the myth, starvation mode, and dont eat before bed.

Like someone said in a email to me, "a lot of the people on here are looking for a way out instead of a way in." I am finding my way in to outof here.. haha take care people.

Yep, plant the bomb and run.

Nice.

Additionally, I see all these posts grabbing at straws with anecdotal evidence. Fasting helps with cancer for example. LIMITED fasting, with sketchy...possibly completely unprovable results.

Wtfe man...irresponsible doesn't even cover it.

okay okay I tried to delete this post and i came across your comment and i read that post that ladyhawk posted. The link,
Yes that was wrong of me, to say something like that and bounce. It just got so ridiculous The original topic was the myth of starvation mode, and eating before bed.

Ladyhawk made a good point with her post. SO here is my final summary on this web page.

Cris I am sorry about your friend, I hope the best for them. I do understand where you're coming from. I can see that young girl who thinks she's fat trying anything to lose weight who will eventually end up hurting herself.

Ladyhawk made a good point, she posted studies that say reduced caloric diets can be dangerous. I posted one that said they're beneficial (this is under medical supervision). So what can we learn from this? There is contradiction everywhere in health and fitness. Anyone can be misinformed, including myself, people who post, even people with PhD's... The bottom line is use common judgment. The techniques I have mentioned can be dangerous, if you don't know how to apply them. Playing with your insulin levels can lead to diabetic shock which can lead to death. Starvation can also cause death, obesity can also cause death. I do agree before trying anything, talk to certified personal, while also thinking for yourself. A lot of people said to me "post the scientific evidence" which i did. People posted opposing scientific evidence. So where does this leave us? Who's right who's wrong? No one is. They are all just different perspectives on the same subject. Which if you examine will create a larger general picture putting the puzzle pieces together. If you don't see the big picture, it's be careful with what you do to your body, it can cause side effects you don't want to occur.

I did say "starvation mode is a myth" I still believe it to be so. I never said, be on an extremely low caloric diet. That can be dangerous. I also said "it's okay to eat before bed" I remember this opera singer who died by supposedly eating too much before bed. There is a limit to what I say and hat other people are saying. There are many Doctors out there who have done more harm then good, but there is also many Doctors who have done great good.

This is something I call the zero theory. Meaning anything can be changed by looking at it from a different angel, nothing is right or wrong, it depends on your perspective of it. Using extreme perspectives isn't a wise choice because you're diluting yourself from all the perspectives. With a bigger picture you can make better judgment of whats best for you. If someone said ot me "what is the best way to lose weight?" I'd say "use common sense." You are the ultimate judge on what to do for you. No one can tell you other wise. As I said before, the things I mentioned can be extremely dangerous if not done with proper education and knowledge on the subject. I never advised anyone to try it or do it.

your post is very opinionated and unfortunately this time your opinion is wrong. people would be wise to do the exact opposite of what youre recommending

Why is it wrong. IF you have strong beliefs of opposition. My experience, is I taken the NASM certification course (national academy of sports medicine) plus I have over 14yrs of experience in the health and fitness community. But thanks for your input.

You started your endeavors in the health and fitness community when you were 15? I don't think it's appropriate to gauge "experience" if it isn't related to actual work in the field. Are you a MD? Do you have a PhD or equivalent in nutrition? You know what may work for you physically... but have you had youre blood drawn? There could be many things going on inside of your body from your style of weightloss than you can't see that could only be determined by a liver function test or the like. Additionally, when you're trying to convince someone of your opinion, being humble is important. No one is going to want to take your opinions into consideration if you're being pushy and inconsiderate in some of your responses. Just food (no pun intended) for thought.

Ask a doctor then ask him if fasting can improve health. See what he says.

Yes I agree, I know that long term fasting will decrease muscle mass, IT if done properly can be beneficial to weight loss.

I'm assuming you meant to say IF not IT (not sure how Information Technology could be beneficial to weight loss, I digress).

Now go with me on this one.

OK lets follow that logic chain. If you agree that long term fasting is bad for muscle mass, and you agree that starvation mode is long term fasting, and (I'm assuming) you agree that losing muscle mass is a bad thing for good health, ipso facto... starvation mode is neither a myth, nor is it a good thing to be in.

Can we all agree on that? I would hope so. The only thing (and I've been on MFP for 4 years, preaching this the whole time) that I have a problem with is some people's definition of starvation mode.

Starvation mode neither happens over night, nor does it STOP weight loss. What it does does is simple reduce your body's ability to lose the same levels of adipose fat, it canabalizes lean tissue (starting with least used first in most cases), and attempts to slow down secondary organ function and systems deemed "less necessary" to reduce caloric expenditure. None of this is good things.

How about we all make a pact to stop calling it a myth and start educating people on what it really is. What ever you want to call it. There's room in this world for people who do IF, as well as people who do a more balanced nutritional approach, even for ketogenic and low carb lifestyles, as long as we all understand the advantages and drawbacks of each, and we aren't all trying to prove each other wrong I'm happy.

I completely agree with you, I went back and read my original post. I mentioned the caveman eating pattern, No one knows for sure how they it, they are assumptions, but I believe they're pretty solid, but you never know. I said "Eating at low caloric levels are very beneficial to weight loss, IF you know how to do it properly." You said Nutritionist and Medical personal have no problem with short term fasting. Which I am for, I am against of long term restrictive diets. I am just trying to say that If you do something like an Intermittent fast, you won't be in starvation mode. If you do do a long term fast, you can get in to starvation mode.

Athletes EAT/FUEL themselves before an event generally for breakfast. It's important that the body has a good source of fuel at the start of the day to function properly. My job is physical i need the fuel to get me through the day and generally i eat 6 times a day. I wake up hungry because i don't eat like a glutton at supper. Caveman used to live very short lives so your theory and trying to apply it to modern day physiology are flawed. People are FAT because they eat too much food drink to much soda/ booze and more importantly eat to much food that has no nutritional benefit.

Starvation mode is a myth. I also believe that it makes no difference if you eat before bed. It really is calories in and calories out ultimately.

Okay thank you, Yes athletes eat before an event, it also depends on what type of athletes. Meaning which sport. My opinion about it is, when you eat it inhibits fat release, which is the most abundant fuel humans have. So when you eat, you pretty much turn off your fat burning abilities. Growth hormone level raises due to low insulin levels(of not eating) which help with strength, people who have eating like this are incredibly impressed by how much strength they have.

well I think if you go by personal experience, than so should the rest of us my experience is a lot same as yours, my musclemass do not decrease if I eat less than I need, the fat dissapears though, and maybe my metabolism slowes down a bit, but not that much because I still mixe it up with higher and lower days, though the higher cal days are still under my bodies cal limit... if I dont workout for a while, then my muscelmass decreases, because I still have fat to burne off, the body takes from the fat rather than the muscle, that is my experience

so basically i cinda agree with you but I understand that there are people with other experiences

I am pretty sure that's a form of zigzagging your calories. I am doing what you're doing caloric wise pretty much, it works very well.

Wow. So much drama. I think the real issue here is that many people on MFP overuse the term starvation mode, and so it's lost it's true meaning. If I eat 700cals for two days and don't lose any weight, chances are that's not because my body is starving and storing everything I eat. I think that's the mistake some people make. They seem to think that there is always a bigger reason for why they aren't losing. I see a lot of these buzz words thrown around for reasons why people aren't losing, or aren't losing fast enough, or even gaining. Concepts like starvation mode, plateaus, water weight and muscle weight are used far too often in my experiences on the forums, when a lot of the time there is a much more simple reason such as you under reported your calories, over reported your exercise or even, shockhorror, the simple fact that our bodies are designed to gain or maintain weight, not lose it. There could be weeks where you do everything right and not lose a pound, simply because you are asking your body to do something which it is not designed to do. That doesn't mean that I don't believe in true starvation mode, though. Your body wants to live. If you aren't giving it what it needs to live it will shut down every non vital source of energy expenditure and ration out the energy you give it (burn it much slower) It will also, if necessary, cannibalise readily available and non essential muscles and tissues to keep itself going. Then, once the non essential muscles and tissues are gone, it will start on the essential ones. Like our organs and hearts. However... That is extreme, and I highly doubt that many people on MFP will experience starvation mode in it's extreme forms, aside from those with an eating disorder. So I agree that the overused 'MFP version' of starvation mode is a myth. But real starvation mode is not. Just ask the malnourished starving children in Ethiopia who are dying of heart failure.

Good post.

your post is very opinionated and unfortunately this time your opinion is wrong. people would be wise to do the exact opposite of what youre recommending

Why is it wrong. IF you have strong beliefs of opposition. My experience, is I taken the NASM certification course (national academy of sports medicine) plus I have over 14yrs of experience in the health and fitness community. But thanks for your input.

You started your endeavors in the health and fitness community when you were 15? I don't think it's appropriate to gauge "experience" if it isn't related to actual work in the field. Are you a MD? Do you have a PhD or equivalent in nutrition? You know what may work for you physically... but have you had youre blood drawn? There could be many things going on inside of your body from your style of weightloss than you can't see that could only be determined by a liver function test or the like. Additionally, when you're trying to convince someone of your opinion, being humble is important. No one is going to want to take your opinions into consideration if you're being pushy and inconsiderate in some of your responses. Just food (no pun intended) for thought.

Ask a doctor then ask him if fasting can improve health. See what he says.

youre looking for a quick fix... an easy way out. why do you think you have continued to relapse and have not sustained any weight loss for an extended period?? i read your profile and your dream of becoming a navy seal.

you need to eat healthy food and exercise 6 days a week. counting calories, fasting, starving yourself... whatever you want to call it wont get you to be a navy seal any time soon.

eat lean protein in the morning... eat simple carbs in the afternoon and eat veggies and lean protein at night.

i did p90x and followed the nutrition plan. i ate breakfast everyday, i ate 2,100 calories everyday and i did my very best not to eat within 2 hours before bed and i lost 45lbs!! and i feel better then i have in my entire life!!

i went from 205 to 160 in 4 months! im a 28 year old male, 5 foot 11 inches

im now doing insanity. the beautiful thing about eating well and exercising is that if you stick with it, the results are the same for everybody.

stop looking for an easy way out. starving yourself is unhealthy, it will lead to bad cravings, binges and relapses.

good luck and stay fit!

I know what you're saying.. and I completely agreee that looking for a quick fix will be too stressful on the body that you can't keep it up. I totally agree, that was my mistake. I would workout too intensely, and my diet was pretty good. I think it was the workout that was getting to me. I wouldn't starve myself, never said anything along those lines, it was a comment, I am actually against prolong fasting for weight loss.