1400 cal diet - I'm a boy and other questions

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  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    This method will increase the chances of making you lose lean body mass (aka muscle, bones, etc..) and ultimately, make it a lot harder for you to cut fat. If you look at all the guys that have low body fat on this board and are active, I can bet they are all 2500+ . You gotta fuel your body with calories to burn fat because if you don't, it will catabolize your lbm for energy. I am 5'11 at 192 and 10% body fat and I eat 2700-3000 calories to cut fat. Also, it is extremely difficult to gain new muscle on a calorie deficit... so that is why there are bulk phases and cut phases.

    Listen to this dude. Training your body to function on 1400 calories is going to make it impossible for you to change yourself physically.

    Also you say you're a "boy" but I'm hoping you want the body of a man, right?
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
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    I'm 6' myself, but I weigh 215-220ish lbs (97-100kg), and have a lot to lose (62 lbs (28 kg) total, at this point in time). I'm going by BF%, so my UGW will change as I build muscle. I'm currently at about 34% BF and have an UG of 8%. I will be taking it in steps. Currently aiming to lose 2 lb/week, and slowing the weight loss as I get closer to my UGBF%.

    I eat 1400 calories these days, and that decreases every week. I highly doubt I will go below 1300 by the time I increase my intake, to slow my weight loss. I have been doing it for over a month and I haven't felt any negative side effects. I don't even get hungry any longer (I did at first).

    Seems the thread is now about you. Must be the shoes.

    I had stats similar to yours, and started off around 1400 kcal a day. It was a great start to the diet, and I had a good initial loss, but after about 2 months I upped my calories significantly. I agree with the others that it's not a good long term strategy. But I have no problems with doing it for a short while.
  • hellohappylisa
    hellohappylisa Posts: 141 Member
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    I say this as a 23 year old girl who likes boys, meaning no great offense to you:
    bleh

    You should be lifting, not cutting calories.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    A man should not net lower than 15-1600 calories. That said, MFP gave you an intake based on your goal, this tells me that your weekly weight loss goal is too aggressive. I would suggest changing it to 0.5 lbs since you are boarderline underweight already.

    yah I had heard around the place that the hard deck for men is 1500, but also that 1200 is the base level. yah I think my goal was too aggressive, it has worked, but I think it needs to change as I don't want to mess up my metabolism.

    the borderline underweight bit might apply if I was a large build 6 foot male, but I'm small to medium :

    "Unfortunately, BMI does not take into account body frame, but there are some calculations that do. The company Health Check Systems, for instance, states that a six foot male age 25 to 59 should weigh 149 to 160 lbs. if he has a small frame. The expectation for a medium frame is 157 to 170 lbs. For a large frame it’s 164 to 188 lbs."

    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/171836-the-ideal-weight-for-a-six-foot-male/#ixzz28tzVZgBI

    so I don't think I'm borderline underweight, but thanks for your answer!
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    I'm 6' myself, but I weigh 215-220ish lbs (97-100kg), and have a lot to lose (62 lbs (28 kg) total, at this point in time). I'm going by BF%, so my UGW will change as I build muscle. I'm currently at about 34% BF and have an UG of 8%. I will be taking it in steps. Currently aiming to lose 2 lb/week, and slowing the weight loss as I get closer to my UGBF%.

    I eat 1400 calories these days, and that decreases every week. I highly doubt I will go below 1300 by the time I increase my intake, to slow my weight loss. I have been doing it for over a month and I haven't felt any negative side effects. I don't even get hungry any longer (I did at first).

    Adding: That being said, if you have very little to lose, you should set your goals to be a minimal amount of weight lost every week. I only have a large deficit because I have a lot to lose.

    This method will increase the chances of making you lose lean body mass (aka muscle, bones, etc..) and ultimately, make it a lot harder for you to cut fat. If you look at all the guys that have low body fat on this board and are active, I can bet they are all 2500+ . You gotta fuel your body with calories to burn fat because if you don't, it will catabolize your lbm for energy. I am 5'11 at 192 and 10% body fat and I eat 2700-3000 calories to cut fat. Also, it is extremely difficult to gain new muscle on a calorie deficit... so that is why there are bulk phases and cut phases.

    In the last month of eating like this, I have lost about 8 lbs, and my lean mass has only dropped by 1-2 lbs. The lean mass could simply have been water, or my organs shrinking (I have heard they swell when you are overweight). If my weight loss slows way down, or I begin to lose lean mass too quickly, I will make changes.

    I am currently doing strength training to build muscle, and I have seeing good results from it.

    I understand it is not sustainable, and if I didn't have so much to lose, I would not be doing it this way. However, I was not seeing results until I started to do this. I will slow my weight loss when I reach certain milestones - 1.5/week when I reach 25% BF, 1/week @ 20%, and 0.5/week @ 15%. Once I reach a low BF%, I will begin to eat extra calories to bulk up, starting the bulk and cut phases.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    You may not be borderline underweight, but you're not even close to overweight, so you should probably stop thinking in terms of "weight". You don't have "weight" to lose. Fat, maybe, but more likely you will see the best results by eating at a caloric surplus and focusing on muscle build. You will probably GAIN weight from it, but lose body fat percentage. That's ultimately what you want.
  • newhabit
    newhabit Posts: 426 Member
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    I"m a 5'4" female and i use 1600 and still lose weight. i weigh about 130 lb. i think it's too low personally but do whatever makes you happy. you could probably still lose weight if you ate 2000 since you are so tall. maybe get your BMR and TDEE figure out and go between those two numbers. here is a good site for that: www.fat2fitradio.com/tools
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    In the last month of eating like this, I have lost about 8 lbs, and my lean mass has only dropped by 1-2 lbs. The lean mass could simply have been water, or my organs shrinking (I have heard they swell when you are overweight). If my weight loss slows way down, or I begin to lose lean mass too quickly, I will make changes.

    I am currently doing strength training to build muscle, and I have seeing good results from it.

    I understand it is not sustainable, and if I didn't have so much to lose, I would not be doing it this way. However, I was not seeing results until I started to do this. I will slow my weight loss when I reach certain milestones - 1.5/week when I reach 25% BF, 1/week @ 20%, and 0.5/week @ 15%. Once I reach a low BF%, I will begin to eat extra calories to bulk up, starting the bulk and cut phases.

    Maybe you could start your own thread.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
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    I'm 6' tall and eat 2000 calories(+ exercise) a day and I've lost 80lbs and 13% BF, you don't need an extreme deficit to lose weight, if I were to go by MFP recomendations, I would be at 1450 calories per day.
  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
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    First - You are a 29 year old man, not a boy.
    2nd - MFP doesn't take any sort of b.s. like "small framed" into account.
    If you are eating 1400 calories a day, you are eating at about a 2 lbs. per week deficit. You really don't need to lose much weight, if any.
    Eat more good, healthy foods and get some exercise! Lift some weights.
  • mixedfeelings
    mixedfeelings Posts: 904 Member
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    I'd say that' too low, I'm a 5'10" female aiming to lose a lb a week and I'm on 1740 and I actually do need to lose weigh!
    I'd say you're setting a bit of an unrealistic goal and although that day looks good to me I would think if you really want to lose some weight set it for 1/2 lb a week and no higher than that.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    In the last month of eating like this, I have lost about 8 lbs, and my lean mass has only dropped by 1-2 lbs. The lean mass could simply have been water, or my organs shrinking (I have heard they swell when you are overweight). If my weight loss slows way down, or I begin to lose lean mass too quickly, I will make changes.

    I am currently doing strength training to build muscle, and I have seeing good results from it.

    I understand it is not sustainable, and if I didn't have so much to lose, I would not be doing it this way. However, I was not seeing results until I started to do this. I will slow my weight loss when I reach certain milestones - 1.5/week when I reach 25% BF, 1/week @ 20%, and 0.5/week @ 15%. Once I reach a low BF%, I will begin to eat extra calories to bulk up, starting the bulk and cut phases.

    Maybe you could start your own thread.

    I am simply responding to other posts. My original post was to show the OP that 1400 cal is do-able, but it didn't cross my mind that he weighs a LOT less than I do. He ought to eat more.

    If anyone were to take a look at my profile, they can see that I'm not just running blindly into the dark, trying to lose as much weight as possible. I won't start my own thread because it's not important enough to me to show it into everyone's face.
  • newhabit
    newhabit Posts: 426 Member
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    I"m a 5'4" female and i use 1600 and still lose weight. i weigh about 130 lb. i think it's too low personally but do whatever makes you happy. you could probably still lose weight if you ate 2000 since you are so tall. maybe get your BMR and TDEE figure out and go between those two numbers. here is a good site for that: www.fat2fitradio.com/tools

    looks like your BMR is at least 1800 according to the calculations... and if you're 6 feet and 170 lb why would you need to lose weight? if anything, maybe just work on creating muscle, which would actually mean eating more. probably just depends on the look you're going for. i'd say nothing below your bmr which is probably about 1800. your TDEE is what you need for maintenance is probably more like 2500. why go so low?
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    In the last month of eating like this, I have lost about 8 lbs, and my lean mass has only dropped by 1-2 lbs. The lean mass could simply have been water, or my organs shrinking (I have heard they swell when you are overweight). If my weight loss slows way down, or I begin to lose lean mass too quickly, I will make changes.

    I am currently doing strength training to build muscle, and I have seeing good results from it.

    I understand it is not sustainable, and if I didn't have so much to lose, I would not be doing it this way. However, I was not seeing results until I started to do this. I will slow my weight loss when I reach certain milestones - 1.5/week when I reach 25% BF, 1/week @ 20%, and 0.5/week @ 15%. Once I reach a low BF%, I will begin to eat extra calories to bulk up, starting the bulk and cut phases.

    Maybe you could start your own thread.

    hahaha + 1 for you.
  • crazylovergrl
    crazylovergrl Posts: 97 Member
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    I think you can lose however much weight you want... It's silly to have people jump down your throat because you want to look a certain way. I think really lean guys look great.
    1400 is prob too low. I had a friend on a 1500 cal diet who was about 6 ft and he got super thin really fast and suffered from some pretty bad muscle wasting. I would go much less aggressive and start lifting in the near future to build lean muscle. (high reps, lower weights) Make sure your protein and fats are sufficient. (protein should be around 1g per lb of goal body weight, so if your goal is 175 lbs, eat 175g of protein) Also, make sure you're getting enough cholesterol to make the testosterone your body needs to keep/ build muscle.

    Good luck!
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    wheres the beef?
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,243 Member
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    Are you serious? I didn't think MFP would put a male at anything less than, say, 1600. Are you sure you didn't accidentally put yourself as female? I don't think 77kgs is much weight. Perhaps you should see your doctor for a better calorie recommendation. Good luck!

    MFP will put a male all the way down to 1200. It is a personal pet peeve of mine since I know a lot of men who lost their weight eating at 1200 and ended up losing a lot of muscle mass because of the severe calorie deficit that put them at.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
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    is this real life?
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    In the last month of eating like this, I have lost about 8 lbs, and my lean mass has only dropped by 1-2 lbs. The lean mass could simply have been water, or my organs shrinking (I have heard they swell when you are overweight). If my weight loss slows way down, or I begin to lose lean mass too quickly, I will make changes.

    I am currently doing strength training to build muscle, and I have seeing good results from it.

    I understand it is not sustainable, and if I didn't have so much to lose, I would not be doing it this way. However, I was not seeing results until I started to do this. I will slow my weight loss when I reach certain milestones - 1.5/week when I reach 25% BF, 1/week @ 20%, and 0.5/week @ 15%. Once I reach a low BF%, I will begin to eat extra calories to bulk up, starting the bulk and cut phases.

    Maybe you could start your own thread.

    hahaha + 1 for you.

    I'm sorry for responding to your thread with my experience. Next time you ask for someone else's opinion, I won't give you mine. Gees.

    I thought this was supposed to be a social community. When someone replies to a thread/post, it's expected for them to reply to the reply, am I right?
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    I"m a 5'4" female and i use 1600 and still lose weight. i weigh about 130 lb. i think it's too low personally but do whatever makes you happy. you could probably still lose weight if you ate 2000 since you are so tall. maybe get your BMR and TDEE figure out and go between those two numbers. here is a good site for that: www.fat2fitradio.com/tools

    looks like your BMR is at least 1800 according to the calculations... and if you're 6 feet and 170 lb why would you need to lose weight? if anything, maybe just work on creating muscle, which would actually mean eating more. probably just depends on the look you're going for. i'd say nothing below your bmr which is probably about 1800. your TDEE is what you need for maintenance is probably more like 2500. why go so low?

    ok, what I really mean is I want to loose fat. I dont mind building muscle but i prefer a slimmer look (i used to look like that before I was prescribed medication when i was younger which made me gain like 20 kgs - honest).

    in terms of why 1400? its the number that came out of MFP, and at the time I didn't know much about having a balanced diet / nutrition, which over the last 3 months has changed and exactly why I posted this, so I can get a clear answer. because I didnt have the knowledge I didnt see it as extreme, I'm in this for the long haul in terms of eating healthy, so think ill increase my intake and add some proper exercise :)

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