A query about the 'starvation mode' concept

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littlehobbit123
littlehobbit123 Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondered if anybody can enlighten me here. I have heard/read/been told all about how we need a min of 1200 calories to function, if you eat a lot less or 'starve' yourself you will stop losing weight. However, if this is true how do anorexics become thin by eating bare minimum or starving themselves? Just something I have always wondered (and no I don't intend to try it!).

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  • Stepmom1
    Stepmom1 Posts: 155 Member
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    Actually your metabolism slows down and it doesn't burn as many calories as it should if you were eating more and exercising properly. From what I've also read, your body saves fat in your body to keep you functioning well.

    Anorexics also like to exercises a LOT so that may account for all the weight they also loose. The weight loss may happen, but at a slow and dangerous rate. I am not a doctor, so I am only guessing here. But not eating enough can surely get in the way of effective weight loss.

    I have dieted before where my total calorie intake was less than 1,200 and I lost weight. But I didn't look healthy, toned, or fit. I just looked skinny and frail. As soon as I started eating more, I gained weight FAST. That's because my metabolism was probably so slow, that my body weight gain just exploded. So I guess is something to consider.

    I hope this helps you a bit. :wink:
  • CroakerNorge
    CroakerNorge Posts: 165 Member
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    Months of under/mal-nourishment will do that to you.
    Anorexics (typically) eat far less than 1200 cal/day.
    The may eat 500 cals a day, IF that.
  • momsdumplin
    momsdumplin Posts: 21 Member
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    During starvation mode you will initially stop losing weight but eventually your body kicks into survival mode and literally begins to eat itself. It will first attack the fat supplies you have and then will begin attacking the muscles for food. That's why anorexia is so bad. They usually have lost all of their fat supplies and their body is eating the muscle tissue. That is what happened to Karen Carpenter the 70's pop star. She starved her self for so long that her body began to eat the muscle tissue which it basically cannot digest and it sent her body reeling so bad that eventually it completely shut down.

    I am ashamed to admit that when I was high school I did the anorexia thing and lost a lot of weight. It eventually got the point where I could no longer eat more than 1 oz at a time and took me several years to recover fully. Now, I'm overweight and if I skip any meals my body automatically thinks I'm starving again and my metabolism shuts down. This is the reason I'm so overweight. I'm having to retrain my body. Hope this answers some of your questions.
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
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    Starvation mode is really more like a "conservation mode". Your body needs a minimum number of calories to function properly. When you don't provide your body with those minimum calories it needs to survive it will begin to conserve energy by slowing down your metabolism. If it goes on long enough it will also begin to take energy from vital functions. Essentially, your body will begin to use it's own muscles and organs for energy and to survive. You will continue to lose weight in starvation mode, but it will slow down.

    Now, it take a pretty extreme level of starvation for that to occur or a long, long, period of time with under minimum nutritional needs. The bigger concern with starvation mode over and above weight loss is that you are not getting vital nutrition and will have a negative impact on your overall health.

    Most of the time when you hear someone refer to starvation mode on this site what they really mean is that you have not been eating enough calories to fuel your metabolism and that your weight/fat loss has slowed down. There's a really good link about eating 700 calories a day that explains it really well.
  • McBody
    McBody Posts: 1,703 Member
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    Anorexics reached the point of starvation that the cells in their body started to consume remaining muscle and what little was left of fat cells. It takes a few months of being in "starvation" mode to reach the point of being anorexic. But remember there are different forms of anorexia... check this out

    There are two subtypes of anorexia nervosa. In the restricting subtype, people maintain their low body weight purely by restricting their food intake and, possibly, by excessive exercise. Individuals with the binge eating/purging subtype also restrict their food intake, but also regularly engage in binge eating and/or purging behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. Many people move back and forth between subtypes during the course of their illness. Starvation, weight loss, and related medical complications are quite serious and can result in death. People who have an ongoing preoccupation with food and weight even when they are thin would benefit from exploring their thoughts and relationships with a therapist. The term anorexia literally means loss of appetite, but this is a misnomer. In fact, people with anorexia nervosa often ignore hunger signals and thus control their desire to eat. Often they may cook for others and be preoccupied with food and recipes, yet they will not eat themselves. Obsessive exercise that may accompany the starving behavior can cause others to assume falsely that the person must be healthy.

    (and so I don't get in trouble for plagarism... *Berkman ND, Bulik CM, Brownley KA, Lohr KN, Sedway JA, Rooks A, Gartlehner G. "NAMI | Anorexia Nervosa." NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness - Mental Health Support, Education and Advocacy. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=102975>.)
  • CroakerNorge
    CroakerNorge Posts: 165 Member
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    Isn't binge/purging otherwise known as Bulimia?
  • emersoam
    emersoam Posts: 179
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    Katiecat, Good article...thanks!
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    .
  • Ms_Natalie
    Ms_Natalie Posts: 1,030 Member
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    The sticky threads at the top of this forum explain starvation mode in more detail

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/777-why-is-starvation-mode-so-bad Please read!

    There are 5+ topics started on starvation mode at the moment!

    There are other sticky threads available to newbies to help answer any questions..as this is a forum..you WILL get conflicting responses.

    Good Luck :flowerforyou:

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