so my low cal diet won't work to lose 50 pounds?

squishy84

I could either save money by putting 10% of my paycheck into a savings account each week. Or I could save money by prostituting my body at a truck stop on weekends and then putting that money into a savings account.

I would probably have a bigger savings account faster with the second option, but does that make it the smart option?

No. Eat some damn food.

Brilliant! LOL!! This is possibly the best way to describe it!!

ktcomplicated

As everyone else has said, if you eat that few calories, you'll lose muscle along with fat.

Stop considering the aethetic effect of that for a second (even though that's the first thing that comes to mind).

Your heart is made of muscle. Your body isn't selectively eating muscle in your arms or your your thighs; it's eating the muscle in your heart, too.

You could be doing yourself serious, permanent damage in your quest to get thin. You could actually die.

So, you know, you should probably consider that before continuing on this path.

itsscottwilder

I wish folks would stop spouting off the same unsubstantiated nonsense about "starvation mode" and the human body "storing all of its fat" because it is losing it too fast. This board has to be the biggest exercise in group think on the entire Internet, which is saying a lot.

There are many problems associated with eating too little. You lack energy. You're more prone to binging. It's harder to maintain your weight loss once it's gone because you haven't developed sustainable habits. There are actual health-related risks to your body. Etc. These reasons should be sufficient to dissuade people without lying about how they will eventually stop losing weight on a low calorie diet.

They will lose weight. It will still be a combination of fat and muscle mass (the composition of those two depends upon a number of factors). They may hurt their bodies in the process, and it's probably neither necessary or healthy. But as I said, there are enough good, legitimate reasons to avoid a very low calorie diet that people should quit relying on unsubstantiated lies in these discussions.

+1

And, very little calories usually means fatigue, so you're risking being tired all the time. In addition, some people experience hair loss, brittle nails, skin issues, etc. Your body isn't getting much, so the "extras" don't get the nutrients. On top of all that, you risk slowing down your metabolism. That means when you get to your goal, your maintenance calories will be lower than someone who had been eating at a more moderate deficit.

+1

Greenrun99

So you can either eat 3000 calories, or eat 900 calories.. but not anywhere in the middle.... Mind Blown!