My friend is on a 1000 calorie diet

coffee_rocks

With all due respect, I'd listen to my doctor over a friend regarding my health as well. Something about 8 years of university and 4 years of interning, plus whatever years of experience.

If you are that concerned, you could always gently suggest your friend get a 2nd opinion from another doctor.

Dad_of_3

You should first of all encourage her by saying you support her efforts to be healthy. The ask her, What is your TDEE? She will likely not know what TDEE is or what hers is. That will allow you to go here


And then show her how many calories it takes for her per day. THEN you can have her set up an MFP account and really start her health journey.

For a cheerleader, 1000 calories per day is likely not enough because of the chance of vitamin deficiency alone. Specifically, I am thinking of the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) needed for good skin and good muscle tone. Vitamin D is needed for Calcium absorption as well. She is likely bouncing around alot as a cheerleader, so Vitamin D is crucial to bone health and repair.

2hobbit1

1000 is too low. She isn't even obese.

So by your own opinion, 1k calories is too low. That's hardly going to convince anyone to get off a 1k calorie diet.

NO NO NO - its not by this persons own opinion its MEDICAL OPINION - of course doctors ansd scientists who are educated and spend years researching this don't know jack **** so its ok to ignore them :-)

I guess you missed the part in this thread where someone talked about a friend's doctor recommending a VLC-Diet but I'll link you below to the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and Weight Loss Program that uses VLC-D by their dietitians. Yes, I agree that it isn't the safest way to lose weight but it's not going to kill you or "permanently" damage your body.
http://rfoweightloss.med.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=32

Oh goody. A new troll to play with.

VLCDs are a poor idea for many reasons; first in my mind is the difficulty you'll have in consuming enough micronutrients without overhwelming diligence to every gram of food you put in your mouth.

Also please note that most Doctors have little to no training in nutrition - funnily enough, they studied medicine. A nutritionist is who you want to ask about nutrition. Funny that.

If you had bothered to go to the link i posted, it's from UCLA's website for dietitians.... Dietitians are licensed, not nutritionists. You got that backwards.

Link below to understand the FAQ between a Resisted Dietitian and Nutritionist.
http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6713#.UEx5Uo1lR2E

The "RD" credential is a legally protected title that can only be used by practitioners who are authorized by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Some RDs may call themselves "nutritionists," but not all nutritionists are registered dietitians. The definition and requirements for the term "nutritionist" vary. Some states have licensure laws that define the range of practice for someone using the designation "nutritionist," but in other states, virtually anyone can call him- or herself a "nutritionist" regardless of education or training.
Individuals with the RD credential have fulfilled specific requirements, including having earned at least a bachelor's degree (about half of RDs hold advanced degrees), completed a supervised practice program and passed a registration examination — in addition to maintaining continuing education requirements for recertification.

If you go to the link and explore the site on the home page you will see that the VLCD is being used for the treatment of severe obesity. Not for cheerleaders tying to lose a few pounds!

"The RFO Program has been in operation for over twenty-five years (originated in the mid-1970's by Morton H. Maxwell, M.D.). The RFO Program was one of the first university programs to perform research and clinically practice the use of very low calorie diets (VLCD) in the treatment of severe obesity. This program was among the first to utilize prescription appetite-suppressants as an integral component of obesity treatment."

robin52077

wow, I just woke up and I already have a name in the hat for the title of Douche of the Day!

joybedford

Nothing. You can't do anything. I know someone eating 900 calories a day (and I know for sure she needs more than this, I've run the calculations, but whatever) and nothing I say will trump her DOCTOR'S recommendation.. The same doctor that put her on Phentermine and 20g of carbs a day. She's losing weight like crazy. But she said herself that she's done this before (and gained it all back).

Just like there's nothing you can do to tell someone who is morbidly obese that they need to lose weight. Or tell an anorexic person that they need to eat.

This is the type of misinformation that I am talking about. Why do you believe your opinion trumps your friend's doctor? Big emphasis on DOCTOR.

Doctors do not know everything, very few are experts in diet and nutrition. In the UK it isn,t even part of there training also you see a lot of obese doctors, they are human and get it wrong a lot. When I started my nurse training 21 years ago I thought that doctors were gods who knew everything I soon learnt otherwise. there are some excellent doctors out there but there are also some that if i was a patient I would run a mile rather than have them treat me. I am now a midwife and work with some doctors who are frankly dangerous and I frequently question there opinion.
In my opinion and everyone is allowed an opinion 1000 calories is way too low, I learnt this the hard way in my 20s I hardly had any energy and my hair started to fall out. I wasn,t working out then like I do now but I was a student nurse doing hard physical work and long shifts. I was also very miserable, I like food that is not a crime. I now eat 1640 calories and eat back most of my exercise calories I am losing 0.5 to 1lb a week and i am happy with that. I work out hard am training for a marathon and couldn,t do that on 1000 calories.

kingofcrunk

What you eat is more about quality rather than quantity - you can eat a 1000 calorie diet that has far more nutrients in it than someone on a 3000 calorie diet that eats **** all day.

SideSteel

COULD you structure a 1k calorie diet that meets nutrient sufficiency? I would guess that it's likely you could. That doesn't make it intelligent for the average dieter. Far from it in fact.

And context is very relevant here.

ObtainingBalance

1000 is too low. She isn't even obese.

Tell her it is below her BMR (basic metabolic rate) and that they would feed her the BMR amount if she is in coma, but she isn't laying and sleeping all day. Shes alive and moving all day, tell her she burns way more and that 1,000 is going to slow her metabolism down. Look up websites about how dangerous 1,000 is on the body for a young active girl. Tell her you're worried about her. Personally if I was only eating 1,000 calories / day (which I have before) I would get a headache and be grouchier... I wouldn't have much energy and I'd want to go to bed early. Also it leads to binges, sometimes. I'd "ruin" my diet soooo easy.

unkeptwalnut83

There is a lot of argument going on about the physiological effects of this diet but the psychological effects are more concerning to me. I see a set up for a lot of ups and downs in this girls weight. I think that everyone can agree that most people will be at a significant deficit consuming only 1000 calories a day. So what happens when she reaches her goal weight? She starts eating more, and then if her weight goes up then it's back to restrictive dieting.
I think a lot of nutrition science is just guess work. There are cultures all around the world who eat things that we would consider "unhealthy" but are in very good health (whale blubber anyone?). For me, setting up a system of restriction would make me pretty likely to regain everything when the diet was over. But if I rework my diet so it centers around real food, vegetables, and attention to my body and its hunger signals, that is something maintainable.

I am not dieting, I am changing my life.

beccah123

I just wanted to say that if she is quite short then 1000 calories isn't too ridiculous. With that amount of exercise it is, but being quite short myself I found that on 1200 calories a day I just wasn't losing any weight. I dropped it down to 1000 and the weight started to come off (a pound a week - nothing crazy!). I do eat exercise calories back though so I make sure it is NET 1000 calories. Perhaps you could suggest that to your friend

Aquarian

Her life, her choices. You have already done enough to satisfy your conscience, and if she doesn't want to take that, you have no right to push her. If in the future she asks you for help regulating her diet, then give it, otherwise, leave her alone.

1000 cal diet will not kill you by itself, by the way. There is a lot more to fitness than a calorie number.

annwyatt69

You happen to be correct. Not only it is hard to get all the nutrients you need with less than 1,200 calories a day, but the body begins to think it is starving, and your metabolism slows down in order to conserve energy. She will be tired all the time, not want to exercise, and it will make it that much harder for her to lose weight.

Hmmmm.....want to explain to me how people who have or have had gastric bypass are alive? For a very long time they eat less than 500 kcal a day and most of their lives live on 1000 or less. I don't see these people being hospitalized for their low calorie diets. As long as a low cal diet is doctor and dietitian supervised, it is fine.

ironanimal

You happen to be correct. Not only it is hard to get all the nutrients you need with less than 1,200 calories a day, but the body begins to think it is starving, and your metabolism slows down in order to conserve energy. She will be tired all the time, not want to exercise, and it will make it that much harder for her to lose weight.

Hmmmm.....want to explain to me how people who have or have had gastric bypass are alive? For a very long time they eat less than 500 kcal a day and most of their lives live on 1000 or less. I don't see these people being hospitalized for their low calorie diets. As long as a low cal diet is doctor and dietitian supervised, it is fine.

I have two friends with gastric bands - both of them have been hospitalized within the last year because of it, one of them due to malnutrition. They're both young as well.

AbsoluteNG

I think people are just waking up because there seems to be so many people responding in here that the topic is twisting and turning in so many directions. I want to say that a 1k cal diet is not a long term diet, at least that is how i feel but it can be perfectly fine for the short term as it will not kill you or permanently damage your body and any symptoms can be corrected simply by eating more or eating the right foods. The most serious symptom that I know of is an irregular heart beat but that normally occurs when you eat at the 500 cal range for a long period of time with the addition of daily exercise. However, it can normally be fixed by adding potassium to your diet.


My final words: I will just have to agree to disagree.

altacosturabeth

Has anyone on this thread who's supporting this 1000 calorie diet actually noted the fact that the girl in question also leads a very active lifestyle, therefore she's probably surviving off a lot less than 1000 calories a day orrr...?

Treece68

You happen to be correct. Not only it is hard to get all the nutrients you need with less than 1,200 calories a day, but the body begins to think it is starving, and your metabolism slows down in order to conserve energy. She will be tired all the time, not want to exercise, and it will make it that much harder for her to lose weight.

Hmmmm.....want to explain to me how people who have or have had gastric bypass are alive? For a very long time they eat less than 500 kcal a day and most of their lives live on 1000 or less. I don't see these people being hospitalized for their low calorie diets. As long as a low cal diet is doctor and dietitian supervised, it is fine.

I have two friends with gastric bands - both of them have been hospitalized within the last year because of it, one of them due to malnutrition. They're both young as well.

BAM!

Aquarian

Has anyone on this thread who's supporting this 1000 calorie diet actually noted the fact that the girl in question also leads a very active lifestyle, therefore she's probably surviving off a lot less than 1000 calories a day orrr...?

I did. If she is too active, her body will tell her, she will either stop being so active or eat more food. But it is still her life, and not for the OP or for us to decide what's best for her.

altacosturabeth

Has anyone on this thread who's supporting this 1000 calorie diet actually noted the fact that the girl in question also leads a very active lifestyle, therefore she's probably surviving off a lot less than 1000 calories a day orrr...?

I did. If she is too active, her body will tell her, she will either stop being so active or eat more food. But it is still her life, and not for the OP or for us to decide what's best for her.

But some people don't necessarily listen to their body though do they? I do understand the whole 'it's her life' thing, but at the same time if I knew my friend was doing something that could cause some harm to them, I'd probably try and step in and offer some kind of help or advice.

Fab49chick

I am in my 40s, fit , healthy and active but I am not an athlete, I do moderate workouts. I have had a 1000 calorie a day eating lifestyle for 3 years. I am 5'6 and weigh between 125 and 132. I have regualr checkups and have not had any health problems. If your friend gets to her goal weight fast - and she will on 1000 cals a day if she is really athletic .....then she can and should go back up to the recommended amount for her body. It wont hurt her any to do the 1000 on a short term basis. My recommended amount is 1200 but I try to stick to the 1000 unless I work out more.

AmyFett

What can you do? It's her choice. She'll learn eventually if she's smart. But honestly, doesn't sound much like she'd listen to your advice anyway, she's not thinking clearly, she just wants the weight off asap.