Starvation, Calories, and Adaptations

I replied to someone's post in the Cohen's Forum accidently. I hadn't realized that I was actually in the Cohen's room, a place I like to stay out of. But, just to put my reply into context for you, the original poster was unsure how she could lose weight for weeks and then, simply plateau. It triggered this from me:

People will never get this on this board. Let's pretend your maintenance is 2500 calories per day. This means, you are eating 2500 calories worth of energy per day and you are expending roughly 2500 calories worth of energy per day. Results in a net break-even and theoretically, there is no weight gain or loss. Right?

BTW, 2500 calorie maintenance level would be for someone roughly 170 lbs. The bigger you are, the higher your maintenance level is.

INFORMED individuals looking to lose weight will cut calories by some small margin, say 10-20%. As they begin to lose weight, their metabolism will slow, even though they are going about weight loss in an appropriate fashion. You can't continue losing weight forever at your original deficit. Your metabolism catches up to you and it slows to a point where you won't see results. At this point, depending on a few factors, you could cut calories again to trigger another deficit based on your NEW maintenance level.

There comes a point where this will become counter-productive. You can't expect to continually play the "slashing calories" game and expect to be healthy AND expect to see results. There comes a point where you CAN'T eat any less and ideally, you don't follow the path this far! After a certain point, I recommend starting a cyclical diet where you bounce calories up and down. Or a diet including refeeds of carbs. There are multiple options you can execute once you come to this fork in the road.

Now, around here, most people cut calories originally by some ridiculous amount. Still using a maintenance of 2500 calories, I find many around here will slash to 1200, or something ludicrous like this. Why a 50% calorie slash seems OK to some of you I will never understand. Our bodies are very adaptive, finely tuned machines that are built to survive. And you better believe that you are sending many, many signals to your body that say, "Time to change physiologically because it looks like we are going through some hard times."

One of the greatest, actually, the greatest metabolic studies ever conducted was the Minnesota Starvation Diet. Here, they slashed calories by 50% off of maintenance to realize the impacts STARVATION had on post war and Jewish victims of the Nazis, and how to best go about rehabbing them. The sad thing is, I see a lot of people doing this same thing around here.

When you do this the right way, your body will adapt and progress will slow. What do you think doing it the wrong way does?

I have no idea any of the original poster's stats or how she is going about weight loss, so please don't think I am directing this at you.

But something that is directed at you is this. You say you don't understand how you can lose weight for weeks and then, plateau. That is because you don't understand how your body works. Your body adapts. The same technique, have it be a certain calorie intake, a certain way of exercising, or whatever have you will have to be manipulated and changed if you are going to realize continued success.

And for those of you who do things the least optimal way through starvation* are going to have a long, hard road ahead of you if your goal is actually looking and feeling good, and not just what the number on the scale says.

*realize that starvation does not actually mean eating nothing and being on the verge of death. i mean depriving your body of the basic macro and micro nutrients as well as sufficient calories in so that you are creating a below par atmosphere for your overall health and continued success.

END OF RANT AND THIS SHOULD BE STICKIED, NOT THAT ANYONE WILL.

Fine if that works for you. Most people, especially those with a lot of weight to lose, will not reach their goal weight before doing the damage and plateauing.

I never think it is wise to pick a random caloric intake that is not based on your current, personal characteristics.

1. Best of luck to you!

2. I do agree with eating frequently. However, studies are not conclusive that doing so speeds one's metabolism by any effective amount. I just think it is easier to get your macros in by splitting meals up into numerous, smaller feedings. The idea that it keeps your metabolism "revved" up is a myth though.

3. IMO, anyone and everyone should be lifting heavy weights, relatively speaking of course.

Oh no. You should do what is best for YOU. If eating small, frequent meals works, I am all for it. I recommend it actually. I was simply saying, the reason to do so is not so much to keep your metabolism boosted. That is a common myth that even many trainers go around spewing today, so I don't blame you.

Regarding your breakfast comment, your metabolism would NEVER drop by 20% in a day. The largest recorded reduction in metabolism was something like 30%. And that was after controlled, chronic, starvation level diets in a lab.

I don't read magazines. Only books.

And in order for me to believe something, especially when it comes to my body, it has to:

A) Be proven academically (Entrez PubMed)

B) Be proven empirically (see me )

You are comparing apples to oranges. I said maintenance, and you are calculating rmr.

First, there are no calculations that are going to be completely accurate. You are dealing with averages. The more variables that come into play in the equation, the more accurate the outcome will be, most likely.

For simplicity's sake, since we are dealing with averages to begin with, you can use 14-16 calories per pound of body weight for maintenance. Granted, some people are going to have a lower maintenance than this. Others will have a higher.

Or, you can use any of the online calculators, such as:

Calorie Control Council | Healthy Weight Calculator

Or you can use something like the Harris-Benedict formula to determine your BMR, and then use an activity multiplier to figure out your maintenance.

The HB formula is:

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

For those of you who don't know, there are 2.54 cm in one inch. There are 2.2 lbs in one kg.

Once you determine your BMR from the above equations, you need to multiply it be an acitivty factor. BMR is comprised of the energy you expend at rest, doing things such as breathing, digesting, circulation, etc. Obviously, if we are calculating maintenance, we need to add in the energy we expend moving around, working, exercising, etc.

Hence, you have the following activity factors, which can be modified:

Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)

Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)

Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)

Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)

Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or
2 X day training, marathon, football camp,

Aside from calculations, you could also keep a food log. If you maintain exactly what you eat and drink and all of the caloric values of each item for a few weeks, while tracking your weight, you will know if you are in a deficit, maintenance, or a surplus.... depending on which direction your weight is heading in, if any.

Follow me?

Once you figure out your estimated maintenance, it becomes quite easy. You simply reduce from your maintenance by a certain percentage. I like to start with a reduction of 15-20% of maintenance. However, this is a generalized statement. It can vary depending on starting point. The more weight you have to lose, the more aggressive you can be with your deficit. The less weight you have to lose, the more conservative you should be.

Yes, it is obvious from the calculations above, that your required calories depends heavily on your weight. The, as your weight comes down, so does your caloric requirements. Make sense? So, where once you were in a deficit, as the weight comes off, this same caloric intake may become your maintenance.

I will add, that calculating your calories shouldn't be something you do on a weekly basis. Figure out a starting point. Stick with it for a few weeks. Note your changes, if any. If measurements (weight, body fat, actual measurement in inches) are heading the wrong way, you know that your intake was off. Modify as you see results.

I always say, you are not signing a contract when you calculate your calories. You are merely finding a starting point. From it, changes will certainly occur over time, either due to metabolic slowdowns and/or miscalculations.

Sure, as long as you progessively bump up energy expenditure through exercise. However, a combination of both reduction of consumption and increase in activity has proven to be the most effective approach for me.