starvation mode!

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Is it truly real, its worrying me i wanna eat 3000 calories because im afraid i workout to much and i might get into starvation mode!

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  • Trilby16
    Trilby16 Posts: 707 Member
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    Is it truly real, its worrying me i wanna eat 3000 calories because im afraid i workout to much and i might get into starvation mode!

    Me too! I'm scared!
  • Beautiful_Disaster108
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    Lol metabolism slowing down : yes
    Actual starvation mode : no
    It's like a plateau, a myth
  • beccalyse
    beccalyse Posts: 21
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    Plateaus aren't myths. If you eat the same amount of calories each day, coupled with the same workout routine, your body will get used to what you're doing and maintain. Plateaus are real things.

    Starvation mode based on MFP's recommended nutritional levels are a myth, depending on what you're eating. I eat WELL below my recommended caloric intake each day... I think today I may have eaten around 700 calories. I consistently lose weight and gain muscle mass, but I'm eating nutrient-dense calories. Organic meats, fruits, veggies, good oils.

    If you're eating processed foods, "low fat" or "fat free" foods, etc., then you're probably nutrient-starved anyway. But actual starvation mode only happens to people with no body fat. If you've no fat stores, and you stop eating, you're going to have a problem.

    Just educate yourself about your food and you'll do fine.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    *grabs cheese burger and watches low cal folks banter*
  • beccalyse
    beccalyse Posts: 21
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    Totally had a cheeseburger for lunch.
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
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    Sure. In Africa. Ethiopia had a starvation mode issue for a couple decades.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
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    Starvation mode only occurs at an extremely low body fat percentage (<10% for women, <5% for men). If you're heavy, your body has more than enough fat to live off of for a while. Sure, you could have a decrease in BMR, but not enough to halt weight loss. The Minnesota Starvation Experiment is one of the most well known studies regarding starvation mode and they found that the participants eating 50% of their maintenance calories saw about a 10% reduction in BMR. This still leaves a 40% deficit.

    It's not healthy to eat that little because it's hard to get adequate nutrition, but it wouldn't stop weight loss. At least half of the weight loss will be from fat, but VLCD can cause loss of lean body mass.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    . I eat WELL below my recommended caloric intake each day... I think today I may have eaten around 700 calories. I consistently lose weight and gain muscle mass,

    hahahaha! You are funny!!! Very funny!!! Eating 700 calories and gaining muscle mass!!!
    hahahahha, omg, your killing me!!!!
  • Docmahi
    Docmahi Posts: 1,603 Member
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    . I eat WELL below my recommended caloric intake each day... I think today I may have eaten around 700 calories. I consistently lose weight and gain muscle mass,

    hahahaha! You are funny!!! Very funny!!! Eating 700 calories and gaining muscle mass!!!
    hahahahha, omg, your killing me!!!!

    It's possible under the circumstance that they are a very novice lifter - but I wouldn't expect much
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    . I eat WELL below my recommended caloric intake each day... I think today I may have eaten around 700 calories. I consistently lose weight and gain muscle mass,

    hahahaha! You are funny!!! Very funny!!! Eating 700 calories and gaining muscle mass!!!
    hahahahha, omg, your killing me!!!!

    QFT
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Plateaus aren't myths. If you eat the same amount of calories each day, coupled with the same workout routine, your body will get used to what you're doing and maintain. Plateaus are real things.

    Starvation mode based on MFP's recommended nutritional levels are a myth, depending on what you're eating. I eat WELL below my recommended caloric intake each day... I think today I may have eaten around 700 calories. I consistently lose weight and gain muscle mass, but I'm eating nutrient-dense calories. Organic meats, fruits, veggies, good oils.

    If you're eating processed foods, "low fat" or "fat free" foods, etc., then you're probably nutrient-starved anyway. But actual starvation mode only happens to people with no body fat. If you've no fat stores, and you stop eating, you're going to have a problem.

    Just educate yourself about your food and you'll do fine.

    Considering fat loss and muscle gaining are two different metabolic processes, this would be impossible. The only people that can actually do this are morbidly obese and newbies to weight trainng (maybe 1-2 lbs max). Also, with only 700 calories - even with the best macro nutrient monitoring - will only lead to muscle loss. If you monitor your body composition you will see this.
  • MichaelBrewer2634
    MichaelBrewer2634 Posts: 91 Member
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    Eat a lot of food, and burn it off. That's the way to go.
  • SatchGallamax
    SatchGallamax Posts: 549 Member
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