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

randomtai

Why does everyone keep stating that you have to eat 1200 calories a day.this s bull. How can somebody who has had a gastric band fitted eat less than 1000 calories, and still lose 40-50% of their excess weight. Do some research before before you post mindless crap about starvation mode and the likes. Do some research on BMR . And calories needed to maintain your weight.not everyone has caloriific needs of 2000 cals a day.

Strong zombie first post...

Nadine624

I wonder how many of these forum posts are actually real.

I mean, there are sooo many of them and each one is full of the same responses that one would think even newbies would think twice before starting a starvation thread.

8 months on a well balanced and healthy diet for me and plenty of exercise (both cardio and weight training) and over 90 pounds gone..... You do NOT have to starve yourself to be successful!

Fitfully_me

I wonder how many of these forum posts are actually real.

I, too, have this thought. Often.

8 months on a well balanced and healthy diet for me and plenty of exercise (both cardio and weight training) and over 90 pounds gone.....

Insert slow clap here...
Well done!!! That's a fantastic accomplishment.

You do NOT have to starve yourself to be successful!

Insert wild applause with standing ovation here...

Edit to fix error.

silken555

I wonder how many of these forum posts are actually real.

I mean, there are sooo many of them and each one is full of the same responses that one would think even newbies would think twice before starting a starvation thread.

8 months on a well balanced and healthy diet for me and plenty of exercise (both cardio and weight training) and over 90 pounds gone..... You do NOT have to starve yourself to be successful!

Congrats to you...that's so awesome!

Asterie

For everyone confused as to why she claimed to "only" be able to eat either 900 calories or 2600, my highly unqualified analysis is because if she kept up the 900 calories and lost the weight then people would have been impressed that she did it. Sort of like she's saying, "Hey, see! I was overweight because I wanted to be overweight, but I could have just as easily lost all of the weight!" As opposed to carrying on eating 2600 calories, where she could fall back on, "Well, yeah, I didn't even try to lose weight... I could lose weight if I wanted to, but I didn't want to." If she went for the in-between, then people would get to watch her progress, zooming in on the fact that she does have problem areas that she has to actively work on (like everyone else). Hope you all enjoyed!

likitisplit

Eh. No few of the people here who have had major losses do intermittent fasting just because its easier for them to get a total picture of their daily diet. I think the 900 calorie thing might be similar in strategy. She's eating limited "good" foods that don't tempt her to go over her limit, and it makes planning a lot easier for her. Chicken breast, broccoli and sweet potato every night or something. Not that I'm comparing IF (which makes some sense) to starvation (which makes no sense at all). Just speculating on effective strategies for people trying to overcome a lifetime of unfit eating habits.

redheaddee

Oh good lord. I just don't understand these VLCD. I wonder, are you really only eating 900 calories? Are you weighing and measuring every morsel? Or are you guesstimating and likely eating a more reasonable amount? Otherwise, this just makes no sense to me. My 5 year old son eats more than 900 calories a day.

ETA Ahh, nevermind. This OP was from May. :noway:

likitisplit

Better than starting a new thread on it. Also, it allows us to reality-check by peeking at profiles. I mean, if she'd reached her goal and was posting bikini pics of rippling muscle, I'd reconsider my strategy...but she didn't and is not. Looks like the MFP method wins again.

iceflow

I weighed 251 2.5 weeks ago. I'm down to 236. I should be eating 1700 calories according to the 'in place of a road map' thread. I did all the calculators.
i've been eating about 900 calories a day. Its easy for me to do and i'm losing a lot of weight. i don't think i'm capable of eating 1700 calories. I can either eat a lot of calories (like 2600) or very little.

my plan is to stay on 900 a week until I stop losing weight and then start adding 100 calories a week back. I think ill plateau around 180 pounds and probably gain back like 10 pounds while my metabolism goes up when I add back calories

Not trying to be rude but I don't see your logic in being able to eat 900 or 2600. 1700 is easily achievable.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Guys check the date on page one. The OP has not been back to this thread in a very long time.

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!