please explain the problem with low calories...

init2fitit

Actually it is ok... I am 5'7'' with 90 lbs I only need 1300 per day.. which is normal

Um. You seem to be very underweight, my dear.
Even at 5'1, the lowest I could go in terms of BMI would be around 98 pounds to still be healthy.

jayrudq

I eat 1100-1150.. 100 pro 125 carbs 25 fat..every day. Im losing consistently. From 232 to 138. My body is solid, i lift weights. Bench 105, dl 195, press 95. I can do 87 burpees in 7 minutes.... i run a 24 min 5k. Point- healthy and fit. Clearly dont require my bmr of 1437 or my tdee of 2675. I drop a lb a week. Goal 129.

NO WAY!!! Don't you know you are in starvation mode? Your muscles have all been eaten up, your organs are failing, you are binge eating and now obese again (my personal favorite)??? Wake up. Please. Before something really terrible happens to you while you are heavy lifting or running...and losing. Consistently.

And for gawd's sake quit ignoring "science"

leebesstoad

Scientific research says 1200 calories seems to be the threshold below which you should not go on a consistent basis. Perhaps, instead of listening to people simply with a "title" maybe you should instead rely on people like scientists who actually study things like this. Talk to a registered dietician, someone who actually might know something, who actually studied something about it, who actually do have experience with it.

I think they key here is on a consistent basis. My question is: can you still eat 1200 calories to loose 10 lb and they up your calories intake to 1300 - 1400 to maintain the weight? It doesn't seems like it will do a tremendous amount of damage if you stick to this plan for 2-3 month, as long as your protein, fats and carbs balanced. Am I wrong?

Do the math. If you lose 10 pounds at 1200 calories, but your maintenance is 1400, that means you have a 200 calorie a day deficit. At 3500 calories/pound, that is 35,000 calories. At 200 calories per day, it would take you 175 days or just short of 6 months to lose those 10 pounds.

In the end, it's all math.

Jewlz280

Scientific research says 1200 calories seems to be the threshold below which you should not go on a consistent basis. Perhaps, instead of listening to people simply with a "title" maybe you should instead rely on people like scientists who actually study things like this. Talk to a registered dietician, someone who actually might know something, who actually studied something about it, who actually do have experience with it.

I think they key here is on a consistent basis. My question is: can you still eat 1200 calories to loose 10 lb and they up your calories intake to 1300 - 1400 to maintain the weight? It doesn't seems like it will do a tremendous amount of damage if you stick to this plan for 2-3 month, as long as your protein, fats and carbs balanced. Am I wrong?

Do the math. If you lose 10 pounds at 1200 calories, but your maintenance is 1400, that means you have a 200 calorie a day deficit. At 3500 calories/pound, that is 35,000 calories. At 200 calories per day, it would take you 175 days or just short of 6 months to lose those 10 pounds.

In the end, it's all math.

Ahhh... MATH! Sexy like that other M word... MUSCLES!

deksgrl

Scientific research says 1200 calories seems to be the threshold below which you should not go on a consistent basis. Perhaps, instead of listening to people simply with a "title" maybe you should instead rely on people like scientists who actually study things like this. Talk to a registered dietician, someone who actually might know something, who actually studied something about it, who actually do have experience with it.

I think they key here is on a consistent basis. My question is: can you still eat 1200 calories to loose 10 lb and they up your calories intake to 1300 - 1400 to maintain the weight? It doesn't seems like it will do a tremendous amount of damage if you stick to this plan for 2-3 month, as long as your protein, fats and carbs balanced. Am I wrong?

Who is this fictional person with a TDEE of 1400?

heybales

It's sort of like the problem with low Oxygen. Do you really want to find out where that limit is, and to discover the damage that's done to your mind and body along the way? Or would it perhaps be better to ensure you get plenty of Oxygen without hyperventilating?

Holy crap. Best analogy EVER. I need to remember this one.

Ditto, brilliant.

NRSPAM

A lot of people may argue that eating that low will not hurt you. A lot of nutritionists even tell people to eat that low. However, if your BMR is 1,400, that means that if you were lying there for 24 hours in a coma, that's how many calories your body would NEED just to keep you alive. That's energy your body needs for breathing and organ function. Even though you can't see it, your body does a lot of things without you realizing it. I assume you're not lying there in a coma, lol, so you probably burn more than that. For most people 1,400 is a common BMR. Probably even higher. Yes you will probably survive it, but it is not worth it. Also, you're not hungry, because your body has gotten used to eating this way. RIght now, I eat around 2,000 cal's/day, and if I try to eat much less than that, I'll feel very hungry, but I've eaten much less than that in the past, and felt fine. Your metabolism will also adjust to whatever you're putting into it. Meaning it WILL slow down, and you will stop losing weight after a while. So much to say, so little time. You can read my profile for more info.

NRSPAM

It's sort of like the problem with low Oxygen. Do you really want to find out where that limit is, and to discover the damage that's done to your mind and body along the way? Or would it perhaps be better to ensure you get plenty of Oxygen without hyperventilating?

Holy crap. Best analogy EVER. I need to remember this one.

Ditto, brilliant.

Haha. Love it! Perfect!

NRSPAM

I don't pay much attention to the number. I eat now WHEN I am hungry and I rarely come near the 1000 mark much LESS the 1200 or above. I am still losing, my trainer and Dr aren't upset, soooooooooooooooooo..It is a number

Good luck with the long term success of that strategy.... and fyi, your doctor and trainer may know *kitten* about nutrition. Your doctor for sure, and your trainer should know better-well so should the doctor but they don't usually take more than one course in nutrition in all their years of university. There are a whole bunch of Certified Personal Trainers right here on MFP that give the worst advice, and can't even get their own health in order.... So.

Pretty sure a real live doctor that you go to and have a patient/relationship with is a far better source on what is right for the individual than the advice of a thousand talking monkeys found on the innerwebz.

Doctors don't know jack *kitten* about nutrition. If they want info, they consult a registered dietician. They don't study it in med school at all and if they do, it is for a few hours in the entire 4 years. It isn't covered on board tests or board reviews or continuing medical education classes. You would get far better information about your fantasy football teams from your doctor than you would nutrition information.

As a nurse, this is so true. Nurses don't get very much on it either. Also, the food pyramid is WRONG! Lol. Carbs are poison! Well, the bad kind are anyways. I still eat my poison, but not as much. :happy:

YaGigi

I have been at 1200 calories a day since I started MFP in January of this year - total loss to date is 73.5 lbs. I eat very well and do not feel hungry because I make sure to eat whole foods, not processed, and keep my nutrition balanced. Two key factors for me were cutting sugar out of my diet and greatly reducing sodium. Walking is my main source of exercise - most days I walk at least 60 minutes - on occasion I use some of those extra calories I earned but not often. Every person is different so there is no one answer to this question. Each person has to find what works for them.

Now you did it.

In before someone tells you that your body ate all your vital organs without you noticing it.

Lol

songservant

Hi...in the words of my Dr and from experience - not enough calories slows down your metabolism. Your body requires enough calories in order to stay functioning properly. Too few calories sends a signal to your body that it is starving and your body slows the metabolism down so it can use those few calories to sustain itself. I spent a few years with way to low calories. I would only eat 900 and that was hard. I gained a tremendous amount of weight. The harderst part for me when starting my journey was eating enough calories. I eat 5 times a day now and maintain at least 1300 calories. That with 90 minutes of daily exercise my metabolism is on the rise and the weight is coming off. Slowly but surely. 66 lbs in one year. Hope that helps.

yarwell

However, if your BMR is 1,400, that means that if you were lying there for 24 hours in a coma, that's how many calories your body would NEED just to keep you alive.

You ought to read how BMR is measured. Hint - the subjects aren't in a coma. Second hint - using 1400 calories does not mean you have to eat 1400 calories, especially if you're trying to use up your fat reserves.

I love it when people use this emotive "coma" crap in their posts, it allows us to dismiss the rest of it as emotive ill-founded claptrap without reading it.

phyllisjoyce

I also under-eat thinking I would speed things along. Having read all the above info I will now use my 1200 calories a day. Thanks for all the good advice.

Warchortle

All it does is **** with your metabolism and hormones over an extended period of time.. otherwise it's fine if you're already where you want to be.

Fit_Natasha

[/quote]

Who is this fictional person with a TDEE of 1400?
[/quote]

I never said that 1400 is TDEE. My TDEE is 1652, minus 25% would put me into the 1239 calories, my BMR is 1201. I am trying to stick to it since May and not loosing much at all. I do have slow metabolism due to my thyroid, and saw the information that with my condition to loose the weight I should go 200 cal lower than my BMR, which would put me in a 1000 calories. I am afraid to go that low, but on the other hand, I've been eating within 1260 for the last four month and not much results.

Fit_Natasha

Scientific research says 1200 calories seems to be the threshold below which you should not go on a consistent basis. Perhaps, instead of listening to people simply with a "title" maybe you should instead rely on people like scientists who actually study things like this. Talk to a registered dietician, someone who actually might know something, who actually studied something about it, who actually do have experience with it.

I think they key here is on a consistent basis. My question is: can you still eat 1200 calories to loose 10 lb and they up your calories intake to 1300 - 1400 to maintain the weight? It doesn't seems like it will do a tremendous amount of damage if you stick to this plan for 2-3 month, as long as your protein, fats and carbs balanced. Am I wrong?

Do the math. If you lose 10 pounds at 1200 calories, but your maintenance is 1400, that means you have a 200 calorie a day deficit. At 3500 calories/pound, that is 35,000 calories. At 200 calories per day, it would take you 175 days or just short of 6 months to lose those 10 pounds.

In the end, it's all math.

Thanks a lot, I guess I never thought that way. I'll try to stick to it for the next 6 month.

Itsmebob

IN because I have never seen a low calorie thread take such a turn. Bravo to the OP for having an open mind and thanks so much to Achaila for sharing your story. I wish you the best in your recovery.

So much great information!
Achaila's posts should be read by all
Thanks Achaila, Great Job!

deksgrl

Who is this fictional person with a TDEE of 1400?

I never said that 1400 is TDEE. My TDEE is 1652, minus 25% would put me into the 1239 calories, my BMR is 1201. I am trying to stick to it since May and not loosing much at all. I do have slow metabolism due to my thyroid, and saw the information that with my condition to loose the weight I should go 200 cal lower than my BMR, which would put me in a 1000 calories. I am afraid to go that low, but on the other hand, I've been eating within 1260 for the last four month and not much results.

With only 10 pounds to lose, a 25% cut is way too aggressive. 20% is the norm for most people unless they are obese, and then when you get to less than 20 pounds from your goal you should decrease it to 15% and 10% and gradually ease into maintenance. If your TDEE is 1652 then you wouldn't eat 1300-1400 for maintenance, you would eat 1652 for maintenance. I would suggest trying to eat at 1652 - 10% for 6-8 weeks and see if that helps. However, with your thyroid issues, your TDEE may not be really 1652.

__Di__

At 1200, for most people, you're not eating enough. Your body goes into starvation mode, which then means it struggles to hold onto every single pound and it's harder for you to lose weight. When you do lose weight, it tends to be muscle mass, not fat. Bad all around.

The body does not go into starvation mode and it most certainly does not hold onto every single pound. This myth really needs to be put to bed it is absolutely ridiculous.

To the OP, 1200 calories per day is fine, it is vitally important that the correct nutrients are consumed though.

Nikoruo

what everyone else said ^
It's harmful because your body uses up more calories in a camatose state rather than what you are eating. Which will hurt your body in the long run. Especially at your height, eating lower than 1200calories a day could be incredibly damaging.