[b said:
Quote[/b] ]It is far easier for me emotionally and psychologically to hit a 1000 calorie deficit from exercise as opposed to a food calorie deficit.
That's pretty funny, I'm exactly the opposite.
Anyway, to go into depth on the details of the starvation response, it's all probably related to the hormone leptin. Understand that leptin is emitted primarily by fat cells and (very) basically signals the brain how fat we are. So, while you may think you can trick the body by losing weight at a very slow rate, or by getting your deficit from exercise instead of from a lower caloric intake, your body is still keeping track of how fat you are through leptin and is going to tell your brain that you're starving.
Of course, another consequence of this is that if you diet yourself down to a ripped 6% bodyfat, good luck trying to stay there. Even if you restore your calories to maintenance once you're there, your body is still going to think you're starving based on the message leptin is sending.
Some points to add,
- leptin drops in any diet, any time you lose weight, and unfortunately disproportionately to how much weight you've actually lost. If you're only dieting to a sane bodyfat level though, you'll probably restore leptin most of the way (though not all the way) to pre-diet levels. It's only when you go for extreme's that you get into this starvation response big time.
-Cyclic dieting probably can ward off some of these symptoms for a time, until you get into extreme bf% ranges. This has probably less to do with leptin and more to do with affecting short term hunger and satiation signals. (Because, while leptin is quick to rebound during a carb refeed, it is just as quick to drop once you resume dieting.)
-if you're naturally lean, disregard everything I've written in this last post. You'll likely never need to worry about leptin and the starvation response.