Is a 1000 calorie diet harmful?

Look up the Minnesota Starvation Experiment on the internet if you want real data on that subject and not the opinions of everyone here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment This is an experiment that would never be allowed to be done again, but the data is priceless and all good nutritionists have studied this.

Take it slower. Consistency is better. Typically eating too low will set you up for binging and a vicious cycle of trying to recover from binging, eating low, binging, eating low, binging. The more you do that the harder it is to break out of it. There are no short cuts. How much is too low? Well mostly it's based on your height but I can tell you that 1000 is too low even for short kid sized people like me. Your body might allow you to be successful once or twice, then it seems to have "memory" for that and will rebel and not allow you to do that again - and you will binge. Don't think you can get away with it or cheat the system, you are human like everyone else and there is no such thing as willpower against those powerful hunger hormones.

When you eat at a deficit it is stress on your body. A deficit is anything under your maintenance. That means anything under that is stress. The further you go under that the more stress. Then workout adds another stress. Then lack of sleep adds another stress. Then not enough water adds another stress. Then not enough protein or carbs or fat or whatever adds another stress.

Then your emotional state can add more stress including HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT what you are eating or not eating. How often do you say "I can't have this.." The more you say you can't have certain foods the more stress it creates in your mind. The more of a feeling of gloom it adds. And then add that you don't feel like working out, or you don't feel like going to work, and add up all the things (see why we have to work at pushing out negative thoughts and change the words in our head?)

Extra cardio adds another stress. Then add driving in traffic, or someone being mean to you, and all the things of stress in life add up. It drives up our hunger.

So much of the time this process is all about stress management. How much stress you can take at any given moment, how much you want comfort from that food which is the easiest comfort to find - especially when you embark on this fitness journey and doing all the things to get healthy. It's not fair, here we are trying to get healthy and all the things bombard us EVEN MORE than before because we put more stress on ourselves.

SO, we have have the plan but learn to roll with our body and the stress in our lives. I still have to do that now and I swear I feel I'm going insane sometimes. And for me, all little things adding up too. And sometimes I do give in to eat the cookies or whatever, and yes I fight the guilt just like you. I remind myself it was okay, I enjoyed it, I own it, and now it's time to move on and it can't be fixed in one day.

We just motor on with the focus on protein, carbs, fat, fiber, nutrients, supplements, water, sleep, exercise, and the rest of stress management. It is hard.

I don't want to say what happened to you will never happen again (the dreaded binge). The fact of the matter is we just make those events fewer with more time in between and learn to be consistent more often. I always have to tell myself in the "feeling guilty" phases, that it wasn't the first time and it won't be the last time, drink some water, tea, eat healthy, get to the gym, and take those steps because that is what builds motivation - BUT, not too hard because of the stress balance equation.

And the stress balance equation has no specific answer - it is individual to each person within their own life and environment and all the factors and within your body. It is HARD. But we just keep taking little steps forward and don't fall into the negative trap. Really care for yourself and be kind to yourself even in your words inside your head.

It's really important to not use negative words like "I can't" or "I'm fat", or thinking that you don't matter or that you are of no value. None of this is true. You get to workout and that is a blessing "What workout do I get to do today?" You get to have a portion of good food that you enjoy and that is a blessing.

Make sure to count the victories and tune out the negative noise. Appreciate your beautiful attributes, take a bath, put on some good lotion and use some good soap and shampoo. Wear nice underwear and PJ's and clothes around the house. You deserve to be loved right now, and the more you nurture yourself as much as you nurture everyone else, the more you will bloom yourself. You matter NOW, and you matter even when you reach your fitness goal. Sure people treat you different when you reach your goal, but you know you are the same inside. You have the same feelings and the same hurts, and the same internal gifts. Your gifts become stronger as you pursue your goals.

SunflowerDaisey wrote: »

Hello. I'm 5'5 154lbs. I have been eating 1000 calories net. I always meet my protein and carb goal. I don't always meet the fat goal. I eat really healthy and get lots of vitamins. I also take a vitamin tablet just in case. I also don't binge on junk to gain everything back. Is this diet okay or harmful?

I was your size during the early months of my weight loss journey. I did a lot of cardio, but I can't think of a single day I went below 1700 calories (usually ate more like 1900, as I recall) and lost 45 pounds (started at 162.4) in about 50 weeks.

I didn't track macros at all. I was eating low fat, high carb (am a vegetarian and this is easy for me), but there is no way I ever would have limited myself to 1000 calories. (Heck, sometimes I would have 1000 calories in a single meal.) I would not have been pleasant to be around at all at 1000 calories, nor would I have had any energy for exercise.

WinoGelato wrote: »

jmp463 wrote: »

OP - if you are looking for advice - most of the time this is not the best place. Lots of really helpful nice people - but they tend to get overrun by the rude types. I suggest build a good FL that actually will listen to you and address you with respect rather than the ones that just want to bash a random stranger in an attempt to make themselves sound superior.

Are you reading a different thread?

he's been providing the same type of comment on other threads....

Yes. Unless your sick and have an upset stomach I don't understand how anyone can eat that little