If I cosume only 700calories/day will it affect my health?

As i was surfing , I stumbled upon many articles that says if I eat less than 1200 calories it may affect my health , because mostly since I joined mfp I only get 700 sometimes up to 1200 calories and I'm losing weight real fast as I lost 17 pounds in barely a month . It's not a long term weight loss diet I'm in , because if my weight drops to the same rate as now I would reach my target weight in two months , up to 4 months max .
My question Is : would my short-term diet do me any harm ?
what are your recommendations

ps: I'm a 5'9 male
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Replies

  • TwinkieDong
    TwinkieDong Posts: 1,564 Member
    why would you only eat so few calories?
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    1200 calories is too low for most adults - so, 700 is WAY too low. (I am a 5'2" 42 year old female and eat 1850 a day as a 12% deficit from my TDEE and still lose weight).

    Here's what will happen: you will lose a bunch of weight (with a pretty high percentage of lean body mass going away too), your loss of LBM will slow your metabolism, eventually you will plateau, if you do not fix it, you will eventually gain at that level, and you will have a higher body fat percentage.
  • LoveCR22
    LoveCR22 Posts: 75 Member

    what are your recommendations

    Eat more.
  • Collidoscopekid
    Collidoscopekid Posts: 195 Member
    I used to do this all the time. And yeah, I lost weight. However, as soon as I started eating even just a little more I gained all the weight I lost back and then some. 700 calories is not enough for your body and you may lose weight eating so little but are you prepared to eat 700 calories for the rest of your life to maintain your weight loss?
  • MzMiller1215
    MzMiller1215 Posts: 633 Member
    Please eat more!
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
    Take it from someone who is now dealing with the dreaded "skinny fat" issue, because of my frequent low cal dieting, that this is NOT the way you want to go. EAT. Lose the weight slowly and correctly!!!
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    yeah.

    eating that little is going to do damage to you, long term.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    go to that website, put in your information, eat no less than your BMR.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    5'9'' male eating 700 calories a day? Why would you do that to yourself? You will likely lose a decent amount of muscle mass this way, and it will be impossible for you to get the nutrients your body needs to be healthy at that low of calories.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    yeah.

    eating that little is going to do damage to you, long term.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    go to that website, put in your information, eat no less than your BMR.

    ^^This. Also keep in mind that you are probably burning a lot of MUSCLE with what you're eating. Losing fat and maintaining muscle should be the goal if you want to look good naked - which I think we all do. :happy:
  • iwillbetinytea
    iwillbetinytea Posts: 264 Member
    1200 calories is too low for most adults - so, 700 is WAY too low. (I am a 5'2" 42 year old female and eat 1850 a day as a 12% deficit from my TDEE and still lose weight).

    Here's what will happen: you will lose a bunch of weight (with a pretty high percentage of lean body mass going away too), your loss of LBM will slow your metabolism, eventually you will plateau, if you do not fix it, you will eventually gain at that level, and you will have a higher body fat percentage.

    700kcal is classed as a LCD (low calorie diet). You will never gain on a LCD if you are honest about what you are eating (saying it's 700 but actually it's much higher because of binges).

    A lot of people claim it can slow your metabolism and make it hard for you to lose weight but I've never had an issue. They say it can make you put on loads of weight after very quickly (I've never put on more than 10lbs in a couple of years not watching what I've ate).

    It can however make you lose muscle mass. Although again, I've never had an issue with that either.

    I have not been on a LCD for long periods of times however but this can cause all sorts of issues.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    For a man the minimum is more like 1500-1600, unless you are under 5'. And depends on how short term, a day to 2 no problem at all,but longer than that you may start to have negative side effects. Eating so little will result in a large % of your weight loss coming from lean muscle, not the fat you are looking at losing. this in turn gives you a slower metabolism, making is easier to gain weight when you return to "normal" eating again.
  • Junken_Diraffe
    Junken_Diraffe Posts: 716 Member
    You should totally do it. Natural selection will do the rest.
  • koshkasmum
    koshkasmum Posts: 276 Member
    Yes it will affect your health. Negatively. You will lose lean muscle mass as well as fat and eventually lose mass from organs as your body starves until itcan no longer function. That's why people didn't just get fashionably slim in concentration camps - they died.
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    eat more.
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    You should totally do it. Natural selection will do the rest.

    lol
  • Silvergamma
    Silvergamma Posts: 102 Member
    jzammetti nailed it. The most immediate down side of sever calorie restriction is that your body will selectively hold onto fat tissue, and will instead burn muscle tissue to make up for the difference between caloric intake and the requirements of your organs and regular body functions. So while the *weight* will come off fast, your overall body fat % isn't going to shift as much as it would if you fuel yourself with a balanced diet. At the end of the day the goal is to lose *fat* not just pounds, for that you need to be eating enough calories to fuel your body, while maintaining a slight deficit and doing strength training and other exercises to maintain lean muscle tissue.

    Long term, sever calorie restriction can cause organ damage. The effect of the body burning muscle tissue for fuel applies to your heart -> can cause serious heart related complication in addition to a myriad of other things.

    I'd recommend checking out Fat 2 Fit radio's pod casts, and nerdfitness.com. Both sites have a lot of information about how to set goals to achieve fitness, health and body composition goals. At the end of the day, the important thing is to be strong and healthy. Starving yourself isn't the way to get there.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    Keep eating like that and you'll be a surf board.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • 5n0wbal1
    5n0wbal1 Posts: 429 Member
    Please don't do that. You'll lose the wrong kind of weight, and you won't be able to sustain the weight loss long term.

    A calorie is just a unit of energy. You still need energy to fulfill your daily tasks, like breathing and sleeping. You burn more than 500 calories just sleeping 8 hours a night.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    1200 calories is too low for most adults - so, 700 is WAY too low. (I am a 5'2" 42 year old female and eat 1850 a day as a 12% deficit from my TDEE and still lose weight).

    Here's what will happen: you will lose a bunch of weight (with a pretty high percentage of lean body mass going away too), your loss of LBM will slow your metabolism, eventually you will plateau, if you do not fix it, you will eventually gain at that level, and you will have a higher body fat percentage.

    You will never gain on a LCD if you are honest about what you are eating (saying it's 700 but actually it's much higher because of binges).

    A lot of people claim it can slow your metabolism and make it hard for you to lose weight but I've never had an issue. They say it can make you put on loads of weight after very quickly (I've never put on more than 10lbs in a couple of years not watching what I've ate).

    It can however make you lose muscle mass. Although again, I've never had an issue with that either.

    I have not been on a LCD for long periods of times however but this can cause all sorts of issues.

    You said you will never gain on such an extreme deficit - but that is 100% false information. THe loss of LBM will lower your metabolism and EVENTUALLY result in weight gain as your body asjusts to so few calories. Every body is different, so I have no idea how long it will take the OP to get to that point...but it will happen if he doesn't change his caloie intake.
  • From the medical aspect, 700 calories a day is way too low. Yes, you will definitely loose weight this way quickly, but the weight will not be a permanent loss. As soon as you begin eating, you will gain it back. Doing this also slows your metabolism over time, causing your body to reserve what calories you do consume to prevent starvation. As a result, it will become quite hard to loose weight at all. Also, as your metabolism slows to prevent starvation mode, your body will also start breaking down the lean body mass, or muscle to provide more energy. Deficiencies in minerals, etc can occur, blood sugar problems and long term health conditions in several different systems of the body are problematic and a very real concern. It's good to loose weight if you are unhappy and unhealthy...even though it takes time to loose it the healthy way, it is in the long run the best way. Follow the recommendations for your height, BMI and activity level.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Yes it will affect your health. Negatively. You will lose lean muscle mass as well as fat and eventually lose mass from organs as your body starves until itcan no longer function. That's why people didn't just get fashionably slim in concentration camps - they died.

    This!^

    Healthy weight loss is about reducing your % of body FAT. By losing weight so quickly .... you are shedding lots of muscle mass too. Losing muscle and fat at the same rate does not help your body fat %

    1200 net calories is as low as MFP will go. The reason behind the minimum ..... you need calories for basic bodily function .... heart, lungs, kidneys .... 700 is dangerous
  • Cassie_70
    Cassie_70 Posts: 3 Member
    When you repeatedly consume less than 1200 calories per day your body begins to think it is starving. Yes you will loose weight. You will lose muscle mass because your body breaks it down. You may look sick skinny. And as many others have said your body thinks it is starving so it prepares for famine. It begins storing anything it can. This is not what makes you gain weight. It is when you start eating more normal again and your body is still convinced it is starving, it continues to store everything! There you are gaining your weight back, probably more than you had lost, you've screwed up your metabolism, so when you try to lose weight in a more healthy way it will take you longer and you'll have to work harder for lesser results. It's not worth it. Feed yourself healthy foods every couple of hours, keep fueling your metabolism and keep the fire burning. You can lose a LOT of weight and still eat!!
  • I know that this Is dangerous , even a 1200 calorie diet is going to be bad for me , but , I'm only planning to carry on this way for another month or two . even if I lose some muscle mass I'll take the risk because I know I can regain it .
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  • EngiAli
    EngiAli Posts: 83 Member
    Your profile says you want to do a big bike trip and the motivator to loose weight is to be stronger for the trip. You won't be able to build muscle eating 700 cals a day. Doing so will actually be counterproductive to your goal. If you are training you'll need almost triple that.
  • h8fklvr
    h8fklvr Posts: 8
    You are on a dangerous path.. However, if you want to go with 700 calories per day.. You will need to learn the fine art of transcendental mediation. Bring your heart rate down to minimum... and dont move...
    ;)
  • magpie0
    magpie0 Posts: 194 Member
    Can anyone explain WHY the body would use muscle before the fat stores are low? I just don't think that it makes much sense.
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  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    I know that this Is dangerous , even a 1200 calorie diet is going to be bad for me , but , I'm only planning to carry on this way for another month or two . even if I lose some muscle mass I'll take the risk because I know I can regain it .

    So, why ask for help if you ignore what everyone said?
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    My question Is : would my short-term diet do me any harm ?
    what are your recommendations

    I don't know that eating that low will do long term harm to your health. But my recommendation is that you at least double that. Even eating double that you will lose quickly. And you'll probably lose muscle.

    My prediction is that if you lose this quickly, you'll gain most of it back. Probably all of it, maybe more.