Under 1200 CI +cardio/workout every day -- realistic risks?

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SomeShenanigans
SomeShenanigans Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
There's a lot of horror stories and MFP yells at you if you finish your day without eating at least 1200, but I'm just curious for opinions on the reality of the health risks? Whether they're major or mild? Effective primarily over long or short term?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    You run the risk of losing mass in your muscles (FYI, your heart is a muscle), nutrient deficiency (which has a variety of symptoms, some of which can be easily fixed, others not), gall bladder issues, hair loss, bone density problems, problems with your menstrual cycle (if you're a menstruating woman).

    It's very real.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    You run the risk of losing mass in your muscles (FYI, your heart is a muscle), nutrient deficiency (which has a variety of symptoms, some of which can be easily fixed, others not), gall bladder issues, hair loss, bone density problems, problems with your menstrual cycle (if you're a menstruating woman).

    It's very real.

    all of this and these will show up if you consistently eat too little over a period of time...along with hair breakage, nail issue etc.

    Short term...lethargy, tiredness, poor workouts, binges possible fainting or black outs, mood issues, sleep issues.

    And when it's all said and done chances are you won't like what you see in the mirror

  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
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    This depends on the size of the person and how far under 1200 someone is going.
    There can be acute risks of headaches, dizziness, fatigue, etc.
    Long term though there is a risk of metabolic and hormonal effects. Our bodies want to be in homeostasis so if you are active and underfeeding your body, it is likely that your body will get more efficient at running on less calories. This can stimulate cortisol, or cause your daily RMR to be incredibly low. Eating too little also makes it harder to get necessary nutrients and can cause long term problems with fertility, bone density and other body processes.
    There are many variables here still unaccounted for though.
  • SomeShenanigans
    SomeShenanigans Posts: 27 Member
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    That's obnoxious... What if you're only eating a little under 1200? My limit to hit my goal is1260 and it's difficult to get just above 1200 without going over 1260. I do some cardio but I don't normally eat the calories back... would you guys recommend eating all or some of them back?
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    SomeShenanigans wrote: »
    That's obnoxious... What if you're only eating a little under 1200? My limit to hit my goal is1260 and it's difficult to get just above 1200 without going over 1260. I do some cardio but I don't normally eat the calories back... would you guys recommend eating all or some of them back?

    that comes with questions like are you using a food scale to know you are eating 1200...

    I personally eat most of my exercise calories back just because I get hungry but I don't force food down if I am not hungry.

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    SomeShenanigans wrote: »
    That's obnoxious... What if you're only eating a little under 1200? My limit to hit my goal is1260 and it's difficult to get just above 1200 without going over 1260. I do some cardio but I don't normally eat the calories back... would you guys recommend eating all or some of them back?

    Start by eating back 50%. Calorie burns are estimates. Try those numbers for a time. If you are losing faster than expected bump the % up, slower than expected then bump the % down.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    SomeShenanigans wrote: »
    There's a lot of horror stories and MFP yells at you if you finish your day without eating at least 1200, but I'm just curious for opinions on the reality of the health risks? Whether they're major or mild? Effective primarily over long or short term?

    These are great questions, and the answer is "it depends." One variable is duration of time, and related variables are the content of the calories and additional nutrient supplementation. Another variable is percentage of lean body mass to begin with. A final variable is degree of activity. If you want to explore this and have some reasonable assurance that the information you find has some good scientific evidence behind it, check out Lyle McDonald's material on "rapid fat loss." http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/
  • faidwen
    faidwen Posts: 131 Member
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    I suffered from anemia... and am now just recovering... very low RBC etc...

    My stupidity...
  • SomeShenanigans
    SomeShenanigans Posts: 27 Member
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    I do use a food scale
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SomeShenanigans wrote: »
    That's obnoxious... What if you're only eating a little under 1200? My limit to hit my goal is1260 and it's difficult to get just above 1200 without going over 1260. I do some cardio but I don't normally eat the calories back... would you guys recommend eating all or some of them back?

    that comes with questions like are you using a food scale to know you are eating 1200...

    I personally eat most of my exercise calories back just because I get hungry but I don't force food down if I am not hungry.

    I do use a food scale, yes. Though I measure in ounces usually and I've heard grams are supposed to be more accurate. I usually eat around 1000, partially to make up for any errors in measurement.

    I do get hungry but not extremely hungry and usually eating only a little bit when I'm hungry makes me hungrier(or have cravings) if I don't eat what my body decides is "enough" so I choose not to bother because I also don't have enough calories to eat a good amount.
  • tinywonder25
    tinywonder25 Posts: 148 Member
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    Not enough info to answer properly as bmr and TDEE vary widely depending sex, occupation , height, current weight, how much cardio, how much under goal. So effects could be zero , slight or absolutely terrible and life threatening.
  • SomeShenanigans
    SomeShenanigans Posts: 27 Member
    edited May 2016
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    SomeShenanigans wrote: »
    That's obnoxious... What if you're only eating a little under 1200? My limit to hit my goal is1260 and it's difficult to get just above 1200 without going over 1260. I do some cardio but I don't normally eat the calories back... would you guys recommend eating all or some of them back?

    Start by eating back 50%. Calorie burns are estimates. Try those numbers for a time. If you are losing faster than expected bump the % up, slower than expected then bump the % down.

    Thank you!! I'll start with 50% for a while!
  • BiggDaddy58
    BiggDaddy58 Posts: 406 Member
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    I would say (depending on your age and height/weight) you could get by with less than 1200 and do cardio daily for a period of time. That time period depends on you. 1 month? 2 months? I started (a 57 yr old male 5'11 @ 308 pounds) on March 1st. I placed myself on a 1200 calorie a day diet. (for the most part (98%) was between 1200-1300 calories. I just recently started upping my calories. I also ride a stationary bike for an hour a day and lift some light weights in the morning. This is NOT sustainable over a long period of time and I know it. But for short term, it is not unhealthy and I have seen results..dropping 42 pounds since Feb 29th. I've also seen my Dr in April and he sd ..yes..eventually up your calorie intake, to perhaps 1500-1800 and I'd be fine.
    My Dr also said, I beat back diabetes as I was in the diabetic range on Jan 20th My A1C was 7.4 (The prior two tests were 6.2 and 6.4) On April 28th my A1C was 5.4
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    SomeShenanigans wrote: »
    I do use a food scale
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SomeShenanigans wrote: »
    That's obnoxious... What if you're only eating a little under 1200? My limit to hit my goal is1260 and it's difficult to get just above 1200 without going over 1260. I do some cardio but I don't normally eat the calories back... would you guys recommend eating all or some of them back?

    that comes with questions like are you using a food scale to know you are eating 1200...

    I personally eat most of my exercise calories back just because I get hungry but I don't force food down if I am not hungry.

    I do use a food scale, yes. Though I measure in ounces usually and I've heard grams are supposed to be more accurate. I usually eat around 1000, partially to make up for any errors in measurement.

    I do get hungry but not extremely hungry and usually eating only a little bit when I'm hungry makes me hungrier(or have cravings) if I don't eat what my body decides is "enough" so I choose not to bother because I also don't have enough calories to eat a good amount.

    Most digital scales measure out to the tenth of an ounce, if not farther. If grams are more accurate than ounces, it is by an immaterial margin.

    You need to eat more. Unless you are quite short, light, sedentary, and/or older, you're not eating enough. Eating over 15% below the healthy minimum number of calories, for fear of measurement errors, is not healthy. You are using a food scale. You are using good nutrition info, right? (Info that matches food labels or USDA info.) If so, get over this fear of not measuring with 100% accuracy. You need to be building lifelong healthy eating habits and skills. Right now you are not doing that. Eat at your goal, or at least very close to it (I'm talking 50 calories either way.)
  • shank35l
    shank35l Posts: 102 Member
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    SomeShenanigans wrote: »
    There's a lot of horror stories and MFP yells at you if you finish your day without eating at least 1200, but I'm just curious for opinions on the reality of the health risks? Whether they're major or mild? Effective primarily over long or short term?

    By no means a comprehensive list, but a list of conditions, but some of these are fatal and/or have a low chance of ever recovering from them.

    Major Risks
    Anorexia Nervosa
    Cachexia
    Cardiac Arrest
    Demand Ischemia Myocardial Infarction
    Gallstones
    Malnutrition
    Metabolic syndrome
    Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
    Syncope
    Tachycardia


    Minor Risks
    Constipation
    Diarrhea
    Fatigue
    Nausia
    Near Syncope
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,910 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    You run the risk of losing mass in your muscles (FYI, your heart is a muscle), nutrient deficiency (which has a variety of symptoms, some of which can be easily fixed, others not), gall bladder issues, hair loss, bone density problems, problems with your menstrual cycle (if you're a menstruating woman).

    It's very real.

    And unfortunately many of these issues don't show up until you've been malnourished for some time. For example hair loss tends to show up 2-6 months after the precipitating event. And women may not learn about the bone density loss until menopause at which time their options for fixing it are limited and can have major side effects.

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