Question about a friend's diet

shannonsnail

I have a friend who is on Medifast. She told me her calorie range is 850-1000 calories. Personally I think that is ridiculously low but I'm overweight so who knows! Anyway, she says that she is barely hungry. She is very overweight and has lost 60 lbs over the past several mths she has been on the plan. Is her metabolism slowing down or is this a healthy calorie range??

bloodlesscoup

Unless she's extremely short, I don't think going below 1200 calories a day is a good idea, even at a sedentary activity level.

taso42_DELETED

I would imagine losing muscle mass, hence metabolism slowing. Unfortunately, this will make it easier for her to put on fat after her Medifast thing is over. It will be interesting to see where she's at in a year....

abbysmommy1

It does sound very low... I've read that it is unsafe to eat less than 1200 calories/day because your body needs at least that much to function properly.

mariewithers

I've lost a lot of weight on very low calorie diets before, but I always regained it. I was on 3 sachets of 131 cals each for 5 months, the weight dropped off me, but when I went back to eating "normally" I quickly regained every pound, and no matter how many times I tried to go back on it I just couldn't get into it.

jennfisher13

I'm not a doctor but I have always understood that anything under 1200 calories daily is considered starvation..... not only that but if she was "very overweight" I wouldn't think that a change THAT drastic would be good for her body....

shannonsnail

When she said she is barely hungry and has to push herself to get all her calories in that just sounded like metabolism shutting down to me.....how could you not be hungry eating that little??

PandaFlight

I'm not familiar with Medifast but that's very low for an adult. Her hunger levels depend on what she's eating, not whether or not she's getting the right balance of nutrients. A nutrient deficiency will just screw with her weight loss and hinder her in the long term.

luigigirl

My thought is that once she starts eating again she will regain all she has lost.

evangpattismith

i was talking to a lady the other day who was fixing to start that...500 cals a day was her limit. that is crazy, and in my opinion unhealthy....hmmmm

tewsy

Wow, that seems way to low for me! I do 1390 a day and i'm still hungry sometime. So unless she is only eating lettuce I dunno. I would worry about her nutrition more than anything. You have to get your vitamins!

Mommyof3loves

Calorie intake varies for each person however I have never heard a doctor say to go under 1200 a day. And with the little amount of food she is eating her stomach is getting smaller so she can't hold as much food in there. I think she's in starvation mode and more then likely she will gain all that weight back once she comes off of it.

ShapeUpSidney

When she said she is barely hungry and has to push herself to get all her calories in that just sounded like metabolism shutting down to me.....how could you not be hungry eating that little??

I agree, that's what it sounds like. Is she doing Medifast with her doctor? I'm not familiar with the program.

bloodlesscoup

Some days I've only eaten 900 calories and I don't feel genuinely hungry anymore, but I go ahead and eat 300-500 more calories just to make sure I make the bare minimum. There's a difference between feeling hungry and being hungry, I suppose, in some cases.

ShapeUpSidney

I work out too much to live on so few calories. I eat back all of my exercise cals most days..

bzmom

I just searched it really quick since Im not sure what it was. Anyways, it sounds like meal thing like jenny craig and all that and my thoughts are when it becomes unaffordable (not sure if this is a word but to lazy to look) she will most likely regain that and then some. Also someone else mentioned (I think it was taso) about muscle loss yeah I think that will go too and usually without muscle we really dont have much body defenition we become skeleton looking. I say stick to your plan here at MFP it will be better in the long run.

stanvoodoo

This is under Doctors orders and is fine. That is how Medifast and others like Optifast work. They are not hungry because they "eat" often and most use a high protein drink. Protein keeps you fuller longer.

The problem is when they go back to eating. Most of those programs offer eating classes so you learn while you are losing but it is still a challenge. MY HMO offered this as an option, I chose another option that I thought was better long term.

But always remember the under 1200 women/1500 men rules do not apply when under Doctors orders.

FitToBeFab

I'm not a nutritionist, I'm not a specialist, I'm just a regular person. In my opinion, eating that little will make you lose weight fast, but not for long. Once you give up whatever aid you're using (be it a diet pill or drink or whatever), you're body is going to go back to how it was before the external factor. I don't think taking a diet aid is going to help you in the long run, if you can't learn how to eat properly without it.

High school health taught us that less than 1200 calories puts your body into starvation mode, and ends up storing fat, which is why starving people in Africa have big bellies. But I think your body has it's own idea of starvation mode, depending on the amount of calories it burns while at rest (BMR).

I've gone days without feeling hungry but eat because I need to, then the next day all I want to do is eat! Everybody's body is different, but I don't think eating that little is actually doing her body any good in terms of being healthy. Losing fat and weight doesn't make you healthy, especially if you don't know how to treat your body after you drop weight.

lloydmel

I wouldn't say something is going to work great just because the doctor ordered it, but obviously they get paid a lot for their advice, so it's usually credible.
However, I would caution someone to not do anything that is considered a fad diet or something that will have you lose weight so fast... as soon as they go back to eating normally, then they will gain all of the weight back and then some.

I don't believe everything doctors tell me, because I know that many times medicine is a practice; meaning they are practicing to see if things work sometimes. Most of the time they are taking educated guesses and are prescribing solutions and medicines based on science. The doctor is going by scientific studies...

I'm sure it has worked for a lot of people, I'd just be curious to see how long someone can maintain their success in the "real world" without packaged foods... I'm guessing it's very expensive in the long run and they will eventually need to learn how to eat "real food".

mariewithers

The reason she doesn't feel hungry is she will be in KETOSIS, it's caused by not taking carbs in and having very few calories. It's a state your body goes into when all glycogen stores are used up and your liver prduces ketones to help convert fat into an energy it can use. This actually prevents the body using the protein in muscles. It is quite safe for short periods, but there should be a period of a week every few weeks where calories are increased.
Ketosis stops all feelings of hunger and puts the body into a mild state of euphoria.

In fact a very low calorie diet is being tested on people with a view to reversing Type 2 diabetes. This is less than 600 cals per day.
Also very low calorie diets are also used to shrink the liver before upper gastro-intestinal surgeries.

Also weight loss surgery patients frequently live for years on a diet of far fewer than 1000 calories a day.

JenniCH

Under Doctor supervision I actually did Optifast for about a year (decided to ease back into regular food around March), lost 100lbs and I've been able to keep the weight off & continue to lose the last bit as I continue exercising as I should. I took that year to learn A LOT about nutrition, exercise and to prepare myself... it's all about what you do once you are OFF those types of diets.
I decided to do it because yes, I wanted the weight off quickly so I could get to the point where I just focused on being healthy, on feeding myself properly and exercising right... I knew it wouldn't be the type of thing were I could drop the weight and then go back to old crappy eating habits. All depends on the person, the doctor, and how educated both people are :-)

adhillman01

High school health taught us that less than 1200 calories puts your body into starvation mode, and ends up storing fat, which is why starving people in Africa have big bellies. But I think your body has it's own idea of starvation mode, depending on the amount of calories it burns while at rest (BMR).

This is totally off topic but the thing about starving people in Africa having big bellies is incorrect. I'm studying pharmacy and we learned about this while studying parenteral nutrition. It's called Kwashiorkor malnutrition. It results from an inadequate protein intake. The liver can no longer produce albumin so the oncotic pressure shifts and fluid can no longer stay in your vessels. Their big bellies are not fat, it's fluid that has leaked from their blood vessels.