Honestly, is eating too few calories such a bad thing?

cprys8942

So I woke up a little late this morning and didn't have time to eat. I only ate dinner and at about 600 calories I honestly feel full. I plan on eating a Nutra Grain bar in a little while but is going under my calorie goal really so bad? I don't eat like this every day but I also don't always try to eat 1200 calories. Sometimes I do take in less than that. I honestly can't believe that if i'm at least taking in some calories and exercising that it won't help me lose weight. I've heard it all before that if I don't eat enough I could actually gain weight...but after a month of not eating fast food and junk food, only drinking water and trying to stay healthy...idk if I can believe that. any opinions or experiences?

jennor8or

short and sweet... yes. eat 1200 calories.

HMonsterX

Going under occasionally wont hurt at all, in the same way going slightly over occasionally wont hurt at all.

As for doing it regularly, you asked for experience...

My BMR was 2200, and i was regularly eating 11-1200, with 5-600 calories burned a day. It worked for a while, then i went 2 weeks with no loss. My nutritionist advised me to try eating 2000 for a few days. I thought "huh...eat more, to lose weight...that's odd", but i did it.

And lost 3lbs in the next 2 days.

But, everyone is different ofc.

lipglossjunky73

One day once in a while eating fewer calories won't kill you. Just like going over one day here and there won't. But in order to keep from yo yoing, you want to keep up a certain number of calories a day.

carolinedb

Eating under occasionally isn't going to hurt you--things happen. But regularly eating under 1200 NET calories will destroy your metabolism.

jellybaby84

Nah, you'll be ok. You slept late so you used fewer today anyway.

sarah44254

I ate next to nothing for many years. Had no money.

I found some reliable money, started eating food. Got fat. Quickly.

Now, eating too little does NOT help me lose weight. My body simply thinks I am poor again and expects that there is no food to eat, so it is hanging on desperately in hopes that I find food.

That is why eating MORE will help me lose more. It is a true concept for me, at least. I can assume it works for a majority of other people out there, too.

**edit
to eat less than recommended sometimes is ok. Sometimes you sleep in or you are sick or whatever happens. Try your best not to make it a habit. Food is not an enemy here. Embrace food and what it does for your body, use it as your nutrition but not as your best friend.

foremant86

Yes if you eat less than 1200 calories everyday it's going to eventually take a toll on your body.


When the body doesn't get enough fuel it starts shutting down....starve your body and it's going to stop pumping an adequate amount of blood to those organs of yours..ya know the ones that keep you living.

hbrittingham

Eating that far under regularly is just setting yourself up to fail. If you want to be on a diet and just lose weight, go for it. If you want to successfully change the way you are living your life and want to keep the weight off, you need to eat the calories that MFP allots for you. It's up to you how you want to live your life. I know how I want to live mine.

AnnaPixie

It's no big deal for a day or two, even a bit longer. But you always have to bear in mind the following for long term health:

Are you getting enough nutrition for proper bodily function? If not, your health will deteriorate over time - skin eruptions, hair loss, nail weakness, immune deficiency.............etc etc

Your body eventually adapts to whatever you give it. So if you feed it 600 cals per day, that's what it will grow to expect. So as soon as you eat more/normall again? You'll gain the weight back. This is why crash diets are just yo-yo!

Your body also will not let go of fat if it thinks it doesnt know where its next meal is coming from. It's a survival thing.

So basically, for LONG TERM weight loss and good health, its a bad idea.

Good luck :flowerforyou:

Artemis_Acorn

Calories aren't the only nutrients your body needs. If you regularly get less than 1200 calories, where are your vitamins and minerals coming from? I'll tell you where. Your body will cannibalize itself to find what it needs to function. Calcium? Plenty of that in your bones and teeth. Protein? Let's just eat away at some of the muscle or organs - got to function. Your hair follicles are performing a non-essential function - lets just turn them off to divert the precious resources to keeping you alive. Who cares if your hair falls out? Your immune system will be compromised, your skin will lack luster, your eyesight could be impaired... malnourishment is nothing to flirt with. In the end, you may wind up skinny, but you will also wind up sickly and damaged with messed up metabolism, whacked out hormones and no energy.

Do yourself a favor - eat your calorie allowance, and feed yourself with real, nutritious food - limit the junk. There isn't room for it in 1200 calories.

dlkangels4

Honestly I dont think doing that after 4 weeks of eating the right amount of calories is going to be a problem this time, or maybe even the next couple of times. The thing is, like anything we do, it can become a habit. If you see that it's not hurting your weight loss you may just fall into a pattern which will eventually effect your metabolism and start enterferring with your weight loss ! So, just be careful with that aspect of it !

ambermichon

once in a while is ok however doing this consistently will yield loss at first and then stop

skinnyinnotime

Calories aren't the only nutrients your body needs. If you regularly get less than 1200 calories, where are your vitamins and minerals coming from? I'll tell you where. Your body will cannibalize itself to find what it needs to function. Calcium? Plenty of that in your bones and teeth. Protein? Let's just eat away at some of the muscle or organs - got to function. Your hair follicles are performing a non-essential function - lets just turn them off to divert the precious resources to keeping you alive. Who cares if your hair falls out? Your immune system will be compromised, your skin will lack luster, your eyesight could be impaired... malnourishment is nothing to flirt with. In the end, you may wind up skinny, but you will also wind up sickly and damaged with messed up metabolism, whacked out hormones and no energy.

Do yourself a favor - eat your calorie allowance, and feed yourself with real, nutritious food - limit the junk. There isn't room for it in 1200 calories.

Absolutely.

Mslilah

Eating less and excercise will NOT make you gain weight.....its not possible thats all a MYTH and when they say if you eat less it will effect your metabolism....IT WILL NOT........I did the master cleanse for 7 days a year ago and im still maintaing the weight, if anything it BOOSTED my metabolism.....a human being do not have to eat 3-6 meals a day. I never eat breakfast and lunch, all i eat is dinner and an evening snack and excersise thats all my body needs AND im building muscle....

Mslilah

Just keep this saying in mind.........EAT TO LIVE, DON'T LIVE TO EAT.....thats why there's so much obesity in the USA...

veganbaum

I don't know about the gaining weight part, but I can tell you that for the past year I was unknowingly undereating (around 900 calories a day) and I have just over twenty pounds to lose. Those pounds didn't budge. More so than weight loss, you should be concerned about the nutrition you are getting - the nutrients to fuel your basic bodily functions - your heart, your brain, your liver, your kidneys - and the nutrients and fuel needed to fuel your exercise. Doesn't matter if you lose weight if your health is shot due to malnourishment.

cprys8942

Wow thank you everyone. Obviously I'm not going to do this every day, sometimes I just feel full enough to where I don't have to eat 1200 calories...and then if I eat more when I'm already full I feel bloated and disgusting. Also, I used to never eat breakfast during a diet...but somewhere along the way people started telling that it'll get my metabolism going in the morning so it'll be working all day. The only thing is that whenever I eat breakfast I'm so hungry all day and I tend to over eat at dinner. The way my schedule works in college, I only have time to eat about 2 meals a day. I know I should be eating more but there's really no way around it. Any suggestions?

Artemis_Acorn

Eat a breakfast that is high in protein and has some fiber - it will stick with you longer

hbrittingham

I don't mean to sound harsh, but in order to get overweight enough where you need to lose weight, you had to be eating over 1200 calories a day. Way more. I hear it a lot here from people "I just can't eat 1200 calories a day or I'm just stuffed". That may be true of someone who is pretty much at their goal weight, but I have a hard time believing that from who is overweight.

I have been on this journey for a year now. I have never had a problem hitting my calories, yet I have lost weight. I'm only 20 lbs from goal and still have no problems hitting the 1500+ calories I'm allotted. I don't want to starve myself, been there done that and failed after a few months of keeping the weight off.

Rather than starve yourself to get to the end of the race and then go off the diet, just to gain all over again, look at the big picture.

TenderBranson

I don't mean to sound harsh, but in order to get overweight enough where you need to lose weight, you had to be eating over 1200 calories a day. Way more. I hear it a lot here from people "I just can't eat 1200 calories a day or I'm just stuffed". That may be true of someone who is pretty much at their goal weight, but I have a hard time believing that from who is overweight.

I have been on this journey for a year now. I have never had a problem hitting my calories, yet I have lost weight. I'm only 20 lbs from goal and still have no problems hitting the 1500+ calories I'm allotted. I don't want to starve myself, been there done that and failed after a few months of keeping the weight off.

Rather than starve yourself to get to the end of the race and then go off the diet, just to gain all over again, look at the big picture.

This.

& if you really have a problem, try eating more Calorie dense foods.

Armygirl67

Going under occasionally wont hurt at all, in the same way going slightly over occasionally wont hurt at all.

As for doing it regularly, you asked for experience...

My BMR was 2200, and i was regularly eating 11-1200, with 5-600 calories burned a day. It worked for a while, then i went 2 weeks with no loss. My nutritionist advised me to try eating 2000 for a few days. I thought "huh...eat more, to lose weight...that's odd", but i did it.

And lost 3lbs in the next 2 days.

But, everyone is different ofc.

bump

cprys8942

I don't mean to sound harsh, but in order to get overweight enough where you need to lose weight, you had to be eating over 1200 calories a day. Way more. I hear it a lot here from people "I just can't eat 1200 calories a day or I'm just stuffed". That may be true of someone who is pretty much at their goal weight, but I have a hard time believing that from who is overweight.

I have been on this journey for a year now. I have never had a problem hitting my calories, yet I have lost weight. I'm only 20 lbs from goal and still have no problems hitting the 1500+ calories I'm allotted. I don't want to starve myself, been there done that and failed after a few months of keeping the weight off.

Obviously I WAS eating over 1200 calories a day...now that I've begun to eat less some days I can't eat that much.

mckenzie330

I agree with the live to eat not eat to live method posted above. I dunno, I get the whole metabolism thing etc., etc., but when it comes to your bodies "natural, evolutionary tendencies" ...we used to eat to live.

I always learned eat when hungry, don't eat when not. It's as simple as that. When I started to eat when I wasn't hungry, just for binging to cope with feelings or because the food was "around", that's how I gained weight.

if your BMI is too high, that's when the "eat when hungry, don't eat when not" idea doesn't work. Right now you are hungry for more than the suggested amount because your body is used to living with a higher BMI. In time your body will get used to less calories. The 1200 calorie rule and the excersizing is necessary to get to the point where you don't have to worry about it anymore, and you reach a healthy BMI. By this time, you're used to eating less, and you have learned to eat to live. your body will fall into its natural state at this point.

If you aren't hungry, don't force yourself to eat.

rjpittner

This seems to be getting pretty controversial ;-P
I don't understand the claims that eating fewer calories will permanently damage your metabolism. In order to lose weight, obviously you need to consume fewer calories. When I initially created my MFP account, I was SHOCKED to see that I was automatically set to be consuming 1200 calories a day. I would think I'd need to gorge myself and be eating nonstop all day long in order to reach that “goal”. I'm a pretty petite person...yes, I get the munchies, yes, I "binge", but no way no how could I consume 1200 calories comfortably OR healthily over the span of a day. In addition, when you budget in the calories lost due to physical exercise, is the "1200 calorie method" suggesting we replace them? Especially if the body absolutely, positively needs 1200 calories in order to properly function…I mean exercising could turn into a detrimental practice based on this belief, wouldn’t you think?
I firmly believe that everyone is built differently. I don't think it is fair in anyway to be generalizing how many calories the human body needs in order to be healthy, because the fact of the matter is it's going to vary from person to person. I am aware of "starvation mode", but as with the calorie intake, I'm convinced this will also be different based upon the weight and calories needed by the body to function optimally. It isn’t healthy to deprive your body of the nutrients it needs, but any knowledgeable dieter will be aware that you should ALWAYS take a multivitamin to keep your body stable during caloric changes. I am going to keep approaching weight loss how I’ve always approached it, and that is by cutting calories – it would be safe to say I have been doing so my entire life and it has yet to affect my metabolism…I also have yet to keel over and die due to me only reaching this 1200 calorie/day goal twice a year…Thanksgiving and Christmas lol.
Just my opinion on the matter for what it’s worth ;-P

*Just a quick edit:
Obviously in cutting calories, you still want to consume healthy calories...I don't think it is some unheard of phenomena for someone to have a nicely rounded diet, consuming all of the nutrients their body requires, while at the same time on a lower calorie diet.
To whoever is looking to this topic for advice: PLEASE do your research. Know what you are getting yourself into. BE INFORMED, do not take anyones word for this but those of experts. I was merely stating my opinion and view on the topic, not in ANY way trying to say that I am an informed expert who knows all regarding this issue.

mommamuscles

In a word, YES.
Sorry if I sound crabby, but...
Ok, this is kind of a hot button topic for me. I struggled with an eating disorder at a dangerously low weight for nearly ten years. Then I "got better" only to become morbidly obese. Long story, and I wont go into it now.
When I started MFP it was my goal to eat as little as possible and exercise as much as possible. I lost weight very quickly on roughly 1000-1200 calories a day despite the fact I was burning 1000+ calories with exercise. Then I hit a plateau.For THREE MONTHS. Then my hair started falling out. In huge chunks. My skin was flaking off. I was tired, irritable, weak, dizzy spells. When I started eating ALOT more, like eating the dreaded exercise calories that everyone is so afraid of, all of that went away, AND I started losing again.
Just my personal experience.
I see so many people on here giving bad advice that will cause many people to develop this mindset that eating as little as possible is best. Seriously, we need to fuel our bodies if we want them to work hard for us. I am not advocating eating a bunch of empty calories, just simply giving our bodies the NUTRIENTS they need to survive so we can live long and active, healthy lives.
I realize not everyone agrees with me. However, eating 1200 calories is hardly GORGING yourself. In the medical community, anything under 1200 calories is considered a starvation diet.
Again, I apologize in advance for sounding crabby. I wish you all the success in your journey!

Scorpioangel

I have no idea I have heard it's bad but for me if I don't eat at least 1,600 calories I feel light headed.

ALH1981

Eating less and excercise will NOT make you gain weight.....its not possible thats all a MYTH and when they say if you eat less it will effect your metabolism....IT WILL NOT........I did the master cleanse for 7 days a year ago and im still maintaing the weight, if anything it BOOSTED my metabolism.....a human being do not have to eat 3-6 meals a day. I never eat breakfast and lunch, all i eat is dinner and an evening snack and excersise thats all my body needs AND im building muscle....

i know this is controversial but i agree... its simple science!! I also feel like its an excuse for dieters to convince themselves to keep eating!!!

HealthyWayorNoWay

Eating Under 1200 every once in a while is not going to hurt you. But eating that way everyday will. When You Don't eat enough your body tries to store fat.

aquapussy

Eating less and excercise will NOT make you gain weight.....its not possible thats all a MYTH and when they say if you eat less it will effect your metabolism....IT WILL NOT........I did the master cleanse for 7 days a year ago and im still maintaing the weight, if anything it BOOSTED my metabolism.....a human being do not have to eat 3-6 meals a day. I never eat breakfast and lunch, all i eat is dinner and an evening snack and excersise thats all my body needs AND im building muscle....

We humans are designed to be able to fast, and burn the fat while fasting. IMO fasting is good for you once in a while. The paranoia about eating too little and hanging onto weight here is kinda ridiculous.

If you are really starving YOU WILL KNOW IT! You will be weak, tired, feel like crap, get cold easy, and you'll want to eat. Just fasting or eating less especially with a sedentary life style is no big deal at all. If you starved for months then ya you might have a problem. You will not be able to function!

I can probably safely say no one here has truly starved. Do you see fat starving children in 3rd world countries? It's a myth guys. You have to literally starve for weeks or months to go into starvation mode, and you are starving away muscle and fat. not holding onto it 99.9% of plateaus in my opinion are from people slacking or not counting their calories properly.

Proof: http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html

It's probably already been said but, starvation mode = myth, but eating too little is bad because you will not get enough fuel and nutrients. Just eating low for a few days or weeks will not do this.

amobilly_10

wow...that made me scared lols.....yes maam totally would eat the calories...hehehe thank you