Starvation Mode

I just go with what my body tells me. If I'm hungry I eat and if I'm not then I don't make myself eat. If you are not feeling hungry then I doubt you'll be in "starvation mode". Also everybodys metabolism is different so if eating under 1200 works for you and you're losing weight then I don't see any problems. I f you hit a plateau or start suffering ill effects then maybe up the intake. People on here are so hardcore about starvation mode. Anyways bottom line just do what works for you and as always good luck on your weight loss journey

Hormones and energy balance.

Your body adjusts hunger signals based on how much you eat. If you start eating too little for long enough you won't feel hungry. Your body will start to shut down non-essential functions and won't send hunger signals because it assumes you simply do not have access to food. If you were receiving hunger signals all the time you wouldn't be able to focus on surviving and say, finding more food. It's an evolutionary thing to help preserve life.

I never felt hungry when I was eating 400-700 net calories a day for months. I thought I was eating enough. But, I wasn't losing weight.

Honestly, where is the harm in at least trying eating more? If it turns out you can lose weight while eating more, why wouldn't you?

I just go with what my body tells me. If I'm hungry I eat and if I'm not then I don't make myself eat. If you are not feeling hungry then I doubt you'll be in "starvation mode". Also everybodys metabolism is different so if eating under 1200 works for you and you're losing weight then I don't see any problems. I f you hit a plateau or start suffering ill effects then maybe up the intake. People on here are so hardcore about starvation mode. Anyways bottom line just do what works for you and as always good luck on your weight loss journey

Hormones and energy balance.

Your body adjusts hunger signals based on how much you eat. If you start eating too little for long enough you won't feel hungry. Your body will start to shut down non-essential functions and won't send hunger signals because it assumes you simply do not have access to food. If you were receiving hunger signals all the time you wouldn't be able to focus on surviving and say, finding more food. It's an evolutionary thing to help preserve life.

I never felt hungry when I was eating 400-700 net calories a day for months. I thought I was eating enough. But, I wasn't losing weight.

Honestly, where is the harm in at least trying eating more? If it turns out you can lose weight while eating more, why wouldn't you?

This is why you have to also pay attention to your energy levels and how well you feel generally, rather than just hunger pangs throughout the day. But if you are feeling great generally, no need to fix what isn't broken. As for the last question, you could just as easily ask: If it turns out you are content, satisfied, and feel great eating less, why wouldn't you?

I just realized this conversation is completely effing pointless. The vocabulary has no meaning and I think I am talking talking about something different from some people and the same as others. I'm never participating in a starvation mode thread again, because I can't figure out which people are talking about what. :ohwell:

I just realized this conversation is completely effing pointless. The vocabulary has no meaning and I think I am talking talking about something different from some people and the same as others. I'm never participating in a starvation mode thread again, because I can't figure out which people are talking about what. :ohwell:

Welcome to my world!

I want back out of your world! Your world is very, very frustrating. <<clicking ruby slippers together>> There's no place like home!

I just go with what my body tells me. If I'm hungry I eat and if I'm not then I don't make myself eat. If you are not feeling hungry then I doubt you'll be in "starvation mode". Also everybodys metabolism is different so if eating under 1200 works for you and you're losing weight then I don't see any problems. I f you hit a plateau or start suffering ill effects then maybe up the intake. People on here are so hardcore about starvation mode. Anyways bottom line just do what works for you and as always good luck on your weight loss journey

Did you realize that people that are actually starving do not get hunger pangs. Being hungry has nothing to do with it. Also, if you are suffering ill effects, then you should do more than 'maybe' up the intake.

Screw this thread. Some of you people are ridiculous. Yes you can starve yourself if you actively try. Nobody's "accidentally" in starvation mode. She said she doesn't feel hungry not because she has daily been depriving herself but because that's just where she's at. Then some of you start throwing around "starvation mode" like she's got an ED or something. None of you know her metabolism, health etc so let her eat what she's comfortable at and take down your nazi attitude a bit

starvation mode for me its a huge myth.... Ok, lets accept the fact that eating 500 calories everyday would be dangerous for your body, cause you are not getting enough nutrients/protein/vitamins/calcium etc...
But no way you would enter a starvation mode, or, explain anorexia to me, those girls barely eat 500 cal a day, and they keep losing weight.
I normally eat 900-1100 a day (ive never gone over my daily 1200), and look, 37 lbs less!.. And Im never hungry, i feel satified with what I eat, nothing in this world would change my mind about it. Maybe if i was eating the 900-1100 and i was with the 200 lbs i had before, i would believe it, but not when im a few pounds away from the 150s.

So again , that starvation mode is BS for me.. IMO

Really? Does it need to be explained AGAIN?

I'm declaring a pandemic of deliberate misapprehension of the term "Starvation Mode."

first, I NEVER SAID anorexic was healthy, yes people die from that I know it and Im really aware of it.
second, if people die from anorexia then that proves my post, if starvation mode was real, no anorexic people would die, why?, cause they would stop losing weight as soon as they started eating less than 900 cal. The word anorexia wouldnt even exist.
thirt, im not starving myself, eating 1000 cal a day, for me is enough and I feel full. If I eat more than that I feel bloated.
fourth, maybe for me eating 1000 works, maybe for you dont, to each their own, every body is different.

So stop judging people that dont believe in that myth. Ive lost 37 lbs eating 1000 calories everyday, and u are not gonna change my mind nor make me eat more just cause you say so. Period..

have a nice day!

I cannot wait to see you in 1, 2, 3 or 6 months from now crying because you can't have a slice of pizza or normal meals at all for that matter without gaining an instant 5 pounds---people like you deserve to be in the 95% who regain ALL the weight back and usually more. In the face of the information regarding metabolism and healthy weight loss, that the unfortunate regainers lack, you stick to an unhealthy and unsustainable way of doing things. It's completely absurd.

fyi I eat anything I want.. I had a slice of cheesecake today, last week I ate mexican food and a piece of chocolate donut.. EVEN that way I lost 4.2 lbs... So nope, You wont see that, im sorry.

What I think people are saying about starvation mode isn't that you gain weight by eating less than 1200 cal a day it's that when you reach your goal and you are trying to eat at maintenance calories you gain because your metabolism has slowed. So if you are loosing weight by eating less than 1200 cal a day and not under a doctor's supervision then when you are ready to maintain your slower metabolism means you have to eat less to maintain than a person that lost weight slower and ate BMR calories.

But if you are under the care of a doctor then you should be fine he or she will guide you through the maintenance phase your your journey as well. Remember dietitians are licensed and educated professionals and nutrionalists are not necessarily so. Some may have a PhD while others are operating on a "he said, she said, I read a book once" kind of way.

If you are under the care of a doctor or other licensed professional FANTASTIC!! Keep it up and listen to them and do what they say and keep seeing them. Insist that when you reach your goal weight that you stay on with them as a patient for another year so you get in the habit of eating to maintain. If you are not then be careful it IS POSSIBLE to damage your metabolism and it will cause the yo-yo effect. I.e. Wooo! I'm at my goal time for maintaining, I need 1850 cal to maintain and then you are on here asking why you are gaining when your calories are set to maintenance.

At least that is what I understood from the research that is out there. If you get all your information from the boards here I can understand why you think you eat more to lose more. I think people are combining cycling with starvation mode to come up with the "eat more now, lose more now" theory. That's not what I understand. I can go on but I think I am repeating myself. If you want to know my theory and what I take away from these papers and stuff then message me. I'll try and get my sources together and send you something a little more coherent not in babbling book format.

This thread is somewhat irresponsible, and outright ridiculous to be honest. Anyone with a brain capable of the most minimal level of critical thinking, who can do research knows how these things work. The science is out there. The information is out there. I've read it, you can to. Go freaking look for yourselves instead of harping on things you know nothing about, based on anecdotal evidence taken from PEOPLE you know nothing about.

Here's some small gems of truth taken from scientific studies...take them or leave them.

In the first 24hrs of not eating, your metabolism actually speeds up somewhat. Your body realizes it has no energy source/fuel, and starts producing/increasing hormones that will help you GET some (adrenalin, growth hormone, etc).

In the second 24hrs of not eating, this production begins to level off. Your metabolism begins to slow somewhat...from the slightly elevated level it had reached initially.

In the third 24hrs, your body has stopped producing hormones to help you 'catch' your food. It's beginning to realize there are other problems that it will soon be facing, and towards the end of this period is where it begins the process of lowering your metabolism in earnest.

72hrs, with a very low, or no calorie intake, is all it takes to begin slowing your metabolism. How low? Well, it's a sliding scale...how far below your BMR are you eating?...and you all can argue till the cows come home about what that level is...I don't really care. I do know however, that unless you are substantially overweight (and even then it's just a matter of time...not some random chance), not eating enough calories to sustain your natural bodily functions can, and will certainly do you more harm than good. There's plenty of studies on that too (yes, I've read them...if you want to, get off your lazy *kitten* and look them up yourselves like I had to). Be sure you're not reading 'e-zine' articles by the way, which are little more than rumor themselves. You want peer reviewed studies, or nothing.

So call it whatever the hell you want. Just remember...there's plenty of TRULY anorexic people on this site that are torturing themselves over your irresponsible, and overall inaccurate commentary...and using it to justify one more day of starving themselves.

Who knows how many more of those they'll have.

Bravo, on such a well thought out topic.

I think this all depends on the persons height and weight.

Im 5ft and started losing weight last year in march, i lost around 35lbs on 1200 cals a day, i then upped my calories slightly and stopped losing, i figured i was in the famous ''starvation mode'' so i upped it again all the way to 1600-1800 a day. Didnt lose ANYTHING, even though i was eating clean and working out. I tried everything and i was stuck in a plateau for about 6 months. Then about 3 weeks ago i dropped it back down to 1200 for the first time in months.... low and behold, i started losing again.

I think the 1200 rule works for more shorter women, but do what you feel works, only you know when you're hungry, not anybody on a forum