Starvation Mode

Ok I understand why it happens and all that but will you know when you're in starvation mode? How?

bump

Do you have more than a 1000 calorie deficit per day?

Are you eating less than 1200 calories (adult female, teens add 300)?

Has your weight loss stalled/slowed?

Why are you so interested in knowing if you are in starvation mode -- do any of these questions apply to your situation?

=^..^= MOLLY

Original Post by mollymouser:

Do you have more than a 1000 calorie deficit per day?

Are you eating less than 1200 calories (adult female, teens add 300)?

Has your weight loss stalled/slowed?

Why are you so interested in knowing if you are in starvation mode -- do any of these questions apply to your situation?

=^..^= MOLLY

thanks for answering. no none of those really apply to me except like maybe once a week I might eat less than 1200. I'm just really paranoid about going into starvation mode!

I have a long experience (lost cca 100 lb) and I can say that there is no such a thing as "starvation mode". If there would be, then starving people (i.e. in concentration camps) would not be skin and bones (every single one of them).

I weigh myself EVERY DAY for cca 5 years and record it. Looking at the graph, scale reading goes up and down each day, but in total it goes gradually down. Heavier you are, more/faster pounds you are losing, as you are getting closer to your ideal weight it goes much slower. You cannot compare yourself to anyone else by how many lb they lost in whatever time as they are different size. So, if you are reasonably "light weight" you are not going to lose 10 lb in hurry. 1 lb/week could be about norm.

If you are heavy person, then you will see when you record your weight that if it doesn't move for few days, it will jump lower later. It is just a way water in your body is ballancing out. 

Up to 60 percent of the human body is water, the brain is composed of 70 percent water, and the lungs are nearly 90 percent water. About 83 percent of our blood is water, which helps digest our food, transport waste, and control body temperature.  So, don't try to get "rid of water" as you might find our that you are missing it somewhere  What you care about is fat you are losing not water. Keep A results in your nutrition.

Good luck.

 

I was alittle worried about the so called "sarvation mode" as well. I have been eating well and working out 5 times a week for a month now. Didnt lose any weight but people notice I look smaller.. I see alot of people seem to have come on here and lost within the first month so I am wondering why I have not. Im 183lbs i have the weight to come off... My eat meter says i should have 2250 daily, my bburn meter says estimate 3060.. for instance today i had 1207 cals, and my burn meter says 2553. Can someone please help me? haha, im new at this i have no idea what im doing wrong and what im suppose to be consuming?

I am one who does not buy the whole "starvation mode" if one eats under the recommended amount of calories either.

I rarely, if ever, eat over 1000 calories. I have lost 15 pounds since Jan 1. It has come off steadily, rarely backtracking, and is staying off. I see a steady downward trend on my graph when I record my daily weight. I exercise about two hours a day (various methods), drink lots of water, eat healthy foods, sleep great, have good skin, hair, nails, excellent blood sugar, blood prsssure, cholesterol readings etc.

I let myself get out of shape by eating too many calories and not exercising enough.

I have gotten control again by eating less and exercising more.

If I were to eat 1800 calories a day, trust me, it would not be pretty.

Each person and each person's metabolism is different.

Find a healthy plan that works for you and stick with it.

One can eat a lot of healthy food and still be under 1200 calories a day.

Sue..

Actually, even working with a nutritionist it would be VERY difficult to get good nutrition on less than 1200 calories a day for a woman.  Nutrition and Energy are NOT the same thing.

Just like higher quality gas is better for your car, but if you need to drive x amount of miles, you won't get there on less gas of a better type.

Also a petite woman 5'2" or 5'3" (I can't remember) weighing 100lbs needs 1200 calories for all of her organs to run, and that's laying down ALL DAY!  If you are constantly getting fewer calories, you will eventually experience consequences.

I use to think I felt fine too, when I was over eating, not exercising, and overindulging in things like soda.  It wasn't until I stopped doing it that I noticed how awful I felt.  Maybe it's the same way for people who knowingly undereat and tell others it's perfectly fine.

I know a lot of people who reached their goal weights on this site who did so eatting too little.  Their body fat percentage SKYROCKETS because even though the scale was going down, it was muscle they were losing.  So now they're just flabby and tired all the time.  If that is the goal of some of you, then have at it.

Original Post by magan:

I have a long experience (lost cca 100 lb) and I can say that there is no such a thing as "starvation mode".

I have only been on this new lifestyle (diet, calorie counting) for 2 years. But I did experience what I attribute to starvation mode. I was 230 lbs male, 5'10". I lost 30 lbs in three months in 2006 by diet alone (I cut about 1000 calories per day out of what I was already eating to maintain).

I continued this through 2007 with 2 differences:

1. I perhaps ate a little less (1200 calorie deficit)
2. I started running 3 times per week. In August I added weights and cardio.

In 2007 I lost 10 lbs in 12 months. I plateaued.

I attributed this to muscle mass for a while. But my measured fat ratio didn't change. I started looking for the reason for my plateau in December. I mean, how can I burn 2600 Calories per day (on average), eat 1300/day (on average), and not lose more weight? It didn't make sense.

I read about starvation before, but I didn't really believe it. And I thought I was eating enough (I hadn't been counting anymore). Counting my calories one day was a real eye-opener.

I started eating more in December (for the holidays) and began actually eating more daily as part of my calorie count (1800/day). I gained 6 lbs (for the holidays) but I lost it all again and then some. I'm presently losing about 1 lb / week.

Original Post by magan:

If there would be, then starving people (i.e. in concentration camps) would not be skin and bones (every single one of them).

Magan: How large is your deficit?  Have you let it go too high for extended periods?

The name 'starvation mode' is a bit misleading - it occurs when you are eating enough calories for your body to be frugal and give your essential organs some energy.  You stop losing weight because that is what the body does - instead of dedicating 100 calories to keeping the liver running, only 40 would be dedicated, which can be dangerous.  However, it means the body can survive on the 800/1000/1200 calories it is provided with, without using up too much of the fat stores contained in the body - the body assumes there is a food shortage, and so will avoid using these for as long as possible.

So this means, if you are eating 1600 calories, 60 of these calories would be dedicated to the liver, along with 40 from the fat stores - the body does not expect there to be a famine, so has less need to hold on to its stores. 

 However, if you are truly 'starving' (say, less than 800 calories a day) as you would be in a concentration camp, then these stores WOULD be used, as would the energy contained in the muscles, simply because there would not be enough food coming in for the vital organs to survive.

I totally believe in "starvation mode".  About 12 years ago I lost 40 pounds in a year because I didn't take my divorce well.  I never counted calories but it was probably between 500 to 800 a day most of the time.  My friends called me "Olive" as in Popeye.  Over the past 10 years I have gained it and more back.

This time I started the right way.  Good diet and exercise.  I was doing fine in January.  In February I found exercise to be easier and increased workouts about 250 more  calories a day.  THAT DID IT!!  I gained!  In the past week I have increase calories from 1200 to 1400 and started exercising about 500 calories a day.  I lost! 

Therefore, I am now a total believer in the difference between "starvation mode" and actual starvation.