Starvation Mode

Depriving your body of calories, nutrients, or solid foods is a poor, and unhealthy way to go about achieving your weight loss goals.

One situation I have encountered frequently are clients whose weight gain doesn’t come as a result of eating too much, but rather from eating too little.

When people eat too little, or too infrequently, it slows their metabolism down, and throws them into a state known as “Starvation Mode”. It typically means their total caloric intake is less than 50% of what their body requires. As a survival adaptation on your body’s part it reacts to this lack of calories/nutrients by storing as much fat as possible.

This can come about for several reasons:

·         Many doctors I train have such hectic work schedules that they are lucky to get more than one solid meal in a day. Even if the meals they eat are healthy ones... people with very busy schedules who have a harder time getting in their 5 recommended meals a day metabolism's slow down, their bodies go into starvation mode, and as a result put on weight. 

·         Some people intentionally have a low caloric intake based on the premise of creating a calorie deficit. Attempting to create a situation where they are burning more calories than they are taking in. Creating a calorie deficit can be an effective weight loss method for some people under the right circumstances, but if your calorie/nutrient intake is TOO low, then you’re actually going to become counterproductive to your weight loss goals. It’s an EXTREMELY common mistake.

·         Some people will occasionally starve themselves in the literal sense in an attempt to fit into a dress for an event, or just to kill a few pounds. While this may work in the short term, the long term effects usually entail that person regaining more weight than they had to begin with. Your body is in no way, under any circumstances meant to be deprived of calories, nutrients, or hydration.

Starvation, strictly low carb, or liquid diets all garner the same effect. Once you re-introduce that which your body has been deprived of, your body will store as much of it as possible in an effort to prepare for what it expects to be another inevitable drought of calories/nutrients.

For example…

If you went a month of no carbs, lost 15lbs, and then went back to eating carbs again… you’re most likely going to put that 15lbs back on much faster than you lost it, as well as an additional 10-15lbs! Your body is now anticipating that it’s not going to see carbs again for a long while. It’s preparing for the next draught whether there will be one or not. It's doing this to protect you. A survival mechanism to help keep you alive! You must remember, that your body is not interested in your cosmetic appearance, only your survival. Cycling your carb intake however, can be a very effective way to burn fat when monitored by your personal trainer.

Depriving your body of anything it requires to function properly is bad for a number of reasons, but it is most definitely counterproductive to any weight loss goals you have. This is why creating a nutritionally balanced diet, with balanced meal frequency is going to garner you the best results whether it’s weight loss, muscle gains, or just your general health.

This is where I come in. To determine what areas of your diet are lacking, and what adjustments need to be made to allow you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself, and maintain your results for the long term.