The Starvation (mode) Myth

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  • myak623
    myak623 Posts: 616 Member
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    Your body's metabolism will slow down when not getting enough food. The biggest factor to remember is that when that happens your body will start burning lean muscle mass. This isn't what you are trying to accomplish when losing weight. There are a ton of ways to lose fat. However, to do it properly with proper diet and exercise, you need to be eating the proper amount of calories and keeping macros (carbs, fats and proteins) in proper balance. This article isn't helping anyone.
  • Sabresgal63
    Sabresgal63 Posts: 641 Member
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    And its posts like this where people get the idea of what they are doing to their bodies is okay. IT'S ABOUT GETTING THE NUTRIENTS YOU NEED. Most people will never get the nutrients they need on a 1000 calories a day diet or less. Maybe starvation mode isn't the right word but YOU ARE HURTING YOUR BODY. You NEED a certain amount of NUTRIENTS to make your body run. If you eat only 1000 calories and not meeting your nutrient goal, you really are hurting your body and you really will suffer in the end. I'm a nursing major and am in the process of taking my second nutrition class and I'm pretty sure both of my professors whom have their phd know what they're talking about when they tell us 1200 calories a day for women and 1500 for men. Also you should never be more than 1000 calories in debt for a single day. That is not healthy in any way shape or form. If you want to be in a deficit of 1000 calories for a day try being in a deficit of 500 with food and get up and go to the gym or take a walk to burn calories.

    Amen to This!

    Just sayin. I can't believe people post stuff like this and encourage people to under eat. Makes me sick.
  • memobe
    memobe Posts: 126 Member
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    Thanks!! My aim is 1200 a day, and I do not feel like I am starving. It is rare that I am hungry, and if I am.....I let myself have something.
    Good info!
  • SusanneWhittington
    SusanneWhittington Posts: 339 Member
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    There are articles to support anything you WANT to believe. That being said, people should eat when they are hungry, anyone can lose weight, they will gain it back if they starved themselves to get there, that's about as simple as it gets. 1200calories is base, if you feel comfortable there, great, but normal people who need a bit more to function like humans will require more, and still lose weight.

    well said. There are simple facts like... you go further with a full tank of gas than with an empty one.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
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    I agree that you can lose a lot of weight on a very low calorie diet. However most of the weight loss comes from muscle & water, not fat. The biggest problem with a very low calorie diet isn't about losing weight, it is all about slowing down your metabolism because in this way your body cannibalizes your muscles while holding on to fat. The result: skinny-fat or people who are thin but saggy & I don't think anyone in his right mind would like to end up that way. Moreover since less muscles equals slow metabolism so you're burning fewer calories & once you revert back to eating normal, you'll gain weight even faster than how you lose it.

    Geez people stop focusing your success on the scale. The scale doesn't know the difference between fat weight & lean body mass & it doesn't even know how you look in the mirror. Another thing you may become thin but ended up sickly. Don't be stupid enough to sacrifice your health just for the sake of a certain number on the scale.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    thank you for posting this. the simple fact of the matter is that if you are eating less/consuming less cals and working out you will lose weight.
    Yes, but what kind of "weight" will it be?

    Lean body mass?
    Bottom line is you can find anybody to agree with your absurd notions of unhealthy weight loss..
    And if you want to fail, starve yourself.

    Go right ahead - be my guest.
    For those here who want to succeed and be fit for life, run from any diet that restricts food too much.

    MFP recommends 1 lb per week for a reason.
    Be smart and do this the right way. Don't cheat yourself.

    1 lb may not sound sexy, but in a year, that's 52 lbs - wow!

    It's not a race folks.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    I ate under 1200 calories and lost weight. Not only did I lose weight, I lost body fat and gained lean mass. So it can be done in a healthy manner.
  • ugw125
    ugw125 Posts: 28
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    Oh, my. Thank you so much for posting this. Everyone needs to read it. I was always afraid even with eating right and burning a lot of calories during exercise it would take forever to drop pounds. This article changed my perspective. Thank you so much for that c:
  • BellydanceBliss
    BellydanceBliss Posts: 330
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    You can ingest a tapeworm to lose weight as well, definitely doesn't mean you'll be healthy!!!

    lmfao...I am adding you.
  • bean4max
    bean4max Posts: 22
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    There are two things everyone has.
    Opinions and *kitten*
    Which one are you gonna share with the world??
    Really, because something isn't right in line with YOUR point of view, doesn't make it wrong, just not right for you.
    Don't be mean to the girl just because she found support in something that feels wrong to you.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
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    I ate under 1200 calories and lost weight. Not only did I lose weight, I lost body fat and gained lean mass. So it can be done in a healthy manner.

    There's no such a thing as losing weight & gaining lean body mass at the same time. How could you gain body mass if the scale is pointing downwards? It only means you're losing weight whether it is from fat or muscle but definitely don't gain any lean body mass. If that's the case then your weight should stay the same or even gain a little weight but you're getting smaller.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    I ate under 1200 calories and lost weight. Not only did I lose weight, I lost body fat and gained lean mass. So it can be done in a healthy manner.

    There's no such a thing as losing weight & gaining lean body mass at the same time. How could you gain body mass if the scale is pointing downwards? It only means you're losing fat but definitely don't gain any lean body mass.

    and you would be wrong. I had my stats done professionally, before and after.
  • vjrose
    vjrose Posts: 809 Member
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    It is an interesting approach, I was amused by the ad for Weight Watchers points system. However, the quoted literature is all 10 or more years old and there is newer research. The post goes to show that we all must find what WE as individuals need to do for our own journey. WW works for many thousands of people, some of us not so much. I tried the low cal approach, didn't work for beans, pushed it up around 1500 a day and now I'm losing steadily. So to make it seem as if everyone can do 1,000 calories a day is a bit misleading. Now a sedentary 175+ pound person is very different from an athletic or someone who does 2-5 miles of moving every day. On 1200 a day I was tired (eating carefully balanced meals, I am a biologist, lol) going to bed at 8, just not fueling my body correctly. So, very low calories do not work for all, however, they do work for many and congratulations to those for whom it works.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    It is an interesting approach, I was amused by the ad for Weight Watchers points system. However, the quoted literature is all 10 or more years old and there is newer research. The post goes to show that we all must find what WE as individuals need to do for our own journey. WW works for many thousands of people, some of us not so much. I tried the low cal approach, didn't work for beans, pushed it up around 1500 a day and now I'm losing steadily. So to make it seem as if everyone can do 1,000 calories a day is a bit misleading. Now a sedentary 175+ pound person is very different from an athletic or someone who does 2-5 miles of moving every day. On 1200 a day I was tired (eating carefully balanced meals, I am a biologist, lol) going to bed at 8, just not fueling my body correctly. So, very low calories do not work for all, however, they do work for many and congratulations to those for whom it works.

    well put! Thank you.
  • uk_ja
    uk_ja Posts: 143 Member
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    The problem with the term starvation mode is that people think of it as a switch that turns on and off but in reality it is just a process the body goes through when it has a restricted amount of calories. Restrict the calories by too much and the body starts to slow down and it will continue to slow down until it is able to keep the body functioning on the limited amount of calories you feed it.

    Really low calories diets are a waste of peoples time, they start off with low calories and lose a large amount of weight,
    weeks 1-3 - 3lb a week
    weeks 4-6 - 2lb a week
    weeks 7-9 - 1lb a week
    week 10 Plateau

    then they hit that plateau. Weight loss stalls and they work hard, diet hard, feel hungry, miserable and the whole thing seems pointless because the body is fighting to hold onto what it can. Your only option at this point is to reduce your calories again to start the weight loss but you probably don't have many calories left to reduce from. SO you lost 19 lb in 10 weeks, slowed your metabolism down to a crawl. The only option left is to eat more to speed your metabolism back up but in doing that you will gain weight back before it happens and so the vicious cycle starts again.

    If they had started out with an easy 1lb a week weight lose the body would not need to slow down, you'll eat more and thus feel better and the weight would slowly come of 1lb a week which will be sustainable

    weeks 1-3 - 1lb a week
    weeks 4-6 - 1lb a week
    weeks 7-9 - 1lb a week
    week 10 onwards 1lb a week

    This way you'll take 19 weeks to reach the same goal but you will not plateau and you will carry on losing weight this way until you reach your goal weight.

    Now this is all just my opinion on how it works, I have no scientific background or any facts to back it up, it's just how it worked for me when I lost my weight. I did the whole 1000 calories a day and lost 70lb, I went from 320-250 and then it stopped and I felt hungry, tired. I changed my diet, started eating 2000 calories a day, gained 20lb and then started losing again at 1lb a week to go from 270-180 without any more plateaus and I didn't do anything special other than weigh my portions and keep my calories at about 2000-2200 a day.
  • merzback
    merzback Posts: 453 Member
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    Food=Fuel!!!!
    Not rocket science people. If someone put me on a 800 to 1000 calorie diet a day , that is NOTHING I could sustain long term. Honesty I doubt I could go for a day eating so little without severe headaches and crankiness. I do NOT believe it is enough for most people long term - we are looking at LONG TERM here- not just short term I need to diet to look good at my class reunion silliness. We are looking at health. THat's why I eat back exercise calories- maybe not ALL of them- but I listen to my body. Yesterday I burned over 700 calories exercising. Sure if I only eat 1200 calories I may see weight drop off fast. I am NOT looking for fast, I am looking for steady LONG term, something I can live with in a healthy way.
  • savage22hp
    savage22hp Posts: 278 Member
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    Never say never and never say always 'cause it never fails that there is always an exception to the rule
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
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    I will read this later.
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
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    My diary is all over the place, MFP says I need 2000 a day for 1 lb. weight loss a week. I don't weigh my food and how accurate is the food diary on here . Also the exercise diary and my HRM is different, plus the better shape I'm in the more efficient my body is and the exercise diary is not gonna be the same for everybody. Everyone is different, like my heart rate and the rate I burn calories will be different than the next person. With me its a test and go, I don't believe in a magic button or easy pill. Weight loss is not easy, you will have to work one way or another . Quit looking for the easy way out, do the work, do the research, learn your body. My daughter can eat all day and not gain a pound, the only way she can sustain weight is to weight train. We had her thyroid checked and the level was non-existant which would make you think she would gain weight uncontrollably but she doesn't. She is very athletic though. So who the hell knows for sure. I lost 45 lbs. in 3.5 months because I changed my eating habits, what I eat and how much and I worked my @ss off in the gym. I didn't look for the cheat switch because there isn't one. I didn't waste valuable time looking for the easy way out. DO THE WORK! I repeat weight loss is not easy you will have to work. No matter how you get there if you don't eat right and be active after you get to your goal the weight will come back so why not do it right from the get go. What works for you may not work for the next person. JMHO, Good luck on your weight loss journey to weight loss and sustaining your GW weight.
  • quietpotato
    quietpotato Posts: 17 Member
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    @Aloha

    That's great advice for people with health insurance. The rest of us just have to make do with what we can learn from the internet.

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