Eating less than 1200 calories a day - Suggestions

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  • Nina2503
    Nina2503 Posts: 172 Member
    mmmm doesn't sound like good advice at all.

    Change your DR...and see someone who specialises in nutrition
  • Jester522
    Jester522 Posts: 392
    Bad idea.

    I need to creat copy/paste responses for all the <1200/day and starvation mode threads. Cant' be retyping all the time.
    Should make one for why artificial sweeteners arent bad either.

    Find you BMR and TDEE (google it)
    Food - Exercise < BMR = Weight Loss
    Food - Exercise > BMR = Weight Gain

    Now, where that weight comes from is all about WHAT you eat.
  • livingdeadlifter
    livingdeadlifter Posts: 36
    I think you need a new GP... that is pretty bad advice. Honestly changing the QUALITY of what you eat is going to help a lot more than the quantity. Eat unprocessed foods 85% of the time, eat at a slight caloric deficit, do not deprive yourself 100% of the time, and you'll be fine.

    Doctors don't generally have a ton of time to spend on nutrition in medical school, and there's a ton of conflicting information. I've never had success by eating too little. I eat 1700-1800 most days, have one day a week that's more like 1300-1400 and one day closer to 2000 and I've lost weight. I'm only 5'3". I just don't really eat bread or consume processed sugar or alcohol. I feel better eating unprocessed foods, more fat, more protein, more veggies.

    Just my experience - you should take it with a grain of salt, as with everything, but more research is demonstrating that eating more, eating whole foods, eating full fat, is advantageous for most people.
  • fitguy31
    fitguy31 Posts: 5 Member
    It's unhealthy to eat anything less than 1200 calories, especially if your also exercising. If your losing weight why change anything. Remember 1/2lb-1lb a week is considered normal. Obviously it depends on the person and how much extra weight they have. My advice to you is to stay with the meal plan your on.
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    You're 160 lbs and your Dr said 900 calories a day? Perhaps talk to a registered dietician. There's NO reason to go that low with that much to lose.:flowerforyou:
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    errrrr, people, this thread is almost 2 years old.
  • crlmatteson
    crlmatteson Posts: 2
    The lowest I ever ate is 1,000 calories.My doctor says to eat at least 1,200 calories or else my body will think it is"starving" and start storing fat when I do eat.I lost 6 pounds in one week eating between 1,000-1,200 calories.That's what I am aiming to do again.Gotta get rid of at least 20lbs.
  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
    Zombie starvation mode thread LMAO - my day is made
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    errrrr, people, this thread is almost 2 years old.

    :noway: :ohwell: :laugh: :laugh:
  • thatwrestler
    thatwrestler Posts: 3
    It is perfectly healthy to eat less than 1200 calories today so long as your body can handle it and you slowly wean yourself down. You cant make the jump from 1500 to 900 in a week, but if you decrease 100 a week you surely can. I know that common knowledge states that 1200 is the absolute amount you should eat, but your doctor is right, it depends on the person. 160 and 5'3" is about the right BMI to be cutting down the calories, but remember you can eat as many calories as you'd like -so long as you burn off more than you eat. If your asking for food that will help you lose weight -grapefruits! eating 1 grapefruit every morning maximizes the calories you burn off throughout the day. I take in about 800-900 calories a day (im 5'8" and 145) and an avergae day regarding food for me can be; a nutri-grain bar, orange, and grapefruit in the morning, a sandwhich (any type basically) on whole grain -not whole weat, thats a common misconception, whole wheat is really fattening, almost as bad as white bread- , a couple handfuls of almonds, a fruit, and a piece of cheese, *insert your workout here* then dinner; main part, small portion, could be spaghetti, chicken etc. raw vegetables, and your salad at the END of your meal. Then drink a half glass of water right before going to bed and it will kick start your metabolism, I generally lose 1.5 pounds in my sleep every night (its water weight, not fat though). I know that it can be scary initially lowering your calorie intake, especially with the seemingly infinite number of people who are telling you that your doctor is crazy, but hey he has a PhD, and if he has faith that you can survive -and thrive- with a 900 calorie diet, then you can. Good luck!
  • Jester522
    Jester522 Posts: 392
    errrrr, people, this thread is almost 2 years old.

    Can we just populate a list of all the previous threads with the same information and just post that every time someone asks the same question?
  • hollymartin90
    hollymartin90 Posts: 57 Member
    My Dr told me to eat 900 calories a day (max) in order to lose weight. Everything I have read tells me that my body would go into starvation mode, therefore preventing me from losing weight. Any suggestions? I am 5'3 160lbs - goal to get down to 120/125. I am eating no more than 1200 a day currently and have lost 7lbs so far in 1.5 weeks.

    I keep reading that if you eat under 1200 calories a day your body goes into starvation mode/unhealthy blah blah blah,but this is the only way ive actually started losing weight!i possibly have a slow metabolism and never ate more than 1500 cals to start.i now eat around 1000-1200 cals a day depending on if i exercise that day and now lose a healthy 1-2 pounds a week.is a 1000 cal intake really bad for ur health??
  • rmw2014
    rmw2014 Posts: 1
    This is a message for people surfing in looking for information on having less than 1200 calories per day. There are hundreds of sites with hundreds of people parroting on about how dangerous it is to have less than 1200 calories per day. The truth is this: it is MORE dangerous to be even slightly overweight than to have less than 1200 cals per day.

    Some women, like myself, actually put on weight at 1200 cals per day.

    Starting a weight loss program is very tough, and when you exercise and think you are doing all the right things and eating all your 1200 calories, there are many many women out there who just don't lose weight on 1200 cals per day. So what do they do? They give up on weight loss.

    So those who think they know everything and claim that 1200 cals is the minimum and parrot on about how dangerous it is to go below that, think again. You have no idea how many women have read it and taken your advice and never lost weight and gave up. Think of how dangerous it is for their health when they give up and then continue to put on more weight. Imagine all the health problems and the cost to themselves as well as taxpayers financially. Then you will realise how stupid it was of you to claim - without any basis or scientific research - that 1200 is the minimum amount of calories a woman has to have in a day.

    My most successful weight loss period was when I cut down to around 600-800 cals per day and also started exercising. Believe me, I felt on top of the world. At 600-800 cals per day, I was not starved. I did not feel hungry. I felt fine, but most importantly, I lost all my weight - 3 dress sizes down in 2 months. I never gained back, and have been in excellent health according to many health tests many years later. My diet changed for the better too and I have eaten very well due to this success.

    Bear in mind - your weight loss period shouldn't be long term, so unless you starved yourself for your entire lifetime, there is no way your body would go into starvation mode unless you eat nothing all day everyday for years and years (which is what starvation is). You must also be in totally good health to reduce calories.

    Eat superfoods and nutritional food. Cut out all sugar and unnatural processed foods with preservatives. Eat lots of fish everyday, especially fresh salmon. Eat seaweed. Eat lots of broccoli and your favourite steamed vegetables. Eat lots of salads. The key to weight loss isn't a number - you just have to find what amount of food works for your own body. The rule of thumb is eat less than what you were eating, move more and you will lose weight.
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