Starvation Mode on Biggest Loser

WeatherGurl1129
WeatherGurl1129 Posts: 36 Member
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Did anyone see last night's episode when Courtney had hit a plateau of losing 5, 4, 3, and 2 lbs in 4 weeks. She talked to her trainer Bret about it and he mentioned that the intense working out and dieting works for a time, but the body eventually feels starved and wants to conserve calories and burn muscle--entering starvation mode. He mentioned that she needed to increase her caloric intake and decrease her cardio (maybe increase strength training). It doesn't seem that she did any of that because her workouts seemed just as intense and I didn't see her eating more. She ended up losing 1 lb this week and getting kicked off the show.

But for those keeping count, it seems she was able to keep up a consistently large weight loss for 10 weeks before her body hit her plateau. Is that the general rule of thumb before entering starvation mode? Some people here believe you can enter it in a few days. (FYI, I'm in the "eat my exercise calories back" camp. I also indulge a little on the weekends, so I've never come close to entering starvation mode. :tongue: )

Replies

  • MyFatPublicSecrets
    MyFatPublicSecrets Posts: 85 Member
    Bump. Interested to see what people say about this.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Idk that there is an exact time frame that I could pin point for you but "starvation mode" or famine response (or any of its other names) is triggered by undereating of a prolonged period of time- so weeks generally speaking, certainly not days.
  • CaseyBee
    CaseyBee Posts: 163 Member
    I can;t really say, since I haven't seen the episode yet... but next time, can you add a spoiler alert?
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    Starvation mode (or survival mode) doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't even happen within a few weeks. It's a result of consistently eating less than your body needs to survive. However, the danger of survival mode is such that we don't want to develop the habit of chronic over exercise/under eating... which is all too easy to do when you're focused on weight loss.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    I don't think you will enter it in a few days. I do eat most of my exercise calories back. I think the problem is she should have started eating more a few weeks ago. I was surprised she didn't gain this week if her body is so used to the restricted calories.

    Bummer that she had to leave though. I was really rooting for her.
  • WeatherGurl1129
    WeatherGurl1129 Posts: 36 Member
    I can;t really say, since I haven't seen the episode yet... but next time, can you add a spoiler alert?

    EEP!!! Sorry about that. :( Is it possible to change this title? :embarassed:
  • jessicafreake
    jessicafreake Posts: 29
    Yes I did see biggest loser last night, and yes courtney did enter that starvation mode, but it can take more than a week to come out of, until your body is sure that it is going to get enough calories to keep it going it will continue to store extra calories that it does not need in fear of going through the famine again, but if you saw the end of the show she had gone down to 210 pounds so she conqured (spelling) here plateau and continued to lose by makiing sure she was eating enough.

    But it goes to show you that you have to keep your body happy with a proper calorie intake to continue losing weight and inches in a healthy manner.
  • SolidGoaled
    SolidGoaled Posts: 504 Member
    Whenever the topic of starvation mode comes up, I thank myself for all the "screw ups" I've lamented over the weeks, because I think those episodes have kept me OUT of starvation mode and caused me to consistently lose.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    There is no set point - it's different for each person as to when it might start to have an effect. Women are probably more likely to encounter it than men, and the leaner you get, the higher the risk and the more dramatic the effects. It can be a matter of days if you are already quite lean; studies show that RMR will begin decreasing as early as 3 days into a severely restricted intake.

    It also depends on how far outside the range of deficit where your body is comfortable losing weight you are. If you're JUST under an ideal intake for weight loss, it may take some time for the response to kick in and the effects may not be as significant. If you're far under, it will happen faster and be more damaging.
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
    I was extremely happy that Brett brought up the problem last night.

    So to answer your question, starvation mode doesn't happen overnight. But Courtney has been losing weight at a rapid pace on a low calorie diet for a year at least. So after a prolonged period of time with a low calorie intake and high exercise levels, it's entirely possible she's in starvation mode. I'm having the EXACT same problem. I've been doing this a year and after about 9 months of low calorie, high exercise, my weight loss tapered off to nothing. It takes an adjustment of more calories and a bit less exercise (when I do I make it count, but I've cut back to 5 days a week from 6 or 7). And it takes time, I had a bad feeling Courtney wasn't going to be able to turn the trend around in a week. I'm 3 weeks into my plan of eating more and running regularly and I'm JUST starting to see the scale move...
  • SimplyDeLish
    SimplyDeLish Posts: 539
    14 pounds in 4 weeks doesn't seem like a problem or starvation mode.
  • jewelzz
    jewelzz Posts: 326 Member
    Totaly saw it,But I believe it takes along time for your body to go into starvation mode.However,he did say that she needed to back off on burn rate and up the calories to balance out the weight loss.I am doing this right now,otherwise your body holds onto the calories you do eat.
  • RachelReady2Run
    RachelReady2Run Posts: 40 Member
    Aww... I havent watched that episode yet! And I love Courtney!!

    I love watching the biggest loser, but we have to remember that their weightloss isn't realistic. They are working out and focusing thier entire life on weight loss, which is something us normal "Losers" don't have the luxury of. Even though I know all this, I still love watching how people's lives change as they lose weight.

    I personally feel like all of our bodies are different. It would be interesting to see a study where two 190 lb women of the same heigh follow the same diet and exercise regime. Even then, you would have to compare their initial fat percentages... see if that had an effect. I imagine somewhere out there they have tried that before.

    Hope that was helpful!
  • mfkfoster
    mfkfoster Posts: 331 Member
    A few weeks back I think I entered into starvation mode unintentionally. I wasn't losing any weight or weeks and I have a lot of weight to lose. I added more calories to my day and presto I lost 13 pounds in March! I think everyone is different and different things can make you go into starvation mode at different times. I think mine was that I was working out the same amount but I had cut back about 100 calories and I really don't eat my exercise calories back. I changed that and now I'm losing again. (except this week :blushing:female thing! )
    I hope this helps!
  • Evjones28
    Evjones28 Posts: 70
    MFP always says I'm in 'starvation mode'. I'm on 1200 calorie diet and I only do about 800 calories a day (bananas, salad, fish ...). I lost 3, then 2, then 1/2 lbs in the last 3 weeks. I'm barely eating and I feel lighter but the scale says otherwise. I haven't been able to go workout in the last week and half but i do walk and take stairs at work. I was disgusted to see the scale 'hating' me. I hate the 'eat' to lose method but i guess it's the only way. I'm having a cheeseburger w/everything on it tonight (850 calories) :bigsmile:
  • donicagalek
    donicagalek Posts: 526
    Don't know, but I'm trying to find out. :-) I'm aiming for a negative net until I no longer lose anything in a week. Then I'm upping my calories/reducing cardio by a hundred cals a day for a week and seeing if there's a difference. If so, I'll stay at that net until it doesn't work and so on and so forth. I'm not recommending this - at ALL. I'm also not going to publicly whine when I stop losing from it. I'll know why and I'll know what I can do about it. :-D The only reason I'm going this route is because technically I've been in starvation mode since the summer due to surgery. I've only just started plateauing a month or two ago. Time to kick it up a few. :-D
  • biggiwig
    biggiwig Posts: 76
    I have seen the episode and I was just surprised that those professional trainers and weight loss experts there couldn't help her and didn't find a solution earlier. Maybe she should have taken a week off from all the activities. There is a problem called "To much acitivity"
  • WeatherGurl1129
    WeatherGurl1129 Posts: 36 Member
    I'm 3 weeks into my plan of eating more and running regularly and I'm JUST starting to see the scale move...

    It took 3 weeks before I saw the scale move, too! I initially lost 1 lb in the first week and then stayed there for 3 weeks before I FINALLY saw a decrease in 0.5 lbs. I don't think I entered starvation mode, but I think my body was in shock from just eating better and exercising more and was like "Hang on a minute here!" :laugh: But it seems I've finally broken that because I lost another pound last week. I think for some people it just takes some time to see results on the scale. :smile:
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    14 pounds in 4 weeks doesn't seem like a problem or starvation mode.

    If she's working out incessantly and eating very little, the body will have no choice to burn something. How much of that is muscle?
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
    I can;t really say, since I haven't seen the episode yet... but next time, can you add a spoiler alert?

    EEP!!! Sorry about that. :( Is it possible to change this title? :embarassed:

    yeah I was thinking the same thing. Oh well guess that saves me a couple hours of TV watching time!
  • kimeister
    kimeister Posts: 212
    I feel like this might be based on your workout intensity and the amount of weight you have to lose.

    I hit mine after three weeks of dramatically increased workouts (intensive mobility stretching, weight lifting & cardio). Before starting a workout plan I was losing 1.5-2 pounds per week. After I began going to the gym 4 days a week and yoga on the fifth day, I plateaued for two weeks before I increase my calories and focused on increase protein intake, and I started to lose again.

    Since leaving my plateau, my weight losses are now generally .2-.6 pounds per week. I do pay attention to the scale, but not overly much. I'm pretty focused on determining my success based on measurements now. Buying a smaller size in pants beats a number on the scale any day of the week in my book!

    Shows like Biggest Loser perpetuate myths like 'It's all about weight', but it's just not true. IMO, if a show like that were truly focused on health, they'd be taking measurements, not weights, to determine "winners."
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