I wonder
andysport1
Posts: 592 Member
Years ago we followed lighterlife, 800 cal a day and lost significant weight, 5 years ago and a major change in life and on went 70lbs, we have attempted ketosis many a time over past 3 years with little success, mainly lighterlife. This time we decided let's try it with food = flipping heck it's hard, we are watching our nutrients & macros just out of interest, not really aiming at anything in particular just 800 a day for now, I'm really lucky that I run, I burn 1000 cals at a time, so my deficit is good.
So for the question, can I be lazy with my 800 calories and snack as really I have 1800 calorie allowance? Or am I missing something?
So for the question, can I be lazy with my 800 calories and snack as really I have 1800 calorie allowance? Or am I missing something?
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Most of us here are doing versions of low carbohydrate and not just counting calories.... The most important thing is to make sure you are eating enough protein if you are quite low on calories. That way it will help prevent muscle loss. 800 calories a day is pretty low if you are running regularly. I don't know what lighterlife is. Not sure I understand the question.
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Lighter life is a very low cal / carb UK diet, all your daily nutrients are provided in the 800 cals, doing keto with"real" food is different as you need more cals to get the same balance of nutrition.
I did slim n save which was similar to lighter life but changing to keto was FAR better!!
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We are lowish carbs, not 5% like most on here seem to aim at, for us we've made a huge change, we are trying with real food, we are following a plan in a book called "the 8 week blood sugar diet" by Clare bailey. In a hope not only to lose weight but to start our journey on reducing carbs and learning more about foods.doing keto with"real" food is different as you need more cals to get the same balance of nutrition.
How many calories does the average low carber eat then ?
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We all eat at different calorie levels depending on our gender, body size, activity level etc... A good spot to start is in the 'stickies' threads at the very beginning of the Low Carber forum. You will find links to useful and fairly reliable calculators to help figure out what calorie levels would be appropriate for you personally. I'm on my tablet at work but I'm sure someone can post the exact website with a link in comments. Anyhow, amazing amount of helpful stuff in the stickies!1
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I have found MFP to be AOK when entering my stats in regards to the the calories it provides in order to lose weight. I'm not so much in favor of the mfp default settings of 50% carbs, 20% protein and 30% fat. I lost my excess weight at that general macro range though actually tweaked it to 40c/30/30 so not much different. Fast forward a couple years into maintenance I have found that I personally do better on even lower carb and higher fat.
Since you're not wanting to eat as low as 5% carbs, choose another percent such as 10 or 15 and set protein and fat accordingly to equal 100%. At this time I think mine are 15% carbs, 25% protein, 60% fat. Try that or something similar and see how you do. Tweak as needed. Your "perfect" point will be different than mine. Find what works for you.
The percentages aren't super critical to me at this time. My long term goal other than weight maintenance is to eat real whole food with a balance that keeps me healthy and satiated. I focus on no added sugar and no processed "stuff". Both my husband and I love to cook so we do. We eat fish, seafood, beef, chicken, pork, common vegetables, dairy, some fruit and use fats/oils. He eats pasta, potatoes, rice, bread regularly. I choose not to eat those.
If you have a healthy body and just need to lose weight for even better health there is no need for extremes. There IS need for finding what you can adhere to long term.
The only part you are "missing" (addressing your question in your original post) is that many/most of the calculators for "calories burned" overestimate the burn. Yes, you can eat back calories burned but strive for eating just a portion of them until you figure out the more realistic actual number.
If your goal is weight loss with no metabolic issues, there is no need to complicate MFP by using outside calculators. They are fun to play with. You can gain some insight from them. You'll find the overall calories they provide to be similar to MFP unless you try for extreme weight loss which some will "allow" and MFP will not.
Good luck. Keep it simple. It works for the masses. The 1st step is to start.3 -
IMHO, we were made to eat real food. If I eat real food, I find satiation is better, I feel better, i get the nutrients I need (although a multivitamin is not a bad idea) and it is much simpler and cheaper.
Eating a full fat protein source (i.e. eggs, beef, pork, etc.) cooked with full fat (i.e I love steak fried in ghee) with a side of above ground non starchy veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) and maybe a bit of greens like spinach will fill me up, keep my carbs down and get me very good nutrition.
Many of the processed low carb "foods" tend to add sugar alcohols to make them palatable and fake fiber to keep the net carbs low while adding bulk. The fiber part can be tricky because some of what is commonly used has been shown to actually raise blood glucose and thus insulin, so it does not get processed the same as naturally occurring fiber.3 -
I tend to eat too many vegetables and nuts to be at the 5% carbs (more like 15% carbs when I'm at a deficit), but I think if you run you can be in ketosis at a higher level -- I aim at around 30-40 g net.
I also have NEVER eaten anywhere near 800 cal to lose, and don't think that's necessary at all, and of course that's hard to achieve on real food. I did 1200 for a while and found that easy enough to achieve (mostly meat, eggs, and dairy, lots of veg, fat as accent), but lost most of my weight at around 1600.
I don't follow a plan, I just mostly base meals around eggs/meat (including lots of fish), plus veg, plus some nuts, dairy (including cheese), and other fats as additions/accent/to taste.
But that's what works for me. You will figure out what works for you and feels comfortable as a sustainable way of eating.1 -
I'm a runner. I'm also pretty tall. I would never survive on 800 calories per day and would highly recommend against it. When I'm tracking, I usually shoot for around 1,800 calories or so per day to lose weight but would never allow myself to go below 1,200 for more than a day or two.
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andysport1 wrote: »Years ago we followed lighterlife, 800 cal a day and lost significant weight, 5 years ago and a major change in life and on went 70lbs, we have attempted ketosis many a time over past 3 years with little success, mainly lighterlife. This time we decided let's try it with food = flipping heck it's hard, we are watching our nutrients & macros just out of interest, not really aiming at anything in particular just 800 a day for now, I'm really lucky that I run, I burn 1000 cals at a time, so my deficit is good.
So for the question, can I be lazy with my 800 calories and snack as really I have 1800 calorie allowance? Or am I missing something?
Think about for a minute.
The average human requires roughly 2000 calories just to stay alive (+/- 500 depending on various factors). Assuming your calorie burn estimate is accurate, that means you have a caloric need of about 3000 calories, and you're only feeding your body 800 calories worth of food, or about 1/4 of your energy need, and not even feeding your workouts, let alone the required processes.
Additionally, that caloric need isn't just energy. It's amino acids for building and repair muscle and other cells (and if you're burning 1000 calories from running, you can bet your muscles and cells need repair), and it's vitamins and minerals required to maintain proper hydration and shuttle all the energy blocks where they need to go.
To compare, Nazi concentration camp prisoners consumed twice the amount you're allowing yourself with similar caloric needs to what you're reporting here (~3000).
Now, of course, you're in full control of what you put into your body and how nutritious the food you eat is. However, seeing a drop in scale weight does not necessarily mean said weight drop is healthy. You're also running a high risk of lean tissue loss, as well, not to mention the effects of stressed starvation (elevated cortisol, reduced body temperature, etc).3 -
andysport1 wrote: »Years ago we followed lighterlife, 800 cal a day and lost significant weight, 5 years ago and a major change in life and on went 70lbs, we have attempted ketosis many a time over past 3 years with little success, mainly lighterlife. This time we decided let's try it with food = flipping heck it's hard, we are watching our nutrients & macros just out of interest, not really aiming at anything in particular just 800 a day for now, I'm really lucky that I run, I burn 1000 cals at a time, so my deficit is good.
So for the question, can I be lazy with my 800 calories and snack as really I have 1800 calorie allowance? Or am I missing something?
...Andandysport1 wrote: »We are lowish carbs, not 5% like most on here seem to aim at, for us we've made a huge change, we are trying with real food, we are following a plan in a book called "the 8 week blood sugar diet" by Clare bailey. In a hope not only to lose weight but to start our journey on reducing carbs and learning more about foods.
How many calories does the average low carber eat then ?
I'm British and half-Italian. I wouldn't touch LighterLIfe with an extended bargepole. Eating that few calories daily (they recommend for no more than 12 continuous weeks) is basically gambling with your health. That kind of intake is most definitely not a 'one-size-fits-all' regimen to follow.
There have been stories of people being very seriously ill reducing their calorific intake to such a low level. People have even died doing this.
Bearing in mind they advise a maximum period of self-deprivation of 3 months, I have been following a Low-Carb-High-Protein/Fat way of eating since March.
In my mind, and for sure, for sure, I am never going back to eating the way I used to.
I have totally - and permanently - cut regular intake of pasta (I'm half-Italian, remember!) bread, rice and potatoes.
I haven't touched Pasta since I began.
I have eaten a total quantity of 150g cooked rice, since then.
I haven't touched bread, at all.
I have had one small baked potato (about the size of a peach)
My intake consists of meat: Chicken, pork and beef, and many variations of each, including offal.
Cheese, milk, kefir home-made yoghurt and bucketloads of double cream.
vegetables, but those in low-carb form (carrots/courgettes without the cores), small portions of salad, asparagus, mushrooms and lots, but lots of lactofermented pickles.
Oils and fats: Butter, home-made ghee, olive oil, linseed oil, coconut oil, goose fat.
My daily calorific intake has varied from day one, but I've never gone over 1500/day, and currently I am at 1110/day.
Carbs are at a max of 10%/28g - I often go well below, which is great.
Protein is set to 40%/110g, and if I go over, so much the better.
Fats are set to 50%/62g, and really, I'm not worried about under, or even slightly over, as long as my proteins are at a good level of intake.
My H has done about the same, and he has lost just over 3 stone since March.
He has 'cured' himself of Diabetes Type 2 and no longer needs his medication.
I have lost around 2, or nearly 2 and a half stone.
I have 'reached target' with no extra exercise at all, and am now at maintenance weight.
My H would like to lose a couple of extra pounds, but then join the gym and weight train to add and develop muscle.
In my opinion, eating such few calories and exercising the way you do is nothing short of dangerous.
Quit that regimen, and eat sensibly.
There is more information on this forum than you could shake a Union Jack at, and it's all in the LaunchPad thread, at the header of the forum.
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