1000 Calories a Day

You should eat more, to be honest. I am 5'4". I started weighing 164 pounds in April of 2011. By the end of September 2011 I weighed 130. 24 pounds in a little over 2 months at the weight you're at now is a very agressive goal. it's over 2 pounds a week, which is typically doable for someone with less than 50 or 60 pounds to lose. Don't put a finite time on it, just go slow, you're more likely to develop good, healthy, lasting habits that way. When I was losing, I was eating 1300-1400, typically, I believe. I don't htink i went under 1200 ever.

That aside, focus on veggies and lean proteins with fruits added in. I eat a lot of egg whites, some eggs, extra lean ground beef, ground turkey, lower fat dairy, and some chicken and tuna. Beans/legumes are also a good source of protein. You can't go wrong with some grilled chicken and a nice, big green salad with either no dressing or a healthier one (I LOVE Bolthouse Farms yogurt dressings).

I'm just going to reiterate what everyone else has said. 1000 a day is not a healthy way to lose weight. it's a starvation diet. Ask yourself if you want to get healthy and fit for life or starve yourself for a few months, wear yourself down and eventually gain it back because it's not a sustainable way of life. Make this a healthy lifestyle! You should up your calories to at the very least 1300 ....and yes, eat back those exercise calories you've earned.

Hi, i'm 5'4 and i weigh 155, trying to eat a 1000 cal a day but it's so hard to think of healthy dinners. Any ideas?
i'm also doing the c25k three times a week..

Curious as to why you picked 1000 calories as the right amount... I'm 5'4 1/2", and was in the low 140s when I started with a goal of a 120lbs. I routinely ate between 900-1200 calories over the course of 3+ months or so, and hit below goal weight quickly and easily without much exercise. Once I started exercising, was able to eat more, and have now been in maintenance for close to a year. Even in maintenance - I am only given 1460 calories daily... So that should give you an idea that not everyone's bodies (and goals) are equal. Thankfully, there is an abundance of healthy and filling (and low-cal) meals out there!


From reading the forums, many people assume (wrongly) that EVERYONE will go into starvation mode, and curl and up and die within a short time after eating below 1200 calories (or minimally, will not lose weight). Years ago, was on a 600 calorie per day diet through a clinic, (and lost weight), but of course gained it back after eating regular food (and too much of it).

This particular site advises 1200 as a minimum based on one's activity levels, (and a few other factors) and I believe that base rate (that no one is advised to go under) is probably based on covering their bum...they can say that they advised their site's users to be safe.

I would suggest that you know your BMR, factor in your exercise, (this will give you your TDEE) and then adjust accordingly to figure calories needed to lose weight.

As long as your doctor says you're healthy and on the right track, ignore the naysayers...


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Please eat more. Do you plan on eating 1000 calories a day for the rest of your life?

I know someone who did it and she lost 26 pounds in 2 months. then she increased her intake to 1200....I am very ok and i'm not starving at all. i just have better choices in food

Curious to see if you will feel the same way at week 5 day 3.

The easiest way to eat less calories is to make sure that you are eating clean and whole foods. Lots of lean meats and vegetables. Think, chicken, turkey, pork and lots of veggies in whatever you're making. It's important to still eat balanced meals though so make sure to include quinoa, brown rice, etc for your carbs. A great 'treat' is unsweetened apple sauce with cinnamon. Lots of spices to keep food from sucking.

I also think 1000 is not a lot but won't harp on you about it. If you're full and you don't feel like crap, then give er'.

Who says i'm starving myself??!!

You did....Eating less than the average eight year old is starving yourself - but you obviously don't think you are doing anything harmfull to yourself, so have fun keeping on doing it.....

I think this is a joke. To rile you all up. If she wants to starve herself, let her. 1000 cal a day is silly (we all know this), and then burning 200cal more a day on top of it? So... 800 cal a day max? Sounds legit.

If she is serious, she needs help. Eating disorders arent something to mess around with

I'm 5'1" and I'm eating 1400-1800 a day. If you're taller than me, don't you think you should be eating more?? O_O

Who says i'm starving myself??!!

Science

*gigglesnort*

I agree with all of the above posts...you must eat more.

Check out this link...there's a lot of helpful information. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0?hl=road+map

I'm 5'3 and when I weighed about your weight and I talked to my doctor and told her that I was not losing any weight eating 1200 calories a day (and exercising 5-6 times a week). She informed me that I wouldn't lose eating that amount of calories and that I should eat 1000 a day, even when I exercised. I, too was doing C25K (almost to the 5K by that time) and then running 15-20 miles a week plus strength training 2x/week. I did add some extra calories on days that I exercised, but not much, and never any bread products after 3pm (per doctor's recommendation). I am hypothyroid and it is hard for me to lose weight, but by doing this, I lost 25 lbs. last year.

Everybody is different and those of us that are shorter and/or our bodies work differently are often slammed on here for not eating enough. Do what works for you, but be healthy too. Check in with your doctor and ask for their advice. Eat clean foods, nothing processed in packages or boxes. I ate a lot of salads with protein, chicken and green veggies, or fish and green veggies for dinner. Most of my calories were eaten earlier in the day. Good luck!

sorry but, 5ft4 is not on the "shorter" side. when people talk about shorter women needing fewer than 1200 calories, they are talking about 5ft of under. You state you have thyroid issues. now THAT is a real problem for people losing weight, but being 5ft4? nope, that's not short enough to warrant such a low calorie diet. (5ft 3 here, lost 90 pounds since last summer, currently eating between 1400-1500 a day. sometimes more. and I could eat more if I didn't sit on my rear end so much)

So at 28 years old, 5'4" and 155 lbs, exercising 3 hours (light) per week, you're burning an average of 1950 calories per day.
Losing 25 lbs in 2 months is unreasonable for you. Even if you succeed, you will need an even lower goal weight because you'll probably lose about 5-7 lbs of muscle in the process.

Try eating 120g protein daily with a total calorie intake of 1600. You should lose about a pound every 10 days in a healthy manner.

Or do about 1500 on rest days and 1700 on C25k days.

So for those who didn't read all the posts... this was my "actual" recommendation posted back on page 1. The numbers came from here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

You can eat less. And you may lose. You may not. Do you people think that those of us who so passionately advocate eating more are doing so to sabotage your weight loss efforts?! I can say with all sincerity I want everyone to be successful and achieve their goals.

I once lost 60 lbs doing about 1200-1500 calories/day and lost 13 lbs of muscle in the process. This time I didn't have nearly as much to lose, but I went about it in a more sustained way... I wish I still would have done it differently (lifting and eating enough protein)... so I'm just hoping people will skip doing it wrong and go straight to the most reasonable approach.

We're not just trying to be mean.