Dispelling the myths- Starvation Mode

Brandei

http://voices.yahoo.com/starvation-mode-dispelling-myths-2900886.html

I really just wanted to share this link I found since I have seen so many people ask if they are eating too few calories (will they gain weight, etc). I have been in quite a plateau myself for a year and just recently was able to lose again (2 lbs). I was worried maybe I wasn't eating enough, but this simply isn't true.

Follow the MFP calorie setup and you will be fine . At a high-level, as long as you are eating, your body won't enter starvation mode.....

Aspiring_Inferno

It's like you read my mind. I was concerned about that. Thank you so much for the reassurance.

Brandei

Sure thing Aspiring /\ /\
I feel assured

cedarghost

A few things I read in that article:

"Furthermore, starvation diets tend not to give your body enough nutrients. Did you know a potassium deficiency can cause a heart attack? Not something you want to play around with. That being said, if you drop below your calories for a day, you don't have to fear a dead metabolism and rapid weight gain."

"Firstly, starvation mode is not something that kicks in automatically. If you skip a day of eating, your body is not going to freak out and drop your metabolism to a slow crawl. Starvation mode kicks in after continuous fasting or severe calorie restriction, usually longer than a week, but at least 3 days"

"Sources
The Biology of Human Starvation, University of Minnesota Press, 1950""

So I'm not sure what your point is, other than wanting validation that VLC diets are ok. I assume when you say "I feel assured", that you mean you feel assured VLC diets are ok?

Sorry, I am confused, but the article, in fact says "for a few days to a week" with no adverse effects. And is backed with no more support than one text published in 1950.

Bobby__Clerici

... the article, in fact says "for a few days to a week" with no adverse effects. And is backed with no more support than one text published in 1950.

1950 was a great year for diet research....:smokin:

MissTD

Not true!!! if you eat 1200 cals, but burn 600, you will NOT lose & you could posibly gain. It happen to me. Doesnt work and it took me a minute to get my system back to working for me and not against me! DONT DO IT!!

txbutterfly69

I don't understand posts of people not being able to eat enough calories or must eat very low calories. If you eat healhty food and incorporate avocados, nuts, peanut butter, olive oil, etc. you will always eat your calorie goals and never be under. Plus its the good high calorie food.

I found that the less I eat, the more I gain or don't loose. When I start eating more, I start loosing. Eat more to loose more. Healthy choices though, not fast food high calorie food.

Mokey41

"Firstly, starvation mode is not something that kicks in automatically. If you skip a day of eating, your body is not going to freak out and drop your metabolism to a slow crawl. Starvation mode kicks in after continuous fasting or severe calorie restriction, usually longer than a week, but at least 3 days"

It takes a lot longer than a week or 3 days. You may be malnourished but you won't be in the dreaded starvation mode. When you get to next to no body fat, your body is eating muscle to survive and you develop a bloated belly then maybe you can call it starvation mode. That takes months of severe undereating to achieve.

daybehavior

Not true!!! if you eat 1200 cals, but burn 600, you will NOT lose & you could posibly gain. It happen to me. Doesnt work and it took me a minute to get my system back to working for me and not against me! DONT DO IT!!

And so it begins...

TriShamelessly

Here's something a little more recent...http://www.livestrong.com/article/458832-signs-symptoms-of-starvation-mode/ There should still be some cause for concern.

toaster6

The information is correct. People seem not to understand starvation. You have to take in less than half of your BMR for a prolonged period of time before you go into starvation mode. Going into starvation mode will mess up your metabolism, right along with everything else about your physiology, but you will continue to lose weight. There is nothing you can do to your metabolism that will overcome such a huge caloric deficit-- you'll never see a fat corpse with it's cause of death listed as starvation. If you read this and think I am advocating a starvation diet please work on your reading comprehension. Just to be clear though: STARVING YOURSELF IS BAD! DO NOT DO IT!

txbutterfly69

Based on your pictures, you don't need to loose!! Don't go by the scale numbers as your seem to have good muscle definition. Weighing less doesn't make you healthier. I say forget about scale numbers and focus on getting strong and healthy. If your muscles are getting larger, so will even the measuring tape numbers show larger numbers...but its muscle, not fat.

People need to stop obsessing over the scale and focus on how strong and healthy they are. You could weigh 100 pounds and be an anorexic wimp or weigh 140 pounds and be a strong woman.

blackmantis

Doesn't sound like he "Dispelling the myths" more like confirmed them and if you were at a plateau for a year then this article should have been a wake up call.

neanderthin

The link is talking about adaptive thermogenesis, it's a survival response from the old days when we couldn't get out of the cave because that sabre tooth tiger was waiting for his dinner to stroll by, so our metabolism slowed down so we could out wait the furry feline.

fraser112

Not true!!! if you eat 1200 cals, but burn 600, you will NOT lose & you could posibly gain. It happen to me. Doesnt work and it took me a minute to get my system back to working for me and not against me! DONT DO IT!!

almost almost 2/10

1stday13

That has always been a debate within myself because there are so many different opinions. What I believe, is ask your Doctor. Me personally, I trust what he tells me and go by that. ( sidebar, I have had the same doctor for 25 yrs, he was fresh out of med school )
He is also the one that recommended MFP to me several years ago :happy: He likes calorie amount MFP set for me , I am usually under it, he said thats ok) I also take multi vitamins, and a couple others he recommends. Good Luck. Hey thanks for tb\he link, I went and read it

1stday13

Not true!!! if you eat 1200 cals, but burn 600, you will NOT lose & you could posibly gain. It happen to me. Doesnt work and it took me a minute to get my system back to working for me and not against me! DONT DO IT!!

And so it begins...

& so it did :laugh: By the time I finished my post ( there were only 4 above me (counting the poster :laugh: ) it was a full blown debate :laugh: I don't think they are even on same topic! It has evolved into a physics debate :laugh: Sit back & enjoy !!!

cedarghost

You can build muscle fast by eating two to three times over your TDEE, so really no need to worry about muscle loss from undereating. Just get that weight off as fast as you can. :smokin:

Brandei

A few things I read in that article:

"Furthermore, starvation diets tend not to give your body enough nutrients. Did you know a potassium deficiency can cause a heart attack? Not something you want to play around with. That being said, if you drop below your calories for a day, you don't have to fear a dead metabolism and rapid weight gain."

"Firstly, starvation mode is not something that kicks in automatically. If you skip a day of eating, your body is not going to freak out and drop your metabolism to a slow crawl. Starvation mode kicks in after continuous fasting or severe calorie restriction, usually longer than a week, but at least 3 days"

"Sources
The Biology of Human Starvation, University of Minnesota Press, 1950""

So I'm not sure what your point is, other than wanting validation that VLC diets are ok. I assume when you say "I feel assured", that you mean you feel assured VLC diets are ok?

Sorry, I am confused, but the article, in fact says "for a few days to a week" with no adverse effects. And is backed with no more support than one text published in 1950.

I just wanted validation that my lack of weight loss wasn't because I was eating too few calories. I stick to the MFP calculations and usually always even eat back my exercise calories. I never eat less than 1200 per day. I'm simply trying to figure out why I've been in a plateau for so long (over a year). I believed I could rule this one out due to my internet findings. Other sources said that same and were not from 1950.

Also, I am fairly content with my current weight, but still have struggled to meet my goal. maybe my goal is too low?

HIITMe

how much excess body fat is a HUGE factor in whether or not you will go into starvation mode


Someone with 40 BMI will NEVER go into starvation mode, the body will get energy from the fat reserves... someone with 22% BMI can go into starvation mode after about 3 weeks of not enough caloric intake.....but it doesnt take much effort to knock it back into losing mode if thats the choice

Midnight_Sunshine

"Sources
The Biology of Human Starvation, University of Minnesota Press, 1950""

1950. HA.

blinkiii

This is all very fascinating, but I do have one question...

Say you do enter starvation mode. For about a month you've been eating around 900 calories a day. Your metabolism slows down. If you start to eat normally again, will your metabolism return to its healthy state?

Brandei

Doesn't sound like he "Dispelling the myths" more like confirmed them and if you were at a plateau for a year then this article should have been a wake up call.

I have followed MFP and eaten 1200 calories a day consistently. So is MFP wrong then? If so, why do you use it?

Brandei

"Sources
The Biology of Human Starvation, University of Minnesota Press, 1950""

1950. HA.

BTW- this was one source!!

Brandei

This is all very fascinating, but I do have one question...

Say you do enter starvation mode. For about a month you've been eating around 900 calories a day. Your metabolism slows down. If you start to eat normally again, will your metabolism return to its healthy state?

You can return your metabolism to a healthy state

cedarghost

Also, I am fairly content with my current weight, but still have struggled to meet my goal. maybe my goal is too low?

now that makes sense and is very likely. You aren't happy, but are at a healthy weight. Concentrate on what you see in the mirror. Maybe work on body composition and ignore the number on the scale.

Hadabetter

People in comas burn more than 600 calories a day. What are your credentials for dispensing nutrition advice?

Not true!!! if you eat 1200 cals, but burn 600, you will NOT lose & you could posibly gain. It happen to me. Doesnt work and it took me a minute to get my system back to working for me and not against me! DONT DO IT!!

geekyjock76

First of all, for those knocking the date of cited study, the Minnesota Semi-starvation Experiment, every study on the topic done since has yielded similar findings even if done on more obese subjects. Thus, to this date, results from VLCD studies remain consistent with those of that famous experiment.

With that said, rather than getting caught up in the term "starvation mode" and looking at blogs for answers, I recommend reading scientific literature from places such as Pubmed and JCEM to recognize the actual compensatory mechanisms and responses the author of this blog briefly mentions. Doing a search for "calorie restriction" will bring up a plethora of research on those online journals.

I will, though, clarify a point which she referenced from the study.

The men in the Minnesota Semi-starvation Experiment actually did reach a point at the end when they no longer lost weight, regardless of how Dr. Keys manipulated their food intake. Additionally, a few of them did in fact gain weight due to being allowed to drink an unlimited amount of water which caused severe edema.

I'm going to end my reply with this:

People shouldn't look at the occult changes that occur in the body akin to a trip from New York to L.A. - in that nothing significant happens until they reach L.A. Compensatory mechanisms and responses such as lowered RMR and leptin values accompanied by reduced LBM all are noted quite early on after a few weeks and become significant upon several months. Give it whatever name you wish, but thankfully, the body is quite intelligent and has many ways of adjusting to sudden calorie restriction to prevent ourselves from killing ourselves too quickly.

laurie4fitness

Awesome article - thanks so much for sharing.