I've been through different threads in the forum and I'm becoming genuinely more confused about Plateaus and Starvation Mode.
They go hand in hand in many cases.
The starvation response (or mode, which I don't like) works in a way to slow down your metabolism. Its not a mode... rather it's a continual readjustment of the body to reverse the effects of prolonged dieting.
So a plateau can stem from the starvation response. Your metabolism can adjust downward via the starvation response that leads to a plateau... hence the hand in hand comment from above.
However, not all plateaus are products of the starvation response, so they are not one in the same.
Up until this point, I've thought starvation mode worked like this : You decline your calories super low.
No.
The starvation response happens with big caloric restrictions as well as small caloric restrictions.
You burn *weight, but your metabolism slows way down.
It does gradually over time.
The metabolic slowdown happens with any diet. There are two primary mechanisms behind the slowdown:
1. The loss of body mass, which accounts for the majority of the drop. People forget about this but it's a biggy.
2. An adaptive mechanism related to drops in various hormones and nervous system adaptations
For someone who is obese, your body will eventually start burning the excess fat,
Obese people don't have to worry so much about metabolic slowdowns. They have much more room to wiggle, so to speak. If they find that they're plateaued, it's more likely stemming from something besides metabolic 'distruption.'
A huge regulatory signal that keeps your body out of "The Horrid Starvation Mode" is body fat. If you're fat, your body knows it for the most part and the adaptations we speak of from above are not something to be concerned with at the time.
However, if you're 500 lbs and you drop to 350... sure, starvation mode isn't something you need to concern yourself with but you still have to adjust your caloric intake to account for the giant loss in body mass.
Follow me?
but for someone who has a lean body it would start burning muscle???????
That's one possible outcome.
A lean individual's metabolism can downregulate to an extent that what should be a caloric deficit, isn't, hence stalling weight loss.
It can reduce performance, lead to illness, etc, etc.
Namely, our bodies don't want to be lean. That goes against every natural inclination it has to survive as a species.
And then eventually you gain it all back when you start eating properly.
Hmmm...
More like you'll gain it back when you increase your caloric intake, which is probably what you meant.
People think The Starvation Mode means you put on weight/fat eating little calories. That's not it. What was once a deficit does not turn into a surplus. What was once a deficit can become so minuscule that weight loss comes to a crawl or even plateaus. But you don't gain the weight back unless you start eating in a surplus.
Granted, a surplus will be easier to enter since your metabolism is downregulated, but the fact remains that a surplus is necessary.
In addition, I'll note that your metabolism will adjust upward in the overfed state as you gain body mass back as well as offset some of the hormonal disruptions associated from the previous deficit.
Plateaus I've understood as the point at which your body adjusts its self to your current caloric intake, and exercise routine, and you stop losing weight unless you change something in your diet, or exercise routine.
Hopefully by now from what I stated above, you understand how plateaus can be associated with The Starvation Mode.
As you note here, plateaus can also come from different things such as the lack of adjustment to compensate for the loss in body weight, poor measurement methods, lack of consistency, etc, etc.
Now, if I'm correct in my thinking about plateus, is it possible to avoid the plateu by having a lot of diversity in day to day eating, and exercising?
A straight deficit coupled with appropriate exercise is where you start. Ride that out for as long as it takes you. For most, this will take them to a normal body weight. For some it will take them to their goals.
At that point where you want to go beyond average and go into the lean territory, the implementation of such protocols such as carb/calorie cycling, refeeds, etc may be necessary.
Exercise usually doesn't play a major factor in a plateau.
Like I said, I've been through other threads, but the more I do, I feel more confused about it. Can someone dumb it down for me to help me understand better? I don't understand all the complicated talk!
I'm responding as I read through this and just got to this part. I'm not sure if this was dumbed down or not. If you want clarification on anything I stated, just ask.
