800 calories a day?

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  • Angellore
    Angellore Posts: 519 Member
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    Exercise, exercise, exercise! It doesn't need to cost a penny. Just get out there and walk whenever you can. You won't need to drop your calories, infact you'll get more and i'll bet the weight will start to come off. Start jogging if you can. Do jumping jacks in your room. Any physical movement is better than none. It also has the added effect of lifting mood and generally making you feel better. Dont concentrate on what the scales say, concentrate on how you look and feel - you could lose 10lbs but still not look the way you thought you would. But tone up and you will look a million dollars on your birthday. Use a couple of bottles of water or tins of beans as hand weights. Make time to do this and you'll be there in no time. I realy wouldn't recommend cutting calories. Good luck :)

    Edited to add - eat protein too! Don't cut out carbs but eat nuts if you can afford them, keep a jar of nut butter, cheese is good and you can usually get 'snack' size portions. Ask for a small fridge for your birthday maybe, that will be a help.
  • Goldenbast
    Goldenbast Posts: 227 Member
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    Hi...I don't think your headline was considered yelling, I took it for what you obviously meant and to make sure people saw it. I understand, you want constructive criticism, not just bad-mouthing.

    I think the others who say you are not eating enough even on 1200 is dead on, and your body very likely thinks it is slowly starving...can do mass amounts of bad things, least of which is hold on to every calorie for dear life....please go and re-input your stats and use the recommended goal setter. Also try as much as you can to log everything you put in your mouth, as even if you are eating junk, if you are under your calorie goals you should still lose...but not if you are too far under your goal, it has the opposite effect.

    As far as having no money..I hear ya...been there, done that..also when we moved out here, our apartment wasn't ready and we had to live in a hotel with a single hotplate and a microwave and little fridge..it was hellish trying to feed a family of 6 in that :). Whatever stores are in your area, look for their sales adds, if you don't get it in the mail you can find them online..usually they start on Wednesdays. You can price match everything at walmart...it does add up to big savings and will allow you to stretch your dollar...especially on produce.....I always buy whatever fruits and veggies are on sale. Since you are buying just for you, you may be able to get fresh foods in you this way with what little money you have.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    honestly I work through the dinner shifts and have class during lunch so I pretty much on my own and I so don't have any money lol
    at work I try to eat some turkey on wheat
    and I drink lots of milk.
    DO you guys think the 800 cal plan is dangerous I am only going to do it to lose ten pounds then I will be at my goal weight and go back to maintence cals which I can usually pull about 1500 off

    It is absolutely dangerous to think this is acceptable to do on a regular basis.....and your healthcare providers would tell you the same exact thing....
  • skateboardstef
    skateboardstef Posts: 164 Member
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    I would eat more calories a day and exercise more. When I was in college they had a gym that all students could use for free! As far as nutrition, buy some canned goods. Look for sales and coupons.
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    Kelli,

    You can repair a slow metabolism. It takes work, but it's worth doing, and in my opinion it's a much much smarter plan than eating 800 calories a day. 800 calories a day will only trash your slow metabolism further... you might lose weight, but at what cost? Do you really want to live your whole life on nothing but 800 calories a day? I can eat twice that and still lose weight.

    Think about it. Do you really want to damage your body further than you already have?

    As for eating healthy in college with a small income and only a microwave: Find an Asian Food Market. I'm talking one of those discount places where everything on the shelf is labeled in not-english I know that sounds crazy, but I've had great success finding very very cheap and healthy veggies in an Asian market. You'll need to be a bit daring and try things even when you don't know the name of what you're eating, but it's green stuff and its good for you.

    Also... rice = very cheap. Lentils = very cheap and good for you. Buy a tiny crock pot. That should fit in your dorm. It's well worth the price.

    I agree. With that large a deficit, your body will use muscle for fuel as well as fat. You will destroy your metabolism and eventually start gaining because you will just be skinny fat. You can increase your metabolism by increasing muscle mass. In order to do this, you need to eat more and do weights. Wouldn't you prefer to be nice and lean and fit? Rather than tiny, but chubby and weak? And you won't have to worry about your slow metabolism, you will be able to maintain your ideal weight effortlessly. Think about it.

    Seriously.. this

    Skinny-Fat1.jpg

    Or this...


    lauren-plumey.jpg
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Haven't read the whole forum up to the point, but my only suggestions is to try and make those 800 calories as healthy as they can be.

    I don't believe in "starvation mode" as it's perceived around here, though I do believe in nutrition-deficiency disorders. And you're going to give yourself one if you're living off of processed carbs.

    Fresh fruit (apple and bananas keep find without a freezer), low sodium canned soups, tuna, yogurt, (I try to stay away from things like granola bars, but they're a hell of a lot better than easy mac), frozen veggies, etc.
  • shellybean826
    shellybean826 Posts: 44
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    ok ..i just want to say ...i eat less then 1000 calories daily and i exercise 4 times a week at the gym and on my job i walk an average of 8000 steps a day ...i have a pedometer on my ipod ...and i lift sacks of mail so im moving constantly ..i dont feel like my body is in starvation mode or whatever .......in fact im overweight by the bmi charts ...i think someone else said somethign about VLCD diets .and i did one for 10 months ..eating 599 calories a day and lost alot of weight. i keep my calories low because if i eat more then say 1200 calories i tend to be hungry and will actually binge :( ....if i keep them low im happy ..not hungry and have energy ....im also 5' 1" ...so am i just different ??? or what
  • KristalDawnO
    KristalDawnO Posts: 154 Member
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    You will lose weight, but a lot of it will be muscle too. Try getting some of the nutrition bars and some fruit. You don't have to refrigerate those, or worry about preparing them. Eat whole foods when you can!
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    You can buy a banana at a grocery store for about $.17 a piece. Eat 3-4 of them, and you'll be eating 1200 calories instead of 800.
  • ravikrishna
    ravikrishna Posts: 51 Member
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    Do not go on such a low diet. Am pretty sure that will put your weight into more complex mode. 1200 calories is the basic minimum which the body requires for its survival and anything less than that, is what the starvation mode is on.

    Even i was in the same state (maintaining 1200 calories for more than a month) where i couldnt loose any more weight, then i've started increasing my calorie intake to 1500 for exactly 2.5 weeks and booom.... my weight loss started again. Believe me do not try any thing below 1200 and this just makes the things more worst.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    ok ..i just want to say ...i eat less then 1000 calories daily and i exercise 4 times a week at the gym and on my job i walk an average of 8000 steps a day ...i have a pedometer on my ipod ...and i lift sacks of mail so im moving constantly ..i dont feel like my body is in starvation mode or whatever .......in fact im overweight by the bmi charts ...i think someone else said somethign about VLCD diets .and i did one for 10 months ..eating 599 calories a day and lost alot of weight. i keep my calories low because if i eat more then say 1200 calories i tend to be hungry and will actually binge :( ....if i keep them low im happy ..not hungry and have energy ....im also 5' 1" ...so am i just different ??? or what

    And your profile says you did that VLCD how many times, and each time ended unsuccessfully? Was it really the fault of falling off the wagon, or the wagon was on such a pot-holed road that it was going to happen eventually?

    True, you can lower your metabolism (not starvation mode unless you are constantly below your BMR for extended time), but you can easily get there as you chase that declining metabolism to try to remain below it.
  • dayylight
    dayylight Posts: 69
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    I have a really slow metabolism and if I dropped my calories that low I would definitely lose weight at first. As soon as I started eating again though i would gain it all back and more. I would recommend boosting your metabolism by exercising. And I know how hard it is to be a broke college student, because I am one. I'm constantly working, in class, or doing homework. I've still found ways to work better food into my diet. It gets repetitive sometimes but I'd rather be healthy than have variety. Bananas and apples are usually fairly cheap. Green bell peppers, lettuce, and carrots are also really cheap, especially if you buy whole carrots instead of baby. Oatmeal is filling and cheap, especially if you buy a large container of rolled oats instead of instant.

    Before you drop your calories try spiking them first. You might see an initial gain but you'll most likely lose if you stay at that level. If you aren't eating enough calories your body just holds onto everything you do eat.

    And no matter what you do, try to get all your nutrients. <3
  • hybridscientist
    hybridscientist Posts: 93 Member
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    ok ..i just want to say ...i eat less then 1000 calories daily and i exercise 4 times a week at the gym and on my job i walk an average of 8000 steps a day ...i have a pedometer on my ipod ...and i lift sacks of mail so im moving constantly ..i dont feel like my body is in starvation mode or whatever .......in fact im overweight by the bmi charts ...i think someone else said somethign about VLCD diets .and i did one for 10 months ..eating 599 calories a day and lost alot of weight. i keep my calories low because if i eat more then say 1200 calories i tend to be hungry and will actually binge :( ....if i keep them low im happy ..not hungry and have energy ....im also 5' 1" ...so am i just different ??? or what

    I'm no expert on the matter, but I have read that when you're obese it's a different story altogether with calorie intake... your body is much more willing to use up your fat stores rather than go straight to using your lean muscle mass as an energy source. When obese you can afford to have a lower calorie intake.
  • GetThinKim
    GetThinKim Posts: 47
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    I wasn't losing weight at 1200 either, and I found that when I INCREASED my calories to 1400 I lost 3Ibs in the first week :) Maybe your body is in starvation mode so you won't lose any weight? I'm a poor student too haha, I know how you feel! xx
  • Ahluvly
    Ahluvly Posts: 389 Member
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    Hey there...

    What are your stats, including for maintenance?! 800 cals in my opinion is far too low, you're only going to struggle further with losing weight if you go that low! Whatever your maintenance cals are....reduce them by 20% and give that a month and see how you get on!

    As a rule of thumb, aim to get in 2lts of water a day, at least 5 portions of fruit/veg, lay off the Cokes etc and make sure you have protein with every meal. It's important that you don't go any longer than 4 hours in between meals so get two snacks a day in!

    I hope that helps!

    Sarah
  • amberkitchener
    amberkitchener Posts: 6
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    [quote
    and I drink lots of milk.
    [/quote]

    Try switching dairy for soya, its around the same price, has calcium and is just as nice! Iv cut out dairy and lost loads this month and my skin is loads better! I also try to workout everyday.
  • HorrorChix89
    HorrorChix89 Posts: 1,229 Member
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    I'm a collage student right now but no longer live on campus. When I lived on campus my dorm was tiny and I shared with another girl who was 3 times my size. I'm 5'1 and right now about 120lbs. I'm trying to get down to 112lbs but it's very slow going.

    We weren't allowed to have microwaves in out dorm although some people snuck them in and hid them during Room Check. The kitchen we had only had one stove and it was usually locked because would try to cook at 2am and pass out on the couch allowing food to burn and the fire alarms to go off. Btw 3am fire drills in 20 degree weather is not cool when everyone sleeps nude (for the most part). Our "healthy" food had to come from either the cafe or the campus grocery store. Our meal plan gave a few extra bucks a week to either spend at on-site places like Pizza Hut or to shop in the store.

    Do I think 800 cal diet is unhealthy and would cause you to gain more weight? Nope, not at all if you're full. But what do I know? I'm just a forum blogger. Yet I know when I'm full and I know when not to eat. Maybe I'll get lucky and hit 1600 cal, maybe I'll only eat 500 (after exercise).
  • Saftlad
    Saftlad Posts: 35 Member
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    Ok there's a lot of good info in this thread, and there's some not so good. Some people say yeah go for it, others say eat more and exercise. I know which side of the fence I sit, however...

    Bottom line is that you're not losing weight on 1200 calories and you want to drop to 800 calories.

    My 2c? Go and see your doctor! Seriously!

    With so many opinions, how do you know who is right or wrong? Go and see a medical professional and explain to them that you want to lose weight and drop your calorie intake. Be honest with them and tell them exactly what you are eating and why. Have you had medical confirmation that your metabolism is slow, or have you done an online test, or read symptoms online and thought "yep, that sounds like me"?

    I'm not saying that you are doing this, but some people put a post on a forum so that they can get the feedback that they want and disregard the rest, whether right or wrong. Get the best information from the right source, perhaps you need professional assistance in setting a diet.

    I'd hate to give nutritional advice here, then find out later that you had a medical condition that was worsened by my advice.
  • fireblade1962
    fireblade1962 Posts: 2
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    Hi There,

    Just read your forum entrry, I personnally woudl stick to the 1200 cals and increase your exercise, remember if calories burnt through exercise is more than calories in, it does not matter what you eat or how you prepare it, you will lose weight, but you need to have enough cals to keep your body going or you will feel tired all the time.
  • merzback
    merzback Posts: 453 Member
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    800 calories- HUGE mistake. You will eventually eat more calories- you ca'nt live on 800 calories a day long term.
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