starvation mode

"Starvation mode" is one of the oldest fitness myths. It can be traced back to the Minnesota Starvation Experiment in which subjects were literally fed only enough to survive. As a result, yes, their bodies broke down protein and bone for emergency sustenance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

Here's another fact that absolutely fascinates me. The lead researcher on the project was Ancel Keys, the very same guy who is responsible for the widespread yet erroneous belief that saturation fat is somehow worse for you that unsaturated fat. This would later become known as "The Lipid Hypothesis," which was quickly demonstrated to be fraudulent.

Sadly, the margarine manufacturers latched onto Keys' baloney research, and used it as a springboard for their business. And that's why people hate saturated fat! Small world right?

Your seriously going to bring up the Starvation Experiment, the same one that resulted in self mutilation, depression and loss of sexual appetite?

As I've said before, there IS such a thing as starvation mode and it is NOT what everyone on here claims it to be.
Can you be in this mode and still eat? YES
It is a medical condition, diagnosable by a physician, and treated with hormone therapy.
I know this because I was diagnosed at 24.
I wrote an extensive blog about it a couple weeks ago because I was so tired of people calling it a myth. It can't be a myth if it's a diagnosable syndrome. It does have a definition in the medical community, and has diagnosing criteria.
People with eating disorder can suffer the consequences... but the reality of it is, the syndrome doesn't develop over days. It takes weeks, months even, of limited to no eating on a regular basis to produce the symptoms.
Can you be in starvation mode and gain weight? YES
Those of us who were anorexic and then binged will tell you, you can gain a ton of weight in a short period of time if you don't rehabilitate properly.

That being said, unless you are diagnosed by a physician, I would stop throwing around the term. It is insulting to those of us that have to handle this issue every day.

"Starvation mode" is one of the oldest fitness myths. It can be traced back to the Minnesota Starvation Experiment in which subjects were literally fed only enough to survive. As a result, yes, their bodies broke down protein and bone for emergency sustenance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

Here's another fact that absolutely fascinates me. The lead researcher on the project was Ancel Keys, the very same guy who is responsible for the widespread yet erroneous belief that saturation fat is somehow worse for you that unsaturated fat. This would later become known as "The Lipid Hypothesis," which was quickly demonstrated to be fraudulent.

Sadly, the margarine manufacturers latched onto Keys' baloney research, and used it as a springboard for their business. And that's why people hate saturated fat! Small world right?

Your seriously going to bring up the Starvation Experiment, the same one that resulted in self mutilation, depression and loss of sexual appetite?

*You're

And...yes?

We can go with something more recent if that peels your banana. Studies show that your metabolism doesn't start to slow until 60 - 96 hours of fasting. And even then only by 8%. Here's an extremely well-sourced article on the topic...

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

I would also draw your attention to the thousands upon thousands of people who have had great success with intermittent fasting diets. Are they...what...lying?

The idea that your body starts "burning off" muscle after a few hours without eating is nonsense. Unless you are literally starving, your body is going to use up fat stores. That's what they're there for.

I mean I feel like we sort of agree with each other here. If the average MFP user was really in a true starvation mode, wouldn't they too be self-mutilating and acting all depressed and failing to satisfy their husbands/wives/tissue boxes? None of this passes a common sense check.

I'm quite skeptical when people say they are eating 1200 calories, exercising like crazy, and not losing weight. It doesn't add up to me. The body cannot become exponentially more efficient at doing the same amount of work just because it goes into some starvation mode. If your body goes into starvation mode, then by definition it is not going to be possible to exercise like crazy because it thinks its starving.

People are either 1) underestimating calories consumed, or 2) overestimating exercise, or more than likely both.

No, how about doing some research?
When calories are restricted, metabolism slows down in response.
That's universally accepted kind of like the moon not being made of cheese.

Can you still lose weight? Of course!
Is it the healthiest way to go about your diet?
No way!
What is the point to this? Just decide what you really want, then go for it.
And if that included some absurd starvation diet, be my guest.

See for yourself; just COUNT ME OUT!
I choose health as is recommended on this site.
1 pound of weight loss per week folks. It's not a race.

Why don't you explain to me why someone who has an abundance of fat will burn muscle?

I'm quite skeptical when people say they are eating 1200 calories, exercising like crazy, and not losing weight. It doesn't add up to me. The body cannot become exponentially more efficient at doing the same amount of work just because it goes into some starvation mode. If your body goes into starvation mode, then by definition it is not going to be possible to exercise like crazy because it thinks its starving.

People are either 1) underestimating calories consumed, or 2) overestimating exercise, or more than likely both.

No, how about doing some research?
When calories are restricted, metabolism slows down in response.
That's universally accepted kind of like the moon not being made of cheese.

Can you still lose weight? Of course!
Is it the healthiest way to go about your diet?
No way!
What is the point to this? Just decide what you really want, then go for it.
And if that included some absurd starvation diet, be my guest.

See for yourself; just COUNT ME OUT!
I choose health as is recommended on this site.
1 pound of weight loss per week folks. It's not a race.

Why don't you explain to me why someone who has an abundance of fat will burn muscle?

Because the human body is programmed to hold on to fat as a long term means of storing energy.

Also I sense this is the path this whole topic is taking, yet again.

If someone uses their muscle, then their body is not going to willingly give it up. The body will always give up fat over muscle.

As I've said before, there IS such a thing as starvation mode and it is NOT what everyone on here claims it to be.
Can you be in this mode and still eat? YES
It is a medical condition, diagnosable by a physician, and treated with hormone therapy.
I know this because I was diagnosed at 24.
I wrote an extensive blog about it a couple weeks ago because I was so tired of people calling it a myth. It can't be a myth if it's a diagnosable syndrome. It does have a definition in the medical community, and has diagnosing criteria.
People with eating disorder can suffer the consequences... but the reality of it is, the syndrome doesn't develop over days. It takes weeks, months even, of limited to no eating on a regular basis to produce the symptoms.
Can you be in starvation mode and gain weight? YES
Those of us who were anorexic and then binged will tell you, you can gain a ton of weight in a short period of time if you don't rehabilitate properly.

That being said, unless you are diagnosed by a physician, I would stop throwing around the term. It is insulting to those of us that have to handle this issue every day.

The term "Starvation Mode" is indeed an absurd notion.
I prefer the nebulous metabolism stifling.

And just answer for yourself.
Which would you rather?
Some are plateauing at 1200 calories per day while I am joyfully eating 3000 + daily and losing weight.
I think life is to be lived, and I have trained my metabolism to burn baby burn!
I may not know the exact science, but my conclusion is that low cal diets just SUCK!

I'm quite skeptical when people say they are eating 1200 calories, exercising like crazy, and not losing weight. It doesn't add up to me. The body cannot become exponentially more efficient at doing the same amount of work just because it goes into some starvation mode. If your body goes into starvation mode, then by definition it is not going to be possible to exercise like crazy because it thinks its starving.

People are either 1) underestimating calories consumed, or 2) overestimating exercise, or more than likely both.

No, how about doing some research?
When calories are restricted, metabolism slows down in response.
That's universally accepted kind of like the moon not being made of cheese.

Can you still lose weight? Of course!
Is it the healthiest way to go about your diet?
No way!
What is the point to this? Just decide what you really want, then go for it.
And if that included some absurd starvation diet, be my guest.

See for yourself; just COUNT ME OUT!
I choose health as is recommended on this site.
1 pound of weight loss per week folks. It's not a race.

Why don't you explain to me why someone who has an abundance of fat will burn muscle?

Because the human body is programmed to hold on to fat as a long term means of storing energy.

Also I sense this is the path this whole topic is taking, yet again.

If someone uses their muscle, then their body is not going to willingly give it up. The body will always give up fat over muscle.

Well this statement flies in the face of any medical professional I have ever talked to about the subject. Granted my sources may be wrong but I tend to believe them. Can you please provide sources for this? I would honestly like to read it and bring it up at my next appointment in 2 days.

Important to note I am still talking about the " starvation mode" stage. Not awesome diet and good exercise time.

I'm quite skeptical when people say they are eating 1200 calories, exercising like crazy, and not losing weight. It doesn't add up to me. The body cannot become exponentially more efficient at doing the same amount of work just because it goes into some starvation mode. If your body goes into starvation mode, then by definition it is not going to be possible to exercise like crazy because it thinks its starving.

People are either 1) underestimating calories consumed, or 2) overestimating exercise, or more than likely both.

No, how about doing some research?
When calories are restricted, metabolism slows down in response.
That's universally accepted kind of like the moon not being made of cheese.

Can you still lose weight? Of course!
Is it the healthiest way to go about your diet?
No way!
What is the point to this? Just decide what you really want, then go for it.
And if that included some absurd starvation diet, be my guest.

See for yourself; just COUNT ME OUT!
I choose health as is recommended on this site.
1 pound of weight loss per week folks. It's not a race.

Why don't you explain to me why someone who has an abundance of fat will burn muscle?

Because the human body is programmed to hold on to fat as a long term means of storing energy.

Also I sense this is the path this whole topic is taking, yet again.

If someone uses their muscle, then their body is not going to willingly give it up. The body will always give up fat over muscle.

Well this statement flies in the face of any medical professional I have ever talked to about the subject. Granted my sources may be wrong but I tend to believe them. Can you please provide sources for this? I would honestly like to read it and bring it up at my next appointment in 2 days.

Important to note I am still talking about the " starvation mode" stage. Not awesome diet and good exercise time.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/muscle-loss-while-dieting-to-single-digit-body-fat-levels-qa.html

If you train your muscles and eat adequate protein, then muscle loss should not be a factor. It is really only a factor in lean individuals for the most part.

As I've said before, there IS such a thing as starvation mode and it is NOT what everyone on here claims it to be.
Can you be in this mode and still eat? YES
It is a medical condition, diagnosable by a physician, and treated with hormone therapy.
I know this because I was diagnosed at 24.
I wrote an extensive blog about it a couple weeks ago because I was so tired of people calling it a myth. It can't be a myth if it's a diagnosable syndrome. It does have a definition in the medical community, and has diagnosing criteria.
People with eating disorder can suffer the consequences... but the reality of it is, the syndrome doesn't develop over days. It takes weeks, months even, of limited to no eating on a regular basis to produce the symptoms.
Can you be in starvation mode and gain weight? YES
Those of us who were anorexic and then binged will tell you, you can gain a ton of weight in a short period of time if you don't rehabilitate properly.

That being said, unless you are diagnosed by a physician, I would stop throwing around the term. It is insulting to those of us that have to handle this issue every day.

The term "Starvation Mode" is indeed an absurd notion.
I prefer the nebulous metabolism stifling.

And just answer for yourself.
Which would you rather?
Some are plateauing at 1200 calories per day while I am joyfully eating 3000 + daily and losing weight.
I think life is to be lived, and I have trained my metabolism to burn baby burn!
I may not know the exact science, but my conclusion is that low cal diets just SUCK!

That's great! I am so glad it works for you.
But when I eat more i gain, that's how I gained. But anyway, you sound like an expert, what do you recommend for a female 5'2.5" cw 158 gw 130? Currently I'm eat around 1200 calories & do 60 min cardio 7 days a week, and lift girly free weights 4 days a week. I have lost 25 lbs so far(sw183) tried the eat more & gained back 10, swiched back to 1200 calories. & lost 12 since jan 1st but maybe I should just eat my burned calories back sine it works for everyone.

I'm quite skeptical when people say they are eating 1200 calories, exercising like crazy, and not losing weight. It doesn't add up to me. The body cannot become exponentially more efficient at doing the same amount of work just because it goes into some starvation mode. If your body goes into starvation mode, then by definition it is not going to be possible to exercise like crazy because it thinks its starving.

People are either 1) underestimating calories consumed, or 2) overestimating exercise, or more than likely both.

No, how about doing some research?
When calories are restricted, metabolism slows down in response.
That's universally accepted kind of like the moon not being made of cheese.

Can you still lose weight? Of course!
Is it the healthiest way to go about your diet?
No way!
What is the point to this? Just decide what you really want, then go for it.
And if that included some absurd starvation diet, be my guest.

See for yourself; just COUNT ME OUT!
I choose health as is recommended on this site.
1 pound of weight loss per week folks. It's not a race.

Why don't you explain to me why someone who has an abundance of fat will burn muscle?

I kept hearing over and over about starvation mode in these forums. I don't believe that people are not losing weight because they are in starvation mode.

http://www.sharecare.com/question/weight-loss-plateau-starvation-mode

It should have been logical enough for me, but after hearing it over and over, I started to think it must be true. But after reading these answers about it in the link above, I have to say that it makes sense that if you are truly in starvation, then you are not going to gain weight. So if eating back calories works for you then by all means. But is it possible that your calories burned measurement is off? Or the number of calories you are consuming is not correct?

I know that I personally am not sure of the calories I am burning because often I just use whatever calories are in the database here. But those calories could be for a 400 lb person which I am not. I also don't know that if I select a food in the database here and add it to my food diary that the number of calories that I am consuming is correct. It could be wrong. Unless I weigh/measure everything I eat and calculate the caloric content myself, and unless I have some device that is going to accurately tell me exactly the number of calories i am burning, then it just might be that my math is off.

I probably need to just eat a little less and exercise a little more.

Starvation mode very unlikely unless really abusing yourself.

Suppressed or slowed metabolism very easily done, especially eating even less and exercising even more than safely recommended on a costant basis (oh, MFP is willing to set your goal daily calories below your BMR, while maybe not unsafe, not really smart either).
But you won't starve, you don't burn more muscle, your body just slows down everything all the time, so less calories burned than what could have been burned. Every day.
And if you do a binge here and there after you get discouraged because of the stall, it doesn't raise itself, it just stores it away for future use.

http://www.exrx.net/Questions/StarvationEffect.html

A similar case study was published by Jampolis (2004). A 51 year old patient complained of a 15 lb weight gain over the last year despite beginning a strenuous triathlon and marathon training program (2 hours per day, 5-6 days per week). A 3 day diet analysis estimated a daily intake of only 1000-1200 Calories. An indirect calorimetry revealed a resting metabolic rate of 950 Calories (28% below predicted for age, height, weight, and gender). After medications and medical conditions such as hypothyroidism and diabetes where ruled out, the final diagnosis was over-training and undereating. The following treatment was recommended:

Increase daily dietary intake by approximately 100 Calories per week to a goal of 1500 calories
32% protein; 35% carbohydrates; 33% fat
Consume 5-6 small meals per day
Small amounts of protein with each meal or snack
Choose high fiber starches
Select mono- and poly- unsaturated fats
Restrict consumption of starch with evening meals unless focused around training
Take daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement
Perform whole body isometric resistance training 2 times per week

After 6 weeks the patient's resting metabolism increased 35% to 1282 Calories per day (only 2% below predicted). The patient also decreases percent fat from 37% to 34%, a loss of 5 lbs of body fat.

---

So her RMR went up over 300 calories. 2100 calories of free burn had been lost each week at the lowered BMR level.