Starvation Mode: Dispelling the Myths
RockChickSarah
Posts: 62
If you've been on a diet, you've surely heard about it. The dreaded starvation mode. How many people have said to you, "be careful not to dip below 1200 calories. Your body will go into starvation mode and you'll gain weight." Or, what about, "Oh, you're not eating enough, that's why you're not losing weight. Your body is in starvation mode." A frightful sounding thing indeed. It seems like a dieter just can't win. If they eat too much, they won't lose weight. If they eat too little, they won't lose weight. Can all this really be true?
The simple answer is no. Starvation mode has been embellished so much that it's almost a complete lie at this point. So what is starvation mode really? Starvation mode, more formally known as famine response, is part of your body's survival mechanism. When you aren't getting a sufficient amount of calories to run your body, your body does indeed fall into famine response, because normally, when one isn't eating, it's because there is nothing to eat. Starvation mode slows down the body's metabolism to try and save as much energy as it can. It also breaks down muscle, but I'll go into that a bit later. So, yes, famine response, or starvation mode, does slow down your metabolism and does break down muscle, but that's where the truth ends and the embellishment begins.
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. If you've fasted, or restricted calories severely, you know the feelings of hunger pangs and how horrible they were. That's your body saying, "Eat. I need fuel." Since your body is telling you to eat, it believes there is still food to be eaten, so no starvation mode yet. When the hunger subsides, usually after about 3 to 5 days, your body has decided to there must not be food and uses alternative energy sources. This is a good indication that starvation mode is not far away.
People also believe that starvation mode will make you gain weight. This is essentially false. Starvation mode does slow down the metabolism, but if you are eating so little that starvation mode has set in, you are not going to gain weight. The percentage by which the metabolism slows down, which can be as much as 40 percent, does not overshadow the calorie deficit. All it means is that, if you are eating 500 calories a day, and you are supposed to get 2000, you should lose 3 pounds a week with your metabolism running normally. Let's say your metabolism dropped 30 percent. You would have a basal metabolic rate of 1400 calories a day instead, and so you would lose 1.8 pounds a week instead. Considerably fewer amounts of weight, but you would still lose weight. You can not gain weight by taking in fewer calories a day. It does not make sense scientifically, especially if you understand physics.
Let's get back to the muscle loss, because that is concerning to most people. Starvation mode does cause muscle loss, partially because it is getting rid of something that uses a lot of energy and partially because it needs protein, which it takes from the muscle. However, what most people don't know is that every diet causes muscle loss, even healthy ones. A healthy lower of calories, that is a 500 calorie deficit, will cause 75 percent fat loss and 25 percent muscle loss. Starvation diets cause a 50 percent fat loss, and a 50 percent muscle loss, however, this has two main causes. The body is not getting enough protein, and people eating small amounts of food, or no food, usually do not have the energy to do strength training. Not that the Atkin's Diet pushes the body into starvation mode, but does not cause excessive muscle loss. This is because Atkin's followers get massive amounts of proteins and so the body does not need to take protein from the muscles and most do strength training, to prevent excessive muscle loss. It works. They end up with the more average 75/25 fat/muscle loss ratio. So, if a person eating 500 calories a day ate it all in protein, and had the strength to do some strength training, they would conceivably end up with a 75/25 ratio as well, or at least something close to that.
This is all very interesting, you think, but why should I believe you? Your just a random person writing on the internet. Good point. Let me give you some examples. First, basic anatomy. The body uses glucose as fuel. Well, no food equals no glucose. So what does the body do? It breaks down fat. It has to break down fat because it uses the glycerol there to fuel the body. There is no possible way for the body not to break down fat, because it would die otherwise. It also uses the ketones produced by the breakdown of fats to fuel the brain, and the brain is obviously very important. There's also the Minnesota Semi-Starvation Study, that took place in 1944. The men ended up losing 25% of their starting body weights, even though their metabolisms slowed by 40 percent, and they were of average weight to begin with. Anorectics, who impose starvation on themselves, also disprove most of the starvation mode myths. They do not gain weight or stay the same. They continue to lose weight, even though they are severely underweight. Finally, Very Low Calorie Diets are used by physicians to treat obesity in some cases, and these diets are typically under 800 calories daily.
There you have it. The reality of starvation mode. Not nearly as frightening as made out to be. Of course, I don't support starvation type diets, and these will make you gain weight. Most likely because you will be very hungry, and most people do not have the willpower to consistently eat very little and will end up binging, and yes, your body will hold on to those calories because it has already depleted some of its storage, and you will gain weight. 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.
The simple answer is no. Starvation mode has been embellished so much that it's almost a complete lie at this point. So what is starvation mode really? Starvation mode, more formally known as famine response, is part of your body's survival mechanism. When you aren't getting a sufficient amount of calories to run your body, your body does indeed fall into famine response, because normally, when one isn't eating, it's because there is nothing to eat. Starvation mode slows down the body's metabolism to try and save as much energy as it can. It also breaks down muscle, but I'll go into that a bit later. So, yes, famine response, or starvation mode, does slow down your metabolism and does break down muscle, but that's where the truth ends and the embellishment begins.
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. If you've fasted, or restricted calories severely, you know the feelings of hunger pangs and how horrible they were. That's your body saying, "Eat. I need fuel." Since your body is telling you to eat, it believes there is still food to be eaten, so no starvation mode yet. When the hunger subsides, usually after about 3 to 5 days, your body has decided to there must not be food and uses alternative energy sources. This is a good indication that starvation mode is not far away.
People also believe that starvation mode will make you gain weight. This is essentially false. Starvation mode does slow down the metabolism, but if you are eating so little that starvation mode has set in, you are not going to gain weight. The percentage by which the metabolism slows down, which can be as much as 40 percent, does not overshadow the calorie deficit. All it means is that, if you are eating 500 calories a day, and you are supposed to get 2000, you should lose 3 pounds a week with your metabolism running normally. Let's say your metabolism dropped 30 percent. You would have a basal metabolic rate of 1400 calories a day instead, and so you would lose 1.8 pounds a week instead. Considerably fewer amounts of weight, but you would still lose weight. You can not gain weight by taking in fewer calories a day. It does not make sense scientifically, especially if you understand physics.
Let's get back to the muscle loss, because that is concerning to most people. Starvation mode does cause muscle loss, partially because it is getting rid of something that uses a lot of energy and partially because it needs protein, which it takes from the muscle. However, what most people don't know is that every diet causes muscle loss, even healthy ones. A healthy lower of calories, that is a 500 calorie deficit, will cause 75 percent fat loss and 25 percent muscle loss. Starvation diets cause a 50 percent fat loss, and a 50 percent muscle loss, however, this has two main causes. The body is not getting enough protein, and people eating small amounts of food, or no food, usually do not have the energy to do strength training. Not that the Atkin's Diet pushes the body into starvation mode, but does not cause excessive muscle loss. This is because Atkin's followers get massive amounts of proteins and so the body does not need to take protein from the muscles and most do strength training, to prevent excessive muscle loss. It works. They end up with the more average 75/25 fat/muscle loss ratio. So, if a person eating 500 calories a day ate it all in protein, and had the strength to do some strength training, they would conceivably end up with a 75/25 ratio as well, or at least something close to that.
This is all very interesting, you think, but why should I believe you? Your just a random person writing on the internet. Good point. Let me give you some examples. First, basic anatomy. The body uses glucose as fuel. Well, no food equals no glucose. So what does the body do? It breaks down fat. It has to break down fat because it uses the glycerol there to fuel the body. There is no possible way for the body not to break down fat, because it would die otherwise. It also uses the ketones produced by the breakdown of fats to fuel the brain, and the brain is obviously very important. There's also the Minnesota Semi-Starvation Study, that took place in 1944. The men ended up losing 25% of their starting body weights, even though their metabolisms slowed by 40 percent, and they were of average weight to begin with. Anorectics, who impose starvation on themselves, also disprove most of the starvation mode myths. They do not gain weight or stay the same. They continue to lose weight, even though they are severely underweight. Finally, Very Low Calorie Diets are used by physicians to treat obesity in some cases, and these diets are typically under 800 calories daily.
There you have it. The reality of starvation mode. Not nearly as frightening as made out to be. Of course, I don't support starvation type diets, and these will make you gain weight. Most likely because you will be very hungry, and most people do not have the willpower to consistently eat very little and will end up binging, and yes, your body will hold on to those calories because it has already depleted some of its storage, and you will gain weight. 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.
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Replies
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Nicely written! thanks!0
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That was on yahoo in 2009 - http://voices.yahoo.com/starvation-mode-dispelling-myths-2900886.html
Still a nice post though.0 -
Yay!!! Thanks for this.0
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Yeah, it is a copy n paste... but made for interesting reading, and have seen a few posts this mornin ranting on about starvation mode etc etc... always quite annoys me that one :laugh:0
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You really should give credit to original author if you're going to post information so the veracity of the data can be confirmed.0
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Thanks for the post.0
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Although an interesting read, and still probably mostly true, the one source used for the article is a very, very old study. Also, you should always give credit to the person who actually wrote it.0
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Always worth reporting so that newbies can take note - thanks0
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Thank you, that was definitely worth reading0
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Nicely written, thank you!0
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The problem with posts like this is the mere fact that everyone has a dietry opinion and passes themselves off as an expert. This is why the weight-loss game is so difficult to navigate. Also, data is very time sensitive. If people are going to post old information then they have to reference it properly or else people get sucked-in to the hype.
As an aside, I also subscribe to the myth-status of the starvation mode diet; however, opinions need facts from peer-reviewed sources to be confirmed as valid.
Just my point-of-view.0 -
Good post!
Even though it is still a few years old, it doesn't mean the concept isn't still the same! I don't think the human race has changed much- no massive global biological changes...
It was informative and good to read! I get the message everyday..0 -
I actually just read something recent talking about how starvation mode does not exist.
If I come across it again I will share.
This is great to hear though, especially for me. I eat about 1200 or slightly below everyday.0 -
BUMP TO read later
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Thanks for sharing!0
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Also worth adding is that the brain will only use ketones under severe carb limitation - usually it has to use only glucose (no other sources due to permeability of blood brain barrier). This is why we burn energy sources in the order we do (glucose-complex carb-fat-muscle) because of the brain's requirement for glucose and how easy these are relatively to convert to it.0
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wait, so your saying if I miss snack 23 out of 24 that I won't be in starvation mode? Are you sure ..../???0
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This content has been removed.
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So starvation mode doesn't exist...
But if you keep restricting calories your body goes into famine response? and burns alternative fuels (muscle?)
So we are all still agreed that eating below at least your BMR is a bad idea?0 -
I find women's magazines can be some of the worst for spreading these myths around - nearly all of their nutritional info tends to be utter baloney, and this is the worst offender.0
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I have yet to see any actual study that showed weight loss that was 50% lean mass (that was conducted over a longer period than 2-4 weeks). In fact there are a great many studies done on VLCDs that show that LBM can be MAINTAINED with strength training and adequate protein. I can't remember off the top of my head what the greatest LBM loss I found was but I believe it was in the range of 25%(ish) but don't quote me on that.
I moderately concur with the article written but would like to see sources. It's stuff like this that spreads more myths than it dispels.
ETA: Except studies on lean individuals. In those cases, there is less fat available to fill the caloric needs and muscle is more likely to be lost but I still haven't seen anything in the range of fifty percent.0 -
Agreed! Agreed! Agreed! I think that some people have come to use "starvation mode" as just one more excuse as to why they are not losing weight.
I may not be in the best shape now after having three children in four years, but I used to be in incredible shape (only person to ever win swimsuit competition in the Miss America system five times). I ate a low-calorie diet, did an hour of cardio 5 days a week and lifted heavy at least three days a week. I didn't track calories back then, but I did not eat my exercise calories back. Guess what - I lost weight and built muscle. I did not hold on to my weight or gain.0 -
Yeah, it is a copy n paste...
Credit your sources :-)0 -
So starvation mode doesn't exist...
But if you keep restricting calories your body goes into famine response? and burns alternative fuels (muscle?)
So we are all still agreed that eating below at least your BMR is a bad idea?
No chance. That last sentence is unique to this place.0 -
Agreed.0
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The term "starvation mode" is misused. The biological processes in metabolic slowdown with low calorie diets are very real though.0
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Thanks for the helpful info!0
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You really should give credit to original author if you're going to post information so the veracity of the data can be confirmed.
This.
Still a good post to share. Thanks0 -
Thank you so much for this! It really made me feel better!0
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Not only is the opening post an act of plagiarism is absolutely incorrect on many levels. I think it is very dangerous cutting and pasting an article based on information from the 1950's (The Biology of Human Starvation, University of Minnesota Press), particularly when further more recent evidence and studies are available.is It is also fairly unethical to copy someone else's work with out accreditation.
Does "starvation mode" exist? Absolutely!!. When the body receives less calories than it's base metabolic rate it uses a higher ratio of muscle to fat as fuel. The body is effectively saving the fat to live on, and lowering the base metabolic rate to a sustainable level with the new caloric intake. Unless you want to eat less for the rest of your life, it is a terrible idea to consistently consume less than your BMR.
Will you put on weight with a very low calorie diet (VLCD)?: No, you will lose weight. There are a number of laws of physics/thermodynamics which ensure that if energy consumed does not equal energy utilised then there will be a change in energy stored. Although, unfortunately you will lose a higher percentage of muscle mass than fat-this is a pretty bad idea if you want long term weight loss. The more muscle you have the higher your caloric intake will be, conversely if you keep "yo-yo" dieting you increase the fat percentage in your body
Why do some Atkin's dieters maintain muscle mass while losing weight? Because dieters ARE fulfilling their BMR caloric intake, they just happen to be doing it without carbohydrates. Aitkins can be good for losing weight short term and I actually love the diet as I really enjoy my proteins, unfortunately it punches holes in your liver, affects brain function, massively increases the chance of diabetes type II and can be a real cholesterol churner . If the diet was sustainable and healthy then why would Atkin.com themselves say it requires over 50 types of supplements to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Any diet that says a pill is better than eating fruit or berries is intrinsically flawed.
As stupid as is sound, losing weight should not be the goal of dieters. Their goal should be to lose FAT. Like most overweight people, I'm fat because I have eaten too much food, eaten the wrong types of food and have not done enough exercise. To lose fat I have to eat my enough calories to maintain my BMR (2200 cal) in the right balance of proteins/carbohydrates/ fats In my opinion this should be (40/40/20 each meal) i.e 40% of my caloric intake should be protein 40% carbs and 20% fat. Any movement I do throughout the day burns fat. If I consistently eat less than my 2200 cal, then I reduce burning fat and start using muscle as fuel for my body. Any exercise I do while having this caloric intake in this ratio is either building muscle(weight training/resistance work) or burning fat(walking/spinning), that's got to be a good thing.
Detoxification is also absolutely critical for getting rid of those that bits of fat like pot bellies or bingo wings, but that is a tale for another day.0
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