Starvation Mode Metabolic Adaptation and Damage

STARVATION MODE is the (nonexistent) state a person is in when they stop losing fat due to “not eating enough.” So, their caloric deficit is *too big* and their body has responded by holding on to all of their fat and preventing them from losing anything. This. Isn’t. Real. A deficit (regardless of size) will always work. If it doesn’t seem to be working for you, it’s because you’re either improperly tracking/perceiving your progress, or no deficit exists. See the link in my bio for how and why this occurs ALL THE TIME. METABOLIC DAMAGE is a (nonexistent) super scary side effect of weight loss. Basically, either something you did (e.g. as extreme as crash dieting to as meaningless as skipping breakfast once), or the simple act of losing weight itself, has somehow broken your metabolism, slowed it to a crawl, and may have even damaged it permanently... and this is why you’re no longer losing weight no matter what you do. This. Isn’t. Real. Sure, your metabolic rate gradually slows a little during the weight loss process, but this isn’t “damage.” This is a completely normal thing that happens due to a combination of A) the fact that you’ve lost weight and a smaller body burns fewer calories, and B) a relatively small adaptive component that is *correctly* referred to as... METABOLIC ADAPTATION is a (real) form of metabolic slowdown that typically occurs during any prolonged deficit. Also known as adaptive thermogenesis, this is simply a survival mechanism that results in your metabolism slowing down SLIGHTLY more than you’d expect it to from the loss of body weight alone. In most cases, this will be a 5-15% difference, sometimes less. So if your maintenance level *should* be 2000 calories after losing some amount of weight over a period of dieting, it might actually be more like 1700 - 2000. This isn’t “damage. This isn’t a “broken” metabolism. And it sure as shit isn’t “starvation mode.” It’s just a normal occurrence that is waaaay less significant than most people think that makes weight loss a tiny bit harder. Nothing more, nothing less.