Too little calories....?

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nmaaiah
nmaaiah Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Newbie here . I am looking to drop weight quickly so I decided to set my calorie goal at 1,000 calories a day, thinking it was a healthy amount and I could still maintain a nutritious diet this way. A close friend who lost 40 lbs tells me that this is too low, and I will end up gaining weight bc, as we’ve all heard, your body goes into starvation mode. That puzzles me, because then how do people that cut calories WAY down lose a significant amount of weight? I am 5’4 and never been the 148lb that I am now. Is 1,000 calories a day too low? Will this be counterproductive to my progress? Thanks all in advance.

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  • cosmosgirl91
    cosmosgirl91 Posts: 72
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    Im not sure what you're body type is and what not but I suggest at least 1200 but no 1000 is not too low..mfp sets your calorie limit on what they think it should be and adjusts it as you go..Just make sure you are eating healthy, drinking plenty of water and eating back the calories when you exercise!
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    It looks like that may be about 400 calories below your supposed BMR, which seems a little extreme , especially if you exercise. More extreme deficits are doable when someone is particularly obese, but a doctor should probably be consulted and you're not that overweight--then again I'm not a doctor.

    So yes, I think it's probably counter productive to both your progress and your health. I've never been fond of the "drop weight quickly" goal.
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
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    it is too low and it appears you dont have much to lose. slow your roll.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
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    I lose while eating 1400-1600 a day. 1000 is WAY too low.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    A close friend who lost 40 lbs tells me that this is too low, and I will end up gaining weight bc, as we’ve all heard, your body goes into starvation mode. That puzzles me, because then how do people that cut calories WAY down lose a significant amount of weight?

    It puzzles you because it's flat out not true. If you eat at a very large deficit, you will lose crap loads of weight, and quickly. The problem is you may also do serious damage to your body because at some point you're not eating enough to meet the basic nutrient requirements of your body.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    Starvation Mode - the mythical place where adhering to a chronic, semi-starvation diet will lead to increased fat storage and weight gain despite the person having a high or normal body fat percentage.

    Obesity Relapse - the harsh reality where one regains all the lost weight after increasing calories following recovery from a chronic, semi-starvation diet.

    At your present body fat percentage, you'd need not concern yourself with Starvation Mode. Only at dangerously low body fat levels will the human body respond to severe restriction by refusing to burn the little remaining fat as fuel and become resilient to further weight loss.

    This isn't to say nothing significant nor negative happens by adhering to a semi-starvation diet.

    Doing so, chronically, results in the human body becoming less proficient in burning an optimal amount of energy throughout the day. In plain English: prior to restriction, you could eat up to 2200 calories to maintain your weight; but after six-months of a semi-starvation diet, you could only consume 1430 calories to maintain weight (35% reduction in total energy expenditure).

    Additionally, the thyroid hormones leptin and ghrelin (both responsible in regulating energy balance) become considerably affected by chronic calorie restriction. Leptin serum concentration levels plummet and the leptin receptors become unreliable in monitoring these levels. Although ghrelin elevates during restriction, its receptors, too, experiences a similar mutation. The result is the body's hunger cues are disturbed and inconsistent.

    Now, if your total energy expenditure is drastically reduced, along with faulty hunger cues via hormone impairment, it's elementary that one would be at high risk of regaining lost weight when increasing calories up to adjusted maintenance. Essentially, your body responds as if it were surviving a famine once more calories are reintroduced - it's going to want to replace that lost weight quickly in case you experience another famine-like episode in the near future.
  • courtneytrisha
    courtneytrisha Posts: 32 Member
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    Are you insane? Serious question. It blows my mind at people who try to lose weight in the unhealthiest ways. 1000 calories a day will do nothing but slow your metabolism WAY down, you won't lose a thing. Plus you probably won't even be able to function you'll be so tired and unenergized. Ugh. Please do some research for your own safety.....
  • nmaaiah
    nmaaiah Posts: 3
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    Thank you all for your input. Geekjock, especially, for the detailed explanation and advice. My goal originally was to be around 1,000 calories and see how it works for the first week. I have been tracking daily, and it seems like I can maintain about 1,200 easily. This has also given me insight on how many carbs and sugars I used to eat. I am not starving or energy-deprived at the end of the day. I am just eating much better now. Its not hard to maintain the 1,200 for me, coffee and hard-boiled eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken and steamed veggies for lunch, snack on some fruit, dinner can be some brown rice and maybe another vegetable. Lots of water, which I don’t really enjoy, but I add the singles-to-go 0 calorie packets to it. I’ve cut out soda. This is working out for me for now, however, I’d be foolish to say that its easy for me to adjust to this type of eating, when I’m used to the opposite. Good luck to all with achieving your weight loss goals.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    Why starve when you can enjoy life losing the same weight.
  • mmckee10
    mmckee10 Posts: 405 Member
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    Think of this not as a diet but as a lifestyle change. Could you maintain this calorie level forever? I know all I got out of eating 1200 calories was being hungry/moody and I gained back all the weight I lost. :(

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

    try this ^ I'm losing eating anywhere from 1200-1750cals (depending on the day)
  • nmaaiah
    nmaaiah Posts: 3
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    Thanks, Mmckee :)

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