Is Starvation Mode Even Real? Here Is The Actual Truth
I first came across the starvation mode argument sometime back when I was doing my research on Fat Acceptance and Health at Every Size Movements. And I have to say that the discussions were quite entertaining.
On one side, there were Fat acceptance and HAES activists who were convinced that starvation mode was so real that they were scared to try a calorie deficit because they might starve. And on the other side, I came across tons of health and fitness creators who thought that starvation mode was a cope.
Even now, these discussions are still taking place. So, who is right according to science? That is what we will uncover in this guide.
You can check out the video I made on this topic using the link below.
The Reasons behind Starvation Mode Arguments.
What comes to your mind when you think of starvation? Well, as someone from Kenya, which is a country in East Africa, starvation is not something we take lightly. After all, due to famines and droughts in the arid and semi-arid regions of our country, we have lost people to starvation.
These people have had so little food available to them that their bodies have depleted all their energy stores, leading to horrible deaths. I know that sounds very grim but that is what starvation means to us. It is a real fear for many families.
But in diet culture as well as movements that push back on dieting, starvation mode refers to a stage in which your body weight plateaus because you have cut back your calories too much. In this state, your body apparently stops losing weight and instead, it holds on to fat because it fears that it is going into starvation.
People tend to believe in this mode because they have seen, and perhaps experienced cases where people have dieted hard and not seen the results they wanted. And they thus think that there is a point at which the body fights back and shuts down.
This belief is further compounded by movements such as HAES and fat acceptance where women will often talk about the dangers of dieting and term calorie deficits as dangerous because they leave you starving. Of course, there is the other end of the spectrum when it comes to eating disorders, and we will also talk about that.
Can You Really Go Into Starvation Mode?
Starvation mode, in itself, is a myth, as far as dieting goes. However, if you are talking about people living without food or people battling eating disorders, this is another case. But when it comes to typical dieting, starvation mode does not really exist.
Why?
To start with, our bodies are designed to survive famine, as they have over the centuries. And that means that when we do not have enough access to food, they know how to conserve energy.
But what about when it comes to weight loss? Do these biological adaptations keep us from losing weight?
Not at all.
When you consistently consume fewer calories than you burn, your body will lose weight, and that is the long and short of it. However, it is important to note how different calorie deficits impact our weight loss journeys.
In cases where you cut your calories by a large degree such as an aggressive deficit that cuts 25% to 30% of your daily calories, then your body adapts through a process known as metabolic adaptation, which it does so as to conserve energy seeing as you are eating much less than your body needs to run efficiently.
Here, you notice that you experience effects such as:
- More fatigue and irritability.
- Less ability to engage in non-essential activities.
- A lower resting metabolic rate.
- High hunger hormones.
These factors make it harder for you to lose weight. But they do not stop it entirely.
For example, you may find that you are hungrier than usual and that could encourage you to start eating large amounts of food. But while your body may try to conserve energy or even encourage you to eat more, you can still lose weight if you are consistent with your calorie deficit.
How About Aggressive Calorie Deficits?
We now know what happens when we are in that 25 to 30 percent cut range. How about if you cut even more calories?
If you cut your calories to the extreme by adopting a deficit of 40% or more of your daily calories, your body shuts down even more processes to survive. As such, you can also suffer additional problems such as:
- Loss of muscle, especially if your protein intake is low.
- Nutrient deficiencies.
- A high likelihood of binge-eating.
You find that in such a deficit, your body fights you harder so as to conserve energy. And these effects can pave the way for lower fat loss rates. Interestingly, they also present the possibility of weight gain.
For instance, if you end up binge eating every weekend because you feel restricted, you could very well eat back your entire deficit.
But in all these cases, your body cannot defy the laws of physics which dictate that a calorie deficit will lead to weight loss. So, you will end up losing weight if you are really in the calorie deficit.
On the flipside, though, extreme calorie cuts are not only hard to maintain but also likely to lead to health issues.
The Dangers of Extreme Calorie Deficits.
So far, we have talked about what happens when we are in a reasonable calorie deficit as well as what happens when we push things too far. But what happens if we remain in an extreme calorie deficit for months or even years?
That is when we get into the eating disorder territory. Seeing as this is not my forte, if you think that you or someone else might be taking things to the extreme, it is advisable to seek the help of a mental health professional.
Dealing with Metabolic Adaptation, aka Starvation Mode.
Studies have shown that being in starvation mode does not prevent weight loss and that the laws of physics will always reign supreme.
However, eating too few calories comes with many downsides. Not only can it slow down your metabolism but it can also increase your hunger levels, and harm your health through effects such as loss of muscle and nutrient deficiencies. So, even though you can lose weight with aggressive approaches, there is more to consider beyond weight loss and it is important to think about your health.
I would recommend that you adopt a moderate and sustainable calorie deficit, which averages 10% to 20% of your daily calorie intake because this gives you the better and healthier chance at lasting results, which is more enjoyable.
Get Better in 90.
As we have seen, aggressive calorie deficits cause more harm than good, and we are better off following a slight to moderate calorie deficit to lose weight enjoyably and sustainably. If you would be interested in working with me, to achieve this balance, I invite you to check out my Better in 90 program, which was designed to help women lose weight and keep it off using sustainable approaches that do not put your mental or physical health at risk.
107 WEIGHT LOSS LIES THAT KEEP WOMEN STUCK
Did you know that the average woman spends 17 to 21 years of her life on a diet?
And it makes sense. After all, weight loss advice is all over the place. One plan tells you to quit carbs, and the other tells you that they are safe till 6 pm. It is all very confusing, and millions of women find themselves stuck yo-yo dieting, forever frustrated by their never-ending weight loss journeys.
This book is different.
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Written by Daisy Njeri, a health and wellness coach who spent years trapped in yo-yo dieting before finally finding her way out, this book is not only empathetic but also empowering.
