Eating 800 calories per day??

katznkt

I am doing the 6 week makeover right now. It consists of 5 meals every day. I end up eating 6 servings of fruits and veggies, 10 oz or so of lean chicken, and two carb servings.

I feel full all day... and eat all day, but when I add up the cals on here I find out I eat about 800 calories. And I know that I am not supposed to drop below 1200 for the day. On days when I exercise I burn no more than 200 and don't eat back the calories.

So, is that okay? I am pretty overweight right now, and don't want to do this diet forever, just until I drop 20-25 lbs, then I will up the exercise and food to within a normal range.

Basically, I feel great on the diet, eat a ton and am very satisfied with my weight loss, but the calorie number scares my husband a bit. Thoughts?

emadigan

I would talk to your doctor about this, if I were you.

I rarely go under 1200, but I talked to my doctor about my diet and weight loss plans . She just wanted to make sure I was doing it safely, and had a realistic number in mind.

cmriverside

You must be calculating your calories incorrectly.

A full chicken breast without skin, roasted, is about 500 calories. (about 8 ounces)


10 servings of fruit is about 400- 500 caloires, and if you add two servings of bread or rice or crackers or spaghetti (pasta) - that's another 200-600 calories.

So if you have nothing else but just what you've mentioned above, you are at a minimum of 1100 caloires and probably more like 1500-1800.

You need a food scale to measure your food more accurately.

NoAdditives

Definitely get a food scale, even a $5 one from Target will work well, and measure everything and log it correctly. And, if you find that you're still eating under 1200 calories talk to your doctor.

katznkt

You must be calculating your calories incorrectly.

A full chicken breast without skin, roasted, is about 500 calories. (about 8 ounces)


10 servings of fruit is about 400- 500 caloires, and if you add two servings of bread or rice or crackers or spaghetti (pasta) - that's another 200-600 calories.

So if you have nothing else but just what you've mentioned above, you are at a minimum of 1100 caloires and probably more like 1500-1800.

You need a food scale to measure your food more accurately.

When you don't use any butter or oil to cook, and nothing is processed, you would be surprised how few calories food has in it. And I said 6 servings of fruit and veggies. Usually 3 fruits and 3 veggies. But keep in mind, a serving (for my diet) is 1/2 cup of fruit. Roughly 3-4 strawberries, or a good handful of blackberries. IF I did a banana or apple, it is 1/4 cup. And a serving of carb is one small red potato or 1/2 cup of steamed butterless rice. I use my food scale and measuring cups and so I am positive about the amounts. As far as the calories go, I use what they give me on here, and check it against google to verify accuracy, so I am pretty positive that I am always under 900 cals or so.

theresa7576

a chicken breast, a NORMAL female hand size chicken breast is 120 calories. Those big thick hormone grown ones are probably two-3 servings each. yuck. A serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards.

cmriverside

You must be calculating your calories incorrectly.

A full chicken breast without skin, roasted, is about 500 calories. (about 8 ounces)


10 servings of fruit is about 400- 500 caloires, and if you add two servings of bread or rice or crackers or spaghetti (pasta) - that's another 200-600 calories.

So if you have nothing else but just what you've mentioned above, you are at a minimum of 1100 caloires and probably more like 1500-1800.

You need a food scale to measure your food more accurately.

When you don't use any butter or oil to cook, and nothing is processed, you would be surprised how few calories food has in it. And I said 6 servings of fruit and veggies. Usually 3 fruits and 3 veggies. But keep in mind, a serving (for my diet) is 1/2 cup of fruit. Roughly 3-4 strawberries, or a good handful of blackberries. IF I did a banana or apple, it is 1/4 cup. And a serving of carb is one small red potato or 1/2 cup of steamed butterless rice. I use my food scale and measuring cups and so I am positive about the amounts. As far as the calories go, I use what they give me on here, and check it against google to verify accuracy, so I am pretty positive that I am always under 900 cals or so.

I figured those cals based on a normal portion. Why are you eating 1/2 cup of fruit and veggies? Is there a guideline that tells you to eat that exact amount? You should talk to your doctor before going on a crash diet like that. 800 cals a day is not enough!

fluffykitsune

Shes not eating only 1/2 a cup.. 1/2 a cup is equal to one serving.
So she has about 3 cups in total of vegetables and fruits.. .___.
unless she decides to have an apple or banana, where a serving is 1/4th cup.
shes saying, 1 banana =/= 1 serving

Brandicaloriecountess

I eat pretty low calories, I also have a lot to lose. But I think 800 is too low. I would talk to your doctor for sure.

dragonbug300

Eat 1/2 cup avocado for your fruit and those numbers will be a bit better. I won't debate on accuracy, or whether it's good or bad, because I personally don't know what you're doing or how you're doing it. Just be sure to get the nutrients you need. Undereating does crazy stuff to your hormone levels and brain function. If you notice that you're edgier or more obsessive than usual, up the cals by a few hundred.

Losingitin2011

I would suggest a cheap food scale to double check your amounts. If you are correct, you may want to talk to your doctor about it. Everyone is different, but there is still a minimum your body needs in order to convince it that it's not starving and doesn't need to hold onto everything. I had this problem before, it sucks. Great job on all the healthy choices though!

juliapurpletoes

My first thought is to really get a food scale and weigh your food! cups, half cups- it's never the same....get a cheapy digital food scale and start measuring. any reputable food / weight loss plan will advocate this.

800 is way to low for just about EVERY female.....so try to figure out food and exercise accurately - so you can be sure that you are doing this in a healthy way - for the rest of your life - not just a quick lose weight right now plan. Read up on this site about starvation mode and eating all your calories, it will help!

Best of luck

c2sky

Are you exercising too? If you are, holy cow.....please talk to a doctor. Even if you're not exercising, please talk to a doctor, or better yet, a registered dietician. Any hospital and many fitness centers could refer you. Again, a registered dietician, not a self proclaimed nutritionist.

Your husband is right to be scared. I have had friends do these kind of diets. I've had customers at my gyms do these kind of diets. They all claim at first, that they feel full. They are fine, they say.

Here is what I have noticed about one or more of the following things they experience

1. They quit exercising
2. They ALWAYS gain the weight back, every time.
3. Many times they are grouchy.

Now maybe you haven't experienced any of this yet, but please talk with your doctor.

ninja88

Keep in mind that a crash diet now won't help you keep the weight off forever. It's definitely okay to fill up on veggies and fruits, but you will return to a normal diet someday, and you run the risk of your body flipping out on you when you do.

If you are exercising everyday- you need to make sure your body is getting the proper nutrients to refuel itself after the workout. You build muscle and burn fat during recovery periods inbetween your workouts. If the body feels that it doesn't have enough food to refuel on, it will retain your fat stores rather than burning them off.

c2sky

Often people feel better at first on these types of diets because the foods are less processed, less refined sugar, and less of things that can make us feel yucky. But that "feeling" does not necessarily mean you're getting enough.

DustinReiner

I agree with a few people on here, you must be calculating your calories incorrectly? A 10 ounce skinless chicken breast without anything on it is 250 calories. An apple OR and orange is 80 calories a piece. I’m super meticulous about my diet, I weigh what I can’t measure in a measuring cup. I cook all my own food. I don’t add anything, and if I do(salsa, onions, taco seasoning) I add it onto my MFP food diary.

You need a food scale for one. You need to eat more than 1200 truthful calories a day. At what you’ve stated you’re not eating healthy
and it will catch up to you.

I’d say get meticulous and splurge and go to 1400 calories a day give it a week and you’ll probably start to shed the weight.

SoUnaware

I used to have severe eating problems.
So, I'm going to save you the trouble, and promise you that a doctor will tell you that 800 calories is DEFINITELY not enough.
Because you are very overweight, you burn a TON more calories than a person at a healthy weight. Roughly 2500 per day, depending on your height and weight. 800 is most definitely way too low.
If you are positive that you're counting calories correctly, then add more.
I'm on a similar 5 meal diet. My third or fourth meal I usually eat even though I'm not hungry because I know I need the calories.

I just want to stress that for an overweight person, 800 calories is way too low. If you called your doctor, he'd probably also tell you that 1200 was too low, and to stick around 1500.

Some good, pure foods that you could add to your diet to get extra calories are
a.) avocado
b.) almonds/ unsalted peanuts (peanuts are EXCELLENT for you, but stick around 3 servings per week.)
c.) beans, of any sort. If you buy the dried ones so that there's no extra ingredients, rinse them and then boil them in water until they're soft.

Just be careful. You say you're full now, but in a week or so you'll notice that you're lacking energy, or you're sleeping poorly, more irritable, etc. It starts to really effect the body when you're not getting enough nutrients. Plus, it makes it harder to keep the weight off.