Safe or Not?

manolivatso
manolivatso Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone,

I'm Noli, I'm 31 and 6'1". I've been dealing with being overweight all my life, except for 5 yrs when I was in the Marines. I've been out for 7 years now and hit my peak at 310lbs last year. January 1st of this year my wife and I decided to divorce which made something in me snap. I decided my weight was way too high and I finally decided to do something about it. I starved myself for about 2 weeks, eating only one piece of chicken a day, to get my body used to the low food intake, and started hiking, and playing softball weekly. Now I'm 250 lbs and feel amazing. I'm eating more now but still feel like crap if I let myself eat more than 1000 calories in a day. I'm an engineer so most of my work days are spent in front of a computer and I eat about a half cup of roasted unsalted sunflower kernels all day until dinner when I might eat a piece of chicken or a steak (just protein). However lately, and specifically today, I noticed that after my 7 mile hike, I was so hungry I ate two pieces of chicken breast, salad, green beans, and two small slices of pizza. Is my body trying to tell me something or is this normal every now and then?

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    You're a 6'1" guy, and you eat 1,000 calories a day? To answer your question, no that's not safe. It's unhealthy & not sustainable.

    According to your ticker, you want to lose 40 more lbs. Set your goal to 1 lb. per week. The smaller deficit will also help you transition to maintenance. Your calorie goal has your deficit built in. Use the protein & fiber goals as minimums. Get enough iron & calcium.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • ravenmiss
    ravenmiss Posts: 384 Member
    Might also be an idea to speak to someone about your unhealthy relationship with food before it starts to impact more on your physical and psychological health.
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    Your body is starving for food.

    That would be the reason why you ate 2 chicken breast, etc. ... especially after a 7 mile hike you will be hungry.

    And if you cannot get passed eating more than 1000 calories a day as you are a man and tall one at that, you need to seek psychological help because that is not a normal relationship with food.

    Hope it all works out.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    A 2 year old can eat more food than you are. You are destroying your metabolism and this will backfire. You know this is the wrong way to lose weight. Be smart and eat enough to fuel your body. As an engineer I assume you are more intelligent than this postakes you seem.
  • OkamiLavande
    OkamiLavande Posts: 336 Member
    This is a completely unhealthy relationship with food. You should seek mental health help or talk to someone about your views of food and why it bothers you so much to eat over a thousand calories. As a 5'4 woman, I eat around 1400 calories a day, I don't like eating that much because I have a terrible relationship and view of food, but I know it's unhealthy so I make myself suck it up because I don't want to wind up with an obsessive ED. You are bordering on an ED so get help.
  • mjc65
    mjc65 Posts: 58 Member
    6"5' with a very non-active lifestyle and can appreciate your point of view as have also gone with the sub-1000 (although not through design through obsessing about something - teach programming and when there's a problem I HAVE to fix it), PLUS the fact that my weight is on a constant upward spiral it seems, but the days I go sub 1000 I will always end up shaking through lack of food at some point, to the point where I HAVE to eat something or I'll collapse.

    I'm amazed your body hasn't rebelled given the amount you are eating - mine would have toppled over by now.

    MFP isn't just a way to prevent me eating too many calories, it's also the way I check I am getting enough, otherwise it will be particularly bad for me I am sure.
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
    Hey everyone,

    I'm Noli, I'm 31 and 6'1". I've been dealing with being overweight all my life, except for 5 yrs when I was in the Marines. I've been out for 7 years now and hit my peak at 310lbs last year. January 1st of this year my wife and I decided to divorce which made something in me snap. I decided my weight was way too high and I finally decided to do something about it. I starved myself for about 2 weeks, eating only one piece of chicken a day, to get my body used to the low food intake, and started hiking, and playing softball weekly. Now I'm 250 lbs and feel amazing. I'm eating more now but still feel like crap if I let myself eat more than 1000 calories in a day. I'm an engineer so most of my work days are spent in front of a computer and I eat about a half cup of roasted unsalted sunflower kernels all day until dinner when I might eat a piece of chicken or a steak (just protein). However lately, and specifically today, I noticed that after my 7 mile hike, I was so hungry I ate two pieces of chicken breast, salad, green beans, and two small slices of pizza. Is my body trying to tell me something or is this normal every now and then?

    I'm sorry to hear about your developing eating disorder. It seems clear to me from here that you're undergoing a huge emotional event and that it is damaging your relationship with yourself, your body, and your diet. Consistently eating less than 1000 calories a day is NOT safe behavior, it's disordered. I'm not trying to judge you or anything. I just think you should know how serious this is. If possible, I suggest you see a counselor.

    Your body is telling you something and it is imperative that you listen to it. I did a quick calculation of your Basal Metabolic Rate and it is about 2300 calories. That is a minimum you should be striving for. You've been eating at starvation levels for a while now, so I don't expect that it will be easy eating more than double that all at once. Increase your calories slowly, but aim to get up to that level. You can lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way, and hiking does make for great exercise as well as therapeutic time spent in nature.

    Take care of yourself.
  • manolivatso
    manolivatso Posts: 10
    Thanks for the constructive criticism everyone. I do know the caloric intake is too low and I guess I keep telling myself that once I get to my goal weight and can feel better about how I look I'll be able to increase my calories. I guess right now, because I've lost almost 60 lbs since January 1st, I'm almost obsessed with sticking to what I'm doing in order to keep it going. Today, after logging my hike and all my food intake I'm at -827 calories. I know it's not good and after reading what all of you are telling me, I'm going to speak to someone to see what the root cause is.

    MJC65: I actually never get the shakes. I do eat when my body tells me I'm hungry, like today and haven't gotten any shakes. I think that stems from the training in the Marines. I was overweight when I joined and they got me to drop from 250 to 197 in just 3 months, so I think that's why my body hasn't reacted as bad as others.

    Wilsoje74: I appreciate your post lol. Keep in mind though, just because a person is good at math and working with numbers, doesn't mean he knows what's good for him :bigsmile:
  • manolivatso
    manolivatso Posts: 10
    I forgot to mention that my wife and I are actually great now (better than ever) but after seeing the results from the changes I made to my diet when we initially wanted to divorce, I didn't want to lose my progress so I'm continuing.
  • shinkalork
    shinkalork Posts: 815 Member
    wow...1000?

    I weight 150 pounds and i eat around 2000 cal a day.

    Try to raise your calories to give yourself fuel... your heart and organs needs fuel or they will crash.
    It's not healthy...

    Raising calories won't make you gain... well, not raising with junk for sure... But with healthy lean food and good carbs and fat.
    Try spreading the meals..eat more often like 6 times a day.... smaller portion but every couple hours...
    Your body will burn the food you give him all the time etc...
  • JenniTheVeggie
    JenniTheVeggie Posts: 2,474 Member
    Food is fuel....I look at food differently now. 1000 is not enough...especially since you are very active!
  • DownsizingAaron
    DownsizingAaron Posts: 127 Member
    One of the other big reasons to increase your calorie intake is to preserve muscle mass. Your body is grabbing calories from wherever it can when you have that big of a deficit each day, so some of it is likely coming from your muscles. Eat lots of protein for sure.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Not healthy, especially being physically active. Sometimes shocking your system into a change can be ok on the short term... (the one piece of chicken a day for a few days is an example... ) By all means, you need to increase your intake to about 1800 calories or so per day (at least) and eat back your exercise calories (or most of them any way)... That will help you lose about a pound per week... I am 6' 3" and my weight is about 225 and I can maintain a slow weight loss at nearly 2000 calories per day so 1800 would not be bad for you... Yes, at first eating more than 1000 calories per day may make you feel bad... but in the end it will be better. You were a marine, you know that maintaining muscle mass is important... and by increasing your intake you will minimize loss of lean body mass. Best wishes on achieving a healthy eating style.. It is less about the weight and more about cutting body fat... cut too fast and you lose more muscle than fat... it is FAT that is the enemy... not WEIGHT....
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  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    You're a 6'1" guy, and you eat 1,000 calories a day? To answer your question, no that's not safe. It's unhealthy & not sustainable.

    According to your ticker, you want to lose 40 more lbs. Set your goal to 1 lb. per week. The smaller deficit will also help you transition to maintenance. Your calorie goal has your deficit built in. Use the protein & fiber goals as minimums. Get enough iron & calcium.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    ^^^^ this

    Seriously 1000 cals is not enough for a petite woman. If you take the size differences into account, you're doing the equivalent of an average sized woman eating 600 cals/day. I.e. starvation diet. You're setting yourself up for some serious long term problems if you don't eat more. You may feel good doing this, but mostly that's endorphins and similar from your body's response to insufficient food. Eating as you are you're going to be burning up your lean muscle mass which slows your metabolism and decreases your bone density (leaving you at risk of osteoporosis) and also setting yourself up for overeating or even binge eating when your body can't take the starvation any more.

    Eat more. A LOT more. A man your size usually needs in excess of 3000 cals/day. You may even be able to lose weight on that many cals a day, or in any case losing on around 2500 cals/day is not uncommon for big men. Get in the gym and lift weights. Eat plenty of protein. You need a small deficit for losing fat *slowly*. This way you keep your muscle mass, make huge gains in strength and end up looking very fit and muscular. Not starved and weak.

    ETA:and yes your body is trying to tell you something... it's telling you you need to eat.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    You are netting *negative* eight hundred calories? Seriously? Did I read that correctly?!?

    If that is correct you are doing irreparable damage to your brain and other vital organs. You run a serious risk of sudden death if you continue to stress your heart in this way. You need to seek medical and professional help immediately.
  • manolivatso
    manolivatso Posts: 10
    Hey everyone, so here's the latest. I started going to the gym on tuesday night and tonight I spoke to two personal fitness trainers because the first one was dumfounded at the amount of energy I have given the amount of calories I take in every day. They actually wanted to put me on a regiment. They calculated my BMI and measured the weight of fat I have in my body too. When I explained how the most calories I've taken in since January 1st is a little over 600, they asked me the whys and explained the pros and cons. At the end, however, they asked me how I feel every day. I told them that on days like today, I got up at 4am, worked my shift, came home to take care of my daughters, went to the gym and did a Hiit Boxing class and I still feel great after only eating a 1/4 cup of plain oatmeal for breakfast, 1/8 cup of sunflower kernels, and a can of sardines in louisiana hot sauce. The looks on their faces was priceless. The second trainer actually told me she wishes she could do that without getting fatigued. Then they both agreed that as long as I'm eating when my body tells me it's hungry and I'm not seeing any warning signs, I can keep doing what I'm doing. When I start lifting weights, however, I'll have to increase my food intake because my body won't actually be able to build muscle. They calculated that I have approximately 68 lbs of fat on me and 184 lbs of lean muscle as of today. They want to test me again on monday after I keep doing what I'm doing so they can see if it's fat or muscle that I'm losing. I understand what I'm doing is not the right way and i know there are so many studies that back that up, but I also know that regardless of the theory or study, there's always that percentage of people that don't fall in the scope of those studies because their bodies are different. I'm confused now and can only hope things will continue to go the way they have. Any thoughts?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Hey everyone, so here's the latest. I started going to the gym on tuesday night and tonight I spoke to two personal fitness trainers because the first one was dumfounded at the amount of energy I have given the amount of calories I take in every day. They actually wanted to put me on a regiment. They calculated my BMI and measured the weight of fat I have in my body too. When I explained how the most calories I've taken in since January 1st is a little over 600, they asked me the whys and explained the pros and cons. At the end, however, they asked me how I feel every day. I told them that on days like today, I got up at 4am, worked my shift, came home to take care of my daughters, went to the gym and did a Hiit Boxing class and I still feel great after only eating a 1/4 cup of plain oatmeal for breakfast, 1/8 cup of sunflower kernels, and a can of sardines in louisiana hot sauce. The looks on their faces was priceless. The second trainer actually told me she wishes she could do that without getting fatigued. Then they both agreed that as long as I'm eating when my body tells me it's hungry and I'm not seeing any warning signs, I can keep doing what I'm doing. When I start lifting weights, however, I'll have to increase my food intake because my body won't actually be able to build muscle. They calculated that I have approximately 68 lbs of fat on me and 184 lbs of lean muscle as of today. They want to test me again on monday after I keep doing what I'm doing so they can see if it's fat or muscle that I'm losing. I understand what I'm doing is not the right way and i know there are so many studies that back that up, but I also know that regardless of the theory or study, there's always that percentage of people that don't fall in the scope of those studies because their bodies are different. I'm confused now and can only hope things will continue to go the way they have. Any thoughts?

    My thought is that not only will your body be unable to build muscle at that caloric intake it will also be unable to MAINTAIN muscle. In otherwords guarenteed the weight loss your experiencing includes your muscle eating as little as you are eating. You cannot be getting sufficient nutrients including amino acids eating that little even if it is high protein and your body will be digesting your muscle to compensate. If you keep this up you will deplete your muscles by a lot and it will not be easy to recover.


    I know you "Feel great" and all and I can even believe it. When I went on a 180 mile backpacking trip my TDEE was in the 5000-6000 calorie range and I only had enough food in my pack to be putting away 2500 calories a day. That meant that my net caloric intake was about negative 3000 calories a day. And guess what, doing that for 14 days I felt great and coming back home I was practically bouncing off the walls with energy. I had lost 10 pounds too during that period. But you know what, chances are part of that 10 pounds was muscle and if I had kept that up for months I would have continued to "feel great" as my body continued to consume my own muscle.

    When you run out of muscjle you will stop feeling great. You will also have a long road to recovery at that point.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Saw this today and when I read your post I wanted to share. This may be something you want to consider ...

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/17/healthy-relationship-to-food-habits_n_5107037.html

    Please take care of yourself!
  • GiveItAll92
    GiveItAll92 Posts: 26 Member
    My thought is that anyone can get hired at a gym without any real training. If they said they are jealous of what you are doing I'm guessing they have some food/body esteem issues with themselves. I'm sorry to sound mean but that is the worst advice I have ever heard from someone working in this type of job. You are killing your muscles, including your heart. You mentioned you have daughters. If they were doing this to themselves (eating so little) would you think it was ok? I'm guessing/hoping your answer would be no...the same logic applies to yourself. If I found out my stepdad was doing something like this I would be so upset and worried and angry. I think its great you are trying to lose weight because it can lead to a happier healthier life. However, you should really be an example to your daughters and you should be healthy so you can be around for them as they get older. I am not by any means trying to be harsh just trying to give you some perspective. You should really see a certified nutritionist/dietician.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I still feel great after only eating a 1/4 cup of plain oatmeal for breakfast, 1/8 cup of sunflower kernels, and a can of sardines in louisiana hot sauce.
    You're not weighing your food, so you're probably underestimating your calories. If your guesstimation is accurate, that's 400 calories for breakfast (depending on the brand of sardines). But that's a pretty big "if."

    Food is fuel, and everyone should find the maximum number of calories at which they lose weight—never the minimum. As so many people have stressed, a very low-calorie diet lacks many key nutrients, and you're losing lean body mass.

    Please, read the Sexypants link posted above, and consult a doctor rather than internet strangers & the people who work at your gym: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

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