starvation mode myth

MinkyMoo13

The Starvation Myth
The idea that "not eating enough" causes the body to stop losing weight because it goes into "starvation mode" is a popular myth among dieters.
Article By: The Weight Watchers Research Department

If you're going to post stupid ****, at least post pictures of kittens or something.

I second the kittens suggestion. I want to see kittens.

I'm also after Kittens in this thread..

grassette

Myth or not - my weight was stuck at exactly the same weight for three weeks whilst I was eating 1200 cals a day and working out, just increased calories to 1400 & lost a couple of pounds, no cheating or fiddling the figures I followed the same plan and had upto 200 cals extra a day.

No idea why it worked but it has

I have had the opposite problem. When I increased from 1200 to 1600, I stopped losing. Now that I'm back to 1200+, I started losing again at the rate of 1 lb per week. I think that there are a lot of factors that go into it.

Age: Health Canada recommends that seniors eat 1600 cals per day.
Activity level: if you sit all day, you don't need all those calories.
What you eat: you can eat empty cals at 1200 per day and be starved all the time, or you can eat foods that take a long time to break down and nourish you over a longer period.
Frequency of meals: I find that when I eat 6 times per day on 1200 calories that I'm not as hungry as when I eat only 3 meals per day. This is actually what I need to do because I have a condition called GERD, where the recommendation is to eat no big meals but evenly spaced out little meals all day to control stomach acid. I'm finding that this is also keeping my blood sugar levels up so that I am not crashing as often. (The joke around the family is "time to feed mom" because I really lose it when I do).

1a1a

I think the crux of this starvation mode thing is not in how effectively you lose whilst 'in it' but how rapidly you put weight on once you start eating a more normal amount again.

Elizabeth_C34

sorry ....I can't buy into the notion that 1500 calories is "severe" dieting . ( unless you burn 2000 calories EXERCISING per day )

I knew I was going to get some resistance. we all need crutches sometimes....smile more....it uses 2 calories

1500 calories is very low for a man or someone who is severely obese.

magelan

just to add to the controversy


"Calorie restriction without malnutrition[1] has been shown to improve age-related health and to slow the aging process in a wide range of animals"

"CR is one of the few dietary interventions shown to increase both median and maximum lifespan in a variety of species,"

LorinaLynn

Years ago, I ate under 1000 calories a day and lost weight. I started at 150 pounds and eventually got down to about 130 pounds. I don't remember how long it took, but it was slow. At my goal weight, I was a size 8.

More recently, I ate around 1800-2000 calories a day and lost weight. I started at 160 pounds and got to 130 pounds in about seven months. An average of about one pound a week. Felt great the whole time. At my goal weight, I'm a size 2 or 4. My waist and hips are about two inches smaller each than they were last time I was at this weight.

So tell me... how is eating more calories a crutch?

I obviously ate in a calorie deficit both times, or I wouldn't have lost weight. Except that the first time, I had a large calorie deficit and recently, a smaller calorie deficit. The smaller deficit worked better.

MinkyMoo13

I'm in a rut at the mo as i starved myself for months and lost a stone then i went into a binge/starvation cycle and am now overweight! Now i have managed to control the binges but am still restricting and not loosing anything. In fact I don't think i've ever looked this fat! i eat approx 600 cals a day. I'm thinking from reading this i need to up this and my metabolism should kick in and i should start to lose? I go to the gym 4-5 times a week and have done so for the last 6 weeks but still haven't lost anything. I try and burn a minimum of 300 cals a session at the moment just cardio but will be throwing weights into the mix from this week also.

L00py_T0ucan

I hate the phrase starvation mode. I prefer to call it "sure, you'll still lose pounds, but a disproportionate amount will be from muscle mass so you'll look a lot worse when you get to your goal weight than you would have if you ate a little bit more and weren't so focused on the damn scale, not to mention that you're training your body to survive on a small amount of food, so you're going to be stuck 'dieting' just to maintain a healthy weight" mode.

But it's a bit wordy.

^ well said.

btw - cool progress ticker. i'm sure you feel as fantastic as you look. :drinker: i mean that in a non-creepy way :flowerforyou:

MinkyMoo13

LorinaLynn Your ticker is really cool! Good for you. you look so toned as well!

dinosnopro

just to add to the controversy


"Calorie restriction without malnutrition[1] has been shown to improve age-related health and to slow the aging process in a wide range of animals"

"CR is one of the few dietary interventions shown to increase both median and maximum lifespan in a variety of species,"

when posting quotes the best thing to put with them is......


links....















links........


















links.

thecazstewart

Jokes! I upped mine and started to lose again too. 1200 is too little, body is not getting fuel, so it stalls.

Weight Watchers makes money off keeping people fat. Lose 1 lbs eating our crap food? Sweet! Gain 2 lbs? Your fault. Eat more of our food and come to more of our meetings. BTW, your fees are due. Pay me.

Totally agree.

bumped

Peer-reviewed and unbiased scientific studies say otherwise. I'll trust them over WW.

BlondeToast

Jokes! I upped mine and started to lose again too. 1200 is too little, body is not getting fuel, so it stalls.

Weight Watchers makes money off keeping people fat. Lose 1 lbs eating our crap food? Sweet! Gain 2 lbs? Your fault. Eat more of our food and come to more of our meetings. BTW, your fees are due. Pay me.

What she said!

ladyraven68

I'm in a rut at the mo as i starved myself for months and lost a stone then i went into a binge/starvation cycle and am now overweight! Now i have managed to control the binges but am still restricting and not loosing anything. In fact I don't think i've ever looked this fat! i eat approx 600 cals a day. I'm thinking from reading this i need to up this and my metabolism should kick in and i should start to lose? I go to the gym 4-5 times a week and have done so for the last 6 weeks but still haven't lost anything. I try and burn a minimum of 300 cals a session at the moment just cardio but will be throwing weights into the mix from this week also.

You already recognise that 600 is too low, so well done for trying to change..

There is no easy way to say this but when you increase your calories, you will gain a little weight initially but it will mainly be water weight from the replacement glycogen. http://www.justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/
Don't panic when it happens and drop straight back to 600, just give it a little longer.

What are you planning to increase it to?

Have a look here - work out your BMR, your TDEE (to get your current figures not your future goal figures just put your current weight as your goal weight) and then deduct 15-20% from the TDEE they give you.

Good luck. :flowerforyou:

Escarda

I'v noticed that starvation mode, does exist, but it works in the opposite way that people think.

People think that when you enter starvation mode you stop loosing weight.
But thats not the case, the less you eat, the more you loose.. And i know that is an unhealthy way to look at things, but people who suffer with things like anorexia, eat hardly anything and just keep loosing weight..
Whereas if you where a tiny size, and you ate your 1,200 calories a day to avoid starvation.. At best you can hope to stay the same weight.

But i have seen starvation mode, in the way that:
You dont stop loosing weight, but when you start eating normally again, you pile on the pounds..
And i also know this from having anorexic friends.. Iv seen them eat hardly anything, and the weight just melt away..
And then they start to make progress to become healthy, and eat more.. And because there like metabolism and stuff is so shot, ever little thing they eat will just be stored straight as fat..
And thats one of the reasons its so hard for anorexia to recover..

Its also the reason why "fad" diets, dont work.. Because you can loose pounds and pounds on these things, but at the end of it when you go back to eating normally, you will just pile back on the weight, and maybe more..

So when you eat below a certain point, yes you will get starvation mode, BUT it will only effect you if you increase the food you consume.. If you stay eating that amount, the weight will just continue to melt off until you hit a plateau..

twinlaced

Either way you're going to lose weight starving? In starvation mode your body starts using the nutrients it receives in different areas. Instead of growing hair on your head, it grows on your body, or works to keep your muscles. Starvation eats fat as fuel. If you binge eat after that though, you're going to gain quick. And yeah, I've noticed like half of the people on these forums think like 1000 calories = starvation mode. Lmfao. Derp. Wronggg, starvation would be lower. I don't care what any doctor says, I don't think it's about calories, I think it is about nutrients.

JulieDerda

I think we are all on the right path on what we are saying but what has been shown also is you can be on a reduced caloric diet, strength train, lose body fat and actually gain some muscle in the process. We only lose muscle if we do not use our bodies and do not strength train.

The mantra "use it or lose it" exists with our bodies pretty much. When the body is challenging by lifting even on reduced calories it has no choice but to get stronger over time.

What is dieting anyways??? I can eat 3000 calories and say that I am dieting... I can eat 3000 calories and say I am starving which clearly unless your at 5% body fat and compete your likely not to be starving. I can also eat 1500 calories and be stuffed to the maximum does that mean I am starving if I can't eat more? What do I do stuff myself until I explode just to get in what some dumb calculator tells me to eat?

We all seem to children in here when it comes to this starvation mode stuff. Clearly none of us eating 1200 calories or whatever you may be eating is not in starvation mode unless your doing large amounts of exercise, lack sleep, are under stress and eat a crappy diet every day.

thank you I totatly agree/ w/ you.
I also think that when they use the term starvation mode> Im pretty sure (but not certain) that they are refering to the people that eat only 900 calories a day and exercise.

Toddrific

Doesn't starvation mode basically change where the body searches for energy? I'm guessing most people are trying to lose weight for health and aesthetics which is not going to work if you are cannibalizing muscle.

Captian_Dathon

Eating very little will cause you to lose weight. Guys, this is obvious, plain and simple, it happens.
But eating very little is NOT the way to lose weight. I'm sure you guys are smart enough to understand that starving is not a proper weight-loss method.

Marley112586

I just asked my Dr. about this. She said it is true to some degree. BUT you have to be going under calories for quiet a while before that happens. She said alot of people think that because they have been dieting at 1000-1200 calories per day and suddenly they hit a normal plateau and they think its starvation mode. She said yes upping your calories will get you loosing again but so will lowering your calories. Its all about shocking the body. It takes a very long time to enter into starvation mode. She also said its just not a bright idea to do that because then when you go off your diet(given you have quiet a bit to loose and youve been restricting your calories for a while) your body will then be used to a lower number of calories and you will not be able to eat 2000-2500 calories a day and stay the same weight.