Expert: Joanne - 6/19/2006

Question
Hi, i have put on weight recently from ironically eating less and exercising more i figured that my body has gone into starvtion mode? or i am having a problem with an organ eg sharp pains under rib cage? also i was wondering if you starve yourself while in survival mode for about a week do you lose weight? please tell me the truth? i am sick of gaining weight by eating less and less and don't want to eat any more food because i will just gain even more weight and i can't handle it! how do anorexics do it they must go into starvation mode and they still seem to lose weight so why do people say that starving doesn't work becasue it obvously does dispite "starvation mode" please answer my question and tell me the truth!

Answer
Usually, if you are eating, but not much, your body can't go into a fasting state and use its fat stores as an energy source as it is getting carbs through the diet and would prefer to use them instead.  The body will also store all it can from these foods in order to have fuel for the times that you are not eating in between.

If you are exercising more, there is also the possibilty that you are building muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat does, so it may just be weight gain from that in the short-term.

I think that you should go to the Dr, and be honest with him about your behaviours, and mention the weight gain.  I think that it would maybe be worth getting blood tests done just to make sure that you aren't gaining weight due to another health problem or anything.  I also think that if you are still determined to lose weight, the best way to do that is to get a nutritionist to work out a meal plan which will keep your metabolism working correctly, and helps you lose weight safely.

If you have any more questions, or if I haven't answered these ones well enough, please come back and speak again!

Hugs and all the best
Holly