Quote:
Originally Posted by Maire
Does "starvation mode" mean eating so few calories that you cannot lose weight? How is that possible?
If such a condition existed, why do people ever starve to death? How do people afflicted with anorexia nervosa get so thin? I have to think it is a myth.
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Starvation Mode doesn't mean you stop losing weight, it just means that your metabolism slows down in response to eating too little. For example, say my metabolism is about 3,000 kcal. If I eat 2,500 kcal...I SHOULD lose 1 pound a week. If I eat 2,000 kcal, I should lose 2 pounds a week...and so on. But, at a certain point my Metabolism would slow down. So, lets say I ate only 1,000 kcal a day, because of the slowed metabolism, I wouldn't burn 4 pounds a week, but some lesser amount. Plus, much of the weight lost would be muscle instead of fat. Say that my Metabolism slowed to 2,000 kcal when I got below 1,200 kcal. Then, if I ate 1,000 kcal, I would only lose 2 pounds a week, which is about the same as if I'd eaten 2,000 kcal. But, if I'd eaten 2,000 kcal, the weight would've been mostly fat. When you're in starvation mode, you lose alot of muscle as well as fat.
The only time your metabolism will slow to ZERO will be when you die. Your brain needs about 600 kcal to function if I remember correctly. So, figure that an Adult's metabolism should NEVER dip below that. You also need a certain amount to run other vital organs and processes. So, the actual lowest possible metabolism would be higher than 600. With a metabolism of 600 kcal, if you starved, you'd lose 1.2 pounds a week. I'm not sure how many Calories the Heart, Lungs, etc...all need. But, if any of them stopped, you'd be in trouble. So, even in starvation mode, your body will burn enough fat [and muscle] to keep the Brain, Heart, Lungs, and other vital organs running. When there's no more fuel for even those organs, you die. Of course, you'd probably die long before then from Protien Malnutrition or any number of Nutritional Deficiencies.