Starvation Mode

jondyalec1

So I have read a ton of weight loss methods, what to do, what not to do and so on. I am very confused on what I should actually be doing. My goal was to eat at least 1000 calories a day. I was told that eating less than 1200 calories a day would put my body into starvation mode. However, I was told by another person that this isnt true. I was told if I eat 5 meals during the day every few hours that egualed up to 1000 calories I would be fine. I have stuck to this for a few week and havent lost very much weight. I have actually been getting full of off the 1000 calories, so the idea of adding more scares me. Any insight on this? thanks

aronao

Hi

It depends on how overweight you are at the moment and how much weight you need/want to lose.

I was doing 1200 cals and exercising like crazy but not losing weight. So I upped my calories to about 1460 (which is appropriate for my height, weight, age and level of activity) and have lost a few pounds since starting to eat more. There might be a temporary gain first but it should go.

Search for the topics about TDEE and IPOARM - they have links to calculators which can help you set an appropriate target.

jondyalec1

Thanks!

zaneyard

Do some research instead of asking people on an internet forum

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/weight-loss/truth-starvation-mode

"But here's the thing: in no study I've ever seen has the drop in metabolic rate been sufficient to completely offset the caloric deficit. That is, say that cutting your calories by 50% per day leads to a reduction in the metabolic rate of 10%. Starvation mode you say. Well, yes. But you still have a 40% daily deficit. "



People that say they are eating a calorie deficit and not losing weight are lying. They may not know they are lying but they are.

However, I would recommend against eating much too little. You will feel like crap if you're not eating enough.

Joehenny

You are eating way too little. Over time your hormone levels drop on too few calories and your metabolic rate adjusts accordingly. Also eating too low will cause you to lose a lot of LBM and leave you just looking weak.

KhinoHoang

Do some research instead of asking people on an internet forum

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/weight-loss/truth-starvation-mode

"But here's the thing: in no study I've ever seen has the drop in metabolic rate been sufficient to completely offset the caloric deficit. That is, say that cutting your calories by 50% per day leads to a reduction in the metabolic rate of 10%. Starvation mode you say. Well, yes. But you still have a 40% daily deficit. "

.

People that say they are eating a calorie deficit and not losing weight are lying. They may not know they are lying but they are.

Don't be rude.

jondyalec1

Do some research instead of asking people on an internet forum


Isn't that The point of this internet forum? To get help and insight from others trying to lose wight?

zaneyard

Do some research instead of asking people on an internet forum

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/weight-loss/truth-starvation-mode

"But here's the thing: in no study I've ever seen has the drop in metabolic rate been sufficient to completely offset the caloric deficit. That is, say that cutting your calories by 50% per day leads to a reduction in the metabolic rate of 10%. Starvation mode you say. Well, yes. But you still have a 40% daily deficit. "

.

People that say they are eating a calorie deficit and not losing weight are lying. They may not know they are lying but they are.

Don't be rude.

Would you rather I spread ignorance and misinformation? Perhaps I should claim that I'm a dietary specialist and you should believe every word I say without question.

jondyalec1

You are eating way too little. Over time your hormone levels drop on too few calories and your metabolic rate adjusts accordingly. Also eating too low will cause you to lose a lot of LBM and leave you just looking weak.

Yes, thanks! I was eating only 1000 calories a day. I am going to up my calories!

zaneyard

You are eating way too little. Over time your hormone levels drop on too few calories and your metabolic rate adjusts accordingly. Also eating too low will cause you to lose a lot of LBM and leave you just looking weak.

Can you give a source to this?

KhinoHoang

Do some research instead of asking people on an internet forum

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/weight-loss/truth-starvation-mode

"But here's the thing: in no study I've ever seen has the drop in metabolic rate been sufficient to completely offset the caloric deficit. That is, say that cutting your calories by 50% per day leads to a reduction in the metabolic rate of 10%. Starvation mode you say. Well, yes. But you still have a 40% daily deficit. "

.

People that say they are eating a calorie deficit and not losing weight are lying. They may not know they are lying but they are.

Don't be rude.

Would you rather I spread ignorance and misinformation? Perhaps I should claim that I'm a dietary specialist and you should believe every word I say without question.

If you're going to help, do it without the attitude.

Anyway, eating very low calories makes it more likely that you're going to crave and binge. It's just better to do it at an easier pace.

Siege_Tank

Your post touches on a lot of touchy subjects around here. In the forums there are essentially two factions, the "eat more to weigh less" minded people that thinks that your weight loss should be no faster than 1/2 to 1 pound per week.. and if you lose any faster than that (by cutting calories too drastically) you risk damaging your metabolism (I only need to refer to the people on extreme makeover weight loss edition to debunk that, or the numerous studies that show only a 10-15% reduction in BMR)

And the people who think that losing weight in any manner is better than nothing at all. I happen to be of the mind that weight loss is like a really long hike. If you start off at a fast pace, before you know it you're 10 miles in to a 20 mile hike, and going back to the car is just as difficult as pushing forward.. as opposed to starting out at a crawl and getting discouraged... with your car just a few hundred yards away..

The eat more crowd likes to come up with all kinds of scare tactics about how dangerous eating less than 1500 really is, they advocate for a -20% cut from your total daily calorie expenditure. They talk about starvation mode, and how, if you cut too many calories you will stop losing. The problem is, there is some truth to what they say. When you cut too many calories and DON'T back it up with exercise, your body will adapt to the lower calories and it will try and conserve it's stores of energy: fat.

They call this "starvation mode". It isn't. Starvation mode happens when people are starved, like during famine and war time, and when the war ends or food grows again, weight rockets up because their hormones are in a protective mode. People who chose to lose weight quickly will have to employ "refeed" days, where they eat at or above maintenance for several days to reset their hormone levels. But then they can get right back into their cut and start seeing the weight fall off again.

A -20% cut for someone who maintains at 1700 calories is a 340 calorie deficit per day, or 12 days to lose one pound (1 pound = 3500 calories) or twenty four days to lose 2 pounds. If your maintenance calories or Total Daily Energy Expenditure is lower than that, then a -20% cut will take even longer to lose 1 pound. With variations in hydration levels and water weight, you could go weeks without seeing a loss on the scale. 2 weeks to go from 149 to 148 on the scale.. I'd go crazy.

And that's without ever ever EVER ever ever ever ever cheating or going over. Screw up, go over, have a few cheat days here and there and your -20% cut will take EVEN longer to see a loss. If your cut isn't as drastic, if you don't quite keep to your goals each day, the loss will take longer. I don't know about you but when I get serious about my cut, a week and a half of not seeing the scale budge is pretty discouraging.

And then, what happens if the calculator is over-estimating your daily needs (as I suspect that most of them do)?? You could spin your wheels in perpetuity trying to figure out whats wrong.

I have to ask, what's wrong with MFP's built in calculator? Find your BMR, multiply it by the sedentary (1.2) multiplier, and you've got your total daily energy expenditure. Any exercise burnt off is just bonus then.

The problem with internet calculators is that they require you to know your BMR. All of the formulas are based off of that one number, and using an internet calculator for such a specialized, specific number means that they could be as much as 15% high or low, depending on who you are and what your lifestyle and genetic factors are.

Think of the genetic differences between all of us, as humans, and think of how some people can eat like sumo wrestlers and be thin, while others of the same height eat moderately and gain tons of weight. You can't really identify those people based on any physical factors, BMR has to be measured.

Find a bod pod, and get your BMR measured in real life, and then you can run all the math you want

Otherwise, your math and numbers might be close, but when we're talking a cut in the range of 10 to 20% less, you could blow your whole cut for the day with one delicious cookie.

I'll tell you, I got overweight by eating high calorie junk food, mostly fried carbs like french fries and chicken wings, and fried anything. That stuff has soo many calories packed into a little bit of food that it's easy to eat more calories than you need per day without really feeling full.

When 1600 calories is the count on a McDonalds Angus bacon cheeseburger with large fries and a coke..

1600 calories is TEN portions of 4oz chicken breasts PLUS 6 cups of steamed broccoli.

You're damn right I eat 1200, when I cut out crappy junk food, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE for me to get to 1200 calories. I just can't eat that high of a volume of food when it's not loaded with fat. I eat the chicken and vegetables, and some starch here and there, and.. I'm full.. I don't want any more..

I have had argument after argument with these people over calorie counts and what is “too low.” There are some people out there who think that eating too low of a calorie count is unhealthy, dangerous, reckless, and sets an awful example for most people to look at.

I don’t disagree.. When people are at a healthy weight. When people are OVERWEIGHT, they could stand to cut calories. If they have the willpower to not eat for the entire Wednesday that they feel empowered... GREAT!! It’s called “fasting”. I actually just completed a 28 hour fast last night, it was hellish, but I felt like I had accomplished something I never could before.

The biggest piece of advice is this: listen to your body. Don't add high fat foods like peanut butter *just* to get in that last 100 calories. We got here by eating "just one more bite", un-eating those one more bites is fine.

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

This guy's website is phenomenal about teaching how our bodies work, and what kinds of BS there are in all the fitness magazines and mainstream "knowledge". I hope it helps!

jondyalec1

Thanks!