Starvation mode

michaelalouise3915

Can anybody explain the science behind starvation mode to me in a simple way? I see the term used here a lot. What confuses me is I used to suffer from an eating disorder, and I always lost weight, I didn't experience a hault due to starvation mode, (which is terrible and obviously unhealthy for mind and body)

I guess the question is, why is it when we eat healthy but at an amount that may be too low for us say 1200, we enter this starvation mode, but not for people who are anorexic ect?

barmatal

Everybody has a BMI that states the number of calories burned just by being alive. If you eat too little, the BMI starts going down, slowing your metabolism (and making you feel tired all the time) but it's still possible to lose weight if you still eat below that BMI (for example, if you have an eating disorder and eat little more than zero calories per day)

If your BMI is 2000 and you start eating 1200 calories every day, your BMI starts going down until it reaches 1200 calories and then you stop losing weight.

If you start eating 0 calories it keeps going down but it never reaches 0 (you need to burn calories to live!) so you'll always be losing weight (and feeling like crap because of your broken metabolism!)

Final note: remember that starvation mode is not something that happens for skipping breakfast. People are too scared about it.

Final note for real: I'm not sure if the above shows it but eating disorders are NOT the way to lose weight

Minerva624

Everybody has a BMI that states the number of calories burned just by being alive. If you eat too little, the BMI starts going down, slowing your metabolism (and making you feel tired all the time) but it's still possible to lose weight if you still eat below that BMI (for example, if you have an eating disorder and eat little more than zero calories per day)

If your BMI is 2000 and you start eating 1200 calories every day, your BMI starts going down until it reaches 1200 calories and then you stop losing weight.

If you start eating 0 calories it keeps going down but it never reaches 0 (you need to burn calories to live!) so you'll always be losing weight (and feeling like crap because of your broken metabolism!)

Final note: remember that starvation mode is not something that happens for skipping breakfast. People are too scared about it.

Final note for real: I'm not sure if the above shows it but eating disorders are NOT the way to lose weight

Excellent explanation.

georgina1970

It's BMR (basal metabolic rate,) not BMI (body mass index) :-)

michaelalouise3915

That's brilliant thanks for the detailed explanation!

And yes, completely, eating disorders are a disease and never a good way to lose weight, only a good way to get you a ticket to hospital!

excello1980

here is a piece to read.......the one reason why you should never go on a diet but change your lifestyle and food habbit and excersice more(or start)

Suppose our “typical” dieter is a male who weights 200 pounds and has 18%
body fat. His goal is to lose 20-25 lbs.
Before the diet
18% body fat
36 lbs. fat
164 lbs. lean body mass
Like most people, our hapless dieter assumes that the best way to lose the body fat
is to starve, so he goes on a 1500 calorie per day diet. In the 1st week he loses 5 lbs. and is
very happy with himself. The second week he loses 4 lbs. Weeks three through six he
loses three pounds per week for a grand total of twenty-one pounds lost.
Our dieter now weighs 179 lbs. and he continued to lose weight steadily without
hitting a plateau (although the weight loss did slow down). Judging by the scale alone, he
has succeeded in his goal. On closer examination, however, we find that he has not been
so successful after all.
After the diet
179 lbs.
14.8% body fat
26.5 lbs. fat
Lean body mass 152.5 lbs.
Weight loss: 21 lbs.
Fat lost 9.5 lbs.
Lean body mass lost: 11.5
By judging his success in terms of body composition instead of scale weight, it
becomes clear that he has failed. Fifty five percent of his weight loss came from lean
body mass. The drop in lean body mass has decreased his basal metabolic rate so he is
now burning fewer calories each day than when he started. This has set him up for a
relapse.
Now that the (temporary) diet is “over, “ he goes off his diet. Few people have the
desire or willpower to stay on low calories for long. On a strict calorie and or foodrestricted
diet, almost everyone “falls of the wagon” sooner or later. After a long period
of low calories, his body “tricks him” into binge eating by triggering severe cravings and
hunger.

Even if he doesn’t binge and he simply goes back to “normal” eating again, his
body isn’t burning calories as efficiently as before. Therefore, the number of calories that
used to maintain his weight now causes him to gain weight. As the weeks pass, the
weight gradually creeps back on until he finally gains back all the fat he lost (plus a little
extra for interest)
6 weeks after the diet ends:
200 lbs.
20.5% body fat
41.1 lbs. fat
Lean body mass 158.9 lbs.
Now he is right back at 200 pounds where he started, with only one difference: He
has less muscle, more fat, and a slower metabolism than when he began. He has damaged
his metabolism and it will now be harder than ever to lose weight.
8 Powerful Strategies to Stay Out of The Starvation Mode and Lose Fat
Permanently Without Dieting or Deprivation.
You must give up the entire concept of dieting on very low calories to lose
weight. You’ll never lose weight permanently with low calorie diets – it’s physiologically
impossible. Temporary dieting can only produce temporary results. You must use other
methods.



This is from the book, ''Burn the fat ,Feed the muscle''

if you want to know everthing about how to eat and excersice ,please read it...best book ever.

barmatal

It's BMR (basal metabolic rate,) not BMI (body mass index) :-)

Oops, damn you acronyms! You're totally right!

strikerjb007

Other than explanations, does anyone have any real science or studies that show that the so called "starvation mode" exists? And not to be confused with Metabolic Damage.

barmatal

This post sums it up and mention several studies:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science

now_or_never13

Everybody has a BMI that states the number of calories burned just by being alive. If you eat too little, the BMI starts going down, slowing your metabolism (and making you feel tired all the time) but it's still possible to lose weight if you still eat below that BMI (for example, if you have an eating disorder and eat little more than zero calories per day)

If your BMI is 2000 and you start eating 1200 calories every day, your BMI starts going down until it reaches 1200 calories and then you stop losing weight.

If you start eating 0 calories it keeps going down but it never reaches 0 (you need to burn calories to live!) so you'll always be losing weight (and feeling like crap because of your broken metabolism!)

Final note: remember that starvation mode is not something that happens for skipping breakfast. People are too scared about it.

Final note for real: I'm not sure if the above shows it but eating disorders are NOT the way to lose weight

Excellent explanation.

Good explanation except it's BMR... not BMI.

Also, consistantly eating less than your BMR will cause your body to adapt to burn less calories normally. ALso, the higher your deficit the more muscle you will lose along the way. Less muscle, less calories being burned.

strikerjb007

This post sums it up and mention several studies:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science

Based on the study mention, I would say that starvation mode is a myth.