Starvation mode is a myth, so why do we keep saying it exist

We fatties can also supply part of the daily fuel from the fat reserves we put on eating too much fuel in the past.

Hence we don't need to put gas in the tank and the same rate as the motor burns it 'cos we're running down a big tank too.

Prove it, eat VLCD then say that again.

Can you cite any scientific study that demonstrates the extent of adaptive themogenesis is directly correlated to the size of calorie restriction? I have been unable to find one.

Not everyone responds to a calorie deficit the same way, which is why you have such variances in anecdotal evidence (on top of the fact that we people cite their own experiences, they are often wrong about what exactly "caused" their "effect").

Some people show little or no decrease in resting metabolism, others can see a notable decrease.

In addition, it has been shown that, people who reduce their calories often reduce their overall activity level. This also occurs when people begin exercise programs. Those people end up offsetting much of the effect of their calorie deficits because they decrease energy output.

And lastly, some people take a long time to effectively respond to a diet/exercise program--usually due to their overall hormonal response.

Because of these and other variables, the whole topic of "starvation mode" usually turns into an elaborate exercise in tail-chasing (which unfortunately doesn't burn as many calories as you'd think.).

I'm starting to think that critical reading of scientific studies should be a mandatory subject in PRIMARY school and not something that only ppl in science grad schools are thought.

I agree. This is why I am so enthusiastic about homeschooling my children.

Scientific publications and studies are good to read, but you should not automatically believe them. Just because ONE or TWO studies were done doesn't mean that it's findings should be taken as truth.

Your body is extremely adaptable- if you drop your calories to an amount that the body cannot handle, it will stop burning fat because it knows that it has to preserve every bit of energy that it can get!! If you don't fuel your body right your metabolism immediately slows down as a way to keep energy levels up. Of course you will lose weight eventually, but to punish your body like that is something that isn't maintainable, and will just result in a sad and even unhealthier lifestyle in the long run!!!!

Can you cite any scientific study that demonstrates the extent of adaptive themogenesis is directly correlated to the size of calorie restriction? I have been unable to find one.

http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v31/n2/abs/0803523a.html

Oh My God, FINALLY!! Someone who also believes this starvation mode is a big wobbly myth. We are a generation of very well-fed humans, we are not going to starve or waste away into nothing or have our body go into an overdrive of panic if we haven't eaten in several hours. If this happened then we would disintegrate in our sleep when we decide to sleep those extra few hours.

Can you cite any scientific study that demonstrates the extent of adaptive themogenesis is directly correlated to the size of calorie restriction? I have been unable to find one.

http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v31/n2/abs/0803523a.html

Not to be a jerk, but did you actually read the study? Because I did, and it doesn't say anything about the size of the calorie restriction having a direct correlation to the size of adaptive thermogenesis.

Here is a key excerpt from the study:

"In conclusion, based on studies that have shown a greater than predicted decrease in EE under energy restriction circumstances, this review presented arguments in support of the potential of adaptive thermogenesis to impede obesity treatment on a short- and long-term basis, at least in some individuals."

Note the inclusion of "at least in some individuals." That means even in the study, not all of the subjects had extra drops in metabolism, even at very low calorie levels.

Here's another key excerpt that I really, really, really hope people will read:

"Indeed, it has been well demonstrated that the decrease in EE during energy restriction and weight loss programs can be greater than expected from the decrease in fat mass and fat-free mass,3, 4, 5 despite these two variables accounting for over 82% of the variance in EE."

In other words, 82% of energy expenditure drop is caused by a loss of mass (i.e. when you lose weight, you burn less calories). 82%. The vast majority of your BMR drop is expected and caused by having less mass, not by any "starvation mode" or "survival response" or whatever. So actually, the study you linked kinda disproves your argument rather than supports it.

I was eating 1200 and lost nothing for 3 months!!!! Needless to say how frustrated I was. Then I read here that I have to up my calories and calculated an amount that gave me a higher calorie goal. I started on that and guess what?!!! I started putting on a lot!!!! of weight.

Now I eat 1000 calories a day and started losing weight like crazy. So, no I don't believe in that either!

I have done it. Sooo ummm what now?

We fatties can also supply part of the daily fuel from the fat reserves we put on eating too much fuel in the past.

Hence we don't need to put gas in the tank and the same rate as the motor burns it 'cos we're running down a big tank too.

Prove it, eat VLCD then say that again.

Open your diary, and show us.

Oh My God, FINALLY!! Someone who also believes this starvation mode is a big wobbly myth. We are a generation of very well-fed humans, we are not going to starve or waste away into nothing or have our body go into an overdrive of panic if we haven't eaten in several hours. If this happened then we would disintegrate in our sleep when we decide to sleep those extra few hours.

Resting energy expenditure (REE), weight, and body composition were measured up to seven times in 13 obese women during a 24-wk study. Patients were randomly assigned to a very-low-calorie diet (VLCD, 500 kcal/d) or a balanced-deficit diet (BDD, 1200 kcal/d). After 8 wk of supplemented fasting, REE of the VLCD patients decreased by 17% whereas that of the BDD patients was virtually unchanged. REE of the VLCD patients increased during 12 subsequent weeks of realimentation such that differences in REE between the two groups were not statistically significant at week 24 (VLCD = -11%, BDD = -2%). Reductions in weight and fat-free mass (FFM) were 12.1% and 3.6% for the VLCD patients and 10.6% and 4.1% for the BDD patients, respectively. There were no significant differences between the groups in pre- to posttreatment changes in REE normalized to FFM. Results suggest that REE recovers partially after consumption of a VLCD. They also provide evidence of a possible metabolic advantage of weight loss by a more moderate restriction.

Here is my experience of starvation mode.
I was anorexic for 3 years. Some days I ate an orange and a piece of toast and thought I was wonderful for it (more fool me)

In the short term (1-6) months eating under 800 or 900 cals a day:
Makes you irritable, grumpy and a pain to live with
Your breath will smell
Your face skin will dry out and/or you'll get spots
You will feel nauseous with hunger
You stomach will make noise all the time
You will lose hell of a lot of weight (up to 7lbs a week)

6 -12 months
Your period will stop
Your appetite will be gone.
You will have trained yourself to go without food.
Your energy will be non-existant
Your circle of friends will have whittered away as you fall out or cut out all of them in turn because of your eating
Your family will be in a panic about your appearance
Your weight loss will slow down to about 1lb a week (or less)
Your hair will thin

12-18 months
You are really ill now
You panic about your weight loss and drop down to 300-500 cals because some other anorexic on an internet forum said this worked for her
The other Anas on the forums are your only "friends" now
All your muscle has gone
The skin all over your body and your face will be in a shocking condition
You are cold all the time, a horrible soul sucking coldness that seems to come from within
Organ damage has started
Your hair will stop growing and may start to fall out

18 months +
As well as everything else above
The symptoms of mental illness appear (paranoia being the most common)
Irreversible organ damage may have started
Lumps of your hair will fall out leaving you with bald patches

After recovery:
Your body clings on to every calories like a dying man to a shipwreak and you put on weight. You think dropping back to your previous habits will lose it - it doesn't. What do you do then?

Those are the consequences of surviving on anorexic portions of food. Those are the ones I saw myself and others in real-life support groups go through. Some lived, some died. Those that lived took years to get over the consequences of our eating habits. That is the reality of eating half what a woman needs to survive on.

Do you know that anyone can edit wikipedia? Do you really want to ruin your life because someone thought it would be clever to justify their lifestyle choices by lying about the consequences of eating like this?

Is this really the path you want to go down? I am begging you now to stop before it is too late and you embark on a lifestyle that negatively shapes the rest of your life.

Right now, I am now losing 2lbs a week eating around about 2000 cals a day. I am happy, healthy and energetic.

Be smart before it is too late for you.