900 calories a day?

mrstullier09

The diet I'm on only lets me eat between 750 and 900 calories a day, no more. Is that healthy? Just curious.

I've lost 5lbs since Monday but I can see why if I'm not eating enough. LOL

tmstp6207

what kind of diet are you on??

mrstullier09

It's called Medifast...

rosa1582

When you drastically cut your calories down you will lose the weight. But that’s only in the beginning… You’re pretty much setting your body up for starvation mode and you will actually stop losing weight all together. Your calorie intake should be no less than 1200.

mostein

I would definitely say it is not enough. I saw a dietician once and she told me anything less than 1200 calories a day is considered a starvation diet. You will definitely lose the weight but if you ever start to eat more than 900 calories you will gain it back fast! Plus if you are exercising you need to eat more than that.

randilea

I'm not a doctor but that doesn't seem like enough calories per day, especially if you are working out as well. You lost 5lbs since this Monday? I have learned from experience the slower & more healthy way you lose weight the more likely (and easier) you will be to keep it off.

mrstullier09

It is a diet called Medifast recommended to me by my cardiologist so i assume it's safe.

tmstp6207

Everything I have ever heard or read says not to go below 1200 calories a day. I can't see how that few could be healthy for you. You might lose weight at first, but then your body will go into starvation mode and will store whatever it can get.

Dawn_2013

Agreed! 900 is setting you up for failure, i fear. 1200 is healthier...:flowerforyou:

Bellydance

My friend did that diet. People lose a lot of weight on it so if you can stick with it, go for it. I would suggest for you to stay on this site for encouragement to keep it off when you start eating real foods. Low calorie diets aren't gonna kill you in the short term. I am always looking for something to jump start me. Bottom line for me is, I gotta do this consistent/lifestyle change thing or it's not gonna happen. Just try to incorporate life changing eating habits while eating the medifast food so you can make it a long term weight loss. Good luck!

mrstullier09

I'm not a doctor but that doesn't seem like enough calories per day, especially if you are working out as well. You lost 5lbs since this Monday? I have learned from experience the slower & more healthy way you lose weight the more likely (and easier) you will be to keep it off.

My 5 lbs probably consisted of mostly fluid....i will weigh again on Monday to get the accurate reading on how much I've lost.

Nina74

Check out this thread as well as some of the bookmarked threads on eating your exercise calories, starvation mode, etc.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing


Added:

Oops. The threads by banks under "Newbies people read me".

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

oxokatieoxo

hi there

i eat between 500-800 cals a day depending on whether i burn off more than 500cals in excercise that day. I have one alcohol nite each weekend and 1 meal a week of whatever i want. Ive lost 20lb in 6 weeks. Its a total life style change for this diet to work, I will have to eat healthy 98% of the time forever not to gain the weight back but im happy to do that. If when u get to ur ideal weight u just start eating untill your full again you will without a doubt gain it back. Im going to start to increase my cals by 50 a week when im at my ideal weight until i start to gain, that way ill know how many cals i can have to maintain my ideal weight

skinnytayy

I don't think that's healthy at all. The minimum (recommended by just about any doctor) is about 1200 calories daily. Anything under that will cause your body to go into starvation mode and it will store fat not to mention your metabolism will slow down drastically and when you stop that diet, you'll gain weight like never before. Maybe you should get a second opinion by a doctor. Have him look over your diet plan and see what he/she thinks. There is one diet that is doctor recommended in which you go under the 1200 .. HCG diet. Consider talking to him about that instead. There is a lady on here (fivefatcats) that does it and lost a lot of weight

SHBoss1673

so, this is a plan that calls for you to buy their meals. I have a hard time with any of these plans because they don't teach you how to eat right, they take all the thought process out of it by giving you frozen meals to eat. I realize you get to have one meal every day that's home made, but still, it's not really what I would consider the path to a life long healthy eating style. So think about what happens after you get off this diet, your body will have to adjust to normal eating patterns.
This means that there will be a high probability of you gaining weight when this happens, also you'll still (at some point) have to learn how to make your own healthy meals. That's not getting into the fact that 900 calories a day is far too few for almost every normal sized adult under 70 years old (and a good number of them above 70 too) even if you are looking to lose weight. There is a small subset of people who can afford this kind of deficit, but it's only for a select few, and generally not unless under the supervision of a qualified professional.

If you think about it, everything I've said is a great way to trick people into continuing the plan. You go on the plan, it works for a period, you go off it, gain the weight back, eventually get frustrated, and go back to what has worked for you in the past (I.E. the plan) which means you spend more money. It's a great way to guarantee repeat clients, but a bad way to go about becoming healthy for life.

This isn't meant as a way to put you down, it's just an opinion based on a lot of research and talking with a lot of folks who have done this kind of plan. Hopefully you'll take it for what it is. I hope you do well no matter which way you choose to go.

best luck,

-Banks

edorice

NOPE NOT HEALTHY. YOU'RE LOSING MUSCLE AND YOU'RE SHUTTING DOWN YOUR METABOLISM.

Ryhenblue

It is a diet called Medifast recommended to me by my cardiologist so i assume it's safe.

Did they say how long you should be on it? This doesn't seem like a bad diet if it's something that's being done for a short time. What is the plan after you're done with this diet? Lots of times people go on these types of diets and lose weight but when they get off them the weight comes back. The best thing your cardiologist could have done is recommend a dietitian so you can learn how to eat heart healthy for the rest of your life.

DKWaggoner

My dietican says NOBODY should ever eat less than 1200 cal. I just don't know about these doctors putting people on diets that starve them.It's ridiculous!
900 is absolutely not enough calories.Your body needs fuel and 900 cal is not enough fuel

marymooster

As a former Nurse and a former food addict here is my two cents. Those programs are good for dropping wt. For complete programs your bmi ususally has to be >28, After the BMI comes <28 you can be moved to a partial program... They are great for losing the wt... The key is to Redefine your relationship with food while you are on the program.... I take it you have a cardiac condition since your cardiologist reccomended. it...Use it...FOllow the reccomentdations and follow up with your doctor.... I just completed a program here in Ireland for 4 months.... of complete meal replacement... would be similar to medifast. I lost 91 lbs on it.. and am 2.5 weeks on food... which is how I ended here on this great site. usual time on the programs are 3 months for complete... and however long for partial... I was told that any problems I may encounter by staying on >3 months would reverse once I started back eating.
The key to these programs are to stay on them don't cheat... they put your body in Ketosis to burn the fat....
It is ESSENTIAL That you do work to figure out why you gained wt.... work with the emotional issues that may be driving it.... and devise new strategies to maintaint the wt loss... if not... then you will be back in the same boat... I did a similar program in the 80's and gained it all back plus because i did not do the above things.... For the emotional stuff andgetting to the core issues... try hypno-psychotherapy... it is what helped me address my stuff.

So short answer go for it... but do the work... follow the instructions and keep up with your doctor... Best wishes...
PS> The program I did here in Ireland was LIFE SLIM... it was 1890 calories... and it worked fabulous... don't know how but it ddid... I don't know if they market outside Ireland or not.... But I felt well and did well.

Natural

The diet I'm on only lets me eat between 750 and 900 calories a day, no more. Is that healthy? Just curious.

I've lost 5lbs since Monday but I can see why if I'm not eating enough. LOL

are you hungry? that is if it's short term, you still have energy and it doesn't make you sick. heck i wanna try it, but i would probably be hungry, so i eat and exercise.

Maggie1960

Medifast is okay if it's done under medical supervision and as your cardiologist has recommended it, be guided by them. There is obviously a reason why you have been advised to undertake such a strict regime. You will needs lots of motivation and support when you come off the Medifast plan and go back to normal food and that's where MFP will help you.
Good luck xx

FireRox21

I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist, but 900/day is too low. My father's cardiologist also recommended this diet for my morbidly obese dad to lose weight fast. The Medifast diet is used to quickly lose fluid weight in the body to reduce stress on the heart and increase circulation. It IS NOT a permanent diet!!! I don't believe this diet should be used by anyone that IS NOT suffering from some sort of pulmonary/cardiology problem. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, a person should maintain 1200 calories. If you stay at 900 cal/day, you will eventually start to have problems like headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness/fainting, unusual sweating, etc.

You may like the results you are seeing, but please remember that you can't survive long term on so few calories. It is not healthy for your body.

Just my opinion.

mrstullier09

I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist, but 900/day is too low. My father's cardiologist also recommended this diet for my morbidly obese dad to lose weight fast. The Medifast diet is used to quickly lose fluid weight in the body to reduce stress on the heart and increase circulation. It IS NOT a permanent diet!!! I don't believe this diet should be used by anyone that IS NOT suffering from some sort of pulmonary/cardiology problem. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, a person should maintain 1200 calories. If you stay at 900 cal/day, you will eventually start to have problems like headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness/fainting, unusual sweating, etc.

You may like the results you are seeing, but please remember that you can't survive long term on so few calories. It is not healthy for your body.

Just my opinion.

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and Pulmonary Hypertension. I am only 25 years old so anything at this point I am willing to do to live a longer life.

KelliP5

Oh no, you're so young to have those health issues. I'm sure your Dr. has his reasons for such a strict diet. Especially with Pulmonary Hypertension, he is probably trying to get the weight off quickly so there is less stress on your heart from any weight issues. I am sure that your caloric intake will probably increase once you are at a "safe" weight for your condition. Keep it up, it's hard but do-able and hopefully you have a great support at home. (looks like you just got married so I'm sure your spouse is 100% behind you, otherwise you have your bloggers LOL.).

Maggie1960

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and Pulmonary Hypertension. I am only 25 years old so anything at this point I am willing to do to live a longer life.

Be guided by your cardiologist on this one - I'm a nurse and I can appreciate the urgency to reduce your weight from a medical point of view. Once the acute stage of your illness has passed (probably when you've lost 10 -15 lbs more) you will hopefully be supported to start a healthy eating regime with more calories.
Good luck hun and take care of yourself xxx

iguanaliz

I was on Medifast twice, the first time under my doctor's supervision. It actually is very balanced as long as you follow it exactly. The "food" provides all the necessary nutrients that the body needs. If you're at about 850-900 calories, then I'm guessing you're not doing the meal? Typically, when you have the meal, the calories go up to 1,000-1,200. Yes, you do lose very quickly. I averaged 3 pounds a week after my first week's massive loss. I was actually very easy to stick with -- once you get used to the food. Just don't skip any of your meals...That will derail the loss quickly.

The key is to make sure you do the maintenance once you've hit goal. It weans you gradually back onto "real" food so you don't gain it all back a few months later. You slowly add certain foods back in until you're eating all normal foods in proper portions. That's where you actually learn portion control!

I made the mistake both times of deciding I could just quit "cold turkey" and not regain the weight. Uh, not so much :ohwell: Gained everything back within 5 months.

It's not cheap, but you will lose weight quickly and, despite the low calories, you'll be doing it in a healthy way because of the balanced nutrients. Do yourself a favor though, and don't make the mistake I did (twice). Take the extra 6-8 weeks to wean off the Medifast and onto real food once you hit your goal weight.

dumb_blondes_rock

I have medifast that i do too, but i only will have 2 shakes a day and try to eat healthy the rest of the time. I know someone who lost over 120 pounds off it...and it does work...the only problem is that it is SO low fat that her hair started to fall out and her skin got gray colored...sure she lost the weight, but when she got off it, she went back to her old ways and gained like 50 poudns pack. My advice would be to have 2 shakes or so a day, maybe even a dessert, but try to get some real food other than a lean and green in there, like have a lean and green for breakfaast(omlette) so you get SOME kind of fat. But, it does work! The only thing i dont' liek is you aren't supposed to have fruit....AT ALL....so I cheat and have fruit for dessert....basic conclusion, its a great tool but doens't teach you how to eat properly, and that stuff is so expensive why would you want to buy it the rest of your life(like you are supposed to once you hit maitenence)

Fiedems

bottom line is that if it's recommended for health reasons and overseen by a doctor then the diet is ok. This site is great for motivation and encouragement, but we are not doctors. So the question of if it's healthy or not should be answered by your doctor.

marymooster

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and Pulmonary Hypertension. I am only 25 years old so anything at this point I am willing to do to live a longer life.

Be guided by your cardiologist on this one - I'm a nurse and I can appreciate the urgency to reduce your weight from a medical point of view. Once the acute stage of your illness has passed (probably when you've lost 10 -15 lbs more) you will hopefully be supported to start a healthy eating regime with more calories.
Good luck hun and take care of yourself xxx

I agree wholeheartedly... It isa short term but necessary..... solution for your health..... but please do the work while you are on it for long lasting results.... Best wishes.

mrstullier09

Thank you all so much for the encouragement.

To answer your question "iguanaliz", that calorie intake is after i eat my l ean and green. Take a look at my Food Diary (it's not private) and tell me if I'm doing everything right.

Thanks again everyone for the loving support! Down 6 lbs since Monday has definitely got a smile on my face today!!

rtownzen

By definition, 900 calories a day is a starvation diet. However, if your doctor recommended it I would assume he is overseeing and managing it and making sure you're safe on it.