Starvation mode??

healthymommy42011

It really confuses me when MFP tells me that I am eating too few calories and I need to eat MORE in order to lose weight!! Since I am not eating enough.. It will be difficult to lose... if you are eating healthy, you can eat a LOT for 1200 calories a day.. and when I work out..I have earned more, but I dont want to eat more!! I eat every two hours, I just eat healthy.. apples, soup, turkey..ect.. I even eat shake and bake and mashed potatoes.. just a portion size. Is this true? Will I really have trouble losing weight unless I force myself to eat more?

Hermit4Hire

some light reading for a frequent question. . .

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

mamacassi

Well.. I think if you only eat 1200 combined... that's... bad. I'm not an expert! but with your workout cals it's ok to eat some back. Infact when I eat them back, just 100 or 200 I lose more weight

Desiderata

Yeeeaaa Banks!

jennylynn84

It confused me at first too, but it's just because I (and most others) associate dieting and losing weight with being hungry. And it's just not true. But once you dedicate to it and adjust it gets easier. Especially once you've been working out and eating right for a while and your metabolism starts speeding up. After the gym sometimes I'm like the Hulk I'm so hungry! And its hard to believe, because I'm eating more than I used to, that I could possibly be hungry in between my snacks and giant salads and yogurt and chunk of baked fish. But it's true and I'm losing.

Just wanted to say, I feel your confusion. It was hard for me to get past the emotional block and the feeling of wanting to panic when I snacked in the afternoon.

caseypotter

When we don’t get the nutrients we need, our body feels “at risk” and goes in what we call survival mode, you may feel like you are eating healthy, but when you don't eat enough nor get ALL the nutrients your body needs- the result is the survival or starvation mode. In this mode our body does the following;

1.Conserves energy
2.Retains water
3.Slows down metabolism
4.Stores body fat
5.Breaks down skeletal muscle

STARVATION RESPONSE: In the past, famine or lack of food is what triggered a starvation response in the body. Today, bad food choices, fast foods, lack of nutrients etc… triggers the same response by the body. The mode we want our bodies to be in is: EFFICIENCY MODE - Giving the body what it needs and when it needs it. Here our body does the following;

1.Has natural energy
2.Increased metabolism
3.Reduced body fat
4.Balanced hormone levels (mood stability)
5.Lean muscle

This can be accomplished by making sure you are eating healthy at your correct calorie range to lose weight daily and accounting for when you work out. Eating your 4-6 meals daily, plus making sure you are on a good multivitamin and paying attention to your food journal on myfitnesspal.com.

Hope that helps!

Casey
NASM-CPT
http://www.viverefitness.com

Boston_Mommy

Well, Starvation Mode is one of those things that everyone has firmer beliefs about than others. My nutritionist has me on 1,000 calories a day which is below the MFP recommendation so I asked her and she said that starvation mode is a myth. It's calories in and calories out. If it were true then anorexics wouldn't lose weight.

That being said, I can only tell you my OWN experiences with weight loss eating below the recommended calorie range and I'm down 20 lbs in 2 months by sticking to 1,000 a day (1,200 a day if I exercise and really find that I'm hungry). I average 2 lbs a week. So until my weight loss does seem to be affected, I'll just keep on what I'm doing.

SHBoss1673

Well, Starvation Mode is one of those things that everyone has firmer beliefs about than others. My nutritionist has me on 1,000 calories a day which is below the MFP recommendation so I asked her and she said that starvation mode is a myth. It's calories in and calories out. If it were true then anorexics wouldn't lose weight.

That being said, I can only tell you my OWN experiences with weight loss eating below the recommended calorie range and I'm down 20 lbs in 2 months by sticking to 1,000 a day (1,200 a day if I exercise and really find that I'm hungry). I average 2 lbs a week. So until my weight loss does seem to be affected, I'll just keep on what I'm doing.

Your nutritionist is wrong, It worries me that someone who claims to be a professional would says something like this. Starvation mode is neither a myth nor is it unproven. I would recommend you ask if your nutritionist holds the title of registered dietitian. If not, seek out another. Why? Because in Massachusetts, anyone can go buy business cards and stamp "Nutritionist" on them, but a registered dietitian needs to be certified by the state, and needs to graduate from an accredited school.

Sorry if this comes off so harsh, but I HATE when health professionals do this type of thing. It's a perpetuation of myth and it's just plain wrong and unethical.

lvfunandfit

"In the end, it's important to consume enough calories that you have the energy to perform the daily activities you want to and to keep your body healthy. Otherwise, it's self-defeating. After all, the point of losing weight is to be healthier and to get our lives back. It's not to starve ourselves to the point of malnutrition and have so little energy we can't go out and do fun things."

found from a website ... (can't remember which one)


you need to eat to function properly, to lose weight properly and to give your body the nutrition it needs to survive. You should eat your allotted calories and if you exercise you have created a bigger deficit. Eat back your exercise calories.

Boston_Mommy

Well, Starvation Mode is one of those things that everyone has firmer beliefs about than others. My nutritionist has me on 1,000 calories a day which is below the MFP recommendation so I asked her and she said that starvation mode is a myth. It's calories in and calories out. If it were true then anorexics wouldn't lose weight.

That being said, I can only tell you my OWN experiences with weight loss eating below the recommended calorie range and I'm down 20 lbs in 2 months by sticking to 1,000 a day (1,200 a day if I exercise and really find that I'm hungry). I average 2 lbs a week. So until my weight loss does seem to be affected, I'll just keep on what I'm doing.

Your nutritionist is wrong, It worries me that someone who claims to be a professional would says something like this. Starvation mode is neither a myth nor is it unproven. I would recommend you ask if your nutritionist holds the title of registered dietitian. If not, seek out another. Why? Because in Massachusetts, anyone can go buy business cards and stamp "Nutritionist" on them, but a registered dietitian needs to be certified by the state, and needs to graduate from an accredited school.

Sorry if this comes off so harsh, but I HATE when health professionals do this type of thing. It's a perpetuation of myth and it's just plain wrong and unethical.

Well, she's the head dietician in the bariatric department at Lahey Clinic so I would have to think she's certified. My surgeon reviews my diet plan with me as well and has me on the same recommendations. Taking into consideration that I am a gastric banding patient....most band patients are on a 1,000-1,200 cal/day diet. That's the point of the band....we are full on less amounts and I have consistendly lost an average of 2 lbs or more a week so I'm happy with doing what she recommends right now.

Surgery aside, I still lose like anyone else would w/out the surgery....I just have the benefit of not being hungry on sucha low calorie diet thanks to the restriction of the band.

I appreciate your concern though!!

ETA - I eat a mainly protein based diet so I have never had issues with energy. I feel better than I ever have.

mylittlescreamer

I think it means you have to eat more good nutrients otherwise tomorrow your body will want you to eat more and more food to make up for what you missed.

SHBoss1673

Well, she's the head dietician in the bariatric department at Lahey Clinic so I would have to think she's certified. My surgeon reviews my diet plan with me as well and has me on the same recommendations. Taking into consideration that I am a gastric banding patient....most band patients are on a 1,000-1,200 cal/day diet. That's the point of the band....we are full on less amounts and I have consistendly lost an average of 2 lbs or more a week so I'm happy with doing what she recommends right now.

Surgery aside, I still lose like anyone else would w/out the surgery....I just have the benefit of not being hungry on sucha low calorie diet thanks to the restriction of the band.

I appreciate your concern though!!

ETA - I eat a mainly protein based diet so I have never had issues with energy. I feel better than I ever have.

OK so you are in what most would call a special case. A person eating after gastric band surgery is a completely different animal than a person trying to limit their daily calorie intake to a reasonable deficit, and I submit that it's VERY important that when you mention to others that you're only eating 1000 calories, that should be the first thing you say. Because whether you believe it or not, people will see your success, and try to copy you, and if you don't give them the whole story, they will fail, and possibly harm themselves in the process.

As to your nutritionist. That completely baffles me. I don't know why she/he would say something like that. Maybe you misheard or she/he misspoke? I've done the research, I've spoken with Endocrinologists, I've spoken with gastroenterologist, and I've spoken with registered dietitians, and every single one (and every study) of them that I've ever spoken to agrees that the when the body enters a prolonged period of dietary malnutrition, their metabolic rate slows, calcium is leeched from the bones, protein is leeched from the muscles, organs start to shut down, and the body increases fat storage processes. Which is, pretty much by definition, starvation mode. Ask your nutritionist if this is the case, if she/he says no, then well, I'm speechless and I'd love to see the data she/he has supporting it.
Where the experts tend to disagree is basically a matter of degree, and that's where people get confused. Some hypothesize it happens faster than others, but they all pretty much universally agree that it does eventually happen.

Boston_Mommy

How I digest and metabolize food is no different than anyone who hasn't had the surgery. My digestive track is completely in tack and how food affects me is no different from anyone who hasn't had surgery. So me eating 1,000 calories a day and Joe Schmoe eating the same calories is no different - I just have the benefit of no hunger.

Sure I have a tool but by no means consider myself a "special case" and my response was based on eating a low calorie diet - my surgery has nothing to do with it so why should I preface by mentioning it? Like I said, my body metabolizes food exactly the same as it did before surgery...it's strictly a calories in and calories out question which is what I answered.

I go over my meal plans every 4 weeks with both my nutritionist AND the surgeon and both are well aware of what I eat and I am following the guidelines they give me so considering my surgeon is the one with the med degree and 20+ years in the bariatric field....I'm gonna go with his suggestion.

SHBoss1673

How I digest and metabolize food is no different than anyone who hasn't had the surgery. My digestive track is completely in tack and how food affects me is no different from anyone who hasn't had surgery. So me eating 1,000 calories a day and Joe Schmoe eating the same calories is no different - I just have the benefit of no hunger.

Sure I have a tool but by no means consider myself a "special case" and my response was based on eating a low calorie diet - my surgery has nothing to do with it so why should I preface by mentioning it? Like I said, my body metabolizes food exactly the same as it did before surgery...it's strictly a calories in and calories out question which is what I answered.

I go over my meal plans every 4 weeks with both my nutritionist AND the surgeon and both are well aware of what I eat and I am following the guidelines they give me so considering my surgeon is the one with the med degree and 20+ years in the bariatric field....I'm gonna go with his suggestion.

first, it is different. You eating 1000 calories a day is by design. they shrunk your stomach, so now you can only hold so much food. Second, you are a special case because it takes far more effort for you to consume too much food, after the 6 to 8 weeks it takes to fully recover from the surgery, your stomach is now (for all intents and purposes) smaller, you can eat less at any one sitting, so for you to over eat is a big deal, and means that you made conscious effort to over eat. Where as many of the people on this site were grazers to begin with. That's not an option for you any more, so you ARE in fact a special case. ANYTHING that changes your eating pattern away from the norm makes you a special case. I'm a special case as well, I eat very clean, which means I eat outside of the norm. I don't understand why you feel the need to make your surgery out to be just a minor change. It's not, it's life changing, and people should know that when you offer up advice that your basing it on your experience, which is far different from most people on this site. I don't condemn you for it, how ever you get there is your choice, and that's fine, but to say starvation mode is a myth is irresponsible IMHO!

I never said you eat a special diet, I never said that you lose weight differently or that your metabolism is different (although I dare say that after 6 weeks of liquid and soft foods, your metabolism most likely HAS changed temporarily). I said that starvation mode is real, it happens, and it isn't the generally accepted normal way to lose weight in a healthy manner.

Look, I'm not a doctor, I freely admit that. But I've done the best thing I can, I've gone out and spoken to numerous specialists, I've done lots of research, I've read so many research studies I can't even remember half of them, and I've been living it for the last 3 plus years, AND I've lost 55 lbs and put on 9 lbs of pure muscle doing it. And finally, I went out and studied hard and got my personal training certification. I'm not just speaking out of the side of my mouth. I'm not sure what else you want me to say about all this, I can give plenty of research if you like, plenty of documentation on starvation mode and what it does to the body.

***EDIT***
the above statement should be read with the mental note that I'm frustrated writing it. When I query doctors, I ask for general information, and I make sure that I emphasize that. Some people don't realize that their doctor is tailoring information to them, and as such it isn't necessarily meant for public consumption. This is perfectly reasonable, but it can have the unintended consequence of proliferating information as general knowledge that was never meant as general.

think of it like taking your computer to a shop because an error pops up when ever you try to (for instance) edit a feature in your application. So the tech tells you that error means that you need to install a specific file. Well that's fine for your machine, but that error could mean 500 different things to 500 different computers, so someone posting on a computer issues message board that "if you get this error, you need to install this file" while perfectly well meaning, is completely wrong for 99.9% of the people out there. Get what I mean?