Eating <1000 calories combined with HIIT exercises: is it too much?
jen12345677
Posts: 6 Member
hi, so i have a friend i am worried about:
she eats less than 1000 calories a day, and does HIIT for six hours a week. (she is 24, 164cm and 65kg)
i have tried to voice my concern, but she always says that we tend to underestimate the calories we eat, even with the mfp app. she also says that because she is exercising and seeing muscle results, her metabolism should be fine. she has complained that she hasn’t lost weight in the past month, but claims it is because she is eating too many calories.
i have read so many debates on starvation mode that i am a little unsure how worried i should be/if it is worth it for me to confront her again about this.
she eats less than 1000 calories a day, and does HIIT for six hours a week. (she is 24, 164cm and 65kg)
i have tried to voice my concern, but she always says that we tend to underestimate the calories we eat, even with the mfp app. she also says that because she is exercising and seeing muscle results, her metabolism should be fine. she has complained that she hasn’t lost weight in the past month, but claims it is because she is eating too many calories.
i have read so many debates on starvation mode that i am a little unsure how worried i should be/if it is worth it for me to confront her again about this.
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Replies
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Wht she's doing is not healthy and is likely to lead to some serious problems down the line. Is she okay with the idea of losing her hair or teeth, damaging her heart, etc. She is also much more likely to gain all the weight back, soon after she stops dieting. So she is torturing herself for nothing. Slow and steady weight loss teaches you how to eat for the long term. What she is doing is dangerous and ultimately futile.1
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If she's truly eating 1,000 calories a day and then doing six hours a week of exercise, yeah, that's too much. But you know that. I'm not sure what will be accomplished if you tell her that people online agree with you.8
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She might not be losing weight because she is stressing her body so much (water retention for muscle repair, added to an excessive deficit).
She might also be right in saying that she's actually eating more than she logs.
Or she could even be overestimating her intake, which would make the situation worse.
But without knowing how she measures and weighs her food, we have no idea.
If she is indeed eating less than 1000 kcal, then it is a bad situation, yes.
The problem is: just as you can't make someone exercise or lose weight if they don't want to, you can't make them listen to you when you try to give them advice. If you insist too much, it might backfire...3 -
yeah, i’m pretty sure about the diet/exercise because we’re roommates, so we’ve been in the same apartment for over a month now.
i was actually wondering if there’s some other science that i’m missing, because she does seem to have plenty of energy to ecercise despite the calorie deficit, which leads me to wonder if it’s worth the awkward talk.0 -
jen12345677 wrote: »yeah, i’m pretty sure about the diet/exercise because we’re roommates, so we’ve been in the same apartment for over a month now.
i was actually wondering if there’s some other science that i’m missing, because she does seem to have plenty of energy to ecercise despite the calorie deficit, which leads me to wonder if it’s worth the awkward talk.
Many people report feeling energized on a high calorie deficit. If the individual prolongs the deficit for too long, this will give out. But it isn't at all uncommon for someone who is aggressively restricting to report feeling "great" and full of energy.4 -
Leave her to it. You can mention it one time and then let it go, it's not your business.
She's 24. She's bullet-proof in her mind.
When I was 24 I was living off caffeine, cigarettes and beer. The occasional order of French toast and bacon, maybe some nachos, but I was probably eating that little, too. I was so skinny!
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cmriverside wrote: »Leave her to it. You can mention it one time and then let it go, it's not your business.
She's 24. She's bullet-proof in her mind.
When I was 24 I was living off caffeine, cigarettes and beer. The occasional order of French toast and bacon, maybe some nachos, but I was probably eating that little, too. I was so skinny!
yeah, that’s why i’m trying to gauge the situation, because i’m not sure i understand the science of it all.
it isn’t my business, but if there are serious effects i would be willing to risk the consequences and have the awkward talk. if the end result is just a slight decrease in metabolism, i probably would just stay out of it.1 -
No it's not okay, but luckily, since she didn't lose weight for a month the possibility that she actually was over-estimating is real. What worries me more than the numbers is the mentality. Anyone willing to go under 1000 calories, be it real 1000 calories or perceived 1000 calories, is likely putting themselves in mental danger. Deprivation (even perceived) can do a number on your brain, trigger dormant issues, lead to burn out and failure which leads to a cycle of guilt and blame and more deprivation. It's no way to live.
If the numbers are correct, there are health dangers that can be severe if she keeps this up long enough and she's unlucky.
What's sad is that if she has her mind made up nothing you say will help. She will have to learn from her mistakes. My only advice for you is to be there for her when she burns out to support her through a potentially mentally difficult phase and encourage her to love herself so she doesn't repeat the cycle. Repeating the cycle is unfortunately all too common.
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jen12345677 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »Leave her to it. You can mention it one time and then let it go, it's not your business.
She's 24. She's bullet-proof in her mind.
When I was 24 I was living off caffeine, cigarettes and beer. The occasional order of French toast and bacon, maybe some nachos, but I was probably eating that little, too. I was so skinny!
yeah, that’s why i’m trying to gauge the situation, because i’m not sure i understand the science of it all.
it isn’t my business, but if there are serious effects i would be willing to risk the consequences and have the awkward talk. if the end result is just a slight decrease in metabolism, i probably would just stay out of it.
Eating that little she isn't properly fueling her muscles, and that includes her heart. When I was eating that amount and under, my hair fell out, starting having blackouts, stopped having my periods, and a list of other health issues. If she does start having complications most of them you won't be able to see until the damage is already been done.7 -
jen12345677 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »Leave her to it. You can mention it one time and then let it go, it's not your business.
She's 24. She's bullet-proof in her mind.
When I was 24 I was living off caffeine, cigarettes and beer. The occasional order of French toast and bacon, maybe some nachos, but I was probably eating that little, too. I was so skinny!
yeah, that’s why i’m trying to gauge the situation, because i’m not sure i understand the science of it all.
it isn’t my business, but if there are serious effects i would be willing to risk the consequences and have the awkward talk. if the end result is just a slight decrease in metabolism, i probably would just stay out of it.
Well, I went on to live a happy productive life. I'm now 66. I gained a bunch of weight in my late forties and that's how I came to be on this forum.
Just - it truly isn't your business and she isn't going to break her metabolism. If her metabolism does down-regulate it will bounce right back when she eats enough.
Even IF you're worried about her developing an eating disorder, that takes professional counseling to sort out - you can make things far worse by getting into it with her. Are you her parent?1 -
Starvation mode isn't a real thing to worry about. Here's a good thread:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss/p1
(TL;dr) The metabolism does down-regulate a little bit with a prolonged calorie deficit. Fewer calories are also needed when one becomes smaller. A couple weeks of regular eating "fixes" that down-regulation. It's not permanent.
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cmriverside wrote: »jen12345677 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »Leave her to it. You can mention it one time and then let it go, it's not your business.
She's 24. She's bullet-proof in her mind.
When I was 24 I was living off caffeine, cigarettes and beer. The occasional order of French toast and bacon, maybe some nachos, but I was probably eating that little, too. I was so skinny!
yeah, that’s why i’m trying to gauge the situation, because i’m not sure i understand the science of it all.
it isn’t my business, but if there are serious effects i would be willing to risk the consequences and have the awkward talk. if the end result is just a slight decrease in metabolism, i probably would just stay out of it.
Well, I went on to live a happy productive life. I'm now 66. I gained a bunch of weight in my late forties and that's how I came to be on this forum.
Just - it truly isn't your business and she isn't going to break her metabolism. If her metabolism does down-regulate it will bounce right back when she eats enough.
Even IF you're worried about her developing an eating disorder, that takes professional counseling to sort out - you can make things far worse by getting into it with her. Are you her parent?cmriverside wrote: »jen12345677 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »Leave her to it. You can mention it one time and then let it go, it's not your business.
She's 24. She's bullet-proof in her mind.
When I was 24 I was living off caffeine, cigarettes and beer. The occasional order of French toast and bacon, maybe some nachos, but I was probably eating that little, too. I was so skinny!
yeah, that’s why i’m trying to gauge the situation, because i’m not sure i understand the science of it all.
it isn’t my business, but if there are serious effects i would be willing to risk the consequences and have the awkward talk. if the end result is just a slight decrease in metabolism, i probably would just stay out of it.
Well, I went on to live a happy productive life. I'm now 66. I gained a bunch of weight in my late forties and that's how I came to be on this forum.
Just - it truly isn't your business and she isn't going to break her metabolism. If her metabolism does down-regulate it will bounce right back when she eats enough.
Even IF you're worried about her developing an eating disorder, that takes professional counseling to sort out - you can make things far worse by getting into it with her. Are you her parent?
it’s good to hear that you’re doing well, but at the same time, i see people commenting about the other effects such as irregular periods, hair falling out, etc which is why i posted in the first place.
i also said that i don’t plan on mentioning anything if the only effect is a slower metabolism. i am not her parent, but i think friends tell friends about their concerns, because no one wants to see their friend in a bad place.
if i saw a friend’s boyfriend cheating, i would definitely tell her. if i saw him having coffee with a girl, i wouldn’t aay anything. just trying to determine which kind of situation this is.6 -
So, read that article I posted, it was put on this site by a doctor...well-researched and all factual. It will ease your mind.
Then, you can say something one time and then let it go - for both your sakes.
She is an adult. It's her body and her life and if she's into HIIT, she is into all kinds of YouTube and has the same access to information as you do. Leave her to it.0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »No it's not okay, but luckily, since she didn't lose weight for a month the possibility that she actually was over-estimating is real. What worries me more than the numbers is the mentality. Anyone willing to go under 1000 calories, be it real 1000 calories or perceived 1000 calories, is likely putting themselves in mental danger. Deprivation (even perceived) can do a number on your brain, trigger dormant issues, lead to burn out and failure which leads to a cycle of guilt and blame and more deprivation. It's no way to live.
If the numbers are correct, there are health dangers that can be severe if she keeps this up long enough and she's unlucky.
What's sad is that if she has her mind made up nothing you say will help. She will have to learn from her mistakes. My only advice for you is to be there for her when she burns out to support her through a potentially mentally difficult phase and encourage her to love herself so she doesn't repeat the cycle. Repeating the cycle is unfortunately all too common.
yeah, the slowed weight loss also is a bit confusing to me. but we eat lunch together (she doesn’t eat dinner), and i eat ~1500 to maintain my weight of 50kg. given that she eats less than me, theoretically she should be continuing to lose weight.
i guess it seems that starvation mode shouldn’t slow down metabolism that much, if she even is in that mode. maybe it is just increased muscle mass that’s leading to little change in weight loss? or maybe i’m underestimating my own calories...0 -
@cmriverside i’ll check that article out, thanks!2
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