Starvation Mode

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ErinJ1981
ErinJ1981 Posts: 72
in Food and Nutrition
When does the body go into starvation mode?
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  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    When your calorie intake is too low. Under 1,200 calories per day.
  • ErinJ1981
    ErinJ1981 Posts: 72
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    Well, I wake up starving. Does that mean all the food I eat for breakfast is getting stored as fat?
  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
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    when your NET calories are under 1,200.
  • miznel80
    miznel80 Posts: 46 Member
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    I wake up starving sometimes too. I just grab something to eat real quick, like toast or oatmeal. It goes away.
  • wiggleroom
    wiggleroom Posts: 322 Member
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    Feeling starving isn't the same as "starvation mode." That's about your body freaking out because it's not getting enough nutrients, so it slows down digestion and retains more calories than usual.

    Eat when you're hungry! =)
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    I stay under 1200 calories every day for the past 15 weeks and have consistently lost weight.
  • nefertirie
    nefertirie Posts: 13
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    that was happening to me to...but one thing i started to do thats helping and it may not be for everyone. but i drink a cup of unsweet silk soy milk..with one spender packet in it right be for bed. i know everything says nothing before bed but i find it really helps me...
  • sabrads
    sabrads Posts: 152
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    Starvation mode will kick in when you are eating about 1200 calories but it will vary from person to person.

    If I remember from my biochem lectures

    It isnt about the feeling you have when you wake up it is the way the body adjusts its biochemistry to deal with a period of lean times. Your metabolism can slow down and your body will raid what is lacking in your diet from your body, this can include taking protein from healthy muscles to support the higher organ function.

    Pretty much all food that you eat can be stored as fat - unless it is burnt during the day. Within 24 hours excess carbohydrate, fats and protein will be channelled in to the fat storage mechanism. But if you use up those calories then they wont. This is why you cannot borrow from tuesday what you overeat on Sunday. The Sunday excess has already been converted to fat.

    Overnight is not really a long enough time for this to happen.
  • doramouse
    doramouse Posts: 160
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    I have been hungry in the morning now for about 2 - 3 months. I never used to be. Not for 20 years. I am sure it is because my metabolism is actually working now. Being hungry in the AM is a good thing!
  • AshleyyyB
    AshleyyyB Posts: 15
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    I'm actually having a really tough time avoiding starvation mode...I usually meet my calorie goal, but my exercise calories cause my net calories to drop wayyyyyy below my 1200 goal. I'm having a really difficult time losing weight as I work out like crazy and I've been eating healthier and smaller portions...could this be the reason why? If so, how do I make it stop!? Does this mean my exercise calories and food calories need to total out to 1200? I thought you had to be under your calorie goal to start losing weight?
  • shaheerahs
    shaheerahs Posts: 79 Member
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    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think when you wake up in the morning you are just really hungry because you haven't eaten for a few hours. I don't think that would qualify as being in starvation mode.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    There are lots of posts about this.

    You're body needs a basic amount of calories to survive. You must maintain a calorie intake of 1,200 to avoid going into "starvation" mode. If you eat 1,200 calories but burn off 300 calories exercising that means your calories for the day is actually only 900 calories. Which is too low.

    Therefore, anytime you exercise you should eat as many of the calories that you burnt to maintaun your calorie intake at or above 1,200 calories. If you didn't exercise then eat the 1,200 calories. If you exercise and burnt (as an example, 300 calories) you need to eat 1,200 calories PLUS the 300 burnt therefore you would need to eat 1,500 calories.
  • sarahann87
    sarahann87 Posts: 5 Member
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    I stay under 1200 calories every day for the past 15 weeks and have consistently lost weight.

    That's not necessarily a healthy way of eating though...it's very difficult to get in all the nutrients you need in a day by limiting yourself so much. Believe me, I know. I lived that way for literally years. Sure, I'd lose weight at some points, but nothing drastic and after I'd lose it, I'd plateau majorly then go back up to a "base weight". Because I trained my body that way into thinking it couldn't trust when I'd eat again, I held onto so much excess weight and it's made this journey into healthier eating difficult.
  • shanamalena
    shanamalena Posts: 58
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    Check this out....I thought it was pretty interesting....lol


    http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html
  • jessieinblue
    jessieinblue Posts: 287 Member
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    I'm actually having a really tough time avoiding starvation mode...I usually meet my calorie goal, but my exercise calories cause my net calories to drop wayyyyyy below my 1200 goal. I'm having a really difficult time losing weight as I work out like crazy and I've been eating healthier and smaller portions...could this be the reason why? If so, how do I make it stop!? Does this mean my exercise calories and food calories need to total out to 1200? I thought you had to be under your calorie goal to start losing weight?

    YES, this is why you aren't losing weight. You need at least 1200 calories AFTER subtracting your exercise calories.

    Check out this post for an excellent explanation :

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • lradloff
    lradloff Posts: 59 Member
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    I'm actually having a really tough time avoiding starvation mode...I usually meet my calorie goal, but my exercise calories cause my net calories to drop wayyyyyy below my 1200 goal. I'm having a really difficult time losing weight as I work out like crazy and I've been eating healthier and smaller portions...could this be the reason why? If so, how do I make it stop!? Does this mean my exercise calories and food calories need to total out to 1200? I thought you had to be under your calorie goal to start losing weight?

    MFP is already putting you at a lower calorie number based on what you said you wanted to lose. If you're having a hard time losing weight, that is probably why. You make it stop by making your net be above 1200. Add healthy snacks, etc to your day to make that net go above 1200. I usually exercise at night, and plan out what I'm going to do, so estimate how many extra calories I can eat in the day. That way I'm not sitting before bed needing to eat them all to meet my net. Hope that helps! I bet if you up your net calories you're going to see it coming off again! Good luck!
  • ErinJ1981
    ErinJ1981 Posts: 72
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    I understand the whole net calorie thing, I was just curious as to when my body would start going into starvation mode. Meaning, does it happen over night. I try not to eat pass 8pm and I normally eat breakfast between 8-9am. I try to save breakfast until after my workouts, but lately, my tummy is growling for food so I've been eating breakfast as soon as I wake up.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    "Starvation Mode", when it does exist, occurs as a result of longer-term underfeeding, usually accompanied by a high volume of exercise. And it is influenced by the ratio of fat to lean muscle.

    Missing a meal will not put your body into "starvation mode"; nor will eating 1199 calories.

    Of all the things that people have to worry about when on a weight loss program, "starvation mode" would not rank in the top 10, maybe not even the top 20.

    When people start a calorie-restricted eating plan and start an exercise program, they often significantly reduce their other casual activity. In addition, too many people opt for a 1200 calorie/day plan, thinking that will lead to the quickest weight loss. The problem is that 1200 calories/day is not easy to stick to, and many people who say they are eating 1200 calories a day actually eat more.

    Sharply reducing calorie intake does cause resting metabolism to decrease--fairly quickly. Exercise and strength training can attenuate that somewhat, but it still decreases. And lastly, dieting is a type of stressor -- strict dieting combined with high exercise volume can contribute to a chronic stress condition in which fat loss occurs more slowly.

    All of these factors can contribute to a situation where weight loss does not occur according to one's expectations and the cause is mistakenly attributed to "starvation mode".

    I suspect that many if not most people would do better on a 1500 cal/day plan.
  • shanamalena
    shanamalena Posts: 58
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    I need to starve.....I have been lavishing myself with food for too long..!! lol J/K
  • dzilobommo
    dzilobommo Posts: 73 Member
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    I've seen so much conflicting advice about this by now...but I've just found an explanation - finally! - that makes sense to me:

    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

    In a nutshell: even if your metabolism slows down somewhat when your body thinks it's not getting enough food, this slowing down is nowhere near enough to offset the impact of reduced calories. So if you're eating 1,200kcal but still not losing weight, there must be some other explanation: either water retention due to too much sodium, time of the month, medication or muscles in repair mode after exercise, or increased average body density due to muscle building. The kind of reduction in your metabolic rate that can really interfere with weight loss only occurs once you have completely depleted your fat stores - the pictures of the subjects of the famed 'Minnessota study' really hammered it home for me!

    Having said that, I wouldn't want to go below 1,200kcal in food per day, but from now on I won't feel compelled to eat my 'exercise calories' unless I specifically feel like it :smile:

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