Don't believe in "Starvation Mode"?

I am just wondering if the contestants on the biggest loser were also told to eat back their exercise calories. Would be good to see what kind of diet plan those guys were all on.

I am just wondering if the contestants on the biggest loser were also told to eat back their exercise calories. Would be good to see what kind of diet plan those guys were all on.

From what i understand and from what has been said by previous contestants is that they eat about 1000-1200 calories a day and work out 4-6 hrs every day. That being said, a previous winner of TBL said he gained back over 30lbs 5 day after being on the diet because of water weight and how dehydrated he was. I think the overall goal is to be healthy, fit and a good weight that your heart isnt straining to keep you alive. One contestant on TBL developed an eating disorder which is another extreme.

My way of seeing it is that if i burn 500 calories at the gym, and im satiated and not hungry at all, why should i stuff myself with the extra 500 calories? In the end, I want this to be a lifestyle change for me and something that 1 month, or even a year after I reach my goal, i slip back into bad habits.

In the end, I want this to be a lifestyle change for me and something that 1 month, or even a year after I reach my goal, i slip back into bad habits.


Excellent Point....that is the only way to look at it as a "lifestyle change" If you loose it slowly and get fit and learn to eat better the healthier you will be!!

I have heard that one small cheat a week is good. Keeps your metabolism in check and jump starts it. You just can't overdo it!! WTG on almost reaching ur goal!

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To be clear:

What 75% (my estimate) of MFP users would define "Starvation Mode" as...

THAT, I do not believe in.

Testimonials, anecdotal evidence, all of it means NOTHING in my opinion. Show me scientific evidence of a starving person that gains weight as a direct result of their starvation.

Thank you!!

I think the main problem is that people are more concerned with losing weight and not concerned with lowering their body fat %. If more people, especially women, would "buy in" to body recomposition, then starvation mode wouldn't be this huge blown out of proportion thing on this website. In fact, the vast majority of users would end up eating way more than 1200 calories a day instead of fighting hunger urges on minimal amounts of nutrients. Of course, most people want instant gratification ,it's the just the type of society we live in.

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I am just wondering if the contestants on the biggest loser were also told to eat back their exercise calories. Would be good to see what kind of diet plan those guys were all on.

As a trainer, it offends me often how this show portrays itself. I'm not mad at Bob and Jillian or anything (although it's ugly the way Jillian pimps just about any product out there sometimes). I'm mad at the way it's produced.

Look, First you must understand a few things about TBL, 1) there are doctors there, at the ranch, who have a specialization in weight disorders, metabolic disorders, hormone problems...etc. monitoring the clients. So choosing ANY person and comparing them to TBL is going to be inaccurate.
2) these people are considered to be morbidly obese, and in some cases in "immanent risk of sudden death via stroke or heart failure"; In situations like this, and in the presence of EMT's, certain risks are considered acceptable, I.E. Very Low Calorie Diets (VLCD's), pushing beyond safe cardiovascular limits in the presence of medical staff, even certain weight loss supplements and aids. Anything to get the first 20 to 30 lbs gone to get them out of the extreme danger zone.

-For most of us, none of these things apply, even for someone who's considered morbidly obese, most of those people aren't in a situation where they're risking immanent death. And I would wager a guess that 99% of us don't have an EMT or doctor waiting 10 feet behind us in case we collapse.

-You have to remember, your deficit should be based on the amount of stored energy you have available to make up the difference. We HAVE to understand what we are trying to accomplish with the deficit. The body will always strive to reach a balance between calories available and calories burned. That balanced IS ALWAYS reached. Sometimes through food eaten, or a combination of food eaten and body fat released, or that plus protein, or all those plus forcing the metabolic rate to slow down to meet the goal.
That being the case, the more body fat available to the body, the bigger the deficit can be. So someone with 100 lbs of body fat is going to be able to utilize more body fat than someone with 25 lbs of body fat. So someone who is morbidly obese may be able to eat 1200 calories or 1000 calories NET or what ever, where, myself for instance, with about 25 lbs of body fat total and a maintenance of about 2700, can't come even close to that consistently without my body panicking and starting to throttle back energy usage.

Here's where the myth and the fact needs to be separated. The facts are above, the myth says you can gain weight if you eat to little. I generally disagree with that thought process, but there are very infrequent situations where this can appear to be true. How? Well, 1st remember that most people incorrectly calculate some of their statistics and calorie counts, whether that be their exercise calories, or their nutrition, matters little, they're wrong on occasion. That's fine, but when the deficit is to large for their body to handle and they are incorrectly stating their calories, this combines to make them possibly gain a lb or two here and there. I can get deeper into that concept if people like, but generally speaking "starvation mode" or long term underfeeding (greater than 3 days usually) or the famine response or what ever you want to call it is real, it DOES cause hormonal and metabolic changes in the body, and is a problem people on MFP encounter, I've seen it first hand, and I recognize when it happens. Determining the solution is difficult some times, especially for smaller women where the margin for error is very small, but it does happen. You can call things myths all you want, it doesn't change that the only myth is in people's understanding of it, not the term itself.

My plea is this, don't just say "it's a myth" because that perpetuates the "starvation mode is a myth" theory. Say rather something like "starvation mode is real, but many people on here don't understand what it truly is and does.

I've started a separate blog on this topic, and my first post was describing, in detail, the process of long term fasting and underfeeding. You can check it out here if you like, it's long and very technical, but it describes "starvation mode" more fully.

http://banks1850-machinations.blogspot.com/2011/02/inaugural-blog-short-and-long-term.html