Please don't flame me but I have got to ask....

randisaucier
randisaucier Posts: 178 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
This post is not directed any at one in particular however .........

Time and time again I read posts from people (both male and female), who state they eat between 800 to 900 calories a day. How can anyone really think this is the key to weight loss? Even if you do make goal on a severe caloric deprivation diet, do you really think you can maintain it for life? I mean.....really find someone who inspires you fitness wise or who you think has the ideal body (unless you desire skin and bone with no muscle tone or shape at all) and I can guarantee they will not tell you they got their body through starvation.
One of the most important tools to weight loss is education! Educate yourself about why we gained weight in the first place and educate yourself on how to get it off the safe and healthy way. (NO that won't always be the fastest, but it's truly not about who gets to the finish line first)

Ok stepping off my soap box now, as I just needed to get that rant out.
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Replies

  • marnieinMB
    marnieinMB Posts: 196 Member
    Agree!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I don't understand how people do it without eating their left arm. I have a HARD time with 1500 calories.
  • Texas501
    Texas501 Posts: 274
    Flame......oops, sorry.....
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    It's also not sustainable. Eventually people will break from eating that little calories and binge and eat a lot more, and gain back the weight they've lost.

    Slow and healthily always beats fast and unhealthily.
  • cheeksv
    cheeksv Posts: 521 Member
    I actually remember in high school thinking eating 300 calories a day would do the trick. It was more me being uninformed than anything else. At the time I had NO idea it was bad for me, and it worked for a little while but then well I realized how hungry I was haha. The people who do it with all the nutritional info in the world should really reconsider!
  • rhondajean43
    rhondajean43 Posts: 14
    No flame here.....Totally agree. I want a lifestyle change. I want to be strong and healthy. And most of all, I want to teach my teenage daughter how to eat healthy and get the proper NUTRIENTS for energy, and health. I wish someone told me years ago. With the proper education of nutrition and calories, I don't think I would have had the weight struggles I had. I want better for her.
  • Clairebryant36
    Clairebryant36 Posts: 21
    I agree and also ones that don't eat breakfast and wonder why they are not losing weight.You need to eat to lose weight, but eat all things in moderation. I would go crazy on 800 cals a day, I struggled with 1200 so changed to 1500 to lose less amount of weight each week but I am so much happier!
  • GroovyGrubworm
    GroovyGrubworm Posts: 14
    Agreed!!
  • jlcrose
    jlcrose Posts: 22
    I tend to agree with you, however..

    My diet consists of mostly veggies and other very low-cal foods (I'm pescetarian and gluten free, and recently cut out baked goods and other vicious goodies that were OK on a pescetarian diet but were high-cal). I eat three very filling meals a day and I do eat snacks. Sometimes my diary leaves me at about 900-1000 calories a day, and if I eat another bite, I'll burst. Some have suggested that I eat almonds or other "good fats" to make calories, but I disagree with eating just to eat. While my calories are low, sometimes my fat is a little higher and so are my carbs, so I also look at the big picture.

    Some people are eating 800-1000 calories a day just to lose weight super fast, but some people have other reasons.
  • VStar55
    VStar55 Posts: 75
    I have noticed the same thing. It's a short term solution and unsustainable. Hopefully they will find a healthy balance.
  • EyeCanSeeYou
    EyeCanSeeYou Posts: 23
    I'm actually one of those who can eat 900 calories a day, sometimes 1000 calories. (I'm suppose to be eat 1200)
    I'm a vegan and I become obsessive when I diet and exercise.
    Just trying to change the bad habit of over eating junk and not exercising.
    In the end I really want to have some fat on me.
    I want to be soft, not hard.
  • MayhemModels
    MayhemModels Posts: 367 Member
    I zigzag alot so somedays i might only take in 1000 cals a day but the next day i will take in 1500
  • beamishcas
    beamishcas Posts: 226 Member
    I totally agree. I see a friend only eating 500 calories a day. I just don't understand what she is thinking. I'm concerned. Sure, she is losing NOW but one can not live like that the rest of their life. It's just not healthy.
  • crasula
    crasula Posts: 53 Member
    It's also not sustainable. Eventually people will break from eating that little calories and binge and eat a lot more, and gain back the weight they've lost.

    Slow and healthily always beats fast and unhealthily.

    Here here agreed completely. A good balance is key and that includes lots of regular exercise too which is so often overlooked.

    I've lost over 30KG's in a little over a year and never had to drop to less that 1400 calories per day. Now i've got my balance in terms of food groups, minerals and metabolism sorted i can eat over 2000 calories per day with a 30 min run ever other day and i'll still lose weight.

    Balance is the key, if you're stressing about it too it'll just make it worse....small steps.
  • jersey0725
    jersey0725 Posts: 62 Member
    I totally agree! if anyone else uses Yahoo Answers, they have a diet & fitness section. I used to help answer questions there. But i can not stand it anymore. There are tons of people asking if they would lose weight if they are eating 200 calories a day, it kills to read questions like that!
  • Shells77
    Shells77 Posts: 22
    I don't understand it, either, especially when it really slows down your metabolism to the most sluggish pace possible.

    There are some days on the weekends where I find myself, after sleeping in, trying to play catch-up, calorie-wise, but to only eat so little would drive me crazy.

    Food and eating is so enjoyable; why deprive yourself of all the awesomeness it has to offer?
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    There was a similar thread topic this morning - a woman complaining that she was given 1500 calories and would rather 1200 - that I had a nice long reply all typed up, but she got in a stink and deleted her account. :ohwell:

    Yes. It's all about it being sustainable. It's better to eat a LITTLE less than normal and be able to keep it up long term than starve yourself for a short term. I've mistakenly done a 700 calorie a day thing when I didn't know better. I had minimal weight loss, and very quickly lost my motivation. I thought there was something wrong with me, physically, that I couldn't lose the weight. I thought it was simply a matter of "eat less." And I knew I couldn't eat any less than I was doing without screwing up my health. So I figured, if I can eat what I want and maintain a healthy, but slightly larger than my ideal, weight, vs depriving myself to possibly lose another 10 pounds... deprivation was NOT worth it.

    So finding MPF was a lightbulb moment for me. Realizing that the only thing I was doing wrong before was not eating enough. Eating my exercise calories was major missing link for me. And as I got closer to my goal and upped my calories, I'm noticing smaller changes on the scale, but bigger changes in my body.

    I'm pretty sure we're all in agreement on one thing. We call it losing weight, but what we really want to do is lose the fat. To lose the fat, you have to feed the muscle.

    EAT! :flowerforyou:
  • EricInArlington
    EricInArlington Posts: 531 Member
    I know the reason why I gained it, I eat a lot of junk, never drank more then a few glasses of water a day and never exercised because I was to embarrassed to go to the gym
    plus looking back at photos of myself I was huge and at the time I would ask people " Im not that big am I?" guess what? they all lie to you to not make you feel bad.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    Even those that stick to the 1200 and when you look at their diary more than half the cals are from cookies, candy bars, "good for you" type snack bars (special K, kashi etc.) soda and a ton of fruit. No vegies, no protein source, no water. Then they wonder why they don't feel good and are not losing weight....

    Educate yourself before you do some serious damage!
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    I'M ON THE FROZEN FOOD DIET! I HEARD THAT CALORIES ARE HEAT, SO IF THE FOOD IS FROZEN IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY CALORIES....RIGHT?!
  • Katie3784
    Katie3784 Posts: 543
    I totally agree with ane appreciate this post. I am baffled by the people on here who are constantly on a diet that cannot be maintained for any period of time. Isn't is common sense that you wiill gain back all that you lose as soon as you get back to normal. Why not adopt a way of eating better that can last a lifetime? It might not come off as quick, but it's definitely gonna stay off a lot better.
  • IMYarnCraz33
    IMYarnCraz33 Posts: 1,016 Member
    I agree whole-heartedly.
    Starvation diets are only good for one thing.... turning around and biting you in the butt.
    Because you end up bingeing & gaining weight back.
    The key to weight-loss and maintenance is a healthy balance of diet (not dieting--eating habits) and fitness.

    It makes me wonder if these people are paying attention to their BMR? (check the tools tab)
    Your BMR is how many calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day — basically, how many calories you burn just to stay alive. If they're near/nearing their weight loss goal and they're eating below their BMR, bad things can happen.

    Starvation mode is a state in which the body is responding to prolonged periods of low caloric intake levels. During short periods of caloric abstinence, the human body will burn primarily free fatty acids from body fat stores. After prolonged periods of starvation the body has depleted its body fat and begins to burn lean tissue and muscle as a fuel source.[2]
    Ordinarily, the body responds to reduced caloric intake by burning fat reserves first, and only consumes muscle and other tissues when those reserves are exhausted.[citation needed] Specifically, the body burns fat after first exhausting the contents of the digestive tract along with glycogen reserves stored in muscle and liver cells.[3] After prolonged periods of starvation, the body will utilize the proteins within muscle tissue as a fuel source. People who practice fasting on a regular basis, such as those adhering to caloric restricted diets, can prime their bodies to abstain from food without burning lean tissue.[4]. Resistance training (such as weight lifting) can also prevent the loss of muscle mass while a person is caloric restricted.

    Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation_response
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
    I like fluffy clouds
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    I like fluffy clouds

    Me too. They remind me of cotton candy. Mmmmm cotton candy....
  • crazymama2two
    crazymama2two Posts: 867
    *sigh*

    dont worry yourself with THEM. worry yourself about YOU. if YOU dont eat this way, then YOU have no worries.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    *sigh*

    dont worry yourself with THEM. worry yourself about YOU. if YOU dont eat this way, then YOU have no worries.

    I TOO like to use CAPS lock for EMPHASIS.
  • StarArly
    StarArly Posts: 56 Member
    I'm eating 900-1500(on bad days). When I get near 1500 I feel as if I am going to thrown up I am so full. But I am Tiny I'm only 4'11. So eating that is probably all I need. I can't eat more because when I do I simply steadily gain weight. Only when I stick to 1000 calories am I am able to maintain my weight.
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
    I believe I have tried every "diet" known to man, and being "older", there have been a lot of them. The only one that works is - calories in, calories out. If you don't move or breathe, 800 to 900 may be the right amount for you. I've tried the very low intake in my youth, and yes, I lost weight, but put it right back on. This is not a "diet", this is a lifestyle, a journey, and the body needs nutrition to function and be healthy. That, coupled with exercise, which doesn't have to be obsessive, will help to lose weight and maintain that health.
  • gregthegroove
    gregthegroove Posts: 98
    I dont think it is bad by any means to eat 900 - 1200 cals a day. Alot of people freak out about not eating enough, etc..Lots of people freak out about not eating enough because of working out etc... The majority of people are not atheletes and they dont play professional sports. They are desk jockeys or regular job people and in reality to be able to lose 1-2lbs per week (which is medically recommended) an average girl for example needs to cut calories 500 - 1000 cals per day to achieve some kind of result. How does one do that? There is really no choice in that matter but to cut calories.

    It all depends on you. If you feel OK, and are healthy and are not experiencing any health issues and blood work is monitored time to time, who is anyone to tell that person to eat more? Makes no sense to me. if i works in the long run and you are able to maintain weight loss (which IMO is even more impoirtant than losing it in the first place), it shouldnt be an issue for someone to eat 1000 cals a day.
  • randisaucier
    randisaucier Posts: 178 Member
    I dont think it is bad by any means to eat 900 - 1200 cals a day. Alot of people freak out about not eating enough, etc..Lots of people freak out about not eating enough because of working out etc... The majority of people are not atheletes and they dont play professional sports. They are desk jockeys or regular job people and in reality to be able to lose 1-2lbs per week (which is medically recommended) an average girl for example needs to cut calories 500 - 1000 cals per day to achieve some kind of result. How does one do that? There is really no choice in that matter but to cut calories.

    It all depends on you. If you feel OK, and are healthy and are not experiencing any health issues and blood work is monitored time to time, who is anyone to tell that person to eat more? Makes no sense to me. if i works in the long run and you are able to maintain weight loss (which IMO is even more impoirtant than losing it in the first place), it shouldnt be an issue for someone to eat 1000 cals a day.

    Thing is I said 800-900 calories, not 1000 (not that 1000 is much better). It is not my place to tell others to eat more nor did I try too. My question is why would people really think it was sustainable. Trust me starvation mode is not a myth, and I am not uneducated on health and wellness as I am currently getting my BSN in nursing. It just baffles me the people who continue to promote and give advice on the thread that is totally uneducated (not that they are uneducated people, however truly uneducated on proper weight loss nutrition), unsafe, and not healthy!
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