Lowest calories for complete RDA
nicolalane716
Posts: 14 Member
Hi everyone, I hope you can help.
I'm trying to find an authoritative source for how few calories you can eat and still get "complete nutrition" or in other words the full daily RDA of vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats.
It seems generally accepted that you will usually need approx 1200 per day, but I can't find any source for that!
Thanks!
I'm trying to find an authoritative source for how few calories you can eat and still get "complete nutrition" or in other words the full daily RDA of vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats.
It seems generally accepted that you will usually need approx 1200 per day, but I can't find any source for that!
Thanks!
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Replies
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So are you trying to justify eating less? You should be working on the opposite assumption. What is the most you can eat to achieve your goals not how little can you eat. I think maybe you should think about your mind set0
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RDA for protein, for adult males, is around 60g/day.
There is no RDA for carbs, research suggests ~100g/day for "normal" body functioning.
That's 160 * 4 -> 640 calories/day.
Minimum RDA for fat is 20% of daily calories, so doing a little math, that's...about 20g fat/day.
All in, you're looking at about 800 calories/day.
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I'm not trying to justify anything - I am actually trying to show someone that it isn't possible to do a "homemade VLCD" as if you try and go below 800 cals then you won't get all the necessary vitamins/minerals etc (I am sure that you could get proteins and fats)
As I said, it seems accepted that you will need approx 1200 - but I can't find any source for that.0 -
nicolalane716 wrote: »As I said, it seems accepted that you will need approx 1200 - but I can't find any source for that.
There is no source. 1200 is just a fudged number - 800 + 50% - that allows for margin of error. At 800 calories/day you pretty much have to eat *perfectly* to meet nutrient needs - at 1200, there is some wiggle room.
Which, frankly, most people, most of the time, will need.
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The RDA is based on the minimum needs of the average person. The average person is an overweight couch potato who doesn't exercise. If that's not you, then the RDA doesn't really apply to you.0
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I remember reading through a website where this guy was doing a sort of self study on how well the body copes with getting the micro and macro nutrients we scientifically need to maintain good health. He literally get every vitamin an mineral in its raw form from various labs and make a mixture of the daily required amount.
It came out to about 200 calories a day.
He tried it on himself for a week... then a month... he had full blood work done every time and the results were positive, for him.
Now, keep in mind, this was not 200 calories worth of food. It was literally just fiber, whey, oil, and 20+ different little piles of whatever else the body needs, like iron, calcium, vitamin A, B, C, D, zinc, chloride, etc. in it's purest, stable form.
I do not suggest anyone tries this themselves. Even one small slip up and you can truly screw yourself over.0 -
The only thing I can find is from the ACSM
http://acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/acsm-in-the-news/2011/08/01/metabolism-is-modifiable-with-the-right-lifestyle-changes
I hope you can convince your friend against a homemade VLCD.0 -
RDA for protein, for adult males, is around 60g/day.
There is no RDA for carbs, research suggests ~100g/day for "normal" body functioning.
That's 160 * 4 -> 640 calories/day.
Minimum RDA for fat is 20% of daily calories, so doing a little math, that's...about 20g fat/day.
All in, you're looking at about 800 calories/day.
Mr. Knight there is no RDA for carbs because carbs are optional for humans but calories are not optional so one has to pick up the combo of the remaining to hit required calories.
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There's no RDA because we won't die without consuming them, why, because our body produces glucose in the absence of dietary carbohydrates, so basically they are essential for life. Fat for example only has a small essential component being the omega's but in some diets fat is consumed in abundance like the Keto diet..... and fat is generally recommended over and above those small essential omegas and so are carbs recommended for a balanced diet, everyone justifies their own dietary preferences but unfortunately some people crusade one way over another which is generally based on limited information.GaleHawkins wrote: »RDA for protein, for adult males, is around 60g/day.
There is no RDA for carbs, research suggests ~100g/day for "normal" body functioning.
That's 160 * 4 -> 640 calories/day.
Minimum RDA for fat is 20% of daily calories, so doing a little math, that's...about 20g fat/day.
All in, you're looking at about 800 calories/day.
Mr. Knight there is no RDA for carbs because carbs are optional for humans but calories are not optional so one has to pick up the combo of the remaining to hit required calories.
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Is it even possible to get all the RDA for vitamins through diet alone?0
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BlackTimber wrote: »Is it even possible to get all the RDA for vitamins through diet alone?
YES it is. I've done it and I didn't use any "enriched" products like fortified breakfast cereals either..... but it's REALLY hard to sustain and involves WAY too much expense and planning. Also it was impossible for me to track through this app because most entries don't include micro-nutrients. I used nutritiondata.com to track my nutrition during my little experiment.
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Not sure, but I suspect that over the last few million years of evolution that we have for the most part.BlackTimber wrote: »Is it even possible to get all the RDA for vitamins through diet alone?
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I don't think that you will ever find a definite answer for micronutrients because bioavailability depends on things such as what you're eating with the food, cooking, the actual matrix of the food, even the soil it was grown in etc.0
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That's about what John Barban thinks. I believe he has a masters in biology and nutrition and teaches exercise physiology.RDA for protein, for adult males, is around 60g/day.
There is no RDA for carbs, research suggests ~100g/day for "normal" body functioning.
That's 160 * 4 -> 640 calories/day.
Minimum RDA for fat is 20% of daily calories, so doing a little math, that's...about 20g fat/day.
All in, you're looking at about 800 calories/day.
http://johnbarban.com/weight-loss-fallacies-2lbs-per-week-and-1200-calories-per-day/
Fallacy #2: 1200 calories is the minimum you should eat in a day
"I don’t know where this number comes from and I will be spending some time in the near future looking it up. However based on the RDI and RDA for nutrients the actual lower limit for calories (when you add up the individual recommendations for protein, carbs and fats) comes out to around 800 calories per day for women and 900 for men. So even according to the RDA you can easily eat well below 1200 and get your daily requirements of protein carbs and fats."
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Nobody keeps track of all that. There may be some oddball who does, but not most people.
Even around here, where people knock themselves out keeping track of food, it's macros, macros, macros.
Ask 100 random people if they got their fair share of zinc today and you'll get 100 "I don't know" replies.
But good luck.0 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »RDA for protein, for adult males, is around 60g/day.
There is no RDA for carbs, research suggests ~100g/day for "normal" body functioning.
That's 160 * 4 -> 640 calories/day.
Minimum RDA for fat is 20% of daily calories, so doing a little math, that's...about 20g fat/day.
All in, you're looking at about 800 calories/day.
Mr. Knight there is no RDA for carbs because carbs are optional for humans but calories are not optional so one has to pick up the combo of the remaining to hit required calories.
Carbs are required for specific biochemical processes that occur inside the human body. Those processes may or may not be "optional for humans", depending on activity level and activity intensity. There are specific lifestyles/performance levels that are flat out impossible without significant intake of carbs, so it is not really correct to say carbs are "optional for humans" without very large and specific disclaimers.
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GaleHawkins wrote: »RDA for protein, for adult males, is around 60g/day.
There is no RDA for carbs, research suggests ~100g/day for "normal" body functioning.
That's 160 * 4 -> 640 calories/day.
Minimum RDA for fat is 20% of daily calories, so doing a little math, that's...about 20g fat/day.
All in, you're looking at about 800 calories/day.
Mr. Knight there is no RDA for carbs because carbs are optional for humans but calories are not optional so one has to pick up the combo of the remaining to hit required calories.
Carbs are required for specific biochemical processes that occur inside the human body. Those processes may or may not be "optional for humans", depending on activity level and activity intensity. There are specific lifestyles/performance levels that are flat out impossible without significant intake of carbs, so it is not really correct to say carbs are "optional for humans" without very large and specific disclaimers.
Mr_Knight all I meant was one will not die due to eating no CARBS. For walking, talking, clean house, driving the car, etc NO carbs should be just fine for most humans. Now they might not win any Sprinting contest. I do not sprint because of the arthritis so they are optional in my case.
Actually I was try to counter false states that a calorie is a calorie because we know that a 100 calorie of carb in the body can produce a different result than say a 100 calories of fat or protein.
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GaleHawkins wrote: »Actually I was try to counter false states that a calorie is a calorie because we know that a 100 calorie of carb in the body can produce a different result than say a 100 calories of fat or protein.
That's not what "a calorie is a calorie" means.
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I am really uncomfortable with this thread. OP has a friend who wants to try a homemade VLCD and it seems by saying that you only need 800-900 calories/day it gives this idea merit.0
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WalkingAlong wrote: »
That's about what John Barban thinks. I believe he has a masters in biology and nutrition and teaches exercise physiology.RDA for protein, for adult males, is around 60g/day.
There is no RDA for carbs, research suggests ~100g/day for "normal" body functioning.
That's 160 * 4 -> 640 calories/day.
Minimum RDA for fat is 20% of daily calories, so doing a little math, that's...about 20g fat/day.
All in, you're looking at about 800 calories/day.
http://johnbarban.com/weight-loss-fallacies-2lbs-per-week-and-1200-calories-per-day/
Fallacy #2: 1200 calories is the minimum you should eat in a day
"I don’t know where this number comes from and I will be spending some time in the near future looking it up. However based on the RDI and RDA for nutrients the actual lower limit for calories (when you add up the individual recommendations for protein, carbs and fats) comes out to around 800 calories per day for women and 900 for men. So even according to the RDA you can easily eat well below 1200 and get your daily requirements of protein carbs and fats."
My wife went on the Dr. Berstein Diet for a couple months and it's 800 cals/day for women but you are under medical supervision and get vitamins including injections twice a week of B12 and some others I cannot recall. They also give you vitamins including a serperate potassium supplements that you are warned that if you do not take you will risk serious health complications. I think 800 is pretty dangerous if that's the case and although it may be possible to get all you need on 800 a day I wouldn't personally experiment with it.0 -
I don't think anyone's suggesting anyone try 800.
I'm not sure what Dr. Berstein Diet is but B12 is given to dieters as a supposed energy booster, not to address vitamin deficiency.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/weight-loss/expert-answers/vitamin-b12-injections/faq-20058145
They also say gallstones are your biggest risk.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/low-calorie-diets
"What Are the Side Effects of Very Low-Calorie Diets?
People on a very low-calorie diet for 4 to 16 weeks report minor side effects such as fatigue, constipation, nausea, and diarrhea. These conditions usually improve within a few weeks and rarely prevent people from completing the program.
Gallstones are most common serious side effect seen with very low-calorie diets. Gallstones are more common during rapid weight loss. It’s unclear whether very low-calorie diets directly cause gallstones or whether the amount of weight loss is responsible for them."0 -
Before I'm accused of recommending them, Mayo Clinic also says this:
What Are the Other Drawbacks of Very Low-Calorie Diets?
To be healthy, you need a balance of foods from different food groups. It's difficult to get good nutrition and feel satisfied on a very low-calorie diet. In addition, consuming as few as 800 calories daily may not give you the energy you need for daily living and regular physical activity, especially if you eat the same foods every day.
Talk to your doctor or dietitian to make sure you get the nutrients you need while on a very low-calorie diet.
Are Very Low-Calorie Diets Safe?
Very low-calorie diets are not OK for everyone. Talk to your doctor to see if this kind of diet is appropriate for you.
If your BMI is greater than 30, then very low-calorie diets are generally safe when used under proper medical supervision. For people who are overweight but not obese (BMI of 27-30), very low-calorie diets should be reserved for those who have weight-related medical problems and are under medical supervision.
Very low-calorie-diets are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and are not appropriate for children or teens except in specialized treatment programs. They also may not be OK for people over age 50, either, depending on the potential need for medications for pre-existing conditions, as well as the possibility of side effects.0 -
Yes, I am aware of why they give B12 shots and the dangers of such diets. I wasn't happy with her decision since I knew she would regain hard, which she did after she left. Berstein was censured by the College for his advertising practices. ctvnews.ca/business/formal-caution-over-dr-bernstein-weight-loss-advertising-claims-contested-1.18071240
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WalkingAlong wrote: »Before I'm accused of recommending them, Mayo Clinic also says this:
What Are the Other Drawbacks of Very Low-Calorie Diets?
To be healthy, you need a balance of foods from different food groups. It's difficult to get good nutrition and feel satisfied on a very low-calorie diet. In addition, consuming as few as 800 calories daily may not give you the energy you need for daily living and regular physical activity, especially if you eat the same foods every day.
Talk to your doctor or dietitian to make sure you get the nutrients you need while on a very low-calorie diet.
Are Very Low-Calorie Diets Safe?
Very low-calorie diets are not OK for everyone. Talk to your doctor to see if this kind of diet is appropriate for you.
If your BMI is greater than 30, then very low-calorie diets are generally safe when used under proper medical supervision. For people who are overweight but not obese (BMI of 27-30), very low-calorie diets should be reserved for those who have weight-related medical problems and are under medical supervision.
Very low-calorie-diets are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and are not appropriate for children or teens except in specialized treatment programs. They also may not be OK for people over age 50, either, depending on the potential need for medications for pre-existing conditions, as well as the possibility of side effects.
Thank you. I wasn't accusing anyone of anything. It is more the whole topic makes me uneasy, it might just be me.0 -
VLCDs are against community rules, and plain stupid.0
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Nobody keeps track of all that. There may be some oddball who does, but not most people.
Even around here, where people knock themselves out keeping track of food, it's macros, macros, macros.
Ask 100 random people if they got their fair share of zinc today and you'll get 100 "I don't know" replies.
But good luck.
I did track those things once upon a time - but it's a pain and can take some serious time to understand what all the minerals and vitamins do and mean and what levels are good and harmful. I used a PC based program to do it. Not sure if they have one that is as easy to use with a smart phone type app.
It was interesting, but I developed other hobbies and let it go by the way side. Probably won't ever pick it up again.0 -
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