How long does it take for 'starvation mode' to kick in if a 14-year-old does not eat?

Answer 1

This occurs after 2 to 3 days of fasting. Please do not do this, though. Starving yourself, even just for a short time, is very dangerous and can lead to serious conditions and problems. Instead of starving, how about trying the following diet. And if you're not overweight, dieting may not be needed at all.

Try to get plenty of moderate aerobic exercise (intense exercise may damage your joints). It isn't essential to join a gym; you can do sit-ups, pushups, dumbbell-lifting, jumping-jacks, and many other basic exercises at home. Walk as much as possible. Bicycling and swimming are good too. Even for people who are not trying to lose weight, being active helps your digestion, your circulation, and other body processes.

Even more important than exercise, is avoiding junk foods and sweetened drinks such as soda. Try to avoid refined flour and pasta, processed foods, fried foods, and fatty cuts of meat. Preferably consume no added sugar, and as little added salt as possible.

Our great-grandparents didn't have the epidemic of obesity we see today, because they had a less-sedentary lifestyle, a much more natural diet, and they ate reasonably-sized portions.

Eat 3 not-large-portioned meals per day; do not skip breakfast; and avoid sugary snacks. If you want a snack, try (for example) an apple or a handful of unsalted nuts.

Once you've reached your healthy weight, increase your calorie intake somewhat, so that you can maintain your present weight. And you can then have small amounts of sweetened foods or junk food on occasion (if at all), along with your regular healthy foods.

Avoid crash-diets, fad diets, diet pills, etc. These may be harmful, and need not be considered by people who have adopted an otherwise healthy diet.

More guidelines:

Don't concentrate on specific foods so much as on a balanced, healthy diet plus exercise.

Healthy nutrition means eating what your body needs, while ingesting as few harmful things as possible. It has also been described as getting enough of each of the major food categories, in healthy forms (grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy, etc.; plus plenty of water).

In general, an example of a healthy starting point could be a menu of whole-grain foods and bread, a good amount of vegetables, legumes, some fruits and nuts, fish, lean meats in not-large amounts, and some dairy. However, this may need adjusting according to one's lifestyle, age, health, weight and other factors at the outset; and also later, as one sees what works for him/her in particular.

Also...whenever you feel queasy, nauseous, constipated or otherwise not completely well, try to remember what you've eaten over the last several hours or the last day. This is one factor in adjusting one's food habits.