If you are on a low calorie diet, READ THIS!!!

disneygallagirl

Bump to share with my peeps....thank you for sharing.

disneygallagirl

Bump to share with my peeps....thank you for sharing.

delicious_cocktail

Remember that study that showed that people who ate low calore/huge deficit amounts, they began to show the same symptoms of eating disordered people?

Also, the minimum is 1200 for women, and 1800 for men.

inb4 WELL MY FRIEND EATS THIS MANY CALORIES & IS DOING FINE.

Assuming you are referencing the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, It was NOT a low calorie/large caloric deficit diet. The men in this diet were quite literally STARVED under medical supervision, just as most anorectics do (minus the supervision, obviously). Those running the study wanted to conclude whether or not it was the physical conditions of starvation that 'cultivated' the Anoretic mindset, or whether the mindset was always the primary problem, with the nutritional deprivation, weight-loss, etc. being secondary results.

*I was not capitalizing to come off as snippy or rude. I just wanted to emphasize my response, since it was only different from your opinions by a few mere words. Why the heck does MFP not have the option of bolding text yet?!

Letter b in brackets to begin, and /b in brackets to end bold.

Minnesota experiment most rigorous phase entailed 1560cal/day and walking three miles per day. The other phases were control, controlled refeed and ad libitum refeed.

The 1560 cal phase was only 24 weeks and those men were in rough shape.

Just... For context.

Camera_BagintheUK

I want to know WHY is it that MFP seems to default to 1200 calories for so many people? I religiously stuck to that for 8 months - it worked, I lost 2 stone, but then hit a plateau. Now I'm eating 1500 net and losing again.

I changed because when I tried a range of TDEE calculators I got various numbers ranging from 1400 to 2100 - so I worked out the average and worked from that. Seems to be working for me.

But NONE came in as low as MFP - and whenever I changed my settings on MFP - whatever I changed - activity levels, how much I want to lose, etc - the most it did was add 40 calories to my daily allowance - 1240! :noway:

Is there some problem with MFP? Why? Why don't they sort it then?

There's no problem with MFP. In fact, it works great if you use it correctly. So many people get a 1200 calorie goal because:

1) 1200 is the minimum amount that MFP will assign anyone
2) Everyone goes crazy and puts in ridiculous goals (ie: losing 2lbs/week). This results in MFP giving a bottomed-out goal of 1200.
3) MFP adds back your exercise calories, unlike a TDEE-style approach. Too many people don't eat back their exercise calories resulting in a dangerously low intake.

Long story short, using the TDEE method or the MFP method should actually give you the same amount of overall calories if you're doing it right. I've calculated it both ways and it gives me the same amount. MFP only gives a too-low goal if you're choosing an unhealthy or unsustainable loss rate. This is the end-users fault, not MFP's.

The only thing I think MFP could be doing better is providing better guidelines around recommend loss rates depending on how much you have to lose. Although now that I think of it, I think it does do that to at least some degree - most people just ignore it and shoot for the moon.

Well, I started with a 2lb/week weight loss, and sedentary activity (according to the guidance, that was me), but that's my point, even when I changed to 1lb/week and raised my activity level it still only gave me a maximum of 1240 calories.

As for "doing it right" - what do you mean? I followed the guided settings when I started, told it my age/weight/activity etc and that's what I got. And there are cautions about using the manual options, don't do it without consulting medical etc practitioners etc etc. Given that I'd never even heard of TDEE or BMR before enrolling on this site, as I guess is true of lots of new users, what should I have done differently so that I wouldn't have been at fault? (I'm asking because I genuinely would like to know )

(Ed) BTW why do you think 2lb/week is "ridiculous"? This is what guidance the NHS gives:

Evidence shows that the best way to lose weight is to make long-term changes to diet and physical activity that result in a steady rate of weight loss. Aim to lose weight at around 0.5kg to 1kg a week (1lb to 2lb), until you achieve a healthy BMI

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/start-losing-weight.aspx

so you can see why people think 2lb a week is reasonable not ridiculous. That's certainly what was in my head when I joined MFP.

KayLasMack

Thanks for this.. What are your thoughts about a 1,200 calorie diet? That's what was set for me by MFP. On days that I workout, I still try to stay at 1200 cals. Is that unhealthy? I've been losing 0.2 to 0.8 lbs a day, weighing myself every morning at the same time. And I'm currently obese at 181 lbs, and I'm 21. Is my calorie goal okay? Oh, and I'm 5'3".

KayLasMack

MFP set mine at 1200 calories per day also and I'm starting to question whether my activity level is too high for that amount of caloric intake per day. I walk my son to and from school everyday (30 minute walk each trip including to the school and back home). According to my log my weekly calorie burn should be 1270 but I surpass that in 5 days (around 2000 calorie burn). I've lost 3 lbs in a week. Should I tweak my calorie intake?

mmapags

Thanks for this.. What are your thoughts about a 1,200 calorie diet? That's what was set for me by MFP. On days that I workout, I still try to stay at 1200 cals. Is that unhealthy? I've been losing .2 - .8 lbs a day, weighing myself every morning at the same time. And I'm currently obese at 181 lbs, and I'm 21. Is my calorie goal okay?

How much have you lost per week for the last 4 weeks? I'd shoot for 1lbs/week with your current goal in mind. If you're losing more than that I'd scale the calories up a bit as you've probably got too extreme of a deficit going.

I just started being "serious" about my diet and exercising at the beginning of September. So it has almost been 3 weeks and I've lost around 6 lbs. I've been steadily losing, and I'm happy about it, but I want it to be healthy.

I didn't see where you ever got an answer to your question. IMHO 2 lbs per week is too aggressive. Reduce it to 1.5 or 1 lb per week and either up your activity level or eat back exercise calories. No damage done but what you are doing is not necessarily optimum for overall health. Too aggressive an approach.

dittmarml

I read this on the original thread and the OP is a brave and helpful person.

I know this won't matter because it never does...but targets are dependent on a whole lotta factors - age, gender, weight, height, activity level....I'm 56, am trying to lose 25 pounds or so, and am 5'1" with a really petite build. My BMR is around 1250 and my TDEE somewhere around 1500 - but MFP put me at 1200. I bumped it to 1250 and have just bumped again to 1300 because I was feeling a little tired. I exercise when I can (have a connective tissue disorder). As long as I stick to the program, it comes off.

The craziness about super low calorie diets is damaging (per OP) - and based on unrealistic, impatient, instant gratification-driven, media-centered, uneducated assumptions about appearance and health. And that's the thing I really like about MFP - if you spend some with it - is that it's about HEALTH.

dittmarml

<edit>

dittmarml

MFP set mine at 1200 calories per day also and I'm starting to question whether my activity level is too high for that amount of caloric intake per day. I walk my son to and from school everyday (30 minute walk each trip including to the school and back home). According to my log my weekly calorie burn should be 1270 but I surpass that in 5 days (around 2000 calorie burn). I've lost 3 lbs in a week. Should I tweak my calorie intake?

Yes.

Keep in mind we can't give you more specific advice without info about age, current weight, height...recommend you go calculate your BMR and TDEE - there are plenty of calculators out there - (I use fitnessfrog.com as a "quickie") - you should eat above your BMR and under your TDEE. TDEE minus 10% or 15% if agressive is a rule of thumb; TDEE minus 20% if you're truly obese until you come down some.

thesevolatiletimes

Remember that study that showed that people who ate low calore/huge deficit amounts, they began to show the same symptoms of eating disordered people?

Also, the minimum is 1200 for women, and 1800 for men.

inb4 WELL MY FRIEND EATS THIS MANY CALORIES & IS DOING FINE.

Assuming you are referencing the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, It was NOT a low calorie/large caloric deficit diet. The men in this diet were quite literally STARVED under medical supervision, just as most anorectics do (minus the supervision, obviously). Those running the study wanted to conclude whether or not it was the physical conditions of starvation that 'cultivated' the Anoretic mindset, or whether the mindset was always the primary problem, with the nutritional deprivation, weight-loss, etc. being secondary results.

*I was not capitalizing to come off as snippy or rude. I just wanted to emphasize my response, since it was only different from your opinions by a few mere words. Why the heck does MFP not have the option of bolding text yet?!

Letter b in brackets to begin, and /b in brackets to end bold.

Minnesota experiment most rigorous phase entailed 1560cal/day and walking three miles per day. The other phases were control, controlled refeed and ad libitum refeed.

The 1560 cal phase was only 24 weeks and those men were in rough shape.

Just... For context.

Thank you! For some reason, I've never learned that.....even after being on MFP for quite some time. -_-

Really? I could of sworn that when I studied the topic that the men's net caloric intakes were below 1,200 calories. Thank you for the clarification though.

janatarnhem

Bump for later

teeduran

Ask you're Doctor he will let you know what is healthy for you. Take care of yourself no one is more important. If you aren't healthy you can help others.

ihateyoga

Even though I was not overweight, I still wanted to lose 15 lbs. At the very beginning, I was on total of 900 calories a day (after exercise). I was losing weight at 5 lbs a week. I was exited and tried to lose all the weight quickly. Then, my weight loss stopped, despite that I still restricted myself on the same calorie amount. I couldn't figure out why. Thanks to this community, many people told me that I was on starvation mode that I needed to increase my calorie intake. Thank God, I didn't fell into the slippery slope of ED.

ironanimal

I want to know WHY is it that MFP seems to default to 1200 calories for so many people? I religiously stuck to that for 8 months - it worked, I lost 2 stone, but then hit a plateau. Now I'm eating 1500 net and losing again.

I changed because when I tried a range of TDEE calculators I got various numbers ranging from 1400 to 2100 - so I worked out the average and worked from that. Seems to be working for me.

But NONE came in as low as MFP - and whenever I changed my settings on MFP - whatever I changed - activity levels, how much I want to lose, etc - the most it did was add 40 calories to my daily allowance - 1240! :noway:

Is there some problem with MFP? Why? Why don't they sort it then?

There's no problem with MFP. In fact, it works great if you use it correctly. So many people get a 1200 calorie goal because:

1) 1200 is the minimum amount that MFP will assign anyone
2) Everyone goes crazy and puts in ridiculous goals (ie: losing 2lbs/week). This results in MFP giving a bottomed-out goal of 1200.
3) MFP adds back your exercise calories, unlike a TDEE-style approach. Too many people don't eat back their exercise calories resulting in a dangerously low intake.

Long story short, using the TDEE method or the MFP method should actually give you the same amount of overall calories if you're doing it right. I've calculated it both ways and it gives me the same amount. MFP only gives a too-low goal if you're choosing an unhealthy or unsustainable loss rate. This is the end-users fault, not MFP's.

The only thing I think MFP could be doing better is providing better guidelines around recommend loss rates depending on how much you have to lose. Although now that I think of it, I think it does do that to at least some degree - most people just ignore it and shoot for the moon.

Well, I started with a 2lb/week weight loss, and sedentary activity (according to the guidance, that was me), but that's my point, even when I changed to 1lb/week and raised my activity level it still only gave me a maximum of 1240 calories.

As for "doing it right" - what do you mean? I followed the guided settings when I started, told it my age/weight/activity etc and that's what I got. And there are cautions about using the manual options, don't do it without consulting medical etc practitioners etc etc. Given that I'd never even heard of TDEE or BMR before enrolling on this site, as I guess is true of lots of new users, what should I have done differently so that I wouldn't have been at fault? (I'm asking because I genuinely would like to know )

(Ed) BTW why do you think 2lb/week is "ridiculous"? This is what guidance the NHS gives:

Evidence shows that the best way to lose weight is to make long-term changes to diet and physical activity that result in a steady rate of weight loss. Aim to lose weight at around 0.5kg to 1kg a week (1lb to 2lb), until you achieve a healthy BMI

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/start-losing-weight.aspx

so you can see why people think 2lb a week is reasonable not ridiculous. That's certainly what was in my head when I joined MFP.

The answers are quite simple here; if it gave you 1240 to lose 1lb a week, it calculated your BMR around 1740. Thus trying to lose 2lb a week, and needing to cut 1000 calories a day, gave you the bottom figure of 1200.

It won't go lower for legal reasons - that is a gov. recommended minimum.

The NHS says to AIM to lose 1 - 2lbs, indicating it's not an exact science and common sense should tell you that if the amount you need to lose is on the low end, so to will be your rate of loss.

leebesstoad

Ask you're Doctor he will let you know what is healthy for you. Take care of yourself no one is more important. If you aren't healthy you can help others.

I'm sorry, but as a general rule, asking your doctor about what is healthy for you nutritionally makes about as much sense as asking him who you should have in your fantasy football team. Both are outside of their area of expertise. Nutritionally is only tangentially covered in medical school and in board tests even now. Even specialties where diet is so pivotal, such as endocrinology, most doctors don't know enough about nutrition and diet. Fortunately, the good ones know to consult with good registered dieticians who are trained and practice in the field of diet and nutrition. THAT is who you should talk to. Not your doctor. Your doctor can tell you to lose weight. Telling you how is beyond their ken.

delicious_cocktail

Thank you! For some reason, I've never learned that.....even after being on MFP for quite some time. -_-

Really? I could of sworn that when I studied the topic that the men's net caloric intakes were below 1,200 calories. Thank you for the clarification though.

Well this is my source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

(because I'm too lazy to read any primary source material!)

Markguns

bump!

Amitysk

Bumping for my friends to read!

anorangie

Tagging for my friends to read

Thanks to the original author for sharing her experience. :flowerforyou: