Is a Lower calorie diet safe?
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djland318
Posts: 14 Member
ive been reading online about people lowering the amount of calories they put into their bodies each day, some as low as 500. I was considering to drop a few pounds on top of going to the gym and being active normally each day at work. I'm hoping for some input. Some people are eating as little as 500 a day which from an outside view does not seem safe. Thanks for the advice.
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No...it's not particularly safe nor a very good idea.0
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ceoverturf wrote: »No...it's not particularly safe nor a very good idea.
^this0 -
I do the 5:2 diet which means eating 600 cals twice a week, and I keep my cals restricted to 1500-1700 the other 5 days. I've been doing this since January and am not dead yet!0
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No, not safe. Especially for a man. If you want to lose a few pounds, add all your data into MFP and tell it you want to lose half a pound a week. Eat the calories allotted to you, and you will lose the weight slowly and safely.0
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I do the 5:2 diet which means eating 600 cals twice a week, and I keep my cals restricted to 1500-1700 the other 5 days. I've been doing this since January and am not dead yet!
IF and a VLCD are two different animals. Responsible IF is just moving your calories around, kind of like taking life in 48 hour days. VLCD is all low, all the time.0 -
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Funny thing, as soon as I started eating more, I lost weight. I think restricting your calories below MFP recommendations is probably not a good idea.0
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If you do a meal replacement diet like Optifast, you'll be at about 500 calories a day. HOWEVER, you would be under a doc's care and probably wouldn't be approved to do it unless you had some weight-related co-morbidities that called for you to get the weight off fast.
I did Optifast many years ago and felt okay after the first week. The weight fell off. I checked in with the doc every week and was on supplements to make sure I got all my nutrients. But back then, there was no maintenance phase of the diet. So after I lost all my weight, I was turned loose and gained a lot back.
Nowadays, they have programs that teach you how to eat once you're off the Optifast. My dietician uses Optifast with some of her clients who have quite a bit of weight to lose or are post-surgery.0 -
I do the 5:2 diet which means eating 600 cals twice a week, and I keep my cals restricted to 1500-1700 the other 5 days. I've been doing this since January and am not dead yet!
IF and a VLCD are two different animals. Responsible IF is just moving your calories around, kind of like taking life in 48 hour days. VLCD is all low, all the time.
Important distinction.
And no, OP, it's not healthy. You shouldn't consider doing something like that unless it is recommended and supervised by a doctor which should only occur in extreme cases of morbid obesity where the extra weight is more risky than just about anything else.0 -
VCLD's are supposed to be doctor prescribed and monitored. Somehow the view of eating that low is supported by ana/mia constituents and condoned as safe. Don't believe the hype.
If you have any reservations of your own diet, then meet with a Registered Dietician to assess.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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What about the VLCD extending lifespans? I can't tell if you'll starve to death or live forever these days...0
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I do the 5:2 diet which means eating 600 cals twice a week, and I keep my cals restricted to 1500-1700 the other 5 days. I've been doing this since January and am not dead yet!
This is NOT 5:2 - it's your made up variation of a zig-zag diet. 5:2 has 2 days of restriction....not 7.....at least you are averaging 1200 calories a day.
OP - Morbidly obese patients may be put on a 500 or 600 calorie DOCTOR supervised diet.
1200 calories (before exercise) is MFPs lowest default minimum for women.....it's 1200 for a reason. Even if you ate perfectly....it's not possible to get the proper nutrition @ 500 calories.
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The lower you go in calories, the more precise you need to be with everything, and the more you need to understand what you're doing (or be under professional supervision) or you can mess yourself up pretty good. It's also important to be clear on what is meant by "VLCD" - to some, it's 500 cal/day, to others its 1200 cal/day - which is a *very* wide range.
I mean, yeah, you can pick up Lyle McDonald's PSMF book and head on over to Reddit
but the odds of catastrophe go up pretty quickly if you go in that naively.
And it's also extremely important to understand the context (overweight/lean, active/sedentary) to do it right - for example, if you want to be a cardio monster there is no way you'll be able to do that on a VLCD, especially one that restricts carbs, because you will crash HARD.
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ive been reading online about people lowering the amount of calories they put into their bodies each day, some as low as 500. I was considering to drop a few pounds on top of going to the gym and being active normally each day at work. I'm hoping for some input. Some people are eating as little as 500 a day which from an outside view does not seem safe. Thanks for the advice.
500 is VERY difficult to do. Keep in mind that a Dunkin Donuts cream donut is about 400 calories. It is feasible to eat low calorie and be healthy, but you need to make slow changes. You can get full on a 200 calorie meal, if you have the right balance of nutrients and are eating low calorie foods.-1 -
VCLD's are supposed to be doctor prescribed and monitored. Somehow the view of eating that low is supported by ana/mia constituents and condoned as safe. Don't believe the hype.
If you have any reservations of your own diet, then meet with a Registered Dietician to assess.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
This...prior to finding MFP and getting educated I was doing a 1k-1200 calorie diet...it sucked...no energy...and yes I lost the weight...fast...lost muscle mass too...it sucked and I knew it did but I didn't realize how bad it sucked until I found MFP and started counting again and could eat a lot more food...
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OP - you are looking for lose 27 pounds. When people are merely overweight (not obese) they have to be careful of large deficits because it is difficult to keep lean muscle while losing mostly fat. If you go on a VLCD for an extended period you WILL lose lean muscle. Only the number on the scale looks good when you do this. Google skinny-fat.
Food is fuel. Your body needs fuel for everyday things - heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. This number without any activity is your BMR. At the very least eat this.0 -
True. I'd not be happy or healthy doing 600 cals a day for ever.
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