Starvation mode is a myth, so why do we keep saying it exist
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I don't care how any of these fools choose to eat.
I average 2000 calories a day, 44 years old, 4 kids, 5'4, 130#, athletic bodyfat%, I can squat 100# and kick their starving scrawny arses in spin, on the road cycling, paddleboarding, basically doing anything. OH, and my hair is fabulous.
Excuse me while I finish my 500-calorie breakfast.
*WINNING* :laugh:
Classic.0 -
I believe that starvation mode exists and the science is there to back it up. However - I also believe it's a widely used term, especially on this site. If you skip a few meals you will not go into starvation mode.0
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Opus649 that was brilliant. thank you.
:drinker:0 -
Is there really a need to "show off" what you think people are jealous of?
"winning"? no i think more so you just need attention
Now who's rude?0 -
I was eating 1200 and lost nothing for 3 months!!!! Needless to say how frustrated I was. Then I read here that I have to up my calories and calculated an amount that gave me a higher calorie goal. I started on that and guess what?!!! I started putting on a lot!!!! of weight.
Now I eat 1000 calories a day and started losing weight like crazy. So, no I don't believe in that either!
What happened to you is EXACTLY what the impact of a metabolic slowdown does0 -
Sarauk if I lose weight and don't hit a plateua does that prove that there is no metabolic damage? I'm not being facetious but what does that say about me? I really must be a freak.I was eating 1200 and lost nothing for 3 months!!!! Needless to say how frustrated I was. Then I read here that I have to up my calories and calculated an amount that gave me a higher calorie goal. I started on that and guess what?!!! I started putting on a lot!!!! of weight.
Now I eat 1000 calories a day and started losing weight like crazy. So, no I don't believe in that either!
What happened to you is EXACTLY what the impact of a metabolic slowdown does0 -
I don't care how any of these fools choose to eat.
I average 2000 calories a day, 44 years old, 4 kids, 5'4, 130#, athletic bodyfat%, I can squat 100# and kick their starving scrawny arses in spin, on the road cycling, paddleboarding, basically doing anything. OH, and my hair is fabulous.
Excuse me while I finish my 500-calorie breakfast.
*WINNING* :laugh:
Is there really a need to "show off" what you think people are jealous of?
"winning"? no i think more so you just need attention
She is not showing off - just making a point
Well I am not jealous of the 2000 calories as I eat that too (I am also 44) - but very jealous of the fabulous hair.....0 -
An excuse for what?"Starvation Mode" Is an excuse....Everyone is different do what works for you! I did the research to. It is difficult to budge you metabolism to such an extreme.0 -
Eating more? complaining? why there is no weightloss? the economy?
An excuse for what?"Starvation Mode" Is an excuse....Everyone is different do what works for you! I did the research to. It is difficult to budge you metabolism to such an extreme.0 -
I am eating 1100 calories with a periodic day of 1300 or so, but I am also 4'11". I can't really believe that 1100 is too low for me.
I'm also under 5ft and losing on 1600. Your height doesn't stop you working out your real TDEE and losing weight with a sensible deficit.
I'm sure some people don't think they are doing this right unless they are feeling deprived.
LadyRaven, did I read your profile right in that you started a few months ago at 189? Your weight has more to do with how much you can eat than your height. I really do believe that for someone with my combination height and weight (5'0, 119), it is ok for me to eat 1200 most days, that I am meeting my body's needs. My BMR is below 1200 calories, and even at the highest activity setting, MFP still recommends 1350. (And I am nowhere near a construction worker or whatever it was. )
Not sure why you think your BMR is under 1200 - both these sites have it at over 1300, and maintenance calories for a 4ft11 22yr old, weighing 112lbs are more like 1500.
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
What does MFP say your maintenence calories are?0 -
There is enough real science, trainers and nutritionists out there that with a little research, everyone should be able to make up their own mind. Nothing being said here will change any minds, and I do believe all of our bodies are so different that we can never be 100% sure how each of us will respond to huge caloric deficites. That being said....good luck. I wouldn't lie and say I didn't think the odds are against you if you want to drop cals dramatically, thay I think you'll lose muscle tone, drive, stamina, and a myriad of other things, but what can I say to convince you otherwise? Good luck.
Not everyone responds to a calorie deficit the same way, which is why you have such variances in anecdotal evidence (on top of the fact that we people cite their own experiences, they are often wrong about what exactly "caused" their "effect").
Some people show little or no decrease in resting metabolism, others can see a notable decrease.
In addition, it has been shown that, people who reduce their calories often reduce their overall activity level. This also occurs when people begin exercise programs. Those people end up offsetting much of the effect of their calorie deficits because they decrease energy output.
And lastly, some people take a long time to effectively respond to a diet/exercise program--usually due to their overall hormonal response.
Because of these and other variables, the whole topic of "starvation mode" usually turns into an elaborate exercise in tail-chasing (which unfortunately doesn't burn as many calories as you'd think.).0 -
Sarauk if I lose weight and don't hit a plateua does that prove that there is no metabolic damage? I'm not being facetious but what does that say about me? I really must be a freak.
Depends how you go about it, if you had a moderate calorie deficit and didn't hit a plateau it means you where at a good deficit. If you cut down to lets say 500 calories and didn't plateau... well you will. Everyone plateaus at a specific weight, people don't just dissapear to infinity.
The 500 calorie thing works, because even if your metabolism has slowed down to a grinding hot lets say 800 calories, you're still eating below that.
People who have alot of excess fat are not going to be having a BMR of 800 calories/day just because they eat too little calories. Before they get anywhere near that, they would feel so terrible they'd go off the diet anyways. Why is it that in metabolic wards people don't plateau like they do on MFP?
Yet on MFP we have these amazing cases of people who do 5 days of week of intense exercise and eat 1200 calories and aren't losing weight. So what their BMR is now 700 calories and they burn only 500 in an hour workout each day.
I think more realistically, people underestimate intake and overestimate expenditure. Or they don't understand the concept of water retention.0 -
Sarauk if I lose weight and don't hit a plateua does that prove that there is no metabolic damage? I'm not being facetious but what does that say about me? I really must be a freak.
Depends how you go about it, if you had a moderate calorie deficit and didn't hit a plateau it means you where at a good deficit. If you cut down to lets say 500 calories and didn't plateau... well you will. Everyone plateaus at a specific weight, people don't just dissapear to infinity.
The 500 calorie thing works, because even if your metabolism has slowed down to a grinding hot lets say 800 calories, you're still eating below that.
People who have alot of excess fat are not going to be having a BMR of 800 calories/day just because they eat too little calories. Before they get anywhere near that, they would feel so terrible they'd go off the diet anyways. Why is it that in metabolic wards people don't plateau like they do on MFP?
Yet on MFP we have these amazing cases of people who do 5 days of week of intense exercise and eat 1200 calories and aren't losing weight. So what their BMR is now 700 calories and they burn only 500 in an hour workout each day.
I think more realistically, people underestimate intake and overestimate expenditure. Or they don't understand the concept of water retention.
read my post above. 2nd, it's the BMR, that's why gastric bypass, and VLCD work, they are BELOW their AMR even if their AMR is only 800 calories
Sorry you lost me here. I was really commenting on the possibility that someone with excess fat drops to a BMR of 800. No way these people on MFP who have been dieting for a month and stop losing weight on 1200 calories a day have dropped their BMR or BMR + AMR to below their 1200 calorie intake.0 -
I agree with you, I dont care how short these people are, That low of calories is too low ! And It will obviously do way more than get rid of fat, Like lose all your muscle and look like a zombie....
I eat 1200 - 1500 a day, and more on weekends. (AND WORKOUT TO LOSE THE FAT!!!! )
It works for me, If These girls are so friggen lazy thatthey have to eat no calories instead of workout to lose the fat, then they deserve whatever they get....0 -
The economy. :happy:Eating more? complaining? why there is no weightloss? the economy?
An excuse for what?"Starvation Mode" Is an excuse....Everyone is different do what works for you! I did the research to. It is difficult to budge you metabolism to such an extreme.0 -
Eh, I disagree, I've had my own personal experiences with it. I have an ED, at once point I dropped down to a few hundred calories a day and lost nothing at all and even put on a few pounds. Now I'm sure if I had continued down that path for an extended period of time, I would have ended up losing weight, but at first I definitely put some on.
it exists in extreme cases, as was posted0 -
Starvation mode is kinda how the Adkins diet works.0
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Starvation mode is kinda how the Adkins diet works.
huh?0 -
I guarantee the majority of MFP members who don't lose weight on 1200 calorie-ish diets are either 1) retaining water or 2) completely underestimating the number of calories they are eating.
I agree, great post.0 -
Starvation mode is kinda how the Adkins diet works.
huh?
Yea, the diet turns you into a fat burning machine but you can eat a lot of protein/fat.0 -
Eh, I disagree, I've had my own personal experiences with it. I have an ED, at once point I dropped down to a few hundred calories a day and lost nothing at all and even put on a few pounds. Now I'm sure if I had continued down that path for an extended period of time, I would have ended up losing weight, but at first I definitely put some on.
I had and ED as well, ate once a day if that and even when I had way more than 10% body fat. I "Starved" myslef to be thin, size 16 to 0 and weighing 97 lbs in about 3 months or so...0 -
No offense to all the people with an ED or people who beat it but it seems everytime they want to make a point they say " I had ED so starvation mode exists or they go into how they almost died. Starving yourself to the point of sickness does not make you an expert nor is it the same thing as what is being thrown out as starvation mode. Again this is not directed to discourage or take away from your pain or experience you went through but really scaring people who do not have those mental issues is a bit unproductive.Also this is mot directed at any specific person i'm just making a general observation of what i've seen on this site.0
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Who cares if it's a myth. This is semantics. The body needs fuel. The body is built to burn fuel. The body then needs refueling. I don't understand why this is so difficult to comprehend? There's no way around this. Anything else is not in the order of taking care of your body. Hey... not in order... OH, yeah, a disorder.0
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I'm not reading all the comments, but the number one rule in college was to NEVER use wiki.
Do you realize that ANYONE can write something on wiki?
ANYONE can also edit anthers post.
WIKI=crap0 -
Who cares if it's a myth. This is semantics. The body needs fuel. The body is built to burn fuel. The body then needs refueling. I don't understand why this is so difficult to comprehend?
We fatties can also supply part of the daily fuel from the fat reserves we put on eating too much fuel in the past.
Hence we don't need to put gas in the tank and the same rate as the motor burns it 'cos we're running down a big tank too.0 -
Conservation Mode or Famine Response.No offense to all the people with an ED or people who beat it but it seems everytime they want to make a point they say " I had ED so starvation mode exists or they go into how they almost died. Starving yourself to the point of sickness does not make you an expert nor is it the same thing as what is being thrown out as starvation mode. Again this is not directed to discourage or take away from your pain or experience you went through but really scaring people who do not have those mental issues is a bit unproductive.Also this is mot directed at any specific person i'm just making a general observation of what i've seen on this site.
What is a better term than "starvation mode?"0 -
Your body is extremely adaptable- if you drop your calories to an amount that the body cannot handle, it will stop burning fat because it knows that it has to preserve every bit of energy that it can get!! If you don't fuel your body right your metabolism immediately slows down as a way to keep energy levels up. Of course you will lose weight eventually, but to punish your body like that is something that isn't maintainable, and will just result in a sad and even unhealthier lifestyle in the long run!!!!0
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Seriously, stop it.
Starvation mode ("Starvation response" if you want to research it) only exists for males with 5% body fat or less and females with 10% body fat or less.
A link with cited sources:
http://fitnessblackbook.com/main/starvation-mode-why-you-probably-never-need-to-worry-about-it/
Via Wiki:
Starvation mode is a state in which the body is responding to prolonged periods of low caloric intake levels. During short periods of caloric abstinence, the human body will burn primarily free fatty acids from body fat stores. After prolonged periods of starvation the body has DEPLETED ITS BODY FAT and begins to burn lean tissue and muscle as a fuel source.
(emphasis mine).
You should eat a caloric deficit that's comfortable for you regardless of the numbers.
Agreed. I've referred to that Fitness Black Book article before. But some people want to believe what they believe.0 -
yupIf I'm not hungry, I'm not going to eat. Plain and simple. Eating when you are not hungry is a big no no, so if I'm below whatever calorie goal I may be pursuing... I don't really give a flying f**k.0 -
Yarwell thank you. That was funny and made a good point. One thing we can all agree is eat to be healthy not skinny.Who cares if it's a myth. This is semantics. The body needs fuel. The body is built to burn fuel. The body then needs refueling. I don't understand why this is so difficult to comprehend?
We fatties can also supply part of the daily fuel from the fat reserves we put on eating too much fuel in the past.
Hence we don't need to put gas in the tank and the same rate as the motor burns it 'cos we're running down a big tank too.0
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