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    Is eating under 600 calories good for you?

    Posts: 21 Member
    edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
    I have had a few friends tell me that they are only eating 600 calories a day. I want to lose weight but not at the risk of my body failing. So, does anyone know is this ok to do?

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    • Posts: 398 Member
      No, it is not. The rough rule of thumb to go by is not to eat under 1200 for women and 1500 for men.
    • Posts: 25,763 Member
      Not unless you're doing it under the advice of a doctor (who is monitoring you for health issues).
    • Posts: 392 Member
      Definetely not. Your body will be malnourished and barely surviving.
      Diets like this are only done under medical supervision in extreme cases.
    • Posts: 2,694 Member
      I would start looking at my cats as food if I had to eat under 1,200 a day. And I'm a short female.
    • Posts: 851 Member
      I don't think your friends really know how many calories they're eating.
    • Posts: 2,188 Member
      No.
    • Posts: 3,262 Member
      a definate no here
      i mean when i think about it some meals i eat total that or more.
    • Posts: 61 Member
      No.
    • Posts: 770 Member
      http://www.webmd.com/diet/low-calorie-diets?page=1
    • Posts: 2,528 Member
      That is the opposite of good. I eat triple that to lose, and I'm a relatively slim woman. In your friends' cases, I really hope they're grossly underestimating their intake, and are really eating much more than that. Malnutrition has some horrid, long lasting effects on bodies.
    • Posts: 645 Member
      No, it's not good for you. A day of low calories now and then (like when you're sick) isn't a problem at all. Doing it for longer periods of time is. I too wonder if your friends really know how much they're eating. It would be extremely difficult for almost anyone to sustain that low of an intake for very long.
    • Posts: 792 Member
      As part of a say a fast diet like 5:2 or every other day the low days aren't that bad once you're used to em. As an everyday thing NO its bad unless it's supervised by a doctor.
    • Posts: 727 Member
      Are these friends doing a 5:2 diet? There are a lot of people doing that now. My husband has done it and his best friend.

      Basically you eat normally 5 days of the week, but only 600 calories on two non-consecutive days, usually weekdays if you are off on the weekend.

      And, no, not good for you on a daily basis. I've done a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) supervised by a doctor, and the lowest is 800 calories a day, mostly protein.
    • Posts: 3,685 Member
      edited January 2016
      This thread will be closed 5,4,3,2....1
    • Posts: 303 Member
      No, absolutely terrible for you. In addition to making you sluggish and miserable, it will cause your metabolism to slow and your body to break down muscle as well as fat for energy, causing long term problems. It's also very easy to miss key micronutrients when eating that little, causing nutritional deficiencies. Even if someone could sustain if for long enough to see weight loss, as soon as they started eating more (which they would have to, or die) they would gain that weight back faster than before due to the slowed metabolism and lowered muscle mass, and find it harder to lose it in future.

      For purposes of comparison, 600 calories is the physician-ordered amount in one meal for an average-size diabetic when bed-bound (so doing practically no exercise) in the hospital. It is absolutely not enough to sustain an active person for an entire day, and trying to do so will cause serious health problems.
    • Posts: 14,261 Member
      JanetYellen wrote: »
      I would start looking at my cats as food if I had to eat under 1,200 a day. And I'm a short female.

      Ha!

      600 meals is a meal, not a day's worth of food.
    • Posts: 3,685 Member
      Considering you've had 2 heart attacks, eating 600 calories and under is extremely dangerous for you! DO NOT DO THAT!
    • Posts: 4,374 Member
      edited January 2016
      No. I'd recommend trying to get medical help for that friend if they genuinely think consistently eating that little is healthy.

      Unless you're very sick or doing some form of IF, where the low calorie day is offset by much higher days, it is NOT a good idea.
    • Posts: 2,694 Member
      edited January 2016
      @dbanks80 catching the 2 heart attacks pretty much closed this discussion. Well done.
      Eat healthy. No more games with your life.
    • Posts: 41,865 Member
      Really?
    • Posts: 8,423 Member
      No, that would not be safe or healthy to eat only 600 calories a day. You should be very concerned about these people.

      1200 is the minimum recommended amount for adult women and 1500 is the recommended minimum for adult men.

      If you want to know a safe, healthy amount of calories for you to eat and lose weight then tell MFP your height, weight and activity level and eat the amount it tells you.
    • Posts: 20 Member
      I will hunt you down if you actually live on 600 calories a day ... that's insane!
    • Posts: 5,481 Member
      HELL NO!!!!!!
    • Posts: 230 Member
      No. Please dont do this. Not safe at all.
      When I lost weight the first time (before gaining again in pregnancy), I got to my goal weight on 1450 calories a day. I tried 1200 and felt sick because it wasnt enough. And I am an average size woman, I was 5'5" and 147lb when I started my weight loss, so my calorie needs are relatively low compared to many others. You can lose weight much easier on a more reasonable calorie count. You want a diet that isnt too extreme, so you can maintain it long term. Otherwise that weight will come right back.
    • Posts: 227 Member
      Here's an interesting link...

      http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/how-many-calories-do-children-need.aspx?CategoryID=51

      600 calories a day is 3 times less than a 9 year old CHILD needs... that's your answer right there!
    • Posts: 16,011 Member
      OP, I find it difficult to believe that you have "a few friends" who say they are eating 600 cals a day. That is a ridiculously low # of cals, less than most medically supervised VLCDs. It would be very unhealthy, and certainly bad for your heart. Plug your stats into MFP and eat the calories it gives you. You are correct to be concerned about the health of your eating plan. Losing weight in a healthy manner requires patience, but you can do it - lots of people here have.
    • Posts: 288 Member
      No.
    • Posts: 581 Member
      I eat that for breakfast.
    • Posts: 3,685 Member
      Itreadlightly wrote: »
      I am a 61 year old woman with an eating disorder that I can trace back to my teenage years eating less than 500 calories for weeks...

      And what is your point?

    • Posts: 16,011 Member
      dbanks80 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      And what is your point?

      I think she is saying she developed an ED from eating that low. I took it as a cautionary tale.
    This discussion has been closed.

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