500 calories a day program?

heybales

thanks. I opened it and looked back ti when i was logging 1600 to 1700 cals. Definitely wasn't as "clean" as i thought i read apost earlier that suggesred SLOWLY upping cals to repair metabolism. This week i finally lost 2.8, but that was sticking close to 1000

Well, you can either guess which direction that will eventually lead, eating at 1000, make the wise decision now, or you can test it.

So you can either test it and see. And after weight loss has slowed and finally stopped, you can either lower again, or get wise and eat more for your level of activity. While increasing, you'll likely gain weight back while metabolism tries to speed up again.

Or.

You can go higher right now, get it burning faster, and likely lose at the same rate for longer.

Your choice.

Notice what you could do right now though:

A 51 year old patient complained of a 15 lb weight gain over the last year despite beginning a strenuous triathlon and marathon training program (2 hours per day, 5-6 days per week).
A 3 day diet analysis estimated a daily intake of only 1000-1200 Calories.
An indirect calorimetry revealed a resting metabolic rate of 950 Calories (28% below predicted for age, height, weight, and gender).
After medications and medical conditions such as hypothyroidism and diabetes where ruled out, the final diagnosis was over-training and undereating. The following treatment was recommended:

Increase daily dietary intake by approximately 100 Calories per week to a goal of 1500 calories
32% protein; 35% carbohydrates; 33% fat
Consume 5-6 small meals per day
Small amounts of protein with each meal or snack
Choose high fiber starches
Select mono- and poly- unsaturated fats
Restrict consumption of starch with evening meals unless focused around training
Take daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement
Perform whole body isometric resistance training 2 times per week

After 6 weeks the patient's resting metabolism increased 35% to 1282 Calories per day (only 2% below predicted).
The patient also decreases percent fat from 37% to 34%, a loss of 5 lbs of body fat.

Jampolis MB (2004) Weight Gain - Marathon Runner / Triathlete. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 36(5) S148.

mjj79

thanks. I opened it and looked back ti when i was logging 1600 to 1700 cals. Definitely wasn't as "clean" as i thought i read apost earlier that suggesred SLOWLY upping cals to repair metabolism. This week i finally lost 2.8, but that was sticking close to 1000

Well, you can either guess which direction that will eventually lead, eating at 1000, make the wise decision now, or you can test it.

So you can either test it and see. And after weight loss has slowed and finally stopped, you can either lower again, or get wise and eat more for your level of activity. While increasing, you'll likely gain weight back while metabolism tries to speed up again.

Or.

You can go higher right now, get it burning faster, and likely lose at the same rate for longer.

Your choice.

Notice what you could do right now though:

A 51 year old patient complained of a 15 lb weight gain over the last year despite beginning a strenuous triathlon and marathon training program (2 hours per day, 5-6 days per week).
A 3 day diet analysis estimated a daily intake of only 1000-1200 Calories.
An indirect calorimetry revealed a resting metabolic rate of 950 Calories (28% below predicted for age, height, weight, and gender).
After medications and medical conditions such as hypothyroidism and diabetes where ruled out, the final diagnosis was over-training and undereating. The following treatment was recommended:

Increase daily dietary intake by approximately 100 Calories per week to a goal of 1500 calories
32% protein; 35% carbohydrates; 33% fat
Consume 5-6 small meals per day
Small amounts of protein with each meal or snack
Choose high fiber starches
Select mono- and poly- unsaturated fats
Restrict consumption of starch with evening meals unless focused around training
Take daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement
Perform whole body isometric resistance training 2 times per week

After 6 weeks the patient's resting metabolism increased 35% to 1282 Calories per day (only 2% below predicted).
The patient also decreases percent fat from 37% to 34%, a loss of 5 lbs of body fat.

Jampolis MB (2004) Weight Gain - Marathon Runner / Triathlete. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 36(5) S148.

Thanks. THis is my hope. To be able to get up to 1500 cals without gaining. Gonna aim for 1200 this week. Hopefully after a few weeks i can get up to 1500 and still lose. I think the mistake I may have made (other than ever doing 900 to 100 cals in the first place) was trying to make a big jump all at once. Even thought I as eating the recommended amt, I was gaining

Helloitsdan

PS:

when adding calories to an already slowed RMR you WILL GAIN WEIGHT until the RMR stabilizes at its proper level.
This is normal.

Programming and adjustment takes about 2-4 weeks.

I've had clients gain 9lbs only to lose them the second month while eating at a regular rate.
Regular rates for my group run 1600-3k a day.
People who eat at a regular rate can go to BBQs and eat out with friends.

At 1k or less youd be hard pressed to have much fun going anywhere.

also i'll shoot this tidbit out there for you to roll around in the brain:

At what point do you think fat has a reason not to exist while eating at 1k or less?
In fact as soon as you introduce any calorie above the daily TDEE youll probably store it for the next time you introduce famine into your life.

Eat like a human and move like a human and youll lose the fat naturally.

zCarsAndCaloriesz

Sounds pretty bad to me, the lowest I have every lived off of calorie wise was 900 cals and that wasn't by choice.

yarwell

In fact as soon as you introduce any calorie above the daily TDEE youll probably store it

Naturally. That's always the case. Where else could it go.

eatcleanNtraindirty

These diets are stupid and pointless. 90% of people gain the weight back that they lost PLUS some extra! Have fun with that diet. Diets like that are stupid because they teach you how to NOT eat as opposed to teaching how to eat healthy! Portion control, no fast food, no sodas and you'll lose weight. It really isn't that hard.

ladyraven68

ive just deleted a friend off my friends list as she was doing alternate day fasting so 1 day she would eat under 500cals (somedays she ony eat 2 cereal bars all day which amounted to 280cals!!) and the day after that she would eat what ever she wanted and so on and so on!! how on earth is that healthy!!!!

It was the subject of a UK TV programme, and showed to have major health benefits. Full study here.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html

ninerbuff

yup this diet exists, it's called natural selection. It's used to help us identify the dumbest people on earth when they aren't wearing an Ed Hardy shirt

:laugh: :laugh: FTW!

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Helloitsdan

ive just deleted a friend off my friends list as she was doing alternate day fasting so 1 day she would eat under 500cals (somedays she ony eat 2 cereal bars all day which amounted to 280cals!!) and the day after that she would eat what ever she wanted and so on and so on!! how on earth is that healthy!!!!

It was the subject of a UK TV programme, and showed to have major health benefits. Full study here.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html

ADF and ESE are perfectly healthy.

meshashesha2012

So, what about those of us who really CAN't lose on 1200 or more cal?. I've tried.. and tried. The ONLY success i've ever had has been to stick around 1000. Yes it's miserable. Yes I work out (p90x). I've even tried the whole "metabolism reset" thing. NOTHING seems to work. I have resigned myself to having to eat VERY small amounts for the rest of my life. I know that I will never be able to increase my cals without gaining weight

You probably have a medical issue that needs attention, OR you're not eating the right food.

this.

OR maybe they have spent their lives doing too many yo yo diets and need to spend a month or 2 getting their metabolism back up to where it should be and THEN worry about losing weight. i personally think it makes more sense to spend 2 months correcting my metabolism and get it running right before trying to lose weight than to just jump right in the weight loss pool with a crappy metabolism and spin my wheels for 6,12,18 months etc

jduggans

NO it will NOT work. Anything below 1200 calories and the body can't manufacture vitamins and minerals. Besides this, not eating vegetables is just as dangerous. I don't know who designed that diet, but as a certified personal trainer, it's a diet that could have long term health risk and the body will breakdown muscle tissue and use it for energy. This lost of muscle tissue is permanent.

yarwell

Anything below 1200 calories and the body can't manufacture vitamins and minerals

You actually believe this stuff ? Or worse, someone taught you it ? Wow.

ladyraven68

ive just deleted a friend off my friends list as she was doing alternate day fasting so 1 day she would eat under 500cals (somedays she ony eat 2 cereal bars all day which amounted to 280cals!!) and the day after that she would eat what ever she wanted and so on and so on!! how on earth is that healthy!!!!

It was the subject of a UK TV programme, and showed to have major health benefits. Full study here.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html

ADF and ESE are perfectly healthy.

I'm guessing ADF = Alternate day fasting, and ESE = Eat stop Eat?

Neither appeal to me, but I have seen enough evidence of their benefits not to accuse their followers of doing anything unhealthy.

Naybelline

yup this diet exists, it's called natural selection. It's used to help us identify the dumbest people on earth when they aren't wearing an Ed Hardy shirt

LOL!!!

_Punjab

I actually started my weight loss on one of these programs. They gave you injections and a tons of vitamins to take to supplement for what you weren't eating. Week one was lean protein and reduced fat dairy, no vegetables or fruit, and of course no carbs. After week one, they have you eat lean protein every two hours and have you doing resistance exercises so that you aren't losing muscle. You are limited to 25 grams of carbohydrates per day. They have you eating either two servings of vegetables or one serving of vegetables and one serving of fruit a day. And you eat one healthy fat a day (nuts, avocado, etc). You do not count your fruits and vegetables or healthy fat as part of your daily calories. They do bump up your calories a bit after a few weeks, too, but not by much (mine was 700-800).

It worked very well the first few weeks. I was losing fat mass and did not lose any muscle (your weekly weight in is done on a body fat scale). I lost 15 pounds the first three weeks and then slowed down to a more healthy 1-2 pounds a week.

Once you get to about a month to a month and a half into the program, though, you're ready to die because of how limited the food choices that they give you are. I couldn't handle it anymore. It was NOT a realistic and sustainable lifestyle change. What ended up happening to me was that I got so bored of the food that was "acceptable", but was so determined to not give up on trying to lose weight, that I ended up struggling to eat anything at all (I would get maybe 300 calories a day).

That's when I turned to My Fitness Pal and have been very happy ever since. MFP is a realistic change that will help you lose weight and stick with it. Trust me, your coworkers diet is not going to last. He or she may lose weight initially, but it is not something that they're going to be happy with sticking to in the long term.

AbsoluteNG

It's called PSMF but really hard to do. Intermittent fasting is way easier for me to do.

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AbsoluteNG

500 cal all protein is PSMF and it can work. Link to pictures below from bodybuilding.com forums. It's not easy to do but can get you good results in 2 to 3 weeks for that special event you are looking to attend if you have the will power. I've tried it and couldn't make it past 2 days and much prefer Intermittent Fasting.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121060001&highlight=psmf

BordersGirl

I did a similar plan for a while to shift weight quickly and no I don't have an Ed Hardy shirt. It was a total food replacement diet using meal replacement packs that are nutritionally balanced. I started with a BMI over 40 with high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels and feeling generally rubbish, and just over 6 stone later my BMI is almost at 25, my blood pressure etc. is normal and I'm feeling great.

Sorry to disappoint but contrary to popular opinion my body did not pile all the weight back on once I upped the calories. I still have around a stone to lose and am now losing that slowly by having 1200 calories / 100g carbs during the week and I eat up to my TDEE at weekends when I have pretty much what I want. It was my choice to lose this way and for me it has worked well, and broke the cycle of drinking too much and eating too much / the wrong things that were the reason I was obese to start with. It's not a diet for everyone but it worked fabulously well for me. In fact it was easy and there was never a point where I felt weak, light headed, hungry or cranky.

MissMormie

500 calories a day may not be the best idea ever, but especially for someone who's very much overweight the quick weight loss will give a bigger boost to overall health than the risks of eating low calories. Especially if vitamin and mineral supplements are used.

Read this if you think it'll break down your metabolism completely: http://edwardshapard.com/arete/health/patient-on-longest-fast-ever-loses-276-pounds-in-382-days/
It's about a guy who fasted for 382 days. That's over a year. And his health improved a lot during this time.

Now I absolutely would not recommend anyone to do that unless under strict supervision of a doctor, but don't look so negatively at eating very low amounts of calories. It's not nearly as bad as some people think.

MattKerklin

Have your friend search "in place of a roadmap 2.0" which is an eye opening piece

jjh1024

HAHAHAHA!!!! :laugh:
That was the funniest response in a long time

Pomroy89

I am *NOT* promoting this, but one of my coworkers has just started a program that only allows her to eat 500 calories a day. The first week was protein only (no veggies). Is this something that anyone else has heard of? Is it reasonable?

500 calories doesn't sound healthy to me...

I expect it is not sustainable and as soon as she goes over she will likely pile on weight x

Helloitsdan

Have your friend search "in place of a roadmap 2.0" which is an eye opening piece

Props!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/8017-in-place-of-a-road-map

WhoTheHellIsBen

How is this thread still going ?!?!?!