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    The Truth About "Starvation Mode"

    Posts: 32
    edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
    Hey everyone, just wanted to share this with you in case you haven't seen it already. I found it pretty interesting to read through myself.

    http://caloriecount.about.com/truth-starvation-mode-ft28742

    I'll say this about the "Starvation Mode". Don't do it. You can lose weight without starving yourself, so why even put your body through the stress? You take care of your body and it will take care of you. Don't take of your body and... You get the picture.

    Happy eating / calorie loss / exercising everyone!

    Sam

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    Replies

    • Posts: 177 Member
      Not sure if you researched further into the study done in Minnesota that was referenced in the article. But reading about that study and what it did to the men psychologically, made me never, ever, ever want to go on a very strict low calorie diet. I don't care how fast it promised weight loss! For me, the only sane answer is a slow and steady lifestyle change. Avoid empty calories, manage portion size and exercise...

      good luck to you on your journey! =)
    • Posts: 320 Member
      Excellent link! Thank you so much for posting! I don't eat my 1200 calories/day, and was catching a lot of flack about it. However, when I did try to eat 1200+ calories, I GAINED almost 5 lbs.! Clearly my body doesn't require that many calories....and I won't worry about starvation mode because I do eat more than 50% of my maintenance!
      Thanks!
    • Posts: 236 Member
      Very interesting article. I loved the part about how lean individuals lose fat-free mass with highly restricted diets, but obese individuals retain more lean mass.

      "But when you think about it, doesn't that make fat storage sense? Why would our Maker create us with the ability to store fat if it couldn't sustain us and preserve our lean mass in cases of extreme want?"

      BUT, I also liked how the author pointed out that doesn't give an obese person a reason to starve themselves.

      Thanks for posting!
    • Posts: 32
      As long as this link helps you out and makes you aware, then awesome, I did my job as a 'MFP helper guy person dude'. haha

      @watkinsc: I didn't read what it did to the men psychologically, but I'm interested to know about it now that you said something about it.
    • Posts: 177 Member
      Definitely google it.. Even though it was a 'controlled study,' the men that were put on severe caloric restriction had a high percentage of the group develop eating disorder traits later on. Very sad actually. I don't think the researchers had any idea that they would be psychologically endangering these men like that. If I remember right though, I think the men in the study joined as an alternative to being drafted into the armed services or something... what a nightmare ....
    • Posts: 206 Member
      Hey everyone, just wanted to share this with you in case you haven't seen it already. I found it pretty interesting to read through myself.

      http://caloriecount.about.com/truth-starvation-mode-ft28742

      I'll say this about the "Starvation Mode". Don't do it. You can lose weight without starving yourself, so why even put your body through the stress? You take care of your body and it will take care of you. Don't take of your body and... You get the picture.

      Happy eating / calorie loss / exercising everyone!

      Sam

      Thanks for the link. I'll check it out!
    • Posts: 68 Member
      Question: Did it recommend eating your BMR cals for your desired weight instead of your existing weight as long as it's not a 1000 cal deficit? Or did I read that wrong....
    • Posts: 32
      I would assume it depends on a little bit of both, yes? That's a pretty good question.
    This discussion has been closed.

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