Weight loss, starvation mode question?

Question

I'm currently in a weight loss competition and have 10 days left. I know this is not healthy, but I've only been eating about 500-700 calories a day. I know I've now slowed my metabolism. Since it is a close competition and only 10 days left, I've almost gone into starvation mode. Now, even when I exercise, I'm not losing weight. So, my question is, if a normal person exercises for 30 minutes a day, and I, in starvation mode do the same amount, will my body still burn calories in starvation mode? BTW, I'm 5'9, 235 pounds, so I still have plenty to burn.

Answer 1

If you are starving yourself your body will burn your muscle tissue before it will burn the fat. It sounds crazy but you will loose weight quicker if your not starving yourself.

Answer 2

Starvation Mode is fake.

Gastric surgery patients lose 30-60 lbs a MONTH on 500 calories a day after surgery.

Morbidly obese water fasters lose even more a MONTH on 0 calories. Dr. Joel Fuhrman of NYC supervises them, among other doctors.

Kimkins.com diet members have lost 100 lb in 5 months, 213 lbs in 10 months. No starvation mode anywhere.

If you've stopped losing look at what you're eating. How do you know it's 500-700 calories a day? What are you measuring or weighing food with? Unless you're actually counting and know how, you'll be off on your math.

Your metabolism is a living thing. It drops very low at night while you sleep. Do you wake up at 2 am to eat to keep it high? Of course not. When you wake up, move around, it raises.

Is your metabolism less now? Yes, but not by much especially if you're exercising.

People also forget that once they've lost weight their new "thin" body needs fewer calories. If a person is eating 3000 calories at 300 lbs, they may only need 1500 calories at 150 lbs. They have to eat less, they didn't "ruin" their metabolism.

You should read an article I wrote on Starvation Mode and "Is Your Metabolism Broken?" at the Kimkins.com site. Look for newsletter archives at the top.

There's unhealthy about going low calorie. That's the whole purpose of gastric surgery. It's also the whole purpose of Optifast, Medifast and diet pills. Low calories.

The trick is making permanent food changes so you don't regain the weight. Slow losers on Weight Watchers have the same problem. They stop the diet and go back to their favorite foods that got them fat to begin with. Losing slow doesn't prevent that craving.

Be sure you're taking a good multi vitamin every day. You'll lose more if you cut back on starches and skip sweet beverages.

Answer 3

Listen to Arkiemom... it's not healthy to be where you are at... your body will break down muscle and organ tissue for the calories you are depriving it. That's defintely not what you want to do. The rebound effect is also true.

Starvation mode is hampering your efforts. Even on diets that are at much safer calorie reduction levels (20% reduction of daily calories needed to maintain current weight), the best way to keep your metabolism from slowing down and becoming used to the reduction is to increase your cal intake every 4th day. On a cycle of 3 days of reduced cal and 1 day of regular cal intake, your body doesn't get locked into compensating for a continued deficit. The metabolism stays up.

Losing weight in a healthy way takes time. The more weight you want to lose, the more time it takes. I know competitions can be a good way to get yourself motivated, but you also have to factor in realistic and healthy expectations.

Answer 4

Edit


Starvation mode is certainly real. I accidently put myself into starvation mode and let me tell you - it isn't fun.

It is really referred to as "low t3 syndrome" or "diet induced hypothyriodism" and can be proven with Free T3 and Reverse T3 tests. It shows that the body is now functioning in energy saving mode.

I literally didn't know what was wrong with me. I was doing everything "right". I was on a low carb diet and burning fat for energy - ketones in my urine proved that - and I was exercising on my eliptical trainer everyday and yet every damn day I weighed the same. It made NO LOGICAL sense. I even entertained the idea that maybe my scale was broken.

Flash forward to an emergency room visit (because of shortness of breath) and a visit to a cardiologist for a exercise stress test because my heart rate was only 53 resting ...

Just to find out I was hypothyroid (due to diet).

Anyway - I would definitely try to keep your calorie intake around 1500 per day. I lost over 100 pounds on a low carb diet much like atkins - and then I started to gain weight. Tried to lose it again and this is what happened to me. My body is so used to "starvation mode" that it just switches gears like it was a light switch.

So - even on a calorie deficite - you will lose weight but sooner or later you will hit that wall that can't be crossed unless you starve yourself even further.

I'm still overweight (way better than weighing 252) and I'm stuck because of low t3 syndrome. My doctor gave me t3 supplements but they give me hot flashes. I forgot to mention that in addition to having a low resting heart rate I was always very very cold and exhausted all the time. Most days I felt like I must be dying of some awful disease that my doctors haven't caught onto yet.

If you ever want to ask me anything specific you can always click on my avatar. I think I have it set so anyone can send me messages.

Answer 5

No. Once you go much below 900 calories a day your body shifts in to self-preservation mode. Weight loss stops in order to keep yourself alive. This is the reason even very thin people will stop losing weight eventually. Please stop this foolish competition. This type of drastic dieting really stresses your kidneys and other organs.
To make it worse - once you go back to eating normally you will gain all the weight plus another 5-10 pounds back again. ( Another mean trick our body plays on us.)
The ONLY answer is to eat in moderation and to stay active. I have weighed within 20 pounds of my current weight for the last 40 years and have never been on a diet of any sort. It does work!

Answer 6

They did a study and they found out that if you starved yourself for 20 days, the weight you lost those 20 days is just water weight and not fat. After that you start to lose fat, however since you've slowed your metabolism, you have to work even harder at exercise to burn calories. I would do some strength training (muscle building) with your cardio. Muscle burns more calories than fat and so even when you're not exercising, you can burn more calories. It takes 3500 calorie deficit to lose only 1 pound. So if you want to lose a pound, you must eat less and exercise more (so if you want to lose 1 pound in a week you need to eat 250 calories less and burn 250 calories more per day).

Answer 7

shutting your body down in survival mode is stupid thing. according to your question. normal person will lose more weight.

if he exercise 30 minutes a day and add good eating habits... he'll be miles ahead of you.

Did you watched one of those discovery "fitness programs". how much weight competitors lost in just 1 month? those are eye opening for people who still believe starving will make them slim

on side note :
what a load of BS kim kim.... whoever you are... why not go read a Doctors and researchers opinion. I'd suggest Dr John Berardi. In terms of fitness, bodybuilding, he's top notch plus he trains athletes at Olympic level

gastric surgery patients cannot eat much after they get their High Cost, High Risk surgery done. in fact even after healing from surgery, they can't eat much or they'll throw up....

Answer 8

When boredom, depression, or even stress causes cravings, find a nonfood way to meet them such as getting a walk, calling a friend, having a bath, reading a book, or even doing some yoga.

Answer 9

Your body has shut down and gone into survival mode and you
will not succeed in anymore substantial loses

Answer 10

Muscle mass burns up more calories, so include three 20-minute strength-training sessions weekly.