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| What is starvation mode? |  missy-v |
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Okay, so I’m hoping that subject snagged some attention and I’ll get a few responses. Here’s a little about me. I’m naturally skinny have been all my life. I’ve always thought I was rather disgustingly skinny. And yes, those are the words I use. However I’ve never really been told I was skinny. For the most part, when I told people I’m too thin, they tell me otherwise. A couple years ago when I asked my doctor for advice on gaining weight he basically said I didn’t need to and didn’t give me any advice. I thought that was rather odd, but maybe it’s because I’m Asian and we tend to be more petite. Unfortunately, since then, due to my bad eating habits, I’ve lost a few pounds. When I realized the state I was in (my pants are loose), I decided to consciously gain weight. At first I just tried to eat more, but when that didn’t seem to work, I started calorie counting. I join this site about 11 days ago and have been reading through the forums. Several times I came across the term “starvation mode”. I guess in addition to the question in the subject, I am wondering how you know if you had hit starvation mode and is there a semi-starvation mode? According to this site my burn rate is 1470. I’m looking to gain 10lbs in 2 months and so this site advises me to eat 2230 calories a day. However, I haven’t been eating as much as suggested and have only eaten an average of 2070 calories a day. When I went to weigh myself, it appears I may have already gain 3-4lbs. This means I’m gaining at a much faster rate than anticipated. Could this mean I may have moved towards or even been in starvation mode during those times of irregular eating habits? I’m a little worried I may have messed myself up. On a side note: I was trying to eat more prior to joining this site and I didn’t actually weigh myself when I did join this site, so my start weight was more of a guestimate. I’ve also been feeling bloated, so I’m not sure if that has an effect. Thanks to all you who took the time to read this and even more to those who can give me some insight. Sorry for all the rambling. |
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| #1 |  gi-jane |
Jul 14 2008 15:04 |
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'Starvation mode' is shorthand for the body's natural reaction to a prolonged or severe food shortage. Which is that the metabolism slows down as much as possible in order to conserve the fat stores rather than burning them up too quickly. If someone has been undereating for lengthy periods.... either deliberately or accidentally.... their body will be in this slow-burn state. If they continue to undereat they will gradually lose weight over time but it'll be quite slow. If they increase the amount they eat their body will quickly grab onto the extra food and store it as fat and fluid. But as time goes on and they keep eating more the metabolism speeds back up to match and the weight-gain slows down. Until the point where their metabolism is running at full speed but they eat even more than that.... then they start gaining permanent weight. In short, yes you are probably experiencing starvation mode due to undereating. But I don't think you've permanently affected your metabolic rate. Be consistent with your 2200-2500 cals a day target to start with. Aim to eat 'little and often' with several small meals and snacks. And go with energy-dense, low-bulk foods such as nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocados, cheese so that you reach the full amount each day. Drink plenty of water to help you digest the extra food. At least an extra litre a day. |
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| #2 | missy-v |
Jul 14 2008 16:01 |
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Thanks gi-jane! Weighed myself again and the scale now says I'm only up about a pound from my start weight. Tested the scale with a 10lb weight so it seems accurate. Hung out with friends this weekend and didn't calorie count. Didn't eat food I was normally eating since I started counting either so I don't know how many calories I ate. A lot more junk food though. So now I'm a little confused. How did I lose 2-3lbs over the weekend if my metabolism slowed? Is this normal? Thinking maybe I should stop weighing in until I've reached my target date. |
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| #3 | gi-jane |
Jul 15 2008 10:22 |
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Your body-weight fluctuates all the time quite naturally. It can be 2lbs heavier or lighter on any given day, usually due to hyrdation levels. If you eat particularly salty foods or drink a lot of alcohol, for example you can gain quite a lot of fluids. But the next day you can be back where you started if you're better hydrated. To avoid the confusion caused by this kind of fluctuation only weigh yourself once a week on the same set of scales at the same time of day. Count calories when you can e.g. when you're making your own food, and try to stay with similar or bigger portions when you can't. Eventually, of course, you want to get to a stage where you don't have to count the calories but to be able to naturally eat enough. So treat eating out as good practice for the future. 2500 cals a day has to be your daily target. It will banish any lingering effects of 'starvation mode' and should allow you to gain a steady 1lb per week. Plan your day carefully ahead of time, have the right foods around you, snacks handy, meals prepared, groceries bought.... takes effort but worth it if you want to be healthy. |
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| #4 | agruskin |
Jul 15 2008 16:28 |
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GI-JANE-question, are you saying 2500 cals is her specific individual cal goal, or you think that 2500 is necessary for anyone to gain 1lb/wk? thanks |
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| #5 | gi-jane |
Jul 15 2008 19:11 |
| The average requirement for most adult females to maintain their weight is between 1900 and 2100 cals a day and it takes 3600 extra cals to gain 1lb. So to gain a steady 1lb a week you need about 500 cals a day more ongoing ie. 2400-2600 a day. | ||
| #6 | gi-jane |
Jul 15 2008 19:13 |
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| #7 | agruskin |
Jul 15 2008 23:46 |
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i may just not be thinking right now, but its an extra 3600 cals to gain 1lb? not 3500? im not too active but youre thinking about 2500 to gain 1lb/wk? thanks |
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| #8 | gi-jane |
Jul 16 2008 11:20 |
| It is technically 3600 but 3500 just divides easier by 7. It's close enough. Let's not split hairs. :-) 2500+ a day (assuming you're not planning on training for a marathon or anything daft) is where most people have to get to on a consitent daily basis to gain weight steadily. | ||
| #9 | agruskin |
Jul 16 2008 16:11 |
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haha, no marathons and im no math wiz! ive been averaginf btwn 1850-2000ish cal since last wed and i weighed myself this morning and found that ive gained a lb i think. my q is, do i continue to aim for 2000 since i dont know that i consistantly met that? where do i go from here? thanks! |
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| #10 | missy-v |
Jul 16 2008 16:50 |
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If I should aim for 2500cal per day, does this suggest cc is not entirely accurate (since it's telling me 2230)? Or is it because as I gain my maintainace level will increase and so to continue to gain I need to adjust accordingly? |
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| #11 | gi-jane |
Jul 17 2008 11:38 |
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agruskin... keep aiming for 2000-2500+. A 1lb increase in body weight can be nothing more significant than a sluggish bowel or a bit of water retention. You need a consistent 500 cals a day over and above to gain permanent weight missy-v... As you eat more and as you get bigger your metabolic rate will speed up a little to match. The difference between 2500 and 2230 (1890/week) is only 1/2lb of weight. You might as well go for 2500 and gain that 1/2lb as not. |
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| #12 | sufferinghearts |
Jul 18 2008 04:21 |
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If you want to gain wt and are having trouble doing so you should do Boost or Ensure supplements. I was on three a day and it did wonders...it has all the nutrtion you need in it, but when I was on it for a long time it was due to my eating disorder. Just a random though I had |
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| #13 | tuffstuff07 |
Jul 18 2008 04:44 |
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When it comes to figuring out how many calories you need, your best bet is to work with what kind of results you are getting! CC can give you a start, but weigh in at the same time every few days or better yet, the same day each week [I do Monday mornings] and adjust based on your results. Personally, if I ate what cc [or most other calculators] tells me I need to gain I'd lose, and I'd probably starve to death on the maintenance level. The other thing to keep in mind is that if you "should" be able to maintain in the 2000's but you are maintaining on less than that, now is a great time to get your metabolism to speed up when you have to gain anyways. Once your body gets used to getting more calories it burns them freely, so by the time you get to your target weight you should be able to eat more without gaining any more. |
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| #14 | missy-v |
Jul 21 2008 23:22 |
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gi-jane: thanks for your answers. i like how you get direct to the point. sufferinghearts: I've heard a lot about those supplements, however at this point i'd like to go as natural as possible. if that makes sense. i'll definately keep it in mind should i ever feel i need to go that route. thanks for your suggestion. tuffstuff07: I noticed lately I'm still rather hungry if I eat at the maintenance level cc gives me too. I'm not sure if I've always been like this or if it's just because I"ve been paying attention lately. Either way I'm taking it as a good sign as I can get more food in me. Thanks for your input too! :) |
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