The Consequences of a Very Low Calorie Diet (aka Starvation

I'm on a 500-800 calorie diet and exercise three times a week and I haven't lost any muscle. I've lost pure fat.
I'm quite enegetic and function normally through out the day. I think everyone is just overreacts when the numbers go bellow 1200, because the body CAN function on less. This is a diet so obviously this can not be long term.

How do you know you have lost 'pure fat' and not muscle?

PRESUMING BY MESURING HER BMI?????

I can't tell if you are joking or not, but i'll respond anyways. BMI is useless, and in no way would show if she lost muscle or fat.

Body fat measurments might be the one? i dunoo... each day im baffled by what right or wrong on MFP.

I think the original poster is wrong to say that it is "impossible" to starve oneself and keep fat off permanently. I'm not saying it's a good thing to do that, but I've known many people who have done just that. I work as a psychologist and see a fair few people with eating disorders who somehow manage to eat negligible amounts of food, exercise excessively and still get up for work each day. Obviously they are extreme examples and often end in sickness and premature death, but there's a sliding scale of eating behaviours from the very disordered undereater to the very disordered over-eater and very broad range of relativeley "normal" eating in between. Different people have the ability to maintain different levels of control over their eating, and different bodies will respond differently to different levels of food intake. It's a complex mix of biological factors, psychological factors and social factors. To find out what's right for you you need to read a lot of different bits of advice, weigh them up and see what works for you in practice. Like most things, it's not a "one theory fits all" kind of a thing.

If you skip out carbs in your diet, then you can pretty much get to 800 cal a day! However it's not sustainable, and if you have health problems, it's a big no no!

And also I don't know if any of you have heard of 'lighter life'... it's a diet programme, where you can only eat their own food, and it's around 600 calories a day, but it claims you recieve all your vitamin and mineral requirements. You have to be severly overweight to do it though, and you need doctors permission. I know a few family friends who have done it, and they look fantastic now. However it is a very strict diet and very expensive!

Bump

However this diet isn't sustainable, hence why it's only a diet, and why I will only do it for a short period of time, and I will start introducing carbs soon. At the end of the day if you can eat 3500 calories a day for all your life, you can afford to go 700 calories a day for a few weeks! However every person is totally different! Each body is different and has a different environment, if this diet works for her then let her be, however if you have health problems, it should be avoided.

Sorry but she states in her profile explicitely that she has an eating disorder. That plus all the "ana" references like "thinspo", "thigh gap",etc! In my opinion (and in the opinion of my former therapist), you shouldn't be on a weight loss website if you have an eating disorder. You should be working on a healthy diet and cognitive therapy with a doc!

Yeah I just checked out her profile, she is probably trolling... or a 15 year old girl going through a phase, hence the thigh gap and hip bone remarks... I do hope she only wrote those 'inspirations' as jokes. I have friends who have gone through eating disorders, and it's such a dark place!

Meanwhile, back to the original post about the Tom Venuto article:

I am currently reading this book and am doing his workouts as well.

I also recommend this book as an excellent companion and "go to" reference on your journey.

The rest of the book is written just like this article~ clear, easy to understand and accurate.

For the record: I am a believer in "super low calorie" thinking BUT all of you (and this book by Venuto) are slowly convincing me that I MIGHT not be "thinking right" and perhaps my painfully slow rate of weight loss is evidence of that.

You all have got me thinking.........

BUMP!

However this diet isn't sustainable, hence why it's only a diet, and why I will only do it for a short period of time, and I will start introducing carbs soon. At the end of the day if you can eat 3500 calories a day for all your life, you can afford to go 700 calories a day for a few weeks! However every person is totally different! Each body is different and has a different environment, if this diet works for her then let her be, however if you have health problems, it should be avoided.

Sorry but she states in her profile explicitely that she has an eating disorder. That plus all the "ana" references like "thinspo", "thigh gap",etc! In my opinion (and in the opinion of my former therapist), you shouldn't be on a weight loss website if you have an eating disorder. You should be working on a healthy diet and cognitive therapy with a doc!

Yeah I just checked out her profile, she is probably trolling... or a 15 year old girl going through a phase, hence the thigh gap and hip bone remarks... I do hope she only wrote those 'inspirations' as jokes. I have friends who have gone through eating disorders, and it's such a dark place!

I don't think this girl is joking!! She is 18, 113lbs, 5'2". She says she hates herself for being so fat, wants to see her ribs, Goal weight is 87lbs. She states she has body dismorphia disorder. She seriously needs help. Sad.

All matters of VLCD aside, minuu, you need to reconsider your goals.

To everyone else; this isn't her 'promoting' her eating disorder, she's someone with obstacles to overcome like everyone else. Please keep the derision to a minimum. She needs as much support as someone with a long weight loss journey ahead.

Back to the VLCD; they CAN be done, but medical supervision is STRONGLY recommended and usually ONLY for people that need to drop a lot of weight in a short amount of time.