Even though a starvation diet (300-500 calories daily) is known to
cause the body to begin to consume it's own protiens before it's fat,
would a person still be able to effectively use the same extremely low
calorie diet, if they are exercising daily (so as to grow more muscle,
while burning an average of 250 calories per workout), and if they are
taking daily vitamin supplements? Also, if that person were taking
protien supplements, such as soy milk, ect? How would this particular
diet affect someone who is currently significantly overweight?

Hi there,



If you are overweight, starvation diets are not the answer. Weight may
be lost initially but they rarely help in the long run. Diets that
severely restrict caloric intake are a common cause of under active
thyroid. Starvation slows the body's metabolism as the thyroid gland
learns to expend energy more efficiently to conserve calories for the
next "famine." After a starvation diet we have a tendency to gain even
more weight than we took off, and we may find it even harder to lose
weight the next time we try. A low-calorie diet can suppress the
thyroid function in less than 24 hours. After one to three months of
such dieting, there is a danger of permanently inhibiting the thyroid
function. The first rule in sensible weight control is therefore, no
starvation diets!

A very low calorie - starvation diet - will burn fat, but it you will
also burn muscle.  Since muscle is needed to burn fat it is a losing
proposition.  Less muscle, less ability to burn fat. A starvation diet
can also create deficiencies, which will injure your health.

In addition, when you starve your body, the body takes precautions.  
It must conserve energy in case of another "famine" (you might start
dieting again), and lowers its metabolism rate.  The result, the body
burns calories more slowly, and that means faster weight gain.

And thirdly, the body fights back by escalating food cravings until
these cravings are strong enough to overwhelm the will to diet.  It is
insuring that it gets enough to eat.   To the body, it is a survival
point, to you, you can't stop the cravings and you gain weight.


Remember, if you starve your body it will stop burning as many
calories in an effort to save them for later. To keep your metabolism
up, eat small, healthy meals every 3-4 hours.

Starvation Diet is both unhealthy and usually induces a negative
effect. You stand more chance of losing muscle more than fat. It
normally leaves you feeling deflated, weak, and lethargic so when you
finally do eat you'll consume more calories than you had lost
previously. A genuinely bad idea.


The real key to success is:

Proper Food Intake (lower calories but not starvation) - you need to
determine exactly how many calories you need to consume each day to
achieve your goals.  You must consume fewer calories than you expend.

When your calories are decreased, an imbalance is created.  The body's
job is to restore the balance, and this is accomplished by either
reducing energy expenditure (ie. losing muscle) or forcing you into
non-compliance through hunger and cravings.   You need to find the
right amount of calories that will not create an imbalance but will
cause a slight deficit so you lose weight.

Studies show that people who lose weight gradually over a longer
period of time are more likely to keep the weight off. If you are
consuming fewer than 1,000 calories a day, you are eating too little
(unless your doctor specifically prescribed this diet to you.)
 

Hope this helps.

Warm regards,
Solutionpro_ga

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Clarification of Answer by solutionpro_ga-ga on 16 Jan 2003 07:25 PST

Sorry I forgot to mention search term. It is :
starvation diet

as always, your answer was very helpful. I have begun to eat very
small amounts a few times daily, but still around 800 calories, as
prescribed by the doctor. My biggest problem is that I have a
"deadline" to lose as much as 30lb in 30 days. (I have done it in the
near past, so I know it is possible), and then, ANOTHER 30lb in 45
days. Well, guess you can see my dilemma. Anyways, great new pill the
doctor gave me, phentermine, keeps the hunger completely away. So
thanks for your answer, I will definately be taking the advice,
although losing a little faster than anyone expected :)

I would imagine that the health risks would still be great, though you
would almost certainly lose weight over time with such a diet. One
thing to be wary of is that your body may revert to starvation mode,
whereby your metabolism slows greatly in response to receiving very
little food, in which case, you may lose weight more slowly than if
you ate a little more than that.

It is highly likely that a diet so low in calories would make a person
feel lethargic, so they would probably exercise less effectively, if
at all.

If protein supplements are being taken, these will obviously add
calories to the diet anyway.  A soy supplement drink can contain
anything between 70 and 300 calories per glass.  In this case, the
diet would therefore contain more calories than stated.

Also, it is important to be aware that people who rely on such extreme
measures, even if they have enough will power to see them through,
will almost inevitably end up regaining all the weight that has been
lost as soon as they return to "normal" eating.  They key to long-term
weight loss and maintenance of a reasonable body weight is to
re-educate one's eating patterns and change one's preferences so that,
for example, a salad becomes more desirable than fried potatoes and a
piece of fruit more desirable than a chunk of cake.  A starvation diet
will not do this.

Hi Thenotoro,

I don't have a definitive answer for your question, so will post my
suggestion as a comment for you to consider or not as you like.  Many
people, still influenced by the past quarter-century of so-called
"wisdom" that has been preached at us will be horrified by the idea,
but the fact is, there IS a way to significantly and quickly burn your
body's stores of fat. This way will work faster than a starvation
diet, and is also healthier IF you follow it up with a low
carbohydrate regimen.  You do it by going on a
calorie-and-carb-controlled high-fat diet for a short time, switching
to a low-carb, high protein regimen once you've begun the fat loss
process.  I've known about this system for several decades now, and
used and still use the overall program myself.  Fyi, I'm in my
fifties, still slim, healthy and full of energy and I eat lots of fat
and protein all the time, never count calories and never pass up a
steak for a salad!  Yum.

The program's originator, harvard-educated Dr. Robert Atkins, was
villified and mocked and otherwise disregarded for over twenty years,
while followers of other so-called "healthy," meaning low-fat no-taste
diets continued to fight the battle of the bulge.  Now however, it's
slowly beginning to be known that Dr. Atkins was right all along. 
Prevention Magazine is just one of the latest to belatedly report on
the success, meaning health benefits along with weight loss, of this
kind of eating.  It'd be kind of funny if it weren't so sad for so
many people who've starved themselves, deprived themselves and
wondered why on earth they couldn't be both slim and healthy, and
happily sated, enjoying their food.  Well they can and so can you.

Check out the overall program at http://atkinscenter.com/  and see the
specifics of the "fat fast" for jump starting a stubborn metabolism at
http://atkinscenter.com/Archive/2001/12/21-237659.html .  Read
in-depth - there are plenty of controlled scientific studies to allay
any fears you might have, and lots of anecdotal info to encourage and
motivate you.

Best of luck,
--Byrd

In order to lose one pound in weight, on average it is necessary to
"lose" 3,500 calories, whether through exercise or diet or
(preferably) both. Initial weight loss can appear rapid, but it is due
to loss of water previously retained in the body.  After that has
happened, the loss will be more gradual.  Most diets operate on an
expected weight loss of 2 pounds per week or less over the long-term. 
Even if you manage to eat 1500 calories less per day than you require,
you would still need to lose another 2000 through exercise, which
would require effort equivalent to that required to walk about 20
miles.

The estimates above refer to your stated intention of losing 30 pounds
in 30 days, ie 1 pound per day.