Is eating 800 calories okay?

fernwehwanderlust
fernwehwanderlust Posts: 26
in Health and Weight Loss
So i'm currently on a 1200 calorie diet, while equals losing one pound a week for me. Most of the time I manage to hit my goal, but occasionally I eat less, normally 100-300 calories lest. I don't do this often, maybe every once in a while, and I'm just wondering if its unhealthy. But I also don't want to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry, which is a problem I have. Anyway, is this alright to do, as long as I don't do every day, or even that often?
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Replies

  • illgresive
    illgresive Posts: 11
    MFP itself suggests that anything under 1200 calories per day is pretty dangerous, and I'm inclined to agree. Do you know your BMR and TDEE?
  • fernwehwanderlust
    fernwehwanderlust Posts: 26
    My BMR is around 1500 calories and my TDEE is around 1800.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    If your BMR is 1500 and your TDEE is 1800 - what are you trying to achieve by eating 800 calories? You will lose plenty of muscle and pick up a few health problems along the way....Eat more....
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    My BMR is around 1500 calories and my TDEE is around 1800.
    then eat somewhere between those numbers. Don't eat "diet" foods and it will be easy to do so without feeling crazy full.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    No, it is not okay. Eat 1200. Eat exercise calories (or a percentage of them at least). That's how MFP is designed.

    If you cut down to 800 then stop losing weight, are you going to cut down to 600? Then 400? Then 200?

    Cutting calories that severely is not maintainable or healthy.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,260 Member
    If your BMR is 1500, why are you eating 1200 a day???

    However, leaving aside the question of how you reached your daily calories figure, I don't think eating 100 - 300 under that goal, from time to time, not constantly, is an issue.
  • fernwehwanderlust
    fernwehwanderlust Posts: 26
    No no. I'm not eating 800 calories everyday. I'm just seeing if its okay to do every so often, like once a month or something.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    No no. I'm not eating 800 calories everyday. I'm just seeing if its okay to do every so often, like once a month or something.
    why would you want to?
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    You should be eating over your BMR and under your TDEE, anyway.
    The only time I eat 1200 cals is when I'm sick in bed :/
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,260 Member
    Leaving aside the question of what your daily average intake should be - if you eat 800 per day once a month, that will not hurt you.

    It is the average that matters.
  • fernwehwanderlust
    fernwehwanderlust Posts: 26
    I've just been eating the amount MFP suggested for one pound weight loss a week, and I'm also not sure how accurate my BMR is, considering I did this online.

    And, I'd let to clarify a bit on my question. I want to know if eating 100-300 calories less than 1200 every so often is harmful. I don't do this on purpose, but sometimes it happens. In fact, I'd like to eat more, but I'm trying to only eat when I'm hungry, otherwise I tend to graze all day, or eat too much.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    Sounds like an awesome snack.
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
    If you undereat some days & over eat others why not stagger your cal allowance into weekly rather than daily.
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    800 calories. .. For dinner right? Right? No?
  • 19TaraLynn84
    19TaraLynn84 Posts: 739 Member
    In reaponse to the question posed in the title........No, it's not okay.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    So i'm currently on a 1200 calorie diet, while equals losing one pound a week for me. Most of the time I manage to hit my goal, but occasionally I eat less, normally 100-300 calories lest. I don't do this often, maybe every once in a while, and I'm just wondering if its unhealthy. But I also don't want to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry, which is a problem I have. Anyway, is this alright to do, as long as I don't do every day, or even that often?

    It would be helpful if you would post your stats, because without them everything anyone could suggest might be absolutely meaningless. If you are shorter than I ( 4'11.5"/149cm) eating 1200 calories and with that a few hundred less every once in a while is probably ok. I know that I cannot always eat 1200. Today it was 30'C/86F and I have a cold so eating a lot was out of the question.
    However if you are an average size woman ( unless you have 100 or more pounds to lose ) 1200 calories is too little to begin with and eating 100-300 calories less is even worse.
  • gleekymoho
    gleekymoho Posts: 19 Member
    sounds weird but I understand what you mean. I used to overeat uncontrollably but now I am trying to eat intuitively. This translates to my noticing I feel hungry less often and don't need to eat nearly as much. On top of that, I am trying to eat as healthfully as possible, high protein, high fiber, only natural sugar but this altogether makes it hard to hit the calorie goal that is set. I try my best but I won't push myself to eat more than my body wants to or eat less nourishing food just to meet the goal. I feel like part of listening to your body and it's hunger signals is not focusing so much on the exact numbers all the time, even though its good to know.
  • fernwehwanderlust
    fernwehwanderlust Posts: 26
    I'm 5'6 and currently 140 pounds. So I'm just barely at a healthy weight. My general goal is 120 pounds. And my calorie intake is not constant, as sometimes I eat 100-300 less or 100-300 more. And I'm beginning to try to incorporate exercise, mainly running and bicycling and some home strength workouts. The problem is I'm not fit, which is one of my main goals of weight loss. Anything else?
  • One_Last_Time
    One_Last_Time Posts: 125
    I've just been eating the amount MFP suggested for one pound weight loss a week, and I'm also not sure how accurate my BMR is, considering I did this online.

    And, I'd let to clarify a bit on my question. I want to know if eating 100-300 calories less than 1200 every so often is harmful. I don't do this on purpose, but sometimes it happens. In fact, I'd like to eat more, but I'm trying to only eat when I'm hungry, otherwise I tend to graze all day, or eat too much.

    I want to know if eating 100-300 calories less than 1200 every so often is harmfu.
    No. It's not. If it's like 1x a week your fine. Take 72 hour for your metabolism to start to slow. When people are sick they don't eat much. Some people don't eat when depressed or stressed. a few days a month wont hurt you as long as your eating well the rest of the month. I do agree with everyone. You need to be eating at least your BMR. Try eat 1,500 for a month and see what happens. you can adjust it from there.

    Do not try to force yourself to eat less than 1,200. If your hungry eat.
  • One_Last_Time
    One_Last_Time Posts: 125
    If you undereat some days & over eat others why not stagger your cal allowance into weekly rather than daily.

    This is more accurate.
  • fernwehwanderlust
    fernwehwanderlust Posts: 26
    I'm not 100% sure of my BMR though. I used an online calculator and I don't know how accurate it was.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,961 Member
    You should be eating over your BMR and under your TDEE, anyway.
    The only time I eat 1200 cals is when I'm sick in bed :/
    This isn't always true though.

    IE: A person weighs 200lbs. "Normal" weight would be 130lbs. BMR due to being 200lbs is 2000. No exercise and very sedentary. It would be fine to eat 1500. The whole "don't eat less than your BMR" is overused. Now if someone is within 10-15lbs or their goal, then obviously their BMR has dropped and eating under it wouldn't be the best advice.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • zivasak
    zivasak Posts: 88
    If you are referring to fasting a few days a week, it is ok! Check the latest Mosley (up to 500 calories fast diet) related to research on fasting.

    I do fast once in a while. It is good for me. I feel healthier.

    Edit: fasting is widely practiced in other cultures and recommended by classic philosophers, and you can research its benefits if you want to find out more about the subject.
  • annekka
    annekka Posts: 517 Member
    I'm 5'6 and currently 140 pounds. So I'm just barely at a healthy weight. My general goal is 120 pounds. And my calorie intake is not constant, as sometimes I eat 100-300 less or 100-300 more. And I'm beginning to try to incorporate exercise, mainly running and bicycling and some home strength workouts. The problem is I'm not fit, which is one of my main goals of weight loss. Anything else?

    This post is so evidence of how everybody's body is different. I'm the same height and weight as you just working to lose the last few pounds. Any more and I'll start to look anorexic. I've always been more muscular.

    To get fit and be fit your body needs to have exercise to run off of, which you're not going to get if you don't feed it. I'd say as long as every day is not an 800 calorie day you're probably fine, especially if you are over a couple of days a week and it all averages out. I personally can eat 800 calories just for lunch after a 5-600 calorie breakfast. Add a small piece of fruit after school and I'm pretty much done except for on workout days.
  • ALNoog
    ALNoog Posts: 413 Member
    Some days I just CANT eat anymore... And I really don't feel like I should force myself to eat when I'm not hungry..

    So I'm under my "goal" by quite a lot... I think as long as it's not every day it won't hurt you...
  • SymphonynSonata
    SymphonynSonata Posts: 533 Member
    You'll be okay. You probably eat a little more in the following/preceding days anyway. If not, you'll still be okay as long as this isn't a crazy purposeful habit. And as long as you aren't the guy from Ripleys who has to eat like 10000 calories a day to live.
  • ywalchle
    ywalchle Posts: 101 Member
    No no. I'm not eating 800 calories everyday. I'm just seeing if its okay to do every so often, like once a month or something.

    Doing so once in a while will not kill you or send you into starvation mode. But it's not recommended to get into that habit either.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Never mind
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    No no. I'm not eating 800 calories everyday. I'm just seeing if its okay to do every so often, like once a month or something.

    Yeah, on occasion, that's fine. Plenty of people do intermittent fasting and some studies have shown there are considerable benefits to it. It's prolonged gross caloric restriction that causes problems, not intermittent fasting.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Your BMR of 1500 sounds in the right ballpark. I'm near your stats, but older, and mine is in the 1400's. You must have chosen totally sedentary to get a TDEE of 1800 at age 23.

    Since you are within 20 pounds of your goal weight, you shouldn't eat less than BMR.

    Eat 1500, get some more exercise. (It doesn't have to be any certain kind of exercise, even 30 minutes of walking every day). You will lose weight.

    800 really is not okay for someone your size, even once in awhile, unless you are so ill you cannot keep anything down. It's not going to kill you, but it is totally not necessary, and not a habit you want to get in.

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