# Avoiding "Starvation Mode" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 22, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535 "2005-04-22T01:44:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535/1 "2005-04-22T01:44:39Z")
Every time there’s a diet or exercise thread of any kind around here, someone invariably pipes in to remind us that if you eat too little your body will think it’s starving itself and your metabolism will slow as a result. I’ve looked around and found ways to calculate my daily calorie needs to maintain my current weight, or to lose weight, but what would be the point at which this so-called starvation mode kicks in? How low-cal can you go without triggering it? And how effective is it in actually making your body hold on to extra pounds? ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535/2 "2005-04-22T02:09:24Z")
Anecdote: Well, I’ve heard of this too and recently lost my appetite for about a week and a half. I estimate that I ate less than 1,000 calories for all of those days and probably spent three or four in a row where I ate less than 500. FWIW, I noticed that I went from 178ish to 170. I’ve wondered before about my scale’s error rate, so I presume that the total weight I lost wasn’t quite eight pounds, but maybe only three or so (assuming it’s ±2.5 on each side and I’m hitting the extremes). I noticed that what little bodyfat I had disappeared. On one hand, I’m fairly ripped now, but on the other, I look really sick. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535/3 "2005-04-22T03:17:29Z")
Basically, if you’re not losing weight, you’re either eating too much or too little, and you just have to play around with it to figure out how to keep going. Ain’t nutrition great? Eating small meals every 3-4 hours helps. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535/4 "2005-04-22T03:32:34Z")
[Basal metabolism rate calculator](http://www.blaha.net/Main%20BMR%20Calculator.htm). > [@](#): > > This calculator will calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and your AMR (Active Metabolic Rate). Your BMR, or basal metabolic rate (metabolism), is the energy (measured in calories) expended by the body at rest to maintain normal bodily functions. This continual work makes up about 60-70% of the calories we use (“burn” or expend) and includes the beating of our heart, respiration, and the maintenance of body temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535/5 "2005-04-22T05:28:23Z")
What I’ve read is that if you exercise while moderately dieting, it signals your body to not go into starvation mode by requiring it to continue producing energy by burning fat reserves. Basically, ‘starvation mode’ means saving fat reserves by becoming less active, and pushing yourself to stay active can override this. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535/6 "2005-04-22T07:14:24Z")
[QUOTE=belladonna] Every time there’s a diet or exercise thread of any kind around here, someone invariably pipes in to remind us that if you eat too little your body will think it’s starving itself and your metabolism will slow as a result. QUOTE] I also have read about this many times, often in very sources. But I have never seen any references to studies that support this, so sometimes I wonder if it is an actual proven fact. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535/7 "2005-04-22T17:04:56Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > I also have read about this many times, often in very sources. But I have never seen any references to studies that support this, so sometimes I wonder if it is an actual proven fact. See figure one in [this article](http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460535) ([part 2](http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460534)). ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-starvation-mode/300535/8 "2005-04-22T18:06:48Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > See figure one in [this article](http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460535) ([part 2](http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460534)). Very on point, thank you!