Is starvation mode real? does it really happen?

My Fitness Pal says I need 2600 calories a day to lose 2 lbs a week, yesterday I ate about 1200, is that enough?

Someone help me please.

Up until Sunday I was at 500 to 600. But hardly had energy for the gym and getting through the day.my nutricianist said that that's what t should be but still was gaining like a pound a week. So as of Sunday I am doing 800,to 900 and we will see how I do on Saturday again.

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Its always best to listen to the doctor and nutritionist.....but I might question them as to their reasoning. Are they aware of how much you are exercising?

My second question would be Are you sure you are tracking your calories correctly? And are you sure you are tracking your exercise calories accurately?

Well personally for me starvation mode exsist and has been proven in my journey..i dont have a fill.. but when i was eating 600-800 calories a day and worked out for 2 hours a day i might lose 2 pounds a week but normally more like one. So when i listened to every dieticion and trainer around me and finally upped my calorie intake to 1200, and continued to work out 2 hours a day (with weights and cardio) I started loosing anywhere from 4-6 pounds ever week and have been consistent in that since i upped my calories. So for me eating literally nothing and burning wayy more than i ate made me lose less. Eating 1200 calories a day and working out 5 days a week has made me lose more. Someone earlier asked how starvation mode exsisted since people are bulemic and anorexic. Well its like this.. anyone can starve themsleves and yes eventually lose weight.. but in the process you are not only burning fat..but you are burning muscle! your heart is a muscle...why do you think anorexic people pass out and look pale and like they are starving? Well its because they are..and in the long run it is terrible on your body and it can actually kill you. Being anorexic and starving yourself will kill you faster then being overweight. Also someone stated that dropping your calorie in take way low can get your body use to eating less, therefore if you ever eat more it will make you gain.. This is true. Thats one reason its not recommended to drop your calories below 1200 a day. In three in a half months i have lost 55 pounds (without a fill) at a daily caloric intake of 1200 calories with exercise. So yes for me upping my calories to the recommended amount worked wonders

That was always my understanding - that "starvation mode" referred to the metabolism slowing down. That's what I mean by it, anyways.

Precisely on target IMO... The bottom line though is no 2 people have the same body, same nutrition needs, same job activity, same exercise patterns, etc., etc., etc., You have to learn your body through trial and error... BUT... basic principles still apply... Your body is an evolutionary masterpiece. Its' will to survive is far greater than we give credit. When that internal engine senses a reduction in fuel - it begins to make adjustments. Not in one swoop - but steadily. So you will be able to trick it for a short while by eating very low calories. That's why people on very low calorie diets lose massive amounts of weight within the first few weeks. But those losses are going to come to a screeching halt as your body successfully adjusts your metabolism. And then you're left with weak, sluggish, undernourished people eating 800 calories a day and not losing - or worse yet - gaining weight. That is what most people mean when they refer to the starvation mode - a crashed metabolism... As an aside - if you lose 5 pounds a week eating low calories and think that's all fat - you aren't kidding anyone but yourself - but that's a whole other discussion.

Catabolism is something different. Your body doesn't have a storage system for Protein as it does carbohydrate. There are 9 essential amino acids. If you fail to provide these - and in sufficient quantity - when your body needs them - then your body will break down lean muscle tissue in order the supply itself with the nutrition it needs. That is a double edged sword for people trying to lose fat because it requires so many more calories to maintain lean muscle tissue than it does fat. The less lean muscle tissue you have - the harder it is to lose fat.

I'm going to throw this out here just for the sake of proving the point. Cycling carbs and calories while exercising sufficiently is a very effective strategy to strip body fat. Men lose fat more easily than women. Why? Because a man's body consists of more lean muscle tissue than a woman's. And a man's hormonal makeup is more geared toward anabolism.

I like to eat. I don't like to feel deprived - and I like ice cream... No... I LOVE ice cream. I want to eat as much food as I can, while still losing body fat. Here is an example of my last 8 day period. For the first 5 days I ate relatively good foods and stayed in the 2000 calorie a day range - which is a deficit for me. I kept simple carbs to a minimum while making certain I was eating sufficient grams of Protein to protect my lean muscle mass. Then I let myself up off the mat and in the last two days I ATE... and I ATE A LOT... In the last 2 days alone I ate a combined 3000 calories plus of JUST ice cream. That does't include the mexican food at Bandidos or the alcoholic beverages or any of the other intake. I no doubt consumed somewhere around 4000 calories each day. But now I will settle back into a deficit for 5 more days, limiting those simple carbs but still keeping my protein intake sufficient enough to protect my lean muscle mass.

This is certainly too extreme of a swing for most people here, but the general principle still applies. The high calorie days and sufficient exercise keep your metabolism white-hot, yet the lower calorie days keep your lean muscle tissue protected. The end result is a reduction in body fat, while not feeling weak and sluggish or depriving yourself.

I have used this principle for quite awhile and have more and more muscle definition as each month passes. If you don't believe me check out my gallery. My abs are becoming more and more defined as body fat continues to strip away. It's a slow but steady process but it is very effective. When I first started I had to dig through fat to find my port. Now the damn thing sticks out like a tumor because there's so little fat over it.... I have struggled with low fat / low carb / low calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles just like everyone else. I did Atkins and so many other fads... They don't work long term... You must have a permanent lifestyle change to be successful - band or not. The proof is in the pudding as they say... Search LBT and you'll be bombarded with threads and posts about people eating 800 calories a day and not losing weight... There's a new group of them that comes along every few weeks... So many just end up throwing in the towel and declaring the band didn't work for them... This isn't stuff that my surgeon or nutritionist gave me. It's research and trial and error I did on my own to get results. Save yourselves the headaches and struggles and learn from the mistakes of those who've gone down this road before you.

My advice for women trying this technique would be to do sufficient cardio 5 days a week at 40 minutes a session, working all 3 target heart rate zones. Add in two strength/resistance training sessions a week. Continually challenge yourself and increase intensity of your workouts as they become easier. Everyone's activity levels are different, but for the sake of argument I'd increase calories by 100 every 5 days until you achieve about 1200. Then every 5-7 days take 2 days and run that number up to 1800-2000 and then slam back down to 1200 for another 5-7 days. Repeat this cycle and you will strip body fat... and you will have so much more energy and not feel like you are dieting so much.

W

Wow bam.

Thanks so much! I have read ur reply s three times. My Nutritionist only met with me 2ce.she doesn't really know me at all.she just throws ideas out there.I am not the type that gives up easily especially when i paid cash and have 5 kids. I know that my band is a tool and just at 5 weeks post op that it is going to be trial and error. I do know that my Nutritionist saying 300 to 600 calories is just not for me.I can't function. Also I have been eating like this for almost 9 weeks.and just since since Sunday upping my calories to 900 I am really killing it at the gym not just making by. So in a few days ill go to 1000. Can u email me what u do? Its marlene.paynter@gmail.com

I'm going to throw this out here just for the sake of proving the point. Cycling carbs and calories while exercising sufficiently is a very effective strategy to strip body fat. Men lose fat more easily than women. Why? Because a man's body consists of more lean muscle tissue than a woman's. And a man's hormonal makeup is more geared toward anabolism.

I like to eat. I don't like to feel deprived - and I like ice cream... No... I LOVE ice cream. I want to eat as much food as I can, while still losing body fat. Here is an example of my last 8 day period. For the first 5 days I ate relatively good foods and stayed in the 2000 calorie a day range - which is a deficit for me. I kept simple carbs to a minimum while making certain I was eating sufficient grams of Protein to protect my lean muscle mass. Then I let myself up off the mat and in the last two days I ATE... and I ATE A LOT... In the last 2 days alone I ate a combined 3000 calories plus of JUST ice cream. That does't include the mexican food at Bandidos or the alcoholic beverages or any of the other intake. I no doubt consumed somewhere around 4000 calories each day. But now I will settle back into a deficit for 5 more days, limiting those simple carbs but still keeping my protein intake sufficient enough to protect my lean muscle mass.

This is certainly too extreme of a swing for most people here, but the general principle still applies. The high calorie days and sufficient exercise keep your metabolism white-hot, yet the lower calorie days keep your lean muscle tissue protected. The end result is a reduction in body fat, while not feeling weak and sluggish or depriving yourself.

I have used this principle for quite awhile and have more and more muscle definition as each month passes. If you don't believe me check out my gallery. My abs are becoming more and more defined as body fat continues to strip away. It's a slow but steady process but it is very effective. When I first started I had to dig through fat to find my port. Now the damn thing sticks out like a tumor because there's so little fat over it.... I have struggled with low fat / low carb / low calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles just like everyone else. I did Atkins and so many other fads... They don't work long term... You must have a permanent lifestyle change to be successful - band or not. The proof is in the pudding as they say... Search LBT and you'll be bombarded with threads and posts about people eating 800 calories a day and not losing weight... There's a new group of them that comes along every few weeks... So many just end up throwing in the towel and declaring the band didn't work for them... This isn't stuff that my surgeon or nutritionist gave me. It's research and trial and error I did on my own to get results. Save yourselves the headaches and struggles and learn from the mistakes of those who've gone down this road before you.

My advice for women trying this technique would be to do sufficient cardio 5 days a week at 40 minutes a session, working all 3 target heart rate zones. Add in two strength/resistance training sessions a week. Continually challenge yourself and increase intensity of your workouts as they become easier. Everyone's activity levels are different, but for the sake of argument I'd increase calories by 100 every 5 days until you achieve about 1200. Then every 5-7 days take 2 days and run that number up to 1800-2000 and then slam back down to 1200 for another 5-7 days. Repeat this cycle and you will strip body fat... and you will have so much more energy and not feel like you are dieting so much.

wow thanks for sharing this info, it definitely makes sense biologically. I am definitely going to have to look further into this.

btw, congratulations on your transformation! I peeked at your profile and that's HUGE change from your before pic to your after pic!! Very inspirational!!

Hi guys

I have been banded for 1 1/2 years now and have noticed throughout my journey that when following a 1200 calorie a day diet, I did gain weight. This was with regular exercise. It was totally fruatrating, and could not figure out why. With the fear of going into starvation mode, I did not want to eat less, but I had to try something else, so I cut down the calories and BINGO! I lost weight. So I'm a true beleiver that everyone's boby is different. Right now, I'm in the green zone FINALLY! and I'm able to eat 800-900 calories and stay satisfied.

I've tried to understand exactly where this 'starvation mode' and 'slow metabolism' is actually measured quantitatively. Never seen enough supportive research that makes those terms meaningful enough to know what they really meant.

As part of my own preparation & ongoing studies, at one point I had prepared for over a year, to go on a long fast. Eventually I extended my 'total food fast' into a stretch 27 days long. I went through the bad breath and coated tongue of ketosis, along with managing continued bowel function with appropriate technique.

The result was loss of 38 pounds.....suggesting my body had not found whatever that 'starvation mode' slow down might have been. On the last day of my fast, I cut, split and loaded 2 full cords of firewood, with no loss of energy noted. There had been some interesting sensations other than the sense of physical capacity, although I was 31 at the time and the essence of being 'fit'. I won't complicate this discussion with the fleeting sensations of sensory nature.

There certainly is alteration of bodily metabolic processes, for one in the complex Kreb Cycle of energy derived via the glyconeogenesis or the glycolytic route. That itself is worth a lengthy study in consideration of whatever the notions of 'metabolic slow down' may include.

Digestive physiology is a complex subject full of those who leap to conclusions not necessarily accurate. The related an equally complex process of bowel function and waste elimination can be somewhat modified by as simple as adding or withholding a couple of liters of Water during the day as well. Short term observations on a limited sample size are notoriously unreliable.

Despite a career as a health care provider, I am unable to offer my own certainty these terms accurately convey much helpful real information.

This starvation mode is confusing too. Truly I am trying to get in 1,200 calories and it just feels like too much. It seems that 800-900 feels right for my lapband and body. Thoughts help!

I know for me if I go below 1200 I don't have enough energy for my life. I work with 5/6 year olds, have. 2 and almost 4 year old and exercise 5-6 days a week. I don't trust the machines for calories burned and use a heart rate monitor to be sure. I love to run. without sufficient calories I don't have the energy to keep going. I have been extremely dizzy when trying to strength train on a day where I couldn't eat. I have lost 80lbs in 8 months. I will not go below 1200 by choice (have some days where my band doesn't want food, they are rare) and I just may try Bambam's advice.

Whatever happens, I'm listening to my body now and dizzy,weak, and tired are not what I want out of this banded life.