Obsession with starvation mode...

Good luck with your super slow metabolism and lean muscle loss! :flowerforyou:

I eat around 1200 -1400 calories a day & I never eat back my net calories . I always gain weight & I'm eating low fat , low carb organic diet . So I don't know how much more extreme I can get on this . I have only seen healthy 1-2lbs / week weight loss by not eating back my calories . Plus I just listen to my grandmother whom I live with . She just tells me to exercise 45 min . / day . Don't eat after 7pm & Eat 3 small meals / day . If I'm hungry I can have small snack in between . But when I switched my diet over to organic I haven't been eating as much because I get full faster . Reason why is there is no additives in these organic foods that make you over eat . When I ate unhealthy I could eat large portions and not be full . Besides the fact that my metabolism is high now , thanks to this supplement I take ( Cayenne Fruit ) . So I don't have to worry about slow progress either . So far I've lost 9lbs this past month slowly but surely . It's all a matter of what works for each individual person , everyone's body reacts differently to different things . Good luck with your weight loss though ! :flowerforyou:

Wow. Just wow.

Seems like I'm always getting these reactions lately ... At least I have my husband for support , since I see not all of you are going to support my habits . Oh well , can 't please everybody ! :happy:

“Adaptive reduction in basal metabolic rate in response to food deprivation in humans: a role for feedback signals from fat stores. Dulloo, Jaquet 1998. American journal of clinical nutrition.

Quote:

“It is well established from longitudinal studies of human starvation and semistarvation that weight loss is accompanied by a decrease in basal metabolicrate (BMR) greater than can be accounted for by the change in body weight or body composition”

Doucet, et al 2001. British journal of nutrition. “Evidence for the existence of adaptive thermogenesis during weight loss.”

quote:

“It should be expected that the decrease in resting energy expenditure that occurs during weightloss would be proportional to the decrease in body substance. However, in the case of underfeeding studies, acute energy restriction can also lead to reductions in resting energy expenditure which are not entirely explained by changes in body composition.”

Handbook of Obesity Treatment, by wadden and stunkard
(two of the top obesity scientists and researchers in the world )

quote:

“The starvation response - which is an increase in food seeking behavior - is most likely mediated by the decrease in leptin associated with caloric deprivation.”

Textbooks on nutritional biochemistry also acknowledge the decrease in metabolism and distinguish it as an adaptive mechanism, distinct from the decrease in energy expenditure that would be expected with weight loss. In this case, the author also mentions another downside of very low calorie diets: spontaneous reduction in physical activity.

Biochemical And Physiological Aspects of Human Nutrition by SM. Stipanauk, professor of nutritional sciences, Cornell University (WB Saunders company, 2000)

Quote:

During food restriction, thermic effect of food and energy expenditure decrease, as would be expected from reduced food intake and a reduction in total body mass. Resting metabolic rate, however declines more rapidly than would be expected from the loss of body mass and from the decline in spontaneous physical activity due to general fatigue.

This adaptive reduction in resting metabolic rate may be a defense against further loss of body energy stores."

Granted, it is more often referred to as “metabolic adaptation” or “adaptive reduction in metabolic rate.” However, starvation mode and starvation response are both terms found in the scientific literature, and they are more easily understood by the layperson, which is why I choose to use them.

Another effect of starvation mode is what happens after the diet: A sustained increase in appetite and a sustained reduction of metabolic rate that persists after the diet is over. Although controversial, this too is documented in the literature:

American Journal clinical nutrition 1997. Dulloo “post starvation hyperphagia and body fat overshooting in humans.”

American Journal Clin Nutrition 1989, Elliot et al. “Sustained depression of the resting metabolic rate after massive weight loss”

quote:

“Resting metabolic rate of our obese subjects remained depressed after massive weight loss despite increased caloric consumption to a level that allowed body weight stabilization.”

and Dulloo 1998:

"The reduction in thermogenesis during semistarvation persists after 12 weeks of restricted refeeding, with its size being inversely proportional to the degree of fat recovery but unrelated to the degree of fat free mass recovery."

I just think if ANYONE is extremely concerned about their bodies entering "starvation mode" from a particular caloric intake..You should consult your doctor or nutritionist. I'm not sure if this (MFP) is the best resource..I'm just saying..

Possibly the best advice I've read on this site yet.

Yes good advise except I would replace doctor and nutritionist with dietition because most doctors are not schooled much in nutrition and anyone can call themselves a nutritionist.

It's "Dietitian"...and this statement --->Dietitions are educated and regulated.????? So are you saying Doctors are not well versed in nutrition?? and forget the educated and regulated part!! There's NO other profession that is regulated and educated more than a physician...wow

Finally did a BMR test. Fund out I burn 2200 cal -just sitting doing nothing - it's higher with daily activities.

I just think if ANYONE is extremely concerned about their bodies entering "starvation mode" from a particular caloric intake..You should consult your doctor or nutritionist. I'm not sure if this (MFP) is the best resource..I'm just saying..

Possibly the best advice I've read on this site yet.

Yes good advise except I would replace doctor and nutritionist with dietition because most doctors are not schooled much in nutrition and anyone can call themselves a nutritionist.

It's "Dietitian"...and this statement --->Dietitions are educated and regulated.????? So are you saying Doctors are not well versed in nutrition?? and forget the educated and regulated part!! There's NO other profession tha t is regulated and educated more than a physician...wow

Starvation mode isn't a myth. It's most people's understanding of it that's a myth.

For instance, the person who says "Anorexics starve to death and die, therefore starvation mode doesn't exist."

However, anorexics keep living for a really long time on very few calories as their bodies self-cannibalize. They lose fat, but they also lose muscle and bone-density, and their hair falls out.

If you restrict calories, your metabolism will slow down. It's brilliant, really. Your body becomes more efficient. The idea, however, is to restrict calories by a little, just enough to keep the metabolism going at the same rate, so you can lose weight while still eating a decent amount.

This makes the diet easier to maintain, and you're more likely to stick with it.