The Starvation Mode Myth...again.

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ditto to that

i do completely agree with this, what i really wanna know is how can you get out of 'starvation mode'?

Reverse diet. Slowly increase your calories up to where it should be. Add 100 calories per week.

Actually I forgot to add that I used to skip meals profusely and exercise 5-6 times/week doing about 100 minutes of hard cardio each time and also up to an hour of weight training while restricting. I saw a RD who told me that I had to quit exercising and just eat and I lost 15 pounds in 2.5 months with her as my personal meal planner. Get a professional to help plan the amount of exercise and meals if you wanna lose the weight!

IF starvation mode were true, you would'nt see skinny starving kids on those commercials. IF you don't eat, the body will take your stored fat. That's why Camels have humps.

IF starvation mode were true, you would'nt see skinny starving kids on those commercials. IF you don't eat, the body will take your stored fat. That's why Camels have humps.

I tried so hard to read all these posts seriously, but I lost it on this one, and am still smiling while writing this.

Unfortunately I don't have a link to a research article or published paper on the subject but I would have to believe there is a wide difference between a malnourished Ethiopian child, and someone with a screwed up diet. By diet, I mean the food they eat not the program they are on. When I think of starvation mode, I immediately start thinking about when I skip breakfast. This makes me think about the different studies (again no links, sorry) that show folks who skip breakfast gain more weight than those who don't. There are probably about as many or more that disagree with that opinion which leads me to only one conclusion. You will have to find what works for you and your body. Try that TDEE thing though it sounds horribly complicated to my simple self. Try fasting, since it worked in the old days when food wasn't so readily available (I assume since agriculture and domesticated animals weren't always around). But for heaven's sake, don't start comparing yourself to camels, or donation infomercials! Unless you are in fact a malnourished Ethiopian child, in which case I empathize and wish you the best. *queue a Rebecca St. James song in the back ground*

This makes me think about the different studies (again no links, sorry) that show folks who skip breakfast gain more weight than those who don't.

But do they show that they gain more weight WHILE on reduced calories. Anything I've seen directly links weight gain and weight loss to calories.

Some people find that they eat more later if they don't have breakfast. Many people find the exact opposite.

Does Starvation mode cause our bodies to catabilize (devour our muscles and other lean mass)? Yes and No.

Lean individuals lost great amounts of fat-free, lean tissue during starvation, but obese individuals lost much more fat tissue. The loss of lean mass is not as critical to the obese person simply because an obese person has more lean mass than a person of the same age and height but normal weight. Here we get to a basic idea that makes sense – fat storage – the same way animals build up bulk to rely on during the winter, obese people have fat stores they can use (to a limited extent) in times of need. This means that the effects of a semi-starvation diet upon a normal weight individual are of course much more devastating than the effects on someone who is obese.

I'm glad you pointed this out because it's true that your body will use fat stores before it will start eating into your muscle. So, if you're obese then you really don't have to worry too much about starvation mode. But, if you go too low it can still have a negative effect on your metabolism. I think that for an overweight person 1200, especially if that's net, sounds perfectly reasonable, if you can do it.

TLDR

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Doing alternate high and low calorie days works nicely for me.
That doesn't mean 'starvation mode' as described by most on here is the way it works.
It's generally accepted that it's an idea to taper your diet as you get leaner - the less fat the body has, the less it wants to give up.
One way you can do this is keep your calories constant - not just from having to shift less weight around daily, you'll burn less calories.

However, I'd be sceptical of anything that tries to sell it's self as a "diet". Rather, I'd like well researched 'scientific' facts presented to me about the differences your choices make, so you can choose the best ones for you.