PEOPLE...EAT!!!

mcarter99

My main concern about eating so little (other than the health issues) is what happens when you go to maintenance? If you stay so low for so long, don't you think you will have a hard time eating a proper maintenace level? Eating so little is definitely going to affect your metabolism. How long term will that be? I don't have the answers to this, but I think the question bears asking.

What health issues are there at 1200/day? Not forum myths, actual documented health issues? There is a lot of support for low calorie diets being very good for you. They're linked to increased longevity.

When you go to maintenance you eat at a maintenance level. Why would that be hard? Your metabolism isn't harmed, which is why pretty much every respected diet plan allows people to eat at that level. You burn a little less while at a deficit but it's slight and temporary. You lose some lean body mass but it's unavoidable with weight loss and you can build it back.

surromom2010

When they burn out they can increase their intake. I was on 1200 for about 8 months, lost 17lbs and then plateaued. Upped my calories by a couple hundred and now I'm losing again. Never felt dizzy or lacked energy. 1200 is pretty decent to live on if you eat the right things and have a desk job where the only exercise you get is actual EXERCISE. netting 600 a day, maybe not, but everyone is different. Just because you can't live on it doesn't mean someone else can't and you can't call every instance crash dieting. It Varies.

yarwell

Eating so little is definitely going to affect your metabolism. How long term will that be?

Your metabolism slows down with weight loss, for sure. There may be a couple of hundred extra slow down due to reduced food intake or increased exercise. I don't see any reduction lasting more than a few months once refeeding, but even if it does it is only a modest amount to take into account.

meliann07

I don't see how people can eat so little and still function either. I remember when I was younger and only ate a certain amount of calories, way below the amount I was supposed to, I felt faint and I could not function as well.

UrbanRunner81

I don't know why people wouldn't be excited to eat and still lose weight. You don't have to suffer. I eat plenty and even have treats. I feel great and lose weight. Win win!

Jscanland

bingo, my dietician told me yesterday that my metabolism test came in, and I have very low met. so I have to eat all my veggies etc...or my metabolism will put everything into fat and I will go into a deep deep sleep (which may not be bad at 50!).....ha ha. Remember you are only as strong as the nutrients that you put into your body, and strong is lean and mean. if you are sleepy and tired and grouchy,,,,,life is not good.

cmccorma

It seams like every post I've ready today about someone being dizzy, not feeling good, not losing weight, not having energy, etc is because they are eating less than 1,200 net calories. If your goal is 1,300 calories (which I would die on by the way) and you burn 700 calories through exercise that means you really only at 600 calories for the day! Your body can not function on that!

You would only "really be only at 600 calories for the day" if you had no excess weight to lose and/or your body could not use yesterday's calories to fuel today's activities.

Not everyone here is starving and stupid.

95% of dieters re-gain so even if you spend 2 years losing 20 lbs. don't feel totally immune. Most dieters are not 'crash dieters'. 1200/day is not a 'crash diet', despite how uncomfortable some may be at it.

I haven't read the posts about people being dizzy, etc. What I've read all morning is the poor people so confused over whether they're supposed to listen to MFP, eat more, eat less, net this, gross that. Because the diet plan here is too complex and the forum is so full of misinformation like EAT MORE, starvation mode, your body is a car that needs filled up daily, you'll wreck your metabolism, you have to 'eat back', etc.

This. I am barely 5'2", eat 1,200, have all my hair, normal energy, have lost slow and steady, and have normal blood sugar and blood pressure again. Both of which my doctor is very happy about. Do what works for you and leave others alone.

Tashmayes

i eat under 1200 almost every day walk 5 miles almost every morning not to mention a job where i walk , lift . climb ladders for 8-10 hrs a day not to mention swim when i can at least 3 days aweek and i have lost 20 lbs have the energy level of a 2 yr old and now find that i need way less sleep than before

You will either burn out, get injured from not feeding your body enough to repair the muscles that are being used all day, or you will gain it all back. Not trying to be mean or spiteful....i've been there done that. SEVERAL times. It took me 8 months to lose 37lbs and I fit into clothes that previously I only wore after starving myself then gaining it back. Slow and steady wins this race.

I lost 90lbs on a 1200-1300 calories a day diet. I was ripped and didn't gain much back.... Yes...I'm here b'c i have some to lose...but that's what having two babies back to back did. It is possible for some!

megsmom2

The bottom line for a lot of people seems to be "but I'm losing weight!!! It MUST be right" well ok, so you're losing weight. And possibly doing damage to your one and only body that could take a long time to show up. I personally would rather do this slower and paying closer attention to nutrition. Id lose weight on 700 calories net, for a while....ive done it before. Learned the hard way---it comes back and brings friends with it. This time, I'm being sensible. And healthy.

mcarter99

bingo, my dietician told me yesterday that my metabolism test came in, and I have very low met. so I have to eat all my veggies etc...or my metabolism will put everything into fat and I will go into a deep deep sleep (which may not be bad at 50!).....ha ha. Remember you are only as strong as the nutrients that you put into your body, and strong is lean and mean. if you are sleepy and tired and grouchy,,,,,life is not good.

Hmm... "deep, deep sleep"... "grouchy, sleepy and sneezy"... Was your dietician offering you a shiny red apple, too? :laugh:

Renae_Nae

There is a reason why every health professional and decent diet website will tell you not to go under 1,200 calories. If you are and you feel great then fine, whatever as long as it works...but if you're complaining about physical issues then don't complain when someone tells you to eat. That is all!

cmccorma

There is a reason why every health professional and decent diet website will tell you not to go under 1,200 calories. If you are and you feel great then fine, whatever as long as it works...but if you're complaining about physical issues then don't complain when someone tells you to eat. That is all!

I'm not going under and I'm not complaining.

ironanimal

mynameiscarrie

You're preaching to the choir here I believe.... lol

zaithyr

If you are lacking energy and getting dizzy because you are eating too few calories for your height and weight, that's a sign that you should eat more. It's a classic sign of an ED (or leading down that road) if you purposely try to net zero consistently (that means you are also depriving your body of calories it needs just to function on top of calories needed to maintain weight). Some people who are very small don't require many calories, but obsessively and severely restricting calories and working out to an extreme is NOT healthy behavior. There are some people on here that have ED's that are obviously in denial and try to justify barely eating without realizing that they are in trouble, and I hope that others recognize what is healthy behavior and what is not and don't go down that road.

http://www.something-fishy.org/isf/signssymptoms.php

soleilxo

i feel tired when I eat...lollll

fittiephd

I have to disagree as well. I didn't have energy due to not sleeping or resting very well. Sleep is a huge part of weight loss as our bodies repair at night and the hormones that are needed for digestion (cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin) are produced at night!

For me, a typical breakfast would be a protein smoothie made up of a vegan protein powder (no gluten, yeast, soy, corn, etc), 1 tbsp almond butter, 1/2 cup of almond or coconut milk, 1/2 cup of water, 1 cup of berries and psyllium powder. Sometimes greens powder but that depends on my mood. That's usually around 300 calories.

If I go to they gym, I will have a snack of a brown rice cake and a tbsp of almond butter pre-workout. 150 calories

Lunch, on a typical week, will consist of a brown rice wrap, 2 cups of greens (lettuce, etc), 4-6 oz turkey or chicken (depending on hunger), olive oil and vinegar. On the side, I'll usually throw some other veggies together like cucumbers and olives or bell peppers cut up. YUM - That's usually around 400 calories.

Dinner is typically 4-6 oz of a clean lean meat, two cups of a cruciferous vegetable (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, etc), salad greens, and if I choose to, a high fiber carb like beans or brown rice or carrots. That's usually between 300-400 calories.

All of that is right around 1200 calories, give or take. Subtract the usual 400+ calories I burn doing cardio and weight lifting, then I have a good deficit going on. On the rare occasion I'm still hungry, I'll eat a few calories back in healthy nuts or something with protein. Other than that, it's how I maintain my slow 1-2 lbs of weight loss a week.

There is so much more to losing weight than eating less calories... There is sleeping, less stressing, finding your bliss, eating less, exercising more and removing inflammatory foods from your diet among a whole host of other things. My journey started with wanting to lose weight to look good and is ending with finding my bliss, my happiness, and creating a life for myself that is centered on a healthy life and healthy attitude. This has rubbed off on my husband and he's now eating healthier and in doing so has lost 22 lbs. My daughter is taking less ADHD medication because she's eating healthier foods. It's a cycle of healthiness I hope we will always continue!

It's wonderful that you are eating healthier, and you're right, the food you are eating is an excellent choice. BUT you are not eating nearly enough. I doubt you're even getting enough protein for what you should be eating. I highly recommend you read the New Rules of Lifting for Women. It has a lot of information about weights, cardio, and what you should be eating.


Also, the fact that you said

All of that is right around 1200 calories, give or take. Subtract the usual 400+ calories I burn doing cardio and weight lifting, then I have a good deficit going on.

Makes it very clear to me that you have no clue how calories work and that you don't realize the detriment you are doing to your body. The 1200 calorie goal is already an EXTREME deficit from the amount you should be eating to maintain. To add even more deficit on top of that is starvation. Have fun when you gain all your weight back. I hope you seriously consider looking into what you are doing to your body with an unbiased view before you seriously damage your health.

CoderGal

It seams like every post I've ready today about someone being dizzy, not feeling good, not losing weight, not having energy, etc is because they are eating less than 1,200 net calories. If your goal is 1,300 calories (which I would die on by the way) and you burn 700 calories through exercise that means you really only at 600 calories for the day! Your body can not function on that!

I could hug you right now.

Thats why I wrote this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/637094-cinderella-s-weight-loss-knowledge

taso42

95% of the time you can't help these people. But good on you for trying.

tmauck4472

It seams like every post I've ready today about someone being dizzy, not feeling good, not losing weight, not having energy, etc is because they are eating less than 1,200 net calories. If your goal is 1,300 calories (which I would die on by the way) and you burn 700 calories through exercise that means you really only at 600 calories for the day! Your body can not function on that!

Funny I function just fine on that, Hummmm...curious