starvation mode and VLCD

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oriel
oriel Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been wondering about this for a while and would like to get some other opinions on this.

Over the last month I have been sticking to a diet of about 1300-1400 calories and doing about 60 minutes of moderate exercise per day. I lost 6 lb rather quickly but have been losing and regaining the same 2 pounds for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Because of my average calorie deficit it's been suggested to me that my body is in "starvation mode" - that I'm not losing because my daily calorie deficit is too great so my body is holding on to whatever it can.

This is where I get confused. People who use the HCG diet or who have bariatric surgery routinely eat VLCD - very low calorie diets - and yet they lose weight pretty rapidly (on average). So why is that? If such a thing as starvation mode does indeed exist, why do people who use the more extreme weight loss methods not experience the same starvation mode symptoms? Why are they able to lose weight without adding calories back into their diet?

Replies

  • dandan1974
    dandan1974 Posts: 15
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    I think it depends on how much you have to lose? I only have about 10# to go, and I have been yo-yoing around the same 2-3# difference for a few weeks now. My trainer just told me to up my calories, eat healthy fats, eat 5-6 small/balanced meals, sleep enough and drink more water. It's uber-frustrating. If you're working out 60 minutes a day and only doing 1300 calories, you need more food. Starvation mode is really bad for your health. I think it's all relative. People who are morbidly obese (those who have to resort to the methods you mentioned) are being monitored by doctors, have a significant amount of weight to lose, and are probably on Rx or a diet plan tailored for them.
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    If you are eating 1300 calories a day, have plenty of fat on your body, and exercise for 60 minutes a day, then your body is defying the laws of physics if you aren't losing weight.

    2 1/2 weeks is not a long enough time to know what is going on because water weight can mask fat loss for several weeks.

    You should use a tape measure to check your progress because the scale isn't very reliable.
  • binkxo3
    binkxo3 Posts: 28
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    The people who use HCG and successfully shed constant lbs, tend to be a little heavier, so eating a VLCD is makes them shed it faster. Your body how ever has put its self into starvation mode What you need to do is eat more, and work out a little less.. just to get yourself over the plateau your on. You may gain a few lbs back but they should fall right off once you start at it again. Good Luck!
  • oriel
    oriel Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks for the replies. My BMI is in the obese range, I need to lose about 45 to be healthy, so I would think that my body would react in the same way as those who have a significant amount to lose (rather than those who are only trying to lose 10 or so). I guess I'll just stick with what I'm doing now and if nothing changes in the next week or two reevaluate.
  • nannigans
    nannigans Posts: 26 Member
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    I did a VLCD that was medically monitored at the Medical University of South Carolina called Health Fast. It was a very effective program and I lost 85 lbs, so it is not completely bad. However, you do need to be careful and make sure that you are being monitored in some way. The way a VLCD works is at first your body will go in to a type of starvation mode, which I am sure most people will tell you that's why you will not lose weight because the body is not getting rid of the stored fats it's trying to preserve them because you are in starvation mode. However, after doing this for several days, your body will begin burning stored fats and you will begin to see a weight loss. You will lose a lot the first couple weeks, and then you will see a steady loss after that. The diet I did was 900-1000 calories a day, and it was a great program they had group support meetings once a week, you weigh in once a week (which is great for accountability), and you learned how to eat right and read labels. As you transition back to eating a higher amount of calories they are with you every step of the way teaching you how to eat right. The meetings I think would be comparable to that of AA meetings where you discuss your food triggers and why you have became overweight and how to keep from putting it back on. I lost an average during the program of 2.5- to 3 lbs a week.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    This is where I get confused. People who use the HCG diet or who have bariatric surgery routinely eat VLCD - very low calorie diets - and yet they lose weight pretty rapidly (on average). So why is that? If such a thing as starvation mode does indeed exist, why do people who use the more extreme weight loss methods not experience the same starvation mode symptoms? Why are they able to lose weight without adding calories back into their diet?

    If you have extreme amounts of weight to lose, a VLCD will work for a time. A friend of mine had weight loss surgery a year ago. She was only on very low calories for a few months, when she had a LOT of weight to lose. And it was heavily monitored. The first few weeks, a lot of the dietary restrictions were to not irritate the surgical areas. A year later, and near her weight loss goals, she's eating about the same as anyone her size (5' tall) who's trying to lose weight on here... about 1300-1500.

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