Is it starvation mode???

No. The answer is no. Starvation mode, as most define it, is a myth. Please read this article:

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

Dammit, I was all excited to use my gif. I'm going to use it anyway.



*edit-- Great article, btw. I will bookmark it.

I get very uptight with the starvation mode is a myth crowd, so I did this.
feel free to read unfortunately for all of us... it's not a myth.
The podcast I linked does suggest some things that can help (and there are some other very good scientifically based articles on that site that can help too)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Qski

Why does this type of thread show up so often - oh I see, it's a newb.

BTW, unsourced web blogs are usually not the best to back up your argument.

Although some call it "starvation mode", it's also referred to metabolic adaptation, starvation response, adaptive thermogenesis, etc. and they pretty much all mean the same thing. No it doesn't happen over night, or even in a week. It's a gradual process that can take months. This is what you would call a "stall" especially when people get close to their goal weight.

You judging the OP by their start date would be like judging you for losing only 10lbs in four years.

Why does this type of thread show up so often - oh I see, it's a newb.

BTW, unsourced web blogs are usually not the best to back up your argument.

Although some call it "starvation mode", it's also referred to metabolic adaptation, starvation response, adaptive thermogenesis, etc. and they pretty much all mean the same thing. No it doesn't happen over night, or even in a week. It's a gradual process that can take months. This is what you would call a "stall" especially when people get close to their goal weight.

You judging the OP by their start date would be like judging you for losing only 10lbs in four years.

I get very uptight with the starvation mode is a myth crowd, so I did this.
feel free to read unfortunately for all of us... it's not a myth.
The podcast I linked does suggest some things that can help (and there are some other very good scientifically based articles on that site that can help too)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Qski

the thing is that most times when people someone say “I am doing all the right things, eating less, exercising and nothing is happening” you find out that they in fact are not weighing their food exactly thus not logging accurately and/or use inflated exercise calories that they more or less eat back thus they are not actually maintaining a calorie deficit.

All the issues that you list on your blog post do exist, but don't actually amount to hundreds of calories a day. You need to think about it logically and not tainted by your own feelings about your weight loss journey. Work camps, prison camps, people stranded with nothing to eat, they all lose weight. Do they have metabolic issues if that situation goes on for too long? Absolutely, but they still lost the weight in the first place.

My issue with this is not about my own experiences my issue is telling people who may very well be logging correctly to eat less.

It's not just one factor that contributes to this 'starvation mode' there are several and if you believe the premise of calories in calories out you have to believe in starvation mode

at high weight TDEE is based on your body weight and your exercise
after you have been dieting it is based on your body weight, your exercise and your factors based on starvation mode (unpredictable)

Like I said in what I wrote...
eating a little more is never going to be detrimental to the OPs health
but blindly assuming that it is an over estimation and going on about eating less can be

yes some people overestimate
yes more women overestimate
yes women who are logging in a social environment overestimate even more

but some people dont
and telling them starvation mode is a myth is firstly a lie and secondly could be a bad idea

I am losing 500g a week have been doing this for 10 weeks this does not impact me. I just don't like the idea of people accidentally telling people who may be eating borderline too little that they should just eat less.

ETA - and yes it can be in the 100s of calories per day 452(per day) is the highest I read in the studies I cited.

If someone is not losing weight they are not in caloric deficit. Period.

If someone says they are doing everything right blah blah and we tell them the reality of calories in < calories out, we are doing them a service. Definitely NOT a bad idea.

Rather than immediately saying, "Oh my gosh, you're in starvation mode! Eat more to weigh less!!" I think we should approach the situation logically and question their logging accuracy.

If people want justification to eat more calories I'm not going to give it to them. But there are plenty of people here on the boards that will. I will however suggest that they weigh all their food and let others take a look at their diary.

Furthermore, I said that starvation mode, as most define it, is a myth. As most define it. Please read the article.

Thank you - great post!!!

I get both ticked off and amused by the "your not eating enough" crowd. I admit when I first started on here I read these comments and started eating more for two weeks - guess what happened?? I stopped losing weight. Then I did my own reading on the subject and realized that for all but the snowflakes it did not apply to me in any way. I went back to eating the way I was and the pounds just kept coming off. No damage no nails falling out plenty of energy. Thanks for the post love that article it was the one that turned me around for good.

I find it incredibly frustrating to read their comments. Who knows how many people read that nonsense, decide to eat more calories and sabotage their weight loss? I wish I were a special snowflake, but alas I am not.