My Starvation Diet

headstoes · September 2010

This is a big call out for help about the very low calorie diet (VLCD) I have been doing for the past 12 weeks. I would be so very appreciative if anyone could offer assistance or their two cents. Thank you for your help and support in advance.

I have been on a VLCD for over 12 weeks and I have lost 15kg (33lbs) in this amount of time. I have been eating strictly <900 calories, give or take a few odd days, and the past month has been <700 calories. I haven’t been doing much exercise to supplement my diet. My BMI is currently 20.7 which is in the middle of the normal weight range (18.5–24.9). That said, I am quite muscly and have a big frame.

I have called it my ‘starvation diet’ because many of you will say I have gone into starvation mode, but I have lost weight. It has been tough, and initially it was difficult, but I have adapted to the diet and don’t feel as hungry anymore, or have the intense desire and capacity to eat as I once did.

I have now been at the same weight for about a week, which has never happened before, as I would always show a loss. I am worried that I have gone into a plateau, and will not lose more weight, but I am not yet at my goal. This is very frustrating because I have become very thin and bony in some parts of my body and remain flabby in others. I am also very worried that if I start eating normally or increasing my food intake will make me gain the weight back.

What has become of me? Is my metabolism dead? What can I do to lose those extra few kilos without hurting myself, or putting the weight back on?

Families_R_Forever · September 2010

I think most people are scared to touch this topic...but I am going to take a shot at it...

EAT NORMALLY!!! You WILL lose weight and it will likely stay off this way. You need to eat right AND exercise. It sounds like you need to tone your body now that you have lost weight (and muscle) as you have not exercised. I am NO expert but this how people become anorexic, I think. You are now worried too eat normal because you will gain it all back, you think. In my opinion, when you do start to eat within the guidlines that mfp gives you...you will gain a little back BUT you will lose it if you exercise and eat right. And you will feel and look better...also your profile shows that you are past your goal weight...BE CAREFUL whatever you do:flowerforyou:

spindowntime · September 2010

This is a starvation diet and you are now learning the reason why it is not a good idea. Your body will continually adapt to a lower calorie intake and this is why many anorexics end up eating only 100-200 calories to maintain a super thin frame. The minute you start eating normally again you will gain back whatever you lost.

Unfortunately, the best solution would be to increase your calorie intake and try to get your metabolism back to normal. I would suggest maybe consuming around 1200 to start so maybe you won't regain weight so rapidly. See how that goes that increase your intake to maybe 1500.

I cannot say for sure how your body will react to this. As frustrating and slow as it may feel, weight loss at a pound a week really is the best way to lose weight and sustain the changes.

jrich1 · September 2010

I eat 1800-2500 cals a day and I exercise and I have lost just over 30lbs in the past 12 weeks just as you did, but the difference, I am still losing weight, its not slowing down because I am not starving my body.

You need to just eat right and exercise and do it right

lloydrt · September 2010

I just posted on my weight loss in the success posting area, then read your story and chuckled.......

I used to follow tyour same diet and lost the weight, only to be so hungry, that I d spend the next few months "catching up" I always always gained the weigh back , doing what you are doing.............

I have never ever, never ever been more successful in my weight loss than I have this year, and its because I eat in a normal healthy way, and exercise

for me, and again, Im no expert, I am a TRUE BELIEVER in a safe and healthy way of losing weight , not starving yourself on less that 900 cals a day.......

Im at 88 lbs of weight loss since Feb of this year, and the ONLY WAY I lost this weight was

I got a Doctors check up in late Jan to make sure I wouldnt keel over on a tread mill...
I found this site recently, but used another one similiar and used the Internet for knowledge
I dont eat processed foods
Vegetables, fruits, chicken and pinto beans, and 8 oz of pasta, make up 98 percent of my diet
I take the necessary vitiamins for a man my age
I now exercise for the first time in 20 years
I drink water passionately

Try this and see how it works, I have plateaued as well, but I stay focused and am happy with my results

Good luck, I hope it all works out well........LR

sjdjnd20 · September 2010

Hello! Im going to start by saying that I started myself on a VLCD back when I was in Middle school. I actually would not eat lunch at school..I really only ate dinner, It never ever crossed my mind that I would become anorexic, but thats exactly what happened. I went from a VLCD to not eating at all, and drinking chocolate milk so that I would not feel hungry!

I am telling you this becuase it was a long, hard battle that nobody should have to go through, and it sticks with you for the rest of your life, even if you recover without losing your life or damaging your heart..the thoughts will stay with you forever, I struggle with this on a daily basis.

Another reason I am telling you this is because after recovering, I put weight back on..even with just eating a small amount, my body started to store everything I ate to make me healthy again, I got back to a normal weight..and then I went from being under weight to over weight, had my first child at 18 and put on 70 lbs, developed thryroid problems among other things! I went from being anorexic and shopping for pants in the little girls department to putting on so much weight after 3 kids that I am now trying to lose a great deal of weight. And its not an easy thing to do when all you want to do is starve yourself! But I know first hand that if you restrict yourself to that extreme...YOU WILL GAIN IT BACK, PLUS SOME! And you also risk developing heart issues because of fluctuations in weight! You would have to stay on a VLCD in order to keep the weight off because as soon as you eat more then you will gain weight, and you cannot live a healthy,full life on that few calories!

Start eating normally..you may gain a couple lbs back, but you will lose it again fairly quickly and keep it off. I have noticed with my weight loss that if I stay between the 1200-1600(Different depending on your body) calorie mark that the weight comes off easily,but if i skip meals it doesnt come off or I gain! I was surprised by this..but it works. Good luck to you!

stormieweather · September 2010

Yes, the whole reason we advocate not going below 1200 for a woman is that, if you do, where do you go when you reach a plateau (just like you have).

My advice (and yes, I followed this myself to reset my metabolism after eating below 1000 for 4 years) is the following:

Throw away your scale.

Gradually increase your calories to maintenance (figure this by putting maintenance as your goal into MFP). Do it by increasing your calories 50-100 calories per week.

Eat a healthy mix of foods - no processed or low fat/low carb, etc. Just real, whole foods.

Stop all stimulants like energy vitamins and drinks, or mini-thins or caffeine. Anything that is a stimulant goes bye bye.

Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, no exceptions.

Take extra Vitamin D, B complex and C.

Do relaxing, non-stressful exercises such as yoga or easy walks.

After you've gotten to maintenance and stayed for at least 2 weeks (I did it for a month), then you can drop your calories back to the level required to lose 1 pound per week. I gained 5 pounds during this process, which i've now lost.

After you drop your calories again, you should start working out - lifting weights is very important in that it reactivates muscles and muscles burn more calories than fat. Plus you look better! Limit cardio to 3-30 minute sessions per week.

2-4 times a month, you can eat at maintenance (but not over it). I do it once a week.

It took me more than 6 months to reset my metabolism, but I feel great now and am finally losing again.

I hope this helps you a little bit.

Note: I am not a professional, just someone who under ate for too long.

headstoes · September 2010

Thank you to everyone for all the replies, but I am still a little bit confused as to what to do.

I was looking over tips for maintenance, where they say to bump up your calories about 50-100 calories every week or so. Would this be a good idea?

Or should I keep my diet as it is but include exercise to shift into my new goal weight and then move onto maintenance?

Then I could also just start eating normal diet calories of 1200? But I am terrified of what this will do.

I don't want to gain weight, I still have weight to lose. I am so confused!

Azdak · September 2010

At this point, you need to start undoing the effects of what you have been doing to your body. That involves gradually increasing calorie intake and adding cardio and resistance training to your routine. Chances are, things are going to fluctuate for a while and that will bring in some emotional issues, as you have described.

My opinion is that you should not do this alone. At the very least, it would be worthwhile to find a registered dietitian who has experience with cases like yours and developed a positive strategy for moving forward.

lloydrt · September 2010

headstones, you really need to read stormiweathers post and then re read it.......to me, its probably one of the best replies you will recieve for your posting

im afraid youre going to end up like Oprah did, and yeah, we all know how many diets shes been on, but the one where she fit back into her Calvin Klein jeans....

Oprah only drank her calories, I dont know what the diet drink was, but she did say this

"When I got finished with the show (the one where she walked on stage with her Calvin Klien jeans on, dragging about 100 lbs of fat in a Hefty Bag, ) that she went home and
"ate for 2 weeks, non stop, and began gaining back the weight that I lost on the shake diet"

Also, I think the man who mentioned you need some professional help, ie, the Dieticain who can review your diet is correct

Trust me, I talked to my Dr and he said rapid weight loss can cause NUMEROUS MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND HEALTH PROBLEMS, such as liver failure and you can damage your gall bladder, esp if you have some calcium deposits in it as you diet

I will repeat, Im not weight loss expert, but I did my research online and talked to the medical professionals, and the only way to lose the weight "PERMANENTLY" is eating healthy, exercise , and do this is a timely manner and to be patient, really, patience is important in weight loss.....

Ive been on every diet that you can name, and the only one that works is the one that I am following thru this website, .......and it doesnt cost anything.....

I hope you get the help you need, because I think youre going to ultimately fail, and thats a bad thing to happen........

Good luck, I hope I dont sound too harsh or opinionated, I am just trying to help you in the way that worked for me...........Lloyd

emmavisman · September 2010

I have been through similar things to what you're saying, and i did put the weight all back on and then some, but thats because i was like 'OH MAN NOW THAT IM SKINNY LETS EAT AS MUCH AS I WANT!' and it wasn't a good idea! but its honestly what you get to, you spend so long starving yourself and then think you've gotten to your goal and have those thoughts. I think you should gradually eat more calories, and while you do that put in exercise at the same time (which will prevent you from putting on loads of weight) if you stick with this for a while your body will eventually grow used to the new changes and you will lose weight again, but first you will put on weight but the majority will only be MUSCLE weight, and if you stick with this long enough once your muscles have developed properly you will start losing weight again.
I really think you should do this, remember at first you will put on weight but not much, then you will eventually (after sticking with it) lose the weight again and get past your plateau, you will also tone the 'flabby bits' you were talking about and feel a lot more healthier! Just gradually increase your calories and make sure you do more cardiovascular exercises!

I hope this helped.

abbychelle07 · September 2010

At this point, you need to start undoing the effects of what you have been doing to your body. That involves gradually increasing calorie intake and adding cardio and resistance training to your routine. Chances are, things are going to fluctuate for a while and that will bring in some emotional issues, as you have described.

My opinion is that you should not do this alone. At the very least, it would be worthwhile to find a registered dietitian who has experience with cases like yours and developed a positive strategy for moving forward.

I completely agree with this. A nutritionist/dietitian/possibly a counselor is your best bet right now. Talk to someone who knows what they are talking about. I am positive you should be eating more calories than you are, and when you start eating more you might gain weight TEMPORARILY. However, that will even out, and as you exercise and eat healthy foods, you will lose weight.

Eating raw veggies, whole grains, and low-fat meat is NOT going to make you fat. Go ahead and eat!

headstoes · September 2010

Gosh, thanks so very much everyone. I've really gotten my head straight today.

I will definitely sort something out, any myself out, and I will eat something tomorrow! There is no way you can survive on eating basically nothing.

I'm just not sure if I should:
- shock my metabolism temporarily by eating normally tomorrow (or for a few days) and going back to the VLCD, with exercise
- up my calories slowly for a few months until I get to non-diet mode calories and incorporate exercise, or
- start eating normally (non-diet mode) and exercise.

ivyjbres · September 2010

OK. Here's your first problem: You're bony in some areas, but still flabby in others. This is because fat is burned evenly all over your body when you burn it, but it isn't laid down evenly when you make it. That's determined by genetics, and there's nothing you can do about it. All you really can do is put muscle back on the places where you are bony, and keep trying to loose the fat where you have it. Then hopefully the end result will be everything at least looking in proportion.

Which leads to you're second problem: You're not working out enough. You need to be doing cardio and weight training. I'm assuming you probably don't want to bulk up, but unless everyone in your family puts on muscle super quick, it won't be a problem. And even if you do build muscle quick, running a whole lot will help your body build lean muscle rather than bulk muscle. But you do need the proper nutrition to build either.

And that's your third problem: Most VLCDs only focus on calories and not nutrition. Unless you are eating tons and tons of fruits and veggies, you're probably not getting the nutrition you need to be healthy at the end of your weight loss.

You probably are at a plateau, but that doesn't mean permanence. Start working out and increase your calories to 1200 if you can (gradually). If that's not something your willing to do just yet, you can still increase the volume of food you eat, without increasing calories. Since most fruits veggies are low in calories, if you fill up on them, you'll get more nutrition for the calories you're taking in. Also, more volume fools your body. Because you are eating (hopefully a lot!) you're body knows its not starving, and begins to function more efficiently to get everything good out of those veggies.

sjdjnd20 · September 2010

headstones, you really need to read stormiweathers post and then re read it.......to me, its probably one of the best replies you will recieve for your posting

im afraid youre going to end up like Oprah did, and yeah, we all know how many diets shes been on, but the one where she fit back into her Calvin Klein jeans....

Oprah only drank her calories, I dont know what the diet drink was, but she did say this

"When I got finished with the show (the one where she walked on stage with her Calvin Klien jeans on, dragging about 100 lbs of fat in a Hefty Bag, ) that she went home and
"ate for 2 weeks, non stop, and began gaining back the weight that I lost on the shake diet"

Also, I think the man who mentioned you need some professional help, ie, the Dieticain who can review your diet is correct

Trust me, I talked to my Dr and he said rapid weight loss can cause NUMEROUS MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND HEALTH PROBLEMS, such as liver failure and you can damage your gall bladder, esp if you have some calcium deposits in it as you diet

I will repeat, Im not weight loss expert, but I did my research online and talked to the medical professionals, and the only way to lose the weight "PERMANENTLY" is eating healthy, exercise , and do this is a timely manner and to be patient, really, patience is important in weight loss.....

Ive been on every diet that you can name, and the only one that works is the one that I am following thru this website, .......and it doesnt cost anything.....

I hope you get the help you need, because I think youre going to ultimately fail, and thats a bad thing to happen........

Good luck, I hope I dont sound too harsh or opinionated, I am just trying to help you in the way that worked for me...........Lloyd

I can vouch for the gallbladder damage, I lost this weight since February(most of it within the 2 months after..I lost 30 lbs in 2 months..but by eating the amount of calories that I was suppose to) and I started having major bouts of nausea a couple months ago and then came the pain in my upper right belly, went to the doc and what do ya know..I had several gallstones and a chronically inflamed gallbladder! Had to have it removed! And lets face it..once its gone, you cant eat the way you used to anymore!

stormieweather · September 2010

You aren't losing at 700 calories, and chances are, you're not going to lose at 1200. What you simply MUST do is fuel your body at maintenance for a while until your hormones get straightened out. Once your body becomes accustomed to being fed, you can drop calories again and lose some weight. If you do it very slowly, you won't gain much (if any) weight. It takes TIME to do this...so be patient.

blakejohn · September 2010

nuts

lauralynette · September 2010

I think you should talk to a nutritionsit and go see your dr, because eating so low calories can do some harm to your body.
Exercise helps tone you up and loose weight safely, I think you should add back in the calories slowly, and eat 5 to 6 times a day, small meals.

baffled111 · September 2010

I third the advice about seeing a doctor/nutritionist.

If you're not going to do that though, you need to start increasing your calories. Perhaps increase them by 100 daily each week until you get to AT LEAST 1200. You seem to have in mind that 1200 is "normal" and that "dieting" requires you to drop below 1200. However, unless you're really short or well into middle age, 1200 is very low. I can lose on 1800 even when I'm less heavy than I am right now. Check out some of the calorie maintenance calculators and see what an appropriate calorie range would be for someone of your height, age and weight. It's almost certainly going to be closer to 2000 than to 1200.

Also, the advice about exercising and doing strength training is right on. If you're flabby, it's not because you need to do lose weight but because you need to build muscle to "tone" up. You might actually need to GAIN a few pounds to do that properly.

Eating is good for you. Exercising is good for you. Start increasing your calories pronto and start getting yourself some exercise. And don't do another one of these VLC diets. They are terrible for you!!

stormieweather · September 2010

Like Baffled said, 1200 is NOT a normal diet. My maintenance is over 2000 per day and I'm a fairly sedentary, middle aged woman who needs to lose 30 pounds. I am currently at 1500 plus exercise and losing. You can calculate what your maintenance is on this site or else where:

Here is a good one:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

laura11248 · September 2010

I hit a plateau over the summer and began seeing a weight loss dr. They have a BMR test that you can do...it is where you breath into a machine for 10 minutes to find out exactly how many calories your body burns over the course of a day. There are variables...like I could not consume caffeine for 24 hours prior or excercise. It was very telling. Call your dr to see if they can recommend someone to you. BTW it is all covered by my insurance!

My Starvation Diet

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