starvation mode...or is it??

nturner612

ok so i get the whole "starvation mode" if you dont eat enough and exercise like crazy u wont lose. correct? well, hypothetically speaking, how long would this "u wont lose weight if you are in starvation mode" go on for? because say if i am stuck in the desert for oh i dont know, 1 month, but i gave a cooler with wheels (so i can drag it) filled with fruits and vegetables (hypothetically speaking they wont go bad) and i have to walk across this desert for 3 hrs a day, will i or will i not lose weight? does "starvation mode" apply to this scenerio?
*** im bored at work -

I also have tons of water to stay hydrated.

bathsheba_c

1 month does not a plateau make. If you are worried, calculate your BMR and make sure to eat more than that number of calories each day.

Basically, "starvation mode" is what prevents people from starving to death as quickly as they otherwise would. The part where weight loss becomes difficult is just one stage of a process that ends in emaciation and organ failure. In other words, your body can't keep on slowing down its metabolism forever, and you will eventually start losing weight again.

If you want to know when that happens, it's thought that all calorie reductions slow down metabolism to some extent. Where it becomes dangerous is when you aren't fueling your body enough to support basic functions, which is why you should eat over BMR (the number of calories needed daily for basic bodily functions).

Mokey41

True starvation mode doesn't kick in until you've been eating about 400 calories a day for many months. The phenomenon that travels these boards known as starvation mode is a myth.

I have no idea about the person in the desert because after 3 days with no water they'd be dead anyway.

bathsheba_c

True starvation mode doesn't kick in until you've been eating about 400 calories a day for many months. The phenomenon that travels these boards known as starvation mode is a myth.

I have no idea about the person in the desert because after 3 days with no water they'd be dead anyway.

Calories in versus calories out. Concentration camp inmates were given about 1,300 calories a day. But they were also burning 3,000-4,000 calories daily. I think we can all agree that it is therefore possible to starve to death on a 1,300 calorie-a-day diet.

This, incidentally, is why the people talking about extreme dieters on "concentration camp diets" are also nut jobs. Even though they, like me, are in favor of slower, more sustained weight loss.

DanaDark

True starvation mode doesn't kick in until the lower levels of body fat combined with excessive very low calorie diets.

What most people encounter on MFP has more to deal with malnutrition than it does starvation.

Eating is more than simply taking in calories. There are many vitamins, minerals, and amino acids (proteins) that the body simply MUST have to function properly. All these items are used in the body to perform functions that require energy in calories. So, if you do not get sufficient levels of them, then some of the functions do not get done, this means that energy is not spent.

Additionally, prolonged calorie deficits can alter hormone levels, which can make fat loss more difficult (people with thyroid issues have significant hormonal difficulties in the way).

Everything CAN be overcome by sheer force. But strong arming your way to weight loss will simply slow it down and create a host of ill health affects.

Chief_Rocka

You would lose weight. Starvation mode is nonsense.

Captain_Tightpants

When most people on mfp talk about starvation mode, what they really mean is metabolic adaption to a calorie deficit.

The bodies response to an energy deficit is to try to survive. It scavenges its own resources for the energy it needs, in the short term in the form of glycogen and in the long term by metabolising the fat stores you have.

It also does several tricky, complex, (and some not even very well understood things) so that it doesn't need as much energy to survive. One example is the release of the stress hormon Cortisol which can slow or inhibit fat loss.

So it stands to reason that the bigger energy deficit you throw your body into, the harder it will try to survive. On a VLCD, all those little metabolic adaptions can kick in and you get the counterintuitive effect of losing weight more slowly, not to mention losing lean muscle mass too. Everyone is different, some people experience slow-downs, some plateaus, some nothing at all... but it's not really a "starvation mode".

Chief_Rocka

When most people on mfp talk about starvation mode, what they really mean is metabolic adaption to a calorie deficit.

The bodies response to an energy deficit is to try to survive. It scavenges its own resources for the energy it needs, in the short term in the form of glycogen and in the long term by metabolising the fat stores you have.

It also does several tricky, complex, (and some not even very well understood things) so that it doesn't need as much energy to survive. One example is the release of the stress hormon Cortisol which can slow or inhibit fat loss.

So it stands to reason that the bigger energy deficit you throw your body into, the harder it will try to survive. On a VLCD, all those little metabolic adaptions can kick in and you get the counterintuitive effect of losing weight more slowly, not to mention losing lean muscle mass too. Everyone is different, some people experience slow-downs, some plateaus, some nothing at all... but it's not really a "starvation mode".

well said

DanaDark

Calories in versus calories out. Concentration camp inmates were given about 1,300 calories a day. But they were also burning 3,000-4,000 calories daily. I think we can all agree that it is therefore possible to starve to death on a 1,300 calorie-a-day diet.

Issue here is the fact that such activity (in calories burned total per day) more then compensates for the reduced number of calories the body no longer spends.

i.e. eating too little for too long may cause the body to spend 500 calories less, but if you are spending 3k to 4k a day, it hardly shows.

A study floating around here last week that people were citing showed a guy losing weight through controlled starvation (absolutely no food, vitamins and minerals injected and monitored daily) for about a year. Doing the math, his TDEE fell by 50% to 60%... but the daily deficit was still more than enough to offset that.

geekyjock76

People shouldn't think of it as a black and white, or point A and point B issue. It's not like your body is perfectly fine when eating at maintenance while doing moderate activity and that nothing negative occurs unless you maintain a 50% or greater calorie deficit with lots of activity for several months as is the case of the Minnesota Semi-starvation Experiment. Instead, people should research the adaptations that occur starting from day 1 and go from there. Although there aren't many studies that duplicate the aforementioned study, there are those that detail such adaptations under more realistic parameters and conditions.

Chief_Rocka

Calories in versus calories out. Concentration camp inmates were given about 1,300 calories a day. But they were also burning 3,000-4,000 calories daily. I think we can all agree that it is therefore possible to starve to death on a 1,300 calorie-a-day diet.

Issue here is the fact that such activity (in calories burned total per day) more then compensates for the reduced number of calories the body no longer spends.

i.e. eating too little for too long may cause the body to spend 500 calories less, but if you are spending 3k to 4k a day, it hardly shows.

A study floating around here last week that people were citing showed a guy losing weight through controlled starvation (absolutely no food, vitamins and minerals injected and monitored daily) for about a year. Doing the math, his TDEE fell by 50% to 60%... but the daily deficit was still more than enough to offset that.

What's your definition of "starvation mode?"

DanaDark

What's your definition of "starvation mode?"

Actual starvation mode is the body's last ditch resort to prolong life when body fat is at incredibly low levels while calories are also at excessively low levels.

What most people think of on MFP when they say/hear "Starvation Mode" is the metabolic adaptation that occurs based on hormones (which are affected by macro content, stress levels, etc.).

Mokey41

Most people on MFP are not in nor ever will be in anything close to starvation mode (I'm saying most because we may have a couple anorexics here that are close). There are people in Africa in starvation mode. People in concentration camps were in starvation mode. If you have weight to lose you are not in starvation mode. The average North American has no idea what starvation mode looks or feels like. I've been to Africa and there are people there living on a 1/2 cup of rice per day or two. They could tell you want starvation mode is. You aren't in it.

dynad

thought you would also lose muscle which is BAD

DanaDark

Most people on MFP are not in nor ever will be in anything close to starvation mode (I'm saying most because we may have a couple anorexics here that are close). There are people in Africa in starvation mode. People in concentration camps were in starvation mode. If you have weight to lose you are not in starvation mode. The average North American has no idea what starvation mode looks or feels like. I've been to Africa and there are people there living on a 1/2 cup of rice per day or two. They could tell you want starvation mode is. You aren't in it.

Aye. Actual starvation mode is practically unseen in North America.

Variances in metabolic activity affecting daily burned calories is significantly more common.

anaju61

Agree with you Mokey41. People here have no idea what starvation mode is and will never know.

Mokey41

And I hope that they never do have to experience it. While in Africa the only overweight people we saw were either white or very wealthy. Being obese is considered a sign of having so much excess you can afford to waste food. I have a whole different view of what I eat and how much since returning. I see people here eating enough at one meal to feed a family there for a week.