Is my low calorie diet going to harm me?
sophiejboyle
Posts: 8 Member
So I've been on my diet for 2 weeks now, and have lost 12 pounds. I eat between 1000-1200 calories per day and find it surprisingly easy to do so (Although some days this has dipped to 800 cals). All of the information I have found is telling me that I'm going to do more bad than good, but I eat when I'm hungry and don't starve myself of course.
I currently weight 195 pounds, am 5"9 and 20 years old. I work out (as of a week ago), three times per week for 1.5-2 hours each time. My diet consists of hearty foods such as wholewheat pasta and wholegrain rice and wraps, crab, turkey, fruit and a lot of vegetables. I've been getting at least 4-7 different fruit/veg portions per day. I also drink 4 litres of water every day.
Is this diet really going to be bad for me? I'm finding it so easy and I feel like I have a lot more energy and my acne has cleared up, I'd be gutted if actually I was doing something wrong.
I currently weight 195 pounds, am 5"9 and 20 years old. I work out (as of a week ago), three times per week for 1.5-2 hours each time. My diet consists of hearty foods such as wholewheat pasta and wholegrain rice and wraps, crab, turkey, fruit and a lot of vegetables. I've been getting at least 4-7 different fruit/veg portions per day. I also drink 4 litres of water every day.
Is this diet really going to be bad for me? I'm finding it so easy and I feel like I have a lot more energy and my acne has cleared up, I'd be gutted if actually I was doing something wrong.
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Replies
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Yep, you're probably going to crash and burn pretty soon eating so little and doing 6 hours of exercise per week.9
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So how many calories should I be aiming for?0
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sophiejboyle wrote: »So how many calories should I be aiming for?
Put your stats in mfp...4 -
Also I don't eat little, I just eat a lot of low-cal foods. I have breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and they're all regular portion sizes.1
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sophiejboyle wrote: »Also I don't eat little, I just eat a lot of low-cal foods. I have breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and they're all regular portion sizes.
800 to 1000 cals is little8 -
On average it's about 1170 cals a day, but a couple of times it dropped just because I happened to have really low cal lunch and dinner.
MFP says 1400 but that seems pretty high seeing as I'm struggling to get it above 1200..0 -
There's just no real reason at your height and weight to be eating so little.
My understanding is that our bodies can only metabolize so much fat in a day. During weight loss, you will almost certainly lose lean muscle mass. But it's worse in a VLCD. Keep in mind that your heart is a muscle.
Bottom line, you need to eat to fuel your body. You shouldn't be eating below your BMR. If that means you need to eat a few calorie dense items like peanut butter or olive oil, you should consider doing that.2 -
In short, yes, you're doing yourself more harm than good. With your stats, you should be eating alot more than that (calorie-wise).2
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Eat less low cal foods. Add in more calories dense stuff - avocado, full fat dairy, nuts & seeds etc3
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sophiejboyle wrote: »On average it's about 1170 cals a day, but a couple of times it dropped just because I happened to have really low cal lunch and dinner.
MFP says 1400 but that seems pretty high seeing as I'm struggling to get it above 1200..
How much fat and protein are you getting each day?0 -
I'm 5"10 and my calorie intake is set at 1,700 , I've been eating average 1,400 per/ day and have lost 6 pounds in a week. You need to up your calories or your body will go into starvation mode and will store everything you consume into fat..."survival mode".0
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dramafree69 wrote: »I'm 5"10 and my calorie intake is set at 1,700 , I've been eating average 1,400 per/ day and have lost 6 pounds in a week. You need to up your calories or your body will go into starvation mode and will store everything you consume into fat..."survival mode".
That's not actually true, starvation mode in that context is a myth.6 -
dramafree69 wrote: »I'm 5"10 and my calorie intake is set at 1,700 , I've been eating average 1,400 per/ day and have lost 6 pounds in a week. You need to up your calories or your body will go into starvation mode and will store everything you consume into fat..."survival mode".
Starvation mode isn't really a thing...2 -
Just had a look on MFP and my protein is usually 55g a day ish, fat varies but evens out at 20g a day0
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That sounds really low...I'd wager to guess it might not hurt you for awhile, but over the long run, it could really damage your health
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Okay, thanks for the input everyone! I'll start upping the calorie content a bit. Thanks!1
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My concern would be that even if it was healthy it won't be sustainable. It would not be healthy to eat 800-1200 calories long-term- I doubt you'd be getting sufficient nutrition, and it would be a lot harder to break through the inevitable plateaus. You're also more likely to gain it back if/when you do find you need to increase your cals to a healthier level. You're just not giving yourself much wiggle room, and that's important for long-term. It sounds like you're making healthy choices but maybe add some healthy calories, like peanut butter with fruit or celery, or yogurt with honey or fruit. I'm guessing your acne cleared up more due to the healthy foods you're eating than the amount of calories. I had the same thing happen when I started eating mostly veggies, fruit, meat, fish, and nuts, but I was still eating 1300-1600 cals/day. I also lost 16 lbs (I'm 5'4", 33 years old, and started at 211 lbs).
***Note: this is just my personal opinion based on my own experience and what I've learned from others.***1 -
As the others said, you are not doing yourself any favours by undereating. Sure, the weight comes off fast but so does the muscle, your hair could start to fall out, and you may experience a bunch of other unfavourable effects.
Also, the idea is to lose the weight to keep off for life, so why the rush?0 -
sophiejboyle wrote: »Just had a look on MFP and my protein is usually 55g a day ish, fat varies but evens out at 20g a day
That is low, try to add in more fat and protein. We need fat for some of our vitamins to absorb and move around our bodies.0 -
I wasn't aiming for certain calories at first - I just made low calorie meals and when I recently added them up I realized they were lower than they should be, but by then I was kind of used to it so didn't seem like a big deal.
But I'll definitely up it to at least 1400. Thank you!1 -
Don't eat " low fat" crap and you'll reach 1400. It'll taste a lot nicer, too.
Food isn't just there to fill your tummy. We eat to nourish ourselves. You are not eating enough to nourish yourself and, if you kept this up long term, would run the risk of hair loss or gallstones, just for starters. Some people do give themselves a kick start with a vlc diet, but the better ones ^are^ a short term thing and the nutrition of every bite of food counts - there's no 80 kcal Mugshots (for example - it's a bit of a Slimming World fad in some quarters) just to stave off hunger pangs. That 80kcal snack would be a bowl of salad/raw veg with a sprinkling of seeds, or some proper soup made from fresh ingredients.2 -
sophiejboyle wrote: »On average it's about 1170 cals a day, but a couple of times it dropped just because I happened to have really low cal lunch and dinner.
MFP says 1400 but that seems pretty high seeing as I'm struggling to get it above 1200..
There's no such thing as any arbitrary "too low" number. Your metabolism isn't going to magically stop working because you're eating 1100 calories per day. I've done what's called a PSMF before, and that's about 800 calories per day of lean protein (it's a strict program and sucks, I don't recommend it).
In any case I'd say you definitely want to be getting a good portion of your daily calories from protein, especially if you want to preserve LBM.
Also as you get smaller, you're going to have to find more ways to cut out calories (either through exercise or dieting). Having a low calorie intake to begin with might make it tough to cut out more later.
12lbs in 2 weeks is pretty huge, and you're definitely not going to be able to keep up a pace of 6lbs/wk, for very much longer.
But if you're not hungry, you shouldn't be forcing yourself to eat either. I feel like I could eat less than I'm eating now, but I'm not overly concerned with messing with my intake right now.0 -
You haven't mentioned how you are accounting for your food intake.
If you are guessing; using palm, baseball, deck of cards, or cups and spoons you could be eating much more than you think.
Buy a food scale and weigh all solids, bread, fruit, prepackaged, etc, and measure liquids only with cups and spoon.
Once you know how much you are actually eating, you can make adjustments so you are eating a nutritious diet that will help you lose weight at 1 lbs a week plus eating back exercise calories.
Cheers, h.3 -
I haven't seen your diary but it sounds like you're making a lot of good food choices, which is great. That being said, you really do have to increase those calories.... It will come back to bite you in the long run if you don't by either burning you out (it will eventually), or causing you to lose too much muscle like was already mentioned. You may not feel hungry, but your body still needs that food regardless. It's ok to be under calories during the week here and there as long as it averages out to "x" at the end of seven days.0
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TavistockToad wrote: »sophiejboyle wrote: »Also I don't eat little, I just eat a lot of low-cal foods. I have breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and they're all regular portion sizes.
800 to 1000 cals is little
This^
There's quality, and then there's quantity......not the same thing.
High volume (low calorie) foods are exactly packed with nutrition. Celery, cucumbers & broccoli aren't doing much to help fuel existing lean muscle mass.......you need protein for that. Lettuce, cauliflower & mushrooms aren't doing much to help you absorb vitamins.....you need fat for that.
Are you meeting protein and fat goals? You need macro-nutrients as well as micro-nutrients (vitamins).0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »sophiejboyle wrote: »Also I don't eat little, I just eat a lot of low-cal foods. I have breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and they're all regular portion sizes.
800 to 1000 cals is little
This^
There's quality, and then there's quantity......not the same thing.
High volume (low calorie) foods are exactly packed with nutrition. Celery, cucumbers & broccoli aren't doing much to help fuel existing lean muscle mass.......you need protein for that. Lettuce, cauliflower & mushrooms aren't doing much to help you absorb vitamins.....you need fat for that.
Are you meeting protein and fat goals? You need macro-nutrients as well as micro-nutrients (vitamins).
I believe the OP stated upthread that she is averaging 20g of fat a day.RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »sophiejboyle wrote: »Just had a look on MFP and my protein is usually 55g a day ish, fat varies but evens out at 20g a day
That is low, try to add in more fat and protein. We need fat for some of our vitamins to absorb and move around our bodies.
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sophiejboyle wrote: »On average it's about 1170 cals a day, but a couple of times it dropped just because I happened to have really low cal lunch and dinner.
MFP says 1400 but that seems pretty high seeing as I'm struggling to get it above 1200..
There's no such thing as any arbitrary "too low" number. Your metabolism isn't going to magically stop working because you're eating 1100 calories per day. I've done what's called a PSMF before, and that's about 800 calories per day of lean protein (it's a strict program and sucks, I don't recommend it).
In any case I'd say you definitely want to be getting a good portion of your daily calories from protein, especially if you want to preserve LBM.
Also as you get smaller, you're going to have to find more ways to cut out calories (either through exercise or dieting). Having a low calorie intake to begin with might make it tough to cut out more later.
12lbs in 2 weeks is pretty huge, and you're definitely not going to be able to keep up a pace of 6lbs/wk, for very much longer.
But if you're not hungry, you shouldn't be forcing yourself to eat either. I feel like I could eat less than I'm eating now, but I'm not overly concerned with messing with my intake right now.
This advice makes me really uncomfortable. Most sources agree that VLCDs are best for people who are obese and under observation of a doctor. OP, based on the stats given, has a BMI of 28.9, which is overweight not obese.
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sophiejboyle wrote: »On average it's about 1170 cals a day, but a couple of times it dropped just because I happened to have really low cal lunch and dinner.
MFP says 1400 but that seems pretty high seeing as I'm struggling to get it above 1200..
1400 isn't high at all. It's low. If you're struggling to hit your calories, ditch the diet stuff and eat regular food. How much fat do you consume daily? Fats a great way to meet calories.
Edit: I see you're hitting around 20g of fat.... increase that to around 50-60 and you should be able to meet your calories easy. Fat is very important...0 -
Yep. If you keep it up you can look forward to nutrient deficiencies, muscle loss (including possible organ damage eg. heart) and hair loss, among other things.
At 5-9 I suspect you should be be eating less than 1600-1800, and will still expect weight loss eating that PLUS 50% of your exercise calories back.0 -
At 20 years old actively exercising and eating 800-1200 calories a day if you are accurately tracking your calories then yes, you will hurt yourself if you continue that practice.1
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