Does Starvation Mode really lower metabolism?

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  • LaJauna
    LaJauna Posts: 336 Member
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    Well for me, i dont think so. It makes you lose alot of weight...and fast.

    I think self-canibalization is a great plan! When you starve yourself, you start to eat your own muscle mass. You can eventually even eat your own internal organs! I love it! Let me know how it works for you! Oh, you might want to get some great medical insurance and maybe some life insurance for the future. (Sarcasm is meant. I know.... not nice. I appologize.)
  • barbiex3
    barbiex3 Posts: 1,036 Member
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    Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.
    What. The. Hell.

    Worst advice ever.

    Right! Why not smoke crack while you're at it?

    LMAO. I hear lots of people lose weight from doing meth... :P YOULL GET REALLY THIN, but it don't mean your healthy :D
  • Danahimself
    Danahimself Posts: 279 Member
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    How did that make you feel? @Heather75
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
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    How did that make you feel? @Heather75

    It was an accident, and it only hurt a little so I think I just felt slightly surprised.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
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    Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.
    What. The. Hell.

    Worst advice ever. Of course you will lose weight. Your body is trying to stave off organ failure as long as possible. Doesn't make it even remotely healthy, and research shows you gain the weight back once you start eating.

    can you please qualify these statements by also stating that this only starts happening below 6% body fat!. Most people on MFP will never, ever experience this.
  • christina3323
    christina3323 Posts: 25
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    I suggest drinking kerosene to...it helps burn calories
  • 20114liz
    20114liz Posts: 13
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    You guys take it easy on me. You have no idea how much calories i used to eat. About 3,500 calories a day. Now i am trying to reduce it to 1,500 and i'm starving, but loosing weight. I gained 50lbs from pregnancy and i'm trying to lose it. I believe how pple eat is relative.
    You have no idea how much i used to eat. I do not appreciate the insults. Get your facts rights. Thanks to the lady that explained her own situation.
  • 20114liz
    20114liz Posts: 13
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    You guys take it easy on me. You have no idea how much calories i used to eat. About 3,500 calories a day. Now i am trying to reduce it to 1,500 and i'm starving, but loosing weight. I gained 50lbs from pregnancy and i'm trying to lose it. I believe how pple eat is relative.
    You have no idea how much i used to eat. I do not appreciate the insults. Get your facts rights. Thanks to the lady that explained her own situation.
  • 20114liz
    20114liz Posts: 13
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    was about to go to bed but have just seen your post & i just have to reply ,,this is all from my own personal experience
    i started this on a mission to lose weight & i was doing at the begining approx 800 cals burn per day & sticking to a low cal diet of 1200 cals & was very proud of myself when i was well under ,it was fantastic & i lost a lot in a short time & felt strong & good & got a real buzz from the workouts .
    sounds great huh !
    yeh not so much
    then i started feeling like **** ,weak ,looked pale ,zero energy ,,on many occasions in the week would be happily going about my day & would come over in a hot sweat ,clammy & pale looking ,,my eyesight would be distorted ,shaking all over & feeling close to passing out ,as for the exercise it ground to an absolute hault ,didnt put on anymore weight but didnt lose any & i felt quite rough , it recently in the last few months got to the stage i was losing appetite & missing meals ,like a whole day with a meal at night & felt sick & bloated after the meal .
    i blamed it on the heat as i live in a hot place ,until i spoke to a friend on here & she explained what i had done ,i had starved myself & my body had lost some fat but was in starvation mode & this is why i had no energy ,,i have thought about all this & it hit me like a ton of bricks of what i was doing to myself ,unintentionally ! i allways thought eat way less cals than you burn off & thats it ,simple ,i was so wrong & i am back now on healthy eating & have upped my daily cals to 1500 & have been exercising happily .
    low cals & workouts are NOT the way to go & you are setting yourself up for some serious issues ,believe me it does not feel good ,i struggled to get through my day as i had no energy atall ,would be exhausted within 1 hour of waking in the morning
    do not do this ,stick to small healthy snacks every few hours & get those cals in & do your workouts ,feed your body with the energy it needs to burn off the extra cals ,,for you to lose weight effeciently you need your body to be working at top performance


    Not cutting that much. Was eating more than 3,500. Now eating about 1,500. Still starving though. Thanks.
  • 20114liz
    20114liz Posts: 13
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    Exactly; you lose weight. If you exercise enough, you can even avoid saggy skin from the quick weight loss.

    Thanks for being factual. You will actually lose the weight. It all depends on how much you want to lose. Besides, starvation mode means lowering calorie intake less than 30/40% of your BMI recommendations. It does not mean not eating at all.
    Pple hate hearing starvation mode, they cant stop eating.
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
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    Interesting post here trying to get to the bottom of the whole 'starvation mode' thing:

    http://caloriecount.about.com/truth-starvation-mode-ft28742

    From the studies that have been done, it seems that the answer is still a bit ambiguous...
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    Not cutting that much. Was eating more than 3,500. Now eating about 1,500. Still starving though. Thanks.

    Depending on your activity level and current size, that amount could easily be plenty of food.

    1500 cals/day would not put the vast majority of people in starvation mode.
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    Interesting post here trying to get to the bottom of the whole 'starvation mode' thing:

    http://caloriecount.about.com/truth-starvation-mode-ft28742

    From the studies that have been done, it seems that the answer is still a bit ambiguous...

    Apparently, you need to take a remedial reading class. This is right out of the article YOU linked.
    Now, if the above gives anyone "permission" to undertake a starvation diet, I recommend remedial reading classes.

    Like we, and the article said - YES, you will lose weight, and lots of it. However, you will suffer many of the same symptoms as anorexic women do on starvation diets.

    Bottom line: STUPID IDEA, Don't starve yourself. DUH. Get a clue, people.
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    You guys take it easy on me. You have no idea how much calories i used to eat. About 3,500 calories a day. Now i am trying to reduce it to 1,500 and i'm starving, but loosing weight. I gained 50lbs from pregnancy and i'm trying to lose it. I believe how pple eat is relative.
    You have no idea how much i used to eat. I do not appreciate the insults. Get your facts rights. Thanks to the lady that explained her own situation.

    You are not "Starving", from a medical perspective. You feel hungry all the time, which is a totally different thing.

    1500 cals a day should be plenty for someone trying to lose weight. I would guess your BMR + Daily activities is around 2200-2400, so 1500 calories is easily doable.

    To help with the feelings of "starving" - Eat lean meats, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Eating processed and salted foods will probably make you feel hungrier, leading to overeating.
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
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    Apparently, you need to take a remedial reading class. This is right out of the article YOU linked.

    QUOTE:

    Now, if the above gives anyone "permission" to undertake a starvation diet, I recommend remedial reading classes.

    I don't understand.. Where did I say that a starvation diet is a good idea? I said it was an interesting article. No more or less.

    Like we, and the article said - YES, you will lose weight, and lots of it. However, you will suffer many of the same symptoms as anorexic women do on starvation diets.

    Bottom line: STUPID IDEA, Don't starve yourself. DUH. Get a clue, people.

    Agreed!!

    I'd like to hope that the majority of people on here debating the starvation mode theory are looking at ways to avoid it (clue - eat a little more to lose more) rather than looking for justification to attempt it as an eating plan.

    Just thought I'd post something with some research linked in as I've seen a few conflicting opinions over whether it's a genuine phenomena or not.
  • portexploit
    portexploit Posts: 378 Member
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    Most people know that any reduce caloric diet you go on some muscle mass will be lost. If my daily intake is 3500, and I drop down 500 calories(the norm is to drop 500 calories and exercise 500) I will lose muscle mass, since I lost muscle mass my metabolism will slow down. If I go from 1500 calories to 1000 calories, same effect will happen, some people will say “you’re in starvation mode.” If this is true then I’d be in starvation mode at 3000 calories when I dropped down from 3500. This is complete nonsense, if this is complete nonsense so is starvation mode.
    In each case the results will be the same, you lose muscle mass, your metabolism slows down, and you stop getting results. This is funny when people say “if you cut calories to low you will initially lose a lot of weight but then stop.” What you expect to lose weight forever, this is called “homeostasis “ You will also stop losing weight if I you went down from 3000 to 2500 calories.

    You should reduce your calories to some extent, I recommend 15-20%. This is better than just dropping them by 500. If I was eating 3000 calories and went down to 2500. That’s a 17% decrease in calories. If I was eating 1800 calories and went down to 1300 this is a 28% decrease in calories. Way to much. It’s better to reduce calories based on a percentage not on a number such as “500.”

    The key here is malnutrition which is different than this starvation mode theory. We’re all different and have different needs; yes I do agree there is a point that we shouldn’t decrease our calories below. IF your caloric deficit is too great, you will suffer from hunger, more than likely binge, and more than likely give up.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
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    Most people know that any reduce caloric diet you go on some muscle mass will be lost. If my daily intake is 3500, and I drop down 500 calories(the norm is to drop 500 calories and exercise 500) I will lose muscle mass, since I lost muscle mass my metabolism will slow down. If I go from 1500 calories to 1000 calories, same effect will happen, some people will say “you’re in starvation mode.” If this is true then I’d be in starvation mode at 3000 calories when I dropped down from 3500. This is complete nonsense, if this is complete nonsense so is starvation mode.
    In each case the results will be the same, you lose muscle mass, your metabolism slows down, and you stop getting results. This is funny when people say “if you cut calories to low you will initially lose a lot of weight but then stop.” What you expect to lose weight forever, this is called “homeostasis “ You will also stop losing weight if I you went down from 3000 to 2500 calories.

    You should reduce your calories to some extent, I recommend 15-20%. This is better than just dropping them by 500. If I was eating 3000 calories and went down to 2500. That’s a 17% decrease in calories. If I was eating 1800 calories and went down to 1300 this is a 28% decrease in calories. Way to much. It’s better to reduce calories based on a percentage not on a number such as “500.”

    The key here is malnutrition which is different than this starvation mode theory. We’re all different and have different needs; yes I do agree there is a point that we shouldn’t decrease our calories below. IF your caloric deficit is too great, you will suffer from hunger, more than likely binge, and more than likely give up.

    I sometimes fast for 4 days, no food, only water, and let me tell you: hunger disappears on day 1 already, if you prepare well for your fast. Also, hunger is partly caused by the insulin response to carbohydrates: if you fast: no rise in insulin, hence no feelings of hunger. I've been restricting calories heavily since january now, am at 75% of my BMR, and 60% of my calculated caloric expenditure. I don't do this to lose weight, but for other reasons. Indeed my weight dropped (I lost 35 pounds since january, and was in the overweight category, though not heavily so) and then stopped dropping. Now, in my book, this adaptation to low caloric levels is a good thing.
  • anthony438
    anthony438 Posts: 578 Member
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    Interesting post here trying to get to the bottom of the whole 'starvation mode' thing:

    http://caloriecount.about.com/truth-starvation-mode-ft28742

    From the studies that have been done, it seems that the answer is still a bit ambiguous...

    Apparently, you need to take a remedial reading class. This is right out of the article YOU linked.
    Now, if the above gives anyone "permission" to undertake a starvation diet, I recommend remedial reading classes.

    Like we, and the article said - YES, you will lose weight, and lots of it. However, you will suffer many of the same symptoms as anorexic women do on starvation diets.

    Bottom line: STUPID IDEA, Don't starve yourself. DUH. Get a clue, people.

    He didn't say it was a good idea, he just linked an article he found and said it was interesting. No need to spaz at him
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    . If I go from 1500 calories to 1000 calories, same effect will happen, some people will say “you’re in starvation mode.” If this is true then I’d be in starvation mode at 3000 calories when I dropped down from 3500. This is complete nonsense, if this is complete nonsense so is starvation mode.

    "Starvation mode", known in the medical community as adaptive thermogenesis or metabolic adaptation, is a very, VERY real fact. You are grossly uninformed if you think it doesn't exist. You need to be doing a little research.
    In each case the results will be the same, you lose muscle mass, your metabolism slows down, and you stop getting results. This is funny when people say “if you cut calories to low you will initially lose a lot of weight but then stop.”
    You won't stop, Unless your BMR = intake. Doesn't make it healthy. You're body will begin to shut down, and you can suffer serious long term effects of starvation, WHICH IS NOT THE SAME as malnutrition, but usually goes hand in hand.
    The key here is malnutrition which is different than this starvation mode theory. We’re all different and have different needs; yes I do agree there is a point that we shouldn’t decrease our calories below. IF your caloric deficit is too great, you will suffer from hunger, more than likely binge, and more than likely give up.

    This part I agree with.
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    I sometimes fast for 4 days, no food, only water, and let me tell you: hunger disappears on day 1 already, if you prepare well for your fast. Also, hunger is partly caused by the insulin response to carbohydrates: if you fast: no rise in insulin, hence no feelings of hunger. I've been restricting calories heavily since january now, am at 75% of my BMR, and 60% of my calculated caloric expenditure. I don't do this to lose weight, but for other reasons. Indeed my weight dropped (I lost 35 pounds since january, and was in the overweight category, though not heavily so) and then stopped dropping. Now, in my book, this adaptation to low caloric levels is a good thing.

    First of all, my response to fasting was on the effects of weight loss. Statistically, people that fast to lose weight DO NOT have a long term benefit. Just stating the facts.

    With that being said, there are legitimate reasons to fast, such as religious or political causes.

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