What do you think of my plan?

outclimb

My Stats: I'm 22 years old, 5'5, 157 pounds, 28.8% bodyfat, about 112lbs LBM

My plan: Eat a low calorie diet of 800 calories per day, well balanced focusing on fruits, vegetables, lean protein. With eating clean and eating lots of vegetables I know I could eat this number and not be hungry all the time. Keeping protein at 100g per day. Workouts would be Strength training 4 days per week with 2 days of 20 minutes of HIIT cardio. Once a reached my goal weight, I would increase calories by 100 calories every 2 weeks until I found my maintenance level. Maintain my goal weight for a couple of months, and continue with the same workout plan. Once I'm confident in my ability to maintain I'd start eating at a surplus and continue the weight lifting to build muslce, and then continue on the standard bulk/cut cycle until I reach my ideal body and body fat %.

I had read a study (http://www.jacn.org/content/18/2/115.abstract) that compared two groups of people. Both were on low calorie diets, one group did primarily weight lifting workouts and the other group did primarily cardio workouts. The study showed that the weight lifting group lost no muscle while on the low calorie diet while the cardio only group did lose muscle.

If my math with my TDEE is correct I should lose 3.5 pounds per week which would get me at my goal weight in roughly 10 weeks, so the 800 calories isn't a long term plan.

LupitaWins12

NOOOO....800 calories per day is very bad for you..!! You will gain the weight back...instead aim for 1-2 pounds a week. Make it a lifestyle change!

Unknown

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outclimb

NOOOO....800 calories per day is very bad for you..!! You will gain the weight back...instead aim for 1-2 pounds a week. Make it a lifestyle change!

Did you read the study? Why do you say it's bad for you? If I am not eating a huge surplus I wont gain the weight back.

msjessielynn

NOOOO....800 calories per day is very bad for you..!! You will gain the weight back...instead aim for 1-2 pounds a week. Make it a lifestyle change!

this...1200 is like the barest minimum

RobKarmic

You're an INTJ aren't you?

IowaJen1979

The study says it lowers your metabolism, which is bad. Read carefully!

smantha32

NOOOO....800 calories per day is very bad for you..!! You will gain the weight back...instead aim for 1-2 pounds a week. Make it a lifestyle change!

this...1200 is like the barest minimum

This.

outclimb

The study says it lowers your metabolism, which is bad. Read carefully!

No it doesn't, "Conclusion: The addition of an intensive, high volume resistance training program resulted in preservation of LBW and RMR during weight loss with a VLCD."

Right in the conclusion it said the resistance group preserved lean body weight (muscle, bone, organs etc) and preserved resting metabolic rate.

RMR - resting metabolic rate.

Arwaxx

give it a try.. test ur theory.. i am currently trying out eat more - lose fat. good luck lol

Unknown

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outclimb

If you already like your plan and will argue anything said against it then why do you ask or even care what we think? Go try it and report back in 12 months

I was looking for real reasons or experiences on why it may not work or why it may not be healthy. Not just No it's bad with no reasoning or research behind it. I actually didn't argue against any thing that was said. I just asked why and corrected a statement about the article.

megsmom2

Since you've already made up your mind why did you bother asking for opinions? Its a bad idea...but carry on...its your health to ruin if you want to.

blu_meanie_ca

Outside of a clinical setting, surrounded by doctors and nurses, 800 cal a day with intenstive workouts is a) way less food than you think it is... Protein is great, but, surprisingly hi cal, and b) pass out and hit the floor level of low cal.
If you look hard enough you can find 1 study that comes to any conclusion you wish to find. One study does not make fact. Find 3, then make a theory off of that.

outclimb

Since you've already made up your mind why did you bother asking for opinions? Its a bad idea...but carry on...its your health to ruin if you want to.

Because silly me, I thought someone might actually give me some useful information and put more than 10 seconds of thought into their reply.

zoeyjane138

If you already like your plan and will argue anything said against it then why do you ask or even care what we think? Go try it and report back in 12 months

I was looking for real reasons or experiences on why it may not work or why it may not be healthy. Not just No it's bad with no reasoning or research behind it. I actually didn't argue against any thing that was said. I just asked why and corrected a statement about the article.

unles you plan on eating 800 cal for the rest of your life, you will gain weight back, if you go over 800 to many days in a row...

outclimb

Outside of a clinical setting, surrounded by doctors and nurses, 800 cal a day with intenstive workouts is a) way less food than you think it is... Protein is great, but, surprisingly hi cal, and b) pass out and hit the floor level of low cal.
If you look hard enough you can find 1 study that comes to any conclusion you wish to find. One study does not make fact. Find 3, then make a theory off of that.

Thank you I will keep researching to find if there are any similar studies.

jmadams111

If you read thru a number of the posts on here you will find hundreds if not thousands from people eating less than 1200 calories....and not losing.

outclimb

If you already like your plan and will argue anything said against it then why do you ask or even care what we think? Go try it and report back in 12 months

I was looking for real reasons or experiences on why it may not work or why it may not be healthy. Not just No it's bad with no reasoning or research behind it. I actually didn't argue against any thing that was said. I just asked why and corrected a statement about the article.

unles you plan on eating 800 cal for the rest of your life, you will gain weight back, if you go over 800 to many days in a row...

In this theory what is the difference between 800 and 1200 calories? If you don't plan to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life will you just gain the weight back?

Not arguing just curious

djames92

oh youll lose 3.5 pounds per week alot of it being muscle not to mention since youll lose weight really fast youll have alot of gross loose skin that will never go away so yeah go ahead and take a quick (and in my opinion) unhealthy way to do it

laserturkey

This sort of thing seems dangerously close to the sort of thing my sister was doing as she developed anorexia. She died less than a year after that from cerebral hemorrhage due to malnutrition.

I really think your plan will do you more harm than good.

Where's the fire? Is there some reason you have to be at goal weight in 10 weeks? It would be MUCH healthier to eat at your BMR and enjoy some good, nutritious food on a slower path to your goal. It would also be a lot less miserable.

ktdiddy

I am going to jump in and defend the 800 calorie diet.

I am currently part of a university study into to effects of dopamine on the body and endured an 800 calorie diet (Optifast) for six weeks.
In order to move to the next phase of the study (which involves a drug trial), I had to lose 5% of my body fat in four weeks. As I had already been losing weight, my progress was slower than some of the more obese patients on the trial but I did lose 6.8kg in the four weeks. I gradually added more calories into my diet over the remaining two weeks and lost further weight (although not as much as I did in the first four weeks). I did not put on any weight after then 800 calories diet and have actually lost a total of 22kg by diet alone since January 2012.

I can see that for some, a very low calorie diet can appear dangerous but if it is done in the right way and over a short period of time, it can actually be beneficial - it has changed my life completely.

laserturkey

If you already like your plan and will argue anything said against it then why do you ask or even care what we think? Go try it and report back in 12 months

I was looking for real reasons or experiences on why it may not work or why it may not be healthy. Not just No it's bad with no reasoning or research behind it. I actually didn't argue against any thing that was said. I just asked why and corrected a statement about the article.

unles you plan on eating 800 cal for the rest of your life, you will gain weight back, if you go over 800 to many days in a row...

In this theory what is the difference between 800 and 1200 calories? If you don't plan to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life will you just gain the weight back?

Not arguing just curious

That certainly seems to be what happens to many people, based on anecdotal evidence from these forums. There may be some clinical information to back that up, too, but it's already past my bedtime so I'll leave that to someone with a more extensive background in that.

laserturkey

I am going to jump in and defend the 800 calorie diet.

I am currently part of a university study into to effects of dopamine on the body and endured an 800 calorie diet (Optifast) for six weeks.
In order to move to the next phase of the study (which involves a drug trial), I had to lose 5% of my body fat in four weeks. As I had already been losing weight, my progress was slower than some of the more obese patients on the trial but I did lose 6.8kg in the four weeks. I gradually added more calories into my diet over the remaining two weeks and lost further weight (although not as much as I did in the first four weeks). I did not put on any weight after then 800 calories diet and have actually lost a total of 22kg by diet alone since January 2012.

I can see that for some, a very low calorie diet can appear dangerous but if it is done in the right way and over a short period of time, it can actually be beneficial - it has changed my life completely.

OP is talking about 10 weeks. That doesn't seem like a short period of time, to me.

Rayman79

I get the theory of this, but think you may find it difficult on so few calories. I don't prescribe to the '1200 is a minimum calorie intake' like so many on here, but you will probably really struggle for energy.

If you do insist on such a plan, I would take out the HIIT component, the intense cardio will really tax your body, and reduce your ability to recover from your resistance training (which is by far the most important form of exercise on any low cal diet).

I would also ask what calorie level you are on now. If you are already on a low cal diet the result of dropping further might not be that great, you may be better off slowly working up your intake and then having discreet periods of low cal to help bust through plateaus.

If you want to do really low cal, I'd suggest looking into some decent resources on the subject. Lyle's Rapid Fat Loss Handbook (RFL) would be the template I would use for a short duration high protein VLCD plan.

What ever you decide, if you are determined to do a very low cal diet, please don't ignore any warning signs from your body and get regular checkups from your GP to minimise any risks.

kimosabe1

your plan don't sound right-sorry........

Confuzzled4ever

My Stats: I'm 22 years old, 5'5, 157 pounds, 28.8% bodyfat, about 112lbs LBM

My plan: Eat a low calorie diet of 800 calories per day, well balanced focusing on fruits, vegetables, lean protein. With eating clean and eating lots of vegetables I know I could eat this number and not be hungry all the time. Keeping protein at 100g per day. Workouts would be Strength training 4 days per week with 2 days of 20 minutes of HIIT cardio. Once a reached my goal weight, I would increase calories by 100 calories every 2 weeks until I found my maintenance level. Maintain my goal weight for a couple of months, and continue with the same workout plan. Once I'm confident in my ability to maintain I'd start eating at a surplus and continue the weight lifting to build muslce, and then continue on the standard bulk/cut cycle until I reach my ideal body and body fat %.

I had read a study (http://www.jacn.org/content/18/2/115.abstract) that compared two groups of people. Both were on low calorie diets, one group did primarily weight lifting workouts and the other group did primarily cardio workouts. The study showed that the weight lifting group lost no muscle while on the low calorie diet while the cardio only group did lose muscle.

If my math with my TDEE is correct I should lose 3.5 pounds per week which would get me at my goal weight in roughly 10 weeks, so the 800 calories isn't a long term plan.

Oh.. you'll lose weight.. you'll also enter starvation mode and possible land in the ER.. take it from me.. i did this unintentionally.. Vertigo, plummeting blood pressure, heart rate in the 40s, no energy, blurry vision and a huge struggle to get myself back on track.. Now my metabolism is super low.. and I'm struggling to eat enough to maintain health. Plus once you lose the weight you'll have to forever eat that little, or you will gain it back. A nutritionist told me that my stomach shrank and my metabolism slowed, so i have to try to hit at least 1200 a day in an effort to stretch my stomach out a bit to accommodate the food and slowly increase my metabolism so I can get back to being healthy. (Literally I would eat a little and feel stuffed and think I was going to be sick, but was actually eating less then 800 a day at the lowest point.. that's total not net) If you really want to do this right.. make it a lifestyle change.. not a diet change. fad diets, quick fixes, they don't work. my goal is not to lose weight. My goal is to be healthy.. the bonus of eating healthy and living healthy? the weight falls off on it's own.. i don't even try.

it's really simple.. set a realistic healthy goal.. start an exercise routine and make sure you meet both.. Eat clean and you'll reach your weight goals without trying.

hatethegame

It's not enough calories. I read that study and no where do they suggest eating at that deficit. That is the difference. Outside of that you would definitely benefit from the strength training on top of the HIIT.

zoeyjane138

If you already like your plan and will argue anything said against it then why do you ask or even care what we think? Go try it and report back in 12 months

I was looking for real reasons or experiences on why it may not work or why it may not be healthy. Not just No it's bad with no reasoning or research behind it. I actually didn't argue against any thing that was said. I just asked why and corrected a statement about the article.

unles you plan on eating 800 cal for the rest of your life, you will gain weight back, if you go over 800 to many days in a row...

In this theory what is the difference between 800 and 1200 calories? If you don't plan to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life will you just gain the weight back?

Not arguing just curious

my dr put me on a 1200 cal a day regimen.... i gained 5lbs, in 3 days...i went 3 days with 1000 cal... i dropped almst 6lbs.... then the next day i was at 1200 again... i gained a few lbs back, and stayed there for almost 2 weeks... when i upped my cals to 12-1500 a day, i am down 14lbs in 5 weeks.... ur body has to have the energy to sustain it. or else all your work is for nothing... the same principal applies to maintaining... if u eat the same number of cals everyday, and at such alow amount ur metabolism will get use to this and slow down, thus anytme u eat over your 800 your body will b so happy to b getting extra nutrients. it will hold on to them..

Sarauk2sf

Your plan is terrible.

Hbazzell

800 is way too low.
At least 1000 for normal body functions. Remember that your bosy is always using energy to keep itself heated, digest food, etc. 100 is the minimum you need to keep basic functions (like your metabolism) going.