My 1200 kcal experiment

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to make a long story short, my goal since Xmas was to lose 20kg/44lbs (was 112kg/247lbs @ 189cm/6'2) until July and so far things have been going quite ok with some plateaus and some insane cheats here and there.

I have been following these protocols:
- Low carb (<50g/1.8oz)
- Intermittent fasting 16:8
- Daily fasted morning walk/uphill + jogging (ca 35-50 min)
- Low rep full body weight training 3x per week (every second day) compounds exercises
- Target 1kg/2.2lbs weight loss / week
- Supplements: Multi, Magnesium, Zinc, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, ALA, O3

so, things were going fine, but last week I had an endoscopy (to check whether I have IBS or something nastier), and I had to fast for 24h, which was ok, but afterwards I went insane with hunger and ate approx twice my daily calorie allowance (+ 250g/9oz carbs / day) for 4 days and at the same time I had a nasty cold (i.e. zero exercise), so last Saturday night I went into panic mode! :#

So on Sunday I decided to try a VLCD with only 1200 kcals for 2 weeks which is not much for a big fellow like myself. I still followed more or less the same protocols but cut down on the weight training and lowered the carbs to <20g/0.7oz...

On Sunday my weight was 96.6kg/213lbs and today 94.9kg/209lbs, so something is obviously working although it is not only fat but also water.

But then again that didn't surprise me, but what did is that I feel really ok, no hunger, no dizziness etc just some minor carb-flu symptoms which is weird since I have doing low carb and been in ketosis for almost 6 months now (i.e. I am both keto and fat-adapted), but maybe going from around 50g carbs to <20g maybe changed something...

Anyway, I'll keep you updated until the 5th...

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Replies

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    This is insane. Weight naturally fluctuates. Eat at a moderate calorie deficit and your weight loss will happen.

    Also, I don't blame you for overdoing it after a medically necessary fast.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    If I didn't eat for 24 hours, I'd pig out, too.

    Unless you have some mental issues, if you have access to food you'll eat it, eventually. You can only starve for so long.

    I wish you luck in your endeavors, but don't beat yourself up too much if you eat when you're really hungry. That's natural. :)
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    There's no reason to panic if you have a bad week. Just get back on track. And as the other replies said, of course you overate after fasting!

    It is very difficult to get proper nutrition eating so few calories, why risk shorting your body of something it needs?

    Just to put this out there for other folks reading this thread - It is not healthy or recommended for a grown man to eat 1200 cals a day for any measurable period of time. You should only follow a very low cal diet under a doctor's supervision.
  • BennyCH
    BennyCH Posts: 73 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    This is insane. Weight naturally fluctuates. Eat at a moderate calorie deficit and your weight loss will happen.

    Also, I don't blame you for overdoing it after a medically necessary fast.

    Yes I know right :D - but it's an experiment, and I really want to say that I lost 44 lbs in 6 months + I'm going to US in July for 4 weeks, so...
  • BennyCH
    BennyCH Posts: 73 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    There's no reason to panic if you have a bad week. Just get back on track. And as the other replies said, of course you overate after fasting!

    It is very difficult to get proper nutrition eating so few calories, why risk shorting your body of something it needs?

    Just to put this out there for other folks reading this thread - It is not healthy or recommended for a grown man to eat 1200 cals a day for any measurable period of time. You should only follow a very low cal diet under a doctor's supervision.

    but what's interesting is that MFP proposed about 1340 kcal (desk job - sedentary) for me if I wanted to lose 2 lbs / week...
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    BennyCH wrote: »
    to make a long story short, my goal since Xmas was to lose 20kg/44lbs (was 112kg/247lbs @ 189cm/6'2) until July and so far things have been going quite ok with some plateaus and some insane cheats here and there.

    I have been following these protocols:
    - Low carb (<50g/1.8oz)
    - Intermittent fasting 16:8
    - Daily fasted morning walk/uphill + jogging (ca 35-50 min)
    - Low rep full body weight training 3x per week (every second day) compounds exercises
    - Target 1kg/2.2lbs weight loss / week
    - Supplements: Multi, Magnesium, Zinc, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, ALA, O3

    so, things were going fine, but last week I had an endoscopy (to check whether I have IBS or something nastier), and I had to fast for 24h, which was ok, but afterwards I went insane with hunger and ate approx twice my daily calorie allowance (+ 250g/9oz carbs / day) for 4 days and at the same time I had a nasty cold (i.e. zero exercise), so last Saturday night I went into panic mode! :#

    So on Sunday I decided to try a VLCD with only 1200 kcals for 2 weeks which is not much for a big fellow like myself. I still followed more or less the same protocols but cut down on the weight training and lowered the carbs to <20g/0.7oz...

    On Sunday my weight was 96.6kg/213lbs and today 94.9kg/209lbs, so something is obviously working although it is not only fat but also water.

    But then again that didn't surprise me, but what did is that I feel really ok, no hunger, no dizziness etc just some minor carb-flu symptoms which is weird since I have doing low carb and been in ketosis for almost 6 months now (i.e. I am both keto and fat-adapted), but maybe going from around 50g carbs to <20g maybe changed something...

    Anyway, I'll keep you updated until the 5th...

    OMG but why

    You're a man

    You shouldn't be eating 1200 calories a day

    Fine if you like low carb and IF and all of that

    But I think you need to speak to someone and get your head straight ...there's a whole lot of disordered thinking going on in there
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    BennyCH wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    This is insane. Weight naturally fluctuates. Eat at a moderate calorie deficit and your weight loss will happen.

    Also, I don't blame you for overdoing it after a medically necessary fast.

    Yes I know right :D - but it's an experiment, and I really want to say that I lost 44 lbs in 6 months + I'm going to US in July for 4 weeks, so...

    It's an experiment in decimating your LBM and feeling weak, getting inadequate nutrition and reinforcing bad approaches to weight loss...that's what it is
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
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    BennyCH wrote: »
    to make a long story short
    <snip>

    South-Park-Season-16-Episode-6-11-d1ae.jpg
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
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    What did I just read here seriously? This isn't an experiment. It's ludicrous.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    Wow you seem to be over complicating this. Fasting, low this high that etc way to complicated/restrictive for me.

    How much were you eating before the vlc diet you just started?
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    Sounds like a if it ain't broke don't fix it situation

    You had a system that worked and you have a hiccup for a few days and chuck your system out the window?
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    BennyCH wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    There's no reason to panic if you have a bad week. Just get back on track. And as the other replies said, of course you overate after fasting!

    It is very difficult to get proper nutrition eating so few calories, why risk shorting your body of something it needs?

    Just to put this out there for other folks reading this thread - It is not healthy or recommended for a grown man to eat 1200 cals a day for any measurable period of time. You should only follow a very low cal diet under a doctor's supervision.

    but what's interesting is that MFP proposed about 1340 kcal (desk job - sedentary) for me if I wanted to lose 2 lbs / week...

    You have been working hard. :)
    As you get closer to your weight loss goal, you should change the goal to one half pound a week.
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
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    I do believe you are the same guy that was telling everyone gluten is toxic the other day so this thread doesn't surprise me!

    The minimum 1500 kcals for men is there for a reason. But do what you want! Good luck!
  • BennyCH
    BennyCH Posts: 73 Member
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    I do believe you are the same guy that was telling everyone gluten is toxic the other day so this thread doesn't surprise me!

    The minimum 1500 kcals for men is there for a reason. But do what you want! Good luck!

    another person who doesn't know how to read (really people), I wrote that gluten-based food contains toxins (lectins) which are not good for you...jesus...

    Can you please tell me where 1500 kcals comes from/is based on?
  • BennyCH
    BennyCH Posts: 73 Member
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    Merkavar wrote: »
    Wow you seem to be over complicating this. Fasting, low this high that etc way to complicated/restrictive for me.

    How much were you eating before the vlc diet you just started?

    I did the following before, I still had 1340kcal (sedentary) but if I e.g. was exercising lets 1000 kcal/day, I added those 1000 kcal to my daily allowance => 2340 kcal

    I wouldn't say that 1200 kcal is fasting

  • BennyCH
    BennyCH Posts: 73 Member
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    Merkavar wrote: »
    Sounds like a if it ain't broke don't fix it situation

    You had a system that worked and you have a hiccup for a few days and chuck your system out the window?

    First I'm not too worried about missing out on nutrition, I still eat a lot of vegetables+seeds and of course the supplements mentioned above

    Second, it is for 2 weeks only which is really a short time...of course I'm listening to my body and I will keep it easy in terms of exercising
  • BennyCH
    BennyCH Posts: 73 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    It's an experiment in decimating your LBM and feeling weak, getting inadequate nutrition and reinforcing bad approaches to weight loss...that's what it is

    what do you based all that on? What nutrition do I miss out on? How can you tell?

    "reinforcing bad approaches to weight loss" - what does that even mean?

    So far I have been able to carry out my daily routines, feeling quite ok, this evening I will do some weight lifting to see if I'm any weaker than last week ;)

    Personally I think if your body fat % is like mine (16...19%) I don't see any major issue doing this for a shorter time, I base this on absolutely nothing

  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
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    BennyCH wrote: »
    Merkavar wrote: »
    Sounds like a if it ain't broke don't fix it situation

    You had a system that worked and you have a hiccup for a few days and chuck your system out the window?

    First I'm not too worried about missing out on nutrition, I still eat a lot of vegetables+seeds and of course the supplements mentioned above

    Second, it is for 2 weeks only which is really a short time...of course I'm listening to my body and I will keep it easy in terms of exercising
    I think you're underestimating what you're missing for nutrition. Nutrition is more than just taking vitamins. As a male, you can't possibly hitting your macros for fats and proteins on 1200 calories a day. I know because as a petite female who is moderately active, I often am below on protein at 1200 calories (an my goal is around 80 grams). So, how as a 200+ lb. male can you be meeting those macros?

    Why does a 200+ male have to be on a VLCD diet to make up for a couple of days of going over calories after a fast day?

  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
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    BennyCH wrote: »
    I do believe you are the same guy that was telling everyone gluten is toxic the other day so this thread doesn't surprise me!

    The minimum 1500 kcals for men is there for a reason. But do what you want! Good luck!

    another person who doesn't know how to read (really people), I wrote that gluten-based food contains toxins (lectins) which are not good for you...jesus...

    Can you please tell me where 1500 kcals comes from/is based on?

    Your "source" to validate that claim listed a whole bunch of gluten free foods? In fact the only gluten containing item on the list was cereals. It also stated that they were only harmful if improperly cooked. I am not the one who needs to learn to read...

    Anyway, 1500 is the guideline daily amount that is widely accepted (and recommended by health professionals) as the minimum a male needs in order to fuel his body appropriately and get all the necessary nutrients required for his body to function correctly. I suspect you already know that though!

    So, as you are clearly not going to listen to the good advice others have given you I will leave you to it. Again - good luck!


  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
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    If you are coming to the States for pleasure, you may want to re-prioritize your diet. You will enjoy your visit so much more, if you are well nourished, and have your IBS under control. Eat enough that you will have plenty of energy for exploring our country. Whether you are interested in visiting our national parks, cities, theme parks, historical sites, native cultures, mountains or beaches, you will be doing a great deal of walking. If you find someone you think is attractive they will be so mesmerized by your accent, they will not notice any weight loss you might achieve in 10 days. My advice, just keep talking, most of us will be impressed no matter what you say.