"Starvation mode", exercise calories, dillema?

funkycamper

Just want to say thanks for yet another excellent, educational post, Banks.

Polly758

Starvation mode makes me think of Audrey Hepburn, who suffered from malnutrition during her childhood (during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands) and was damaged to the extent that she had to give up a career in ballet.

I mean she turned out alright But her being very skinny makes me think of women who want to be like her and don't realize she was literally starved as a child.

SHBoss1673

You're very welcome guys. I really appreciate all the great comments.

SHBoss1673

I had never heard the term "starvation myth" until I saw this post. But I was so put off by the third paragraph that I didn't want to read the rest - mainly because paragraph 3 was so combative and judgey.

So I googled "starvation myth" and found out some really interesting information.

I liked this post - http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html

So many opinions on this but as we are often told, we must do what we think is right for ourselves.

And she basically backtracks that post with this one:
http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2012/07/mythbusters-starvation-mode-revisited.html#more

In other words, she admits that too low of calorie eating over a long enough of a time frame to get you to a loss of 10% will kick you into Famine Mode. Same thing as Starvation Mode.

So your link to her post is moot as any kind of oppositional evidence.

Yes, I find this post rather amusing since it's pretty much a reversal of her prior post. Although some of her information is purely anecdotal (which she admits) and not what I follow as a plateau pattern (and how to avoid it). Also she completely dismisses weight gain possibilities while in starvation mode. She acknowledges that the metabolic rate lowers while in starvation mode but doesn't account for someone eating what they THINK is still a deficit but is actually more than their lowered metabolism (thus weight gain would be possible even if you eat above what your metabolic rate WOULD be if your body were reacting normally).

chicbuc

Excellent information that I would love to slap some people upside the head with...er...I mean I wish everyone would read this.

suzu_2

REALLY Good post - and as it happens a very timely wake-up call for me. I just logged on this morning looking for advice because I have staarted losing hair at an alarming rate... wonder what else I am losing that is less obvious. Think I will up my calories and pay more attention to the protein and fats in my diet.

jerber160

bump

SHBoss1673

REALLY Good post - and as it happens a very timely wake-up call for me. I just logged on this morning looking for advice because I have staarted losing hair at an alarming rate... wonder what else I am losing that is less obvious. Think I will up my calories and pay more attention to the protein and fats in my diet.

just be aware that yes, hair loss is a tell-tail of a metabolic shutdown (early stages) but is also a symptom of various other issues as well. I don't know your situation, so can't make any comments (I'm not a medical professional anyway, and really can't even begin to diagnose these types of issue).

Side note, as I mentioned in the original post, going from extremely low calories, to something approaching maintenance WILL cause weight gain unless it's handled very slowly (over the course of many weeks or even two or more months), so don't be discouraged if this happens. Usually in the situation of extreme starvation mode I tell people to gradually "reset", then give it a month to settle before trying again. Yes I realize this can mean 2 to 3 months of little or no weight loss, but the alternative is fighting not only health issues, but long term weight fluctuation as well. Compared with that, 2 or 3 months is nothing.

oursong1812

Bump

Lyra89

Great post! So can somebody tell me how much I should be eating based on this?

BMR = 1400.

I'm 23, 5'5 female, work out about four times per week for 1 hour & am lightly active.

SandiBren

bump

Losing2Live69

WAY TOO LONG! THE ADD IN ME IS NOT CAPABLE OF READING LONGS POSTS LIKE THIS! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL WAS IN YOUR POST, BUT I DO KNOW THIS IS A SUBJECT THAT HAS BEEN BEAT TO DEATH AND APPROACHED FROM EVERY POSSIBLE ANGLE.

aewalk07

Amazing post! Thank you for sharing all of your knowledge, you should post this in a blog! I know the woes of starvation mode all too well. I began my journey on MFP last March, as you can see I have only lost 8 louds, I am STILL trying to reset my metabolism. I was eating 1000 calories sometimes under somtimes only 1200 a day back in March. I was exercising and seeing no results. I met with a detician and wellness person at work and changed everything. Went up to 1500 calories, gained some weight when I changed it, then lost, then hit the wall. Just increased my calories two weeks ago to 1750. this week i am up in weight again. It is discouraging, but I know it is part of the process. I know I need it to fuel my body. Sometimes you can't focus on calories so hard, even though that is what we are trained to do esp. by logging our calories everyday and staying under or hitting the goal. It's OK!!!!! I just want to be healthy, I want to lose weight, and I want to kick my metabolism in the butt, come on! I'm working so hard and I am ready to see the results, and I am willing to do whatever I need to do to get my body out of starvation mode.

shellsie_j

Bump

arleneechocim

So help me out here, I have calculated my TDEE. So how many calories less should I be eating to loose some weight?
Thanks

SHBoss1673

Great post! So can somebody tell me how much I should be eating based on this?

BMR = 1400.

I'm 23, 5'5 female, work out about four times per week for 1 hour & am lightly active.

I could try to estimate a best guess. As long as you are aware that it would be a guess only, and that tweaking may (probably) will be needed because no 2 people are the same.

that said, you would need to give your weight (and any other numbers, like body fat % if you have it, waist, hip,chest measurements would be helpful, medical considerations I.E. any issues that would effect metabolism...etc).

SHBoss1673

So help me out here, I have calculated my TDEE. So how many calories less should I be eating to loose some weight?
Thanks

you need to put your numbers up to do this, weight, height, activity level, medical conditions, body fat % if you have it, measurements, workout schedule would be helpful as well. Basically anything that even peripherally effects your metabolism is important when designing an initial plan.

myraknits

I'm proof that starvation mode exists. I lost close to 60lbs the right way by eating rougly 1400 calories and doing moderate exercise. When my weight loss slowed I began eating 1200 calories and burned 800 6 days a week (only netting 400). I became obsessed with the scale and the numbers that it showed. With all that hard work I only dropped only 10lbs. This struggle continued for about four months and then I noticed my hair was thinning, I was extremely tired, and my period had stopped. I realised this was abnormal and that I should not be going through such a struggle to get healthy. So about a month ago I ate more. I made sure to net at least 1200 cals a day and gained (wait for it) 12lbs in less than two weeks! Then I upped my calories to NET at 1400 two weeks ago and now I've finally stopped putting on weight. I feel so much better and have way more energy. A few months ago I went to see a dr and she said my TSH levels were on the low side and borderlined the normal range. Last week I had more blood drawn and it showed a massive improvement in my TSH levels (T3 and T4) Thank you, Banks, for bringing this informative and scary realisation to the attention of MFPals.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy weight loss!

This is very scary and enlightening at the same time. I've been on MFP about 5 months, never eating back cals and usually way under my allotted cals (around 1000) While I lost quite a bit quickly, my weight has plateaued and my instinct is to eat less. Now I realize that I need to eat more, based on this info (Thanks Banks!) But the fear of putting on weight has me stuck in a vicious cycle. If I up my cals to 1200-1400 a day it sounds like I'll add on all the weight I just lost. But if I don't up my cals I'll be in Starvation mode (or might be already.) I'm so confused as to how to do this properly without a huge initial gain. Maybe eat an extra 100 cals a day and up it slowly over a few weeks?? What do you suggest. I would find it more than a little discouraging to pack on lbs now after a lovely loss.
Thanks in advance!!!

thriftycupl

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I've been working on this weight loss thing for over 9 months, started with low carb/high protein moved to low calories and after reading many posts after a long plateau, I've finally figured this out. I took the time to search out information on this site which is what put me moving in the right direction. I have many MFP friends who still stick to the 1200 cals that MFP sets for them and can't fathom eating more. I wish more people would take the time to read up on all of the great information this site has to share.

Thanks again!

running_shoe

Thanks for the time you put into this. It's really disheartening how much bad information there is out there.