"Starvation Mode"

I dont understand when people say "your body is going to go in Starvation Mode" Starvation mode is when your body starts storing fats right? Well eventually you will start burning fat how do the aneroxics and bulimics get so skinny? Does it take awhile for Starvation mode to kick in?

they get so skinny by destroying their  insides.

I'd like to know the answer to this as well.  I've heard about "starvation mode" but don't know anything about it...

Elizabeth

http://experts.about.com/q/Anorexia-Eating-Di sorders-1604/Starvation-mode.htm

I found this.  there are alot of articles online.  just google starvation mode and you get a lot

I believe there is a difference between the ?weight loss? starvation mode that is often referred to here and actual starvation seen with eating disorders.

Weight loss starvation mode is when your body will start storing as much as it can in anticipation of the actual starvation.  This is why people who eat way less calories than they should say they aren?t losing any weight, and when they up their calorie intake, they start losing.  But you are not starving?yet.

When you look at anorexics and other eating disorders, they are actually starving.  Their bodies are past trying to store things in anticipation of starvation mode.  They are living starvation.  They have a lack of nutrients and there are basically starving themselves to death.  The body probably acts the same way as it does in weight loss starvation mode, the difference is that the internal organs and such have been greatly compromised.

Weight loss starvation mode is the body?s way of trying to fight off the starvation seen in eating disorders, it is trying to stop you from getting to that point.

I hope this makes sense.

I think the thing is that a person with anorxia or bulemia is not giving their body anything to hold on to at all.  So yes, they are starving like bigtwinky said.

A person who is not eating enough calories in a day is not starving but when the body relizes that there is food in it and grabs on to it and holds i because it knows it needs that to function.  So it just keeps hold on to everything because the body does not know when it will get "fuel" again.

well basically your body needs more then you are eating to survive. it starts to store away fat and whatnot so it has enough energy to funcion. if you starve your self for so long your body will slow the weight loss. anorexics cant keep themselves alive but their body will try.

Starvation mode isn't necessarily meaning that you're withering away to be paper thin.   You're not getting enough calories in your daily diet so your body runs inefficiently and stores everything.  it's not healthy and yes you can actually GAIN weight.  

Been there, done that.  Never been paper thin! 

Thanks guys!! 

You're right in saying "eventually you will start burning fat how do the aneroxics and bulimics get so skinny?" The problem is (to elaborate on what Slappy said)-

while it's storing fat for a "rainy day" it burns other products in your body tht burn faster, it starts with protein. or i.e. your muscles then it turns to fat

in the mean-time your metabolism is shot it's running as slowly as possible.

Then you get in the mentality where you're just not skinny enough (because the top layer is all fat and then it's bone) so you keep starving your body

so then it turns to your organs and starts eating them.

During starvation mode females will lose their periods, and if in it long enough, lose the ability to bear children.

Generally you will lose your hair and your nails become extremely brittle.

Your heart slows down and can even stop.

You can become anemic

Your muscles wear down so you're done to the bones, and can form osteoporosis

Kindey stones and kindey failure.

Body fluids all are shot

You can become constipated and bloated

And your skin turns yellow... and more...

Also, you may become "skinny" but my no means will you become healthy.

Please take care.

alwaysfreetobeme, I cant tell you how much reading that has helped me, thank you!

with starvation mode would your body be starving if the calorie limit was around 600cal a day(i know someone like that, she says she dosn't have a problem), wat is that doing to your body? the thing is she isn't really that thin and as far as i know shes been like this for about a month and a half, should i be concerned for her or should i leave the issue alone and only bring it up if she loses a lot of weight?help i need answers to this

It's very easy for girls to slip into the pattern of eating dysorder, the normal dieter cannot live on 600 calories for more than a few days/weeks. If your friend is able to keep up daily life with such few calories it could mean she is at the beginning of an long term problem. Try to talk sense into her, now before she is really sucked in. When people are really bad they grow fuzz on their bodies, faces. this is the body's way of trying to keep warm when there is no body fat left.

Im really  confused still.... so when u start burning fats.. is when ur not consuming ANY cals?

or is it, if u eat like 400 cals a day, ur in starvation mode and lose?

wheres the line between stavations mode, and stavation itself where you lose?

I used to fast for days/weeks, and lose some, but i wud lose more on like 300 cals a day... but isnt that still starvation?

this is really confuffling!!

xxx

ok, you missed the point. Eating 300 or 400 you might loose some weight, yes, cause you would be killing yourself. I eat 1,500-1,700 and loose about 2.5 a week. I would never EVER eat under 1,200. anything under 1,200 in my eyes is starvation, I ate about 1,000 a day and my weight wouldnt budge, i found this website and upped it and now the weight falls off, you need to feed your body to be healthy and thin.

stef

there is no set calorie limit that will put anyone into starvation mode- everyone's is different,some are lower while others are higher... it just depends on the person's body and their activity level...

Take  Care

i know this was up along time ago, but i just joined on cc and this has been extreemly helpful.  ive been counting for about a week, eating between 1000 and 1500 daily, but now i absolutely will not let myself go below 1200.  i hadnt realized that this was what i needed to simply function.  thank you so much to everyone who posted helpful information on starvation mode!

Glad to see you found use from this thread, and any others :D

take care

In starvation mode your body can go into ketosis and this is how people with eds lose fat (also, I think this is the point of the atkins diet...)

Heya all you peoples!! Starvation mode isn't only for people with eating disorders though obviously their bodies do go into starvation mode also... "starvation mode" is when you eat less than half the calories your burning and your body freaks out and slows down your metabolism. When you first start starving yourself your body will use something called glycogen and thats the initial wieght that you lose when you start starving yourself or your "water wieght" because thats mainly what it is and the second you start eating again you'll put all that back on after that it will start burning off fat and muscle and if your thin enough vital organs... but it'll do it much slower than if your eating somewhere above that 50% Even with your body in starvation mode you'll still burn fat etc people with ED's do still burn fat but their body does it a whole lot less efficiently than people who eat a bit extra. It also mean that when you start eating again for the first few weeks your bodys still gonna be in starvation mode so you'll stack on the weight! It's something you probably want to avoid

Thanks for bringing this thread up again, its been very insightful for me too!  Im trying to eat 1200 a day, but often only get just over 1000 on some days... need to sort this out or I wont be losing anything at this rate.