Trainer said I should be only consuming up to 850 cal

2

Replies

  • pavang82
    pavang82 Posts: 454 Member
    Nope! It has been about the same amount of weight lost per week for me. But I also struggle eating 1200 plus some exercise calories. So I guess either way it works for me, but I would rather not take the chances of starvation anymore i guess so i force myself to eat them. Also if you do go with 850 calories make sure they are protiens and good foods plus lots of veggies. So maybe you would be in starvation but at least you would get some nutrients?? Thats just my opinion and Im not qualified with this stuff i just do what works!
    Thanks for the info. I guess if I do it short-term it isn't that bad.
  • pavang82
    pavang82 Posts: 454 Member
    I know I couldn't do it. I could wipe that out in 1 meal and a snack. It doesn't sound healthy at all. I'd ask your doctor. Besides, if you're trying to loose weight and keep it off you have to change your life style. You're not really going to spend the rest of your life eating that little are you?
    No, I might just do it short term.
  • sdirks
    sdirks Posts: 223 Member
    Ask a *certified nutritionist and always consult your doctor before begining ANY new diet. Blood testing catches things that even the most trained eye can't. Always, always, always protect your health and be informed.

    That being said, 850 + exercise cals COULD be okay... under very strict conditions. If you are "very, very petite" or "very, very overweight," for example. Every person's body is unique and has unique needs.

    Like erickirb said, I highly doubt your trainer is a *certified nutritionist. Most trainers aren't. I'm sure he or she is an excellent fitness trainer, but it's actually a hard and lengthy process to become a certified nutritionist, especially here on the east coast. It took my friend about 18 months to get certified, and her certification was more involved than her thesis! The certification means you can trust what they're saying is medically accurate, based on the most up-to-date scientific research available, and tailored to your specific needs. A fitness trainer has been just as well educated, but in kinesthesiology--not chemistry and biology. You wouldn't take your bicycle to a car repair shop. Best advice: talk to the experts. They can tell you what's best (and healthiest) for your body.
  • snowmanluv
    snowmanluv Posts: 200 Member
    If you're going from totally sedetary - start out at 850. But then bump it up to 1000 with exercise, then 1200 with more exercise. Hilton Head had a diet plan that start out low calorie but bumped it up as you add exercise. I would be concerned with 850 for any long term espcially with exercise. You're better off to eat a little more and exercise more for your metabolism. 1100 - with 200-300 burn calories would be so much better for you.
  • pavang82
    pavang82 Posts: 454 Member
    If you're going from totally sedetary - start out at 850. But then bump it up to 1000 with exercise, then 1200 with more exercise. Hilton Head had a diet plan that start out low calorie but bumped it up as you add exercise. I would be concerned with 850 for any long term espcially with exercise. You're better off to eat a little more and exercise more for your metabolism. 1100 - with 200-300 burn calories would be so much better for you.
    Yes, I agree. I've been trying to get rid of my last 10lbs for about three months now. I think I need to do the calorie bump, of course short term only.
  • hunnie28k
    hunnie28k Posts: 16
    My trainer always said a diet you can't practice for a lifetime is not even worth trying a single day. He strongly advises trainers not to recommend caloric cutbacks to their clients on their diets based soley on weight loss because most likely you will lose the weight, but when you increase your calories back to normal, you will gain that weight back and probably more. A lot of times I think trainers do this so you can be another notch in their belts. "See look I helped this person lose all this weight" My question to them is, how does that person feel? Are they healthy? You should consume the calories that your body needs to stay healthy while losing weight. I agree that you WILL end up going into starvation mode if you do this. Your body is going to hold on to those 850 calories, unless you do a lot of excercising but again, can you maintain this fitness regime for life to KEEP the weight off? The amount of calories you consume a day is based on a number of things, not just losing the weight. We have to be healthy on the inside and out. Think about it. Good luck!
  • pavang82
    pavang82 Posts: 454 Member
    My trainer always said a diet you can't practice for a lifetime is not even worth trying a single day. He strongly advised trainers not to recommend caloric cutbacks on their diets because most likely when you lose the wait and increase your calories, you will gain that weight back and probably more. A lot of times I think trainers do this so you can be another notch in their belts. "See look I helped this person lose all this weight" My question to them is, how does that person feel? Are they healthy? You should consume the calories that your body needs to stay healthy while losing weight. I agree that you WILL end up going into starvation mode if you do this. Your body is going to hold on to those 850 calories, unless you do a lot of excercising but again, can you maintain this fitness regime for life to KEEP the weight off? Think about it. Good luck!
    Yea, if the weight comes off I want to keep it off for good.
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
    850?? That's too low. And what happens when it's time to maintain???

    My thoughts exactly.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
    What are his certifications? Because 850 cals sounds ultra-shady to me. Like, he calls himself a trainer, but his certificate is in training seals.
    He's actually the training manager. He told me that calorie intake varies for each people.
    That's correct - caloric needs vary from person to person. 850 calories might be perfectly correct for you. If you are 3'6" tall and weigh 60 pounds. :laugh:
    LOL. I was going to ask --- Are you super short and already pretty light weight? (aka how much do you weigh and how tall are you?) Um.... but I just looked up recommended values for my kiddo, and Baylor Medical recommends 1000 calories for 2 - 3 year olds. Granted they are GROWING but they weigh 30-ish pounds.....
  • leavinglasvegas
    leavinglasvegas Posts: 1,495
    When it comes to something like this, you need to consult your doctor. Trainers are not doctors or nutritionists. If he is recommending you go below the normal amount of calories for a human vegetable, you need to make sure from a medical stand point you can handle that.

    It IS different for everybody, but that is up to a doctor to decide, not a trainer. What happens if you get really sick? Is your trainer going admit he was wrong and accept responsibility? Probably not. Your doctor knows better what your body can handle.

    Thats my thoughts.
  • monica1515
    monica1515 Posts: 65
    Why would you do it short-term? What is the point of killing yourself to do it knowing full well that it is going to come back as soon as you go back to living like normal?

    A trainer, training manager, whatever does not mean anything. As everyone has already stated, look at his credentials. NASM (national academy of sports medicine) is one of the most renowned programs. The place I work at (and it will remain private) requires all their employees to have a bachelors in exercise science, etc AND th NASM certification at the bare minimum. It is then required you up your level of certification evey 6-12months.

    850 calorie consumption a day is unhealthy, unethical, and not the first stupid thing I've heard trainers tell their client. You should be looking at losing that last 10 lbs in a lifestyle type manner,not a quick fix. You've worked hard to maintain, don't just through it all away. You are a smart woman. I can sense that just because you posted this post and that show you had a gut feeling that information was not the most sound peice of advice.

    And as another woman stated on her, it is not his job to tell you that information. I love that she said that! For instance, I am NASM certified with a double major in exercise science and in human bio. But I cannot give my clients any nutritional information other than brush the surface. I do not have my dietician cert not a masters to be a dietician.

    I'm sorry if I sound heated, this has got to be one of the biggest pet peeves of mine. You've invested your time and money into a trainer who's not giving you the proper service. And this is someone life we are talking about, not just a business deal.

    I'd look elsewhere for a different trainer or see a nutritionist.

    Keep you the fantastic work! This was a great issue to bring to the surface to people.

    Blessings,
    Monica
  • Dive_Girl
    Dive_Girl Posts: 247 Member
    I have a girlfriend that has lost 55 pounds since September. She is under a doctors care for this weight loss and in the beginning he did put her on 850 calories to kick start her weight loss. I personally think it's going to extreme measures for something that should and can happen over a reasonable amount of time in healthy ways. Weight loss, to me, should be more about lifestyle changes and not the end goal. But again, that is just my non-professional opinion.
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
    Definitely see a nutritionist. If 850 calories a day is okay for you, you're going to have to be really really regimented about everything you eat. It's going to have to be the most ridiculously healthy 850 calories you've ever eaten. But seriously, don't do it without seeing a nutritionist.
  • mlove1307
    mlove1307 Posts: 151
    I know I couldn't do it. I could wipe that out in 1 meal and a snack. It doesn't sound healthy at all. I'd ask your doctor. Besides, if you're trying to loose weight and keep it off you have to change your life style. You're not really going to spend the rest of your life eating that little are you?
    No, I might just do it short term.

    No, no not a good idea. You WILL gain the weight back unless you continue to eat 850 a day forever. And that's a miserable life. Don't do it.. Your net calories shouldn't even be as low as 850. You need to eat more than that. I don't care how tiny you are. It's not okay to put your body through that and it will retaliate.
  • pavang82
    pavang82 Posts: 454 Member
    Why would you do it short-term? What is the point of killing yourself to do it knowing full well that it is going to come back as soon as you go back to living like normal?

    A trainer, training manager, whatever does not mean anything. As everyone has already stated, look at his credentials. NASM (national academy of sports medicine) is one of the most renowned programs. The place I work at (and it will remain private) requires all their employees to have a bachelors in exercise science, etc AND th NASM certification at the bare minimum. It is then required you up your level of certification evey 6-12months.

    850 calorie consumption a day is unhealthy, unethical, and not the first stupid thing I've heard trainers tell their client. You should be looking at losing that last 10 lbs in a lifestyle type manner,not a quick fix. You've worked hard to maintain, don't just through it all away. You are a smart woman. I can sense that just because you posted this post and that show you had a gut feeling that information was not the most sound peice of advice.

    And as another woman stated on her, it is not his job to tell you that information. I love that she said that! For instance, I am NASM certified with a double major in exercise science and in human bio. But I cannot give my clients any nutritional information other than brush the surface. I do not have my dietician cert not a masters to be a dietician.

    I'm sorry if I sound heated, this has got to be one of the biggest pet peeves of mine. You've invested your time and money into a trainer who's not giving you the proper service. And this is someone life we are talking about, not just a business deal.

    I'd look elsewhere for a different trainer or see a nutritionist.

    Keep you the fantastic work! This was a great issue to bring to the surface to people.

    Blessings,
    Monica

    Thanks. I see where you're coming from. Greatly appreciated.
  • pavang82
    pavang82 Posts: 454 Member
    No, no not a good idea. You WILL gain the weight back unless you continue to eat 850 a day forever. And that's a miserable life. Don't do it.. Your net calories shouldn't even be as low as 850. You need to eat more than that. I don't care how tiny you are. It's not okay to put your body through that and it will retaliate.
    I just want to break this plateau. Maybe 850 cal once/week wouldn't hurt?
  • Mamakatspokane
    Mamakatspokane Posts: 3,098 Member
    OK..here's my own personal experience...not scientific facts. You can lose weight eating those kind of low cals (ever seen an anorexic?) HOWEVER..when I was eating 900-1100 to lose I could only eat 1200-1300 to maintain or I'd gain weight. Wouldn't you rather have it come off slow than to be eating "diet cals" for the rest of your life to maintain your loss....Like I said this was MY experience
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    Instead of eating less to break a plateau, one of the most common suggestions I've read is to 'refeed' (ie: eat more!!). Basically, eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks, then drop down a few hundred calories for a while. From what I've read, this helps trick your body into letting go of those last few pounds.

    This is a much safer idea than dropping to unbelievably low levels, because the chances are good that anything you lose at 850 calories will come right back once you start eating normally again.

    Just my thoughts and I'm certainly no nutritionist (or expert).
  • thirtyby40
    thirtyby40 Posts: 702 Member
    Once again I am guilty of getting too fired up to read the posts so I hope I don't repeat anyone else...

    I think it should be noted that Personal Trainers are not required to take courses in nutrition. The courses they take may touch on it, however they are not all taught the science. They are taught basics that are easily misused.

    I worked with a personal trainer for a long while. Although she gave me a kick butt workout my pounds were not coming off. She thought I was under exaggerating what I ate, which I wasn't. She and I kept me so restricted on calories that of course I was in starvation mode. I often think I should give her a call to share the information I have discovered that has allowed me to lose unlike when I worked with her. But alas I don't want her to feel like a failure, she is a total sweetheart (even if she shouldn't be giving nutrition advice)
  • sdirks
    sdirks Posts: 223 Member
    Instead of eating less to break a plateau, one of the most common suggestions I've read is to 'refeed' (ie: eat more!!). Basically, eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks, then drop down a few hundred calories for a while. From what I've read, this helps trick your body into letting go of those last few pounds.

    This is a much safer idea than dropping to unbelievably low levels, because the chances are good that anything you lose at 850 calories will come right back once you start eating normally again.

    Just my thoughts and I'm certainly no nutritionist (or expert).


    stormieweather's got a MUCH better idea. Your body needs fuel and sleep. I just broke a 5 day plateau by going to bed 2 hours early. Between jobs, kids, chores, relationships, social outtings, etc., we don't get nearly enough sleep (women especially, because we need 1-3 hours more per night than men).

    Try eating to maintain for a week or two. Do some yoga or walk and get all the extra sleep you can! MFP is about losing weight in a healthy, natural way. If you're a statistically "average American female, 24-50 years old" (5'4" and size 14 dress), 850cals/day is starvation central. NOT healthy and NOT what we support or promote on MFP. Again, talk to a medical professional or certified nutritionist. They'll assess--scientifically, medically and personally--exactly what's right for your body.

    Good Luck!
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