The Truth About Starvation Mode

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by Franny Goodrich

It’s time to re-think the common myth that the intake of too few calories will cause your body to go into “starvation mode” causing your body to think it’s starving and therefore burn only muscle as fuel, holding on to “all” its fat-stores.

Also, let’s stop buying into the notion that to get out of “starvation mode” you’ll need to consume more calories to kick start your now sluggish metabolism. Most people believe this, probably because they’ve heard it so often. They assume it must be true, but like most other dieting myths, it’s false.

You cannot eat more calories to force your body to lose weight. The laws of physics and thermodynamics will simply not allow it. Let’s say a person claims to be eating only 1,000 calories and not losing weight. A well-meaning friend then tells them that they are in starvation mode, and in order to lose weight they must eat more to jump-start their metabolism.

starvation modeMy question is: instead of eating more, what do you think would happen if you just stopped eating altogether? Would you then go further into starvation mode and continue to stay at the same weight or maybe even gain weight? Clearly, you would lose more weight if you stopped eating altogether. Dumb, I know – I’m simply illustrating a point.

So, where did this myth come from, and how did it begin.

Like many myths, they are born out of semi-truths. There actually is a well-documented and true phenomenon known as the starvation response. However, it only happens in humans when they lose so much body fat that they fall below fat-levels essential for survival. For men this would be below around 5%-fat and in women, just above that. This hardly applies to the average “dieter” reading this post, or bodybuilders dieting for their next competition.

My bodybuilding friends usually like to jump in here and say, “but, if we consume to0 few calories we’ll be burning muscle instead of fat, right?” Wrong again. This is another case of a slice of truth being blown-up into a major exaggeration. We always burn or lose some muscle (amino-acids) when we diet, no-matter how sensibly it’s done. But before it actually amounts to anything significant (or an amount that is noticeable in one’s visual musculature), the body will first exhaust most of its fat reserves.

BOTTOM-LINE: if you are “over-fat” and NOT losing weight, regardless of your efforts to do so, the most important thing to do is re-evaluate your own energy-equation. Yes, I mean “calories-in versus calories-out”.

Outside of a special medical condition, weight-loss will always be the on-going balance of how much you eat versus how much you move.

The best way to do this will always be to focus on food-portions and to maintain a healthy level of activity.

About franny goodrich

Franny Goodrich is the Author of three published books on the topics of diet, exercise, and weight-loss. Edgy and often controversial, Goodrich makes no apology for anyone’s ruffled feathers, or a few raised eyebrows, especially within the billion-dollar Weight-loss Industry. He continues to be an aggressive Consumer Advocate against frauds and scams. Goodrich's first book, appropriately titled; “Diet, Exercise, & Weight-loss Bullsh*t -Exposed!”, is a humorous, yet informative expose’ on the myths, lies, and scams within the Industry. It became an instant and huge internet hit. A New Edition was released in 2011. Goodrich’s second and third book; “Kiss The Fat Goodbye - Uncensored”, and “What Works, What Doesn’t, & Why”, respectively, are both largely collections of excerpts from his popular web-pages, advice blogs, magazine articles, and personal interviews. Goodrich, an Exercise Science Buff, is a former National-level Track and Field Athlete and Natural-Bodybuilding Competitor. He has been a successful Certified Personal Trainer (ACE). Goodrich has nearly 30-years teaching-experience in the fields of Fitness and Athletics. In 1990 Goodrich created and owned the North Carolina-based Health Club Chain “World Famous Big Ape Gym”. In 2008 he formed the Exercise and Weight-loss Consumer Advocate Group; “Body Coaches of America”. Currently a Freelance Author and Writer Goodrich’s latest project is the development of an on-site workshop based on topics discussed in his books. Franny Goodrich can be contacted by email at frangoodrich@msn.com

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2 comments

  1. This article makes sense I suppose, but I want to throw in my personal experience anyway.
    I had very unstable eating habits for over 10 years, and once I decided to get it straightened out with professional help, I was told to eat 3 small meals and 3 “snacks” a day, to keep my metabolism going, or maybe just to get it started again. I lost 5 pounds during my first 2 weeks of eating MORE than and more consistently than I ever had (without adding any extra physical activity.) I know this is just one experience, and everyBODY is different.

    • Makes sense! I think you are talking about keeping your digestive system constantly working by reducing the time between meals, thus increasing your metabolism. Obviously, you can eat 10 meals a day and keep your choleric intake low. Some people eat three meals and take in 3,000 calories and others can take in 1,500 calories with 6 meals depending on what you are putting into your body.

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