Another non-believer of "starvation mode"?

13

Replies

  • carolann_22
    carolann_22 Posts: 364 Member
    This whole topic is so frustrating to me. I burn, according to my BodyMedia, about 3300 calories a day. I tried eating 1400-1600 a day, since everyone says you tend to overestimate calories out and underestimate calories in, this way, I have a deficit AND a cushion. The scale doesn't move. Like for 11 days straight, and I'm big- I should be losing SOMETHING weekly. This past weekend, I had two days over 2000 calories - the scale moved down 1.8. Now just because that happened I know it doesn't mean it CAUSED it to happen, it could have been coincidence. BUT I JUST WANT TO LOSE EVERY WEEK. I want to make it happen. I am working my butt off and I want to LOOK the way I feel inside now that I've decided to change my life. And I just don't know what the best thing is, and I'm terrified that 2000 cals EVERY day will not have the results either. If it's calories in- calories out, why is it so frustrating!

    Just a little rant....
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
    Most people who are new to working out overestimate their cals burned and eat back too many because it felt like they deserve it or need it so she's not wrong 100% especially if she is referring to obese people. It's people who are a healthy BMI that find it hard to lose weight on low-cals because our metabolism has slowed with increased efficiency and we work out more efficiently hence NEED to eat back at least some of those cals burned in order to breakthrough.

    ** That being said, I've never experienced starvation mode so I will continue to be an "atheist" if you will on this topic ;)
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    Im not going to debate any of the things mentioned here Im just going to give you my personal results and you can be the judge.

    In Jan 2010 I started I weighed in that day at 297 I had been over 300 lbs easily. I lost 22 lbs in the first 9 weeks. I was exercising everyday for at least 30 min of hard cardio. I wasnt eating my calories back. I continued to lose.

    By Oct 2010 I was down to about 225 and over the next couple months it seemed to me that it was harder for me to lose weight. If I missed a workout I wasnt losing so I had to be very strict. I still was not eating my exercise calories.

    In reviewing my diary now, I was taking in roughly 1300-1600 calories a day and exercising 450 - 1100 calories a day. There were some days where my net caloric intake was less then 500 cals. How long had I been doing this? I never ate back my calories.

    Feb 2011, I was at my lowest weight yet. 197 lbs Woohoo! From over 300lbs to 197lbs I felt and looked amazing. I hurt my knee running and was layed up for 6 months. Because I couldnt do cardio I did upper body strength training and Kept my calories low. I managed to maintain and only inched back up to about 205. By the time I had recovered and I was back to training for my triathlon. I was 198 the day of my race. But I couldnt lose anything more. I was trying hard I was eating very carefully. Burning 1000+ cals 4-6 days a week and eating about 1500 total. This had gone on for months. All of 2011 I essentially stayed the same or gained 5 lbs.

    As the 2011 holiday season approached and triathlon season ended I relaxed my diet and my exercise as I was mentally spent from the constant grind of not making progress for a year. The fell off of me all through 2010 but in 2011 It was all I could do it shave 5 pounds.

    Jan 2012 I weighed in after abandoning diet and exercise for 2 full months. Scale was 221 lbs. I dropped 7 lbs in 2 days (water). I had to get back under I started again doing what I had done again.... Nothing 1 lbs loss ... a single cheat meal. 3 lbs gain for 4 days (not just water). That continued... I was up down, up down, up down.

    Everyone was telling me..."Massive, your not eating enough! You are starving yourself!" I bought a BodyMedia Fit about a week ago and basically what I've found is that my daily TDEE is at or exceeds 3000+ Calories a day without exercise. So If I'm only eating 1500 calories a day my body, without exercise, is at a 1500 calorie per day Deficit, add a 1000 calorie workout in there and your looking at some serious nutrition issues. A week before I got my Bodymedia fit I started eating a total of 2000 cals ( or trying to make sure I ate that minimum) That wasn't my net but just a total and The last 2 days Ive been eating more. Today I lost 2 lbs biggest loss Ive had in a long while.

    Is starvation mode real?
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    I guess I'll come out with it: I think "starvation mode" is silly.

    I watched a documentary about anorexia and the doc (world-renowned researcher too) explained "starvation mode", saying there is some truth to lowered calories and poor weight loss because of a "crashed" system (he didn't put it quite like that). However, he said the body burns fewer calories than expected at certain low calorie levels, not that it stops altogether and actually conserves (which is what I've typically heard from SM proponents). From an endocrine standpoint, fat cells may indeed conserve fat in response to lowered fat/calorie intake but it wont last long. When faced with "lose muscle" vs "lose fat", the body will prefer fat if it's available. It wont stop releasing glucose from muscles but it will reduce that release - the "conservation of metabolism" factor.

    I have a conspiracy that "starvation mode" is a plan to keep the 1st world fat so we'll survive armageddon.

    This. People need to read some peer reviewed, scientific journals before making false statements. The human body is an amazing and complex system. I recall a study on starvation mode that showed lean muscle mass was only burned after body fat percentage reached <5%.
    I doubt that.
    Cite the study.

    there you go

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/68/3/599.full.pdf
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I'm still Starvation Mode Agnostic....

    "Starvation Mode Agnostic". I like that.

    But it sounds like maybe she's talking more about breaking a plateau than starvation mode. Starvation mode doesn't keep you from losing weight, it simply slows it by slowing your metabolism.

    I think I am a non-believer that simply upping calories will break a plateau. I suspect that most people sho say they break a plateau by eating more increase their workouts. It simply makes no sense that burning the exact same amount of calories while eating more calories will cause you to lose more weight.

    Reducing calories and/or increasing exercise is also the advice of the Mayo Clinic for breaking a plateau. Though they do warn not to drop below 1200 calories per day.
  • btdublin
    btdublin Posts: 250 Member

    This. People need to read some peer reviewed, scientific journals before making false statements. The human body is an amazing and complex system. I recall a study on starvation mode that showed lean muscle mass was only burned after body fat percentage reached <5%.
    I doubt that.
    Cite the study.

    there you go

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/68/3/599.full.pdf

    BOOM! Good call, makes sense too. I am still at 30% fat so not too worried!
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    I guess I'll come out with it: I think "starvation mode" is silly.

    I watched a documentary about anorexia and the doc (world-renowned researcher too) explained "starvation mode", saying there is some truth to lowered calories and poor weight loss because of a "crashed" system (he didn't put it quite like that). However, he said the body burns fewer calories than expected at certain low calorie levels, not that it stops altogether and actually conserves (which is what I've typically heard from SM proponents). From an endocrine standpoint, fat cells may indeed conserve fat in response to lowered fat/calorie intake but it wont last long. When faced with "lose muscle" vs "lose fat", the body will prefer fat if it's available. It wont stop releasing glucose from muscles but it will reduce that release - the "conservation of metabolism" factor.

    I have a conspiracy that "starvation mode" is a plan to keep the 1st world fat so we'll survive armageddon.

    This. People need to read some peer reviewed, scientific journals before making false statements. The human body is an amazing and complex system. I recall a study on starvation mode that showed lean muscle mass was only burned after body fat percentage reached <5%.
    I doubt that.
    Cite the study.

    there you go

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/68/3/599.full.pdf
    The cited study admits that restricted diets stifle metabolism.
    That's what I said earlier.
    As for lean body mass cannibalism, that happens EVERY TIME YOU LOSE ANY WEIGHT.
    You always lose muscle.
    You can't lose weight and have it only be fat.

    Where is the world did you get that?
    You said " I recall a study on starvation mode that showed lean muscle mass was only burned after body fat percentage reached <5%"
    Anyway, you have lost all credibility with such an absurd claim.
  • That's interesting. I've participated in a study that showed that lean muscle mass is burned if complex carbs are not present when working out.

    Which one is right?

    =)

    This is the typical, frustrating result of many studies (I'm a science major). For a visual example of your question, think about a circle. That circle is "the human body". Now, picture a small box within the circle. That small box represents the factors that were manipulated for the particular study of the human body. It leaves quite a bit of circle left over! That's the frustrating part - scientists can't possibly control all variables, but we can chase the rabbit down the hole so to speak. One might conclude from the study that humans need oatmeal before working out if they want to maintain their lean...but is that really the bottom line? What constituents are in oatmeal that make it so valuable? What might the body be preferring over muscles? What are muscles, then? What is the body taking from muscles when oatmeal isn't ingested pre-workout? Critical thinking is required to get a real conclusion. From what has already been established from other studies and physical research, muscles (proteins, actually) can be converted to glucose. Interestingly enough, carbohydrates provide glucose. And the brain "eats" glucose. So, maybe the bottom line is glucose for working muscles? Then there are the rest of the questions - what's the best source of glucose, how much glucose, etc. etc.

    It appears as though the conclusion may be more along the lines of: "the body needs more glucose during exercise" than "working muscles need carbohydrates to function during exercise". So it might have very little to do with what you eat - just as long as you have enough glucose in your system when you workout.
  • DQMD
    DQMD Posts: 193
    I will admit that I keep my exercise to a moderate level. Like there is no spin class, aerobics, or biking right now. It is 40-45 minute every other day on a machine. I wear a HRM and that tells me the calories I burn..not the machine.

    I am planning on transistioning no matter what weight I am at in April. I will continue to lose weight as I ramp up my exercise and fitness.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    You asked for a study, there you have it. Note how this study (including a very welcome re-analysis of data from the Minnesota Starvation Experiment) proposes a correlation between fat stores and metabolic rate.
    The extent to which fat mass and FFM depletion were determinants of the change in adjusted BMR (total thermogenic economy) was then examined during the dynamic phases of weight
    loss (S12) and during weight recovery (R12). As shown in Figure
    2, the change in adjusted BMR plotted against the deviation in
    body fat revealed a positive relation both during the dynamic
    phase of semistarvation and at the end of restricted refeeding: the
    greater the percentage reduction in body fat, the greater the
    reduction in adjusted BMR and hence the greater the total thermogenic economy.

    So, maybe it's not weight loss per se that is a factor in what is taken to be "starvation mode" on these messageboards, it's fat loss. I see a lot of deprecating comments about how one shouldn't be "skinny fat", and I see women striving for body fat percentages that are - in my opinion - too low. Then, when they refeed, fat is the first thing they'll gain.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    Bro, you're addressing someone else. Please show some civility. Thank you.
  • JennC831
    JennC831 Posts: 628 Member
    I don't believe that eating very little can make you GAIN weight, but I have found that eating very little was counterproductive. Weight loss was painfully slow, and losing so much muscle mass meant that I looked heavier and flabbier than I was.

    Eating more, my weight loss was on target (If I ate to lose a half pound a week, that's what I lost), I kept my lean muscle mass, and I'm much smaller at the same weight. Eating under 1000 calories a day, I was a size 8 at 130#. Eating around 2000 calories a day, I'm a size 2 or 4 at 130#. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/449570-mfp-mythbusters-losing-weight-fast-exercise-calories-girl


    This woman here is such an inspiration.... I love her story and how she lost weight... She's fit, not skinny and she gets to enjoy food... This is the level of fitness I'm trying to achieve... Sure, I'd lose weight at first eating 1200 calories or less, but who want s to survive on 1200 or less calories for the rest of their life??? Not me...

    To each their own... Do what works for you... For me I'm looking at long term habits that I can maintain a lifetime...
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    I don't believe that eating very little can make you GAIN weight, but I have found that eating very little was counterproductive. Weight loss was painfully slow, and losing so much muscle mass meant that I looked heavier and flabbier than I was.

    Eating more, my weight loss was on target (If I ate to lose a half pound a week, that's what I lost), I kept my lean muscle mass, and I'm much smaller at the same weight. Eating under 1000 calories a day, I was a size 8 at 130#. Eating around 2000 calories a day, I'm a size 2 or 4 at 130#. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/449570-mfp-mythbusters-losing-weight-fast-exercise-calories-girl
    This woman here is such an inspiration.... I love her story and how she lost weight... She's fit, not skinny and she gets to enjoy food... This is the level of fitness I'm trying to achieve... Sure, I'd lose weight at first eating 1200 calories or less, but who want s to survive on 1200 or less calories for the rest of their life??? Not me...

    To each their own... Do what works for you... For me I'm looking at long term habits that I can maintain a lifetime...
    People might just need to go down that road of self-sabotage before reason invades their senses.
    You want to eat below 1000 calories per day?
    GO FOR IT!
    If you want lasting, healthy results, follow the MFP recommendations.
    It's just that simple.
  • For pretty much anyone on this thread:

    A lot of my confusion about "starvation mode" was put to rest when I picked up a couple of biochemistry texts and found the chapters on ketosis and starvation. Regardless of diet, what actually happens during starvation? Check your library or Google books for biochem texts and read up on it. Anyone has access to it - find the facts.

    Studies are not always conclusive. Physical science (biochemistry and physics) usually is. I'd go with the physical science first, just saying.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    This was in the comments of an IF article at Mark's Daily Apple. I thought it was interesting.

    The decrease in absorption and production of testosterone would be after hunger for well more than 72 hours to the order of weeks. Unfortunately people have allowed semantics to cloud the issue.

    When we are hungry we say we are starving because we feel ravenous. In reality this is just somatic hunger which has little to do with our actual needs, just a time conditioned digestive tract trigger. The real hunger is limbic, real hunger effects energy production and has real noticeable physical costs other than grumbling stomachs (which are meant to be a conditioning response to make you eat.) Note that stomach grumbling vanishes within 2 to 30 minutes and will not return for hours sometimes (till your next conditioned eating window).

    Now I mention this because medically, starvation is what you found in the survivors of Auschwitz. Their bodies were literally feeding on themselves. Starvation is what you see in those pictures and videos of famine in Africa. Starvation is what you see in a long term anorexics. This often requires weeks and months to achieve. When starvation is reached, everything that is said about “famine mode” is true. In real terms your metabolism will not slow down until you have gone approximately 72 hours without food. Intermittent fasting is at most 24 hours (though I’ve heard of 48 hours periodically).

    If you are doing intense work then you will need a few more carbs than usual. Remember that the fasting depletes some of the natural dangers of carb overload (just don’t gorge), but it also depletes the muscle. as my trainer proved to me one day. If you haven’t eaten in 24 hours and your workout is suffering… it’s all in your head, and you need to stop making excuses to yourself. Evolutionarily speaking, it makes little to no sense for the body to slow down in the early part of hunger or even famine. it needs to speed up because, that is when you need the most energy, most desperately to hunt.

    Another approach is the eat stop eat approach which is just 2 24 hour fasts a week. You won’t even notice those and can plan your workouts around the other 4 days you are eating if you feel you cannot bring it on a fast day.

    When you come out of a fast, eat a regular meal, don’t eat a whole day’s supply of food. That is a pointless exercise.

    Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/feast-or-famine-diet/#ixzz1l936Yoe0
  • The thing is...being on a calorie restrictive diet of any kind IS putting your body into starvation mode, to some degree, and it didn't take me too long to find that little fact in the literature about the myth of starvation mode. Google, or Google Scholar (if you want references) were pretty good places to start!
  • gypsybug
    gypsybug Posts: 106 Member
    I think there is plenty of evidence out there in the forms of "study" after "study", articles, opinions and brochures ad nauseum. It is child's play to find something to support the argument either for or against the so-called starvation mode. For whatever it's worth, my opinion is that the actual term itself causes the controversy.

    To me, starvation mode is a condition where you are unable to provide your own body with basic sustenance. In other words, you really are a starving person who does not know where his/her next meal is coming from and you spend your waking hours trying to obtain it. Period. If you are able to afford the luxury of an internet connection where you can access a site and log your food eaten, it's unlikely you are enduring this situation.

    In the case of someone trying to learn the ropes of weight loss and giving different things a try, I believe it is possible to mess up your metabolism. It's a changeable thing, and it reacts to what you provide, by either revving up and stoking the fires or banking them and dropping down low.

    Perhaps a change in terminology is called for. Rather than calling it "starvation mode" when used in the context of a dieting plateau, maybe it's more of a "CONSERVATION mode." Just a slow down of the old metabolism, not actual starvation.

    2 cents spent.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    EdD,

    Just read your profile. Amazing results - "half the man I was"!
    Very impressive.

    Did you find starvation mode was a problem when you were starting out and much higher BF %? I.e. where you eating much more when you were much bigger (say 2400-3000 cals NET per day) as supposed to or did you just drop straight down to 1500 cals NET?

    I understand you must do alot of exercise to be still eating 3400 cals per day now but what is your NETs?

    Cheers

    Thanks and no not at all in the beginning but realize when I started I weighed 560 lbs, and was consuming over 6000+ calories a day. I was eating at McDonalds everyday (3 big mac's, 2 large fries, and a large shake) and that was a wait til my wife left for work and I waddled out to my truck and ran to the drive through) I did crap like that without blinking so when I finally had that AHA moment and met with my doctors and my dietician (I am a type 2 diabetic) we set my calorie intake at 2500 calories and roughly 240 grams of carbs a day and the first 4 weeks I drop 11, then 8, then 4, then 5 and finally crest off at 2 to 3 lbs. a week from there on. I could barely walk in the beginning so I had to do aquatic therapy for the first 1 1/2 years til I drop over 175 lbs. and was able to start getting out of the water and onto land base exercise. But in the beginning no absolutely no problems with plateau's and/or starvation mode, that all started about a year ago well after 230 lbs. lost mark... It started when my exercise had increased and i wasn't eating past my BMR because I thought why eat back those calories, isn't that why I just burned them up to lose weight... But after struggle for months I finally started working with a sport nutritionist and he told me I have to start fuel my body and at first that was really hard for me to grasp because I spent a couple years eating at a deficit to lose and now this guy wants me to eat more to lose but as soon as I gave into the idea within 2 weeks my metabolism fired back up and I was back to losing 1 to 2 lbs. a week... Heck my weigh in is tomorrow and as of yesterday I was down to 261 lbs. ( that would put me at 299 lbs. lost and 32 months into this journey pulling a 4 lbs. weightloss for this past week) so for me anyway this is working....... Thanks again................
  • I think there is plenty of evidence out there in the forms of "study" after "study", articles, opinions and brochures ad nauseum. It is child's play to find something to support the argument either for or against the so-called starvation mode. For whatever it's worth, my opinion is that the actual term itself causes the controversy.

    To me, starvation mode is a condition where you are unable to provide your own body with basic sustenance. In other words, you really are a starving person who does not know where his/her next meal is coming from and you spend your waking hours trying to obtain it. Period. If you are able to afford the luxury of an internet connection where you can access a site and log your food eaten, it's unlikely you are enduring this situation.

    In the case of someone trying to learn the ropes of weight loss and giving different things a try, I believe it is possible to mess up your metabolism. It's a changeable thing, and it reacts to what you provide, by either revving up and stoking the fires or banking them and dropping down low.

    Perhaps a change in terminology is called for. Rather than calling it "starvation mode" when used in the context of a dieting plateau, maybe it's more of a "CONSERVATION mode." Just a slow down of the old metabolism, not actual starvation.

    2 cents spent.

    Brilliant.
  • Collinsky
    Collinsky Posts: 593 Member
    I don't necessarily believe in "starvation mode" as people talk about it here... but I absolutely 100% believe that if you go on a diet that is too calorie restrictive, that if you ever start eating at a normal amount (like, what you're supposed to eat) then there is a "bounceback" where you tend to regain that weight, plus more besides. Whatever the reason for it, it happens over, and over, and over. Long term health, and long term weight loss, matters more to me than trying to lose everything really quickly... so I'd rather take a slow and steady approach and avoid the risk of gaining back my weight plus extra when I'm done with my "diet."

    Everyone's situation is different, but having seen it happen so many times, to so many people, makes me think it's more the rule than the exception.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    On the topic of getting into conservation mode and desiring to get back out to full healthy burning BMR.

    Don't be fueled by the link name, btw.

    http://www.exrx.net/Questions/StarvationEffect.html

    A similar case study was published by Jampolis (2004). A 51 year old patient complained of a 15 lb weight gain over the last year despite beginning a strenuous triathlon and marathon training program (2 hours per day, 5-6 days per week). A 3 day diet analysis estimated a daily intake of only 1000-1200 Calories. An indirect calorimetry revealed a resting metabolic rate of 950 Calories (28% below predicted for age, height, weight, and gender). After medications and medical conditions such as hypothyroidism and diabetes where ruled out, the final diagnosis was over-training and undereating. The following treatment was recommended:

    Increase daily dietary intake by approximately 100 Calories per week to a goal of 1500 calories
    32% protein; 35% carbohydrates; 33% fat
    Consume 5-6 small meals per day
    Small amounts of protein with each meal or snack
    Choose high fiber starches
    Select mono- and poly- unsaturated fats
    Restrict consumption of starch with evening meals unless focused around training
    Take daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement
    Perform whole body isometric resistance training 2 times per week

    After 6 weeks the patient's resting metabolism increased 35% to 1282 Calories per day (only 2% below predicted). The patient also decreases percent fat from 37% to 34%, a loss of 5 lbs of body fat.

    So her BMR went up over 300 calories. Each and every day. 2100 calories of free burn had been lost each week at the lowered BMR level.

    6 weeks to get out, wow. But even during that time, lost 5 lbs weight, and a greater part of it fat.
  • On the topic of getting into conservation mode and desiring to get back out to full healthy burning BMR.

    Don't be fueled by the link name, btw.

    http://www.exrx.net/Questions/StarvationEffect.html

    A similar case study was published by Jampolis (2004). A 51 year old patient complained of a 15 lb weight gain over the last year despite beginning a strenuous triathlon and marathon training program (2 hours per day, 5-6 days per week). A 3 day diet analysis estimated a daily intake of only 1000-1200 Calories. An indirect calorimetry revealed a resting metabolic rate of 950 Calories (28% below predicted for age, height, weight, and gender). After medications and medical conditions such as hypothyroidism and diabetes where ruled out, the final diagnosis was over-training and undereating. The following treatment was recommended:

    Increase daily dietary intake by approximately 100 Calories per week to a goal of 1500 calories
    32% protein; 35% carbohydrates; 33% fat
    Consume 5-6 small meals per day
    Small amounts of protein with each meal or snack
    Choose high fiber starches
    Select mono- and poly- unsaturated fats
    Restrict consumption of starch with evening meals unless focused around training
    Take daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement
    Perform whole body isometric resistance training 2 times per week

    After 6 weeks the patient's resting metabolism increased 35% to 1282 Calories per day (only 2% below predicted). The patient also decreases percent fat from 37% to 34%, a loss of 5 lbs of body fat.

    So her BMR went up over 300 calories. Each and every day. 2100 calories of free burn had been lost each week at the lowered BMR level.

    6 weeks to get out, wow. But even during that time, lost 5 lbs weight, and a greater part of it fat.

    Encouraging to see there's still hope for people who have been regularly underfeeding themselves. The body is pretty amazing, I say.
  • ^^^ Good illustration and study! The body is so adaptable - that's why starvation "mode" strikes a strange note with me. There are definitely responses of the body to starvation but I think "mode" should be replaced with something more fitting ("effect", "response", "dynamic").

    Eating fewer calories...I'm not even sure that it necessarily means the body is truly "starving". If restricted conditions are low but low enough for the body to adapt to (even 950 calories in the case of this study), the individual wouldn't be "starving", per ce, because their cells ARE making use of their resources and have simply lowered their demand...I would think the individual could continue to live on ~950 calories and may even seem/be healthy because of cellular adaptation. Am on the right track or just running in circles?

    I always thought true starvation was lowering energy so much that the ultimate end was death by catabolism :huh:
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    Starvation "mode" and actual "starvation" are NOT the same thing. Starvation "mode" is when your body begins to adapt to the reduced caloric intake. It always happens when you eat at a deficit. BUT, it is generally only harmful when the intake is much too low (less than 50% of needed calories-ie: VLCD) AND happens for long periods of time (weeks or months). The "mode" indicates a a "condition of functioning", ie: an overall change in metabolism, that of conservation...why do people ignore that part of the phrase?
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Instead of calling it "Starvation Mode," how about "Compromised Metabolism?" That's what underfeeding did for me.
  • minnesota_deere
    minnesota_deere Posts: 232 Member
    starvation mode is another gimmic created by people who want to keep you fat so they can put more money in there pocket from the products they sell.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Eating fewer calories...I'm not even sure that it necessarily means the body is truly "starving". If restricted conditions are low but low enough for the body to adapt to (even 950 calories in the case of this study), the individual wouldn't be "starving", per ce, because their cells ARE making use of their resources and have simply lowered their demand...I would think the individual could continue to live on ~950 calories and may even seem/be healthy because of cellular adaptation. Am on the right track or just running in circles?

    Not circles, correct.

    Her concern was why had she gained 15 lbs despite working out so much, and couldn't lose it.

    So that is what can happen on "conservation mode" living.

    BMR was lowered so much by big calorie deficit, that despite those low numbers, it appears whenever she took the chance to eat more, her body kept it, and it appears kept it as fat, and refused to give it up.

    I'm sure during that year she was probably not always eating 1000-1200. Either part of the year higher, or perhaps it was totally a few splurge weeks. I'm sure she had to get sick with that much training and undereating. 1 sick week of eating more could easily add 3-4 lbs to an underfed body. Or she had discouraged weeks and splurged, on it went.
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    starvation mode is another gimmic created by people who want to keep you fat so they can put more money in there pocket from the products they sell.

    That's blatantly false
  • YukonJoy
    YukonJoy Posts: 1,279 Member
    scientists have proven that if you dont eat for 3 day/72 hours your metabolism starts to slow. thats starvation mode kicking in, the study also concluded that your metabolism didnt slow at all in the first 3 days in fact i think it said it went up as your survival mode kicks in which means you actually need to go get food! certain hormones are released to give you that energised feeling
    i believe many people dont track truly what they are eating. ohh that looks like 100g of rice, when actually it was closer to 140 now do this on most things you home prepare and it mounts up! also i believe people that dont lose, but i think more then likely they are dropping lbs of fat of slowly and replacing them slowly with muscles. your body has so many muscles in it and most people dont have all of them to a descent level. i certainly dont.
    the muscle gains would purely be newbie gains for actually making the muscle work.

    Omg I heart it so much when people say "scientists say/have proven" and don't back up their statement with research links.

    It's so awesome. :flowerforyou: Go you.
  • I'm still Starvation Mode Agnostic....

    .....


    I have been on about 1200-1400 per day net since 1st Jan and am still losing well. I feel like i'd be surprised if I plateaued, it seems counter-intuitive, but we shall see.

    ^^^this is exactly my stance on the matter...if i end up plateauing, and can't break it, then my view might change if upping the calories a bit ends up working. but for now, time will tell!!
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