Stop the Low-Cal Insanity!

Lately, there’ve been a lot of posts here from folks on very low calorie diets. Usually, the MFP veterans jump in and quickly point out the danger of these diets. Often, the original poster will counter with, “But I’m not hungry, and I have loads of energy.” The vets try to explain how such low calorie diets can’t provide your body with the nutrition it needs, regardless of satiety, but this often falls on deaf ears. I’m going to try to provide a realistic explanation of why these diets are dangerous.

Let’s assume our happy dieter is a 200-pound woman. She wants to lose weight down to 140 pounds. She’s reasonably active, and participates in a weight lifting and cardio program. She hopes to lose body fat and “tone” her muscles. (Don’t get me started on that, but whatever.) For this example, we’re going to assume she’s 30% bodyfat. That means she has 60 pounds of fat, and 140 pounds of lean body mass (everything that’s not fat – organs, bones, muscles, connective tissue, etc.) How many calories does she need just to maintain her muscle mass and get the right amount of carbs, protein, and fat to fuel her body? Let’s find out.

We’ll assume she needs 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass. Some experts recommend more, some less, but it’s a good middle number to work with. She has 140 pounds of LBM, so she needs 140 grams of protein. Eat too much less than this, and you risk losing muscle. Not good. Since 1 gram of protein is 4 calories, she needs 560 calories of protein every day.

We’ll assume she needs 0.4 grams of fat per pound of target body weight. Again, that number is in some dispute, and many experts say you can get by just fine on less, but I’m going to use it for our example. With a target body weight of 140 pounds, she needs 80 grams of fat per day. Since each gram of fat is 9 calories, that’s 720 calories of fat. Adding this to her required 560 cals of protein yields 1280 calories. That’s right – she’s already over 1200 calories and she hasn’t eaten a single carb yet.

Now I don’t care how low-carb your diet is. Everybody needs some carbs just to function. Even if we assume a pretty low carb level – let’s say 50 grams a day – at 4 calories a gram, that’s a minimum of 200 extra calories needed for carbs – your fruits, veggies, all that good stuff. So now we’re up to 1480 calories minimum for this lady. Take about 20% off of that, and that gives you a daily goal around 1200. And that’s a minimum number, folks, not a maximum.

I’ve simplified this quite a bit, and done an end run around computing TDEE and going from there, but you get the point. Anyone eating 700 or 900 calories can’t possibly be getting enough fuel unless you’re 3 feet tall and weigh 75 pounds or something. If you want a more detailed explanation of how all this works, I highly recommend the following article from our own Steve Troutman:

http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/

I hope this clears up the whole low-cal insanity a bit. Best of luck, and stay strong!

I don't understand the low cal craze either. I'm 5'3" tall and just over 200 and my calorie target is 1660. Why would anyone want to eat half of that?

Good post and I second the recommendation to read Steve's material. Good info on that site.

I don't understand the low cal craze either. I'm 5'3" tall and just over 200 and my calorie target is 1660. Why would anyone want to eat half of that?

I don't understand the low cal craze either. I'm 5'3" tall and just over 200 and my calorie target is 1660. Why would anyone want to eat half of that?

I think it has to do with impatience more than anything. Most people just starting out want all the fat gone NOW, and they don't think about what they're doing to get there.

I 100% agree and see your point...but when you have lived for a very long time on a low calorie diet it can be very difficult to adjust to eating more than you're used to. Especially if you dont feel hungry, which i guess is a result of your body being used ot getting the amounts that it does. Just like some people find it difficult adjusting to diets that have less calories than they are used to, it can similarly be as hard the opposite way

I am not by any means saying that very low calories diets are healthy though, or right for everybody

and I find it annoying how ppl eating 2000 and losing come and try to ¨teach¨ people like if they were a fitness guru.

Yes I eat 1200 cal a day, yes im a shorty, and no i wont eat more than that cause I stop losing thank u.

If you eat 2000 and you lose, GREAT for you :drinker: , if I eat 1200 and lose, GREAT for me :drinker: . What works for you doesnt work for me and viceversa. To each their own, do your thing and stop worrying/complaining about what other people do.

and I find it annoying how ppl eating 2000 and losing come and try to ¨teach¨ people like if they were a fitness guru.

Yes I eat 1200 cal a day, yes im a shorty, and no i wont eat more than that cause I stop losing thank u.

If you eat 2000 and you lose, GREAT for you :drinker: , if I eat 1200 and lose, GREAT for me :drinker: . What works for you doesnt work for me and viceversa. To each their own, do your thing and stop worrying/complaining about what other people do.

So what of you're short, I know plenty of people that are 5'3" and shorter that eat 2,000+ cals/day and cut. Short height doesn't give you an automatic pass to under eat and potentially lead to an ED. But you're right, why should people care if they see others doing harm to themselves? We should stand back and let them do so, it's their health and body after all, not ours.

This. I agree with both you and the OP. I'm tired of people using being short as an excuse to eat less than everyone else. I'm 5'3 and have NEVER needed to eat 1200 to lose, nor has my doctor ever recommended i do that.