Helping my friend?

daisydog101

I have a friend whose is on a 300 calorie diet and has been for nearly a month, She's lost about 10kg but I'm worried its been too fast! Not to mention not eating anything!

Is there anyway I can convince her that she should slow down the loss? She's aiming to be under 50kg and is around 5'3

Pebble321

I would try to get her some professinal help. That is really dangerous and if she keeps it up for much longer she will get seriously ill.
Look up Anorexia support organisations in your area and call them to ask for advice.

cheeksv

Yeah she can't keep the loss for long. As soon as she starts eating again she will gain it back, and then she might try fasting again. I personally was on a 300 calorie diet in HS. I honestly didn't KNOW that it was bad for me. I was sick and always tired. Do some research and give her some reading material on the subject. She might not be aware of the side affects or that there is a healthier way. If she is aware and still wants to proceed, then you might want to talk to someone about it.

Also try to lead by example as often as possible. If she sees you loosing and still eating she might change her mind. Try to get her involved in your program, maybe that will give her a better insight?

Abbey70

I read somewhere not too long ago that losing more than 2 lbs a week can cause gall bladder problems. I don't know if this is true but I know that I was taking the HCG drops and only eating 500 calories a day and now I have gall bladder problems and know a couple others with the same issue. Coincidence? I don't know.
Also when I was in my early 20's I used to only eat once a day and sometimes didn't eat at all. I pay the price for it now cause it messes up your metabolism and so now I have a very slow metabolism and on top of that, the older you get the harder it is to lose the weight.

RAFValentina

The biggest problem here for her is not so much the energy deficit, but that a 300kCal diet is never going to be able to nutritionally support her with enough protein, vitamins, minerals etc... the thing is, she's probably very mentally fragile and insecure if she feels she has to go to that extreme...

Approach her with caution and sensitivity with a well thought out battle plan, evidence and suggestions to help her lose weight healthily... There is no point in her losing weight fast to the detriment of her health...if she's too weak she'll get ill or end up gaining weight from not being able to move / exercise and being taken in to hospital, and inevitable, force fed.

paulyarwooduk

So what will your friend do once she has reached her target? What then? Go back to her normal habits? If she does the weight will quickly follow. Thing is eating less than 1200 calories (according to MFP) puts your body into starvation mode meaning it will cling onto everything you consume...fat and all. She would be better sticking to 1200 calories a day and getting her backside to the gym. It's something then that she can keep to in the longer term and keep the weight off. Nothing comes for free you have to work for it. Perhaps you could get advice from your Doctor before you approach her?

rochey1098

300 calories? :noway: That's borderline starving yourself... surely she'll just put it back on again when she stops eating like that

hazelnut861

Just want to add to all the wonderful suggestions.... have you suggested mfp to her? Maybe inviting her to work out with you but she has to eat the calories back? What about showing her the thread on her with all the women eating 2000+ calories a day and they look great.

claire_xox

I'm 5"3 and went from 62kg to 47kg in about 8 weeks on 900 cals a day. It causes health and mental problems trust me! since doing that I've been fixing myself up anyway point is she needs some intervention , but 300 cals a day will probably be hard for her to keep up, so fingers crossed that makes her give up on the idea

Crystler

Hello hun, I went through the same as her. I only ate like 130 calories a day during my last few months. I lost 15 kilos in only 3-4 months. I just ate spagetti two minute noodles, sometimes fish Tea with lots of milk and sugar. But nothing more than that. My parents noticed everytime I don't eat anything I'd probably start crying because I just don't like people calling me fat. in the end of the year I was 60 kilos, a size 34. My family as you know, knew I didn't eat much in the mornings and afternoon. So they gave me a type of drink. I then had to gain soem weight. I weighed 64 kilos then. After three years I gained 22 kilos since then. It's not very beautiful to gain this much weight. Tell her if she starts eating alot again, she'll gain alot more weigh then before. Plus she's going to go through alot. Believe me!!!! 130-300 calories isn't enough. I did it, and I hated myself for it. So tell her that people have tried it and died from eating less than 900-1000... Tell her se mustn't get sick! It's aweful!

daisydog101

I showed her my mfp diary and she said thats all she eats in a week (1400cals)
I don't want to lecture her or anything. Anytime I've brought it up she just says this is the way it works for her.
I've lost 4kg in the time she's lost about 10kg so hard to convince her to try doing it any other way!