Bob Harper's new book--only 800 calories/day?!

"I am a huge fan of The Biggest Loser". Fail!
"...and of course all the trainers". Fail!

This abusive show, and these abusive people are dedicated to making money, not to health and fitness.

I'm sure that there's a *specific* 800 calories he wants you to intake (i.e. a list of foods, if not a meal plan), but I still think it's unhealthy.

I paid for an online personal trainer, and the guy was trying to have me work out for 2 hours a day *plus* eat between 900-1000 calories a day *total*. I immediately unenrolled and blocked his email.

In some ways I don't think it's stupid at all. Alot of trainers begin with a large deficit and say unlimited fruit n veg. It gives a quick result initially..just a jump start to motivation.I've seen Lyle McDonald mention that he does this too...only for a short period of time. If you think about it..an average morbidly obese person needs to maintain at 3000. If you tell them they can only eat 800 cal of protein, dairy, complex carb that's quite substantial but then unlimited fruit n veg...how many apples etc can they eat before full? You can bet they still have a deficit from that 3000 but eat way more than 800. Not forgetting that the more they think they can eat psychologically makes that food more attractive and are ones high in nutrients to boot. We're also forgetting that we can bet that a lot of morbidly obese folks do have hormonal issues even if they are unaware of it themselves. It's the nutrients they get from these "free" foods that Harper is tricking them into eating and addressing those hormonal imbalances. It's the psychology he's tampering with more than anything at the beginning.

However, having not read the book I'm going out on a limb I realise. I'd be disappointed if he wasn't more educational about the reasons behind what he does. Also I'd like to know how specific he is about those fruits n veg. Also how does this change after 3wks?

With all those veggies it should be retitled the Bob Harper 'Fart yourself fit and s*** yourself slim diet'

Not sticking up for him per se... However, if you only saw a brief excerpt there might be more to it. For example, I heard he said in his book that he doesn't count fruits and vegetables as calories. So maybe he means 800 calories of just meats, dairy, grains and oils?

This is what I'm thinking he maybe meant.. I hope... I eat 900 to 1000 calories a day.. kinda.. I don't count fruit or veggies, & since I'm a vegetarian it equals out to me getting alot of "good" calories & nutrients that I don't actually "count" if that makes sense. But either way, I do find it odd that he is promoting it.. because he has such a following & I feel like no matter what he actually means by his advice, there will be people out there that take it too literal, or to an extreme, & end up doing some very unsafe things with their diet.

yep! He was on a morning show the other day promoting this "diet"!! He was saying it's safe if you only do it for say 3 weeks to get into a wedding dress or swim suit!! Looks like he's gone the way of the dollar and quick fixes instead of health as well. Sad!

She knocked it on the head.

Not sticking up for him per se... However, if you only saw a brief excerpt there might be more to it. For example, I heard he said in his book that he doesn't count fruits and vegetables as calories. So maybe he means 800 calories of just meats, dairy, grains and oils?

He was on Doctor Oz and this was exactly what he said. Eat as many fruits and vegs as you want throughout the day (even 800 calories worth if you wanted to). Don't know enough about it to have a full opinion.

Well, it would be really hard to get in all the nutrients your body needs on 800 cals a day. And no, supplements aren't good enough to make up for it.

Its actually not hard to get the nutrients necessary. There is no room for any packaged food and such. Protein, fat, vegetables and fruit.

It will be very basic, yet easy to follow.

Well, it would be really hard to get in all the nutrients your body needs on 800 cals a day. And no, supplements aren't good enough to make up for it.

Its actually not hard to get the nutrients necessary. There is no room for any packaged food and such. Protein, fat, vegetables and fruit.

It will be very basic, yet easy to follow.

And he's not advocating just 800/day anyway..unlimited fruits and veg. Plenty of nutrients there. Mountain out of a mole hill really. Most of us kind of do this anyway. Try doing your diary for a day and see what you eat at base without fruit n veg and packaged food. Probably won't be far off 800.

Doesn't he usually train people who are morbidly obese, though?

This is problematic thinking, and you are not the only one in this thread posting along those lines.

Morbidly obese people need MORE calories. Not less. Moving 400 pounds requires more energy (calories) than moving 150 pounds. Why do so many people think it is ok for morbidly obese people to practice habits that would, in a healthy person, be considered dangerously anorexic? Burn 3,000 calories per day from exercise, but only eat 800. Really? Would you recommend that to ANYONE you care about?

As a recently morbidly obese person, I call BULL**** on the very idea!

No matter what your starting weight, you should eat AT LEAST your BMR. Not because "zomg starvation mode." If you have access to food, there is no reason to starve yourself. (Starving is painful, and causes all kinds of long term damage- but I don't consider 800 calories "starving.")

Eating BMR calories allows your heart to beat, your brain to process information, and your lungs to breathe. Eating your TDEE allows you to do all that while maintaining your current body weight. A happy medium in between allows you to lose weight and still have energy to exercise and improve your health.

PLEASE STOP PROMOTING ANOREXIA FOR OBESE PEOPLE! We enjoy our body functions just as much as you do!

Yeah, no, it actually doesn't work that way. Anorexia would be anyone with a BMI of 18.5 or less so i'll just skip that whole shpeal altogether. The larger you are the greater a deficit you can safely have because the more fat you have stored.

It's clear that you are not trained on the subject in any way shape or form if you think your BMR is significantly more important than the deficit created from your tdee. Eating below your BMR does not cause "starvation mode" in someone who is morbidly obese. Or probably anyone for that matter.

Your body WILL continue to function, because you have over 100lbs of purely body fat.

Eating BMR calories allows your heart to beat, your brain to process information, and your lungs to breathe. Eating your TDEE allows you to do all that while maintaining your current body weight. A happy medium in between allows you to lose weight and still have energy to exercise and improve your health.

This is the part you need to research. I'm sure your education level is that of the standard MFP forum poster; so i emplore you to go beyond MFP and speak with a nutritionist, a physician, someone trained in this field with years of study and experience. Even patient's who have gastric bypass surgery consume 800-1000 calories a day to lose weight.

Doesn't he usually train people who are morbidly obese, though?

This is problematic thinking, and you are not the only one in this thread posting along those lines.

Morbidly obese people need MORE calories. Not less. Moving 400 pounds requires more energy (calories) than moving 150 pounds. Why do so many people think it is ok for morbidly obese people to practice habits that would, in a healthy person, be considered dangerously anorexic? Burn 3,000 calories per day from exercise, but only eat 800. Really? Would you recommend that to ANYONE you care about?

As a recently morbidly obese person, I call BULL**** on the very idea!

No matter what your starting weight, you should eat AT LEAST your BMR. Not because "zomg starvation mode." If you have access to food, there is no reason to starve yourself. (Starving is painful, and causes all kinds of long term damage- but I don't consider 800 calories "starving.")

Eating BMR calories allows your heart to beat, your brain to process information, and your lungs to breathe. Eating your TDEE allows you to do all that while maintaining your current body weight. A happy medium in between allows you to lose weight and still have energy to exercise and improve your health.

PLEASE STOP PROMOTING ANOREXIA FOR OBESE PEOPLE! We enjoy our body functions just as much as you do!

Yeah, no, it actually doesn't work that way. Anorexia would be anyone with a BMI of 18.5 or less so i'll just skip that whole shpeal altogether. The larger you are the greater a deficit you can safely have because the more fat you have stored.

It's clear that you are not trained on the subject in any way shape or form if you think your BMR is significantly more important than the deficit created from your tdee. Eating below your BMR does not cause "starvation mode" in someone who is morbidly obese. Or probably anyone for that matter.

Your body WILL continue to function, because you have over 100lbs of purely body fat.

Eating BMR calories allows your heart to beat, your brain to process information, and your lungs to breathe. Eating your TDEE allows you to do all that while maintaining your current body weight. A happy medium in between allows you to lose weight and still have energy to exercise and improve your health.

This is the part you need to research. I'm sure your education level is that of the standard MFP forum poster; so i emplore you to go beyond MFP and speak with a nutritionist, a physician, someone trained in this field with years of study and experience. Even patient's who have gastric bypass surgery consume 800-1000 calories a day to lose weight.

In response to the first part of this post, I have to say go look up Eat, Fast, and Live Longer by Michael Mosely. Being hungry/fasting when done in pattern and for healthy periods (and as long as you're not pregnant, underweight, or suffering from some form of eating disorder) is not life threatening by any means. In fact, calorie restriction causes your cells to repair, your brain to repair and build new brain cells, your IGF1, cholesterol and triglycerides to drop, and helps maintain healthy body fat and weight. WHEN DONE PROPERLY, I emphasize.

My response to the second comment (and the first really) is the free use of the word Anorexia. I mean no offense to either of you, by any means, I simply draw attention to the fact that Anorexia isn't a BMI or a calorie deficit and cannot be diagnosed by either. It's a mental disorder and can happen in a person who is both very large, or very small, though yes, the very large person will not remain that way for long if not helped. The factors are not in their weight, but in their relationship with food.

Eating 800 calories a day is a low number in the western world, but many do it with safe results and are prescribed to do so by doctors. Short spans of high caloric restriction in itself are not a gateway to mental disorders, starvation mode, or any other melange of health issues, unless the person's relationship with food changes. It was prescribed as a short term approach to weight loss which may have good results for some, but if their approach to food reverts to the previous unhealthy habits from before this restrictive approach, chances are they'll gain it all back...

That's actually incorrect-

What is the DSM IV Diagnostic Criteria for Anorexia Nervosa?

The DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Volume 4) provides guidelines and criteria for mental disorders. In terms of eating disorders the DSM-IV provides diagnostic criteria for anorexia, bulimia and EDNOS (Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified). It is important to remember that someone can still have an eating disorder or body image issues and not meet the diagnostic criteria.

The DSM-IV criteria for Anorexia Nervosa is as follows:

A. A refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height (e.g. weight loss leading to a maintenance of body weight less than 85% of that expected, or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth, leading to body weight less than 85% of that expected).

B. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.

C. Disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight.

Specify type:

Restricting Type: During the current episode of Anorexia Nervosa, the person has not regularly engaged in binge-eating or purging behaviour (i.e. self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas)

Binge-Eating/Purging Type: During the current episode of Anorexia Nervosa, the person has regularly engaged in binge-eating or purging behaviour (i.e. self induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas).

References:
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Ed.) United States of America: American Psychiatric Association.


So, again, you must be 85% less than expected to be considered "anorexic" or have anorexia nervosa.

I am not saying people should eat a low amount of calories for an extended period of time. My point was simply that the larger you are the greater your deficit can be without causing ill effects. Hence my point of "doesn't he usually train obese people?" because if that's the case... i can see why he might think it would be okay to suggest that. He is not a physician and i don't think him or a lot of the people writing diet books should be giving advice.... would eating 800 calories a day for a long period of time for someone ALREADY with a small amount of weight to lose be good advice? No, not really. But if you are morbidly obese and can withstand the greater deficit... well... assuming you are getting proper nutrition, who cares?

He is a celebrity. He doesn't care about health anymore, just sales from quick fixes...I mean he sells diet pills...

This dumb *kitten* recommends 1200 for guys....I was eating 2200 calories per day and lost my 35 Lbs...**** off with 1200 calories, I'd rather shoot myself.

I would be in the fetal position sucking my thumb with only1200 calories a day.

I second that. And 800? Someone would get murdered.

This is why I must prefer to read Jillian Michael's books. She practices what she preaches and she is concerned about your overall health versus a quick fix.