Do you believe in "starvation mode"
Replies
-
Ok rapid and extreme weight loss is one thing, but we're talking about 1200 calories a day, give or take. Where do people get the idea that you can not eat nutritionally for 1200 calories a day. If you are smart, you can totally do this without depriving yourself. You just have to be cleaver with your calorie bank.
And then there are the comments about gaining it all when you return to normal eating?!? Who says this isn't normal now? Why do people presume everyone is going to revert to old habits? This presumes we were all fat and lazy sods who never left the couch and ate KFC 14 times a day. That's not how I gained weight! Through this process I have learnt so much and I can guarantee I won't be going back to how I ate before. My partner and I have changed our lifestyle completely to ensure our plates never get that full and all the rest. So please everyone stop assuming this is just the means to an end, once we've all lost weight were going to go back. Sure, some will, I'm not that naive but instead remind yourself that we are all very different.
Now that's healthier living, and losing weight the healthy way in my opinion.0 -
No but I do believe that you need to feed your body correctly if you want to shed fat but gain muscle. People who eat too few calories do lose weight and eventually, if they continue, become underweight. I struggled with this when I was an undergrad and became obsessed with nutrtition. I was way too thin because I only netted a few hundred calories per day. I lost a lot of the muscle I had built up after 13 years of swimming competitively. I was unwell, physically and mentally.
On another note, I also believe that people don't need to eat back all of their exercise calories, and that inaccurate burn estimates are responsible for quite a bit of frustration.
There's a sweet spot for each person, a daily number that allows you to lose weight but continue to workout and build and maintain muscle. And it changes on your journey, depending on how much you lose and how much you do.0 -
And then there are the comments about gaining it all when you return to normal eating?!? Who says this isn't normal now? Why do people presume everyone is going to revert to old habits? This presumes we were all fat and lazy sods who never left the couch and ate KFC 14 times a day.
Ahah, best answer ever :laugh:0 -
I found this quite interesting, it explains where the theory of starvation came from, and why, in essence, it's incorrect.
http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html
I'm also quite interested to know where people came up with the idea that you need to eat back your exercise calories. I understand that people get hungrier if they have done more, that's fine, and I understand that it shouldn't hinder your projected weight loss if you do, as long as you are still in deficit, but I can't understand the insistence that you 'must' do this. As I understand it, you need to eat an approximate amount of calories - between 1000 to 1200 depending on the person, to meet your nutritional needs. Once you have eaten them, they don't disappear if you exercise though, so unless you are wanting to create muscle and therefore requiring extra protein, why do you actually 'need' more? I've not seen anything on here to make me believe that it is necessary, and even MFP, which gives you dire warnings about actually eating under 1200, doesn't say anything about your net calories.
Sorry that was a bit of a rant, but I just felt the need to say it
People "came up with idea" to eat your exercise calories back because that is exactly how MFP is set up. It tells you to eat them.
Any time you go to someone like a nutritionist, or even do the math yourself, the calories burned in exercise are accounted for in some way. And MFP does tell me if my net is too low.
A nutritionist will figure out your base rate, figure out your daily activity level, then add in how often you expect to exercise and come up with a number. They will then subtract a number of calories, usually about 500 for every pound per week aim, and that is your number of calories per week. For example, my trainer came up with the number of around 1700 for me.
MFP figures out your base rate and adds in your daily activity, but does not account for exercise. When you log exercise, you are told to eat those extra calorie. MFP figured me at 1450 for a lb a week, same target as the trainer. When I burn my 300-400 calories and eat them back, I am consuming about 1700-1800 calories a day - same thing the trainer suggested. Two different formulas, same result.
There are a number of reasons to maintain a moderate deficit of calories instead of creating a large one. One being that slower weight loss in larger people can decrease the extra skin. Eating too few calories can have a negative impact on your metabolism in the long run. No, I am not saying "starvation mode", but it can make it harder to lose weight or require you to cut more calories out. IF you are eating the bare minimum, that doesn't give you any extra room to go.
I am in the slow and steady camp. Feed your body properly,workout and you will see results. There is no need to starve your body to achieve results.
Protein doesn't create muscle, lifting heavy will and you won't gain muscle on a calorie deficit. Protein does help maintain the muscle. Losing muscle = lower metabolism. Muscle burns calories. Too few calories = burning muscle = lower calorie burned.0 -
I believe that the term "starvation mode" is overused and often inappropriately used.
But, I also believe that severly restricting calories is not a healthy long term strategy. You run the risk of not getting enough nutrition to keep your body healthy and for most people it isn't going to be sustainable, so you are setting up habits that you can't possibly keep up over time.
I also don't see the point in restricting cals more than is necessary, I'm betting that a lot of people who blindly choose the fastest weight loss option could lose weight on a larger number of calories. And we also have to consider that 1200 is for the "average" person - probably someone like me as a 5'4" woman, just over 150 pounds. A big man or a small woman are going to have a differnt number that is the healthy limit for each of them.
To me, food is enjoyable, it is social, it is part of every culture, so finding away to enjoy a moderate amount of good food and be healthy seems like a win-win situation to me.
Rubybelle is wise. All of this.0 -
Thanks so much!
0 -
I dont and I'm getting really, really sick of all the forum posts here lately TELLING us what to do. Everyone is sudenly an expert on complete strangers bodies - even people who are 100lbs overweight and been here for a week are suddenly experts on my body.
Ive stuck to 1200-1400 calories since May, lost 55lbs (25kgs) and never had a gain - during this time Ive also spent 5 weeks on international or interstate holidays too. I dont eat my exercise calories back (well obviously sometimes just 200) and I am so over people telling me to eat more or that my muscles are drying up. I have just 5kgs to go now - and I understand it will slow. I wont be posting a 'help me' post once it slows, or even if I plateau which I know is inevitable soon.
Blah blah, spout your science all you want (outdated and un specific that it is) - but do what you want with YOUR body. Leave me to do mine! (OK, rant over).
I've only been on this website for like 2 weeks and this is the first I've posted about "starvation mode" and I was just curious to people's opinions. You didn't have to answer if it made you so upset.0 -
I prefer the term "storage mode." And yes, I "believe" in it, because it stalled my weight loss for a month. After I started eating closer to my BMR I lost 4 pounds. So, yes. Yes I do.0
-
I believe in starvation mode but I think it takes time to develop. Like eating poorly for years, or undereating for years. I'm an example of what "dieting" long term can do to your system. Lose 30lbs, gain back 40, lose 40lbs, gain back 50, and all because of under-eating and eating the wrong types of food. And it gets more difficult to lose the weight each time.
Once I started trying to live "healthy" rather than being concerned with the scale, I lost inches, gained muscle and reshaped my body. And I eat way more than 1000 calories. But it is good food.
If you look at food as fuel for the body, it becomes less about "how much" and more about "what will this food do for my health" which makes it easier.0 -
You can still lose weight-- just not fat. When your body does not have the necessary fuel from food it starts eating away your muscles for energy. I started with 1200 cals as MFP suggested but as I became more educated about food and my body I realized that I needed to eat more (and clean). I eat around 2000 cals when I exercise and still lose and love how my muscles are shaping up. Google a pound of fat to see how it looks like-- that's what you want to lose, not muscle!0
-
Absolutely! I believe in it. It's a scientific FACT not an opinion.
The question is how soon one gets there and what amount of calories keep you from going there. That is where the Debate comes in. Nevertheless, "starvation mode" absolutely exists. Just have a conversation with a recovering anorexic or bulimic. They'll tell you all about it. It totally screws up your metabolism.
ETA: I think most of us don't have to worry about it at all unless we are doing something extreme that verges on an eating disorder, and even then it seems you have to do it over a very long period of time in order to make a difference.0 -
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing
This link is the story that fit me to a tee! I think it's worth a read!0 -
Absolutely not because it does not exist.
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=35501&sc=8010 -
For many of the reasons mentioned above, no. I think it is a nice excuse for us to eat more, LOL.
It comes down to this - the more calories burned, the more weight you lose. The effects people usually see is NOT that they messed up their metabolism, but they have put themselves on a diet they could never maintain in the long run - so then they eat so much more than they should when they are finally off of it.
Yo yo dieting is a very different thing. I believe in THAT.0 -
Absolutely. I think people on this site definitely throw it around too liberally and inappropriately, but I definitely believe in it.
After 6 months of my eating 900-1200 calories, I only lost about 8-10 pounds (and I was exercising at least four times a week - yoga, weight training, Zumba, circuit training, etc) and kept it off(to lose it, I was working out many hours a day and restricting to unreasonably low levels), but plateaued for the next five months. Recently, I intentionally raised my calories to a more stable 1200 cals, mostly of protein and a bit of healthy fat (I only eat super clean foods), and I gained two pounds in the first week or two... on 1200 cals!! Right after that, I had an exceptionally lazy week and ate about 2000 calories a day and (after having kept the weight off for 6 months) gained about 10 lbs in ONE week. You'd think it would mostly be water weight, but my arms, stomach, but and thighs definitely have a notable amount more of fat on them, and after 6 days now of dropping my calories back down and working out 1-3 hours each day, my body is still 5lbs higher than it was at the beginning of my bad week.
I am twenty one. My metabolism shouldn't be this ****ed up. I'm really wanting to increase my calories (and I'm planning on just bumping up my daily cals by 50 one week at a time (ie. 1200, 1250,1300,1350, etc) until I can eat 1600 calories without gaining, it's just really discouraging to do it when 1200 makes me gain at this point.0 -
I prefer the term "storage mode." And yes, I "believe" in it, because it stalled my weight loss for a month. After I started eating closer to my BMR I lost 4 pounds. So, yes. Yes I do.
Thank you for sharing this. This helps me be more comfortable with the idea of raising my calories)0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions