Starving Yourself - Right or Wrong?

[Chris Judson]

hey guys,

Probably a bit of a controversial chat/discussion but would appreciate people’s views/thoughts/opinions on this one. I have tried to discuss this with my better half but it does nothing but cause an argument as she spends most of her days working in a care home where people can’t eat but need to and I just....don’t want to most of the time.

To me food is nothing but a hassle and I see better weight losses when I don’t eat than when I do. I don’t have the want to prepare food esp in the evenings before i go to bed. I know what your going to say “do it before it gets late then” but it’s still got to be done at some point and lugged to work and then home again to be washed up to start the saga all over again the next day.

The mrs says not eating is a form of self harm but I disagree with that..

What’s your thoughts on it?

Cheers

 

[NicMarie]

hey guys,

Probably a bit of a controversial chat/discussion but would appreciate people’s views/thoughts/opinions on this one. I have tried to discuss this with my better half but it does nothing but cause an argument as she spends most of her days working in a care home where people can’t eat but need to and I just....don’t want to most of the time.

To me food is nothing but a hassle and I see better weight losses when I don’t eat than when I do. I don’t have the want to prepare food esp in the evenings before i go to bed. I know what your going to say “do it before it gets late then” but it’s still got to be done at some point and lugged to work and then home again to be washed up to start the saga all over again the next day.

The mrs says not eating is a form of self harm but I disagree with that..

What’s your thoughts on it?

Cheers

Definitely not the way to go as sustainable weight loss!

When you dramatically reduce your calorie intake, you will lose weight but it can also cause all kinds of health problems, including increase in muscle loss. Further, when you start fasting, your body goes into conservation mode, burning calories more slowly.

Keep in mind that the initial weight lost on a fast is primarily fluid or "water weight," not fat. And when you go back to eating, any lost weight usually piles back on to you again and you're back to square one!

Also you will slow down your metabolism so when you do start to put weight on again there is a risk of putting on more than you started with as your metabolism cant burn the calories quickly!

Really not a good option in my opinion!

 

[Stackhead]

Bit of weird question considering this is a diet forum? Where we're all "starving" ourselves in one form or another.

Is it healthy to not really care about food - meh, it certainly makes staying a healthy weight easier. Some people view food purely as fuel, my other half is the same as you. Doesn't see the point in cooking and happily eats the same thing for weeks on end - I can't reconcile my thinking with this. Food is pleasure to me, I love the process of cooking and eating some delicious.

HOWEVER

Starvation is a terrible weight loss method. You do more damage in the long term. Metabolism speed is a thing, you starve yourself your body enters famine mode and becomes incredibly efficient meaning that the calories you need for daily activities, digestion, breathing general staying alive stuffs, lowers (hence the starvation mode gumpf that gets peddled). In simple terms you need less calories to survive than you did before you started starving yourself - seems counter productive. So when you start eating again, having achieved your goal, you'll put on weight easier due to this lowered calorie requirement, which puts you in a vicious cycle of gain and loss.

Unless of course you plan to starve yourself for the rest of your life for maintenance purposes -
Where you need to be careful is making sure you don't go the other way, in that your disinterest leads to being underweight and malnourished. It's perfectly fine to not be bothered. It's perfectly fine to not eat all day and then eat everything in one meal.

And then be further careful that doesn't lead to obsession and ED - it's a slippery slope.

 

[TRISTAR]

I don't think it's right. I think we have to go with what our body naturally does. We sleep at night (unless you work), and that is the the body's fasting time. We break that fast with....breakfast. Others may disagree, and I respect we all have an opinion on this. There are fasting diets, and people get results, but there are all kind of diets that deprive/restrict etc and people get results. It doesn't make then ok.

The comment above mine saying we are all starving ourselves one way or another. I can categorically say I do not starve or deprive myself AT ALL. Infact for the first time in my life, this last 12 months, I have eaten very well, and don't go hungry at all.

 

[Stackhead]

The comment above mine saying we are all starving ourselves one way or another. I can categorically say I do not starve or deprive myself AT ALL. Infact for the first time in my life, this last 12 months, I have eaten very well, and don't go hungry at all.

But scientifically you are starving yourself. A person attempting to lose weight is deliberately restricting their calorie intake below that of what there body needs to maintain the current status quo so much so that they body has to use up it's own stores of energy (and in super low calorie environments, muscle tissue) - that's starvation. I'm not saying we're all ravenous and malnourished, I'm certainly not, but facts are facts.

 

[TRISTAR]

starvation
(stɑːʳveɪʃən
uncountable noun [usu of/from N]
Starvation is extreme suffering or death, caused by lack of food.

But facts are facts.

No, I can honestly say I have never starved, not by a long shot. Scientifically, we need to consume less calories than we burn to lose weight. This defecit is NOT starvation.

 

[Stackhead]

We're derailing this thread slightly, lets just agree to disagree.

 

[TRISTAR]

I'd say so

 

[green eyed monster]

I get the impression you see preparing and eating food a chore.
Have you always had this relationship with food? Or is it since trying to lose weight?

The reason I ask, is did something happen to change your food relationship?

It's not unusual to lack enthusiasm when it comes to eating, what is unusual is your negativity towards it, and I think once you get to the bottom of that, then you may be able to inject a bit of positivity back to your meal times.

Maybe take a healthy eating course, or prepare food together with your partner, make it an event rather than an issue.

To answer your question though, starving or depriving yourself for a better weight loss is neither sensible or sustainable my friend.

 

[Determined_one]

Definitely not right and definitely not the way to go for sustainable weight loss. You're more likely to make your body go in to starvation mode which will either halt weight loss all together or in some cases actually make you gain weight! It also puts a tremendous amount of stress on your body if you aim to do it long term as you aren't getting the energy your body needs to power itself.

Also, the comment about how everyone on this forum is starving themselves one way or another. Categorically disagree 100%. I eat more now on Slimming World then I did before I joined! I don't calorie count and i'm not restricting myself in any way shape or form. It massively depends on the plan you're following and what you're choosing to put in to your body that makes all the difference.

 

[Smallermind]

I think you need to see a therapist before it gets out of hand.

 

[Sunshine4eva]

That’s why I love doing the 4:3 all the time because when I’m eating a small amount of calories like 500-600 a day and theni eat normal the next day I feel so energetic despite having a chronic pain conditions whereas if eat “normal” 2000 a day every day I feel completely like a stuffed duck all the time that leads to overall feeling of sluggishness and find myself on path of overeating, not exercising and feeling like a dogs dinner.

 

[FullFathom]

I believe there is no simplistic answer (given that you don't reeeaally mean 'starvation' in its literal sense).

Some would label all VLCD or ketosis dieting as 'starvation diets'. And I'm sure it isn't always necessary/appropriate just to lose the odd stone. It certainly could prove to be largely water loss, could prove unsustainable etc... However, the situation is massively different for someone who is very large, who has a daunting amount to lose , and inevitably has multiple physical and mental health conditions and lifestyle restrictions as a direct or indirect consequence of their size. Losing e.g. ten stone fairly repidly might have a significant impact on genuinely life-threatening conditions - regardless of the more complex issues of long-term maintenance counseling, relationships with food and so on. And even some of those issues may also be helped by, for example, new-found mobility and abilities. The first step in some cases really does have to be to just shift that weight, protect your vitality, and use the time spent productively to discuss, educate and adapt.

There's no sweeping correct answer to such debates. But generally there are always a great deal of outmoded accepted 'facts' trotted out on both sides, usually accompanies by a startling lack of genuine scientific understanding or one-to-one means testing of theories. As ever the answers float around in the middle ground, and aren;t applicable in all cases.