Is a 700 calorie diet healthy for weight-loss?
kala6691
Posts: 1 Member
Hi guys! I was just wondering if anyone knew if cutting 1000 calories actually helps to loose 2 pounds a week. I'm 5'2, at 150 pounds and I live a pretty sendentary lifestyle. I've been putting my info into calorie calculators, and they say I should be eating between 700-1200 calories a day. Does anyone know if eating under 1000 calories is healthy for this height?
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Replies
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I'd never be able to do it jesus, can't tell without your age also...
Go see your doctor and a nutritionist, go over everything with them and follow what they say - Don't come back here and ask if you should listen to them
... I don't know of anyone who is a professional on here (if they are a professional and on here all day their practice isn't going so well now is it...) 41 -
NOT AT ALL! 1200 is minimum you should be consuming.18
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at 150lbs - you should set your rate of loss at no more than 1lb a week, more likely .5-.75
also remember that MFP uses a NEAT formula, which does not take into account purposeful exercise - so it intends for you to eat back a portion of those calories
you should NOT be going below 120016 -
No, it’s not healthy, or recommended. The minimum for female is 1200 calories.9
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You should not be trying to lose 2 pounds per week. You do not have enough fat stores to sustain that rate of loss and you will likely lose muscle which will make you look worse when you are done.
You need to be cutting no more than 500 calories per day and you absolutely MUST eat above 1200 and maybe even higher depending on your activity.
Read this:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/10 -
Tedebearduff wrote: »I'd never be able to do it jesus, can't tell without your age also...
Go see your doctor and a nutritionist, go over everything with them and follow what they say - Don't come back here and ask if you should listen to them ... I don't know of anyone who is a professional on here (if they are a professional and on here all day their practice isn't going so well now is it...)
you don't need to be a "professional" to know good nutrition.24 -
It’ll work but it’ll also make you sick and possibly give you lifelong health issues and maybe even shorten your life. So very bad idea.14
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1200 NET calories is the minimum for women and even this is lower than necessary for most women unless extremely petite (you’re not) and extremely Sedentary (you say you are but are you really? Do you get less than 5,000 steps/day in regular activities?)
Also 2 lbs/week is too aggressive for the amount of weight you have to lose. 1 lb/week at first and then when you get within about 20 lbs of your goal then switch to 0.5 lb/week.
For what it’s worth I’m the same height, same starting weight as you and have a desk job. I hit my original goal weight (125) about a year after starting on MFP and that was eating b/w 1600-1800 cals/day. Lost another 5-7 lbs and maintained that for a few years. Have crept back up above my original goal due to becoming less active and less focus on weight management but have been tracking and logging here for 6ish years. Don’t look at this as a race to reach your goal but as a process to understanding how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and healthy lifestyle.19 -
nighthawk584 wrote: »Tedebearduff wrote: »I'd never be able to do it jesus, can't tell without your age also...
Go see your doctor and a nutritionist, go over everything with them and follow what they say - Don't come back here and ask if you should listen to them ... I don't know of anyone who is a professional on here (if they are a professional and on here all day their practice isn't going so well now is it...)
you don't need to be a "professional" to know good nutrition.
^^This. And many health care professionals (doctors, PA’s etc) don’t know much about nutrition.14 -
Hi guys! I was just wondering if anyone knew if cutting 1000 calories actually helps to loose 2 pounds a week. I'm 5'2, at 150 pounds and I live a pretty sendentary lifestyle. I've been putting my info into calorie calculators, and they say I should be eating between 700-1200 calories a day. Does anyone know if eating under 1000 calories is healthy for this height?
Not healthy, not sustainable, not without long-term risk.10 -
Tedebearduff wrote: »I'd never be able to do it jesus, can't tell without your age also...
Go see your doctor and a nutritionist, go over everything with them and follow what they say - Don't come back here and ask if you should listen to them ... I don't know of anyone who is a professional on here (if they are a professional and on here all day their practice isn't going so well now is it...)
Not sure this is really warranted... OP wants to lose about 20-30 lbs I’m guessing and should be able to do so healthfully by getting more educated on the basic principles of MFP and weight loss, eating a minimum calories to preserve good nutrition and lean body mass. This is what most of the experienced veterans would advise, do you think that’s contrary to what a “professional” would advise?
There are plenty of “professionals” on here. Most of us, I would guess are gainfully employed, whether in the healthcare field or not. Many of us have educated ourselves about health and nutrition by researching and participating on these boards. It sort of sounds like your blanketly dismissing the input of the very community you are a member of?23 -
Please do not try to lose 2 lbs a week.... Go for losing 1 lb to a half pound a week. It is a much more healthy way to lose weight, especially at your size. And more sustainable in the long run.6
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Rather than lowering your calories to compensate for your sedentary lifestyle - maybe move more?? I'm short too (5'4") - and although I realize it is not necessary to exercise to lose weight - I found that it really helped me. Once I got moving - I wanted to move more and more. Working out helped to keep me focused, kept me in a positive frame of mind so I didn't feel so "deprived". It's hard to plod along on 1200 calories/day - but I found that if I could burn 500-600/day w/ exercise - 1700 calories/day was a lot more doable. That extra 500 calories is A LOT!!!! (Couple of martinis - LOL)4
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nighthawk584 wrote: »Tedebearduff wrote: »I'd never be able to do it jesus, can't tell without your age also...
Go see your doctor and a nutritionist, go over everything with them and follow what they say - Don't come back here and ask if you should listen to them ... I don't know of anyone who is a professional on here (if they are a professional and on here all day their practice isn't going so well now is it...)
you don't need to be a "professional" to know good nutrition.
Yup!
Extreme weight loss for her would be around 800 calicoes assuming she's around 25 yrs old ... you don't know the situation so you can't say "don't go under 1200 calories" but keep giving advice with next to no details to people based on your opinion 27 -
Hi guys! I was just wondering if anyone knew if cutting 1000 calories actually helps to loose 2 pounds a week. I'm 5'2, at 150 pounds and I live a pretty sendentary lifestyle. I've been putting my info into calorie calculators, and they say I should be eating between 700-1200 calories a day. Does anyone know if eating under 1000 calories is healthy for this height?
No, that kind of aggressive weight loss is only appropriate for those with far more weight to lose than you have.
Set your account up here and choose no more than 1 lb per week. Check out these Most Helpful Posts threads as well, I think they might be useful in your situation:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
Welcome and best of luck :drinker:8 -
I've been putting my info into calorie calculators, and they say I should be eating between 700-1200 calories a day.
Which calculator puts you under 1200?Does anyone know if eating under 1000 calories is healthy for this height?
Yes; many people know, and the answer is... No; it's very "unhealthy" to eat less than 1200 calories.
Your body needs to be able to function. That includes your mind, which requires a decent (~40 grams) fat per day. That's 360 calories. You should be eating a MINIMUM of 100 grams of protein to support muscular function. That's 400 calories. And you probably need some energy to support being able to use those muscles, which is going to take carbs. At 120 grams (480 calories) you're over 1200.8 -
No. MFP won't give you under 1200 calories for a reason. It knows how to subtract 1000 from your maintenence calories, but it won't do it because eating too few calories is unhealthy.
At your height and weight, 2 pounds a week is too aggressive a target anyways. You should set your weight loss target for 1 pound a week. Undereating and rapid weight loss doesn't lead to anything good. Not only are there health risks, but you are less likely to be able to sustain it, and even if you get to your goal, you may not be happy with how you look because more of your weight will come from muscle.
It's not worth it. Weight loss is not a sprint. Go slower and more responsibly and you will thank yourself for it later.9 -
out of curiosity I went on the internet for calorie counters to see what results I would get with your stats. I had to assume an age, so left it at the 25 years that was default in the box.
I found this one:
The results show a number of daily calorie estimates that can be used as a guideline for how many calories to consume each day to maintain, lose, or gain weight at a chosen rate.
Maintain weight 1,654 100% Calories/day
Mild weight loss 0.5 lb/week 1,404 85% Calories/day
Weight loss 1 lb/week 1,154 70% Calories/day
Extreme weight loss 2 lb/week 654 40% Calories/day
so, whatever you have looked at is clearly an extreme weight loss estimate - which is not only not needed in your case, but should only be done under supervision. Even the site I got this from went on to state as below:
Please consult with a doctor when losing 1 lb or more per week since it requires that you consume less than the minimum recommendation of 1,200 calories a day.
Yes, even the calorie calculator sites seem to clearly point out the minimum, and to stay safe with your weightloss goals.14 -
There is some good advice on here. It is unusual to see so much agreement. Do read the links.4
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No, it is not healthy to eat 700 calories. You will lose weight, sure, and you will also possibly become ill, perhaps seriously and irreversibly ill. Don't do it. That is "eating disorder" level calorie restriction and there's no reason to go that extreme. If you eat 1200, you will lose weight in a sustainable, healthy way.3
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It is good that you are asking this question as it is important to your future life and health.
MFP does set safe levels for calories. Use the goals etc. on here and you will be safe.
Anything lower and you ought to get medical supervision.
(Be very careful about trusting anyone who is selling you something! Be sure to check their claims by asking someone qualified and who has your good health and not their profits as their prime concern.)
When thinking about whether it matters if you go very low calorie, remember that if you starve your body, then it will use muscle as well as fat to sustain itself. This is bad as you don't really want to lose muscle: your heart is a muscle.0 -
1200 calories is often needlessly low, let alone 700: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/3
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Everyone else has already said it... no, it's not only not healthy, it's dangerous. We don't put weight on overnight, we can't take it off overnight, either. Take your time, your body will thank you!4
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Hi guys! I was just wondering if anyone knew if cutting 1000 calories actually helps to loose 2 pounds a week. I'm 5'2, at 150 pounds and I live a pretty sendentary lifestyle. I've been putting my info into calorie calculators, and they say I should be eating between 700-1200 calories a day. Does anyone know if eating under 1000 calories is healthy for this height?
Eating under 1000 calories is not healthy for any adult.
The issue here is not your height. I am under 5 feet tall; I lost 100 pounds and have been maintaining in my optimal BMI range for 2+ years, and I never went below 1200 net calories while I was losing.
The issue is that you have unrealistic expectations about the pace of weight loss. You are about 15 pounds above your optimal BMI range. 0.5 lb/week would be a reasonable pace of loss; 1 lb/week might be appropriate. 2 pounds per week is far too aggressive for your stats.
Set MFP for 0.5 lb/week loss, weigh all your food, and consistently eat the number of calories MFP gives you.7 -
Oh and for added perspective on a 700 calorie diet my 32 pound dog would lose weight.10
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A 3 yo child eats approximately 1200cal/day. They weigh 30-40lbs. Eat to support your body. Your health is important! Listen to the smart people above me.2
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youngmomtaz wrote: »A 3 yo child eats approximately 1200cal/day. They weigh 30-40lbs. Eat to support your body. Your health is important! Listen to the smart people above me.
That is a very apples to oranges comparison though - 3 year olds are still growing and are usually very active.
However, OP certainly needs way more than 700 calories and probably more than 1200.
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