would be just great.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

God forbid you understand what someones going through before you judge.
I am a great mother thank you very much.
Btw, it's just as bad for mothers who are over weight to let their kids see their eating habbits. I eat healthy things. I could eat a whole bowl of broccoli and be only like 90 calories. I don't have a lack of energy, I work, I go to school, and do family activites.
Please and Thank you.


@Courtgosvener- I use to be a size 3 and 116lbs before pregnancy, now I am a size 5 (no, not from my hips, but from body fat). I just have a very small body frame. If I had an average frame, then i'd be a walking stick. But it's very petite. Everyone is built different.

what is there to understand that could possibly explain why you'd eat 400 calories a day?

emmab0902

You may have energy for now but it's impossible to get full nutrition on 400 calories and do you want to risk chewing up cardiac muscle? It's not just the biceps that waste away but the heart muscle too.

Cr8tive_Ingenuity

i eat 1200 calories a day...i also minimized my carb intake and up my protein. when you go into ketosis, you can go into hypokelemia, low potassium which makes you feel tired and is not a good state to be in. i trick my body about once every 2 weeks by eating higher carbs..your body needs energy to break glycogen to glucose. every cell in your body has ATP receptors..anyways i wont get to scientific but it is about increasing your overall metabolism..your body must get energy from somewhere..what you want is for it to start using the fat reserves instead of instant energy that breaks down from carbs. carbs are not bad..its just that most people eat out and portions in restaurants is way to big and most people eat way to many carbs, bad carbs. everyone will hit there plateau and tricking the body is the best way to get past that..eating more calories often breaks the plateau as long as your not consuming junk. alcohol is ok in small amounts but alcohol does turn right to glucose by the liver and thus if your body doesnt need it at the time, then it is stored as fat. insulin levels also play a big role in weight loss/gain..

number one reason people give up is that they restict there diet so much, they eventually go back to eating like before..if you make it a life style change and enjoy your lie in a healthy way you will lose weight..but you want to lose it efficiently

lgammy

Because last time I checked, the Law of Thermodynamics was applicable "physics land"(you know, the world where every physics law works ideally) and does not consider the confounding biological variables in our bodies.

The LAWS of Thermodynamics are laws, not theories. They apply to the Universe. The Universe is everything, including our bodies. And before you ask, yes, I have done years of research in this field, but non scientists can understand this basic fact just as well as Ph.D. researchers.

emmab0902

Because last time I checked, the Law of Thermodynamics was applicable "physics land"(you know, the world where every physics law works ideally) and does not consider the confounding biological variables in our bodies.

The LAWS of Thermodynamics are laws, not theories. They apply to the Universe. The Universe is everything, including our bodies. And before you ask, yes, I have done years of research in this field, but non scientists can understand this basic fact just as well as Ph.D. researchers.

Yes indeed - which is why as you say they are the Laws, not the "humble suggestions of thermodynamics" lol.

BobbyClerici

You may have energy for now but it's impossible to get full nutrition on 400 calories and do you want to risk chewing up cardiac muscle? It's not just the biceps that waste away but the heart muscle too.

This is spot on right.

400 calories is unhealthy and a sure sign of an eating disorder.
It's just a pity people do this to themselves just as I once did the opposite but no more.

Honestly, I don't know what is worse. GET HELP!

Coyla

Starvation mode isn't all that dramatic. It just means you have factored in too high of a daily caloric deficit. So the body slows its metabolism to compensate. Starvation mode doesn't mean you'll get fat by not eating. It just means you'll lose more slowly.

Also, when your calorie deficit is too high, the body will attack the muscles first. Muscles are a quicker source of energy, so if you freak your body out by drastically cutting calories, it's likely to cause more muscle loss than fat loss, especially for those with a lower body weight.

P.S. Starvation mode doesn't mean you can go forever without food and be okay. (We're not solving world hunger here, so let's not be obtuse.) You will eventually lose weight. I mean, you'll lose your hair. Your bones will deteriorate. You'll lose all muscle tone, and you'll be sick. But you will be skinny!

CyberEd312

The original poster looks pretty thin. Putting on a lot of weight is relative. Starvation mode can't exist if your body still has stores of fat to use up.

I disagree with this statement, maybe in some cases it may be true but I have been through just about every scenario you could think of over the last 29 months and losing 287 lbs. And right now I am adjusting from putting my body into starvation mode and at 273 lbs. currently, I can tell you that I still have fat stores that could be burned. I have been running huge calorie deficits over the last few months and because of it I have been plateauing like crazy. My lifestyle change was based on Carb counting and not so much of an emphasis on calorie counting. But at 560 lbs. calories in vs. calories out wasn't that important as what I was eating. Healthier choices and sticking to 2000-2500 range was a huge change from consuming over 8-10,000 calories a day. But I have made adjustments over the last few month's and am now back to losing 1-2 lbs. a week. I had to pay alot closer attention to my caloric intake because I had been exercising more and not eating back any of those calories I was burning. So in my experience Starvation mode does exist in myself with fat stores still to be used....

Natashaa1991

some of you act like scientists....
and i DID put a lot of weight, everyone noticed it. but i was acting stupid and thought, well it has to work. i would never do thing like that anymore.
what i wanted to say in the first place is, to all the girls starving themselves, weight loss is gonna stop, for this reason or another. it doesn't matter.
you'll be left with the same weight, feeling frustrated. And you won't be able to do normal things like get out of the bed.
i'm not trying to fight anorexia here, i'm not anorexic and never was. i love food wayyy to much.
but some of us get quick fix ideas sometimes, and it's always better to lose it slowly, healthily.
Those 20 days without food were the most miserable days of my life.