Dr. Michael Mosley explains why “starvation mode” is a myth

Dr. Michael Mosley said that fasting does not cause people to go into “starvation mode” so that they stop losing weight. Describing it as a diet “myth”, the weight loss expert claimed that several studies have shown that losing weight quickly does not mean you will gain it back.

He said, “Have you heard of hunger mode? The thing is, if you lose weight really fast, then your body goes crazy and you eat a lot of junk food and put all the weight back on.

“Now that’s a myth. It is based on a study, which was conducted shortly after the Second World War. In fact, it was about low protein, rather than low calories per se. However, it has remained in the public consciousness ever since. Study after study has consistently shown that the rate at which you lose weight has no impact on how much you gain it back.”

Dr. Mosley is known for his meal plans, the 5:2 and Fast 800 diets, both of which involve periods of fasting and low calorie intake. Dismissing suggestions that fasting and the Fast 800 Program might force the body into starvation mode, he said in a post: “The opposite is true. Studies have shown that some forms of fasting can boost metabolism by increasing blood levels of norepinephrine as a result of lowering serum glucose, which boosts metabolism and breaks down fat cells in the body.”

Writing on his website, Dr. Mosley has previously addressed this theory. “One of the most popular diet myths is ‘starvation mode,’ the claim that if you stop eating, your metabolic rate immediately slows as your body tries to conserve fat stores.” said the creator of the 5:2 and Fast 800 diets.

However, he says there is simply no evidence to support this. Dr Mosley said: “In a recent experiment, researchers took 11 healthy volunteers and asked them to sit in a metabolic chamber (a room where they precisely measure your metabolic rate) living on nothing but the water. On day 3, their metabolic rates increased by 14%. It was probably due to an increase in a hormone called noradrenaline, which is known to have continued then, I’m sure that eventually the volunteers’ metabolic rates would have decreased. began to lose significant amounts of weight But in the short term, there is no evidence that the starvation mode is anything but a myth.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently revealed that he is intermittent fasting as part of a “balanced lifestyle”. Describing it as an “important discipline”, Sunak usually doesn’t eat on Mondays, which he says helps him combat his “weakness for sweet things” – apparently he loves Coke.

Instead of focusing only on what you eat, intermittent fasting encourages people to think about when you eat. The idea is that you only eat for a certain amount of time, the theory being that this gives your body a break from digesting food.

Some people argue that intermittent fasting mimics the traditional eating patterns of our ancestors, who would have to fast for lack of food until they hunted or foraged for it. It is recommended to replenish the body with enough suitable nutrients whenever the fast ends.