The 1200-calorie/Starvation Mode Myth

I am so *&^%$#@!!! sick of this topic.

Also, on bodybuilding.com, the women who are working to lose weight are eating 1600-2000 calories, and doing so very, very successfully (that includes exercise calories). Why do people here think that they have to eat 1200 calories to lose? It's unnecessary for most, in my opinion.

This is because these women are burning 1000+ calories a day in their weight lifting routine. If they were eating only 1200 calories they would soon starve to death.

I can easily burn 600-700 calories in a good 2-3 hour lifting day - and I am not a competitor. I just love the buzz of endorphins that I get from lifting... it's akin to an alcohol buzz only my senses don't get dulled and my body is relaxed instead of numb. I hear that some people can get this from running... they call it the "Runner's High". Running for me is more like a death sprint.

I would suggest that anyone with a high calorie burn rate might be endangering their health if they eat 1200 calories a day for long. You simply cannot get enough nutrients and protein to offset the demands on your body. You'd likely get signals like feeling light headed and even fainting if you did this.

But again, that's listening to your body.

I think the issue here is that the number 1200 is a baseline... and can go up with additional exercise.

I just got back from 6 days in Cancun where I consumed about 2000 calories a day OVER my baseline (gotta love those mango daiquiris :drinker: ) AND where I did nothing but lie in the sun and an occasional dip into the ocean. I put on a good 4 pounds.

So my current baseline is 1300 calories a day. This will get me back to my original weight in about one month. (BTW - it was SO worth the 6 days of decadence :happy: ) However, this doesn't mean that I am only consuming 1300 calories a day. I burn about 400-800 calories a day in exercise. If I burn 400 calories, I usually consume all 400. However, if I burn 800, I will usually not consume all 800. I will make sure I have enough protein and other nutrients and I will take the extra deficit gladly... as long as I am not going to bed hungry.

Also, on bodybuilding.com, the women who are working to lose weight are eating 1600-2000 calories, and doing so very, very successfully (that includes exercise calories). Why do people here think that they have to eat 1200 calories to lose? It's unnecessary for most, in my opinion.

This is because these women are burning 1000+ calories a day in their weight lifting routine. If they were eating only 1200 calories they would soon starve to death.

I'm not talking about the competitive body builders, the ones I am referring to are normal women, with school, jobs, and kids who are trying to get in shape in an hour or less a day.

unfortunately, like any system that is broken, you can't just say "Eat when you're hungry" to an obese person any more than you can count on a broken thermostat in a house to regulate heat correctly.

the body has an enormous capacity to adapt. And there many studies done that prove this concept out.

So while I agree that for a healthy person, it's generally acceptable to "listen to your body", that's not necessarily the case for someone who has issues with over eating or under eating. There is a concept called metabolic adaptation that occurs during prolonged periods of under or over feeding, for someone who chronically under eats you can't just tell them to "eat when you're hungry". Likewise, as the body very slowly reduces it's RMR to account for under-nutrition, most people never recognize when they are feeling sluggish or have a lack of energy (at least not unless they are looking for it or measuring it). Similar to theory of a frog and a slowly boiling pot of water (and yes, I recognize that this is a myth, it's here for insight only not direct comparison), you don't realize you're in danger until well into the process if that process is slow enough.

Cited studies:

http://www.ajcn.org/content/89/3/801.full.pdf+html?sid=2f6841ba-c49b-4533-8fee-5d6166710164

http://www.ajcn.org/content/51/2/309.full.pdf+html?sid=1b56c0fa-7a4e-4d28-9866-08d978de9a98

http://www.ajcn.org/content/49/5/745.full.pdf+html?sid=1b56c0fa-7a4e-4d28-9866-08d978de9a98

Thanks for this!! One of the most well-written explanations I've seen for why you can't always just listen to your body. I'll have to check out those studies...

I eat almost 1900 calories a day & have lost weight.The thing I always tell people is.."ok if you want a piece of chocolate cake its fine,ya just have to make up for it with exercise" i realize as I continue to lose weight I wont be able to keep that caloric intake but to me its not really hard to figure out that I have to burn any extra calories i eat..

you'll be surprised at how little your maintenance calories change. Put it this way, I lost 60 plus pounds and my maintenance went from about 2850 or so to 2650, not that much IMHO. Mostly because fat is a metabolically inactive tissue, I.E. it doesn't really require much in the way of energy, so losing it doesn't really change your body's metabolic needs that much. There is some minor change because muscles don't need to work as hard, but it's not that big of a difference.

For me, it's about 1200 calories not working into my lifestyle. I wouldn't be able to have a glass of wine ever again And to me, being super skinny isn't worth not enjoying the food I love. I just want to be healthy.

bump!

This is an excellent discussion. I love the way this website encourages everyone to think long-term about taking care of their bodies. Nothing about metabolism or exercise is a "no-brainer." I agree with the generalizations in the first post. And I've also had brief stints with extreme eating habits from eating nothing all day and having no appetite due to serious health issues, to eating all day long because I was hungry all day long day after day with no control.

Now I'm here and fighting to gain a sense of balance where my body is happy and strong. I value everyone's experiences with these issues and the stories they tell. I also value the scientific studies that point us in the right direction. Thanks for sharing, guys.

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I am going to relight this thread... I believe that you have the wrong end of the stick here... Starvation starts to kick in when you eat 1200 calories less than your BMR. NOT less than 1200 calories per day total. That cannot be right as everyone is not the same. A 400 lb person would not survive on just 1200 calories per day.

A human metabolism is built around change. We need a Base metabolic calorie intake to maintain our bodies. If you do no exercise above your basal metabolic rate you will maintain your weight. You will also have a ratio of lean body mass to fat that will not change very much. The body, due to the variability of food intake and exercise, will have a stable metabolism within a range of calorie intakes. This has been shown to be about 500 calories above your BMR + exercise calories, to about 1000 calories below this. Within this range the body will use fat as a stabiliser. Either adding to your fat store or reducing fat to balance the calorie difference. Thus eating 500 calories per day more will slowly add about a lb a week to your fat store. You slowly gain weight. 1000 a day less will reduce your weight by 2lb a week and the body is quite happy with this. Your metabolism will stay the same.

So, from this we can see why MFP works so well. Eat up to 1000 calories less per day and you WILL lose weight.

What happens when you have a deficit of 1200 or more calories per day is that your body will initially burn more fat. This will keep going for a period of time until your metabolism decides that it cannot cope with burning that much fat. So it slows down your metabolism to reduce the deficit. You become more lethargic and more tired and loose less weight per week. Eventually the body decides that it can't cope with this way of living and starts more drastic ways of dealing with the deficit. It starts to reduce muscle mass in order to reduce your BMR. BMR is mainly determined by your lean body mass not your fat. Not only this but it will also stop burning fat as it has a preservation mode that has decided that fat is more precious than muscle. You start to become a lightweight / fat person. Your fat % actually starts to increase as your lean body mass goes down.

As you can see this method of dieting is not good for you. You are STARVING.

I am a heavyweight / lean person. I am 52, 6' tall and weigh 198 lbs BUT I only have 28 lbs of fat. (14% fat). This means that I am overweight on my BMI but lean on Fat %. Hence my heavyweight / lean tag. By eating 1000 calories less per day I lose about 2lb a week of fat to start with. Without doing any exercise there is a point at which I will start to lose lean muscle. I will still loose weight and eventually I will come within my BMI range. Is that good? All the evidence suggests not. Think of power to weight ratios. It is easier to move around a 6' high body if you have more muscle to move it. Once you have muscle on your body it is important to maintain it.

This is where exercise comes into play. It ensures that the body burns fat by maintaining lean body mass. BUT, you have to eat the calories that you burn exercising or you will slip into the 1200 deficit area. Then all the exercise does is turn you into an endurance athlete. Very fit, but with low lean body mass, skinny weight and no fat!

My two penny worth.

Regards,

Chris.