Is 1000 calories REALLY too little?

Alice1450

I am working with a dietician in a clinic and am on a 900 cal a day diet with a minimum of 70 carbs but no more than 90. I have 4 oz of protein at lunch and at dinner. I am 5'8" and weigh 225. Obviously, I am losing. This will continue for 13 weeks or so. I am just a little worried that if I don' t hit the gym hard, I may be a sagging mess. Any advice?

nfgchick79

I'm 5'0". I started losing on 1200+ exercise calories (after a brief stint not eating them back). Then I upped it to 1500 and continued to lose. I went from 134 to 106. OP just because you're short does not mean you have to eat a ton less than taller people.

now_or_never13

Work out your TDEE. I woulde imagine your deficit is a lot higher than 500 cals most days.

1000 calories is not enough... unless you want to lose muscle mass.

CRMstar

I'm small like you. I am 5'1 and currently 113 pounds down from 120. I find that when I would eat low like that all the time (8-1100) calories, I would eventually feel weak. The weight I would lose wouldn't seem like fat, and when I finally started to eat more, I would gain my weight back (and still look the same). Now, I have been aiming at 1200-1400 (except on days I cheat, which are rare). I have lost my 7 pounds and it looks much more like I've lost fat than before in a lower calorie diet. Now, sometimes I do go under (maybe I eat 1100 or so) if I am just busy, etc. I feel like I can keep going and keep my muscle when I eat more. The weight loss on the scale is slower, but I look better and firmer. Everyone is different, though. I would get dizzy after a while or light headed when I stood, so I would just eat more and fall of the wagon. You just don't want your body to eat its muscle as well as fat, or you'll just be skinny-fat (like me!). It is not fun.

zhvah18

I'm 5'3" and I eat more than that, and I've dropped 67lbs in total. 35lbs before MFP and 32lbs with MFP.

Same here. I'm 5'1" and I've lost a total of 57 lbs eating anywhere from 1500 to 1600. Oh and I now weigh 116.

RunDoozer

What is a clean eater? I am interested.

It means you wash your food before you eat it.

RunDoozer

At 5'1" & 115lbs, my bmr is ~1390, so 1000 probably is too little for you no matter your weight.
Calculate your bmr & you should have AT LEAST that every day since it's the amount you'd need if you laid still all day.
1000 calories isn't enough for your body to just function & even if you don't have any ill effects now, it's not good for you in the long run.
Take care & stay healthy! xx

This is a great reply!

this

Nutella91

yes, REALLY.

FloraSin

I was under the impression that the minimum calorie recommendation was because you needed to have a certain amount for your body to do those silly little things, like heart beat and stuff.

I just don't know where I heard/read that...

Anyway, I know I could never do it. I'm also approximately 6 feet tall though so we're obviously quite different.

I'd say ask your doctor. Just to be safe.

TheFitHooker

I eat 1200, MFP puts me at 1200 though. I'm 5'1.5 and some days I have a hard time with 1200. But I'm also a firm believer that everyone is different.

birdiecs

Im short 5'2.5 and old, well oldish (42yr). I couldn't do 1000, I can't even do 1200. It just isnt enough food for me and my body refuses to lose when my calories drop too low. So I eat at TDEE minus a moderate deficit and that is working for me.

It's ultimately your body and if it feels sustainable to you then nothing anyone says will change your mind. I just know for me it would not work and inevitably I would gain back the weight.

Sparlingo

5'0" and on maternity leave at home all day with my daughter ... Been losing just fine with a net calorie goal of 1300.

neandermagnon

1000 calories a day is probably not too little for my 3 year old.

I'm short, 5'1" and I lose weight on 1500 cals/day, probably also would on 1600 cals/day... it's possible that I'm still losing at my current calorie goal of 1850 cals/day (very slowly if I am.... I'm currently testing it, because I want to find out exactly where my maintenance calories are...)

Robin_Bin

Yes, it's too little.
As always there are exceptions... like medically supervised diets with nutritionists and regular testing.
Too little makes it more likely you'll have problems sticking to it for the long-run (instead of yo-yo dieting), binges, craving and health and cosmetic issues -- early symptoms are hair falling out, brittle nails, acne and old looking skin.

ETA (edited to add):
Your profile indicates you're losing weight for health. So 1,000 calories would not get you to goal. Exercise and movement is necessary for a truly healthy body. And with exercise, you would need more than just 1,000 calories/day to get sufficient energy and nutrition.
However, it sounds like you are talking about 1,000 net after exercise. That's different... make sure you are eating a varied and nutritious diet. Depending on your size, it's possible that you could occasionally go below 1,200 net calories and get sufficient nutrition. Keep in mind that there are also measurement errors -- in food calorie counts, in your estimates, in MFP and other estimates of the calories you need. So generally within 10% (as long as it's not always error in the same direction) is probably ok. (To the poster who said there isn't much difference in 200 calories... at this level there is. 1,200 is 20% higher than 1,000 or 1/5 as much again, put another way, it's almost 1/2 pound per week.)

Robin_Bin

The ultimate goal of all of us being here is to lose weight the right way.

No, jocemorg. Some people are here to gain weight; some to build muscle; some to track specific nutrients or things like sodium. We are not all here for an ultimate goal of losing weight... even the "right" way. That said, you are correct that it's much better and fits the OP's stated goal of being healthier to lose in a healthy, non-extreme way.

puddlewater

I'm 5'1 114lbs and I notice the days I eat healthy and filling food I hardly go over 1000 calories too. I also don't really know if it's too little but I often have days I'll eat some more junky things and hit 1,300 so I feel fine with staying a little low somedays. I don't really do a lot of exercise either.

amblight

For you, it's not really the calorie deficit that will be the issue at all, since you say it's only 500 deficit.

What can be an issue, though, is micronutrients. If someone eat 2000cal, it is likely they will get their nutrients pretty much covered without paying too close attention (not talking a junk food diet, but just, a normal, not particulary focused on health diet) - If you cut the food intake in half, it would need to be double as nutrient dense, which can be difficult! So I would adivce you to make sure that you are using your 1000calories on something very nutrient dense.

You might want to really focus on nutrients that a lot of people lack (Like calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, C and E, Potassium etc.), and pay special attention to fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid especially), since a lot of people cut out a lot of fat to get down to low cal. If you are cutting down on meat, you should probably also watch your amino acids (especially valine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, and lysine). If you cut down on carbs, make sure to still eat enough of those with lots of fiber in them.

If you look up dietary sources for those things, and make sure to incorporate them in your diet, you could probably get as many nutrients as the 2000 not-really-focused-on-nutrients-person, and deffinitely get as much and more than the one who lives of the same meal of junk food day after day

ottermotorcycle

You're 20 years old, so no, you cannot eat 1000 net calories a day. No.

susie3g

just following...

TeaBea

I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me. I think that a lot of days I would have to force myself to eat the extra calories to make it to 1200--and not in a healthy way. I may try upping to 1200 for a few weeks and see if I''m still losing/losing more/staying steady/gaining.

I'll see if I can make an appointment with a dietician here on campus and see what he/she says.

If you have to "force" yourself to eat up to 1200 calories.......you aren't eating in a healthy way.

Think of you protein goal as a minimum......fat is an important macro.....add some nuts (nut butters) here, roast veggies in olive oil, use full fat salad dressing......it's not difficult at all to come up to 1200 calories.

Losing weight too quickly will have you losing fat+muscle.....as opposed to mostly fat.....your choice though.

mschicagocubs

You will lose weight for a bit. But I do not think you will drop 25 lbs eating that little. Initially you will because anyone would eating a low calorie amount for a few weeks when they arent used to it.

Eat more and see how you lose ... if you dont after a few weeks ... resort back. But I would try to eat more than that for health reasons.

neandermagnon

5'1" and I lose on 1800 cals/day without doing cardio. I have a high lean body mass for my height, but by my calculations that only gives me 100 or so extra calories compared to someone of my height with an average amount of LBM.....

yes short people need fewer calories than taller people, but not that much fewer. No need to drop your calories so low. Also, if you only have 25lb to lose, you'll do better with a smaller deficit anyway. And if you need to go below 1200 cals/day to get a deficit, maybe you need to think about getting a deficit through being more active, rather than eating less. Being sedentary is a health risk. Everyone goes on about the health risks of having too much body fat, but that's just one factor of many, and being thin does not automatically make you healthy. Bone density, lean body mass, having a healthy cardio-vascular system, strength, flexibility and being properly fed are all major factors as well. Sacrificing any of those to lose excess body fat is just trading one health risk for another. Aim to be fit, strong, healthy and properly nourished. With a sensible calorie deficit and being active you can achieve all that and get rid of excess fat as well.