the myth, starvation mode, and dont eat before bed.

carmenstop1

Maybe you don't realize that some people come on this site to find information on how to lose weight fast, they have a wedding or a graduation coming up and they are desperate to lose weight and will grasp on to anything that sounds like it will help them. You give advice like you are an expert and you have all the answers, and some of the things I have seen you say are just plain crazy and downright dangerous.

This site is meant to help people lose weight in a safe and healthy fashion, and the people who post on it should be mindful of that, not just posting crazy stuff to prove a point. I know don't have all the answers, that is why I am here.

Please stop telling people that it okay to do what you are doing until you have lost all your weight and kept it off for at least a year of maintenance. Let people who have more experience or training give the advice!

I appreciate the OP making his postings. I don't find anything dangerous in them — mind you I don't agree with some of the things that I've read but "dangerous"?

If you're trying something on a diet and it's making you not feel well, stop doing it. It's not the advice that dangerous, it's the adult taking advice from some stranger on the internet and acting on it without consulting a medical expert. That is what's dangerous.

Another item — just because the OP could lose some weight and keep it off for a year does not mean that his advice is sound. All that means is that some unknown person on one of many forums on the internet wrote some words that say that he ate X or did Y. We have absolutely no idea of that person is real or if anything he's reporting is true.

Even if it were true, just because it works for that person does not mean that it will work for many other folks or that it's actually medically sound. And I'm a case in point for that.

Folks here have castigated me for my approach to losing weight. My girlfriend, who runs a medically supervised weight loss clinic here in SoCal, applauds what I'm doing as does her father who is an MD. But does that mean that what I'm doing will work for everyone? No. Does it mean that it's good for everyone to do? No.

The OP is not evil — he has found something that works for him and he's eager to share it with us. We don't have to read what he writes and, like everything else on the Internet and in life in general, we have to use critical thinking and our BS detectors to figure out what we should read and absorb.

There's a lot of interesting comments on this site and it's a pretty good community, right? As I see it, the OP is just providing his two cents worth.

How about your thoughts?
Would you like to contribute?

He sent me an article saying it was acceptable to eat 800 calories a day, and told me there is nothing wrong with using steroids (an ILLEGAL substance)

So yes, I absolutely think the OP is making some dangerous comments because there are MANY gullible people out there. If he wants to talk about steroid use and crash diets, he should take them to his blog- not post on here. There are some desperate people out there that want to lose weight extremely fast, and eat up any sort of advice that says it might get you there.

Yes his statements are dangerous, I am not just refering to this thread, but several others where I have seen him give what I consider dangerous advice! I have said my thoughts and I have already said that I am not an expert...so no...I don't have much to contribute on top of what I have already said! And I never said he was evil...just misguided!

carmenstop1

And if I have said anything insulting or derogitory I apoligize!

registers

I went back and reread my original post... there is not 1 thing wrong with it. I specifically stated that it can be done properly.
"Eating at low caloric levels are very beneficial to weight loss, IF you know how to do it properly. " I even gave a general guideline of how. There is not one thing wrong with my post.

mgreen10

We are now a lot different and have much different lifestyles than cavemen.

registers

We are now a lot different and have much different lifestyles than cavemen.

thats why were more unhealthy

Gary1977

Let me start by saying that eating once a day would never work for me, but I've read stories about a known athlete who does this. You might have heard of Hershal Walker? This man is in his late 40's and he's in better shape than 99% of people half his age. Hershal won a Heisman trophy @ the University of Georgia before playing in the NFL. Mr. Walker also competed in the Olympics and has recently competed in MMA (mixed martial arts or "UFC" fighting for those not familiar. If you've seen a picture of Hershal Walker, you would realize that he has had no problem retaining muscle at all. Once again, I'll never be able to do this myself, but for some people this can be sucessful.

registers

Let me start by saying that eating once a day would never work for me, but I've read stories about a known athlete who does this. You might have heard of Hershal Walker? This man is in his late 40's and he's in better shape than 99% of people half his age. Hershal won a Heisman trophy @ the University of Georgia before playing in the NFL. Mr. Walker also competed in the Olympics and has recently competed in MMA (mixed martial arts or "UFC" fighting for those not familiar. If you've seen a picture of Hershal Walker, you would realize that he has had no problem retaining muscle at all. Once again, I'll never be able to do this myself, but for some people this can be sucessful.

I never heard of him, but i am glad you bring the point home. Not once have i mentioned starving yourself. you did specifically mention eating once a day, and you talked about how great in shape this man is, thanks for bringing the point home. I am glad you understood what i was saying.

seasonalvoodoo

I must say that I disagree with almost everything the OP says. I understand that you (think) you are putting this out here just to "open people's minds" but you do not realize that, like many others have said, people will read your post (and your post only) and think that it is the best way to lose weight. That is dangerous and I do not think you mean to harm anyone, but that whole common sense thing...some people don't have it. Some people will think that because you spout your "credentials" and state that this works that it is something they should do...when they most certainly should not.

People go on crazy diets ALL the time...diets that people with "common sense" would know were ridiculous and crazy but they do it because, as another poster mentioned, they are not being rational about their weight loss because there are too many emotions and issues surrounding their weight.

And on a more personal note....explain to me why I have my goals set to lose 1 LB a week (1600 calories/day) and I eat ALL of my exercise calories back and often go over my calories (intentionally) and I often lose more than 1 LB.

I started MFP on 1200 cals and I did it for a month or so...weight loss stalled and I was starving. Increased my calories and weight started falling off.

I also eat 6 times a day and always have a snack very close to the time when I go to sleep.

LisaKyle11

I've been following a member's blog on here. She eats aprox 800 calories a day and works out to what she says is 700 calories burned. She then finds she has not lost any weight and wonders why. I consider her to be a perfect role model for what starvation mode really does.

I'll pass and continue eating.

who's blog? very interested in checking it out. thx!!

registers

And on a more personal note....explain to me why I have my goals set to lose 1 LB a week (1600 calories/day) and I eat ALL of my exercise calories back and often go over my calories (intentionally) and I often lose more than 1 LB.

I did your assessment, your average daily caloric intake is 1487 your net caloric intake is 1128 with a daily deficit of 359 calories daily. A weekly deficit of 2513, that's not even 1lbs. You should be losing 72/100 of a pound. You claim to be losing more than 1lbs a week. Mathematically this doesn't make sense at all. There is something wrong.

Your BMR is calculated incorrectly.

mrstudz

Ill sum up this thread in one post:

Too much google, not enough treadmill.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

registers

a

seasonalvoodoo

And on a more personal note....explain to me why I have my goals set to lose 1 LB a week (1600 calories/day) and I eat ALL of my exercise calories back and often go over my calories (intentionally) and I often lose more than 1 LB.

I did your assessment, your average daily caloric intake is 1487 your net caloric intake is 1128 with a daily deficit of 359 calories daily. A weekly deficit of 2513, that's not even 1lbs. You should be losing 72/100 of a pound. You claim to be losing more than 1lbs a week. Mathematically this doesn't make sense at all. There is something wrong.

Your BMR is calculated incorrectly.

My net is really usually higher than that. If you look at the past few days, yes it is around there but I do normally net much higher than 1200.

And I do not know how I am losing more weight....because, yes, I understand the mathematics of it and you are right. I have my levels set to sedentary and do not log every single movement I make (i.e. walking here and there, running errands) so that is the only thing I can think of. Otherwise, I have no idea...except that I do have a good amount of weight to lose and sometimes that helps drop the weight more quickly.

crisanderson27

I still don't understand why everyone is getting so worked up about this. So you don't agree with him; fine, you are a free willed adult, you don't have to! But come on people, he is allowed to have his opinion! If you don't want to do things his way, then don't, simple as that. The way I see it, he posted about what he believes and has tried to back it up by explaining where he got his information from. Why should that offend people? There are a lot of things that I don't agree with being posted in the forums everyday, but they don't upset me and get me all worked up! I just shake my head, maybe post my opinion if I feel strongly enough and then move on with my life. It would be nice if everyone else could do the same.

And about those people who are worried that others might take this 'dangerous/bad/irresponsible' advice... People have their own brains, and can make their own decisions. Sure, some people might read this and think that eating 800cals or skipping breakfast is a good idea for them, and then find that it makes them gain or feel dizzy, lethargic etc... But then they can stop. Crisis averted. You can't sensor people just because some other people might make bad decisions based on what others say. We're all capable of higher order thinking... We're all capable of making our own decisions. So you can agree or disagree with ascriminal, that's fine, but don't get all hot and bothered because you are worried about what others might do because of what he says. Just worry about yourselves. Find what works for you and run with it, maybe post about it if you'd like to try and help others like ascriminal. Or debate the topic without insinuating (or outright saying) that people who agree with the information are somehow bad people for voicing their opinions. And most importantly... (and I say this to my students multiple times a day; I would hope that by the time they are adults they would know better) Just. Worry. About. Yourself. :flowerforyou:

Great song in your signature =D.

And there's a little more to it than you've posted, I think. We fundamentally disagree regarding ascriminal...but not for the reasons I think you would expect. It would be different if he posted up one post, with a controversial topic you know? What he's doing is trying to undermine the premise of this forum, which is safe, healthy dieting habits. That's where the question of censorship comes in. If you go to an all women's gym...the rules state that you must be a female to enter, correct? Well...I'm a male!!...and maybe I want to work out there too...but it's not allowed. It flies in the face of the premise of the gym...what makes it different if you will. The difference is, here it's people's health at stake. Yes I understand that the majority of us are free thinking adults as you put it (you know there are overweight 16 and 17 year olds here...maybe even younger right??), but at the same time...people are TOTALLY irrational about losing weight sometimes. To the level where anything that will feed their misguided desire to eat less to lose weight will be taken as gospel, particularly when presented with false credentials and lots of official sounding studies (which very few people take the time to read).

I think that's more the point of the people that are standing up to this post. He posts up a post...then spends ten pages defending it and back pedaling to explain how what everyone read it as is not what he meant.

Then why say it in the first place?

Cris

seasonalvoodoo

And there's a little more to it than you've posted, I think. We fundamentally disagree regarding ascriminal...but not for the reasons I think you would expect. It would be different if he posted up one post, with a controversial topic you know? What he's doing is trying to undermine the premise of this forum, which is safe, healthy dieting habits. That's where the question of censorship comes in. If you go to an all women's gym...the rules state that you must be a female to enter, correct? Well...I'm a male!!...and maybe I want to work out there too...but it's not allowed. It flies in the face of the premise of the gym...what makes it different if you will. The difference is, here it's people's health at stake. Yes I understand that the majority of us are free thinking adults as you put it (you know there are overweight 16 and 17 year olds here...maybe even younger right??), but at the same time...people are TOTALLY irrational about losing weight sometimes. To the level where anything that will feed their misguided desire to eat less to lose weight will be taken as gospel, particularly when presented with false credentials and lots of official sounding studies (which very few people take the time to read).

I think that's more the point of the people that are standing up to this post. He posts up a post...then spends ten pages defending it and back pedaling to explain how what everyone read it as is not what he meant.

Then why say it in the first place?

Cris

Agreed and very well put!

taso42_DELETED

Ill sum up this thread in one post:

Too much google, not enough treadmill.

Most sensible thing in this whole thread!

leighton1245

And there's a little more to it than you've posted, I think. We fundamentally disagree regarding ascriminal...but not for the reasons I think you would expect. It would be different if he posted up one post, with a controversial topic you know? What he's doing is trying to undermine the premise of this forum, which is safe, healthy dieting habits. That's where the question of censorship comes in. If you go to an all women's gym...the rules state that you must be a female to enter, correct? Well...I'm a male!!...and maybe I want to work out there too...but it's not allowed. It flies in the face of the premise of the gym...what makes it different if you will. The difference is, here it's people's health at stake. Yes I understand that the majority of us are free thinking adults as you put it (you know there are overweight 16 and 17 year olds here...maybe even younger right??), but at the same time...people are TOTALLY irrational about losing weight sometimes. To the level where anything that will feed their misguided desire to eat less to lose weight will be taken as gospel, particularly when presented with false credentials and lots of official sounding studies (which very few people take the time to read).

I think that's more the point of the people that are standing up to this post. He posts up a post...then spends ten pages defending it and back pedaling to explain how what everyone read it as is not what he meant.

Then why say it in the first place?

Cris

I think that's more the point of the people that are standing up to this post. He posts up a post...then spends ten pages defending it and back pedaling to explain how what everyone read it as is not what he meant.

100% agree with this statement as with what you stated above about people going to great misguided lengths or doing what ever damage to there body at the cost of losing weight. Look at the many "fat burning" supplements they sell as a quick way to lose inchs. There is only one way to lose weight and that is some good ole hard work and eat healthy.

_Bro

Cave man, yawn I could care less about him..

Eating 6 meals a day pevents catabolic feeding on your muscles..
With the proper macros you can enter into fat burning melting mode with sacrificing lean muscle. A reloading day on carbs can then be used to restore depleted glycogen.

I started out at 245 with a very high bodyfat.
The method above with exercise allowed me to get to 5% bf.
Initally, I would suggest just eating clean making small changes and then when you start to plateau worry about this stuff..

registers

I still don't understand why everyone is getting so worked up about this. So you don't agree with him; fine, you are a free willed adult, you don't have to! But come on people, he is allowed to have his opinion! If you don't want to do things his way, then don't, simple as that. The way I see it, he posted about what he believes and has tried to back it up by explaining where he got his information from. Why should that offend people? There are a lot of things that I don't agree with being posted in the forums everyday, but they don't upset me and get me all worked up! I just shake my head, maybe post my opinion if I feel strongly enough and then move on with my life. It would be nice if everyone else could do the same.

And about those people who are worried that others might take this 'dangerous/bad/irresponsible' advice... People have their own brains, and can make their own decisions. Sure, some people might read this and think that eating 800cals or skipping breakfast is a good idea for them, and then find that it makes them gain or feel dizzy, lethargic etc... But then they can stop. Crisis averted. You can't sensor people just because some other people might make bad decisions based on what others say. We're all capable of higher order thinking... We're all capable of making our own decisions. So you can agree or disagree with ascriminal, that's fine, but don't get all hot and bothered because you are worried about what others might do because of what he says. Just worry about yourselves. Find what works for you and run with it, maybe post about it if you'd like to try and help others like ascriminal. Or debate the topic without insinuating (or outright saying) that people who agree with the information are somehow bad people for voicing their opinions. And most importantly... (and I say this to my students multiple times a day; I would hope that by the time they are adults they would know better) Just. Worry. About. Yourself. :flowerforyou:

Great song in your signature =D.

And there's a little more to it than you've posted, I think. We fundamentally disagree regarding ascriminal...but not for the reasons I think you would expect. It would be different if he posted up one post, with a controversial topic you know? What he's doing is trying to undermine the premise of this forum, which is safe, healthy dieting habits. That's where the question of censorship comes in. If you go to an all women's gym...the rules state that you must be a female to enter, correct? Well...I'm a male!!...and maybe I want to work out there too...but it's not allowed. It flies in the face of the premise of the gym...what makes it different if you will. The difference is, here it's people's health at stake. Yes I understand that the majority of us are free thinking adults as you put it (you know there are overweight 16 and 17 year olds here...maybe even younger right??), but at the same time...people are TOTALLY irrational about losing weight sometimes. To the level where anything that will feed their misguided desire to eat less to lose weight will be taken as gospel, particularly when presented with false credentials and lots of official sounding studies (which very few people take the time to read).

I think that's more the point of the people that are standing up to this post. He posts up a post...then spends ten pages defending it and back pedaling to explain how what everyone read it as is not what he meant.

Then why say it in the first place?

Cris

There is not one thing I said that was wrong in my original post. Yes the original post lead to other things about low calorie diets. which WASNT in my original post. I stand 100% with my original post, and all the things I have stated thus far. Everyone keeps on talking about "DANGER" what danger, if going by the OP..... If someone did something in the OP, what dangers would arise, this is what i want to hear... I can promise you whatever you come up with is due to misinterpretation.

registers

Cave man, yawn I could care less about him..

Eating 6 meals a day pevents catabolic feeding on your muscles..
With the proper macros you can enter into fat burning melting mode with sacrificing lean muscle. A reloading day on carbs can then be used to restore depleted glycogen.

I started out at 245 with a very high bodyfat.
The method above with exercise allowed me to get to 5% bf.
Initally, I would suggest just eating clean making small changes and then when you start to plateau worry about this stuff..

I pretty much agree with you, except about the eating 6 meals a day preventing catabolism. you did mention vaguely about cycling carbs. which I agree on. If you eat the right macro nutrients, you won't be in a catablic state, I don't think it has to do with the 6 meals a day. It has to do with the macro nutrient ratios you consume.

MattAxtell

People need to settle down. You made a topic, with great information that works for you. If other people want to try it, that is their choice.

If they decide to try it and it backfires, then they will stop doing it and try something else.

People are perfectly capable of making their own decisions.

Any advice you get on the internet should be taken with a grain of salt anyway... and if not, you will learn from your mistakes.

OP, thanks for the information, I will take it with a grain of salt, but also with an open mind

MattAxtell

.

AZackery

I want to say something about breakfast. To me it is the most important meal of the day. Why, it gets you started. A person can't really function well on an empty stomach.

If you are a diabetic, you better eat breakfast, unless you are fasting for blood work, other than that, you better eat breakfast. Skip breakfast and see what your body will do. Another thing, diabetic medicine requires you to eat something.

_Bro

I pretty much agree with you, except about the eating 6 meals a day preventing catabolism. you did mention vaguely about cycling carbs. which I agree on. If you eat the right macro nutrients, you won't be in a catablic state, I don't think it has to do with the 6 meals a day. It has to do with the macro nutrient ratios you consume.

Let me clarify.
The body can not store protein and amino acids only stay in your blood stream for a few hours after you've consumed them.
So the multiple meals ensure that you stay in positive nitrogen balance as you've got a stead stream of amino's. No catabolism. Slow digesting proteins like cottage cheese (casein) are great pre-bed snacks as it is a very slow digesting protein that ensures that you have a trickle of amino's while you sleep..

My reference to carb cycling was a bit vague as this is more of an advanced fat loss tool.
In my own opinion it's really not necessary when you first start out as it's very rigid..

Good luck!

registers

And there's a little more to it than you've posted, I think. We fundamentally disagree regarding ascriminal...but not for the reasons I think you would expect. It would be different if he posted up one post, with a controversial topic you know? What he's doing is trying to undermine the premise of this forum, which is safe, healthy dieting habits.

Cris, I understanding what you're saying about censor ship,even though i took it out of your quote. Yes I also agree some people will try to do stupid things for quick results. WHat is the common advice to lose weight, "eat healthy, and exercise" i completely agree with that for a beginner. Can the information be misinterpreted? yes it can. What is healthy eating? This can be interpreted as eat many salads a day and exercise intensely for quick results. Is this what we mean? NO. Everyone knows to create a caloric deficit. Does this mean eating 200 calories a day to lose weight? No.

If you're talking about censor ship with the 800 calorie diet i mentioned. I completely undertand, that is unhealthy and unsafe. As I stated I didn't post it for it to be followed, I posted it to make a point. I am against that type of dieting. It was just to make a point.

If you're starting my original post is unhealthy. Honestly my Original post talks about intermittent fasting, this means fasting for a "short" period, then eating your calories.

What happens when you get sick, is your desire to go eat a big meal? NO, people stop eating when they're sick. Why? it clears their body of toxins. So does short term fasting.

So it comes to night time, time to eat, you think you can eat a ton of calories at night time if you eat healthy food? NO way, you won't even come close to your BMR. So you are in a caloric deficit, hasn't reduced calorie diets been linked to longer life span and greater health? yes

Plus the growth hormone production when you're on your short term fast, which is anti agining, fast burning, muscle perserving hormone.

With all the benefits I listed, it's "HEALTHIER" than the typical standard way of eating.

registers

I pretty much agree with you, except about the eating 6 meals a day preventing catabolism. you did mention vaguely about cycling carbs. which I agree on. If you eat the right macro nutrients, you won't be in a catablic state, I don't think it has to do with the 6 meals a day. It has to do with the macro nutrient ratios you consume.

Let me clarify.
The body can not store protein and amino acids only stay in your blood stream for a few hours after you've consumed them.
So the multiple meals ensure that you stay in positive nitrogen balance as you've got a stead stream of amino's. No catabolism. Slow digesting proteins like cottage cheese (casein) are great pre-bed snacks as it is a very slow digesting protein that ensures that you have a trickle of amino's while you sleep..

My reference to carb cycling was a bit vague as this is more of an advanced fat loss tool.
In my own opinion it's really not necessary when you first start out as it's very rigid..

Good luck!

It's interesting you say that. I have been doing a form of IF (intermittent fasting) when you only eat one time a day. But you eat a lot, it's not your typical few hundred calorie meal. It is in the thousands. I have been from 1500, to 4000calories within 2hrs. Depends on what I am trying to achieve biochemically.

I do also a form of carb cycling, won't get in to the details, because i am with you, it's for advanced people. I have been getting great results like this.

My perspective on muscle retention is by the fasting period of my day, it increases growth hormone, which preserves muscle tissue and also burns fat. You're looking at it from a nitrogen balance perspective. Which is interesting. Do you have any links or recommend reading on the subject? Maybe its possible to incorporate both methods in a structured diet and exercise plan to create a greater synergistic effect.

_Bro

Hmm, I've got plenty of books on my shelf.

One that I would highly recommend would be Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto - He makes a very good case for the multiple meals, and why you shouldn't eat before bed

I like to read stuff that challenges the way I think and perhaps this is for you as well.
As far as online, I like Scooby's website.. He's a 40 year old natural bodybuilder.

He has a good overview on carb cycling...
http://www.scoobysworkshop.com/carbcycling.htm

As far as IF, I've read about it quite a bit but it's not for me.

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to be snooty about carb cycling -- the simple truth is that you are much better off starting off with 'life style' changes and then use a tool like carb cycling to pull of the last few lbs when you want to.

Good luck...

registers

Hmm, I've got plenty of books on my shelf.

One that I would highly recommend would be Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto - He makes a very good case for the multiple meals, and why you shouldn't eat before bed

I like to read stuff that challenges the way I think and perhaps this is for you as well.
As far as online, I like Scooby's website.. He's a 40 year old natural bodybuilder.

He has a good overview on carb cycling...
http://www.scoobysworkshop.com/carbcycling.htm

As far as IF, I've read about it quite a bit but it's not for me.

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to be snooty about carb cycling -- the simple truth is that you are much better off starting off with 'life style' changes and then use a tool like carb cycling to pull of the last few lbs when you want to.

Good luck...

Yes I completely agree, beginners should focus on the basics, make it a life style change. I came across scooby a few times on youtube, he has great results, you can't argue with results. I do have the book you mentioned, It's in a pdf form, I download books by the hundreds sometimes. I never read that one, but I have seen it in my library. I'll check it out.

cupcakehost

Thanks for posting this....I used to do this kind of crazy stuff. But I wised up and started listening to the research. I eat my calories per day spread out and I even eat after 7pm, and so far I've lost weight!!! I can't believe I was actually starving myself before. Good reading.