EP723 - The Myth Of Starvation Mode And What's Actually Going On

The Brad Jensen Show

Brad Jensen

Nutrition, Fitness, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 792 Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this solo episode I unpack one of the most misunderstood topics in all of fat loss. Starvation mode. Or better stated. The myth of starvation mode.

I break down what most people actually mean when they say they are "in starvation mode" and why the vast majority simply are not in a consistent calorie deficit. I also get into why honesty in tracking and daily habits matters way more than blaming your metabolism.

But I also address the very small subset of people who really do experience something real. What I call conservation mode. I explain exactly what is happening in the body when you diet aggressively for long periods of time. How metabolic adaptation works. How stress, low calories, and low energy intake can down regulate output without you noticing. And why this can create the illusion that fat loss has stalled.

I walk through the key signs of conservation mode and how to course correct. More movement. Better recovery. Smarter refeeds. Tightening up tracking. Giving your metabolism and stress system some breathing room so the body feels safe to let go of fat again.

This episode will help you understand the truth behind starvation mode, the difference between excuses and physiology, and how to get fat loss moving again if you are truly stuck.

Tune in. Take notes. And take ownership of your results.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You are now listening to the Brad Jensen show with Health and Mindset Optimization podcast.
0:04.6	Let's go. Welcome back to another episode of the Brad Jensen show.
0:29.8	Solo episode today.
0:31.2	My apologies.
0:33.1	We're getting Craig when we can.
0:34.7	So Thanksgiving's almost coming up. If you're not listening this on time, if you're listening to a month later, it's why I don't even like to talk about, like the current events because we get new listeners and they kind of go back and shows and pick ones that seem relevant. But it's coming up. Whether you're listening to this on time or, I mean, maybe it's January by the time you listen to this I think the message
0:56.7	remains the same and this is just one something I want to get across I actually have instead of
1:00.7	just a lot of shit talking today I do have something I want to cover topic and I've covered it
1:04.7	numerous times on here but I think it's important and pertinent to bring back up and I'll explain
1:10.5	why the the I think it's important and pertinent to bring back up and I'll explain why.
1:12.5	The holidays.
1:17.5	You, there's so much content out there that's pushing for the, I don't know, I got friends that are like,
1:26.9	who cares? It's five weeks. Like, go enjoy your life. Fitness is not
1:31.3	supposed to control your life. It's supposed to add to your life. While I understand that message,
1:35.8	you know, there's also people completely on the opposite side where it's like, who cares? It's three
1:41.6	days, really. It's Thanksgiving. It's christmas eve christmas day sorry that you know
1:47.3	you don't need like a gluttonous asshole at every holiday party you have you know you don't need to
1:53.3	eat every bit of you know treats that your neighbor that you don't even like brings over
1:58.7	like dial your shit in type of thing, right?
2:02.1	Where I stand on this topic is what do you want to do and what is going to get you
2:08.3	further to the best, closer, I'm sorry, to the best version of you.
2:14.6	What's going to get you there?
	...

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