Back Me Up! Advising a friend...

acoons1990
acoons1990 Posts: 28
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a friend whose daughter is trying to lose weight on 1000 calories a day- and she's getting frustrated because she's not losing anything. I said it's because she's eating too little and should up her calories to at least 1200, but it's hard to convince someone of that because it's counterintuitive.

Can I get some responses to back me up? I want to show my friend that what I'm saying is for real, haha.

Thanks!

Replies

  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
    Doubt it. And I doubt she's really eating 1,000 calories a day. If she was, she'd be losing weight. Even if she is in "starvation mode" (what is that exactly?) she'd lose weight.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Doubt it. And I doubt she's really eating 1,000 calories a day. If she was, she'd be losing weight. Even if she is in "starvation mode" (what is that exactly?) she'd lose weight.

    this...

    Only advice you can give her is to weigh her food because she is eating more than she thinks...
  • shazbox1
    shazbox1 Posts: 175 Member
    Why not put their stats into the calculator thing. They will have to believe the secret science that happens behind the curtain of the Internet.
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    First, is she asking you to advise her?
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
    Really good info on the subject in this thread.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/761810-the-starvation-mode-myth-again

    I think eating 1,000 calories a day is a really bad idea for any extended period of time. But you'd lose weight.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Increasing calorie intake will not cause weight loss. Starvation mode in the sense how most people use the term is a myth. I guarantee she's not really eating 1000 calories. She needs to weigh and measure and track everything that she puts in her mouth. She's probably closer to eating 1500 calories a day. People are terrible at tracking.
    People are horrible at estimating their calorie intake.

    It’s true for men and women and people of all ages.

    It’s true when people are given specific instructions on how to measure their food intake.

    It’s true for dietitians.

    It’s true even when people are paid to track their food intake.

    In some cases, people who claim they can’t lose weight by cutting calories underestimate their food intake by 47%, and overestimate their exercise levels by 51%. Other data has shown that people can under report their food intake by up to 2,000 calories per day.
  • acoons1990
    acoons1990 Posts: 28
    Alright, I understand y'all... And yes, she's asking for advice. I've just heard of people upping their calories and losing weight faster.
  • acoons1990
    acoons1990 Posts: 28
    I'll recommend to her to weigh her food, though!
  • JohnsElan
    JohnsElan Posts: 81
    http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/calorie-intake.html
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
    Alright, I understand y'all... And yes, she's asking for advice. I've just heard of people upping their calories and losing weight faster.

    Yeah, I hear it too. Unfortunately, it's just part of the static on this site. Weird ideas get started and people convince themselves they're true. The food measurement thing is big and weight loss isn't linear. If you're not measuring accurately, some weeks might be better than others just by chance. The variation can EASILY offset an intended "increase" in calories. So you eat the same, or less, but think it's more, you lose some weight and bingo "I proved that eating more calories makes me lose weight!" But it didn't.

    lol I said she was eating calories! That's silly. A calorie is a unit of measure, not food! You can't eat them! Grrr. Letting it go. Letting it goooo. Ahhhhh. Look at the squirrel.

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