But if I don’t eat every 3-4 hours, won’t my body think I am starving it, and go into Starvation Mode? I've heard that if we do not eat enough, our metabolism slows down and we won't lose weight. Will this damage my metabolism?
(The following is taken from a great answer to the above question posted on the Kimkins forum by littlebit)
We hear a lot about 'starvation mode', but it turns out to be more myth than fact. It is one of those things that 'everybody knows' that just isn’t necessarily so! (After all, if the standard weight loss 'wisdom' is so true, why are 2/3's of Americans who believe it overweight, with 1/3 clinically obese? With the risk of debilitating disease and early death from obesity so great, what is so BAD about cutting calories for a while to regain our lives, looks, and good health?)
Anyway, YES, on a standard low-calorie diet, when we cut calories, the body eventually compensates by 'dialing down' the metabolism to use fewer calories. This is because the body greatly prefers to keep things the same, to maintain stasis, to take the easiest possible path. Yet, people do still lose weight on standard low-calorie diets --- just more slowly, and with more effort. However the 'dialing down' of the metabolism is not permanent, because the metabolism is a dynamic thing. It adjusts to circumstances. If it can adjust down, it can adjust back UP, too. In fact, it adjusts down a little every night when we sleep, and adjust back up in the morning again, once we get up and get going with our day. It doesn't 'break' --- it just resets.
Now comes the good part: With Kimkins we do not experience that same 'dialing down' of the metabolism! Why not? It is because we do not really operate on the same type of calorie deficit! Once we enter into deep ketosis, our bodies tap into a huge reservoir of available fuel - our stored body fat! At that point, the easiest thing for our bodies to do to maintain stasis is just to flip the switch from carb fuel to body-fat fuel, and to keep right on humming along at peak efficiency! We aren't EATING all the calories we 'need', but our body has all it wants, continually! It is NOT starving --- it is feasting!!
Think of a typical low-calorie diet as going out and gathering sticks to heat your house. Tiring, slow, and not too hot! Think of a typical low-carb diet as shoveling coal into your furnace. Easier, faster, and more efficient! NOW, think of Kimkins as having an oil well in your own backyard, pumping fuel into your furnace continually. Strong, sure, and steady, as long as you keep that well pumping!
I love it!
