Fasting....starvation mode?

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Heya,

So, I come from a family of Muslims, [I've become atheist, but they don't know that ;) ].
It's almost the holy month of Ramadhan, which means compulsory fasting from sunrise to sunset.

This means that I'll most likely only consume 500-1000 calories a day, [fasting messes up the appetite].

Will that affect my steady weight loss in a bad way?
Will starvation mode take effect and ruin my progress?

Thanks in advance (:

Replies

  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
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    Starvation mode won't happen if you go a day without eating (I'm not sure how long it is).
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    i sometimes sleep/stay in bed 12 hours+ a day without eating. you should be fine.
    maybe even more weightloss.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I thought Ramadan was a complete pigout festival from previous observations.

    No effect to worry about.
  • TaintedVampyre
    TaintedVampyre Posts: 1,428 Member
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    I remember participating in 2 consecutive years of Ramadan (as a personal social experiment and because a lot of my friends are Muslim I wanted to try) and I never once went into starvation mode. I went into impatient mode because I couldn't wait until I could break fast haha

    But you'll do fine :)
  • Shweedog
    Shweedog Posts: 883 Member
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    If you are now an atheist can you not just eat during the day without your family knowing?
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Starvation mode won't happen if you go a day without eating (I'm not sure how long it is).
    A month.
  • mali240
    mali240 Posts: 126
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    I have friends who observe Ramadan, and workout as well.... It fluctuates for them, initially u lose a couple pounds, later u gain them back... But after Eid you go back to where you were before Ramadan
  • PuggleLover
    PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
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    Just don't eat around your family.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    Do what you need to do and don't worry about starvation mode. You'll be fine. You'll probably lose more weight and feel great.
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
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    ~ Here is an article I came across on this subject ... I do " IF " on a regular basis and I love it ! Almost everybody does it, they just don't realize it ! The time from your last meal of the day ... to your first meal of the next day is a type of fasting, and for some people it ranges from 12 to 16 hrs. It is a great way to appreciate " hunger pangs " and actually knowing when you really truly are hungry. Granted, it is not for everybody ... but it is certainly healthy and works for some people ! :wink:

    HOW RAMADAN GOT ME INTERESTED IN INTERMITTENT FASTING

    I first became interested in IF many years ago, when a client contacted me to ask about Ramadan and muscle loss. During the holy month of Ramadan, for about 30 days, observant Muslims fast every day from sunrise to sunset. The fast-breaking evening meal is often a big dinner. Seems like the perfect scenario for muscle loss and fat gain, right?
    Well, I’m glad I checked the clinical research before smugly assuming that Ramadan fasters’ muscles were dissolving and their bellies expanding. Turns out, even though many folks were chowing down on large meals every evening, they were sometimes healthier during Ramadan than the rest of the year. In particular, heart disease and markers of inflammation decreased.
    Given the concerns over how well animal research applies to humans, observant Muslims make up a useful human study group for intermittent fasting. They’re highly motivated to be compliant, there are lots of them, and researchers can follow them for a month every year. Plus, more traditionally observant Muslims (also Mormons, another common fasting study population) typically avoid foods – such as alcohol and junk food – that might skew a study’s results.
    About this time, new research also suggested that eating less (aka caloric restriction, or CR) could also improve longevity. But daily CR – for the rest of one’s life – seemed horrible. CR advocates looked like walking skeletons, and the chronic daily restriction slowed their metabolism (including hormone production) to a crawl. Sure, they’d live forever, but in that state, who’d want to?
    Thus, fasting periodically seemed like a good way to combine the longevity benefits of CR with the lowered inflammation and other health benefits of fasting, while still maintaining hormonal health and lean mass.
    This research got my attention. And like JB, I decided to experiment.
  • KeiKun
    KeiKun Posts: 51 Member
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    If you are now an atheist can you not just eat during the day without your family knowing?

    Naw, if I'm gonna do something I'm gonna do it properly. The fasting itself I like doing, just not for the same reasons. :)

    Hmm, well a lot of Muslims have feasts at sunset, my family usually has a small bowl of vegetable soup and a few slices of bread. So there's quite a calorie deficit.
    Thanks for the info guys, all interesting! :D
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
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    from leangains.com

    4. Myth: Fasting tricks the body into "starvation mode".


    Truth


    Efficient adaptation to famine was important for survival during rough times in our evolution. Lowering metabolic rate during starvation allowed us to live longer, increasing the possibility that we might come across something to eat. Starvation literally means starvation. It doesn't mean skipping a meal not eating for 24 hours. Or not eating for three days even. The belief that meal skipping or short-term fasting causes "starvation mode" is so completely ridiculous and absurd that it makes me want to jump out the window.

    Looking at the numerous studies I've read, the earliest evidence for lowered metabolic rate in response to fasting occurred after 60 hours (-8% in resting metabolic rate). Other studies show metabolic rate is not impacted until 72-96 hours have passed (George Cahill has contributed a lot on this topic).

    Seemingly paradoxical, metabolic rate is actually increased in short-term fasting. For some concrete numbers, studies have shown an increase of 3.6% - 10% after 36-48 hours (Mansell PI, et al, and Zauner C, et al). This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline/noradrenaline) sharpens the mind and makes us want to move around. Desirable traits that encouraged us to seek for food, or for the hunter to kill his prey, increasing survival. At some point, after several days of no eating, this benefit would confer no benefit to survival and probably would have done more harm than good; instead, an adaptation that favored conservation of energy turned out to be advantageous. Thus metabolic rate is increased in short-term fasting (up to 60 hours).

    Again, I have choosen extreme examples to show how absurd the myth of "starvation mode" is - especially when you consider that the exact opposite is true in the context of how the term is thrown around.

    Origin


    I guess some genius read that fasting or starvation causes metabolic rate to drop and took that to mean that meal skipping, or not eating for a day or two, would cause starvation mode.
  • gwengogreen1
    gwengogreen1 Posts: 194 Member
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    Not unless the holiday lasts a week, my friend.
  • KeiKun
    KeiKun Posts: 51 Member
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    from leangains.com

    4. Myth: Fasting tricks the body into "starvation mode".


    Truth


    Efficient adaptation to famine was important for survival during rough times in our evolution. Lowering metabolic rate during starvation allowed us to live longer, increasing the possibility that we might come across something to eat. Starvation literally means starvation. It doesn't mean skipping a meal not eating for 24 hours. Or not eating for three days even. The belief that meal skipping or short-term fasting causes "starvation mode" is so completely ridiculous and absurd that it makes me want to jump out the window.

    Looking at the numerous studies I've read, the earliest evidence for lowered metabolic rate in response to fasting occurred after 60 hours (-8% in resting metabolic rate). Other studies show metabolic rate is not impacted until 72-96 hours have passed (George Cahill has contributed a lot on this topic).

    Seemingly paradoxical, metabolic rate is actually increased in short-term fasting. For some concrete numbers, studies have shown an increase of 3.6% - 10% after 36-48 hours (Mansell PI, et al, and Zauner C, et al). This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline/noradrenaline) sharpens the mind and makes us want to move around. Desirable traits that encouraged us to seek for food, or for the hunter to kill his prey, increasing survival. At some point, after several days of no eating, this benefit would confer no benefit to survival and probably would have done more harm than good; instead, an adaptation that favored conservation of energy turned out to be advantageous. Thus metabolic rate is increased in short-term fasting (up to 60 hours).

    Again, I have choosen extreme examples to show how absurd the myth of "starvation mode" is - especially when you consider that the exact opposite is true in the context of how the term is thrown around.

    Origin


    I guess some genius read that fasting or starvation causes metabolic rate to drop and took that to mean that meal skipping, or not eating for a day or two, would cause starvation mode.

    Aha! I read something similar but I couldn't find it with sources, so wasn't sure whether or not to believe it.
    That's perfect, thanks dude :)
  • jamlastsforages
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    I thought Ramadan was a complete pigout festival from previous observations.

    A lot of us are doing it wrong. XD

    Anyway, I'm Muslim. This coming Ramadhan will be the first one in which I'll be watching my calorie intake and fasting with diabetes. I also plan to continue with home workouts as well. We'll see how it goes but I've never lost or gained weight after Ramadhan. It's the Eid that messes everything up because in Singapore, the Eid is a month-long gastronomic affair. So, you know, I pray for strength. Haha.
  • KeiKun
    KeiKun Posts: 51 Member
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    I thought Ramadan was a complete pigout festival from previous observations.

    A lot of us are doing it wrong. XD

    Anyway, I'm Muslim. This coming Ramadhan will be the first one in which I'll be watching my calorie intake and fasting with diabetes. I also plan to continue with home workouts as well. We'll see how it goes but I've never lost or gained weight after Ramadhan. It's the Eid that messes everything up because in Singapore, the Eid is a month-long gastronomic affair. So, you know, I pray for strength. Haha.

    A month long Eid?!?! Wow, I wish I lived in Singapore! xD
    Good luck this year, hope it goes well for you :)
  • epmck11
    epmck11 Posts: 159 Member
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    from leangains.com

    4. Myth: Fasting tricks the body into "starvation mode".


    Truth


    Efficient adaptation to famine was important for survival during rough times in our evolution. Lowering metabolic rate during starvation allowed us to live longer, increasing the possibility that we might come across something to eat. Starvation literally means starvation. It doesn't mean skipping a meal not eating for 24 hours. Or not eating for three days even. The belief that meal skipping or short-term fasting causes "starvation mode" is so completely ridiculous and absurd that it makes me want to jump out the window.

    Looking at the numerous studies I've read, the earliest evidence for lowered metabolic rate in response to fasting occurred after 60 hours (-8% in resting metabolic rate). Other studies show metabolic rate is not impacted until 72-96 hours have passed (George Cahill has contributed a lot on this topic).

    Seemingly paradoxical, metabolic rate is actually increased in short-term fasting. For some concrete numbers, studies have shown an increase of 3.6% - 10% after 36-48 hours (Mansell PI, et al, and Zauner C, et al). This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline/noradrenaline) sharpens the mind and makes us want to move around. Desirable traits that encouraged us to seek for food, or for the hunter to kill his prey, increasing survival. At some point, after several days of no eating, this benefit would confer no benefit to survival and probably would have done more harm than good; instead, an adaptation that favored conservation of energy turned out to be advantageous. Thus metabolic rate is increased in short-term fasting (up to 60 hours).

    Again, I have choosen extreme examples to show how absurd the myth of "starvation mode" is - especially when you consider that the exact opposite is true in the context of how the term is thrown around.

    Origin


    I guess some genius read that fasting or starvation causes metabolic rate to drop and took that to mean that meal skipping, or not eating for a day or two, would cause starvation mode.

    ^^^This^^^

    Read LeanGains.com and you'll see that so-called "starvation mode" from fasting is a myth. Just try to consume extra calories at night when you're allowed to eat.

    /Thread
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Not unless the holiday lasts a week, my friend.
    It lasts a month, actually. That's why it's called the month of Ramadan.
  • jordanreddick
    jordanreddick Posts: 197 Member
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    They pig out after sunset, hence fasting from sunrise to sunset :wink: