800 calories a day for a week

dogeatdogworld

I'm on a 1290 cal diet and for the last 2 days I've only taken in 800 cal per day plus I exercise. I am a healthy 35 year old female with an 18 month old and would really like to shed 40 lbs, so my question is, is 800 cal for a few days or a week going to cause me to go into starvation mode?

dogeatdogworld

I've heard your body compensates for at least a few weeks before you go into starvation mode but I keep getting back n forth info

Unknown

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Motorsheen

Patience is a virtue; virtue is a grace.

estherdragonbat

Starvation mode doesn't exist. https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

kokonani

estherdragonbat wrote: »

Starvation mode doesn't exist. https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

This. But I would eat more than 1200. It's just not sustainable.

beagletracks

It's not healthy, though. Not recommended unless under doctor's supervision.

rheddmobile

There's no such thing as starvation mode. However, there is such a thing as harming yourself for no good reason. Starving for a week will not help you lose 40 pounds. It won't "jump start your weight loss" or anything. It will just make you feel terrible, lose some water weight, possibly faint or have heart problems, and probably be upset at your stomach.

If you really do want to lose weight and keep it off, you are going to have to come to terms with reality first. The reality is that no one ever loses weight long term without making permanent changes to their way of living. If you "go on a diet" and lose weight, then when you go back to eating the way that made you gain the weight in the first place, you will gain it all back, plus some because your metabolism is lower. There is literally no way to lose 40 pounds without deciding to live differently for the entire rest of your life. You don't have to live VERY differently - maybe just a few less calories or a few more minutes of exercise - but you do have to change your life forever, to get results that last.

Six months is a reasonable length of time to lose forty pounds. You may be able to do it in less time if you are obese to start with. Good luck to you.

joemac1988

What will happen is your body will use muscle for fuel; not good.

4legsRbetterthan2

@dogeatdogworld I moved your question to the general diet and weight loss help board since you will probably receive better answers here.

Sincerely,
4legs
MFP moderator

AliceDark

Starvation mode isn't real, and dropping your calories that low for a very short period of time probably isn't going to hurt too much. It isn't going to help any, either. You might drop a little extra water weight, but going from 1200 to 800 calories per day is only going to buy you an extra 2800 calories that week, so you might lose an extra 0.8 pounds at the most. How is that going to make a difference either way?

Alatariel75

Starvation mode is a myth. But as AliceDark said, the advantages are few and the misery would be high. I wouldn't bother.

gabriellejayde

You'll hear a click first and you'll know you're in starvation mode. Jump around to see if you can click it off again.

Sorry. I'm being a wiseass. There's no such thing as starvation mode. Show me an Anorexic who isn't losing....

Nothing will happen to you if you only eat 800 calories for a week. People with the flu, or a stomach virus, or a hundred other illnesses lose their appetite for a week. Gsstric Surgical patients eat 800 calories or less for weeks and weeks.
What is important though is 1. Fluids, 2. Protein and 3. Vitamins.
It's going to be hard to get enough protein AND satisfy your hunger at that few calories since you're NOT actually sick, so why not eat 1200 cals and make it easier and healthier?

JustRobby1

Starvation mode does not exist, but that is no excuse to embark on reckless and unsustainable plans such as yours. VLCD's are only to be used if you are under a physician's care, and only if said physician feels as though obesity poses an imminent risk to your health which outweighs the risk of the diet. Unless you meet these standards, I think you should reevaluate your choices.

riffraff2112

Short term, no big deal. Habitually, not a good idea for many reasons listed above. I've done it (although for me it was eating 1500 cals when my target was 2000, and to be honest (and I logged super carefully and weighed myself multiple times a day) it didn't help speed anything up and made me really hungry the next day!

dogeatdogworld

I've lost 10lbs in 5 days and i take a water pill have been for a while now so I know its from the low cal intake. Its not like I'm going to continue 800 cal a day I want to stay heathly and being a nurse I definitely know how to do it!!

dogeatdogworld

I also drink spinach smoothies and vitamins

Alatariel75

dogeatdogworld wrote: »

I've lost 10lbs in 5 days and i take a water pill have been for a while now so I know its from the low cal intake. Its not like I'm going to continue 800 cal a day I want to stay heathly and being a nurse I definitely know how to do it!!

How much muscle have you lost along with fat? You can only burn so much fat a day, and muscle is a pain to gain back once its lost. You're not doing yourself any favours.

dogeatdogworld

I'm going to start taking n more protein tommrow 60mg a day

dogeatdogworld

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I appreciate.

bbell1985

dogeatdogworld wrote: »

I'm going to start taking n more protein tommrow 60mg a day

What does that even mean?


Girl. You a nurse? I don't know.

JustRobby1

dogeatdogworld wrote: »

I've lost 10lbs in 5 days and i take a water pill have been for a while now so I know its from the low cal intake. Its not like I'm going to continue 800 cal a day I want to stay heathly and being a nurse I definitely know how to do it!!

Since you are a nurse, you should have little difficulty consulting with one of the MD's on staff. I think you will find they have far different views on such a plan than you do.

Alatariel75

So really, you've already been doing this, have no intention of stopping, and really just wanted replies that told you "go for it?"

jayemes

You're a nurse who's eating 800 calories a day, thinks starvation mode is a thing and doesn't know grams from milligrams? I really hope not.

Heather4448

I'm a nurse, too. Doesn't mean I magically know all about nutrition, but I do know that netting 800 calories a day is harmful. You'll lose muscle mass and water, then gain back fat once you return to your normal WOE. Also... "a water pill?" C'mon. You know better.

Seffell

dogeatdogworld wrote: »

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I appreciate.

But do you? Seems you're not going to listen to any of this reasonable advice. Which brings the question of why you came here in the first place. Just seaking reassurance to do damage to your body?

Nony_Mouse

dogeatdogworld wrote: »

I've lost 10lbs in 5 days and i take a water pill have been for a while now so I know its from the low cal intake. Its not like I'm going to continue 800 cal a day I want to stay heathly and being a nurse I definitely know how to do it!!

You did not lose 10 lb of fat in five days. You lost a bit of fat, some muscle, and a good amount of water from glycogen depletion.

Only eating 800 cals a day, netting even less than that once exercise is taken into account, is a recipe for disaster. You will most likely feel like crap, and there's a good chance you'll end up binging because you're so damn hungry. And you'll put most of any weight you lose back on once you start eating more again from glycogen replenishment. Then we'll have to deal with your 'I gained weight eating 1200 calories' post.

And 60 grams of protein is probably the bare minimum you should be eating per day, and not enough to preserve muscle mass.

AnnPT77

dogeatdogworld wrote: »

I'm going to start taking n more protein tommrow 60mg a day

I'd recommend a minimum of 0.6-0.8g protein daily per pound of a healthy goal weight. There's decent research suggesting we need more protein than the RDA minimum when in a calorie deficit, or when active. It sounds like you're both, and 60 is not much more than the RDA for an average-sized woman.

Please eat enough to stay strong and healthy!

Ready2Rock206

So being healthy enough to take care of the baby isn't important to you? Just being skinny is all that matters? And when your child is old enough is this behavior you'd encourage them to do?

TimothyFish

dogeatdogworld wrote: »

I'm on a 1290 cal diet and for the last 2 days I've only taken in 800 cal per day plus I exercise. I am a healthy 35 year old female with an 18 month old and would really like to shed 40 lbs, so my question is, is 800 cal for a few days or a week going to cause me to go into starvation mode?

No, and if it is just for a short time it probably won't hurt you unless you have some medical condition that makes it particularly dangerous. But as a general rule you should eat more.

JRSINAZ

with that calorie level you may see a drop in energy especially if you are exercising