Starvation mode is a myth, so why do we keep saying it exist

jenlarz

Oh my, what did we do before wikipedia......

Did your sources that say it's ok to drop to whatever level of calories also tell you that going below 1000 calories a day should only be done under medical supervision because of other potential health complications ?

Perhaps the term "starvation mode" does get overused but the fundamental science behind recommending a minimum of 1200 cal a day for women and around 1500 per day for men is sound. Extreme diets fail for 90%+ of dieters using them as they do not encourage the adoption of healthy eating habits that can be sustained for a lifetime.

Before wikipedia people didn't have a site where they could list what they want as fact and people believe its actually an encyclopedia.

watboy

Someone could say what you are posting is misleading and to keep it to yourself. I happen to agree with the OP so I don't feel mislead. And yes with freedom comes responsbility so just think I disagree with your view point so can I then say you are being irresponsible because I think your point is invalid and misleading? My point in short we should all be able to post our different views and let individuals decide.

OP: So what do YOU think is a good healthy, safe, deficit?

Its no about what she thinks is right for everyone, i think she knows whats right for herself and thats what she will continue using, Not everyones body is made the same way so what she thinks is good and healthy might not be for someone else.

If that is the case then why she is telling everyone to "stop it, seriously"? Honestly we are all here to improve our lives & posts like this can mislead many people & of course you got to expect a lot of argument from lots of people. Sometimes it is better to keep things to yourself than to mislead the entire community. Just because that one works for you it doesn't mean that it can be applicable to anyone. Yes I know this is internet & there is freedom of speech BUT freedom comes with responsibility.

ladyraven68

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. )

Yes, I started at 189, but even then MFP gave me 1200 calories. It was too low for me.
Even if I increase MFP to the highest settings it still doesn't think I can lose weight at 1600.

It's trial and error, people need to find their own number not just rely on what MFP spits out .

Also, people need to remember that whatever MFP does spit out, does not include exercise so if you exercise, that 1200 easily becomes 1500-2000.

signgrrrl

"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.

watboy

thank you Mylana I agree.

OP: So what do YOU think is a good healthy, safe, deficit?

Its no about what she thinks is right for everyone, i think she knows whats right for herself and thats what she will continue using, Not everyones body is made the same way so what she thinks is good and healthy might not be for someone else.

If that is the case then why she is telling everyone to "stop it, seriously"? Honestly we are all here to improve our lives & posts like this can mislead many people & of course you got to expect a lot of argument from lots of people. Sometimes it is better to keep things to yourself than to mislead the entire community. Just because that one works for you it doesn't mean that it can be applicable to anyone. Yes I know this is internet & there is freedom of speech BUT freedom comes with responsibility.

With all the people on here that makes posts about how you should be upping your calories why cant she put her two cents in on how its not always right for everyone ?

watboy

Opus649 that was brilliant. thank you.

Eating less than your body requires WILL reduce your METABOLIC RATE. This is NOT DISPUTED.

True, any calorie deficit will result in a slower metabolism, the majority of which is caused by a lower body weight. Less mass (lean or otherwise) burns less calories. Without a calorie deficit, though, you can't lose weight. If you want to weigh 50 pounds less, you have to accept that you won't be able to eat as much at your new weight.

Extreme calorie deficits lower it even further...

Can you cite any scientific study that demonstrates the extent of adaptive themogenesis is directly correlated to the size of calorie restriction? I have been unable to find one.

I hope everyone understands that if you lose weight, you also lower the number of calories required to maintain your new body weight. It doesn't matter how slowly you lose it. A 200 lb person simply requires more calories than a 150 lb person. What is at issue is whether or not quick weight loss results in an "extra" drop in metabolism over slow weight loss. To date, I have yet to see a single scientific study that demonstrates such a difference (not saying there isn't one, just that it's not currently "undisputed").

sleepytexan

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. )

Yes, I started at 189, but even then MFP gave me 1200 calories. It was too low for me.
Even if I increase MFP to the highest settings it still doesn't think I can lose weight at 1600.

It's trial and error, people need to find their own number not just rely on what MFP spits out .

Also, people need to remember that whatever MFP does spit out, does not include exercise so if you exercise, that 1200 easily becomes 1500-2000.

You can customize your daily calories: choose GOALS, CHANGE GOALS, CUSTOMIZE GOALS, then enter whatever you want as your daily calorie intake.

That's the only way I can set mine to 1850. MFP thinks 1850 is a gain for me, but in reality I am maintaining eating bt 1850 - 2271 (my TDEE) each day, even rest days.

sabinecbauer

^because **** like this happens when you eat under 1200 cals a day for a long period of time. i also havent had my period for over a year because i decided to get restrictive so.....yeah. my body pretty much was shutting down from the lack of cals.

Probably because you were below 10% body fat...but what I think OP is saying that people on this site misuse that term constantly and by no means is there a magic caloric number you need to meet everyday just a general one. If you can slow your metabolism so dramatically by always being below your BMR how come your can't speed it up by eating 4000 calories... genetics play a bigger role in your metabolic rate than your diet.

You don't have to be below 10% body fat for this to happen, and it doesn't take long for it to happen either. As a teenager I was put on a severe calorie deficit under medical supervision and on medical advice (sadly, 30+ years ago doctors still thought this was the miracle cure for childhood obesity). What I got out of it was a short-term weight loss (regained everything and more within a few months), pitifully thin hair, and chronic hypothyroidism, which makes it incredibly difficult to lose weight now.

BalenciaLynn

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

Sabine_Stroehm

OP: So what do YOU think is a good healthy, safe, deficit?

Its no about what she thinks is right for everyone, i think she knows whats right for herself and thats what she will continue using, Not everyones body is made the same way so what she thinks is good and healthy might not be for someone else.

I agree. But she's telling folks what not to do and think on the topic, so I'm curious what she thinks is good for herself and others to do. Seems like a logical question.

union410

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.

lizziebeth1028

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.

opus649

Opus649 that was brilliant. thank you.

:drinker:

MomOfJoey

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?

Sarauk2sf

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 does

watboy

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 does

Sarauk2sf

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.....

Sabine_Stroehm

"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.

An excuse for what?

watboy

Eating more? complaining? why there is no weightloss? the economy?

"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.

An excuse for what?

ladyraven68

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?