800-1000 calorie diet?

jcummings69 · February 2009

Hello,

I was a member for four months last year in which I only lost 10 lbs, 7 of which were in the first week. I maintained 1200 calories, and worked out about 5 days a week (eating the calories I burned according to my HR monitor). After months of not losing, I gave up. Now, I am 10 lbs heavier than when I started the last time!

Yesterday I had my first appointment at a weight loss clinic. They put me on a 800-1000 calorie diet in which I DO NOT eat extra calories if I work out. They also gave me a prescription for something (can't remember the name) that helps control hunger.

Has anyone tried this? I'm concerned because everything I read on here previously told me not to eat less than 1200 and to always eat extra if you work out. I'm going to try it regardless, as that is what I was told to do by the clinic, I am just curious if anyone here has seen results this way.

jcummings69 · February 2009

Hello,

I was a member for four months last year in which I only lost 10 lbs, 7 of which were in the first week. I maintained 1200 calories, and worked out about 5 days a week (eating the calories I burned according to my HR monitor). After months of not losing, I gave up. Now, I am 10 lbs heavier than when I started the last time!

Yesterday I had my first appointment at a weight loss clinic. They put me on a 800-1000 calorie diet in which I DO NOT eat extra calories if I work out. They also gave me a prescription for something (can't remember the name) that helps control hunger.

Has anyone tried this? I'm concerned because everything I read on here previously told me not to eat less than 1200 and to always eat extra if you work out. I'm going to try it regardless, as that is what I was told to do by the clinic, I am just curious if anyone here has seen results this way.

RKJR925 · February 2009

Was the prescription called Phentermine or Adipex? It works but you can only take it for 12 weeks before going one month without it. Many people struggle with maintenance once they stop taking it.

Are you sure the 800-1000 calories doesnt exclude protein calories. There is a diet plan out there in which you eat 800 calories per day but you exclude any protein calories.

Example you ate 1200 actual calories and you have 100 grams of protein in that 1200 calories yeilding 800 non protein calories.

jdelisle · February 2009

Wow that is low! I don't know what to say as a medical professional told you this.

When I went and saw my dietician she said that 1200 calories was far too few even to lose weight?

If I were you I would seek a second opinion, stat.

Fuhgetaboutit · February 2009

I've tried many-a-diet since I had my weight gain (newbie on fitnesspal), and all diets say to eat *atleast* a portion of what your body burns when exercising... I think it makes sense so your body doesnt go into a panic mode... but I mean if a specialist is telling you not to, try it out and see what happens. Everyone's body works differently, so it's hard to have one plan that molds to all body reactions.

rdhd88 · February 2009

You'll see results I'm sure but will you be losing muscle & not fat? Will the weight stay off? When you go off this diet will you gain it back? Ask these questions at the clinic

firewalking · February 2009

I have tried this. I hesitate to tell you how it turned out at the risk of discouraging you, but I suppose that by you seeing I am in this site trying to lose weight should tell you how it turned out. My results were temporary, my metabolism suffered a great deal and it took me better than four months to get it back to normal.

The pills damage your heart and 800-1000 calories starves your body. Not only will you damage your metabolism, but any weight you lose will be doubled once you begin eating regular meals. I have given you a great article (see below) and I hope you read it. The truth is, you do not need the pills, but you do need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories per day to be healthy. Good luck and I hope you change your mind. The people at the clinic should be ashamed of themselves.

Living With Obesity At 700 Calories Per Day!
By: David Greenwalt

I want you to consider a common female client. She's a woman about 5'5" and 185 pounds. A combination of a mostly sedentary lifestyle, quick-fix, processed foods and consistent excessively low calories has resulted in an incredibly stubborn fat loss scenario. Not only has it created a stubborn fat loss scenario but her ability to add body fat is remarkably strong.

Most would believe there is simply no possible way she could be 185 pounds eating mostly low calories. While it's true the average obese American created their own obesity by being a huge over consumer, a sedentary glutton if you will, many are able to maintain their level of obesity with the following formula in very precise ratios: starvation + binges + sedentary lifestyle.

An initial review of this woman's calories indicates she is just above starvation level in the 400-700 per day range. The food choices are mostly protein in this case (low-carb is all the rage you know) and there are virtually no vegetables or fruits to speak of.

Five or six days per week the calories remain low in this range, however, there are nighttime binges from time to time and weekend binges where carbs loaded with fat (doughnuts, rolls, cookies, pizza etc.) are consumed.

So while the calories are very low the majority of the time, there are one to two days per week where this isn't always the case. Even so, the nighttime binges and weekend slack offs don't amount to what you might presume would be thousands of extra calories, thus explaining the 185-pound body weight.

Very few foods are prepared from home. There are lots of fast foods being consumed. Convenience and taste rule.

I must say. Early on in my coaching and teaching career this woman was a real head scratcher for me. Isn't it calories in and calories out? Even if she's not active she's starving!

How in the heck does she stay at 185 eating an average, including all binges, of maybe 750 calories per day? She's frustrated beyond belief. She sees her friends and coworkers eating more and weighing less. Is she simply unlucky? Is everyone else blessed? And what in the world is she supposed to do to fix this, if it can be fixed?

Why Is She Not Losing Weight?

First, let me tell you why she's not losing weight. Then I'll tell you what she has to do to fix the situation. With a chronic (months and months) intake of less than 1000 calories per day and a 185-pound body weight her metabolism is suffering greatly. It's running cool, not hot. It's basically running at a snail's pace.

Think of it this way. Her metabolism has matched itself to her intake. She could, indeed, lose body fat but she's in that gray area where she is eating too few calories but not quite at the concentration-camp level yet.

If she were to consume 100-300 calories per day her body would have virtually no choice but to begin liberating stored body fat. This is NOT the solution. It's unhealthy and, in fact, quite stupid.

The Practical Way To Lose Fat!
Today's society is about speed. We no longer have to wait for the oven to warm our food because we have microwaves ready to do the work in less time. The same is not true when it comes to fat loss.
[ Click here to learn more. ]

Not only has her metabolism matched her intake, her body has maximized production of enzymes that are designed to help store any additional calories as fat. Anytime additional, immediately-unnecessary calories are consumed the enzymes are there and waiting to store the additional calories as fat. Her body is starved nutritionally and it has one thing on its mind - survival.

Being mostly sedentary, her metabolism (hormones play a large role here) can do a pretty good job of keeping things slow enough so that the pathetically low calories she's consuming are just enough to maintain.

But since certain enzymes are elevated, waiting for more calories so more bodyfat can be stored, every nighttime binge or weekend mini-feast will contribute to fat stores.

So on the days she's not bingeing her body does not lose fat, or if it does, it's very little. And on the few days or times she does binge a bit her body is quite efficient at storing fat. So, while she may lose a smidge of fat from starving it is quickly replaced with every binge.

Remember, these binges aren't a gluttonous 4000-calorie feast. Oh no, a binge might be 4-5 cookies worth about 500-700 calories. Nevertheless, since the binge foods are mostly carbs and fat it's very easy for the enzymes to shuttle the dietary fat into stored body fat. It's what they were designed to do.

So, What's The Solution?

Well then, now that we presumably know some valid reasons why she's not seeing a scale change and definitely no body fat change how do we fix her? We have to do something she's going to freak out over.

We have to get her eating more. Not only do we have to get her eating more but more of the right, whole foods need to be eaten. Foods lower in fat that aren't as easily STORED as body fat have to be consumed. And we have to warn her.

A Discouraging Start

We have to warn her that since she's been sedentarily living on protein with binges of carbs and fats she is likely to see a weight gain right away. It's true.
Once we begin really feeding her body with nutritious carbohydrates so she can become more active, her glycogen-depleted body will hang on to some of those carbohydrates (in skeletal muscle and liver) so she has stored energy for activity.

When her body hangs on to those carbohydrates it has no choice but to hang on to more water too. For every gram of glycogen (stored carbs) she stores she'll hang on to three grams of water.

This is not a negative response by the body but it will be interpreted by her as quite negative when she steps on the scale.

It's quite likely she'll see a five to seven pound weight gain when she really starts eating properly again. This weight gain will remain for one to three weeks before it starts moving in the other direction.

For argument's sake let's assume my Calorie Calculator and Goal Setter at Club Lifestyle suggests a 1500-calorie per day average in week one for a one-pound loss per week. First, she is going to freak out about this many calories.

For months she's been eating less than 1000 and usually around 400-700 in one to three feedings total per day. To her 1500 calories is a ton of food. And if she even begins to eat less fast and packaged-foods it will be a ton of food.

There is no doubt whatsoever that she will resist the increase. This resistance may take one to three weeks to overcome. During this period no weight loss will occur. She is too fat already in her mind and believes it will only hurt her to increase her food intake.

I mean, after all, isn't that how she got fat to begin with? In her early stages of fat gain this was probably true. She overconsumed. But as I've said already, that's not why she's staying heavy.

In addition to a freaked-out mindset about adding more food to her already overfat body she will simply find that it's all but impossible to eat four or more times per day.

She's just not hungry at first. Makes sense when you think about it. Why would she be hungry three hours after eating a 300-calorie, balanced breakfast? Her body is used to 400-700 calories per day!

So, even though she gets a plan and begins using my nutrition analyzer to log foods and meals she finds after having a balanced breakfast of 250 calories she couldn't force herself to eat meal number two on time.

It'll take several more days of realizing what is going on and being one-hundred percent honest and diligent with her logging and planning before she begins to eat her meals as planned no matter what - even if she's not hungry.

By now two to four weeks have passed and the only thing she's seen on the scale is it going up--not very encouraging if I say so myself.

Raising The Grade

After the first two to four weeks have passed she's probably beginning to consume her meals as planned although not quite like an "A" student yet. That is coming. She feels better because she's working out and is more active.
And she feels like she has more energy throughout the day because she's feeding her body more calories and the right kinds of calories.

She has finally begun eating the right kinds of fast foods (low in fat, moderate in protein) and less packaged food overall. She is making more meals from home and taking them to work for lunch rather than always grabbing something quick from a vending machine or the break room that always has some treat another employee brought in.

After another two weeks or so she's moved from a "B" grade to more consistent "A"s. She's planning her days one day ahead in the Nutrition Analyzer; she's consuming fresh veggies and fruits on a daily basis.

Her calories are almost ALWAYS in line with what is recommended by my Lean Account and she has seen her first signs of the scale moving in the right direction.

She is now dropping from 190 pounds (her high after reintroducing food and carbohydrates again) to 189.3! "Progress at last!" she says. In actuality, the entire process was progress. But that's not how she saw it in the beginning.

With a total of two to four weeks of increased caloric intake behind her and eating more consistently the right kinds of foods her metabolism has truly begun to rebound.

She didn't kill it as she thought. She only wounded it. And since our metabolisms are like kids (they are quite resilient) and she doesn't have thyroid issues or diabetes or any known wrench that could be thrown into the spokes of fat loss, she will begin, for the first time in months or years, to see results that make sense and that one would expect of someone who is active (30-60 minutes five or more days per week) and consuming a caloric intake of 1300-1500 calories per day.

Butterfly Effect: The Basics Of The Thyroid - Part 1.
Avoiding Sabotage

This process is in no way easy. I think you can see a plethora of ways it could be screwed up, sabotaged, given up on too early and so forth.
A key to success for this very common woman (men too) is not giving up too soon, having faith in the fix, and moving sooner rather than later to the increased, quality food intake.

It's going to take effort to overcome the mental hurdles of eating more food as well as the increase in scale weight that is going to occur in weeks one to three or so. It's disheartening, however, to charge hard down the weight-loss field only to get to the one-yard line and decide it's time to quit.

Don't Let Your Metabolism Fall.
These are the top ten ways you can boost your metabolism and keep it high - even through Fall.
[ Click here to learn more. ]

Many don't realize they only had one more yard to go and they'd have had a touchdown. You gotta hang in there with this plan. It's going to take some time for the glycogen levels to be replenished and level out. It's going to take some time for mental adjustments to occur.
It's going to take some time before hunger signals are restored to anything close to normal. It's going to take time for the metabolism to rebound and not be in its protective mode.

Giving A Stubborn Body The Message

In certain, very stubborn cases, it may be necessary to eat at a eucaloric (maintenance) or hypercaloric (over maintenance) level for a few weeks to ensure the metabolism does get the signal that everything is alright and you aren't going to kill the body.
Remember, your body could care less about your desire for fat loss. It just wants to survive.

Some Take-Home Points

The most common cause of obesity is Americans are sedentary overeaters/drinkers. Nothing in this article should be construed as to say that under eating is the root cause of obesity. It's not.

It IS common for many men and women to be under eating with sporadic binges as I described here. This creates a perfect environment for continued obesity even if total caloric intake is quite low on average.

Low-carb followers or "starvers" WILL see the scale go up when calories are consumed at reasonable levels again and carbohydrates are reintroduced. Live with it. Deal with it. It's going to happen. 98% of the gain will be water.

The time it takes for mental acceptance and other adjustments to occur will vary but one should expect a two to four week window for these things to take place. Being forewarned with an article like this may speed this process up some.

Once the right types of foods are consumed and the right caloric intake is consumed and the right ratios of carbohydrates, proteins and fats are consumed on a consistent basis, then, and only then, will metabolism begin to be restored and the key to fat loss be inserted into the lock with a noticeable drop in the scale resulting.
This may take an additional two to four weeks to occur. Your metabolism is never dead or broken for good. But it may take several weeks of proper eating and activity for it to be restored.

From day one, until the first, noticeable drop in the scale occurs may be four to six weeks--maybe one to two weeks longer. Those who give up on the one-yard line will never see the scale drop as will occur when intelligent persistence and consistency over time are adhered to.
David Greenwalt

Dave198lbs · February 2009

well, if they gave youa prescription then you were examined by a Doctor? what does she/he say?

curious...how much is this clinic costing? I understand if you rather not say

800 PLUS protein is where most of us are at so that part seems ok IF you eat the protein

SHBoss1673 · February 2009

So I know you're 24 years old, but how tall are you? That diet sounds pretty extreme to me. Did they give you any fact based (I.E. clinical studies and sound theory) reasons to be at that extreme low calorie deficit. There are only 3 reasons why I can see this diet being necessary.
1) you are extremely short and of a slight build. If you are say around 4' 10" then I could see 800 to 100 calories (although still can't see not eating the exercise calories)
2) Your metabolism was measured by a doctor and you were deemed to have an underactive metabolism.
3) you are morbidly obese (I.E. BMI of over 35), and even then, doctors tend to use VLC (Very Low Calorie) diets with close observation and for short periods just to get people out of immenant danger of heart failure.

If you aren't in one of these categories, I would be very skeptical of their reasoning. Just my humble opinion, but when ever I hear something like this I tend to question the reasoning behind it. Especially when they perscribe drugs.

MyaPapaya75 · February 2009

My Physician has me on a 1000 calorie diet BUT thats only because I have fatty liver *non alcoholic*.. I stick to 1200 though.....I personally wouldnt take any drugs ...and I wouldnt go under 1200 calories

nitag · February 2009

I did a clinic diet in 1995 - 1996 where I went in daily and got shots and took Phentermine.. It worked I lost 80 lbs in 6 months.. Low carb high protein and tons of water.. I have slowly gained all that back :mad: - People asked how I did it and I pretty said I didn't eat.. I felt like that for 6 months.. and it cost me $4000- Now I want to do this the right way so I can keep this off and learn the right tools to live a healthy life..

You have to do what is best for you and what your okay with.. We can all offer advise but in the long run it's up to you...

Anita

jcummings69 · February 2009

It's actually Phendimetrazine, which is apparently a weaker form of Phentemine, as I was concerned about getting jittery and such. And no, the 800-1000 includes protein calories.

To answer some of the other questions:

-I am 5'2
-I saw a PA who said that 800 calories was the key number to keep my body from going into starvation
-The initial visit cost $159, which included the pills and a B12 shot. I believe you go once a month at $100/month including pills.

I am skeptical, as I am sure most of you are. However, I TRIED the 1200 calorie diet, I TRIED doing it the "right" way and did not see any results. At the time I raised my concerns with my doctor, who just said I must have not been counting everything, but trust me I did. So I gave up, and ended up gaining 20 lbs. Now I'm at the point where I can't emotionally handle doing it the right way without seeing results.

12by311 · February 2009

I did the whole restrictive calorie thing for a while...sometimes even lower...

I feel like I am still suffering the damage to my metabolism even now!

Be careful :flowerforyou:

arewethereyet · February 2009

A family friend and I decided to lose weight in June.
She with a pill and less than 1000 cals a day, no exercise

Me with MFP. Changing my diet, changing my thoughts on exercise and slowly changing my life.

We met up in August and I had lost 10 pounds or so. She had lost over 20 and looked 'saggy' for lack of a better word. She bragged about dropping the weight like nothing, I remained quiet.

She lost 40 pounds, I have lost 28 thus far.

She has spent time in a cardiologist, my doctor loves my new self.
she is on heart medicine, while I am off all of my cholesteral and other meds.

We are the same age and you can see the difference. If you go on a highly restrictive diet you WILL lose weight. If you take a pill you WILL lose weight.

But at what cost?

mommyof2kiddos · February 2009

I agree with what some the others said. While I'm not a health professional, it seems really low and potentially unhealthy to me. If you decide to do it, just be careful and watch closely for "side-effects" of a diet that restrictive.

Fitness_Chick · February 2009

Weightloss clinic as in a Dr. approved office setting? Or like a weightloss place like those Optifast type places that used to be around?

Sorry I just caught this thread and haven't read through it if you'vd already responded to this type of question....

kimber607 · February 2009

Hi

I can imagine you must feel frustrated etc
A few years back I went to a 'Dr.' and was prescribed phent...worked great and I lost weight w/ out even thinking twice
The problem is once you stop the pills the weight comes back and more
I think eating any less than 1200 cals a day is just INSANE....

Good luck..Kim

Fitness_Chick · February 2009

This sounds more like a weighloss place than a Doctors office since you have to pay monthly, I would be skeptical too as you shared you are. I think if something sounds to good to be true, it usually is.

If you lose weight quickly and do the drug route, you will most likely be doing it over and over again several times as the weight normally comes right back on after the pills are dropped and the body doesn't get enough nutrients it will hang onto weight once you begin to eat more.

Sounds scary....please be careful! Perhaps the 1200 you did on here was not enough cals for your body? So they want you to eat around 800 cals and not eat back any of your workout cals??? So I usually burn around 1000-1300 per workout, so if I did this I would be in pretty sad shape, my workouts couldn't even be done with no fuel.

Seems a person really couldn't workout at that low of cals...I could never do strength training if I didn't have enough fuel in me...I couldn't begin to lift the weights.

Do you mind if I ask what the hurry is on the weighloss? I mean I did see you share you can't emotionally handle it doing it the right way and not seeing results. But if done the proper way folks on here DO SEE RESULTS....

Well, I hope you take some time to reconsider... I know eons back when I did all the shake stuff, the low cal stuff the pills, all the weight plus more came right back. Talk about not being able to handle it emotionally. ACK Depressing!:noway: :ohwell:

not anymore though since being here:flowerforyou: :bigsmile:
FC

Fitness_Chick · February 2009

one last thought, perhaps a 2nd or 3rd opinion from other Drs that don't deal with the pills...there are many out there that don't care for that approach. Did you go asking for diet pills or they suggested them?

crystal_sapphire · February 2009

was this with bernstein diet centres? I personally know someone who's done this exact plan you've outlined and has now maintained for a year +. I don't support the idea becuse she looked really ill to be honest, but she looks better now that she is on the maintenance stage and can eat carbohydrates again.

AmyNVegas · February 2009

The problem with this plan is you will set your metabolism at 800 calories. You may lose but when you resume eating above that your body will pack back on the pounds. What you need to ask yourself is can you go through your entire life only eating 800- 1000 calories a day to keep it off because anything over that will cause you to gain.

jcummings69 · February 2009

Well they said 800 minimum, 1000 max...but I definitely plan on eating more on the days I work out. I usually burn about 500 per workout, so I'll probably eat 200 or 300 more.

I'm not in a huge hurry, but I can't handle going months without results again. Before I quit the first time I actually tried upping my calories to 1350 for a couple weeks with no luck.

jcummings69 · February 2009

No, the place is called scale-solutions. They didn't put any restrictions on carbs either, just calories. There website it www.scale-solutions.com

jcummings69 · February 2009

jcummings69 · February 2009

How is that any different than eating 1200 calories? Wouldn't your body adjust to that amount as well? I definitely plan on eating at least 1000 because I definitely think 800 is too extreme, but on this plan I am supposed to lose 2 lbs a week....isn't that a healthy goal?

sassiebritches · February 2009

They had me on 800 cals on phentermine also.....I did 3 months off 1 month on 3 months off 1 month for 8 months and lost a ton of weight......I gained that all back and more within a year because it is just not real to eat 800 cals a day......so then I tried to go back and phentermine didn't work anymore and made me sick to my stomach, really really fatigued, scatter brained and my mouth was SOOOOO dry.....so decided drugs was not gonna work for me...........

Be careful not to resort to old habits when you are off the meds......

mrsyac2 · February 2009

I have heard of scale-solutions- We have them here too. My friend went there and dropped weight and has been off the pill for months and hasn't gained a lb back - They put her at 1000 calories a day as well.

But may I suggest instead of paying monthly if you have health insurance to see your Primary Care Physician because then they can perscribe it for you at a lower cost.

I asked my Dr for something to help me kick my weightloss into gear because I have been trying to lose the same 20lbs for a long long long time regardless of working out and eating right so she set me up for 1 month I only paid $29.00- She even said that you can't just rely on the pill to work because you need to change your eating and workout as well or when the pills stop the weight can come back and bring friends.

Also your body will get used to those pills they wont work for too long so while you are on it make sure you are doing what your supposed to do as far as eating right and exercise. and eat something even though you don't feel hungry because they are an appetite suppresant which kind of shuts off the "Im hungry switch in your brain"Just some advice

kstringer380 · April 2014

I took phentermine but after you stop taking it the weight comes back

sarafischbach9 · April 2014

That seems a little low. Even 1200 seems low for your exercise ( that you did last year ). I'm not sure what to tell you, but I would get a second opinion. I don't think a dietitian would tell you this, or at least I'd hope not. Only morbidly obese people are put on 800-1000 calorie diets and are medically supervised.

DrJenO · April 2014

Holy necro, Batman!

Unknown · April 2014

This content has been removed.

800-1000 calorie diet?

Replies

Categories