Starvation

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fatforthewin
fatforthewin Posts: 33
in Food and Nutrition
Will someone please explain to me this concept of "starvation mode"? I have no idea what people are referring to, what the term is supposed to mean, how it relates to biochemistry, whether it is distinct from malnutrition, whether someone can recover physically from it, how calories affect it, and how it relates to third-world-countries.

I am exasperated because I hear it so much and cannot find a solid explanation for the term. I have no idea what people mean when they say it.
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Replies

  • sarahkittymeow
    sarahkittymeow Posts: 146
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    Frankly that's because people mostly throw it around when they hear someone is eating below calories, to try and convince them they're going to get fat and to scare potentially anorexic people.

    Yeah, no. I will try and find a source that explains what it is and when it REALLY happens and post it here so you can read all about it...
  • kasearle15
    kasearle15 Posts: 3
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    :smile: Basically, the idea is that the body adapts to prolonged periods of low calorie intake by reducing metabolism. The application is a severely calorie restricted diet is actually counterintuitive in that it will actually be HARDER to lose excess weight than if the body were fueled properly. Many recommend not going below your BMR, which is what I've been doing. Hope that helps
  • fatforthewin
    fatforthewin Posts: 33
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    Frankly that's because people mostly throw it around when they hear someone is eating below calories...

    Right. I thought that's what losing weight is all about?
  • coletteann123
    coletteann123 Posts: 21
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    this is wierd because i was going to post a topic about this exact same thing today!! i eat under the calories and still work out so how does that work?? i dont want to up calorie intake?? at the moment though everythng i eat im thinking my body is straight away storing it?? surely its burning it?? very confused about this subject!! looking forward to seeing your responses you get!!
  • VenomousDuck
    VenomousDuck Posts: 206
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    plenty out there about it, but starvation mode takes a long time with no food.

    if you didn't eat at all for five or so days, and your body no longer is having hunger pangs, then it has decided there is no food available and changes your metabolism. It is ended when food is eaten.

    It is not easy to enter starvation mode. Almost no one in America has to worry about it....

    http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=35501

    http://www.laststopfatloss.com/is-starvation-mode-a-myth

    and this http://voices.yahoo.com/starvation-mode-dispelling-myths-2900886.html
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    it's a loose term covering the changes in the metabolism in response to calorie reduction or weight loss or both.

    You will burn less calories per day if you reduce your calorie intake significantly below what you were previously burning. You also use less calories per day as you get lighter. These things may be 100 or 200 calories a day and reduce the expected weight loss rate if not taken account of.

    Nobody has yet turned up in a clinical study that didn't lose fat on an appropriately low calorie level, but they do generally screen out the sick.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Right. I thought that's what losing weight is all about?

    Some people have magic numbers they think you should not eat below or the sky will fall in - your BMR is one, 1200 is another.

    Personally I believe you need adequate protein and nutrients like essential oils, minerals and vitamins and your calorie intake as such does not ensure you meet these (though the more you eat the higher the chance of getting enough without trying).
  • tomhancock
    tomhancock Posts: 100 Member
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    Are you still getting hungry?

    If the answer is YES, your body is not in starvation mode.

    People who think a SLIGHT metabolic slowdown after several weeks of dieting is starvation mode have no idea what they are talking about.

    Be careful who you listen to on here! Be careful of internet BMR calculators, and be careful of anyone who tells you to eat more calories to lose weight. (with the small exception of re-feed days if you believe in that)
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    Frankly that's because people mostly throw it around when they hear someone is eating below calories...

    Right. I thought that's what losing weight is all about?

    yes...losing weight is about reducing calories to a level below what you would need to remain the same as you are now...i.e going below our "maintenance" level.

    the problem is we always think if we go to a real low level under what we need, we will lose weight even faster. Unfortunately, that isnt the case in the long run. If you eat too few calories, you will initially lose a few pounds but your body will go into a conservation mode where it slows down everything to conserve because it thinks you cant find food. Its actually a safeguard. So, to effectively lose all of our excess weight, we need patience and perserverence. A small deficit eill not cause the body to think your food finding skills are lacking and you will lose the weight.
  • BuckeyeLife
    BuckeyeLife Posts: 313 Member
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    Find your BMR, don't eat less than your BMR. Your body will appreciate you giving it sufficient calories to only run the basic functions. If you're eating below BMR, your body is going to take action to lower the BMR so you can run on the tiny amount of food you are eating.

    Personally, I can't understand why a single person is eating 1200 calories, its beyond foolish to me. Thankfully my girlfriend eats and looks damn good, she is going to start lifting weights and will help her look even more amazing!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    If you're eating below BMR, your body is going to take action to lower the BMR so you can run on the tiny amount of food you are eating.

    The reduced BMR happens as a result of calorie restriction even above your BMR, we've known that for 60 years.
    Personally, I can't understand why a single person is eating 1200 calories, its beyond foolish to me.

    Each to their own. If you had a BMR of 1300 and wanted to lose weight at a rate that you could see then you may have a different view of life.
  • fatforthewin
    fatforthewin Posts: 33
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    Right. I thought that's what losing weight is all about?

    Some people have magic numbers they think you should not eat below or the sky will fall in - your BMR is one, 1200 is another.

    Personally I believe you need adequate protein and nutrients like essential oils, minerals and vitamins and your calorie intake as such does not ensure you meet these (though the more you eat the higher the chance of getting enough without trying).

    Love your profile pic, yarwell. Great sense of humor. :laugh:
    People who think a SLIGHT metabolic slowdown after several weeks of dieting is starvation mode have no idea what they are talking about.

    Be careful who you listen to on here! Be careful of internet BMR calculators, and be careful of anyone who tells you to eat more calories to lose weight. (with the small exception of re-feed days if you believe in that)

    There are so many great (helpful) responses on here. The "magic 1200" has confused me for a long time. I have never had a medical test to determine my BMR but I have a very slight frame and when I eat according to appetite my calories are very low. I don't usually reach 1200 naturally and I experience little or no hunger throughout the day. That is one of the reasons I have been so perturbed by advice to eat more to avoid 'starvation mode'. I always thought hunger was a pretty good indicator of how much energy a person needs :/
  • mariamarchita
    mariamarchita Posts: 131
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    It perturbs me when people say things like "starving yourself wont make you lose weight, you'll just hang on to whatever weight you have", etc - it's like, tell that to Karen Carpenter!

    Edit: No, I don't think starving oneself is a good way to lose weight. Just clarifying.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    this is wierd because i was going to post a topic about this exact same thing today!! i eat under the calories and still work out so how does that work?? i dont want to up calorie intake?? at the moment though everythng i eat im thinking my body is straight away storing it?? surely its burning it?? very confused about this subject!! looking forward to seeing your responses you get!!

    It does burn it, don't worry.

    Your body needs energy to workout and live day-to-day, when you have used up your calories that you have consumed in food and drink, it will start on any excess fat you have stored, hence the term "burning fat".

    Regarding your metabolism, it isn't just food that speeds up your metabolism, exercise also does that and many people don't realize that fact, they think it is all about food and so scare themselves silly, thinking it will suddenly just stop if they don't eat enough - if it DID suddenly cease working, you would die, it never stops whilst you are alive.

    I have always wondered what the people who think the body stores fat during "starvation mode", what it uses for energy, but they never actually answer, mainly because they do not know I guess ;)
  • fraser112
    fraser112 Posts: 405
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    its something no one here will ever go through.

    when you stop eating you matabalism rises for about 3 days then begins to mostly metabalise fats. you loose a little muscle say 1 to 2 pounds over 30 days ive seen quoted a fair few times.
    most can last one or so months like this will no complications.

    one obese scotsman was fasted on water and suplements for over a year

    once your fat stores are gone you enter the final stage of starving.

    your body starts eating your muscles and then you die.

    so no starving for anyone here haha
  • jessiesunshine
    jessiesunshine Posts: 48
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    The thing I have always heard is that if you eat way under what your body needs it goes into a mode where it refuses to lose weight.. because your body wants to keep as much fat as it can to survive because you aren't giving it enough. So you hold onto fat.. and your body craves like crazy.. it doesn't mean you starve.. it means your body refuses to lose weight because it thinks its starving!
    I've gone through what I thought was that.. when I was eating 1200... I couldnt' lose weight.. at all.. which at the time made no sense.. and then I was SO hungry I that I ate and gained back more than I had lost.. I upped my calories to 1550.. and hopefully now I can drop the pounds. (all that I gained back)
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    The thing I have always heard is that if you eat way under what your body needs it goes into a mode where it refuses to lose weight.. because your body wants to keep as much fat as it can to survive because you aren't giving it enough. So you hold onto fat.. and your body craves like crazy.. it doesn't mean you starve.. it means your body refuses to lose weight because it thinks its starving!
    I've gone through what I thought was that.. when I was eating 1200... I couldnt' lose weight.. at all.. which at the time made no sense.. and then I was SO hungry I that I ate and gained back more than I had lost.. I upped my calories to 1550.. and hopefully now I can drop the pounds. (all that I gained back)

    The thing is though, what exactly would the body use for energy during it's day-to-day existence if it is holding onto everything?

    One of the major reasons people cannot lose weight is because they underestimate the calories in their food and drink (usually because they guess the weight of the foods rather than weighing them to get the correct figure and they overestimate the calories burned during exercise and if they are one of those people that eat back all their exercise calories they will be over their daily allowance before they go anywhere.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    Right. I thought that's what losing weight is all about?

    Some people have magic numbers they think you should not eat below or the sky will fall in - your BMR is one, 1200 is another.

    Personally I believe you need adequate protein and nutrients like essential oils, minerals and vitamins and your calorie intake as such does not ensure you meet these (though the more you eat the higher the chance of getting enough without trying).

    I agree. People need to stop focusing on a number and focus on the quality of the food they eat.

    In most people's eyes I should be in starvation mode, because I generally eat between 800-1100 calories per day and I don't count calories.

    However, I am getting more than adequate NUTRITION and this is what the body needs.

    Most people that are overweight or obese are malnutritioned.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    The thing I have always heard is that if you eat way under what your body needs it goes into a mode where it refuses to lose weight.. because your body wants to keep as much fat as it can to survive because you aren't giving it enough. So you hold onto fat.. and your body craves like crazy.. it doesn't mean you starve.. it means your body refuses to lose weight because it thinks its starving!
    I've gone through what I thought was that.. when I was eating 1200... I couldnt' lose weight.. at all.. which at the time made no sense.. and then I was SO hungry I that I ate and gained back more than I had lost.. I upped my calories to 1550.. and hopefully now I can drop the pounds. (all that I gained back)

    If this were true, then no one would be anorexic. <SIGH>

    The body stores for times of famine so it has nutrients to survive as essential vitamins and minerals are stored in the fat cells.

    Very few in the civilized western world has to worry about times of famine as there is an overabundance of food (and non-food) around.
  • mariamarchita
    mariamarchita Posts: 131
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    The thing I have always heard is that if you eat way under what your body needs it goes into a mode where it refuses to lose weight.. because your body wants to keep as much fat as it can to survive because you aren't giving it enough. So you hold onto fat.. and your body craves like crazy.. it doesn't mean you starve.. it means your body refuses to lose weight because it thinks its starving!
    I've gone through what I thought was that.. when I was eating 1200... I couldnt' lose weight.. at all.. which at the time made no sense.. and then I was SO hungry I that I ate and gained back more than I had lost.. I upped my calories to 1550.. and hopefully now I can drop the pounds. (all that I gained back)

    If this were true, then no one would be anorexic. <SIGH>

    This ^!

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