Starvation Mode: Fact or Fiction?

Starvation-mode (or starvation-response) is the popular theory that the body “reacts” to dieting by lowering its metabolic rate in order to preserve itself. According to the theory a dieter could be following a reduced-calorie eating plan—to the letter—and still not lose an ounce. Furthermore, the purported solution is that one needs to eat more in order to lose weight.

The theory is an attempt to explain why people aren’t losing weight although they report (to their weight loss coach, or fellow dieters) that they are indeed following their diet and exercise program.

What are the problems with the theory?

Click to read more ...

Weight Loss Plateaus: How to reignite your weight loss

A common development after a few weeks of losing weight is that your weight loss stalls, or stops. The scale isn’t budging. This situation—a weight loss plateau—has all kinds of mythology attributed to it.

When you start a diet, you reduce your intake of calories and a big part of that reduction is from carbohydrates. The reduction in carbohydrates leads to the depletion of glycogen (how your body stores sugar) from both your muscles and liver. Each gram of stored glycogen normally holds 3- to 4-grams of water with it.

Click to read more ...

Dorene Robinson RDN CDN | Post a Comment | Share Article Print Article Email Article

tagged low metabolism, weight loss, weight loss plateau in energy balance, metabolic rate, metabolism Permalink

Weight Loss Plateaus: How to reignite your weight loss

A common development after a few weeks of losing weight is that your weight loss stalls, or stops. The scale isn’t budging. This situation—a weight loss plateau—has all kinds of mythology attributed to it.

When you start a diet, you reduce your intake of calories and a big part of that reduction is from carbohydrates. The reduction in carbohydrates leads to the depletion of glycogen (how your body stores sugar) from both your muscles and liver. Each gram of stored glycogen normally holds 3- to 4-grams of water with it.

Click to read more ...

Set Point Theory: a few more thoughts

As I talked about in my last post, the set-point, starvation-response, and metabolic-adaptation theories have kept changing over the years as their advocates attempt to maintain a viable theory. The Truth? Are there physiological changes associated with energy restriction? Yes. Do they prevent weight loss, or maintenance of weight loss? No.

Click to read more ...

What do You Really Know About Your Metabolism?

You may not be aware that the resting metabolic rate (RMR) associated with a given body weight can vary ±20%. Like many things in nature metabolic rates fall into a "normal" bell curve. The middle of the bell curve is the "expected" or average metabolic rate.

Another way of saying this is that 80% of you have a metabolic rate that is ±10% of the middle of the bell curve (for your gender, height, weight, and age).

Where you fall on the curve is based (mainly) on the genetic "hand" you were dealt.

The chart here shows an example for a 150-lb. 32-year-old female, using the World Health Organization's formula for metabolic rate

Click to read more ...