My doctor's recommendation: 1000 calories a day to lose weight??

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pateld1781
pateld1781 Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Let me start off with a brief intro. I am 23, 5'5", 224lb (obviously overweight) For the past 5 months, I've been working out like CRAZY to lose weight. In the past, I've tried so many things and failed, but this time I had decided that I was going to focus on doing only cardio to lose fat fast. I worked out everyday (7 days a week), for about 2-3hrs back to back! I was taking a spin class in the morning followed by zumba and sometimes another hour of zumba in the evening. Doing this started to cause some mild pain in my right knee. So I visited my doctor, got some x-rays done and went back to see him yesterday.

The x-ray report stated "mild joint space narrowing", which means the cartilage in my right knee is wearing out or started to wear out which is narrowing the space between my bones causing me a lot of pain. My doctor mainly blamed this on the fact of me being overweight and that I needed to "stop eating so much." I told him that I had been working out and following a very strict/healthy diet, consuming about 1300-1400 calories a day (considering my age/height/weight, I thought that was good). It's true that my body hasn't dropped a pound but the shape of my body has changed and I've lost several inches on my body over the last 5 months. Sadly, he didn't buy any of it and kept saying that I need to eat less. He first said that I should limit my calorie intake to 700-800 calories a day. (YES, you read that correctly..coming from a Doctor). That's like going against everything I've studied on food n nutrition and weight loss. Being a doctor, he should know that that would starve me and make me eat more later on causing even more weight gain. He kept saying that if I eat less, my body will use the fat that's already stored in there. Now I don't if that's 100% true or totally bogus, it doesn't sound healthy to me. At the end, he said "1000 calories a day, no zumba, you can do stationary bike." :/

I don't know if this is a good idea, I'm planning to try this 1000 calorie diet for a week with regular exercise (minimum cardio-no treadmill/zumba). If you have any suggestions for me, please feel free to let me know. (I'm scared, having problems like this at this age.)

Thank you!
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Replies

  • browneyes1520
    browneyes1520 Posts: 94 Member
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    Sadly most doctors know nothing of nutrition. What he is telling you to do is highly unhealthy and u are right in thinking that you will be starving yourself which in turn will lead you to at one point just binge and gain more weight. Personally I would find another doctor. Also, exercise makes you fit, a calorie deficit allows you to lose weight. Make sure you are using a scale to weigh all your food as measuring cups are fairly inaccurate and cause you to eat more calories than you think you are. Don't go below 1200 calories and ditch that stupid moron of a doctor. Good luck to you!
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    I'd find another doctor, and I'd look into seeing a nutritionist. You're likely gaining some muscle (yes, it's possible even on a deficit - you're burning fat for the extra calories needed). However, you won't gain muscle all that fast, you should be losing weight. So either you're logging wrong (IE: start weighing everything in grams if possible), or you're eating back exercise calories that are incorrectly calculated. I doubt seriously it can be healthy to eat under 1200 calories a day, even though you're 5'5" tall. My wife is 5'2" and eats 1800 at maintenance. So if she wants to lose a pound a week, she can drop to 1300 with no exercise and it works. Or, she can simply stay at 1800 and do 500 calories a day of exercise and lose the same amount.

    Do you weigh your food?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    OP, do you log here on MFP? Could you set your diary to public so we can look at it? When you say you're eating 1300-1400 are you trying to eat that or net that?
  • greentart
    greentart Posts: 411 Member
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    That's insane for a doctor to say, but here's my thought... You claim you're eating 1300-1400 calories a day, while exercising for 2-3 hours a day. If this were true, you WOULD be losing weight. So you've got to be eating more than you think you are. Unless you have an underlying medical condition, that's the only logical explanation for not losing weight. Perhaps the doctor thought by telling you 1000 calories, that you'd eat less than you are now (though not technically 1000 calories) as you most likely aren't currently eating in the 1300-1400 range.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    My suggestion is that you follow what MFP tells you to eat for your age, height, weight and day activity level (without exercise). Cut back on exercise and work on your food intake for the time being.
    At your weight it is probably okay to try losing 2 lbs a week but there should be no reason for you to drop below the minimum reccomendation of 1200. You should be losing weight at 1300-1400 calories. If you aren't then I'd say you are underestimating your calorie intake or overestimating calorie burns. It is easy to do that.
    Log as accurately as you can starting today. Get a digital food scale and use it. Weigh and measure everything you consume. Check that the entries you are choosing from the database are accurate.
    Weigh yourself on the same scale at the same time of day under the same conditions- morning, after using the bathroom but before eating or drinking. Take body measurements.
  • Shotgunfatcat
    Shotgunfatcat Posts: 3 Member
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    Your basic metabolic rate is roughly 1800 calories per day. Cutting out 400 calories a day is 2800 calories a week, about 3/4 of a pound. This number can easily be overcome by a cheat day, or not being stringent on your calorie counting, going out for drinks one night, etc. Unfortunately this is why women have a harder time losing weight, their BMR isn't very high, and only eating 1000 calories a day sounds like a joke, but it really is no different than me cutting down to 1600 in terms of what my body needs to do to lose a pound or two a week. Your exercise is building muscle, toning, etc. You are changing your body for the better! But obviously the scale isn't changing and calories need to be cut more.

    It is a good thing you went to the doctor about your knee. Being overweight isn't good on joints. While I am writing I might as well mention the trend going around these days about you can be fat and healthy... To a point this "can" be true, but obviously joints don't think so. Zumba, jogging, basically any hard impact exercise is going to be harder on your body as it was designed to be "x" amount less. I would suggest getting a bicycle as well. If you can, commute to where you need to for small groceries, work, visiting a friend, etc. Ellipticals are also a very good thing, and swimming.

    Good luck, it sucks, but you just have to stick with it, it took years to put it on, it may take a long time for it to come off too.
  • mommazach
    mommazach Posts: 384 Member
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    I have the same knee issues and use the elliptical. There is not the same amount of impact as a treadmill. Then weigh and measure everything you are eating. You should have had a significant amount of loss by now. 1,000 calories is too little. I eat 1,200 calories a day and work out 5 times a week. I've lost a large amount of weight following that, but it wasn't until I bought a scale to actually weigh the foods. I was eating much larger portions than I thought. Also, start taking some glucosamine and chondroitin as well as turmeric. Both will help with the knee pain. PS... Your Dr sounds like a butt.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    edited April 2016
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    You are very young to be having the knee problems. Trust me, it will not get better the older you get.
    I would suggest a second opinion by a specialist. You do not want to do anything that will make it worse on your knees.

    The calories that your doctor is suggesting are very low and may be unnecessary. Are you weighing, measuring and keeping track of EVERYTHING you eat and drink? If you are not, start doing this, it may make a huge difference if you are not weighing and logging everything accurately.

    Another thing to think about, you are exercising a lot, I have found that the more I exercise, the hungrier I get, the more calories I need. I lost a lot of weight and had really bad knees. I have found that the elliptical, and walking/hiking is a lot easier on my knees, even though getting the weight off has made a huge difference in my knees.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    What I think he really is saying, is that you need to eat 300-600 calories less than you are now, which is your maintenance level.

    Yeah, this. I think doctors often tend to be quite cynical (with reason) about how well people count calories.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    pateld1781 wrote: »
    consuming about 1300-1400 calories a day

    You need to watch an episode of Secret Eaters...

    You may believe that is how much you are consuming but I think you are taking in more than that in reality.

    Forget what your doctor has said.

    Commit to logging ruthlessly for a month at that amount. See what happens.

  • kydseoul26
    kydseoul26 Posts: 7 Member
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    The doctor isn't totally wrong. If I'm eat 1400 cal per day and I'm not losing weight I would eat 1200 calories the following week and so on until I start seeing the lbs, but even then I would not go below 1000 calories. As long as your are hitting your macros I don't see 1000 calories being a big problem. Now exercising is great, but diet is key. Make sure you are tracking what you are eating because "guesstimation" tracking never seems to work and most people don't realize they are going over on something. Hitting or staying close to your macros are very important in a diet. As someone mentioned elliptical is a great alternative to running. You could also incorporate weight lifting into your workout. In my opinion working out 2-3 hours a day is overdoing, but that's just me. Also make sure to get somewhere around 8 hours of sleep a day.
  • JackieMarie1989jgw
    JackieMarie1989jgw Posts: 230 Member
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    Although a doctor will sometimes prescribe a very low calorie diet for someone who is very obese, this is typically done under close supervision, while taking supplements, testing bloodwork,etc. It shouldnt be a flippant "go eat 1000 cal a day."

    Barring some medical problem, at your height and weight you should have been losing weight if you are truly eating 1300-1400 cal a day. My guess is that you are not logging accurately. It is very easy to accidentally under estimate how much yoy are eating.
    Measure everything, buy a food scale for solids, measure liquids in cups and tablespoons. I mean everything. Even the sugar in your coffee, the oil you cook with, everything. Fruits and veggies too. If you accurately measure and eat at 1400, you should lose weight. If after 3-4 weeks still no success, maybe get a second medical opinion
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    Weigh and measure your food. That will make a huge difference.

    I wouldn't go any lower than 1200 calories per day.
  • ashleyadeline
    ashleyadeline Posts: 20 Member
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    Do you live in Canada, or have good health care coverage? Ask to go and see a nutritionist. General Practitioners have a broad range of knowledge, but sometimes lack the deeper knowledge on certain issues to make a good call. Going to a nutritionist would be a really good start, because nutrition, and helping people find the right balance, is their job. Also, like many other people have said, sometimes it's difficult to truly know how much you're consuming using these apps. People often overeat without realizing it. Your doctor is likely undershooting in hopes that you'll end up eating the correct amount of calories to lose weight.

    I have a bone disease called Osteochondritis Dissecans which currently affects my left knee. Basically, the bone has rotted away, leaving a large hole underneath my cartilage. Chronic knee pain is unbearable. Having it for years and years, and perhaps the rest of your life, is so scary. I understand your fear, for it's something I live with as well. This is definitely something you cannot give up on. If your knee pain increases, or if you want a switch of activity, go in the pool and use those pool weights to do some resistance training. If you keep your pace up, it's also a great cardiovascular activity.

    Good luck.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
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    So, first thing - ditch this doctor and get a new one. Like, ASAP.

    Because here's the thing: if your doctor is not LISTENING to you, then how in the name of all that is holy can the doctor have any sort of diagnosis OR advice that is going to work for you? Because he doesn't actually know what's going on.

    I mean, say that you aren't logging calories correctly. The first thing a professional should do is NOT to make that assumption and go from there. It's to give you some advice about how to accurately log calories and then come back in a couple weeks so he can SEE how many you are eating from your log. And to accurately log exercise to see how much you are exercising. And THEN he can see how that is affecting you, or not affecting you, you know?

    So sorry you've had to go through this - I'm chronically ill, and in our community, we see this a LOT. Where you have something happening that would indicate a potential medical problem, and the doctors see it and simply make assumptions about what it means. Rather than a problem, it's you lying, you misrepresenting what is happening, you inaccurately jotting down what you are eating/feeling/doing. Or in other words, rather than trying to figure out why something is going on that doesn't make sense, they assume it's all something wrong with your mind and methods.


    So, as someone who has had to deal with doctors who don't do their jobs, IMHO, I would suggest this.

    First...take a day or two to really, really accurately log what you are eating and doing. I would really recommend getting a little food scale to weight portions (you can find some super cheap food scales to weight it at places like Target). See if the results are matching what you are logging right now already. If they don't, and you were eating more than expected, well, problem solved.

    But if the results are what you expected - so in other words you are already pretty accurate in your logging - I would go to a new doctor. I would quite literally take a printout of a few 'typical' days of the food you eat and exercise you've done. Having your food weighed can help with this, because it can eliminate any of the 'you might have misjudged the portion size' crap, too. Or basically, you are getting as concrete a set of numbers as you can to give to the doctor, to try and eliminate any bias they might have that would cause them to make incorrect assumptions about you and your activities.

    And then discuss your weight, and your concerns about how your food and exercise are not helping. There are a number of disorders and diseases that can prevent weight loss, or cause weight gain (thyroid issues come to mind), so if your logging is accurate, your doctor should definitely be doing some tests.

    Sorry you've had to deal with this, but hope that you can find out what's going on soon. *hugs*
  • angelique_redhead
    angelique_redhead Posts: 782 Member
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    I'd be getting a different doctor.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
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    Your doctor is a sadist. No need to starve yourself!! Buy a food scale, set yourself up to lose 1lb a week on MFP, start weighing and logging RELIGIOUSLY. You are probably going to be shocked after the first few weeks, I know I was. Exercising is fabulous for creating a deficit, but it isn't the end all of weight loss. CICO is. You can definitely do this, Im still losing weight eating 1400-1900 a day, depending on that days workout. xo

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