Minimum calories?

medicdawg · April 2021

Hi all.
I'm 6'3" and currently 305 lbs. I've lost about 65 pounds by severely limiting my calories to under 1,000 and following a high protein and low carb/fat diet. I'm not having a problem sticking to the diet and am taking vitamins and iron to replace lost nutrients. I don't know if my body is entering "starvation mode" when I go a week or two with no weight loss. But then weight loss seems to go back to normal. I guess my question is how few is too few calories?

Lietchi · April 2021

For women a general rule is 1200, for men 1500.

But I think it's a lot more important to look at weight loss rate: max 1% of bodyweight per week. So how fast have you lost those 65lbs?
By losing too quickly, muscle mass is lost (strength training and adequate protein intake can slow it down, but there's a limit). Not to mention other health risks (the heart is a muscle, gall bladder issues,...)

1000 calories, if you are indeed logging your food accurately, is ridiculously low for someone at your weight. Starvation low. Jeez, I started at around 200lbs and have lost weight eating upwards of 1700 calories a day. Unless you are under a doctor's supervision, it is a really really bad idea.

Why are you eating that little? To find a more appropriate calorie intake level, go through the goal setup here on MFP and enter your stats and goal. 2lbs loss per week is the maximum rate, as you get closer to goal you'll need to slow down to a less than that.

thisvickyruns · April 2021

starvation mode isn't really a thing.

1000 calories is definitely too few.

cmriverside · April 2021

Please eat more. Over the counter vitamins cannot replace the needed nutrients from food. Supplementing Iron is a very bad idea without it being prescribed.

Does your medical team know you're doing this? Are your being monitored weekly with blood draws and vitals?

autumnblade75 · April 2021

I'm reasonably convinced that you're undereating, but not necessarily convinced that it's as severe as you're portraying it. Are you using a food scale, or measuring cups or are you just eyeballing portions and guessing at your intake?

I wouldn't recommend you to consume fewer than 2000 calories per day, but many people think that because 1500 is the lowest the medical community recommends as might be safe for the average man, that it could be appropriate for any particular individual. DEFINITELY NO LOWER THAN 1500!!

I'm only 5'3, 132 lbs, a woman, and losing on 1900 calories! I would prefer to be fat than to eat fewer. At less than 1700, I'm ready to gnaw my own arm off.

Minimum calories?

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