Starvation mode

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Starvation mode is a state that the body supposedly^{[weasel words]} enters when caloric intake is reduced to low levels. It is hypothesized that^[who?] in this mode, the body becomes more efficient at absorbing calories from food and drink and begins burning lean tissue and muscle in order to conserve fat reserves.^[1] Thus, it is often believed to be counterproductive to cut calories below a certain level if the goal is weight loss.^[2]

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However, some health advisers, especially advocates of fasting, believe that the opposite is true – that the body responds to reduced caloric intake by cleansing itself of toxins and burning fat reserves first, and only consumes muscle and other tissues when those reserves are exhausted. More specifically, the body begins burning fat reserves after first exhausting the contents of the digestive tract along with glycogen (sugar) reserves stored in the muscle and liver cells.^[3] It is even argued that the "starvation mode" theory helps promote the interests of the diet industry, which would not be able to sell as many products (e.g. Slim Fast, diet pills, etc. along with the panoply of "light" foods and beverages) if people lost weight simply by fasting.^[4] Escott-Stump S. K. Mahan opins that people who frequently fast may prime their bodies to abstain from food without burning lean tissue.^[5]

Sometimes it is questioned, If the body goes into starvation mode after only several hours' abstinence from food, then would we not go into this mode during sleep? Indeed, the body does show some symptoms similar to fasting during sleep.^[6]