If you still choose to eat less than 1200 calories a day...

DavidC1857

YOU WERE UNDER DOCTOR SUPERVISION! Actually read the original post. Op was NOT talking about those on doctor supervised VLCD!

I am glad you did well on VLCD though that isn't any proof that people should do them on their own. I was under doctor supervision and eating vlcd. I got rid of my doctor when I developed heart problems, stomach issues and slew of other proboems due to not eating enough.

NO I WASN'T.

I called him on the phone and said "Hey. I want to do Medifast. Is it OK and will it hurt me?" He said, "No, go ahead." Actually I didn't even talk to him, it was relayed through his staff. I saw him once, somewhere in the middle.

And I will reiterate. How can a DOCTOR SUPERVISED DIET under 1200 calories exist if NO MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL will recommend it? And I didn't develop heart problems, stomach problems or any other problems. So not everyone is like you. Or anyone else. And that is my point.

If someone doesn't want to do a very low cal diet, DON'T. If they do, make it healthy and do it. And if someone doesn't like what someone else is doing, tough.

Wow I bow out because I see what you are doing and feel people like you are useless to talk to.

I'm countering the OP (and your) illogical bashing of other people with facts (doctor recommended, clinical peer reviewed studies, my own personal experience.)

Obviously people like me are useless to talk to, because we don't support your pre judgement.

kw0205

I was under 1200 yesterday and I ate an egg for breakfast, and chick-fil-a kids meal at lunch, and mashed cauliflower and steak for dinner and two glasses of wine. I didn't snack on fruit yesterday (but a lot of days I do). Not saying chick-fil-a is healthy by ANY stretch (but boy, that chicken crack makes me mouth happy!), I didn't eat bad and didn't juice or any of those things that make people wonder if they can survive on that type of diet. My goal is the 1200/day. If I fall short, so be it. If I go over, I hope I don't kick myself too hard. I think I was eating less than 1200/day on WW.

Scoopers804

I eat what I want, when I want. Sometimes I make great choices. Sometimes, they're not so well. I guess I must be lucky, because I have found a great group of friends on MFP so far, who don't judge what or how I eat and I have no intention of judging them. If someone is so wound up about what kind of day or even week I've had, and feels the need to un-friend me for it? That's OK by me. I prefer to have supportive friends who stick with me through thick and thin, just like I'd do for them. I tend to think, if we all ate and exercised perfectly, we probably wouldn't be here in the first place. Much love and strength to my MFP friends!

LorinaLynn

You have some really good points on here but it is a shame you put it on as a vent.

It would be considered cruel to say to an overweight person what is wrong with you, you've got to be crazy shoving all that food in your mouth until you got obese. Do you not know what this does to your body etc etc

It is equally unkind to be less than encouraging to an under eater

Both of these people have eating issues, just different ones and maybe both of them are trying to address their problems by being on this site. I see loads of excuses from overweight people about why they aren't losing as well as excuses from under-eaters.

I don't think the majority of people eating 1200 calories are under-eaters or have an eating disorder. I think they're just setting their goals wrong and don't understand the way this site works.

And I say that because I was one of them when I joined.

Once I decided to lose weight, I wanted it gone as soon as humanly possible, so I set my goals to lose two pounds a week and got 1200. It wasn't until I started paying attention to the math and listening to the vents and rants of people on here, that I realized that at my weight, two pounds a week was not humanly possible. :laugh:

I did, thankfully, understand that the 1200 calories was a base and that exercise would increase that goal. So I didn't eat ONLY 1200. Which is a good thing because otherwise, I would have been eating about half my TDEE. :indifferent:

I'm grateful for those who challenged my beliefs and thoughts about food, exercise and weight loss. If I kept doing what I always believed to be true, it never would have worked.

Juliane_

YOU WERE UNDER DOCTOR SUPERVISION! Actually read the original post. Op was NOT talking about those on doctor supervised VLCD!

I am glad you did well on VLCD though that isn't any proof that people should do them on their own. I was under doctor supervision and eating vlcd. I got rid of my doctor when I developed heart problems, stomach issues and slew of other proboems due to not eating enough.

NO I WASN'T.

I called him on the phone and said "Hey. I want to do Medifast. Is it OK and will it hurt me?" He said, "No, go ahead." Actually I didn't even talk to him, it was relayed through his staff. I saw him once, somewhere in the middle.

And I will reiterate. How can a DOCTOR SUPERVISED DIET under 1200 calories exist if NO MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL will recommend it? And I didn't develop heart problems, stomach problems or any other problems. So not everyone is like you. Or anyone else. And that is my point.

If someone doesn't want to do a very low cal diet, DON'T. If they do, make it healthy and do it. And if someone doesn't like what someone else is doing, tough.

I like you David. Very well said!

Also doctors are not the know it all be it all. They make mistakes too. The "Doctor Supervised" thing is always put out there because we live in a "Sue You Happy Country"...so people protect themselves from lawsuits by saying "talk to your doctor"...blah blah blah

vrpenson

I completely agree. I am new to watching the caloric value of what I eat, trying to lose weight but I want to do it in a healthy way. Any day I eat under 1200 calories a day I feel sick- and exercise is almost unbearable, because I am tired! Food is fuel. You must fuel your body for it to function properly, and use exercise to become strong inside and out, as well as burn off that fuel.

Gracerrr

I eat more than 1200 calories each day, but after excercise, my net is often below 1200 (closer to 800). Because I am so heavy, it is easy for me to hit 1000 calories during my workouts (50-55 minutes). I eat until I am full and when I was trying to get more calories into my diet, I found that I would eat junk and filler foods. What's a girl to do? Eating should not be a full time job....

NinjaTheGinger

I don't vent and lash out at the people on my friends list for eating WAY over their calories or making very nasty food choices, so I would hope they would treat me with the same respect. We are all here to learn and fix ourselves, be it to eat more or to eat less. Can we bury the horse already?

kirstyfairhead

Im not sure why you feel the need to vent?? Why does what somebody else eats affect you in any way?? Surely the only food intake you need to be concerned about is your own?? Unless that person has specifically asked for your help. Surely we all have the right to choose what and how we eat:ohwell:

I agree its funny how all ranting know alls are lego heads who are unable to download a picture to their profile.
Its always a lego head moaning seeking advice then objecting to every single bit of advice.
This is the last time I read a lego heads posting!!!!:mad:

What is a lego head, not heard this saying before and so need to know what a lego head is.

Please explain!!

chocl8girl

Your common sense makes no sense on this forum. :P

Seriously, I don't care what people eat. Unless they ask for advice. Then, I will tell them what I think, and what works for ME. NOT what they should do, because I don't know that, i only know what works for me, but it they ask for my opinion, I will give it, and if they don't want to hear it, they should just shut up and continue doing what they are doing, if they know so much. *shrug*

Some people just seem to want to be offended.

lee91356

My point is this...just seek medical attention whether you choose to eat less than 1,200 or your are having a problem eating what is medically necessary, again on a regular basis. And the reason that I'm 'upset by what others do' is because they are obviously not aware of the long-term health consequences that can come with their choice to drastically cut calories. I know several people who have been sick from VLCD,(both in my teen years and now as an adult) and I just wanted to add another dimension to the conversation besides "starvation mode" - i.e. its more serious than that. Again if this is how one chooses to eat or eats, I DONT REALLY CARE, it does not effect me personally, I only wanted them to make sure that they knew what else can happen and advice them to seek medical attention to ensure that they are not harming their body.

Again is it worth being thinner if your overall health is poor, just saying.

DavidC1857

My point is this...just seek medical attention whether you choose to eat less than 1,200 or your are having a problem eating what is medically necessary, again on a regular basis. And the reason that I'm 'upset by what others do' is because they are obviously not aware of the long-term health consequences that can come with their choice to drastically cut calories. I know several people who have been sick from VLCD,(both in my teen years and now as an adult) and I just wanted to add another dimension to the conversation besides "starvation mode" - i.e. its more serious than that. Again if this is how one chooses to eat or eats, I DONT REALLY CARE, it does not effect me personally, I only wanted them to make sure that they knew what else can happen and advice them to seek medical attention to ensure that they are not harming their body.

Again is it worth being thinner if your overall health is poor, just saying.

So many assumptions.

Someone who either chooses or can not eat more than 1200 calories needs to see a doctor, because 1200 calories is "medically necessary." In my weight loss journey of well under 1200 calories I've met many, many people on the same plan who are getting healthier by the day. Myself included.

Long term health consequences? Like weight loss, improved blood lipids, improved blood pressure, mitigation of any number of weight related diseases. Those are awful things, aren't they?

You know several people. So obviously, several people have harmed themselves with VLCD's, so everyone on a VLCD is harming themselves. A resulting in B for one, or even many, does not mean A results in B for everyone. And when A does NOT result in B for many, it certainly disproves that A results in B for everyone.

Is it worth being thinner if your overall health is poor? No. Is it worth being thinner when your overall health has improved significantly? I'd say so. And so would all the people I know who are and have achieved that with a VLC diet.

I am very aware that there are people who choose to eat very few calories and are harming themselves in the process. The issue is that they are harming themselves. The issue is not the means. Your original post was an absolute that anyone doing a VLCD was harming themselves. You still make similar assumptions.

smilesalot1969

Why is it everyone seems to feel the need to tell everyone else how it IS. So much BS.

They generally include things like "ALL MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS", and of course how it's going to destroy your body, hair loss, gallstones, etc, etc, etc. Oh and of course they are doomed to failure.

So here is my story. I am 6'4". At my highest I weighed 340+ pounds. When I started MEDIFAST (OMG EVIL Very LowCal DIET) I weighed 328 pounds. I ate less than 1200 calories (actually around 1000) for 9 months and lost 128 pounds. Then I did the transition (I'm in the 8th week) and lost more for a total of 134.5 pounds.

Clearly I didn't fail.

My hair didn't fall out (not even a little)

My gallbladder is fine.

I am healthier than I have been since I started college.

I don't take blood pressure medication anymore.

I don't take cholesterol medication any more.

My knees don't hurt any more. I can walk further than the kitchen without huffing and puffing.

I could go on but I think you get the point.

My doctor approved me going on Medifast. It is recommended by many doctors. There is a fairly decent body of in house and peer reviewed clinical studies showing it is safe and effective. So apparently ALL MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS do not agree with you.

So maybe you ought to do what works for you. And let us do what works for us. And give it a rest already.

OK, I gotta add this.

I wasn't tired and listless. I had so much energy that when winter hit I had a hard time figuring what to do with myself.

It didn't hurt my self esteem at all. In fact, losing 135 pounds has been a great boost.

I lost 3.5 pounds per week average. I was not hungry all the time. I was hungry some times, but I ate something about every 3 hours and hunger is not a bad thing.

You rock!! :flowerforyou: well done on your success you found what worked for you and went for it.

supergirljen

Isn't it more important what MAKES UP those 1200 calories? 1200 calories of McDonalds is not the same to your body as 1200 calories of vegetables/fruits, lean meat etc.

bcattoes

I agree with you too Lee. My problem is I either eat to little or too much. I am trying to be more aware and fix that.

Eating under you calorie goal some days and over on others is okay if the average is where it needs to be. Average your calories over 7-10 days see how close to goal you are.

smilesalot1969

Isn't it more important what MAKES UP those 1200 calories? 1200 calories of McDonalds is not the same to your body as 1200 calories of vegetables/fruits, lean meat etc.

^^^^^^^ THIS

farway

What is a lego head, not heard this saying before and so need to know what a lego head is.

Please explain!!

I think the Lego head refers to the face /picture icon, default is a blank blue jobby

laluna6

I agree with you. Sure, some people don't eat 1200cal a day on purpose to lose weight (something that I did 3 years ago and gained all the lost weight back in just a few weeks). But as a person with a unhealthy relationship with food, I believe that such a generalization can discourage someone who struggles with an eating disorder. Please people, don't be so judgemental!

laluna6

I really struggle to consume my recommended daily intake of 2000 in order to maintain. I barely ever make 1,000, let alone 1,200.

I have reasons behind it and I know others do too...but at least we are on here trying to make a difference. I am sure someone who is genuinely struggling wouldn't like to read this.

I didn't consume under 1,200 because I wanted to be skinny or I wanted the weight to fall off at all. I just found it hard to eat.
So I am sorry if people like me annoy you...but actually the problem lies far deeper than just how many calories I consume.

xx

sorry wanted to reply to you but I did something wrong and I posted as a reply to the original post.

cljabusc

My recommended calorie intake is 1200, but i have a hard time consuming at least 1000 calories a day, and then when you subract a 50 minute workout, my calorie deficit is from 500-800!

I am eating plenty of veggies every meal, fruits, as well as some nuts, whole grains, eggs, chicken and other sources of protein and natural fats. I also eat two snacks a day which are usually veggies or nuts. I find it hard to increase my caloric intake without going way over on natural fats, sugars, and protein.

I would like to increase calories without exceding my daily intake of fats, sugars and protein too much... HELP!