So why can't I eat only 1000 calories a day?

hauntologie · January 2018

I've been doing this for twenty days now, which is not a ton, and I haven't had much of a problem staying under my calorie counts. This isn't some exercise in martyrdom, I've just kept myself very busy. Some days I've ate my target, but in general I'm averaging 200-500 calories below my already aggressive calorie goal. Why is this a bad idea? Based on what I've read, "starvation mode" seems to be a myth. Does anyone have any citations for me why I shouldn't do this?

I'm 300 pounds, 27, and a woman. I take vitamins. I prioritize protein. What's the harm?

malibu927 · January 2018

What's the harm?

Muscle loss, hair loss, brittle nails, fatigue, irregular or stopped menstrual cycle, organ malfunctions...the list goes on.

Unless your doctor has approved eating that low, you should be hitting a minimum of 1200 net calories (after exercise) a day, if not the goal given to you. At your size a higher deficit is fine (no more than 1% of total weight per week), but you still need to make sure you're getting adequate nutrition.

hauntologie · January 2018

I'm really not meaning to be combative, but why? I'm not starving, I have plenty of fat storage, I'm eating protein and fat, I'm taking vitamins. I have more than enough fat on my body, my menstrual cycle probably isn't going anywhere. Losing muscle seems to only happen in people who are already lean. I just don't understand why it's so frowned on. Where is the research?

Some of the things I'm going on are these:
https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/another-look-at-metabolic-damage.html/
https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/lean-body-mass-maintenance-and-metabolic-rate-slowdown-qa.html

cmriverside · January 2018

If I were you, I'd make an appointment with a Dietician and get a meal plan. It's hard to get your nutrients. Over the counter multivitamins are not a good substitute for nutrition...and I lost hair and had brittle nails and depression and fatigue at 1200 calories when I was obese. It took a couple months for that to kick in, but the hair and nails were just what I could see. I was taking vitamins. Who knows what was going on internally - but if you can notice external stuff you can bet you're causing damage.

Why chance it?

aeloine · January 2018

Gallstones (aka issues with the liver) from U.S. Department of Health and Human services. Concisely written with a bibliography of references at the bottom that you're more than welcome to check out:
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/gallstones/dieting

Hair loss from nutrient deficiency from a dermatology medical journal, linked through the US National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5315033/

wizzybeth · January 2018

Not eating enough can also trigger gall bladder attacks and gall stones.

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/gallstones/dieting

RoxieDawn · January 2018

In conjunction with the studies, etc.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

JeromeBarry1 · January 2018

The "why" at your present weight of 300 lb is impossible to recognize. I get it. The list of "why" malibu gave are things that show up after weeks and months of nutrient deprivation, which is what you do to yourself below 1200 calories.

Mr. bodyrecomposition is not going to coach you into self-harm. Don't use him to justify harming yourself.

As it is, you are 3 weeks into this. You are soon to experience a binge. Sorry. It happens when you starve yourself. The better way to go about this is to eat enough to be nourished and little enough that you can lose no more than 1% of your body weight each week. Right now, that's a deficit of 10,500 each week, but after you've lost 20 lb you need to recalculate your target deficit.

grubb1019 · January 2018

Beside the health reasons I can guarantee you it will catch up to you. If you keep under eating one day you will wake up starved and it won't leave you. I say this from experience, when you consistently eat under your goal you are setting yourself up for failure.

vingogly · January 2018

I did a medically supervised very low calorie liquid diet back in the late 1980s, and I had to go in every week to have my liver enzymes monitored. Gallstones are one of the dangers of going to low on your calories.

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/very-low-calorie-diets

Within a year of doing the liquid diet, I had put everything back on again. Then I tried Nutrisystem - same story. I have become convinced making permanent lifestyle changes and living with them *for the rest of your life* is the path to success, not "dieting".

I have lost around 70 lbs and kept it off for several years because I've committed to permanent lifestyle changes. That includes understanding I'm wired differently than those fortunate "normals" who seem to be able to eat whatever they want without gaining weight. I have to consciously learn the habits of the naturally thin, and emulate them. See:

https://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/secrets-thin-people

For the behavioral piece, the Beck Diet Solution is grounded in sound research-proven cognitive behavioral principles and will work no matter what approach you're taking to weight loss:

http://diet.beckinstitute.org
https://beckdietsolution.wordpress.com

First question you need to ask yourself is: why are you pushing yourself by eating so little rather than taking a more moderate approach to losing weight?

hauntologie · January 2018

Gall bladder does seem to be a concern, I'll definitely talk to my doctor about that. Looks like there's medication you can take to check back the risk. Looks like high fat also can help with that -- that I definitely can do. I love peanut butter. (https://www.nature.com/articles/0800634 ).

Probably I'll binge eventually, but I'm going to turn around the next day and keep going. I don't really have any other option. I've done harder things than this. And from what I've read, very low calorie diets are about equally as effective in the maintenance stage as low calorie diets, they're just faster to get there (https://www.nature.com/articles/0800355 ; https://www.nature.com/articles/0800444). Many of these studies I'm finding recomend caloric intakes far lower than what I'm doing (400-800kc/d) (http://web.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=00029270&AN=16017797&h=iUiB7gaWlOQy3H5ZLxNi05XZGN8MzxLsj6j53DmYYVThmNdEXvX6OrNg1Feq1fJukhjufJwHri3bAzJPSM9FCw==&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=00029270&AN=16017797 )

The more global nutrient deficiencies are something to watch out for and to try to supplement well. I always take my supplements with fat, for the fat soluble ones like vitamin d. I'll also make sure to rotate foods I'm eating and have a lot of variety. I don't know why I'd be getting more nutrients on my previous diet of mostly McDonalds and stuff like that.

Unknown · January 2018

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hauntologie · January 2018

re:vingogly I'm pushing myself because for the first time in my entire life, I'm under mental health treatment for a severe mental illness that landed me in the hospital and my life is turning around. I'd like to make the changes faster rather than slower. I know from lifestyle changes. I've made more lifestyle changes than I ever thought possible, and kept to them, for two years. I'm ready not to be fat anymore. And all the CBT I've been doing (re: the beck diet solution) is why I'm reasonably confident that should I binge, I can turn it around.

LivingtheLeanDream · January 2018

Sounds utterly horrible to eat that little. That's a sure fire way to fall off the wagon.

And as others have posted already, its detrimental to your health.

Unknown · January 2018

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cmriverside · January 2018

If you are under psychiatric care, PLEASE talk to your team about monitoring you and giving you a food plan.

Nutrition is HUGE for mental health. I cannot stress enough how careful you need to be with your brain and your recovery.

Please.

[edited by MFP moderators]

Unknown · January 2018

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JustSomeEm · January 2018

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So why can't I eat only 1000 calories a day?

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