500 calorie weekdays and anything i want weekends

Sandrita615

Ok im confused..before diet, i didnt think i was eating that much but gained weight...so i started counting calories and using lettuce and cucumbers to add volume to my meals....i am splitting each meal in two small portions so as to eat a normal amount of food while eating 6xday to shrink my stomach and speed up my metabolism. I am not hungry at all and I'm only taking in 500 calories a day...mind u i am eating plenty of food...fresh fruits and vegetables lettuce tuna packed in water - all naturally low in carbs so u can eat lots of them..veggie burgers...i feel better and losing a pound every day or two......(although on weekends i let myself have anything including pizza, cheese, wine, etc.)...now your site is telling me i need 1200 calories a day...why? If im not hungry, not bulemic, eating a normal amount of food but making good choices, why do i need to eat more? I heard my calories are too low and it will slow my metabolism long term but if im eating plenty of food and higher carbs on weekends, isnt that a healthy option?
Sample daily menu...night before i make this salas that fills a med cottage cheese container:
1 can tuna packed in water, drained (save the liquid) and broken into really small pieces. Twice that volume in trader joes healthy chopped fresh vegetable mix. 1/2 tsp mayo and a little tuna juice as needed to moisten. Stir well.. Season tuna 'salad' with vegeta and lemon pepper. That amount should take care of 2 meals and one snack for the day or 2 snacks and i meal. If it seems like too little, serve over butter lettuce.
I start the day
7am w a nutriblast drink made of spinach carrot and frozen fruit all blended and drunk including all fiber.
10am one third of my 'tuna salad
1pm one third 'tuna salad over butter lettuce
3pm one third 'tuna salad
6pm. 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese or cup of sugarfree hot chocolate
8 or 9pm 15ish cucumber slices e lemon pepper seasoning
+ 8 cups water throughout the day.
Why is this bad??

trogalicious

1. this is in the wrong place, but that's ok.
2. eating 500 per day, 5 days a week... then binging on "whatever I want" on weekens isn't good.
3. You need to properly fuel your body so it can do all of that cool biologically needed stuff.
4. I can guarantee that if you take the time to research your BMR/TDEE, you'll find that you actually need a lot more than the 1200 calories that this site recommends.
5. Your process sounds a lot like IF (intermittent fasting) except you're doing it backwards.

This is an extreme, non-sustainable way of eating. 500*5 and X*2 isn't trackable... so you don't REALLY know how much you're eating in a week... not regularly anyway.

autumnpath

I agree with the post above mine. 500 calories isn't enough for your body to function properly.

richiecanuck

This is crazy... 500 calories a day that's it? If you really feel that is all you need you should think about talking to your doctor about that. You may have a legitimate mental health issue.

highmaintnance

To explain it the simplest, it's like putting premium gas in your car but only putting in three gallons and expecting to drive 500 miles. Even though you're eating healthy foods, it's still not enough fuel for your body and all the functions it needs to perform.

ami5000psu

Eating 500 calories a day, no matter where the calories are from, is not healthy or sustainable. Your body needs food to function properly and 500 calories a day doesn't even begin to cover your BMR. Add in the fact that you then binge on the weekends and you're setting yourself up for failure. You need to eat.

BrettPGH

500 calories is just not near enough, you should be eating more on a daily basis.

You don't need to starve yourself, you can do this the right way. It's the only way that really works. No starvation or crash dieting or scams.

Up your calories to 1200 at the very least. Start working out and you can up them even more.

Good luck to you and keep at it.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

500 calories is not a "normal amount of food." Deficits that are too large often lead to muscle loss and binging. Diets that are too low in fat (as yours is likely to be on so few calories) are linked to depression. Be kind to your body. Treat it with respect.

1200 calories is considered the minimum amount at which you can get adequate nutrition. If you're going lower than that you need to be supervised by a doctor.

Also read this:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

And this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Eat at a moderate deficit. Learn good habits. Give yourself the best shot at making a healthier lifestyle stick. Right now you're setting yourself up to yo-yo diet.

ETA: How much are you eating on weekends? If it's enough to bring your weekly total up to 8400 calories (1200*7) then that would be better. That would mean you'd need 2950 on each of the weekend days. Does that sound like what you've been doing?

Louise1247

she just joined and only ever posted once... i reckon its someone playng about

BurtHuttz

This could work. You might get better results if you did like "anything I want saturday" and "anything I want wednesday". Two back to back days of unrestricted gluttonous binging might not be enough to get you through five days of anorexic behaviors. This might not injure you!

With love,
Burt

jennmariepantoja

Not good.
Your body needs more to survive and you are starving and binging which is a eating disorder in itself.
I would try to keep your food intake balanced on the weekdays and weekends, try to eat at least 1200 per day. Throw in a couple of days out of the month that you eat whatever.
This is a lifestyle change meaning it is something that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your LIFE. Do you really think you can maintain and be happy on 500 cals a day during the week and eating crap on the weekends?
It will wear ya down.
Good luck

UsedToBeHusky

You should look into intermittent fasting. I agree with others that this method isn't sustainable over the long term. You are very likely to cause yourself some nutrient defeciencies in the long-term.

trogalicious

she just joined and only ever posted once... i reckon its someone playng about

I don't. I wish I did, but I seriously don't think this is a troll.

Dark_Roast

How can you possibly function with only 500 calories a day? I eat that before 10AM. I agree with the prevous posters, eat at least 1200 calories NET a day. Or better yet, check out the roadmap threads and eating at your TDEE.

mbow1977

is this a wind up??!!

dontgobacktosleep

Perhaps you don't feel hungry because your body is trying to protect you!

I'd be too scared about going into starvation and my eat anything weekends going straight into storage.

Crankstr

no

Hendrix7

i am splitting each meal in two small portions so as to eat a normal amount of food while eating 6xday to shrink my stomach and speed up my metabolism

eating more frequently DOES NOT speed up metabolism.

You have this the wrong way around, this a version of intermittent fasting but you are meant to eat 500 calories 2 days per week and normally for the other 5.

^^ not that i particularly endorse that either.

BurtHuttz

Come on team, we shouldn't beat the original poster up like this. All she's doing is intermittent fasting!
With love,
Burt

cathdrew2

Losing a pound every day or two is your clue...not healthy. Episodic binge eating (your weekends of whatever you want) coupled with extreme dieting (500 calories a day by any definition is extreme) meets the definition of bulimia. Consult your personal physician for assistance.

lripson28

500 calories is not even close to being enough for the day! You should be eating a minimum of 1200 a day. Talk to your doctor if you think this is a good idea, hopefully he/she will set you straight on a healthy path.

Krizzle4Rizzle

Not to be that girl but that kinda sounds like disordered eating. Basically starving yourself and then binging. It's really not a good thing. :flowerforyou:

Rachlmale

I was expecting the OP to be someone a lot younger .. don't do it... you don't need to starve yourself to lose weight! If you plan on doing so, you're in the wrong place and should be seeking professional help.

daj150

I find that eating nothing but Starburst Jelly Beans and drinking Sunkist is enough to sustain me 7 days a week...I always have energy and am always satisfied

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

i am splitting each meal in two small portions so as to eat a normal amount of food while eating 6xday to shrink my stomach and speed up my metabolism

eating more frequently DOES NOT speed up metabolism.

You have this the wrong way around, this a version of intermittent fasting but you are meant to eat 500 calories 2 days per week and normally for the other 5.

^^ not that i particularly endorse that either.

Actually, OP, if you want to do something similar but healthier intermittent fasting might be a good option. But you still need to make sure that you're getting enough calories weekly.

And I agree that the speeding up your metabolism thing is bunk.

AnnabellKE

How can you possibly function with only 500 calories a day? I eat that before 10AM. I agree with the prevous posters, eat at least 1200 calories NET a day. Or better yet, check out the roadmap threads and eating at your TDEE.

^^ This

Sarauk2sf

You are doing it wrong

carolyn0613

This is what is known as a crash diet. Do a little research on what you can expect to happen to your body in the next few weeks of your diet. Now spend that few weeks realising that eating like you are doing is unsustainable. Eat lots for several weeks and return to your initial starting weight. Eats lots for several more weeks and put on more weight than you started with. Come back here when you realise that there must be a better way to lose weight than to starve yourself. See you then, we will be waiting to help you then.

Louise1247

she just joined and only ever posted once... i reckon its someone playng about

I don't. I wish I did, but I seriously don't think this is a troll.

Oh no

thekyleo

it's too early to troll

pineygirl

Eating about 500 calories during the week and whatever I wanted on weekends is actually how I managed to gain weight. I wasn't doing to lose weight, it was just because my work week was so busy. I spent 10-12+ hours a day working on top of a 2.5-3.0 hour round trip commute. I didn't eat breakfast or lunch and only ate a small dinner at around 9pm (if I was less tired than hungry at that point). Some days I didn't eat anything.

Then on the weekends I'd eat whatever....probably like 2000-3000 calories/day or more.

I managed to initially lose weight this way...not intentionally really. But then I started coming home ravenous and started raiding my kitchen for snacks as soon as I got home...then I cooked and ate dinner..around 9-10pm....still whatever I wanted on weekends.

I put on about 8lbs this way.