Reducing My Calories to 1000

MouseTmom

your profile says you want to not just look good but also be healthy. I do not believe 1000 calories will help you become healthy. Best thing would be to ask your Dr what he/she thinks is a good calorie level for you.

sparkyval

Hey there, I know everyone has commented enough about this, but I thought I might add some things for you to think about. First I agree with the others regarding speaking with your doctor. They will assess how tall you are and also your bone structure. If you are in fact small boned and short it may be appropriate to cut your calories to 1000 IF you are not seeing a loss. You don't say what faster means...in my case, I am short and small boned. I have lost close to 57 pounds however it is becoming so slow as in .4 pounds every two weeks. That is with walking an average of 5 miles a day, some days more and some days less, as well as working a physical job. I currently attempt to maintain the 1200 calories and I have been trying MFP's recommendations as well but in the end, I am older and so that is another factor. These are all things I discuss with my doctor and you should too.
The studies on starvation mode and all are as follows ( I know because I have researched the actual findings extensively to find out what I can do to jumpstart a faster weight loss and I still have no answers.)
Starvation mode actually kicks in for the majority of adults after consuming 800 calories or less for an extended period of time. It may be true that your body will adjust to a lower calorie rate but there are no conclusive studies on this. The starvation mode has been studied and the 800 calories per day or less appears to be the conclusive number. Symptoms of starvation mode are things like becoming obsessed with food and its preparation, waking up in the middle of the night, dreaming of food, and/or dream eating in the middle of the night sometimes with no recollection among other things.
That being said, it is as many people mentioned above, extremely difficult to balance and obtain all of the necessary nutrients the lower you go calorically.
I think you have posted you are 27? You are young enough that you shouldn't need to drop your calories that low and it may in fact cause you to eventually binge rebound...but that being said, the fact that your mom is morbidly obese may mean you have more to deal with then a normal 27 year old...again seek the doctor out.
How slow is too slow?
So I do feel your pain if you are working hard and it is coming off barely at all as I am in the same situation, but by the same token, if you are losing a pound or two a week, that would be really good progress and so even considering such a reduction might not be wise..only you know the answers and the situation.
Best wishes and hope it all works out well for you.

Cranktastic

OH! i forgot, SQUAT!!!!!!! and EAT!

Jongfaith

Wait for it... wait for it... this thread is about to explode with an angry mob... andy minute now....

coolraul07

I want to lose the weight a bit faster and I'm already exercising 7 days a week.
Wondering if it would be unhealthy to cut my calories to 1000 daily

Short answer: Except for RARE exceptions, NOOOOO!!!

I noticed that several things were missing from your post: current/goal weight, current plan (e.g. daily cal deficit, lbs/wk), current cal intake, height, etc. Have you calculated your TDEE yet?
Don't feel overwhelmed by these terms, etc. There's plenty of resources and support on this site, both electronic and air-breathing! Feel free to add me as a friend if you want. I log religiously and am online daily.

kdeaux1959

I do not recommend it in most cases. This is unless you are like below 5'0" or something. Weight does not come on us overnight and alas, it does not leave overnight. Weight lost slowly tends to stay off better. Try to be patient. Also, going below 1200 calories per day can cause you to lose weight more slowly since your metabolism often slows down when you attempt this. Best wishes on a successful journey.

heybales

Wait for it... wait for it... this thread is about to explode with an angry mob... any minute now....

Well, ok, fine.

# 3 is especially nice, because it shows that by eating more, you can get the metabolism sped back up again.
And my metabolism, I don't mean BMR which may only lower a tad below what is expected with weight loss anyway, but RMR and other functions.

Showing the predicted changes in metabolic rates decline sharply in individuals undergoing adaptive thermogenesis which does lead to plateauing. ie suppressed BMR, slower metabolism, ect.

1 - Christian Weyer, Roy L Walford, Inge T Harper, Mike Milner, Taber MacCallum, P Antonio Tataranni and Eric Ravussin, "Energy metabolism after 2 y of energy restriction: the Biosphere 2 experiment", American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 72, No. 4, 946-953, October 2000. Free Full Text
2 - Friedlander AL, et al. "Three weeks of caloric restriction alters protein metabolism in normal-weight, young men" Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab., 2005 Sep;289(3):E446-55. Epub 2005 May 3. PMID: 15870104
3 - Welle SL, Seaton TB, Campbell RG. "Some metabolic effects of overeating in man", Am J Clin Nutr. 1986 Dec;44(6):718-24. PMID: 3538842
4 - Martin CK, Heilbronn LK, de Jonge L, Delany JP, Volaufova J, Anton SD, Redman LM, Smith SR, Ravussin E. "Effect of calorie restriction on resting metabolic rate and spontaneous physical activity", Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Dec;15(12):2964-73. PMID: 18198305
5 - Rosenbaum M, Hirsch J, Gallagher DA, Leibel RL., Long-term persistence of adaptive thermogenesis in subjects who have maintained a reduced body weight. Am J Clin Nutr., 2008 Oct;88(4):906-12. PMID: 18842775

bestbassist

I say go for it regardless of what the herd likes to preach. It's your body, so do with it as you please. I ate low amounts of calories for years to maintain my desired aesthetic, and I felt and looked great. Always checked out fine at the doctor's office, too. The only reason I gained weight in the past few years is because of medication. So contrary to what the doom and gloomers here say, you won't necessarily balloon out if you suddenly stop the low calorie intake in the future. You know what's best. If you feel good eating 1000 calories then go for it!

Lift_hard_eat_big

Rapid fat loss equals rapid fat regain when you up calories back to maintenance. That sounds fantastic, doesn't it not?

Besides glycogen and water weight gain, why would one gain additional weight if eating at true maintenance?

It makes a big difference if one has a high amount of body fat when losing weight too rapidly. Your body will want to regain much of what it lost in such a short amount of time.

Autoregulation of body composition during weight recovery in human: the Minnesota Experiment revisited.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8696417

Thanks for the link. That's perhaps the scientific explanation as to why several of my clients are failing to lose weight. Despite eating at what their body bugg tells them is their maintenance.

theblitz

I did that..

it worked for a while. then I had a slow metabolism and all my little slip-ups made me gain weight.

Clean up your eating. Don't restrict. It will come off.

ravenrxx

Id say eat 1200 cals a day, i did it and omg wonderful results! along with working out 5-6x a week.

danasings

In before a certain person uses copy and paste to spew her wall of nonsense.

Hahahahaha...I know who you mean!! :laugh:

angiechimpanzee

Not a good idea.

mgobluetx12

In before a certain person uses copy and paste to spew her wall of nonsense.

I love it!

onyxgirl17

In before a certain person uses copy and paste to spew her wall of nonsense.

I love it!

lol sounds like a fun game!!

vostergard66

Too few with that much excercise. Dont do it... add more protien and see what happens and more water

chillyv

Please do NOT eat 1,000 calories a day. If you starve yourself (1,000 is starving yourself) you will snap at some point and find yourself eating and eating and eating to make up for the days, weeks, months of under-eating. THIS WILL BACKFIRE. I speak from experience.

Losing weight fast is not the goal. Health is the goal. Remember that it's possible to be heavier than all of those stupid charts (and magazines and TV and on and on) tell you and still be healthy. Please keep overall health in mind and take a wider view. Racing down to a goal weight may not be the best way to be healthy. Weight is just one of the parts of a health.

AntWrig

Rapid fat loss equals rapid fat regain when you up calories back to maintenance. That sounds fantastic, doesn't it not?

Besides glycogen and water weight gain, why would one gain additional weight if eating at true maintenance?

Because one metabolism eventually slows down, when being a calorie deficit. Especially in a severe one. If she was were to stay at 1000 kcal for a long time, as soon as she starts to introduce a higher calorie intake she will put on fat. That is because her appetite will outpace her metabolism. You should be able to understand the rest.

It's no different then a competitor coming out of contest mode and gaining 30 lbs in a week.

curiousorange

After doing some research on many different verified sources, 1200 seems to be the agreed bare minimum to diet safely. Other wise your body just goes into starvation mode. This means that your metabolism will slow and your body will keep hold of any fat and not risk burning it off, because as far as your body is concerned, food is scarce and you need to conserve your fat. Instead, your body will begin to break down muscle tissue and organs. Your energy levels will drop. Doesn't sound too good does it? 1200 - 1500 calories per day is healthy for a woman. Get the balance right and the weight will go.

ccadroz93

Your body has no time to recover if you are exercising 7 days a week. Take one day off a week and keep your calories up. Cutting them when you are exercising that much will throw you into starvation mode if its not there already and actually "slow" your weight loss down!

dohdiee

I do roughly 1000 calories a day (not intentionally - I just have a really small appetite all the time) and I've lost like 4 pounds in about a fortnight. It might have been the scales though, but I like to think not. As long as you eat good calories (e.g. not snack a lot and if you do, have fruit and veg) and don't exercise too much, you should be fine.

P05T5CRIPT

In before a certain person uses copy and paste to spew her wall of nonsense.

Hahahahaha...I know who you mean!! :laugh:

:laugh: Love it!

rileamoyer

It's unhealthy, and it will give you the opposite of what you want in the long run! Keep exercising, and keep your metabolism up by eating a minimum of 1200/day NET (eat your exercise cals back) on average. If you don't lose with this then see a doctor.

THIS - Plus you have so little to lose, it just takes longer.

AND you need at least 1 day of rest for your body to recover from the exercise. Use the tools here, they really help!

AimersBee

reallifealien

very unhealthy.. i lost more weight when i was eating 1500 calories daily

tiffanylacourse

I want to lose the weight a bit faster and I'm already exercising 7 days a week.
Wondering if it would be unhealthy to cut my calories to 1000 daily

If you're as active as you say you are, maybe you should try UPPING your calories instead of reducing them.

Just sayin'.

sevsmom

Or you could accept and appreciate that anything worth doing is worth doing right... that takes time. There's no shortcuts.

^^THIS^^

Cutting corners always costs you in the end whether it's in weight loss, taxes, or home remodeling projects. Do it right the first time. . .takes more time, but in the end you'll have results you can LIVE with.

RobinvdM

I suppose I understand your frustration with not losing weight quickly enough, but I would recommend you look at every aspect of your current plan before changing your calorie intake. Talk to a professional if you have access to one (dietitian for example,) and see if there are things you can change in what you are eating instead of how many calories you are eating. If you are working out quite a bit, you need to feed the machine in a healthy way. It baffles me when folks workout like a beast, get a huge calorie margin and then leave it uneaten. That's like... FREE FOOD why not eat at least half of that in a healthful way??

My arch enemy is sodium, I can watch calories all I want to and if my sodium intake is too high the weight just will not come off.

As far as healthy to be 1000 cals, I don't think it is healthy unless you speak with a nutrition specialist who can set you up with a specific diet that gets your body 100% of its nutrients within that limit.

Bottom line, unless you are working with someone specifically like a doctor or a nutrition specialist, I wouldn't jack around with your calorie intake. To beat the old adage to death: You didn't gain weight overnight, you aren't going to lose it overnight.

soulfulsally

After doing some research on many different verified sources, 1200 seems to be the agreed bare minimum to diet safely. Other wise your body just goes into starvation mode. This means that your metabolism will slow and your body will keep hold of any fat and not risk burning it off, because as far as your body is concerned, food is scarce and you need to conserve your fat. Instead, your body will begin to break down muscle tissue and organs. Your energy levels will drop. Doesn't sound too good does it? 1200 - 1500 calories per day is healthy for a woman. Get the balance right and the weight will go.

It doesn't make sense to me why the body would break down muscle tissue and organs before using its excess fat supplies. Anyone care to shed some light on this? :flowerforyou:

Matt_Wild

The body fat you hold took years/months to put on. Why should it take just weeks to come off? Slow and steadily change your diet to make it a lifestyle, not a 'diet'.