The starvation mode lie

mcarter99

Who cares if it does or does not exist.

I don't care what you call it but I was NOT losing weight on 1200 calories a day. I tried for over a year and I was not over estimating my food etc. I've been in the weight loss game since I was 12 and have always struggled, including having an ED and not losing then either.

I weigh and measure out all of my food.

As soon as I upped my calories to 1800 I lost 6 lbs. I plateaued again and upped to 2000 and I have started losing again.

I am not alone in this. There are thousands of people on this board who experience the same thing, not losing on 1200 but up the calories and start losing again. How do you explain this?

I haven't really seen thousands claiming they lose more on higher calories. I've seen a handful, and also a handful saying when they eat more they gained. And a handful saying they do fine on what makes other people certain we're starving.

I ate about 100 under BMR for the past 5 weeks, which turned out to be about 800 average 'net' (not that I pay any attention to 'net'). I lost 9 lbs. or an average of 1.8 lbs/week. Where is my starvation response? My hair is fine, my energy is fine, my digestive system is fine, I don't feel deprived or bingey, my macros are fine, I eat a large volume of nutritious food. I feel great knowing in 2-3 months I'll be back at goal and I can THEN eat at 1900 calories. I don't need to practice it now. Though I have full respect for those who take a different tack.

missjessica482

I actually read somewhere that someone 500 lbs or more could literally not eat for like 6 months and survive, as long as they had sufficiant amounts of water, because their body had so much fat to "live off of"

not that i would recommend that lol

caraiselite

I actually read somewhere that someone 500 lbs or more could literally not eat for like 6 months and survive, as long as they had sufficiant amounts of water, because their body had so much fat to "live off of"

not that i would recommend that lol

yes, a man didnt eat for over a year, (drank water, took vitamins and stuff) and dropped to 180 or so.

EternalJourney

Well I hope I am not in starvation mode I lose about 1.5 lbs a week and exercise daily. Dont count my calories. Just praying I am eating enough but I eat about 5 small meals a day..

Bobby_Clerici

Who cares if it does or does not exist.

I don't care what you call it but I was NOT losing weight on 1200 calories a day. I tried for over a year and I was not over estimating my food etc. I've been in the weight loss game since I was 12 and have always struggled, including having an ED and not losing then either.

I weigh and measure out all of my food.

As soon as I upped my calories to 1800 I lost 6 lbs. I plateaued again and upped to 2000 and I have started losing again.

I am not alone in this. There are thousands of people on this board who experience the same thing, not losing on 1200 but up the calories and start losing again. How do you explain this?

Wonderful progress.
You are a testament to the truth some go to great lengths to deny. And you know what?
Let them make themselves miserable failures on some crash diet. People wise to the realities of healthy, lasting fat loss know better.
Again, congratulations on your success :flowerforyou:

who said they fail?

I didn't, hundreds of others have not, all of whom were on 1200 calories per day, did not plateau, did not go into any starvation mode.

It's boring and not fun.
That's a fail in my book. I want to live life and do what easiest - not make the process miserable.
You're stronger than I am but maybe not as much fun.
Who do you think ate better?
Anybody, feel free to view my diary. I eat VERY WELL while others like this poster exist off 1200 calories...:laugh:
Which menu looks better and more sustainable?

DaveneGfit

I have noticed for my body if I up how many calories I eat I actually start to loose weight. Plus I think we focus too much sometimes on how many calories we should be taking in, when really we should on focus on what we are eating. The thing that has made the biggest impact in my life is avoiding all processed food and really getting back to basics. To be honest I really don't count my calories as much any more because I am taking in whole foods such as veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and fruit. I use to be really over weight and have tried so many stinking diets over the years, but it wasn't until I changed my perspective and gave up dieting that I actually started to see changes. It has been a life long journey, but I am so thankful that I found an answer.

Bobby_Clerici

MFP has me at 1200 calories per day.

Yes, and you are to eat back your exercise calories - according to MFP
If you are going to cite the program, don't be selective in your interpretation. MFP expects you to eat back your exercise calories and net 1200. And I suspect you set your goals for 2 lbs of weight loss per week which is NOT what MFP recommends.
Am I correct?

wackyfunster

I actually read somewhere that someone 500 lbs or more could literally not eat for like 6 months and survive, as long as they had sufficiant amounts of water, because their body had so much fat to "live off of"

not that i would recommend that lol

yes, a man didnt eat for over a year, (drank water, took vitamins and stuff) and dropped to 180 or so.

Longest I have seen is 384 days at 0 cal, with 262 pounds lost.

EternalJourney

I have noticed for my body if I up how many calories I eat I actually start to loose weight. Plus I think we focus too much sometimes on how many calories we should be taking in, when really we should on focus on what we are eating. The thing that has made the biggest impact in my life is avoiding all processed food and really getting back to basics. To be honest I really don't count my calories as much any more because I am taking in whole foods such as veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and fruit. I use to be really over weight and have tried so many stinking diets over the years, but it wasn't until I changed my perspective and gave up dieting that I actually started to see changes. It has been a life long journey, but I am so thankful that I found an answer.

this is how I feel as well. I don't count calories, I don't eat crap, I just eat small healthy meals 5x a day and the weight is coming off. Granted I am still 253 lbs and have to get to 195ish, but I hope it will continue if I keep doing what I am doing.

caraiselite

I actually read somewhere that someone 500 lbs or more could literally not eat for like 6 months and survive, as long as they had sufficiant amounts of water, because their body had so much fat to "live off of"

not that i would recommend that lol

yes, a man didnt eat for over a year, (drank water, took vitamins and stuff) and dropped to 180 or so.

Longest I have seen is 384 days at 0 cal, with 262 pounds lost.

yep, probably the same guy,

FlaxMilk

Yes, and you are to eat back your exercise calories - according to MFP
If you are going to cite the program, don't be selective in your interpretation. MFP expects you to eat back your exercise calories and net 1200. And I suspect you set your goals for 2 lbs of weight loss per week which is NOT what MFP recommends.
Am I correct?

My impression is that you *can* eat back your exercise calories, not that you have to. And MFP sets me at 1200 no matter what, at .5 lbs or 2 lbs, so for some people, the deficit being built in is not always the case, because MFP won't go lower than 1200. The highest MFP puts me at is 1330 calories, and that's if I was at the highest activity level, which I don't come close to, with or without exercise.

Bobby_Clerici

Yes, and you are to eat back your exercise calories - according to MFP
If you are going to cite the program, don't be selective in your interpretation. MFP expects you to eat back your exercise calories and net 1200. And I suspect you set your goals for 2 lbs of weight loss per week which is NOT what MFP recommends.
Am I correct?

My impression is that you *can* eat back your exercise calories, not that you have to. And MFP sets me at 1200 no matter what, at .5 lbs or 2 lbs, so for some people, the deficit being built in is not always the case, because MFP won't go lower than 1200. The highest MFP puts me at is 1330 calories, and that's if I was at the highest activity level, which I don't come close to, with or without exercise.

Sorry, if you're following MFP recommendations, you eat them back. Period.
And you set your goals for 1 lb per week.
If not, you're on some other program, so do whatever.
It really just doesn't matter.
I do wish you luck. And maybe you might want to take a peek at my food diary and see how it could be for you following the MFP methodology.
I eat a lot and love every bite.
LIFE IS TO BE LIVED, but again, good luck to you :drinker:

photojunkie28

I don't know about the term starvation mode, but I can offer my own personal experience on my crazy weight loss journey.

At the beginning of the year I started to count calories in efforts to lose weight. I was not on MFP and did not educate myself on how to safely go about it. I thought to myself that 1200 sounded like a good number and that was how many calories I was going to eat (despite my maintanence intake right now at 32 lbs lighter than I was then is 2400 before exercise. I weighed 212 at the time. I did lose weight at first, AND FAST too. Just as fast as I got going I stalled, switched techniques and types of foods and started again...then stopped losing all together.

I have currently not lost any weight in almost 3 months. I am very physically active and count my calories religiously. I bought a HRM so I KNOW what I am burning at work/exercising.

That being said...I know my body was starving because I started working my way up to my proper calories (which was extremely difficult) because my body held on to ALL the food I gave it. I was so full and bloated constantly even eating only 1600 calories out of my 2400. I actually gained 5 lbs at first and am now back to my original weight yet eating 1200 cal MORE THAN I did when I was trying to lose weight.

This week after 6ish weeks of building my calories back up and feeling stronger than ever before at my workouts I am starting my calorie cutting again at a nice slow healthy pace. In short, I am overweight and yet believe I went into starvation mode for a while where I lost muscle and energy.

Maddy19994

I absolutely and totally agree that it is an untrue lie!! read this article on it : http://www.crudefitness.com/gimmicks/starvation-mode-your-body-will-starve-and-youll-lose-all-your-muscle/

This guy knows what he is talking about..the body doesn't reach starvation mode, if there even is such a thing until the fat level in your body is under 5%!! I don't think many of us have that problem!

FlaxMilk

Sorry, if you're following MFP recommendations, you eat them back. Period.
And you set your goals for 1 lb per week.
If not, you're on some other program, so do whatever.
It really just doesn't matter.
I do wish you luck. And maybe you might want to take a peek at my food diary and see how it could be for you following the MFP methodology.
I eat a lot and love every bite.
LIFE IS TO BE LIVED, but again, good luck to you :drinker:

I allow myself to eat them back if I want them but don't force it when I don't. It says "If you eat within your calorie limit," and that phrase suggests to me that it is a range, not a single number.

But I could set my activity level to the highest to account for exercise, not eat back additional calories, and still be set below what I would be eating 1200 + exercise calories on the lowest setting. I'm nowhere near a construction worker, and even with my weekly exercise, I'd be nowhere near the true highest activity setting.

tajmel

All I know is that if I under eat for a few days I feel fine, but eventually I feel tired, irritable, and slow witted. The idea that the body initially compensates but eventually just slows down processes to conserve energy makes sense to me, if for no other reason than that I have experienced it. I also stop losing weight once this feeling happens. One way I'm happy and losing weight, the other way I'm miserable and stagnating. I know what my choice is.

MadiRose2

So yes, please explain how my metabolism slows down if I stop eating and am classified as obese?

It's called adaptive thermogenesis.

Which is a theory related to supposed genetic set points related to weight gain in those who have lost weight.

I must have missed the pictures of the folks in Auschwitz who held onto all their fat and kept saying the scale just wouldn't budge.

Again, in the extremely obese your bodily functions have set energy costs that cannot be reduced beyond a certain point, period. Starvation mode does not happen unless you have zero excess body fat to consume for energy. Adaptive thermogenesis is a theory that loves to get trumped up by folks who hit weight loss plataeus or just don't have the persistince to keep at it.

I love you. Someone else FINALLY agrees that starvation mode is bull if you are average sized-heavy.

pudpud24

Its somewhat true.When you eat to little your body starts to thinks it will not get any more calories to burn so it holds on to part of the fat in your body.The term used here is incorrect because you would have to be alot under your calorie goal for your body to actually go into starvain mode.:noway:

Bobby_Clerici

Sorry, if you're following MFP recommendations, you eat them back. Period.
And you set your goals for 1 lb per week.
If not, you're on some other program, so do whatever.
It really just doesn't matter.
I do wish you luck. And maybe you might want to take a peek at my food diary and see how it could be for you following the MFP methodology.
I eat a lot and love every bite.
LIFE IS TO BE LIVED, but again, good luck to you :drinker:

I allow myself to eat them back if I want them but don't force it when I don't. It says "If you eat within your calorie limit," and that phrase suggests to me that it is a range, not a single number.

But I could set my activity level to the highest to account for exercise, not eat back additional calories, and still be set below what I would be eating 1200 + exercise calories on the lowest setting. I'm nowhere near a construction worker, and even with my weekly exercise, I'd be nowhere near the true highest activity setting.

fine...whatever...
Maybe you have more willpower. I am WEAK!:bigsmile:
I need to EAT! I love fabulous foods and am unwilling to give anything up.
I think MFP is geared to those of us who just love to eat but still want to lose the weight.
Again, best of luck to you.

FlaxMilk

Thanks

It's worked well and I'm near my goal weight. Once I get there, I'll probably be more likely to play around with maintenance + exercise calories. But for me, the more I eat, the more I want to (over)eat. Not really about willpower--for me, my willpower decreases as I eat more. But most days 1200 is enough. The days it isn't, I just eat more. And most exercise days I eat more like 1500, but that isn't every last calorie my exercise log says I "earned."