THE BIG STARVATION MODE MYTH.

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Replies

  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing
  • SoViLicious
    SoViLicious Posts: 2,633 Member
    Nah....
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    To keep your metab up on a low calorie intake is to get at least 8 hours of sleep and eat 6 times a day and i will stand by that but their is no reason why you cant do that. I don't people got obese from eating less no that's not the way it is never was never will be. And the starvation mode is when your metab slows down so go for a walk that should speed it up too. but Regardless you will lose all the weight you need because your in a Calorie Defiant. OMG i just ate lettuce today and that's it that's my new diet I lost weight hey you lose weight HOW from eating less. people you see who actually get success long term their eating less not more. less.

    Translator? Anyone?
    My dear fellow MFPers,

    To keep your metabolism up while you are on a low caloric intake, the best way would be to get at least 8 hours of sleep, and consume at least 6 meals a day, and I will stand by that. However, there is no reason why you can't do so in another way. People in the world did not become obese from eating less calories than what perhaps you feel they should, as that is not the proper way, either now, or ever. The starvation mode is what people call it when your metabolism slows down, so what you should do instead is to partake in a walk, or other brisk exercise that will speed your metabolism back to it's proper speed. Regardless, you shall still lose weight because you are continuing to eat at a calorie deficit. My lord in heaven, I just ate a piece of greenery, in this instance a single leaf of lettuc, and that's my new diet, and I have happened to shed a few pounds. Forsooth, you lose weight from eating less, hence when you see people who have success in a long term standing, it is because of this.

    *note - These are not my views, and are the views of the poster.
  • emsmig01
    emsmig01 Posts: 5 Member
    CINAHL isn't a medical journal. It is a index of the nursing and allied health literature that directs you to articles published in journal. Calling CINAHL a medical journal is akin to calling TV Guide a TV channel.
  • Lochlyn_D
    Lochlyn_D Posts: 492 Member
    I hear you bro, I'm so sick of people talking about starvation mode. It's all a load of B.S in my opinion, or the whole "Your body will start burning muscle instead of fat" LIESSSSS, your fat is there for when your body needs it, that's the whole point of fat people. Your body will only start breaking down your muscle tissue once it's fat reserves are gone.

    100% true!!!
  • Prephred
    Prephred Posts: 140 Member
    I read about half way then had to stop due to the complete lack of proper spelling, and punctuation. I will not read one giant run-on sentence. At some point we are required to breathe.

    Not only that but some people's body do go into starvation mode. It depends on the person. I had to start eating 1000 calories more than I was in order to start losing weight. I had been eating 1200 - 1500 calories for years. No joy. I had totally trashed my metabolic rate. I have lost close to 15 lbs since march and am continuing down even though I am eating more.
  • Lochlyn_D
    Lochlyn_D Posts: 492 Member
    I think some people are just jealous that we have the willpower not to stuff our faces all the time.

    that's probably it. but still, it's weird that it's always the people furthest away from goal that say stuff like this. i rarely see someone say this that has lost a ton of weight and is at or near their GW.

    hmmmmmm.....coinkydink?

    It was a joke. Time to lighten up. Why don't you eat something. You seem hangry.
  • shannonespinoza
    shannonespinoza Posts: 18
    CINAHL isn't a medical journal. It is a index of the nursing and allied health literature that directs you to articles published in journal. Calling CINAHL a medical journal is akin to calling TV Guide a TV channel.

    Yes...which I corrected. Thanks.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    I think some people are just jealous that we have the willpower not to stuff our faces all the time.

    that's probably it. but still, it's weird that it's always the people furthest away from goal that say stuff like this. i rarely see someone say this that has lost a ton of weight and is at or near their GW.

    hmmmmmm.....coinkydink?

    It was a joke. Time to lighten up. Why don't you eat something. You seem hangry.

    Rrriiigggghhhtttttt
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
    Some guys did a study

    jkun81.jpg
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    Im not saying that to eat 1200 im saying their is no such thing as the damn starvation mode.

    While you are exerting your superhuman will power you should note that as your body burns fat it will burn muscle too. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat and puts higher demands on the body than fat tissue. Yes, you will lose fat but you will also lose muscle, especially on a high deficit for an extended period of time. Your metabolic rate will slow down. This is what people mean when they talk about starvation mode. You can believe it doesn't exist all you want but it does in this context. There are things you can do to minimize the amount of muscle that you will lose while dieting but it is just how the body works. Anatomy and Physiology 101.
  • alannabowes
    alannabowes Posts: 30 Member
    Okay, so my opinion is that it depends on your body type. I personally prefer to think of my body type as a fuel saver...I can eat little and it lasts for a long time... but at the same time, I KNOW I have gained weight when I haven't eaten much each day (spent about a year doing this. little tiny bits of food at a time, much less than 1200 cals). I personally have seen my body store fat when I haven't had enough food. If I had pictures I would prove it to you. And there are obviously a lot of factors involved. But I really do think it is a body type thing/a personal thing. No one's journey is the same.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    I've been eating between 800-1050 calories a day since December (Doctor supervised of course and I had WLS in March) Not only am I not in starvation mode.. but I've also managed to maintain all but 1/2 pound of my lean body mass during my most recent 80 pound weight loss... so all of that "your body is going to just eat up all the muscle instead of fat is NOT TRUE if you have a LOT of fat to lose and you are eating enough protein and you're doing at least a little strength training, your body will eat the fat.. that's WHAT IT'S THERE FOR! I choose my foods wisely and get 70-90 protein grams a day and make sure I'm getting all my micronutrients as well.

    There's a HUGE difference between a VERY obese person who has a lot of fat stores eating at under 1200 calories and someone of normal or near normal weight doing so.. and also you really shouldn't do it for a prolonged period of time without being under a doctor's supervision since unless you are meticulous about planning your menu, it's REALLY hard to get all your nutritional needs met on 800 calories and you don't want to become malnourished.
  • brcossette
    brcossette Posts: 89 Member
    I would like to give you my expert opinion on this subject but I'm still fat. All i know is when i eat too much i feel like crap and when i eat too little i feel like crap. There must be a happy medium right? I'll let you know when i reach my goal.
  • sumthingboutash
    sumthingboutash Posts: 3
    i agree
  • _blizzard_
    _blizzard_ Posts: 40 Member
    I don't think that most women would go into starvation eating 1200 calories a day. We are all different though. It is true that if you aren't giving your body enough calories and nutrients, you will eventually starve. I don't think there is a magic number for that though. Probably consistently eating under 900 calories a day would be risky to some, if not most women. A large worry that comes with very low calorie diets is that you will suffer from vitamin deficiencies. It would be wise to raise your calories to a safer level, like the standard 1200, to lose weight more slowly.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Okay, so my opinion is that it depends on your body type....
    http://www.clutchfitness.com/forums/view.php?pg=not-different
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    To keep your metab up on a low calorie intake is to get at least 8 hours of sleep and eat 6 times a day and i will stand by that
    You don't need to eat 6 times a day to "keep the metabolism up". Eating 1200-1500 cals a day spread out to 6 meals is 200-300 cals per meal, that is a light snack to most people. Eating 6 light snacks a day will do a great job at keeping you ravenously hungry all day long. Besides who whats to live by the tupperware container and the clock?
  • niightwindz
    niightwindz Posts: 64 Member
    I did the whole 1200 calories for a little while. I stopped, not because of the "starvation mode" thing, but because I was always hungry and cranky. I now net generally between 1400-1800 and I'm losing weight and inches, without feeling hungry. I'm also in a way better mood nowadays. I would not call that stuffing my face.
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    I'm sure it depends on how much you have to lose and how long you've been dieting. I want to lose 8 lbs, maybe 10. Eating at 1400-1500 calories was getting me nowhere. I was stuck at 138 lbs. For months. Even though I work out seven days a week. Even though some of my workouts are pretty gnarly. Upped to 1700-1800/day and dropped four lbs within a few weeks. Was I starving and that's why I didn't lose weight? No, of course not. Was there some weird hormonal thing going on with my body not letting me lose those last couple pounds? Maybe. Possibly. It doesn't sound that crazy to me.

    I'm sure super low calorie diets have their place...for a short period of time. I firmly believe our bodies eventually adjust. So yes, I'd like to be 125 lb with 20% body fat (I'm 134 and 25% BF right now). But I also want to maintain it. Supposedly with my activity level, that's 2050 calories/day. Could I get there by only eating 1200? Maybe, maybe not. I'd rather try at 1700-1800 and be able to maintain at 2000. And hopefully maintain my muscle tone at the same time. :-)

    BTW, I have had to lose 30 lbs a couple times in my life. Once after my son was born and the second time after I quit working at a horse ranch and packed on some weight. But I'm the same weight I was in high school and I've pretty much maintained that for the last ten years. I couldn't have done that if I had to eat 1200 calories a day to stay at this weight. I only mention this because lots of people lose lots of weight and then gain it right back. It has to be something you can maintain/manage long term.

    But if it works for you, go for it. It wasn't working for me.
  • Kimdbro
    Kimdbro Posts: 922 Member
    Some guys did a study

    jkun81.jpg

    Haha!!
  • Bikini27
    Bikini27 Posts: 1,290 Member
    I would like to give you my expert opinion on this subject but I'm still fat. I'll let you know when i reach my goal.

    See, exactly.

    Bro-science comes from the tasty meaty guys in selfies at the gym.

    And now I'm hungry and must eat more calories.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Yes, thank you for the correction it is indeed a database. Lol...but it's a lot more academic than ...what did someone call it? bro-science?? Haha. It actually came from a journal called Positive Health.

    I would have a difficult time calling Positive health "journal" (http://www.positivehealth.com/)
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Best information I've read on the subject:

    http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/#starvationmode
  • _blizzard_
    _blizzard_ Posts: 40 Member
    That is such a bizzare syndrome. I've never heard of it. It sounds like you are doing better. And congrats of the babies. :) What type of nutritional drink did the doctor give you?
  • T0FatToB3S1ck
    T0FatToB3S1ck Posts: 192 Member
    Starvation Mode is a myth in my opinion. I've lost 107 pounds so far and at times have netted below 1000 for a week or 2 at a time. Not because I tried it but because I didn't understand that I was supposed to eat back some of those exercise calories. If starvation mode was legit, I'm sure I would have gone into it on more than one occasion.
  • shannonespinoza
    shannonespinoza Posts: 18
    Yes, thank you for the correction it is indeed a database. Lol...but it's a lot more academic than ...what did someone call it? bro-science?? Haha. It actually came from a journal called Positive Health.

    I would have a difficult time calling Positive health "journal" (http://www.positivehealth.com/)

    Lol...that was one article out of many located in the DATABASE. Sorry I didn't cite it in MLA format. I find it interesting that so many of you feel you know better than what is published and reviewed and that everyone should believe you over other sources. And that you insist on pointing it out. Is any journal or article 100% accurate? No, but I am more likely to believe it than anyone on a social site. Whatever works for you. It's awesome. It won't keep me from motivating others and being a positive influence on those around me.
  • jessicapetert23
    jessicapetert23 Posts: 26 Member
    Yea...that was pretty much one of the worst posts i've ever read on this site. Did your school have the subject of writing/english and did you participate?
  • InsanityMan84
    InsanityMan84 Posts: 18
    I hear you bro, I'm so sick of people talking about starvation mode. It's all a load of B.S in my opinion, or the whole "Your body will start burning muscle instead of fat" LIESSSSS, your fat is there for when your body needs it, that's the whole point of fat people. Your body will only start breaking down your muscle tissue once it's fat reserves are gone.

    100% true!!!

    Actually, not true. Your body will lose muscle if you are not getting enough nutrients and protein to keep what you have. It doesn't necessarily 'break it down' for energy, but you lost the amount of muscle mass and the strength that comes with it. Starvation mode is just misunderstood, but it is a real thing.
  • diaryofaskinnygirl
    diaryofaskinnygirl Posts: 146
    I think that starvation mode is really only a worry for those with very little fat. If you have a lot of fat stored on your body then it can be burned for energy.
    However when I was on a diet of 800-1000 cals a day and borderline underweight my metabolism slowed way down and I stopped losing weight. It took about a year of hard work to repair my body and metabolism.

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