ultra low calorie diets - how do you cope

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  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
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    Are they carb cravings or just plain food cravings? My bet is on the latter since 1,000 calories / day isn't something anybody with access to food should try to live on.

    and they are carb cravings, not hunger... im not hungry on this diet as i fill up on high fiber low calorie foods, water, and healthy food.

    but sometimes i want sugar, not food.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    im only going to be doing it for a few weeks at a time, alternating almost starvation with regular (not gluttonous) eating.

    the reason being i believe it to be the most natural way to convince your body that food supplies are limited and you should be burning fat,

    i also do cardio and strength training to keep up the muscle mass (as if i was still out there hunting for food, but just being unsuccesful) i also switch from meat products to vegetable products to again trick my body into thinking i cant catch anything.

    my only problem is that i crave the carbs.

    i dont want advice on my diet not being suitable, i have spoken to my doctor and she is ok with it as long as i monitor myself for signs of kidney or liver issues and only for a maximum of 4 weeks at a time.

    this way i lose 5-8 lbs per week (based on my last loss) for 4 weeks, then maintain and build strength (during which time i lost a good few inches off my waist) before going back into a fat burning cycle.

    i just want to know how to not crave carbs

    or if i cant not crave carbs then ill just stay too busy and not eat at all and starve myself 100% for 3 days out of 7
    What? This is some weird fantasy crap. You can't "trick" your body. Your body doesn't think. It just does. When you can't find food, your body actually slows way down and conserves fat, burning off all glycogen (which is why you crave carbs) and then breaking down nonessential muscle to go along with burning small amounts of fat.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    how about you guys look at my join date... for over a year i was religiously eating healthy, and less than 2000 calories, and it did **** all difference..

    i starve myself one time, i lose 25 lbs...

    look, i asked a specific question, then i specified i dont want to hear your opinions on what is or is not healthy.

    bear in mind that my doctor, who has seen my entire medical file, has recommended this diet due to genetic problems of which you lot are unaware.

    so either answer my question as asked or politely dont answer at all.

    and im not being moody or grouchy, its just that while for you all, those higher lower rate burns work for you. they do not work for me, they didnt work for me when i followed the weight watchers diet, they didnt work on a calorie controlled, nurse supervised, eat what your told and nothing else do not deviate diet.

    this works.

    i asked for help

    you all but shot me down for daring.

    its not one rule for all you know.

    If you really ARE doctor supervised for whatever "conditions", then you should have said that straight off.

    I feel like now that you've been told you're wrong, you are "all of a sudden" under doctor's orders.

    If a doctor told you to do it, why were you asking opinions from people who's opinions you obviously don't give a rat's *kitten* about?
  • tryingsohard187
    tryingsohard187 Posts: 21
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    I don't know about the rest of it but as for the cravings, drink water and or wait 20 mintues because that is how long your body needs to realize its full and that is also how long it takes for a craving to go away.
  • soulfulsally
    soulfulsally Posts: 326
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    You are on skinny-fat highway man.
    Thats hard to come back from.

    PM me and I can get you started or...

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    ^^ This ... trust him, he knows! I follow the road map plan and I am losing steady and I am never hungry.
    [/quote]

    Ditto that! Eat more and still lose - much better for keeping sane while dieting. :happy:
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I just cant get myself past the first few days without giving in and swallowing a few thousand calories in simple sugars.

    This is precisely why "ultra" low calorie diets do not work. Please eat more. Consider this a full change to your lifestyle, not a diet. Diets are not sustainable. People think they can go back to eating "normally" after a diet. Normal doesn't exist. You need to create a new normal.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    You're eating less than half of what you should be eating per day. You're doing it wrong. You're a grown man. Eat like one.

    Do you want to lose some weight and be fit and healthy? Or do you want to be one of those people who serially lose weight and gain it back over and over?
  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
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    hey you know what... thanks

    f*** the lot of you ill just stop eating from now on.

    either ill get thin, or ill die. i really dont care which anymore.
  • firedragon064
    firedragon064 Posts: 1,090 Member
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    Check out Ketogenic Diet. It's still low carb but you can eat high carb on certain days base on your training schedule.
    It may kick you out of keto stage for couple hours but you would get back to that stage after your work out.
    There are several low carbs groups on this website. You can check their posts for ideas.
    You can try to mock your favorite recipe instead just don't eat them at all.
    For example: pancake is a mixed of egg white and protein powder. Pizza is califlower dough or pizza dough.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    hey you know what... thanks

    f*** the lot of you ill just stop eating from now on.

    either ill get thin, or ill die. i really dont care which anymore.

    seek professional help...

    you have much worse issues than weight loss.
  • soulfulsally
    soulfulsally Posts: 326
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    how about you guys look at my join date... for over a year i was religiously eating healthy, and less than 2000 calories, and it did **** all difference..

    Tried looking in your diary for food examples during that time, but kept coming up blank. Were you tracking calorie intake another way?

    Do you know how many calories you were taking in before trying to lose weight? Hard to imagine that a sub-2000 daily intake would be your maintenance.
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
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    Ultra low calorie diets are stupid. You're better off sticking to something that'll last you.

    In regards to the carb cravings, however, my advice is to either:
    A) Reach for a starch rather than a sugar when you really have a craving (ie, baked sweet potato over a sweet fruit or cake).
    Or
    B) Go on a regular low carb diet at maintenance before going into a deficit; that way you'll hopefully kick your cravings for carbs before lowering your calories and a binge will be less likely.

    Please, though, for the sake of yourself (doesn't really other me), just eat at a reasonable deficit - 10-20% below maintenance. You're just gonna mess ourself up in the LNG run if you do something stupid like, say, starve yourself.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    hey you know what... thanks

    f*** the lot of you ill just stop eating from now on.

    either ill get thin, or ill die. i really dont care which anymore.

    Please get some help. If you are under Dr's supervision, are they doing anything to help improve your hormone levels?

    You are on a very unhealthy road.
  • saraann4
    saraann4 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    im only going to be doing it for a few weeks at a time, alternating almost starvation with regular (not gluttonous) eating.

    the reason being i believe it to be the most natural way to convince your body that food supplies are limited and you should be burning fat,

    i also do cardio and strength training to keep up the muscle mass (as if i was still out there hunting for food, but just being unsuccesful) i also switch from meat products to vegetable products to again trick my body into thinking i cant catch anything.

    my only problem is that i crave the carbs.

    i dont want advice on my diet not being suitable, i have spoken to my doctor and she is ok with it as long as i monitor myself for signs of kidney or liver issues and only for a maximum of 4 weeks at a time.

    this way i lose 5-8 lbs per week (based on my last loss) for 4 weeks, then maintain and build strength (during which time i lost a good few inches off my waist) before going back into a fat burning cycle.

    i just want to know how to not crave carbs

    or if i cant not crave carbs then ill just stay too busy and not eat at all and starve myself 100% for 3 days out of 7


    You love carbs, who doesn't?!?! So, eat them! Moderation is key. If you want a freaking danish, eat one. Be sure to watch your macros and don't go over. You can still eat what you want just with better thinking.
  • HisangelG
    HisangelG Posts: 96 Member
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    hey you know what... thanks

    f*** the lot of you ill just stop eating from now on.

    either ill get thin, or ill die. i really dont care which anymore.

    seek professional help...

    you have much worse issues than weight loss.

    QFT
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    hey you know what... thanks

    f*** the lot of you ill just stop eating from now on.

    either ill get thin, or ill die. i really dont care which anymore.

    hey whatever you decide you want to do with your body, you alone have the power to make it happen.

    get thin?
    die?
    get lean?
    get strong?

    you get to choose. with your current plan, you are headed for weak and skinny-fat. i recommend strong and lean. it feels good.
  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
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    The doctors dont really care... they just give you pills for your "mood issues" then they tell you to stop eating crap... ooh so helpful doc, thanks...

    well im not taking the pills anymore, and im gonna stop eating crap, and everything else. ive got what, 150lbs of fat, thats 150 days of calories inside me right now. so 6 months from now ill be 150lbs lighter.

    david blaine didnt eat for 40 something days and he was fine after
    annorexics drag it out for years before they get so boney people notice.

    so why cant i take 6 months off from food.
  • Tryinonemoretime
    Tryinonemoretime Posts: 86 Member
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    The way I lost my craving for carbs (meaning sweets and a sweet tooth that drove me CRAZY) was by cutting out diet soda. My Doc told me that would work and I had no faith in that what so ever but my sweet tooth is what always was my downfall in dieting. I would diet like crazy for a few days or sometimes I would last for a few weeks and then............BAM!!!.............it would be 2 am and off to Caseys or any other 24 store and I would spend 20 bucks on donuts, candy, nuts, ice cream take it all home and eat it all then be so sick!!!!
    Once I quit the pop after about a weeks my sweet tooth was gone. I had to tell my Doc she was rigtht. I have been dieting since Sept 17 and so far no middle of the night trips to the gas station and I bypass all the sweets everyone brings to work to share.
    As far as craving the sandwiches................no advice there, sorry.
    Good Luck to you!
    If you would like to friend me that is great but I keep a private diary if that makes a difference to you. Happy Holiday!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    like i said, you pick your own destiny.

    if you want to be a television magician or an anorexic, have at it. it's just that there are more appealing and more satisfying goals i can think of.
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
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    how about you guys look at my join date... for over a year i was religiously eating healthy, and less than 2000 calories, and it did **** all difference..

    i starve myself one time, i lose 25 lbs...

    look, i asked a specific question, then i specified i dont want to hear your opinions on what is or is not healthy.

    bear in mind that my doctor, who has seen my entire medical file, has recommended this diet due to genetic problems of which you lot are unaware.

    so either answer my question as asked or politely dont answer at all.

    and im not being moody or grouchy, its just that while for you all, those higher lower rate burns work for you. they do not work for me, they didnt work for me when i followed the weight watchers diet, they didnt work on a calorie controlled, nurse supervised, eat what your told and nothing else do not deviate diet.

    this works.

    i asked for help

    you all but shot me down for daring.

    its not one rule for all you know.

    Yeah, sounds like what you're doing is working great for you.

    You asked how to not crave carbs, and people are trying to help you by giving you excellent advice. Since that's not what you want to hear, apparently, and now you say you'll just starve yourself...well, I honestly wish you all the best. It breaks my heart to read things like that. You should seek psychiatric help at this point.

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