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Starvation mode
Replies
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Wow ok on these boards, when people refer to starvation mode, they are referring to the myth that if you are in a calorie different deficit long enough your body will not only stop losing weight, you will actually gain weight - which is bull crud.
Stop with the semantics.
OP ask your dietician to clarify if you have questions. You have a complicated medical background so you won't get good answers here.
I'm pretty sure that the OP's dietician didn't refer to MFP's exclusive definition or understanding of starvation mode before using the term LOL
Edit: This whole conversation only happened because the person I responded to way up at the start of the thread accused the OP's dietician of being a liar.
Pretty sure that starvation mode is 1) not the term professionals in the field usually use for Adaptive Thermogenesis and 2) the fact that according to OP the dietician proclaimed she was in Starvation Mode just from glancing at her food diary and gave her a random flat number without doing any actual, you know, testing of whether she has an actually lowered metabolic rate, is a huge red flag.17 -
stevencloser wrote: »Wow ok on these boards, when people refer to starvation mode, they are referring to the myth that if you are in a calorie different deficit long enough your body will not only stop losing weight, you will actually gain weight - which is bull crud.
Stop with the semantics.
OP ask your dietician to clarify if you have questions. You have a complicated medical background so you won't get good answers here.
I'm pretty sure that the OP's dietician didn't refer to MFP's exclusive definition or understanding of starvation mode before using the term LOL
Edit: This whole conversation only happened because the person I responded to way up at the start of the thread accused the OP's dietician of being a liar.
Pretty sure that starvation mode is 1) not the term professionals in the field usually use for Adaptive Thermogenesis and 2) the fact that according to OP the dietician proclaimed she was in Starvation Mode just from glancing at her food diary and gave her a random flat number without doing any actual, you know, testing of whether she has an actually lowered metabolic rate, is a huge red flag.
First, it was a dietician talking to a member of the public so it would not be surprising if they used a term that they might not necessarily use when talking to another professional. Second, the term "starvation mode" is used professionally.
Go to Google Scholar and search for (with the quotation marks) "starvation mode" humans. I think you'll see that the term is indeed widely used.
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You need to find a new dietitian, someone who will listen to you.3
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A good read
https://aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/3 -
veggiekeller wrote: »I went to see a dietician for issues I was having with digestion. I have gastroparesis, and I have episodes of sulphuric burps that precede diarrhea and vomiting. I gave her my food log, and she completely ignored the reason I came in for, and went on about how I needed to eat at least 2000 calories a day, and that I am in starvation mode now. I don't feel any of the symptoms of starvation mode, and I am more or less at my goal weight right now which is easily maintainable at 1300-1400 calories without exercise. I am not sleepy or spacey (like what she described people who exhibit symptoms of being in starvation mode) and I can efficiently do my work and maintain an active lifestyle, so what gives? I feel like i'm being lied to here.
You need to find a dietitian who will help you with your problem, and do what your paying them for4 -
Another vote for a new dietitian. (Are you in the US? Make sure they are a dietitian and not a nutritionist.)3
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I classify myself as an obese anorexic. ... There is really no such thing. But it the closest thing to describe me. I am overweight and I struggle to force myself to eat 1000 calories a day. I exercise daily. It is when I increase my calorie intake up to 1200-1500 I lose weight.
What I think is more important to just counting calories is making sure you are hitting your protein fiber goals.22 -
I classify myself as an obese anorexic. ... There is really no such thing. But it the closest thing to describe me. I am overweight and I struggle to force myself to eat 1000 calories a day. I exercise daily. It is when I increase my calorie intake up to 1200-1500 I lose weight.
What I think is more important to just counting calories is making sure you are hitting your protein fiber goals.
I'm assuming this isn't a new situation, that you have been eating this way for awhile. Are you trying to eat all diet or "healthy" foods? Have you been to a doctor about this? Are you using a food scale?
There is evidence to suggest that if you undereat for a long period of time, your body will down-regulate to try to mitigate the damage you are doing by eating too little. But not enough to cause you to not lose weight at 1,000 calories. Having said that, if your weight classifies as obese and you cannot bring yourself to regularly eat more than 1,000 calories, there are 4 options:- You are not using a food scale and/or correct entries in the database, and are actually eating more than you think.
- You have some kind of physical obstruction, or medical condition, that requires immediate care.
- You do in fact have an ED that is causing you to subconsciously ignore hunger signals and need to see a specialist before you do yourself permanent harm.
- You are a scientific anomaly that is literally defying the laws of physics.
If you haven't been using a food scale, get one - it's eye-opening. Double check that the entries you are using in the database are accurate - many are user-entered and not correct. Make sure you aren't eating very low fat - you need dietary fat and a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter or salad dressing adds an instant 200 calories to your day. And if after you do both those things you are still having to force yourself to eat up to 1,000 calories, please go to the doctor and demand treatment - it is almost impossible you are getting adequate nutrition and fuel from so few calories, and you must have some kind of condition to not lose weight in this situation.18 -
stevencloser wrote: »Wow ok on these boards, when people refer to starvation mode, they are referring to the myth that if you are in a calorie different deficit long enough your body will not only stop losing weight, you will actually gain weight - which is bull crud.
Stop with the semantics.
OP ask your dietician to clarify if you have questions. You have a complicated medical background so you won't get good answers here.
I'm pretty sure that the OP's dietician didn't refer to MFP's exclusive definition or understanding of starvation mode before using the term LOL
Edit: This whole conversation only happened because the person I responded to way up at the start of the thread accused the OP's dietician of being a liar.
Pretty sure that starvation mode is 1) not the term professionals in the field usually use for Adaptive Thermogenesis and 2) the fact that according to OP the dietician proclaimed she was in Starvation Mode just from glancing at her food diary and gave her a random flat number without doing any actual, you know, testing of whether she has an actually lowered metabolic rate, is a huge red flag.
First, it was a dietician talking to a member of the public so it would not be surprising if they used a term that they might not necessarily use when talking to another professional. Second, the term "starvation mode" is used professionally.
Go to Google Scholar and search for (with the quotation marks) "starvation mode" humans. I think you'll see that the term is indeed widely used.
I feel for you on this thread kpsyche because nothing you had written or referenced has deserved to we woo'd IMHO. In fact most replies directed to you haven't referenced what you have written at all but the way completely unrelated posters on other threads have said.
I believe that sometimes the debate section has somewhat of a herd mentality and posters jump on the boards perceived wisdom bandwagon rather then looking at what's being said.7 -
Word choice and semantics aside (which while important, probably aren't especially helpful to your situation)... it sounds like you need to have a more complete conversation with the dietitian. Did they actually ignore your questions, or gloss over them because of an issue they deemed more important? In either case, you should be getting your questions answered at at the very least understand what you're being told and why. Once you understand the why, you can decide if the dietitian is worth seeing again and/or you should be following their advice.1
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See a specialist. A nutritionist, often times, just regurgitates what they feel is best and doesn't adequately take medical issues into consideration. You will likely be your own best nutritionist. Do your own research and get help from a good doctor.1
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