Diet Myths 101: No, you’re not in starvation mode.
Have you ever been told you’re in starvation mode? And that you should EAT MORE to LOSE MORE?
You’re eating a single leaf of lettuce, killing yourself at the gym, what other reason could it be??
I’m sorry, but your body isn’t “holding onto fat.” You aren’t a bear getting ready to hibernate for the winter.
What’s happening isn’t starvation mode. It’s called adaptive thermogenesis. It means your body has adapted to the reduced amount of energy (calories) you’ve been consuming by reducing the amount of calories you burn.
This doesn’t mean your body is holding onto fat! It just means it isn’t burning calories as efficiently as it was before!
I’m sure you’ve seen the memes talking about how you shouldn’t diet because your body fights it. This is partially true. Your body DOES fight being in an energy deficit. It protects itself by adjusting the rate at which energy is burned so it remains properly fueled.
Shows like The Biggest Loser depict a VERY unhealthy habit of living in a severe energy deficit. A person should only exist in this state under the supervision of a doctor because the human body WILL fight it.
Instead, focus on “cleaning up” what you eat. Eat MORE green veggies, MORE lean protein, MORE complex carbs, and MORE healthy fats. What you’ll find is that you won’t have as much room for that bag of candy or half a cake you’ve had hidden in the fridge for when the kids go to bed.
Now, that doesn’t mean the DESIRE to eat those won’t be there…but that’s a topic for a different blog post.
