Question about the starvation mode myth
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jvs125
Posts: 223 Member
Ok, so I keep reading starvation mode is a myth.
But, after being on a calorie deficit for months and working out 6 days per week, weight training and cardio, My weight loss has completely stalled. For months now, and I don't care much about scale, but inches aren't coming down.
I was thinking maybe I should increase my calorie intake to see if it helps the fat loss process but if starvation mode is a myth, then that would not help... So what would help?
I'm 33, female, 5'4", 127 pounds and currently eat between 1200-1500 cals daily..
But, after being on a calorie deficit for months and working out 6 days per week, weight training and cardio, My weight loss has completely stalled. For months now, and I don't care much about scale, but inches aren't coming down.
I was thinking maybe I should increase my calorie intake to see if it helps the fat loss process but if starvation mode is a myth, then that would not help... So what would help?
I'm 33, female, 5'4", 127 pounds and currently eat between 1200-1500 cals daily..
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Replies
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I'm reading that you would need 1241 calories to lose a pound per week with your height. Working out obviously helps. I think you'd better brace yourself for being reminded to weigh everything you eat.
Perhaps you can try eating at the bottom of your range, which is 1200-ish to lose a pound per week?0 -
Eating 1200-1500 cals daily, NOT counting the burn from my workout..1
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The closer you get to your goal, the smaller your margin of error is. Have you been adjusting your calorie goal as you lose? If you have a small frame you are right within idea weight for your height, which means it is going to be extremely difficult to continue losing. Talking a quarter to half pound a week. If you are not happy with the way you look I recommend you do some research on body recomposition.2
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Starvation mode is not a myth, if you are severely restricting your calories you can cause your body to store more fat and build less muscle, even when working out. Check out his nifty calculator to see how much you should be eating (complete with breakdown of your macros): https://legionathletics.com/how-many-calories-should-i-eat/
And this great, although lengthy article about building muscle while losing fat : http://www.muscleforlife.com/build-muscle-lose-fat/2 -
If starvation mode isn't a myth where are all the fat people in the pictures of holocaust survivor? As you lose weight it takes less calories to maintain, that's not starvation, that's physics. Every scientific study I have ever read shows the effects of calorie restriction on metabolism is very minor. The Minnesota starvation experiment showed a decrease of I believe 40% but thst was after the participants had very very low body fat.
If starvation mode was a real thing no-one would ever die of starvation.19 -
How are you calculating how many calories you are consuming?
So I ran some numbers for you:
Sedentary lifestyle - 0 workouts
TDEE: 1457
Sedentary lifestyle - 3 workouts a week - 30 min workouts - moderate intensity
TDEE: 1553
Sedentary lifestyle - 3 workouts a week - 60 min workouts - moderate intensity
TDEE: 1650
Lightly Active lifestyle - 3 workouts a week - 30 min workouts - moderate intensity
TDEE: 1680
Lightly Active lifestyle - 3 workouts a week - 60 min workouts - moderate intensity
TDEE: 1777
Lightly Active lifestyle - 5 workouts a week - 60 min workouts - moderate intensity
TDEE: 1905
Sedentary lifestyle - 7 workouts a week - 60 min workouts - moderate intensity
TDEE: 1907
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Eating 1200-1500 cals daily, NOT counting the burn from my workout..
@jvs125 as noted by biocowgirl starvation mode is not a myth and eating in a starvation mode is 99.9% why my weight yo yo'ed for 40 years wrecking my health.
Are you eating in a starvation mode I do not know. I do know the USDA states a female needs 1600-2000 calories to maintain good health.0 -
biocowgirl wrote: »Starvation mode is not a myth, if you are severely restricting your calories you can cause your body to store more fat and build less muscle, even when working out. Check out his nifty calculator to see how much you should be eating (complete with breakdown of your macros): https://legionathletics.com/how-many-calories-should-i-eat/
And this great, although lengthy article about building muscle while losing fat : http://www.muscleforlife.com/build-muscle-lose-fat/
Nope. Severe restriction causes your body to start eating it's muscle and organs as well as your fat stores for fuel. Your metabolism will slow as your weight goes down, but your BF% is unlikely to change (possibly get higher) since you are losing your lean mass as well. However, your weight will continue to go down until you hit the point where you are eating right around your maintenance level (which will be lower then what would normally be estimated since lean body mass was lost).5 -
OP, why the variation in calories? Do you have a fitbit linked?
Also, are you using a food scale? With so little to lose, your deficit would be very small, so you'd have to be incredibly accurate.. even with 100 cals extra a day, you could be wiping out your deficit, so eating more would not the solution. Weight gain is caused by eating more than you need to maintain.
No. The way you described it, no. If it was the case, how do people starve to death? Please provide sources to prove the starvation mode theory..biocowgirl wrote: »Starvation mode is not a myth, if you are severely restricting your calories you can cause your body to store more fat and build less muscle, even when working out. Check out his nifty calculator to see how much you should be eating (complete with breakdown of your macros): https://legionathletics.com/how-many-calories-should-i-eat/
And this great, although lengthy article about building muscle while losing fat : http://www.muscleforlife.com/build-muscle-lose-fat/
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GaleHawkins wrote: »Eating 1200-1500 cals daily, NOT counting the burn from my workout..
@jvs125 as noted by biocowgirl starvation mode is not a myth and eating in a starvation mode is 99.9% why my weight yo yo'ed for 40 years wrecking my health.
Are you eating in a starvation mode I do not know. I do know the USDA states a female needs 1600-2000 calories to maintain good health.
No.Sorry. you had other stuff going on. You can't function opposite the science.
I suspect you deprived and binged. And other posts you have made tend to indicate that.11 -
allenpriest wrote: »GaleHawkins wrote: »Eating 1200-1500 cals daily, NOT counting the burn from my workout..
@jvs125 as noted by biocowgirl starvation mode is not a myth and eating in a starvation mode is 99.9% why my weight yo yo'ed for 40 years wrecking my health.
Are you eating in a starvation mode I do not know. I do know the USDA states a female needs 1600-2000 calories to maintain good health.
You don't know what you are talking about. Sorry.
@allenpriest do you have any science to back up your personal opinion on the subject?0 -
No one gets to 250lbs due to starvation...15
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The science is posted all over this site. If you want to support myth then you need to post the support - which doesn't exist.GaleHawkins wrote: »allenpriest wrote: »GaleHawkins wrote: »Eating 1200-1500 cals daily, NOT counting the burn from my workout..
@jvs125 as noted by biocowgirl starvation mode is not a myth and eating in a starvation mode is 99.9% why my weight yo yo'ed for 40 years wrecking my health.
Are you eating in a starvation mode I do not know. I do know the USDA states a female needs 1600-2000 calories to maintain good health.
You don't know what you are talking about. Sorry.
@allenpriest do you have any science to back up your personal opinion on the subject?
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Christine_72 wrote: »No one gets to 250lbs due to starvation...
Indeed they do not. One gains by eating more, over time, than the body requires to maintain itself.
That may come from restrict and binge. But filks seem to frequently underestimate what they consume and overestimate what they burn.3 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »allenpriest wrote: »GaleHawkins wrote: »Eating 1200-1500 cals daily, NOT counting the burn from my workout..
@jvs125 as noted by biocowgirl starvation mode is not a myth and eating in a starvation mode is 99.9% why my weight yo yo'ed for 40 years wrecking my health.
Are you eating in a starvation mode I do not know. I do know the USDA states a female needs 1600-2000 calories to maintain good health.
You don't know what you are talking about. Sorry.
@allenpriest do you have any science to back up your personal opinion on the subject?
Show me one scientific study that supports starvation mode as it is portrayed in weight loss circles. Show me ONE single example of a fat POW.
If you over restrict your calories for a long period, you are likely to be susceptible to calorie creep. Things like mindlessly grazing, and binging are what cause people to stop losing weight.5 -
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Christine_72 wrote: »No one gets to 250lbs due to starvation...
As a former 250 pounder, I can confirm. I only thought I was starving and ate friggin EVERYTHING. It turns out I was just bored.9 -
Christine_72 wrote: »No one gets to 250lbs due to starvation...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tIuj-oMN-Fk
Dr. Jason Fung explains this @Christine_ in this 36 minute video. Run up to 21:00 if you wish to see how cutting calories to lose weigh can put one in starvation mode leading to weigh regain automatically at some point in time. Then go back and watch it from the start.
If one is burning 1800 calories daily and cuts calories to 1500 triggering starvation mode over time lowers their daily burn rate down to 1300 calories which means eating 1500 calories becomes a 200 calorie surplus.0 -
OP, while starvation mode is a myth, metabolic adaptations to prolonged caloric restriction are real and may be at play in your case. You could try a reverse diet for a few weeks and see if that gets your TDEE back up so you can restart your cut and lose more weight. Bear in mind, however, that it probably won't make that much of a difference unless you're actively working on your body composition by strength training properly. If you're currently able to lift 6 days a week on a deficit, you're most likely not lifting heavy enough to get much fat-burning/body composition benefits from it. Get on a real lifting program with progressive overload and big, heavy compound movements.
Also, cardio is an extremely ineffective way to lose weight, particularly for women, especially for women who are already fairly lean (which at 120-something pounds you probably are) and even more so for leaner women who've been calorie-restricted for a while. Do cardio because, as the name implies, it's good for your cardiovascular health - not because you want to lose weight.
Dr. Layne Norton has written extensively going over a lot of the scientific research that explains all of this stuff. Lyle McDonald is also a good source. Look them up.0 -
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