Starvation Mode: Myth or Fact?

I got that message once...I didn't feel well that day...didn't eat much...

Was I in danger of being in "Starvation Mode"...not hardly.

My opinion only...yes...I am sure that it exists...but rarely...and even more rare in the population of people that use MRP...if any.

I think people like to use the "Starvation Mode" phrase for drama...to make losing weight seem more "special".

Fact of the matter is...(IMO only)...no one eating at 1200 calories is going in to "Starvation Mode"...not even close. If someone chooses to eat below that amount then chances are they are not getting adequate nutrients but some manage to.

It reminds me of the phrase..."You're going to heil"...scare tactic in my opinion...some people like those scare tactics.

I don't know...I hate that phrase and how it is used in the "diet world". Use it if you like...believe it...or not. People just really need to use their heads. Have you ever heard of someone starving to death on a weight loss diet??? Most people will "cave" before they get that malnourished.

Sorry for the rant...I just hate when people throw that "You will go in to "Starvation Mode'" line out there...

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Its a real thing...for people who really are starving and have been malnourished for a long time. For us...not so much.

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Lots of differing opinions. If I don't hit a certain calorie intake, MFP gives me a message that my body could go into 'starvation mode'. But I've read a number of posts debunking that. Which is right?

Ready, set, GO!

Are you sure you can't just use the search function and read the 7,536 other threads on this? Sorry to be snarky, but... this again?

Yes. And I have a dozen threads on the subject. But it seems there's never any conclusion on it.

Edit: If it's proven only to happen in extreme conditions, why does MFP site it?


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

I would suspect to cover their butts in regards to law suits...just my thoughts on it.

Are You In The Starvation Mode or Starving For Truth?


http://www.healthscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=512:are-you-in-the-starvation-mode-or-starving-for-truth&catid=102:jeff-novicks-blog&Itemid=267

Lots of differing opinions. If I don't hit a certain calorie intake, MFP gives me a message that my body could go into 'starvation mode'. But I've read a number of posts debunking that. Which is right?

Ready, set, GO!

Are you sure you can't just use the search function and read the 7,536 other threads on this? Sorry to be snarky, but... this again?

Yes. And I have a dozen threads on the subject. But it seems there's never any conclusion on it.

Edit: If it's proven only to happen in extreme conditions, why does MFP site it?


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

I would suspect to cover their butts in regards to law suits...just my thoughts on it.

A fair enough response. Just seems curious that they would site it so blatantly with such a number of threads and research and such.

At the bottom of every page...you will find...this...

"Posts by members, moderators and admins should not be considered medical advice and no guarantee is made against accuracy. "

They are not claiming to be scientists nor medical professionals. They (I am fairly sure) use the standards set by the medical field and the government. It is why they will give you no less than 1200 calories in their recommendations.

IMO...the "Starvation Mode" that they display would better serve some if it read "WARNING...Below 1200 Calories you might not be meeting your nutritional needs".

Okay, this thread has been done before. I actually started a thread about his topic and wrote a very lengthy reason why starvation mode is a myth. It's here if you want to read it: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/vismal

The TL/DR version is as follows: Yes you can starve to death, but if you do, you'll lose a whole hell of a lot of weight before it happens. The body can show metabolic slowdown when faced with a large calorie deficit for a LONG time but the slowdown will never be great enough to wipe out the deficit, therefore eating very little will not cause fat loss to stop. There are many reasons NOT to go on very low calorie diets, starvation mode is simply not one of them.

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I prefer calling it metabolic damage but I'm convinced you can screw yourself up eating at an extreme caloric deficit in addition to an exercise regimen for an extended period of time.

The danger isn't that you will "starve" per say. As the other post mentioned, it would be extremely rare and most people would cave. It's when you cave that the problems occur. Your body has adjusted it's metabolism based on the calories you were eating. Now you start consuming hundreds if not thousands more calories after giving in. So your body doesn't burn all those extra calories it stores them and you gain even more weight back.

Perhaps its a strictly diet method vs a diet exercise school of thought but when you have a person eating 1200 calories a day and running 5-10 miles and essentially eating at 0 calorie net but not losing weight, something detrimental is going on.

This!

I've been reading this thread for awhile and it seems your answer makes a lot if sense to me. I was really sick late last year and couldn't stomach anything for months. As a result I lost several pounds getting me down to 116 lbs(I'm 5'1). After I recovered I gained some of the weight back (20lbs in 6 months). My question is should I be eating back my burned calories? MFP allows me 1200 a day and obviously adds on to that on my workout days. Most times I fall way below the 1200. Am I sabotaging my efforts if I don't make up those burned calories?

What are your weight loss goals?

If I had to guess you set it for 2lbs a week to lose that 20lbs???

If so...then you set a too aggressive goal...IMO...that would also be why you only received 1200K...the minimum that MFP will give you.

Many factors come in to play when determining how each person should set their goals...they do however need to be realistic for not only weight loss but to maintain health. It is a struggle at times...at least for me...

I really wish this message didn't include the phrase "starvation mode."

*Based on your total calories consumed for today, you are eating too few calories. Not only is it difficult to receive adequate nutrition at these calorie levels, but you could also be putting your body into starvation mode. Starvation mode lowers your metabolism and makes weight loss more difficult. We suggest increasing your calorie consumption to 1200 calories per day minimum.

Its a real thing...for people who really are starving and have been malnourished for a long time. For us...not so much.

+1

lmfao

Yes and no.

I am not a believer in magic, but rather personal experience...

You can cause serious impact and literal cessation of metabolic hormone production by eating anorexic levels for extended periods of time.

Starvation mode, as commonly spoken about on MFP, is not a fact. If you eat a great deficit for a couple days due to illness or some other factor, you do not suddenly become a metabolic cripple. If you eat a great deficit for a longer period of time, the metabolism will slow down to become more efficient based on the amount of calories you take in, but still, your metabolism will continue to work.

However, if you, like myself, eat less than 1000 calories a day for over a year, certain processes will stop occurring. My personal experience showed that this habit created a situation where (and this was confirmed by medical testing) if I did not eat, my thyroid simply did not produce hormones to drive continued metabolic burns. My body would use the bare bones it needed from what I ate and stored absolutely everything else.
The testing showed that my thyroid functioned normally after a meal for about 45 minutes before it ceased the production of these hormones. The specialist I was seeing concluded that at that rate, it was reasonable to state that if I didn't eat every hour, it would be impossible to lose weight.

Basically, I was severely hypothyroidic unless I was eating all the time. This test is ultimately what resulted in my anorexia/bulimia diagnosis as well as my clinical starvation mode state.

What can we conclude from this, and literature on the matter? Most people that see the kind of starvation mode people worry about on MFP are people who suffer from acute eating disorders like anorexia. Continued studies have shown that a person who has achieved this kind of metabolic impact in their life will continue to have recurrent metabolic rate issues without having actual thyroid disease for many years, if not the rest of their life.

It is rare. It is a fact that it can occur, but it is absolutely not common. Anyone that suspects that their metabolic process has been severely impacted by their eating patterns, habits or circumstances should seek medical care. The only reason my rates are at all close to normal now is because I went through about a year of hormone therapy to re-regulate my thyroid to a more normal level. I know of several people now that have experienced the same thing, but we have all been previously diagnosed with severe eating disorders.

Yes and no.

I am not a believer in magic, but rather personal experience...

You can cause serious impact and literal cessation of metabolic hormone production by eating anorexic levels for extended periods of time.

Starvation mode, as commonly spoken about on MFP, is not a fact. If you eat a great deficit for a couple days due to illness or some other factor, you do not suddenly become a metabolic cripple. If you eat a great deficit for a longer period of time, the metabolism will slow down to become more efficient based on the amount of calories you take in, but still, your metabolism will continue to work.

However, if you, like myself, eat less than 1000 calories a day for over a year, certain processes will stop occurring. My personal experience showed that this habit created a situation where (and this was confirmed by medical testing) if I did not eat, my thyroid simply did not produce hormones to drive continued metabolic burns. My body would use the bare bones it needed from what I ate and stored absolutely everything else.
The testing showed that my thyroid functioned normally after a meal for about 45 minutes before it ceased the production of these hormones. The specialist I was seeing concluded that at that rate, it was reasonable to state that if I didn't eat every hour, it would be impossible to lose weight.

Basically, I was severely hypothyroidic unless I was eating all the time. This test is ultimately what resulted in my anorexia/bulimia diagnosis as well as my clinical starvation mode state.

What can we conclude from this, and literature on the matter? Most people that see the kind of starvation mode people worry about on MFP are people who suffer from acute eating disorders like anorexia. Continued studies have shown that a person who has achieved this kind of metabolic impact in their life will continue to have recurrent metabolic rate issues without having actual thyroid disease for many years, if not the rest of their life.

It is rare. It is a fact that it can occur, but it is absolutely not common. Anyone that suspects that their metabolic process has been severely impacted by their eating patterns, habits or circumstances should seek medical care. The only reason my rates are at all close to normal now is because I went through about a year of hormone therapy to re-regulate my thyroid to a more normal level. I know of several people now that have experienced the same thing, but we have all been previously diagnosed with severe eating disorders.

I think most people accept this sort of thing does happen in people who have extremely low calorie intakes for very long time - like people in famines in 3rd world countries or people in concentration camps in the war - or yes, people like yourself who ate very low calorie amounts for long time due to mental health reasons like extreme eating disorders.

However the fact remains that this does not apply to 99.9% of MFP users and is vastly over rated on this site - comments in many threads saying things like someone eating under 1200 calories for a week or so is going into starvation mode - I dont think so.