I'm having difficulty eating all my calories....HELP????

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Replies

  • chunkabutt25
    chunkabutt25 Posts: 277 Member
    ya know, i understand the concept of eating all ur calories, however...I have 3 friends that have been seeing completely different doctors in order to acheive weight loss and all of those seperate doctors have set them on 400 calorie a day diets and they are roughly around 200-250 lb.'s, soooo... If doctors arent so worried about starvation mode and they are losing huge amounts of weight, something must be working from the doctors standpoint as well...

    Doctors are just scientists and I don't believe them one little bit!!! 400 calories a day? OK...until you lose weight maybe, but what happens after that? I am sorry, but this doesn't sound healthy at all...What did your friends eat? I am sorry, I am in shock. Doctors are not 'worried' about starvation mode? Well- why should they be? It's not their body that is starving, right? Losing weight is NOT about dieting but about lifestyle change that will stick with you FOREVER! Eating 400 calories for the rest of your/my life? Nope!
    I asked the same thing about what they ate! She said they eat fruit all day and one low calorie frozen dinner and lots of water...I cud nevvvvvver!!!!!
  • mommybirdie
    mommybirdie Posts: 4
    Protein is good, don't cut it out and then replace it with sugars or carbs. If your fat is still below, then the protein will do your weight loss good.
  • mommybirdie
    mommybirdie Posts: 4
    That last response was for Mossymommy.
  • aprilvet
    aprilvet Posts: 724 Member
    my q is kinda like this one only i'm under my daily cals (im ok with that) but I'm over on my protein... I guess i should cut out meat from one of my meals?

    You don't necessarily need to cut your protein. I actually upped my protein percentage in mfp 'cause I was always over. I'm doing a fair amount of exercise- weight training and cardio- and feel better with a higher protein percentage. I went to 40% carb-40%protein-20%fat. So unless you're over A LOT, don't worry about it. Just make sure you're eating enough!:smile:
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    ya know, i understand the concept of eating all ur calories, however...I have 3 friends that have been seeing completely different doctors in order to acheive weight loss and all of those seperate doctors have set them on 400 calorie a day diets and they are roughly around 200-250 lb.'s, soooo... If doctors arent so worried about starvation mode and they are losing huge amounts of weight, something must be working from the doctors standpoint as well...

    Doctors are just scientists and I don't believe them one little bit!!! 400 calories a day? OK...until you lose weight maybe, but what happens after that? I am sorry, but this doesn't sound healthy at all...What did your friends eat? I am sorry, I am in shock. Doctors are not 'worried' about starvation mode? Well- why should they be? It's not their body that is starving, right? Losing weight is NOT about dieting but about lifestyle change that will stick with you FOREVER! Eating 400 calories for the rest of your/my life? Nope!
    I asked the same thing about what they ate! She said they eat fruit all day and one low calorie frozen dinner and lots of water...I cud nevvvvvver!!!!!

    I think your friend is exaggerating. fruit all day? 400 cals worth of fruit is only like 4 or 5 pieces of fruit... subtract enough for a frozen dinner and you're down to about a frozen dinner and 2 apples. seriously, that's crap, no doctor in his right mind would tell a patient to do this. This is likely a case of 1. someone trying to justify their own screwy vision of how to lose weight or 2. a huge overexaggeration by someone put on a low cal diet (and by low cal I mean like 1200-1400 cals a day, not 400 a day)
  • Dedicated
    Dedicated Posts: 104 Member
    ya know, i understand the concept of eating all ur calories, however...I have 3 friends that have been seeing completely different doctors in order to acheive weight loss and all of those seperate doctors have set them on 400 calorie a day diets and they are roughly around 200-250 lb.'s, soooo... If doctors arent so worried about starvation mode and they are losing huge amounts of weight, something must be working from the doctors standpoint as well...

    I do think that 400 is WAY TOO LOW, but from the research I have read people who have much more to lose generally can have a much bigger deficit. When a person with a lot of fat drastically reduces their calorie intake, their body uses the stored fat for fuel. However, if a small individual does the same their body will try and store the fat since their isn't much reserved, and will burn lean muscle instead.
  • Dedicated
    Dedicated Posts: 104 Member
    Oh and by the way, doctors do put obese people on Very Low Calorie Diets or VLCD all the time. These are diets of 800 calories a day or less. If you are unfamiliar with the above you can find information here: http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/low_calorie.htm.
    When an individual is severely obese, their heath is in serious danger. Getting on a VLCD can be a life saver due to the rapid decrease in weight, which in turn causes a rapid decrease in obesity related conditions such as high-blood pressure, high-cholesterol, and diabetes.
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    Oh and by the way, doctors do put obese people on Very Low Calorie Diets or VLCD all the time. These are diets of 800 calories a day or less. If you are unfamiliar with the above you can find information here: http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/low_calorie.htm.
    When an individual is severely obese, their heath is in serious danger. Getting on a VLCD can be a life saver due to the rapid decrease in weight, which in turn causes a rapid decrease in obesity related conditions such as high-blood pressure, high-cholesterol, and diabetes.

    maybe, but in my opinion (i'm obviously no doctor, but I did spend a good part of my life overweight), 200 lbs is NOT severely obese. I can understand this for a person of say 400 or 500 lbs, but 200? are you kidding me? The guy should lose his license if that's true.
  • ivykivy
    ivykivy Posts: 2,970 Member
    The girls on the pro anorexia sites boast about eating 400 cals!!! I've been over 300lbs and if a 'professional' had told me to eat 400 cals I would have slapped him and went and found me another a real professional.
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    The girls on the pro anorexia sites boast about eating 400 cals!!! I've been over 300lbs and if a 'professional' had told me to eat 400 cals I would have slapped him and went and found me another a real professional.

    amen:laugh:
  • Dedicated
    Dedicated Posts: 104 Member
    Like I said, I definitely agree that 400 calories is extremely low, but it is not unheard of. Though I do think that 800 calories is more commonly used. Severely obese is classified as anyone with a BMI of 35 or more, so someone who is 200 lbs and 5'2 or shorter would definitely fall in that category.
    When doctors prescribe VLCD, it is often for very good reason and will benefit an individual immensely. With a calorie intake that low, individuals usually are placed on nutrient shakes and such so that they are receiving adequate nutrition. My mom had gastric bypass surgery in August. She was on 200-400 calories for quite some time along with special supplements. She has lost about 75lbs to date, and her health has improved significantly.
    Starvation mode is simply not a big risk factor in comparison to the health consequences of being severely overweight.
  • wonderwouldyou
    wonderwouldyou Posts: 155 Member
    Wow, there is a plethora of opinions in this post.

    Seems like everyone has a nickels worth of advice whenit comes to weight loss, and I think that is great. It is nice to see so many people helping each other without any cause other than the good of humanity.

    Here is my two cents.....

    I'm a big guy, 6'3" 350 lbs. If I don't shave for a week, people start taking blurry photos of me in wooded areas, and making plaster moldings of my foot prints. I also am a commercial appliance repair guy. Which means I spend a large portion of my day on my feet, moving, ripping apart, and carrying large machinery in hot kitchens. Naturally, my daily allowance of calories is going to be high.

    There are days where I miss my calorie count by two or there hundred. I don't fret about it because I am loosing fat, gaining muscle and feeling great.

    Now, most of the people in this post are ladies, if not all, and the whole Venus and Mars thing comes into full effect when it comes to nutrition. So, I can't effectively give great advice to you ladies as all the information I have is geared towards a much more testosteronian spectrum, but I will say this.....

    Everyone is different.

    It may be one way of thinking and doing things, or a combination of several things that will work for you. If something isn't working out. Try something new.

    I can also tell you what works for me, again its my personal way of doing things. Maybe you can take something from it.

    I plan meals out in advance in my head and get all the ingredients I need to make them.
    I pack my lunches.

    I eat many snacks.

    I never have really big meals except breakfast. I try to spread calories out all day.

    I eat low fat, no saturated fat, high protein, whole grain carbohydrates, no refined stuff, no prepared meals, and lots of fruits and veggies.

    The rule is simply fowl, fish, flora and cow. I can't let go of steak.....

    I have one meal a week where there are no limits, and I make sure to take advantage of that.

    I get plenty of exercise.

    I get plenty of rest.

    I get blood work done to see if I'm ok.

    I get plenty of fiber.

    I drink only water, milk and orange juice. Seldomly fresh brewed tea.

    And this is what works for me.

    I don't know if that helps any but its all I got to offer, other than my well wishes.

    But I know its not good for your body or you morale to starve all day.

    So eat, drink and be merry.

    Good luck. :)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Like I said, I definitely agree that 400 calories is extremely low, but it is not unheard of. Though I do think that 800 calories is more commonly used. Severely obese is classified as anyone with a BMI of 35 or more, so someone who is 200 lbs and 5'2 or shorter would definitely fall in that category.
    When doctors prescribe VLCD, it is often for very good reason and will benefit an individual immensely. With a calorie intake that low, individuals usually are placed on nutrient shakes and such so that they are receiving adequate nutrition. My mom had gastric bypass surgery in August. She was on 200-400 calories for quite some time along with special supplements. She has lost about 75lbs to date, and her health has improved significantly.
    Starvation mode is simply not a big risk factor in comparison to the health consequences of being severely overweight.

    VLCD diets are done only in the most EXTREME cases. Where morbid obesity is putting the person in immanent danger of death. it's done only under a doctor's supervision, and done only for 2 to 3 weeks maximum. It should NEVER, EVER be suggested as an option to lose weight by anyone other then a trained professional with the experience, protocols, and expertise to do it right, even anecdotally!

    there are some pretty severe possible consequences to a diet that low. I have read numerous studies on VLCD diets, and all of them are pretty strenuous on their notation about it being a last resort. So yeah, I guess you're right, it CAN be done. But it shouldn't be done unless done with the help of a trained professional using the correct monitoring tools and under strict supervision. And it's usually 600 calories they put them on, not 800, I've never seen 400 calories used in any study, that's just too low even for VLCD, also nobody with a BMI of 35 get's put on these that I have ever seen (except in research studies, there is a good one that the army did, with soldiers who had a bmi of about 22), they usually cut off these practices at a BMI of 40, higher then that, they consider the persona a candidate; lower, usually not.
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