Is it ok to eat less than 1000 cals per day?
Replies
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It's not a good idea long-term. Maybe if you are actually very overweight and it's only for a month or so, and you're being supervised by a doctor, but otherwise it's a bad idea. I'm 5'1" with a desk job and on my inactive days I break even at 1600 calories. At 1200 calories I lost 30 lbs without having to add any exercise. There are risks to undereating long-term, mostly to your heart,as well as other bodily systems.
I don't even understand why some doctors approve it. I had a family member on that stupid 500 calorie a day thing (supervised by a doctor), and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Yeah, she lost weight fast. But then she gains it back, then does it again, gains it back, rinse and repeat. It boggles the mind.1 -
I'm a vegan. If you can meet your protein requirements on salad, please tell me how, because I can't!asiaholifield981 wrote: »Both of these are meet each day for myself
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whatalazyidiot wrote: »It's not a good idea long-term. Maybe if you are actually very overweight and it's only for a month or so, and you're being supervised by a doctor, but otherwise it's a bad idea. I'm 5'1" with a desk job and on my inactive days I break even at 1600 calories. At 1200 calories I lost 30 lbs without having to add any exercise. There are risks to undereating long-term, mostly to your heart,as well as other bodily systems.
I don't even understand why some doctors approve it. I had a family member on that stupid 500 calorie a day thing (supervised by a doctor), and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Yeah, she lost weight fast. But then she gains it back, then does it again, gains it back, rinse and repeat. It boggles the mind.
General doctors shouldn't be, but it doesn't stop some of them.2 -
whatalazyidiot wrote: »It's not a good idea long-term. Maybe if you are actually very overweight and it's only for a month or so, and you're being supervised by a doctor, but otherwise it's a bad idea. I'm 5'1" with a desk job and on my inactive days I break even at 1600 calories. At 1200 calories I lost 30 lbs without having to add any exercise. There are risks to undereating long-term, mostly to your heart,as well as other bodily systems.
I don't even understand why some doctors approve it. I had a family member on that stupid 500 calorie a day thing (supervised by a doctor), and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Yeah, she lost weight fast. But then she gains it back, then does it again, gains it back, rinse and repeat. It boggles the mind.
Several reasons.
There is evidence that people that lose rapidly are more likely to keep part of it off, despite the common belief that slower is better and more permanent.
There is evidence that being at less weight has health benefits even if it is transitory.
Though the most common reason will probably be that doctors really aren't taught that much about weight loss. They typically are supposed to refer out to a dietitian, and the general level of nutrition taught in medical school reflects that.HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
I'm a vegan. If you can meet your protein requirements on salad, please tell me how, because I can't!asiaholifield981 wrote: »Both of these are meet each day for myself
Lettuce has 4.9 grams of protein per 360 gram head. So you should be good if you get in about 90/4.9*360g = 6.612 kg of lettuce. Bone apple tea.
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My salads typically have some light leafy greens, more dark leafy greens, tomatoes, shallots, scallions, shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, boiled egg slices (and sometimes artichoke hearts, walnuts, peas, carrots, chicken, water chestnuts, radishes, etc), plus salad dressing (full fat), so I do get in a lot of protein and fat in them. Maybe asiaholifield's are the same way?2
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chekhov_liszt wrote: »My salads typically have some light leafy greens, more dark leafy greens, tomatoes, shallots, scallions, shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, boiled egg slices (and sometimes artichoke hearts, walnuts, peas, carrots, chicken, water chestnuts, radishes, etc), plus salad dressing (full fat), so I do get in a lot of protein and fat in them. Maybe asiaholifield's are the same way?
Except several of those things you listed are also quite calorie dense. Which would naturally increase the calories in said salads.
A salad can be a bigger calorie bomb than a steak dinner, depending on what's in it.11 -
Yum! Can't see any problems there.magnusthenerd wrote: »whatalazyidiot wrote: »It's not a good idea long-term. Maybe if you are actually very overweight and it's only for a month or so, and you're being supervised by a doctor, but otherwise it's a bad idea. I'm 5'1" with a desk job and on my inactive days I break even at 1600 calories. At 1200 calories I lost 30 lbs without having to add any exercise. There are risks to undereating long-term, mostly to your heart,as well as other bodily systems.
I don't even understand why some doctors approve it. I had a family member on that stupid 500 calorie a day thing (supervised by a doctor), and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Yeah, she lost weight fast. But then she gains it back, then does it again, gains it back, rinse and repeat. It boggles the mind.
Several reasons.
There is evidence that people that lose rapidly are more likely to keep part of it off, despite the common belief that slower is better and more permanent.
There is evidence that being at less weight has health benefits even if it is transitory.
Though the most common reason will probably be that doctors really aren't taught that much about weight loss. They typically are supposed to refer out to a dietitian, and the general level of nutrition taught in medical school reflects that.HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
I'm a vegan. If you can meet your protein requirements on salad, please tell me how, because I can't!asiaholifield981 wrote: »Both of these are meet each day for myself
Lettuce has 4.9 grams of protein per 360 gram head. So you should be good if you get in about 90/4.9*360g = 6.612 kg of lettuce. Bone apple tea.
I'm finding it somewhat implausible that they are if they're simultaneously coming in at sub-1000 a day.chekhov_liszt wrote: »My salads typically have some light leafy greens, more dark leafy greens, tomatoes, shallots, scallions, shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, boiled egg slices (and sometimes artichoke hearts, walnuts, peas, carrots, chicken, water chestnuts, radishes, etc), plus salad dressing (full fat), so I do get in a lot of protein and fat in them. Maybe asiaholifield's are the same way?
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BoredMushroom wrote: »Im a female 5”2”
Mostly sit at the office all day.
I barely do any exercises
Since i joined this app, i started taking calories less than 1000 /per day in order to loose weight. (Mostly 800-950 cal)
I actually feel ok and i don’t feel starving
My food for breakfast just mostly whole wheat grains bread , fresh fruits and vegetables
Anyone doing this too? What had been your experience so far?
Since you joined this app, how much time have you spent reading the sticky posts at the top of the different forums? They are chock full of information to help newbies like yourself make informed decisions about setting calorie intake goals.
Many posts here are from folks who have not used the various tools available to figure out what their own daily calorie needs are. WIthout that starting step - it's all a shot and a prayer that your efforts will succeed.
good luck!0 -
That's too low1
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HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Yum! Can't see any problems there.magnusthenerd wrote: »whatalazyidiot wrote: »It's not a good idea long-term. Maybe if you are actually very overweight and it's only for a month or so, and you're being supervised by a doctor, but otherwise it's a bad idea. I'm 5'1" with a desk job and on my inactive days I break even at 1600 calories. At 1200 calories I lost 30 lbs without having to add any exercise. There are risks to undereating long-term, mostly to your heart,as well as other bodily systems.
I don't even understand why some doctors approve it. I had a family member on that stupid 500 calorie a day thing (supervised by a doctor), and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Yeah, she lost weight fast. But then she gains it back, then does it again, gains it back, rinse and repeat. It boggles the mind.
Several reasons.
There is evidence that people that lose rapidly are more likely to keep part of it off, despite the common belief that slower is better and more permanent.
There is evidence that being at less weight has health benefits even if it is transitory.
Though the most common reason will probably be that doctors really aren't taught that much about weight loss. They typically are supposed to refer out to a dietitian, and the general level of nutrition taught in medical school reflects that.HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
I'm a vegan. If you can meet your protein requirements on salad, please tell me how, because I can't!asiaholifield981 wrote: »Both of these are meet each day for myself
Lettuce has 4.9 grams of protein per 360 gram head. So you should be good if you get in about 90/4.9*360g = 6.612 kg of lettuce. Bone apple tea.
I'm finding it somewhat implausible that they are if they're simultaneously coming in at sub-1000 a day.chekhov_liszt wrote: »My salads typically have some light leafy greens, more dark leafy greens, tomatoes, shallots, scallions, shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, boiled egg slices (and sometimes artichoke hearts, walnuts, peas, carrots, chicken, water chestnuts, radishes, etc), plus salad dressing (full fat), so I do get in a lot of protein and fat in them. Maybe asiaholifield's are the same way?
They might have to have lower protein goals and higher BF% goals than a lot of people on MFP advocate, but let's say shooting for 0.8 g protein per pound of LBM (100 lbs) at a GW of 125 (no idea how tall this hypothetical person is, but let's say that's a health BMI, with BF% of 20%). That's 80 g protein, or 320 kcal for salad proteins.
Add 50 g of fat, which should be enough for most people. That's 450 kcal for salad fats.
320 + 450 = 770 kcal, leaving 200+ kcal for greens and veggies that aren't contributing protein and fat.
Pretty massive salad, and I like lots of protein and at least some fat in my salads.
I'm not advocating it, because you still need sufficient energy, and a steady diet below 1000 kcals isn't going to cut it for the overwhelming majority of adult human beings. Just saying it's not a theoretical impossibility.
I suppose some of the disconnect here may be how different people define a salad.0 -
If you are consuming less than 1100-1200 calories a day for an extended period of time your body will start to think you’re starving and hold onto everything you consume. You have to eat, to lose weight! It’s all in what Nutrition you put in your body and keeping your metabolism fueled!13
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False. Eating too little doesn't make you hold onto food. If it did, nobody would starve. What will happen is that your body will start to become more sluggish, so you move less. Your hunger cravings will get stronger, increasing the tendency of binging. And your body will start to shut down less-essential operations, like hair, nails... and muscle. Your heart is a muscle.
But starvation mode is not real.
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/9 -
Agreed with estherdragonbat.
However, @CoachKat1, what you posted is a good description of what it can look like on the scales when you crash diet. The body holds onto water more, thus concealing the true scale of your loss (whether it be fat or muscle) when you weigh yourself. If you increase your calorie intake, it will suddenly expel the water, and you will find out how much you've lost in fat/muscle tissue then. It now looks like you lost more weight at the higher intake than the lower one. Actually, it's the weight you lost earlier being revealed.
Regardless, eating too little=bad, bad idea. Not because your body will think you're starving yourself, but because you actually will be. Starvation comes with significant physical risks to your health.
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If you are consuming less than 1100-1200 calories a day for an extended period of time your body will start to think you’re starving and hold onto everything you consume. You have to eat, to lose weight! It’s all in what Nutrition you put in your body and keeping your metabolism fueled!
No, CoachKat, that's not how it works. If it did, people literally starving to death would not be a thing.6 -
At some point rather than cutting calories, you have to start moving more whether its more exercise or just walking and taking stairs more often. If you don't have lots to loose, cutting calories is not the answer for the reasons most have said here. Try taking up a sport or activity you like to do if the gym isn't your thing. And moving more is just good for you overall as a sedentary lifestyle is not good in the long term. I know because that's how I've been living and it's been work just to retrain myself to move more and take up biking. Once I'm out there and after I like it. It's just getting the motivation to do it in the first place.
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I’m trying to lose 30 lbs. I’m 5’4 weigh 165. I have myself on 1200 calories. I usually will have 1 slim fast shake for breakfast then like a tuna sandwich on whole grain or smart one meals. my problem i think is i’m addicted to diet pepsi. Any suggestions?0
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At some point rather than cutting calories, you have to start moving more whether its more exercise or just walking and taking stairs more often. If you don't have lots to loose, cutting calories is not the answer for the reasons most have said here. Try taking up a sport or activity you like to do if the gym isn't your thing. And moving more is just good for you overall as a sedentary lifestyle is not good in the long term. I know because that's how I've been living and it's been work just to retrain myself to move more and take up biking. Once I'm out there and after I like it. It's just getting the motivation to do it in the first place.
Regardless of whether you have 10 or 100 pounds to lose, the only way to do that is a calorie deficit. Yes, you can obtain that deficit through exercise, or you can simply eat less. No matter what you do the result is the same. There are several people on these forums that lose all of their weight through calorie counting alone and dont exercise for various reasons. Its possible and it can be healthy. People just need to realize that the less they have to lose the smaller their deficit needs to be.
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I’m trying to lose 30 lbs. I’m 5’4 weigh 165. I have myself on 1200 calories. I usually will have 1 slim fast shake for breakfast then like a tuna sandwich on whole grain or smart one meals. my problem i think is i’m addicted to diet pepsi. Any suggestions?
1 - start your own thread so people can see your question and answer it
2- suggestions for what? your don't list food adding up to 1200 calories and it's fine to drink a diet pepsi a day - you can still lose weight drinking diet pepsi.3 -
You need to speak to your doctor or nutritionist before going under 1200 a day. If you’re going under, you are depriving every organ in your body of essential calories they require to function. This means not only will your brain and heart not function properly, your body will start pulling energy from your muscles to withstand your lack of calorie intake.
Restricting calories is not only harmful short term, it can exasperate under lying psychosocial issues. If you’re struggling, please seek help.0
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