Curious about very low calories

vanmep

I was just wondering if there are any people on MFP who do very low calories who have done it for a long time or successfully reached goals that way. My (totally unsubstanstiated) hypothesis is that people whose goal is to net less than 1200 either drop out or change their goal quickly. Sincere question, no judgement.

GottaBurnEmAll

It is against forum policy to discuss VLCD protocols.

tillerstouch

Before i understood proper calorie counting and whats healthy i ate around 1000 calories for a little over a month. (Male at the time i was around 185). Eventually i got on this site and learned i didnt need to go to such extremes.

It wasnt the low calories or how i look and felt that made me stop tho, it was more so i got tired of eating just chicken and veggies.

Just to clarify im not recommending doing what i did.

Tblackdogs

There's absolutely no reason to eat fewer than 1200 calories a day!

vanmep

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

It is against forum policy to discuss VLCD protocols.

Oh sorry! I didn't know that. And to clarify - I am not asking the question because I am interested in doing it. My approach is actually to lose half pound a week for 2 years lol. I was just thinking about it and wondered.

BoaRestrictor

First rule of VLCD on MFP is you don't talk about it. Those of use who i dunno maybe net under 1000 keep our mouths shut.

trigden1991

Have a look at RFL by Lyle McDonald for real information on controlled crash diets and VLCD.

jemhh

vanmep wrote: »

I was just wondering if there are any people on MFP who do very low calories who have done it for a long time or successfully reached goals that way. My (totally unsubstanstiated) hypothesis is that people whose goal is to net less than 1200 either drop out or change their goal quickly. Sincere question, no judgement.

I agree with your hypothesis. Sustainability is a huge problem.

ilex70

Yes I've done it. Medically supervised before panties start bunching.

IMO the heavier you are and the more fat mass you have to pull calories from the easier a VLCD is. When you are leaner it is harder.

Some people prefer a short period of misery to a long period of moderate dieting, but once you get to maintenance you have to learn how to manage moderation anyway.

Ty_Floyd

First of all the "don't go less than 1200 calories" mantra is blanket advice and obviously cannot possibly apply to everyone.

The more body fat you have, the more energy you can derive from it (31 calories per day per pound of body fat*) so someone who is obese (say with 100lb of body fat) could derive 3100 calories of energy from their body fat alone. However, meeting nutritional requirements (protein, fat, micronutrients) is very difficult to do on less than 1000 calories per day.

That is why obese people are often put on low calorie diets.

VLCDs (500–800 calories) are usually only recommended when the person is in imminent danger of obesity-related illnesses. They need to be medically supervised, and artificially supplemented to meet nutritional requirements.

*Alpert SS. A limit on the energy transfer rate from the human fat store in hypophagia. J Theor Biol. 2005 Mar 7;233(1):1-13.

Nova

Dear Posters,

I wanted to offer a brief explanation for closing this topic.

The forum guidelines include this item:

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