Starvation Mode: Eat Enough Calories!!!

I've been reading articles about the body and what is called "starvation mode." this is something that is brought about from chronic undereating causing the body to store excess weight (be it fat, glycogen, water, etc). i believe that this is something caused by eating a SAD diet and depriving the body of not only calories but nutrients in general. since fat in the body not only provides energy in times of need but also stores nutrients, it is evident why the body might keep excess fat when vital nutrients are lacking. in fasting, one is able to survive on this fat for weeks and even months while still being "fed" with all the nutrients the body needs.in the article: http://www.possibility.com/wiki/index.php?title=EffectsOfSemiStarvation, a study is conducted on men to see what affects semi-starvation (or cutting 50% of calories) has on individuals. the men were on the diet for 6 months.during this time, they exhibited psychological symptoms often associated with anorexia or bulimia patients indicating that these symptoms are due to the starvation and not what caused the eating disorder. the men would hoard food and other items, eat extremely slowly, think about food constantly. many fell into deep depression, and one man even cut 3 of his fingers off due to nerves during the re-feeding process! several of them exhibited bingeing behavior causing them to eat enormous amounts of food constantly. after these episodes, they often felt immense guilt for behaving in this manner.i believe that 811 is the only way to overcome problems associated with the SAD diet. i think that many people are stuck in starvation mode due to a lack of nutrients. when you eat an 811 diet, it is also very important to track your calories when you first begin, in order to re-learn how to eat and to keep from retaining fat due to a lack of nutrients. you need to support your BMR (basal metabolic rate - what your body needs to function properly) plus any activity you do in the course of a day. it is easy to assume you are eating enough because your stomach is full, without consuming enough calories.i also believe that exercise is a useful tool in getting your body out of starvation mode due to something called supercompensation. you can read about it on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercompensation. this occurs after an activity session, where the body increases its fitness above what is necessary in order to prepare itself for the next session. if you exercise on a regular basis, this allows you to incrementally improve your body's function over time. i believe this is an excellent way to re-program the body into letting go of undesirable excess as long as you eat enough calories to maintain your exercise.the men in the semi-starvation study all gained about 10% surplus weight after they stopped the low calorie diet. this eventually vanished within a 6 month period. so it does take patience. i believe exercise can help this transition.but i am hoping that people will at least once put their information into nutridiary.com and see whether they are consuming enough calories. i made this mistake during my raw transition of assuming that because i wasn't feeling "hungry" that i was consuming enough calories. this was not so, because i wasn't consuming enough calories per bite, as stated in the 80/10/10 book.if you do not consume enough calories, no matter how much you work out, you will not be able to heal/build your body properly because you will be retaining every excess possible. in an already lean person, the body will consume muscle more readily than fat when in starvation mode. in an obese person, they will consume the excess fat to a certain point, usually when the body fat % reaches normal levels. the fat hormone leptin controls brain signals that send out hormones to indicate whether it is possible to get rid of this fat or not. weight loss in many starvation diets is often due to glycogen depletion and with this comes water loss. the minute you start eating more calories, your glycogen is replenished and you gain all, if not more weight back.i hope this has been informative as we progress through our learning experiences together!

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  • works for everyone, everytime.

    when we eat fruits properly like nature intended ie:

    eat slow
    ideally eat before sun down
    eat fruits ripe
    eat mono or in good combo's
    keep fat intake under 10% calories over the seasons
    leave at least 3hrs between a meal and really, really intense exercise, yoga etc.
    ensure adequate hydration by drinking enough water so we are urinating at least 10 times a day and a few times a night.
    leave our anorexic, bulimic, guilt, or other disordered eating habits in the trash bin of history.
    ensure we get sufficient calories from our fav sweet fruits so have good power and our digestion doesnt become weak. just like if we dont exercise our lungs get smaller and weaker, same with our digestion. same with our heart.
  • Thanks so much for this post. I have been struggling on RAW for a year... always binging on a high calorie fat meat meal after a few weeks... I really NEEDED it...

    Since using nutridiary to ensure I am getting enough each day.. I am doing better.
  • get enough sweet fruit calories.
    drink lots of water.
    get enough sleep.
    and conquer cooked slop forever.

    dont get enough sweet calories
    dont drink lots of water
    dont get enough sleep
    and get conquered by cooked slop forever.

    its just a choice in the moment what we decide we want.

    discipline eventually breaks when hunger is strong enough. keep hunger as your friend rather than enemy and keep it satisfied like mother nature intended.
  • a great read about CR rhesus monkey study:

    http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/the-secret-to-long-life-de...

    And it's impossible to know whether the dieting monkeys suffer from constant hunger pangs and crave bananas and berries all day long, or whether their appetites shrink.

    “Obviously we can't ask the animals if they are hungry," Dr. Colman said. “But we do notice more food-centred behaviour in the restricted animals."

    For example, they increase activity in anticipation of feeding time and eat all of their food immediately after they receive it. If monkeys get excited at feeding time, imagine how humans feel.


    The dieting monkeys still get all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients they need to stay healthy. They are fed pellets containing milk, protein, carbohydrates and fat, and also receive one daily treat, usually a piece of fresh fruit such as an apple or a pear.
  • As someone who has hypothyroidism, I found this information very interesting. The thyroid regulates body temperature and Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). I have often considered the theory that hypothyroidism is closely related to malnutrition in that the body goes into a kind of hybernation by lowering the temperature and the BMR. I am very hopeful that increased calories and nutrition from raw fruit and leafy greens will turn the table for me so that I don't have to be a slave to this abhorrent medical system.
    • i definitely think that nutrition can effect the thyroid gland health since food is the signal that gives the thyroid the message on how to control the metabolism. they are in partnership!
  • Hey Julie,
    very interesting what you observe about dehydratation! Thank you!
    • one friend died this year during cleanse from primarily not drinking enough water and putting the kidneys under massive load.

      one friend 2 years ago got admitted to a mental ward for a few weeks from severe dehydration. they 'short circuited' and did some zaney stuff! they are ok now and hydration savvy.

      those that dont drink water or belive they get it all from juicy fruits, coconuts etc are putting themselves under the premature aging/fatigue clamp.

      lets drink enough so we are peeing at least 10 times a day and a few times a night. if its yellow or straw, we need to drink more. easy.
    • i know, i went through a period of thinking that we had to deprive ourselves on fruit as we do on SAD to maintain health. but its apples and oranges really (lol). i feel like it is so liberating to be able to put so much trust in your body!
      • So true if you eat a crummy diet calorie restriction 'works'.. There's zero evidence that restricting fruit intake on lfrv does anything for you health other than make you a neurotic bread and pasta craving couch potato ;D
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