"Starvation mode", exercise calories, dillema?
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Really well explained. I lost 20 pounds in 20 months. Not impressive but I am in a better shape than ever.0
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Excellent post. Right now I am doing the Game On! diet (my day off, currently enjoying some Oreos!) and I swear, losing 1.2-1.4 pounds per week, with a day off and a meal off, and eating five small meals a day. I remember thinking, there is NO WAY I could lose weight while eating this much, but after ramping up my exercise and avoiding what you posted - it makes complete and total sense!0
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Really well explained. I lost 20 pounds in 20 months. Not impressive but I am in a better shape than ever.
Healthy weight loss is always impressive to me, no matter the amount or time taken. Don't sell yourself short. Slow and stead means victory with weight loss, fast usually means relapse (at a 90% clip actually) in this game.
Kudos to you!0 -
Would you like to make this a "sticky" so we can all continue to find it? Pretty please? :flowerforyou:
This helps to understand how the Up Day down Day Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Eat Stop Eat, 5:2 Diet, Alternate Day Fasting and the other permutations on fasting work. Now it makes sense! Thank you
Wish I could, but I'm no longer Moderator (by choice, I just don't have the time to moderate any more with my new job). That said, if enough people ask, it could become a sticky (you'll notice the Banks1850 posts, well that's me as well, under a different and former username from a long time back).
OK, understood. But I guess you know who to ask....?0 -
No one is saying that starvation doesn't exist. It's the starvation mode as often misunderstood by people here - ie, you can get fat on 1000 cals a day, that is clearly not true.
that would really depend on semantics (and I noticed that you said starvation, then starvation mode, they are two completely different topics, I.E. starvation is the result of being in the 3rd stage I described for an extended period, starvation mode is simply the state your metabolism is in that would facilitate that condition).
Can you become fat on 1000 calories a day? I.E. can you gain weight and have it be body fat? Doubtful unless there are some extenuating circumstances.
But can you increase your body fat % on 1000 calories a day? Yes, in fact I would all but guarantee it will eventually happen (from muscle wasting and fat storage).
The problem here on MFP is that I think the vast majority of people who post here DO assume that starvation and starvation mode are one and the same. It's just a very broadly misunderstood topic. People will post and say "well I eat 1000 calories a day and I'm losing weight, so starvation mode is a lie." To them, starvation mode = the body holds onto all fat stores, resulting in NO weight loss. Yes the body will hold onto some adipose tissue, but weight loss WILL be observed as a result to fat loss and muscle tissue wasting.
I think that's what people are confused about.0 -
New to this site: and so thankful that you posted this. I was slightly irritated by the misinformation to those that are making healthy changes to their life! I look forward to hearing more of your "rants"
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Brilliant thanks, very well written!
Follow up question just to be crystal clear: Should I eat at my BMR OR at my BMR plus TDE for weight loss if I have max 14 pounds left to lose? Is the 1200 often mentioned and adhered to by MFP and its members too low for a healthy adult?0 -
eherm!
I have to add that your original points are valid, especially for people who eat the "normal western" overly Carb based, processed food based diets.
Has anyone seen this ? Why you got fat?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE
I am dong Paleo and yes before Paleo I could get fat on 1000calories. Simply because I think my body was doing exactly what the above 3min video shows. Using every bit of Carbs I put in to the max...
So there is a starvation mode per sa...but it is more complicated.
If people didnt eat so much processed foods, simple carbs etc....I think it would take something like real starving in the desert before you body really goes purely "starvation mode".0 -
Brilliant thanks, very well written!
Follow up question just to be crystal clear: Should I eat at my BMR OR at my BMR plus TDE for weight loss if I have max 14 pounds left to lose? Is the 1200 often mentioned and adhered to by MFP and its members too low for a healthy adult?
I can't (nor would I) answer this for you without details 1 on 1 consultation, and even then I'd refer the actual diet plan to an RD. In general though, if you correctly calculate your TDEE, by definition you wouldn't lose weight as TDEE is TOTAL daily energy, and thus, if you eat as much as you burn you will maintain.
My rule of thumb is, the closer to optimal body fat you get, the smaller the deficit, and I personally feel that any female with less than 28% body fat should not be attempting more than 1 lb per week or 500 less than TDEE (for men it's 17%). That's my own philosophy though, not any kind of law (there's always tweaks for each person).0 -
Good stuff! I've been doing a lot of research on the topic as well and agree with what you say. The problem is most people want the weight to come off fast. So, they just think the more calories they cut and the more exercise they do the better. What they don't realize is that while they may take some weight off quickly they are not healthier. The weight didn't come on fast and it surely won't come off fast.0
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eherm!
I have to add that your original points are valid, especially for people who eat the "normal western" overly Carb based, processed food based diets.
Has anyone seen this ? Why you got fat?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE
I am dong Paleo and yes before Paleo I could get fat on 1000calories. Simply because I think my body was doing exactly what the above 3min video shows. Using every bit of Carbs I put in to the max...
So there is a starvation mode per sa...but it is more complicated.
If people didnt eat so much processed foods, simple carbs etc....I think it would take something like real starving in the desert before you body really goes purely "starvation mode".
Mostly true I believe. Although I'd say that even on paleo you could gain fat with 1000 calories, it'd just take longer than with normal diets because most of the energy sources in paleo are extremely complex and slower to be converted to energy than with highly processed carbs and low fiber foods.0 -
Thank you, this is a really good explanation. Bumping to read again tomorrow.0
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Bumping for later. Thanks Banks!!0
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I enjoyed reading your post, and I concur mostly although I think some of the points can be up for interpretation depending on what study you go by. My frustration with "starvation mode" is that the term is used very loosely around here, and it's used in a judgmental "holier than thou" manner. What you said is right on for someone who is truly headed in that direction. A lot of people on here including myself eat below BMR and TDEE range at about 1000-1500 calories, and are not in starvation mode. I suppose real starvation mode does exist, but it's not something we see here in the USA very often other than people with ED's or chronic diseases, etc.
It's impossible for someone with excess body fat, eating 1200 calories a day to go into any kind of "starvation mode." When you have plenty of fat stores to use, you are by no means starving (in the true meaning of the word). As long as you have fat to burn, your body will use it for energy. Balancing muscle and fat loss is the challenge though. Personally, I've avoided this b/c I eat a high protein and low starch diet and jogging. And I had my LFT and KFT checked 3 weeks ago and they are in normal range. Not saying this is the case for everyone, but it's how I found balance.
So, the misuse of this term is one of the factors that hindered my weight loss for YEARS and I know it has affected other people too. It was because I felt like I had to eat more to avoid the dreaded starvation mode, so therefore I should have a "cheat day" where I ate anything and everything so as to "restart my metabolism." Also, having it be the end of the day and craving a bowl of cereal and then telling myself I had to have it b/c I had only had 1100 calories that day so I needed to eat even though I wasn't particularly hungry.
I believe that people who don't have ED related thought processes can balance out calorie deficits just fine if they listen to their body. We all don't want to be extremely hungry and uncomfortable all day with no energy, so we find a strategy within ourselves to make it work using common sense.0 -
bump, to read tonight0
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bump - because everyone needs to read this0
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The two biggest problems I see as a personal trainer and reading comments on MFP:
1)Chronic under-eating for extended periods of time.
2)Maintaining too large of a deficit for too long.
Your body isn't meant to be on a perpetual "diet" and can only go so long experiencing deficits before hormonal changes occur. Most of the time when people "stall" it's usually because one, if not both, of the above are true.0 -
Bump for later!!!!!!!!!!!!0
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Bump. Thanks
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Thank you so much for that easy to follow description of the process...I have a much better understanding now.0
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