For the past few days I've been running around a lot and faced with situations where there is just nothing but pizza or donuts to eat. Consequently, I haven't been eating much. I'm a little worried about this business of going into "starvation mode." What's the time frame on that? If you barely eat for three days and then go back to high fat/low carb, what will happen and how long does it take for the body to get back into a normal pattern? Days? Weeks?

Weeee~elllll... it really does depend on exactly what you mean by 'the past few days' and 'eating very little'. If you have just been going below your usual caloric intake for 2-3 days (like up to 10% or so below your usual), the damage should actually be very minimal provided that you rectify the problem ASAP. On the other hand, if you mean you have only been getting a few hundred calories a day, your body might well have started to go into starvation mode. (Did you eat the cheese and toppings from the pizza, BTW? That is usually a good option.) Another thing to go by is whether your breath/ pee smell any worse (indicating higher ketone production), whether you have had enough energy to get things done, whether you have actually felt a lot of hunger pangs, etc. Either way, I would resume your normal eating habits ASAP. Just a few days is really not going to make or break your metabolism if your body is immmediately 'reassured' that it is not going to starve.
A lot of us carry LC snacks (like nuts, berries, or LC candy) with us for just such emergencies... it is uaually a good idea to carry extra water with you, as well. You never know when an errand is going to take longer than anticipated.

Hi,

I agree with watersidhe, it is very difficult to say exactly how long it will take before your body decides to go into starvation mood. It's no good to go without food anyway.....well, when I was flying and waiting at the airports a lot I simply had to bring some cheese/sausage/nuts with me. High fat stuff plus lots of water. You can even grab a hotdog and toss the bun......
Try to eat and go back to regular habits as soon as you can!

All the best

Alina