Question:
What is "Starvation Mode"?

Hi everyone! I am 3 1/2 weeks out and have lost 26lbs. The scale hasn't moved in a week and a half, but I am trying to understand how the body works. Why does it dump weight, then plateu like this? What causes it to do that and what is starvation mode? I need real text book answers, not "What I've heard from a friend" answers. Thanks!    — Michele B. (posted on August 5, 2003)

August 5, 2003
Most of us went thru an early plateau. Mine lasted 3 weeks. It is just your body's attempt to stall for time until it can make sense of the drastic changes and shocks you've put it thru. Don't worry too much about the scale not moving, it will start up again later. One thing you can do is measure yourself. Usually even though the scale is not moving, your body is getting smaller. When I broke my 3 week plateau, I skipped a size!<p>Starvation mode is what happens when you aren't consuming enough calories. If you dip below 800 or so, your body (rightly) assumes that you are starving and that conditions out in the world are not hospitable for life. It will hang onto every ounce of fat it can to prepare for a long period of starvation. The best way to prevent your body from going into starvation mode is to eat small, frequent (every 2-3 hours), protein-rich meals and to do your best to stay at or above 800 calories a day. You can also enter starvation mode even if you DO eat enough calories by overexercising (1 to 1 1/2 hours a day is more than enough--3-4 hours a day on a reduced calorie diet will cause your body to actually lose muscle!).<p>Hope this helps!
   — ctyst

August 5, 2003
this is a test answer
   — M. B.

August 5, 2003

   — Linda A.