starvation mode

Hi

Here's an article that I posted last week about this. Read it as its really informative and makes so much sense

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/208407-how-to-repair-a-damaged-metabolism-stavation-mode

Wait 16 kg = 35 lbs? You started in January too, like me...you're doing great, actually, but be careful of the SM thing....don't let yourself get too hungry...

your food diary kicks *kitten* actually. your fat/protein/carb intake is right on for weight loss. maybe switch up your exercise more?? do something new, something different. just a suggestion! good luck!

the old eat back your calories again

may I suggest you go and speak to a Doctor, get some 'real' advice, remember people on here only give their opinion

Good Luck


stu

I don't have the time to actively defend this claim (sorry), but "starvation mode" is one of the most repeated myths of dieting today. You go into "starvation mode" when your body has used up its stores of fat. That's it.

A metabolic decrease does not happen until 60-72 hours without any food at all. In fact, the opposite is actually true: your metabolism temporarily goes up when you completely abstain from food! From an evolutionary standpoint, it makes perfect sense. The increase in metabolism makes you more alert so you can go "hunt for your food," but the effect is temporary. And it wouldn't be very evolutionary advantageous if our bodies started eating muscle and actually starving to death if we accidentally skipped breakfast.

Starvation mode is when your body starts eating its own muscle and vital organs to survive... even the bones! As long as you have a single ounce of fat on your body, you will never hit it. If you stop eating all together for more than 72 hours, well... then you'll experience a gradual decrease in your metabolism.

My example is a bit extreme, but I intermittently fast every other day. Last year I lost sixty pounds, and when I stopped the IF pattern because of work constraints I only gained five pounds. I've kept the rest of it off for a year, eating normally. (Intermittent fasting is so not recommended for everyone though, and I'll admit, it was tough. I like food, lol.). The point is that I never hit starvation mode, I ate A LOT on the days that I ate, and I still lost weight like crazy. I easily ate 150% of my normal caloric needs on the every other day that I ate (and I'm a dancer, so that was a lot of calories), and if you consider the calorie deficit of the days I didn't eat, I should have only had about a 25% a day average deficit. If I'd hit some kind of metabolic decrease wall from the 24-36 hour spent without any calories at all, I never would have lost a pound. Not only did I lose it, I kept it off for a year now without having to fast or bust my tail to maintain it. I just did what I always did (again, I am a dancer, so your mileage may vary on the same plan).

But please don't take my word for it. If you want hard evidence and links to various scientific abstracts (ones done in recent years, not the old stuff from the 60s and 80s that everyone continues to cite), look at this:

The Top Ten Dieting Myths Debunked (scroll down to #4 to address the "starvation mode" thing)
http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Fasted Training

Like I said, fasting is an extreme example of what you're talking about, but the studies cited here should bring some peace of mind to you. Unless you stop eating for days on end, your body will not suddenly bottom out it's metabolism. It's a myth that's been repeated so often that people just assume it's true.

I never would have believed it if I hadn't experienced it myself.



EDIT: After rereading this, I realized it sounded like one gigantic advertisement for fasting for weight loss. That was not exactly what I meant. I was just trying to illustrate an extreme example to show that the body's metabolism doesn't decrease as soon or as sharply as its commonly believed. If it did, I'd be bigger than when I started!

Also, there's an interesting book called the "Up Day/Down Day Diet' by Dr. James Johnson, who doesn't advocate fasting, but it sheds some interesting light on calorie restriction on an every-other-day basis and how the body actually reacts to it, citing various studies. HINT: You don't go into starvation mode, nor does your metabolism nosedive.